"Where is the princess?" Bonnie asked, looking around.

"Probably plotting on all of us," Buckle said, unaware of how close to the truth that he was.

"She cannot. I hope she is alright," Tum said.

"I think she should be wary of the princess," Buckle said.

Tum rolled his eyes. Ever since Buckle's love advance was spurned by the captain of the king's guard, he had turned from the cheerful person that he was into a pessimist.

"You will get over this, brother," Tum said. "When we return to the palace, you will get your chance to talk to the captain again."

"We are not going back to the palace," Buckle said.

At that moment, the princess made his appearance and the three friends shifted their bulk where they sat uncomfortably. Tum hoped that she had not overheard them talking about her. He was still trying to find the right time and place to tell her about his true identity. He would probably be heartbroken like Buckle, but he knew that he had to try.

"Where have you been, my princess?" he asked, finding it difficult to carry on with the charade. He was no knight, and he had pretended for a long time to be one.

They continued on their journey until the night fell, and they had to camp under another tree. The sounds of the forest were nostalgia, bringing back to Tum the moments he had spent in the garden with the princess. He looked across at her facial features reflected by the fire that they had made and fell in love all over again. But she seemed like he had a lot on her mind.

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"Here," he said, handing her some of the cheese they had gotten from Mora before leaving.

"I am not hungry," the princess said, looking away.

"What is wrong? Are you okay?"

"I think you will leave Mora. You will leave the kingdom of Kora, and you will leave me."

"Why would you think that? I would never leave you. I promised you that I would get back to you."

The princess sighed. Tum felt they had not really spoken about what was on her mind. There seemed to be a lot, more than he had thought at first. He wondered if this was the right moment to tell her who he really was.

"Meredith, I would love to tell you something," Tum began.

"Troll!" Buckle screamed.

Tum spurns around quickly, drawing his sword with the same movement. Beyond the fire they had made, there were a group of trolls, ugly-looking creatures of different sizes and strength. Tum saw the biggest one with three horns on his head and a protruding nose. There were about seven of these creatures and each of them held a huge club.

"I would be damned," Tum said. He ran to the front of the group as the trolls rushed forwards. The battering club came down on the sword that he had drawn. For one not trained by the king's soldiers, he was exceptionally skillful with the way that he handled the sword, dancing around the troll on nimble feet.

Bonnie jumped into the fray, leaving the princess and Buckle by the tree.

"You have guns, dammit!" Buckle screamed, pulling his gun from his holster. Gunshots rent the air as the trolls dropped to the ground. More gunshots followed as Tum and Bonnie followed Buckle's lead. The remaining trolls turned and disappeared back into the forest, tails between their legs.

"Go on! Run away, cowards!" Buckle screamed after them.