The city was still in slumber when the three friends set off on their journey towards the forest. They were provided with the finest guns and swords from the palace armory and had the fastest horses provided for their journey.

As they let the horses ride through the city street, Buckle's heart bled. He still remembered Aris and the rejection he had faced at her hands. Bonnie was wrapped up in herself, mourning the loss of a life that she never had and would never have.

Tum was lost in thought, thinking about the princess and what they could have had if only he was of noble birth. The world was one big messed up place, Tum agreed. He also felt they should have heeded Buckle's advice and left the palace when he told them to.

They got through the city gates and rode out into the fields. The mountains stood out in front of them as if standing in defiance with the peasants against the oppressive ruling class. There were trails for horses to run through, but the fields were in stark contrast with the city where the roads were clean and always swept by the same peasants who worked out in the field, day and night, just so the city could remain standing. There were huts covered with thatched roofs, walls made of red mud. But there was also freedom. There were no walls around the field. It was the kind of place Tum would have wanted to live in, but he had no family.

"We are even lower than peasants," Tum said, turning to Bonnie, who was riding abreast of him. It was the first time any of them had said a word since they left the city of Mora. "The peasants have parents, families and a house to call their own, a roof over their heads, fields to make a living, but we? We have nothing."

"Thank you for rubbing that in, Tum," Bonnie replied.

The both of them turned to Buckle. He still would not say a word.

"Say, Buckle, did you fall from your side of the bed this morning?" Tum asked.

"The sun shines, the wind blows, as if all is well with the world."

"What could be wrong, little brother?" Bonnie asked.

"I am not your little brother," Buckle snapped.

They continued in silence again. When they crested the mountain, Tum turned his horse around to take a final look at the city nestled in the valley between mountains.

"There lies the love of my life," Tum said. "She waits for my return."

"Don't speak of love ever. Your heart would be broken in due course," Buckle cautioned.

"Why do you speak this way, brother?" Tum asked.

"Aris. She had my heart and my soul and my body," Buckle replied. "But she finds them all worthless. She would rather stand guard for the king, or maybe there is someone stronger, finer, and better than I am."

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"Oh, the captain of the palace guards?" Bonnie asked. "I warned you to be cautious with her, for a heart, she has none."

"Do not speak of her like that," Buckle replied heatedly.

They turned their backs on the city and continued on their journey. The field was wide and free. The birds could be seen flying freely over the sky just the way the peasants lived their lives.

"I cannot believe we have never come out to the field to live the real true life," Tum said.

"The life of the peasant, sweet and free until the noblemen want to forcefully take your farm produce from you. They will come with their soldiers, and you will not be able to fight them," Buckle said. "Or is it the savages that pillage and steal from where they did not sow? Life itself is vanity."

"You speak this way because your heart has been bruised. Surely you can see the beauty that comes with a life that is as free as this," Bonnie argued.

"Only one thing is certain," Buckle said. "The death of everything. The death of freedom, the death of love, the death of life."

"Will our comrade ever heal?" Tum asked Bonnie.

"When you have your heart bruised, I would love to see you heal," Buckle rejoined.

Their journey brought them to the beginning of the forest where they dismounted from their horses.

"Let us let the horses rest. We have a long journey ahead of us," Tum said.

The others did not object, they needed the time to put their emotions in check, especially Buckle. Their gaze was towards the city of Mora, which was getting lost in the distance, covered by dew. But they could see the towers reaching for the sky from within the valley. Then they heard the sound of a twig breaking.

"Who is that?" Bonnie asked.

"Shhhh," Tum cautioned. They pulled their guns and slowly circled the area where they had heard the noise. There was a thick bush where anything could be hiding, and the possibility of a menacing beast hiding in there frightened Tum.

"Man or beast, I will shoot at the count of five if you don't show your face," Buckle threatened before Tum could get him to shut his mouth. It was not wise, but the shuffling in the bushes stopped. The trio braced for the moment something would leap out of the bush.

"One…two…"

"I don't think that is wise," Tum said.

Buckle ignored him. Bonnie remained quiet, her attention fixed on the bush. Her gun was also trained there.

"Three…four…."

"Don't shoot!" a voice shouted from within the thick foliage of the bush. "Don't shoot."

"Meredith?" Tum called, confused.

The princess got out from the bush to the surprise of the three friends still holding a gun to the princess. She raised her hands in surrender and was smiling sheepishly.

"This is all wrong," Bonnie said.

"How long have you been following us?" Tum asked.

"Not for long," Meredith said. "Are you not happy to see me?"

"Not in this world nor the next," Buckle replied.

"Do they always talk to your friends like that?" Meredith asked. "Is he not just a servant?"

"Bu…Hardy is more than just a servant to me. I have, on many occasions, been rescued from certain death by his bravery. My dressmaker is also good with her hands."

"You should not be here. You should not be out of the palace," Bonnie complained. "It is not safe. And why are you dressed in those tattered clothes?"

"Greg here taught me how to blend in with the peasants," Meredith replied.

"We will get you a horse to take you back to the palace," Buckle said.

"I am not going back!" Meredith screamed. Then she turned to Tum and hugged him tightly. "Tell them, Greg. I cannot bear to stay away from you."

Buckle hissed and rolled his eyes. "Love does not last."

"I don't think she should go back, guys," Tum said.

"What? We cannot look after her as well," Bonnie complained.

"It would be more dangerous to her going back alone than going with us. And we cannot spare one person who would go back with her. We have to forge ahead, all of us."

"This is a mistake, and you know it," Bonnie said.

"Well, it is one that we have to make," Tum said with a note of finality in his voice.

"We have to keep going," Buckle said. "There is no time for love in the face of duty."