"You need not ever apologize to me, your highness." Serg glanced around them then looked back at her content. "Yes, we'll be fine. We've got no supplies so we don't have to worry about raccoons going through our packs looking for food, nor are there any wolves this far up north being more in the southern and eastern forests.

"This is about as safe as it gets, other than exposure but the weather hasn't been too bad as of late. A little chilly from time to time but otherwise fine."

Nell laughed nervously at his answer. "I wasn't really worried about animals but I'm glad to hear they shouldn't be a problem too. The weather as well though I hope tonight is not one of the nights it turned chilly during. I'm not really dressed for it..." She looked around for a good place to stretch out and sleep. Though she wasn't sure how much sleep she was really likely to get, regardless of how tired she was. Finally, she found what amount to a fair space for her and laid down to rest with one arm under her head. "I half wish I had had some of that wine before. At least then I'd be certain to have gotten some sleep... Though I imagine that would have made the journey even harder for you, Serg. How did you know I wouldn't drink it?"

"Oh, I didn't know," Serg sat down on the ground opposite of her well aware she wasn't dressed for the weather. Still the trees here should negate the chill of any crosswinds ... well lessen it anyway. "I figured you drink it and I'd have to carry you until the effects of the drug wore off. Here."

He produced a flask from a pocket on the inside of his cloak and handed it too her. "Brandy ... it's not much but it's something at least. The drug wouldn't have lasted for too long, a couple of minutes anyway. Longer on Gunthir since he was drinking more and would have a larger dose. I was unsure that he would drink before hand but after going there the first night and watching him consume the wine I figured on druggin it as an option. And he repeated this on the next night two so I assumed that he would do so on the third as well.

"Had I been certain that you would not drink it I might have even concocted something more lethal or dangerous but to what end would that have served anyway? They may not have noticed your disappearance so quick."

Nell sat up at took the offered flask. "Thank you." She paused to take a drink of Brandy. "And I'm sorry... I prevented Gunthir from drinking as much as usual. I hope my temper didn't lose us precious time... How long do you think the dose he did drink would keep him out? Even if he wasn't out long it would have taken some time to inform the prince and form a search party to come out after us, right? So, that gives us a bit of a lead... And surely the darkness is slowing them down as well..." She seemed to be trying to convince herself more than anything else. Now that she had escaped Prince Vek she became terribly frightened of what would happen if she was captured again. "do you think they know where we will be heading?"

Serg paused as he analyzed the first of her questions. "A few minutes at most ... he didn't have a huge dose of it and the poison that was used on him was only meant to incapicatate him for a few minutes. Long enough to get you out of the castle.

"So Vek has been alerted by now and it's safe to say that the castle has been turned upside down looking for you and the grounds searched. We didn't see any patrols so it's safe to say they don't know that we've come this way, just there typical guard on the road but we passed him already.

"And the darkness would ensure that they would have to choose between the dangers of pressing on during the night and risking injury and missing things or slow in cautious in which case we have more time until the morning at least ..."

Serg halted there for a moment before he returned his gaze to her. "You do realize that they won't stop until they find you or ... or Wilhelm ..."

Nell lowered her gaze as his eyes met hers. "I know... I only hope they don't lax in their search for Wilhelm because I have run away. Prince Vek assured me that they were close to finding him. If that was not a lie then maybe... Just maybe..."

A terrifying thought suddenly griped her and her eyes shot back up to meet Serg's. "You don't think that running will make me look guilty? I swore up and down that my father and I had no knowledge of Wilhelm's treachery but now... Oh god..." She pressed her face into her hands. "How must this look? Peace will be impossible if Vek continues to suspect my family had a hand in his sister's disgrace."

Serg shifted closer to her, he hesitated for a moment then cradled his arm about her shoulders as if he had been unsure if he could touch her given her bloodline or not but figuring that the circumstances broke with taboo.

"No. I don't think that but running might have switched their prorities. Until now they had you so they could met out "justice" by apprehending Wilheim or by despoiling you but now they can do neither so Prince Vek might shift his focus and search for you since it's reasonable to assume that you wouldn't have the success of going to ground like Wilheim. Even if you did it's likely others would recognize yo. Thus I was thining this ... that we go to our initial destination, get supplies and instead of pushing on to our destination as planned and likely to be guessed at by the Prince we return to Geoff's borders, that was something they won't predict.

"Our best option would to find Wilhelm ourselves. Of course I defer to your judgement highness."

