Scott sighed in response to Flynn's question. "I mean... I am tired but then, hey. I might as well if your troops are." Really, although he wanted that rest, he knew it's probably be best if he stuck with them - the description hadn't been the best, after all, and he could pobably take it.

Probably being the key word.

But he zoned out a bit until her heard the trooper's words. Suddenly, he was a lot more awake.

"Did you see anything like it when we came into town? I'll admit, I wasn't really looking. But did you see something like the description that your captain just gave you?" Johnston was now significantly more awake than he was earlier, dozing on his horse in the afternoon sun. Riding pains and dust forgotten as he waited for Captain Cyrus's men to respond. Because if it was really him, this entire pointless, meaningless, rabbit-chasing thing the royals had sent him on could be over before it even started. And it would look great on his portfolio as well.

But mainly the first part. Johnston didn't want to waste a single second if it meant they could be over and done with it today. Because why would he? Sent out into a foreign country, over-equipped and yet under-equipped, and being told to search an entire kingdom "as fast as possible."

Really, the sooner this was done, the better. Although it was a fine balance between rushing everything, missing something, and letting his troops have a bit of a rest.

Scott sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better get my squad back out. Or you guys could go ahead - maybe it was my squad that spooked him. He probably wouldn't think twice about a batallion of Faesians in Faesia, but Galcolians in Faesia might have been the tip off." He nodded, agreeing to himself. "Yeah. It's probably best if your batallion goes first. We'll catch up, maybe you could leave behind a soldier or two just to guide us the way? Because we'll be some time, I have no idea where my guys went..." Scott looked around a bit despondently - so true, his entire squad, being promised an afternoon off, had completely vanished. Scott sighed at the thought of how long it would take to find them again before tomorrow morning. Maybe it'd be best just to wait it out until tomorrow, and find them then.

But then he had a job to do.

"Yeah, just go on ahead." Scott waved his hand at Flynn. "We'll catch you guys up later. I need to find where my squad went."

Damn it. Why did he have to have dismissed them for the afternoon literally minutes before they realized they had found their quarry? If he had waited a bit before dismissing them, they could all be on the road right now. But no, he had to have dismissed them, and now lay the arduous journey of having to find them all again. Gods knew where they went - and Scott most definitely did not want to check some of the places soldiers on leave went - but he sighed. It was on him for dismissing his troops early, and now he'd have to round them up from all across the estate while Captain Cyrus did his job for him.

What a great thing.

Johnston was in the middle of pulling his squadron from where they had gone. Mostly to the occasional group in the saloons, and he was... almost there. Most of his squad had beeen fished up.

He was still missing a few of them, though. And Scott had absolutely no idea where they were.

"Do you have any idea where they went?" he asked his second-in-command, for what was probably the twentieth time. Generally he wouldn't have done such a thing, but exasperation was creeping in. They were so close, and he was stuck with fishing his boys out of the barrel that was the estate.

His second-in-command shrugged - yet again. "Sorry, Cap'n, I haven't a clue."

He was about to say more - probably yet another variation of where the hell was the rest of his squad? when hooves interrupted his thoughts. He looked up, and saw one of Flynn's men galloping directly towards him, as straight as an arrow aimed for him, specifically.

"Captain Johnston?" The man looked a bit flustered, and Scott honestly couldn't guess what had happened. What had prompted Flynn to send a man over to say something?

"Yes?" Scott was a bit guarded. He had no idea what Flynn's messenger had to say. A few possibilities emerged - maybe Flynn needed him back in some way? Or they needed to get out? These all circled in his mind, and Scott wondered which one he'd say.

But what he said... Scott most definitely did not expect.

"Your criminal... we found him and we've captured him."

Ever so gentle. It was the gentlest of hands that ran through his soft hair. He could smell cedar and perhaps the faintest tinge of a metallic hint in the air. The sound of satin followed every movement as the hand combed through soft--clean--hair.

"Coming back?" The voice was gentle and emotionless. "You don't seem like much of a criminal."

Nolian's brow furrowed as he frowned briefly. "I'm no criminal... well... not much of one. The only thing I really did was borrow a horse. I didn't even take him out of the country."

