"The horse will not kill Cleo." Cal said, his voice taking on a strange quality. It was a tone of authority, as if he were telling the horse rather than his brother. Cal's voice didn't change like that often enough to raise suspicion, but when it did he usually seemed to get his way. "Now let's go." He said, his voice back to normal.

Rosemary smiled, having already jumped up onto her horse. "It's easy once you figure it out." She said. "You'll definitely get it down fast." She knew Lori would learn it faster than she had. Her sister was the smart one, a quick study and stubborn enough to never give up once she'd decided to learn something.

Alex frowned a little but let it pass. He set Cleo in her basket and set the horse off at a trot going slower then normal so that Cleo wouldn't get more hurt then she was.

"Your right of course." Lori grinned at her sister and set off at a trot following Aurora looking around.

Cal set off, keeping his pace slow enough that he didn't leave Alex behind, but quick enough that he was just a few steps ahead.

Rosemary smiled and kicked her horse into motion, getting ready for a long day of riding.

((Skip to when they get to the village?))

((Um...sure.))

Lori spotted the village first. "Rose look!" They had been riding hard for four days and finally they had reached there destination. "It's so cute." she grinned.

By the fourth day, even Rosemary was having trouble staying positive. She still kept up the façade, but inside she was just tired. At the sight of the village, she perked up. "Oh! I love it already." She said, meaning every word. It looked like a great place to live.

Cal looked out over the village. He and Alex had tracked the princesses relentlessly, following a trail of hints, rumors and clues that ultimately led them here, where the girls would apparently arrive very soon. "What do you think, brother? Will we find them here?"

"I don't know." Alex said grumpily. "We may, we may not. I didn't think finding two girls would be so hard." he pouted glad that for a change the horse hadn't thrown him. Cleo was better as well she was flying over there heads as they rode stretching her wings.

Lori followed Aurora going over there back story in her head. They where traveling sisters who had headed off from home just recently to try to make it on there own.

Cal shrugged. He didn't mind the hunt, personally. Sometimes he wondered if he had been a wolf in a past life. "We're following the lead your informant gave us. If we don't find them here, your informant is in trouble." He chuckled. "Let's camp here and watch to see who enters the village."

Rosemary moved her horse closer to her sister's. "Lori, I'm a little concerned about our cover story. It just seems way too close to the truth." She confided.

"Well you remember what grandpa use to say." Lori laughed. "The closer it is to the truth the less people will think it's a lie. We could come up with something else if you want."

"No I think we should go into the village there are two entry points and several more if you come out of the forest. We could never cover them all even with Cleo's help." Alex sighed a little. "if we stay at the inn while hear word faster. One of us could go to the in while the other will walk the streets with Cleo over head."

Rosemary shrugged. "I know." She said. "I don't know, I just feel like our story shouldn't be completely the truth. Like...maybe we should add something?" She sighed slightly. "Of course, I can't think of anything. I just think people will connect the dots between two sisters setting out on their own and two princesses running away from home. Maybe we should say we're not related? Or...or that one of us was in a bad courtship and the other helped them get away? That might explain anyone who comes by looking for us. We could say that my boyfriend was beating me, and I asked you for help to sneak away from him, or something like that."

Cal nodded. This was why he was often glad to have his brother around- because when one of them wasn't thinking straight, the other would have a good idea. "Good thinking, Alex. You're better with Cleo, and walking around town will give you an excuse to get off that horse. I'll take them both to the inn and get the boarded. Then I'll pay for our first few nights and set up at the bar." He was a good actor. He found that people talked more loosely when the people around them were drunk, so if he wanted information he could get it easily by acting drunk and listening. It also gave him an excuse to sit there for so long without being questioned.

"Little sister your a genius." Lori grinned. "We can't call each other by are names or by sister. "I think I like Sarah." she smiled at the sound of the simple name. "easy to remember and it fits in."

Alex dismounted and gave the lead to his brother. "See you in a little while." he wondered off hands in his pockets. If anyone should ask he would say he was stretching his legs after his long journey.

Rosemary beamed, happy that her sister approved. "Okay, Sarah. That's nice." She said. "I'll need a name, too. I'll be...Ginny!" She had always liked that name. It was cute, she thought. "It's common enough to get by, and easy to remember."

Cal took the reins. "I'll meet you at the inn later." He said, then kicked his horse into motion, leading his brother's horse along gently as he did.