Nell did not mind Serg's touch. In fact, she found it somewhat reassuring. But his words confirmed her fears. If Vek gave up his search for Wilhelm to search for her instead then the true villain would have time to escape and she would have no leverage to bargain with if they were captured. She looked up suddenly at Serg's final suggestion though. "Go after him ourselves?" Truthfully, the thought had crossed her mind as well but she though Serg would say it was too dangerous. "We would have to be careful... The Prince's search party may not have been called immediately and it would be bad if they catch us on their way back to join the hunt for us. But still... If we could apprehend Wilhelm then Vek would have no cause to be angry with us. I think it might be our best option."

"There is that if we are apprehended and where still well within Geoff's borders then the prince might think that our presence there is odd ... he might even still any acts of vengeance and turn his attention to pursuing Wilhelm. But if we do it ourselves then we are sure it's been done and surrender to Vek.

"It will look as if we only escaped from him to simply apprehend Wilhelm and spare you your ..."

His voice tapered off then he shook his head slight as if in disbelief allowing the word to be unsaid. His arm slid away though and should Nell look the junction of his pants were now poking outward.

"Right ..." he exclaimed as he got up to his feet and looked down at her. "Sleep and I'll check out the region for anything amiss, can't be too careful."

Nell was too distracted by the thought of capturing Wilhelm and ending this conflict to had noticed the tenting of Serg's pants. Even if she had looked she probably would not have understood. She had not had a lot of experience with men. At least not outside of her dreams and even then those had been monsters so it was not really the same. She did not truly conprehend the effect being in direct physical contact with her half-dressed self might have on a member of the opposite sex. So, when Serg stood up abruptly and claimed to be going off to check out the immediate area she took him at his word and did not suspect for an instant he was leaving because she had made him uncomfortable. She just nodded and laid back done. "Right, sleep. I will try. Do be careful, Serg. If anything happens to you I will be truly lost." She smiled warmly and then closed her eyes to sleep.

"Then I'll be doubly sure nothing happens," Serg smiled at her then departed. He did not have the desire to check on things ... that had been an excuse that he had used to slip off to the forest for a few minutes, unobserved he took himself in hand and relieved himself, not once but wice.

When Nell woke the next morning there was a hand roughly clasped to her mouth. When her eyes opened she was able to see that Serg had been holding her by the mouth. His other hand going to his lips in a sheeshing gesture, then he pointed through the trees to the road where a trio of horses trotted and black armored men rode them, at their lead was Gunthir ...

The hand over her mouth caused her wake with a start. Her eyes opened wide and she was about ready to start swinging at the first thinng she saw. She stopped herself before carrying through with this plan as her eyes finally focused and she could see that Serg was the owner of the offending hand. She registered his sign to her quickly and her heart jumped for a second time when she looked in the direction he'd indicated and saw Gunthir riding by. Her hold body became a shivering line of tension and she literally stopped breathing for fear of being heard.

Gunthir and company continued on but their pace was slow and thorough as they looked in the woods for something. Then as they were about to pass Gunthir held up a hand indicating that the other two should stop. He had seen something, dismounted and drew his sword slowly from it's sheath.

"Miss me, princess?" he strolled forward into the woods towards them, Serg's hand still clasped over her mouth as if in the tension he had forgotten to remove it.

Then Gunthir slashed into the bushes, a rabbit scurrying out of it, which drew his attention to it as he shook his head and resheathed his blade as he headed back to the road.

"False alarm boys." He mounted his steed again then addressed the others. "They couldn't have gone far. They're on foot, no steeds were stolen from the stables so they must not have managed to get to far thus far."

Nell waited until Gunthir was out of sight again. Once she was certain he was gone, she placed her hand over Serg's and gently pulled his hand away from her mouth. She took a deep shuddering breath of air and griped the man's hand tightly. "We knew they'd be coming..." She said quietly, trying to reassure herself as much as Serg. Seeing Gunthir at the head of the search party made her uneasy as hell but she tried to collect herself and put on a brave face. "Now we just have to be extra cautious leaving this area."

"Yes, I didn't expect them to make such good timing though ..." Serg considered this new information for a moment. His eyes studied the road or rather what he could of it from their place in the woods. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he did this. "Let's go."

True to his word the road up ahead was sloppy more so in the woods that they were traveling through. The terrain was very rocky too. They even glimpsed Gunthir and his troop seeing that the going was slow for them even more so then they already were.

But they were eventually arrivals at Dunshire. Coming in from the east and away from the road a woodsman spotted them emerging from the woods. He looked at them, especially Nell's lack of dress and immediately looked to the groom, searching for a weapon though he did not see one.

"You folks alright?"