Cal nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, I'm just anxious. They made a run for it. I want to follow them, but at a distance so they don't notice. They've already thwarted several attempts...but I don't want to leave you." He seemed to be genuinely upset about this turn of events.

Rosemary looked back and forth between the two trails. "Um..." She didn't know which way to go, either. "I have an idea, but you're not going to like it." She said, biting her lip.

"We are not splitting up!" Lori snapped. "If anything we can wait and watch them pass from one of the trees then head back." she suggested instead.

"Well either you can leave me and go after them or we wait for a month and go after them." Alex sighed.

Rosemary raised her hands. "Alright, okay. It was just a suggestion. I wasn't thinking to split up permanently, I just thought we could scout ahead and then meet back here. But we'll do your plan." She said.

Cal sighed. Neither option appealed to him, but he had to choose. "We'll wait." He said finally. "We found them once, we'll find them again. You're more important than they are, and I am not leaving you."

"Cal this could get us tons of money. We could like in comfort for a change. You need to find them before it rains and the trail goes cold." Alex sighed.

"No...your Right I'm just being over protective again." Lori smiled at her sister. "Your idea is car better."

Cal's fists clenched and released a few times. "They won't go far, and we have your intelligence network. I just...I can't leave you alone for that long. Even if I follow them, I'm stuck once they settle somewhere. I can't just appear in the same place they are. They recognize me now."

Rosemary smiled a little and nodded. "Okay. We'll each take a path and scout ahead, then meet back here by nightfall. That should give us enough time to figure out where we are and how far we need to go." She said.

"Be careful sis." Lori squeezed Rose's hand then headed for the path on the left hoping they could find town to sleep in for the night instead of on the ground.

Alex sighed. "Alright its your choice but it's going to be even harder to find them know."

Rosemary nodded. "You too." She said, giving her sister a reassuring smile before heading off down the left path.

Cal sighed. "If I went after them..." He started, then paused. "If I left, are you sure you would be alright? You don't...you don't need me anymore. Not really. You haven't for a long time now." He closed his eyes. Alex was grown now. When they were kids, he had to rely on Cal for everything. Cal was used to taking care of his brother, and the idea that he didn't need to anymore made him feel strange. Like he had no purpose all of a sudden. "I'll follow them. Just...promise me you'll be alright. Promise you'll behave and not move before you're supposed to, and that you'll come find me only when you're healed."

"I promise brother." Alex smiled at him. "I still need you sometimes...like when I have questions about dating." he sighed. "I hate that you have to leave as well but those girls are craftier then we thought."

Lori stumbled along the path careful to keep hers eyes on where they where going. She spotted a few abandoned houses and worn spots where travels had stayed to camp over the years. She finally came to a break in the wood and blinked looking to her left she saw a trail there and a trail in front of her. She wondered if the other trail was the one her sister was on.

Cal nodded, feeling slightly reassured. "Alright. I'll head out right away...be safe, alright brother? I'll see you again soon." He said, giving his brother a quick, careful hug before heading back out.

Rosemary walked on for a while, not spotting much of anything besides a few old campfires. After a good while, she crested a large hill and looked down at the valley below. There seemed to be a village in the distance, though she couldn't be sure, and another path leading to her right. She wondered if that's where Lori was, but decided to head back to the meeting point.

Lori headed back and waited for her sister studying the trail and the trees trying to pick the best ones to climb should they get stuck outside.

Rosemary found her way back easily, and saw that Lori was already there waiting. "Sister!" She ran up to her. "Up ahead, I saw what looks like a village. It's at the far end of the valley. I'm not sure if it's far enough, but even if it's not a good place to settle we could at least replenish our food and water, and maybe buy a bedroll or two." She reported quietly, so that any potential listeners wouldn't hear.

"Great job." Lori smiled at her sister. "Lets head there and see how the day goes." If push came to shove she would give herself to that man so that her sister would remain free.

Little did Lori know, Rosemary was thinking the same thing. She nodded. "Alright. If we move at a steady pace, we could get there by nightfall. Early morning at the latest." She said, turning and leading the way.

Lori groaned when they finally reached the village she had scratches on her face and tears on her dress. ''no more trees." She whined pouting at her scratches.

Rosemary nodded tiredly. They had walked all day and night without stopping, and were arriving early in the morning the day after setting out. "Let's just find somewhere with beds." She said.

"sleep good." Lori found the inn and paid for a room. She fell into bed without changing and was out in record time.

Rosemary fell onto the bed beside her sister, asleep before she hit the pillow.

Cal sighed in relief. He had tracked the princesses all the way to the next village. It had been difficult, and he wasn't sure which inn they were staying at, but at least he knew where they were. All he could do now was watch and wait.

Lori woke early and stretched. It was a little after knew and she had barely had more then four hours of sleep but she had to make sure no one was watching them or had followed them.

Rosemary remained asleep, utterly exhausted from the day before.

Lori went out even though she was exhausted and looked around before grabbing breakfast. If she spotted the man from the other village she would sneak out before she was spotted and drag her sister out of bed.

Luckily for Cal, he was not in the village that morning. He had decided to set up camp a little ways away from the village so that he could see if the girls left, but they wouldn't see him.

Lori brought breakfast up to Rose. "Wake up sleepy head I have bacon." she smirked passing the bacon close to her sister's face.

Rosemary twitched and sniffed, getting the scent of the bacon. She yawned and opened her eyes. "Bacon?" She mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Yep." Lori put the tray in her lap. "We need to head out soon. I heard a few of the customers talking about a tent out in the woods. If we can avoid it I think we would be better off. Also I was thinking of paying a couple girls to pretend to be us."

Rosemary started in on the food, listening to her sister talk. "Hang on." She swallowed. "Hiring people is all well and good, but it will raise suspicions. They'll wonder why we need stand-ins, and even more they'll wonder how we have enough money to afford that kind of thing. It's a dangerous job and no one's going to do it for cheap. And...I don't feel right, putting someone else in harms way to save myself." There were a lot of things that could go wrong, the least of which being that the men pursuing them were too smart.