Fin stepped out into the passageway and found Isabel a reasonable distance down the hall. He pretended not to see her and turned in the opposite direction. He walked casually at first, brushing the dust off his tunic and seemingly taking his time. As soon as he rounded a corner, he broke into a run.

He could hear rapid footsteps approaching the corner as he turned down another corridor. He also heard Isabel curse and call for her helpers. At the end of the hall, he turned again. He had almost made a complete loop. Just when he was about to make his final turn, a pair of guards appeared around the corner in the direction he was running. He forced himself to slow down and walk with a nonchalant gait.

"Good morning, guards," Fin greeted with a nod of the head. "Beautiful day for a walk, wouldn't you say?"

"It is my lord," One of them responded as they passed Fin. They both began talking about wishing to be outside in the warm weather. Their conversation persisted while Fin rounded the last corner in the loop and broke for his room.

Brando and Rosby stood at the ready with an empty hand cart and canvas sheet. Fin stepped on the cart and covered himself up with the canvas.

Brando cleared his throat. "Erm, shouldn't you get undressed first?"

Fin pulled the sheet off his head and looked incredulous at Brando. "Why?"

"When Isabel came in, you made her believe you were creating a nude statue." Brando pointed out, looking uncomfortable. "Wouldn't it seem strange if your statue was fully clothed?"

"It was your idea for me to strip down in the first place!" Fin flared with anger.

Rosby had no interest in seeing Fin naked any more than anyone else, but he saw the logic of it. "I hate to say this, but I can't help but agree with the lad. You have to get naked."

"Quickly now," Brando looked at the door. "We don't have much time."

Fin visibly deflated as defeat settled on his shoulders. "Don't let anyone peek under the sheet."

When everyone had turned around, Fin began undressing and stowing his clothes. He found Dezi's invitation in his tunic. After a moment of hesitation, he threw it to the ground. It was best if he left her and her invitations in the past.

He activated his Stone Vizard ability. The color of his body morphed into that of a textured stone. He hastened for the protection of the dingy cloth and the cart.

Brando reached for the door just as it burst open. Isabel stormed inside with a face red from anger and glistening from effort.

"Where is he?" Isabel shot an accusing finger at Brando. "I knew you were up to something the moment I saw you."

Isabel noticed the sheet covering a person on the cart. "Do you think this is funny?" She ripped the sheet off Fin's head, revealing an intricately carved statue with no shortage of detail and every shortage of censorship. "Oh my!" She gasped.

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"I don't know where Fin went off to, but if he was in here, you could see him," Brando floundered the statement's delivery.

"Wherever he is, I intend to find him," Isabel proclaimed, moving further into the room to search every possible hiding place.

Fin remembered Dezi's invitation. If Isabel thought he was having a private meeting with the princess, surely she would start looking elsewhere. He subtly pointed to the letter on the floor in front of him.

Brando noticed Fin was trying to catch his attention, but he refused to look down. The incessant moving of his hand was way too close to other things he didn't want to look at, rock colored or not. Rosby, on the other hand, was at eye level with Fin's pointing finger. It was the worst part about being a dwarf. He made a sound like, "Achh!" when he looked directly at Fin's hand and noticed what was beyond.

Isabel moved to the front of the room and investigated the outburst. She found the dwarf picking up a letter on the ground.

"What is that?" She asked.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Rosby hid the letter behind his back. He wasn't sure what it was for, but he knew Isabel shouldn't see it.

"Give me that!" She commanded, trying to snatch whatever it was the halfling was holding. Finally, she showed an unnatural strength by picking Rosby off the ground. That was the second worse part about being a dwarf. Brando stepped forward to stop the bullying mad woman, but she got to the letter first.

"A walk with the princess, huh?" Isabel said, reading the note. "Is this where he went?"

"It's not even midday yet," Brando started building a story of a secret rendezvous. "What could they possibly be doing so long before their date?"

Isabel didn't need to think about it for very long. After another thorough appraisal of Fin's statue, she left to catch Fin red-handed.

Fin wasn't sure if his face would show him blushing, but he didn't care. He put the sheet back over his head. "Let's hurry."

Leaving the castle was easy for everyone but Fin. On more than several occasions, guards demanded to see what was under the sheet. More so than not, they joked about the cold weather ironically. Still, Brando pushed his naked friend towards the exit. When they were free, they paid Rosby two more gold coins and gave him the cart.

In town, Fin bought and changed into more common-looking clothes. He also bought a light jacket with a hood to disguise his features. Brando kept his rich guise. He didn't want to spend any more time in Clive Rae than was absolutely necessary.

Fin waited outside as Brando went inside the Hornblower to retrieve their horses. It took longer than expected, but soon enough, they were saddling them up in a dimly lit alleyway. They were about finished when a disheveled-looking man approached them.

"This is an odd place to be saddling horses." He said, moving closer.

Something in the man's soft and eerie voice conveyed that he was not an upstanding citizen. Without talking, Brando stepped forward and punched the man square in the jaw. The man fell backward on the ground and didn't move.

The man hadn't said anything wrong. An alley was, in fact, an odd place to be saddling horses. He wasn't sure if it was the slimy way the man looked, talked, or approached them with his hands hidden away; Brando could not say. He felt like it was the right thing to do and didn't have time to mull around about it.

Fin looked at the unconscious man and whistled, "This guy really set you off, huh?"

"Frome be with him," Brando replied.

Fin slipped a silver coin into the man's shirt and got on his horse. As he rode toward the city gates, he considered the man. Did he deserve to be knocked out cold? Probably not, but he would have never approached someone in a dark alley. Maybe some lessons needed to be learned the hard way. Like courting a princess. He should have never answered Dezi's letter in the first place. There are no good options with princesses. But the one with the greatest chance of a continued life expectancy is to run. And keep running.