It was nearing noon when Jonathan woke. The entire royal wing was silent and abandoned. The only signs of life to be found were in Ilya's chambers. The prince was sitting at his desk.

"Where is every one?"
Ilya tumbled out of his chair, surprised by Jonathan's voice.

After gathering himself off the floor in cadence with Jonathan's laughter Ilya answered.

"The girls went out to go riding early this morning. Jacob, Logan, and Gavin have been in a meeting with father all morning."

"Which means I can't talk to them at the moment.  How about I fill you in on that while we grab some food and go have some fun."

It took about as long for Jonathan to explain all he had learned the night before, as it did for Chloey to pack them a lunch.

"I don't think we should be leaving without Jacob and Gavin, especially with everything you just told me." Ilya seemed torn, he wanted to go, but also wanted to be cautious.

"That is the beauty of my plan. We will not be leaving the castle grounds." Jonathan grinned while pulling a ruck sack onto his back. "The secondary Guards came on duty the moment we left our wing of the castle. We'll be fine.  I will make sure they can see us the entire time."

That was all the convincing Ilya needed. They headed out. It was the third day in a row of blistering heat. The sun was scorching as Jonathan led Ilya to the servant's bridge that crossed to the cathedral. Rather than cross it he headed to the left side. There was a path (sort of) that led down the canyon wall and out of sight. Once completely out of sight Jonathan dropped down and slid over the side. Ilya followed. They had to free climb thirty feet before hitting the bottom. The river pooled creating the perfect swimming hole. Jonathan shrugged off the rucksack he carried and flopped onto his belly to get a drink, Ilya following suit. Thirst sated Jonathan flipped to his back. The sun now at its apex showed off in the bright blue sky. A few wispy clouds floated overhead.

"This is the perfect spot."

"Yup."

"So glad you didn't say I told you so."

"Didn't have to you already knew it." Jonathan had thrown an arm over his eyes he listened as Ilya moved around him. Next thing he knew Ilya had dumped water on his head. He jumped to the edge of the river and with a swoop of his arm sprayed his brother. Crashing into Jonathan, Ilya knocked them both into the river. They swam until empty stomach's demanded attention. Sitting on the bank they feasted on bread cheese and fruit.

"Have you ever climbed that side of the cliff?" Ilya had been contemplating the rock wall across the river.

"No. You would have to be able to get passed that overhang at the top." Jonathan pointed.

The cliff was rough layers. Near the top one of the layers jutted out just a few feet beyond the others. It created a lip like the flare of an elegant teacup.

"I think we should try it."

"You want to swim across the river then climb the side over that lip."

"Yes."

"Let's go."

Jonathan grabbed their belongings, shoved them all in the bag, and balanced it on his head as he headed to the river. Ilya struck out across the river with strong strokes. Once he was across Jonathan tossed him the bag making it easier to finish his swim. The current had pushed them down-stream further than they had anticipated. It took the better part of an hour to march back to the place they wanted to climb. With a grin they both placed hands on the rocks.

It had looked like such an easy thing to do. Twenty-five feet up the wall Jonathan's arms trembled under the strain as he reached for another handhold. He looked up as he pulled himself toward the lip that was growing into a solid roof above him. His foot found a solid spot and he stopped to watch Ilya. His face had taken on a look of solid determination mixed with exhaustion. Lord get us up safely, show me where to go. The prayer was breathed out naturally. Two feet to his left was a fissure just wide enough to slip his hand into. Finding a solid hold, he swung free from the face of the cliff. Second and third handholds left him dangling over the river. A thrill of excitement washed over him as he reached over the edge and dug his fingers in. Pulling with all his strength he hoisted himself over the edge and to the top. Ilya scrambled up after him rolling to his back.

Laughing out loud Ilya slowly sat up. "That was fantastic!" 

Jonathan lay on his back staring at the clouds moving overhead. The crunch of approaching footsteps pulled him back to reality. He sat up as Jacob approached them.

"Did you station the guards yourself?" At Jonathan's nod he continued. "You did a good job. There was no way to approach you without them knowing."

"If Gavin had been available, I would have let him come with us. As it was the over-watch points seemed like the best plan. You can walk with us back to the castle. I have to get ready for watch."

As they fell into step with one another Jacob filled them in on the meeting of the morning. "The King has authorized Logan to continue contact with those opposing us. I will be meeting with all The Guard captains and making new regulations to prevent the free flow of information. We have had peace for so long we have all gotten lax about who and what we talk about. Logan actually delivered quite a lecture on information and how it is being used against us and how we need to stop that."

"Logan lectured my father?" Ilya asked

"Yes, he did."

"We miss all the interesting meetings."  

Jacob rolled his eyes as they entered the castle and Jonathan decided to see who could make the royal wing first.  He and Ilya took off on separate routes as fast as they could.  Jacob veered off with Ilya.  It was a nice break from the tense morning.