"Alright." Lori glanced at Aurora who shrugged. "They know me here. I'll say I found you two wondering the woods alone and brought you here." Aurora smiled. "Great." Lori grinned and moved her horse forward. "She sure if eager once she gets her mind made up." Aurora laughed following Lori.

Alex grew bored of waiting and decided to take a breather in the shade of the trees. He picked a spot where he could see most of the village and scanned the area. Movement at the tree lines caught his attention and he squinted against the sun, he could just make out three female shapes and he grinned. Moving quickly he signaled Cleo to keep an eye on them and went to find his brother.

Rosemary smiled. "Of course. Once she sets her mind to something, my sister is unstoppable." She said, spurring her horse on a little bit quicker.

At the inn, Cal had gotten the horses boarded and taken care of, and taken up his spot at the bar. By that time, everyone was sufficiently convinced that he was drunk, and he was hearing all the gossip. Unfortunately, he hadn't heard anything yet about their targets.

"Cal." Alex pushed threw the crowd next to his brother. "I think I found them." he whispered grinning a little.

Lori dismounted once they got to the center of town. "Ok let's go to the inn. Hopefully there hiring so we don't have to go long without a job." They had brought a little money with them so that they could have get a few days at the inn before they could get jobs.

Continuing his act, Cal glanced up at his brother and smiled. "Eeey, bro...issat so, huh?" He slurred, loud enough to make the people around them uncomfortable. Once he was sure they weren't listening, he sharpened up. "Are they headed this way?" He whispered.

Rosemary nodded, hopping down from her horse. "Sounds good to me. I hope they're hiring." She said. She wanted to work, too see what it was like. She couldn't wait to start doing things for herself, rather than having everything done for her.

Alex spotted Cleo in the window. "Yes." he smirked and sat down. "This was easier then I thought it would be." his voice was barely a whisper and he had to lean in close to make sure Cal heard him.

Lori adjusted her clothes and headed inside the inn. "You two get seats." Aurora took a little money and went to get them food and money.

Cal's face lit up with a grin. "Excellent. Talk to the innkeeper about our room and then come back and find somewhere to sit close to the door. We'll keep an eye on them until they get a room, and then you can make a show of escorting me back to our room."

Rosemary walked in after her sister, doing her best to adopt a look of quiet shyness- which wasn't hard, considering how she felt at the time.

Alex slipped away and talked to the innkeeper handing over there money he picked a table near the table but far enough away so he wouldn't appear to be watching the girls. He wondered who the third girl was, two he knew where the princesses at least.

Lori glanced up as Aurora joined them. "All set." Aurora grinned and sighed as there food and cider appeared. "Looks good." she licked her lips and dug in. Lori sniffed it and then tried a piece her eyes lit up and she dug in with gusto.

Rosemary sat down and waited eagerly for their food. She was starving, she realized as the smell of food hit her, making her stomach growl. She dug in happily, but didn't touch the cider. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, since she had never had anything besides water, and she didn't know how it would affect her. As she looked around, she noticed there weren't any serving maids, and marked that down in her mind as a potential job.

Lori finished first and sat back with a sigh. "That was great." she studied the crowd and blinked. "Is it me or is that boy watching us?" she leaned in closer to the other. Aurora followed her gaze "I don't think so." she frowned. "Probably a coincidence."

Rosemary finished at the same time as Lori and sat back happily. Hearing her sister's question, she looked up at the man who may or may not have been watching them. She happened to catch his gaze, and held it for a breathless moment before looking away. "Yeah...I'm sure it's a coincidence." She said, not letting on that she felt vaguely unsettled.

Alex studied the door with a frown working out a plan should the girls, who had already noticed him. came over to ask what he wanted. He decided he would say he had been captivated by there beauty which wasn't far from the truth the younger of the three was adorable.

Lori sighed and stretched. "Let's head up to are room and then in the morning we can look for jobs." she yawned. "It will be nice to sleep in an actual bed for a change."

Rosemary perked up at the sound of the word bed. "Ooh, a bed sounds great! We'll get a good night's rest and then we'll be ready to start working." She said, chipper.

Still safe under his guise of drunkenness, Cal watched the three women carefully. He couldn't hear them, but they seemed lively enough. He was surprised there were three, but he supposed two princesses would have hired someone to guide them.