The other man tilted his head, helping him sit up. "No, I imagine you aren't. But Galcolia labeled you as such."

Nolian's hands settled into his lap as he sighed. "That sounds about right."

The ginger haired man tipped his chin upward, studying his face for a silent minute or two. "Do you know what you are?"

"... no? I mean, I was supposed to be some suitor for the princess but I hated it," Nolian felt no need to lie to him. He seemed gentle at best, maybe a little concerned. But definitely not dangerous in any way. "I... I didn't do anything. I don't even really know who I am."

"Hmm?"

The young man nodded. "I don't remember anything before sixteen. I work with horses--that's all I do. That's all I wanted to do and suddenly I was this stand-in suitor because they were tired of other kingdoms sending theirs. But she hated me and I didn't know a thing about being a noble--no less royalty. All these rules and stuff that they didn't even talk about," his scowl deepened as his eyebrows furrowed. "So I ran from it. I got so tired of it and their threats and all of that diplomatic war--if me asking a question during dinner would cause a war, then I'm not the problem!"

"No," Narishian shook his head. "I doubt you are."

"But I ran from it, I took a horse and I went for it. I didn't know where to go so I just went North. It seemed like the safest option and I didn't know they'd go looking for me," Nolian admitted, shaking his head.

Narishian's hand ruffled his hair lightly. "Well, I'd say you came to the right place."

"Really? What if I don't want to go back?"

He lowered his hand to his shoulder, tapped it a couple times and stood up. "Well, we'll see what we can do. For now, just rest."

Scott, complete with a full cohort of guards, trotted cross the drawbridge back into the Faesian castle. Damn, but he had not expected this outcome.

Because the boy really was the prince consort he had seen with the crown Princess. And he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why.
He had some piece of soot stuck in his hair, which looked quite poorly done - honestly, how no-one had seen it he had no idea - but... at least his stupid mission was over.

But to find the prince consort? That was now branded as a criminal thief? He wasn't entirely sure about that. Surely... what was it... Diametrya? - wouldn't be pleased about them arresting their prince consort.

What was the royals' motives behind this? While the princess had given him instructions, he also somewhat wanted to know what.

Turning to Flynn, he posed a question that had been bothering him for a bit. "So... I'm going to guess that we're allowed to go back to Galcolia with our prisoner once you've been accounted for by your queen?" He couldn't entirely figure out why they needed to, but... Johnston followed him, as he would have had no idea otherwise as to where to go.

But Flynn shook his head. "It'll be a while yet. Our queen wants to talk to you."

Johnston furrowed his brows. "What? Why does she need to do that? We've accomplished what we set out to do."

Flynn shrugged. "Take it up with Narishian."

Johnston started. "My orders were to bring him back to Galcolia..." but he tralied off at the look that Narishian was giving him.

Oh, this was not ideal, was it? Not only they now had to rely on Faesian generosity, he was now a courier saying that Faesia had captured him instead. Which either way - if he was a suitor, or a wanted criminal - either way was bad news.

But he could understand the futility of the situation at the moment. Faesia literally held him, and unlike when he was on the run, Faesia literally could indefinitely hold him until Galcolia gave what they wanted for him.

He looked back at his squad. Nodding to his second-in-command, he quietly sidled up to him. "Get them to stay here. They can have some leave, but don't entirely dismiss them. You don't know when I'll be back." He looked out of the corner of his eye at the massive bulk of Narishian. "And keep an eye on our prisoner. I don't trust them."

A final nod, and he was on his way again. Back to Galcolia, without a squad following him or a prisoner in his grasp, but a letter.

--

Kayeni was getting a bit nervous.

Almost a week later, and there had been no news on the Nolian front. No. In fact, Nolian seemed to have disappeared from the map entirely. Sure, they had found his horse, and his clothes, but that just led nowhere. No-one, in all of her father's extended lists of contacts, had any idea of where he was.

It had been almost ten days until she recieved a messenger that a captain was asking to speak to her at the castle gates. "Something about your consort," the messenger mumbled before stepping back and dashing away.

Kayeni frowned, then stopped them. "Wait." He turned, awaiting her orders. "Go find Henry, and bring him to the castle gates. I'll be waiting for him." The messenger nodded, then turned and dashed away.