When I arrived back at the palace it was enveloped into chaos. Everyone was running around and bumping into me without a sorry. It was unusual to not have people say sorry to me, not that I minded but it meant something was extremely wrong.

I rushed up to Noah's office without a second thought. When I walked through the door his head jerked up and his eyes narrowed onto mine.

"And just where the hell have you been?" He said while running his hands frantically through his hair.

His office was a mess. There were papers scattered everywhere, and it clearly looked like he had broken a few things as well.

I crossed my arms across my chest, "Well, if you must know I was out on a horse ride because I thought you didn't need me. Heaven's sake I haven't even been gone five hours and the entire palace has fallen into madness." I pinched the bridge of my nose to stop a headache from forming, "Would you mind explaining just what in the hell happened in the few hours I've been gone?"

He finally calmed down enough that he wasn't staring daggers at me anymore but the fire from his gaze still remained, "Caiden did it. He sent word that he is going to war with me. You were right, I should have listened to you."

Even though he was rambling everything went silent from the rush of my heartbeat. If we were going to war that meant that Jonas and Jacob would be sent off as well. I wouldn't be there to protect them, and I wouldn't have the resources to find them if they were in trouble.

Noah was still rambling on, spiraling farther and farther into his own feelings. I managed to lift my head and, as calm as I could, walked over to his desk and slapped him clean across the face.

He had finally gone quiet and when he looked at me, he clutched his face; disbelief was painfully written all over his face.

"You need to pull it together. You are their king, and they are expecting you to lead them. You might not have wanted this position, but it has been unfortunately passed to you. There are women and children who are counting on you to win this fight. This might not have been the life you wanted but it's here. You brought this upon your people because despite the fact you didn't want the throne you refused to give it up. Now it is time for you to rise up and be a king. If you don't, your kingdom and the people inside it will fall." By the time I had finished my chest was heaving as if I had run a thousand miles. Standing up to him was always hard, but I couldn't sit back and watch innocent people die because of him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back in his chair, "You're right. I brought this upon my people. I will take responsibility to lead my men through this war and protect my people."

Relief flooded through me but there was still one more thing that was eating at the back of my brain.

"Another thing." He stared at me with confusion, "I would like to join my brother and Jonas in the battle. I am highly trained with a sword, and I can clearly handle my own. I mean, I did survive a fifty foot fall off of jagged rocks so I think I can handle war."

He shook his head, only once, "I need you here to rule the war with me. Look, I'm truly and deeply sorry about all the things I have done before but there is no other person I trust to run this war with. You are staying here, that's final."

I did not want to argue with him. As much as I wanted him to listen my mind was already made up. Weather he supported me or not I was joining the war. He just wouldn't find out until it was too late. My only worry is how well our troops would do with such a weak king. My hope is that this newfound positive attitude sticks, and he actually rules. Maybe he will rule even better once he is forced to. There is nothing on this Earth that would keep me away from the two of them.

I cleared my throat and put on as much of a smile as I could muster, "Well, if that is the case when are we going to war? I assume it is any night now considering he has had two weeks to prepare. I assume you've already sent word out to our troops about the upcoming war."

He relaxed a little and folded his hands onto his desk, "I have. They should receive it by nightfall. As for my brother he is planning his first attack at the next full moon."

A bit more relif came over me. That was a little under a month away. We had plenty of time to ready our men; and I had plenty of time to make my way to them.

It would have to be a secret. And I would have to make sure he didn't know that I had left the palace. I will inform him that I will conduct business in my own quarters. It is where I do my best work. I doubt he will suspect anything and will let me do as I please as long as I help out. The only problem is who will do the actual work while I'm not there.

A few hours later and I was briskly walking down to the servants' quarters and knocking on Elizabeths door. She opened a little hesitant at first but when she saw me her face lit up and she ushered me in without a second thought.

After much debating she was the obvious choice. She may have been forced into the servant life, but she was a brilliant girl. So much so that whenever I talked about problems, I couldn't solve within minutes she would have a solution. The king would never know this but she was the reason so many laws are the way they are. And why the palace hasn't had many people knocking at its door. I could never thank her for that kindness yet here I was asking for even more. I truly am a selfish person at times.

We both sat on her bed, and she was still beaming at me. Her smile slowly started to fade though once she saw the look on my face and the way my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

She grabbed onto them, "What's wrong Blair?"

This wasn't going to be easy, "I assume you've heard of the war to come."

She turned her head to the side, "I have. It's terrible that war has come to our kingdom, but I am not surprised considering how he has run things the past few years. It was unfortunately a long time coming."

"Indeed, it was." The words kept dying in my throat until finally they spilled out and I explained everything to her and what I wanted her role in all of this to be.

She was silent for a while but never let go of my hand, "Alright, I'll do it. But my only condition is you need to write to me every single day. I don't care if you are in the mist of battle, you are to write to me. I can't lose you, Blair."

My heart swelled and I wanted to cry but somehow managed to keep the tears at bay. I squeezed her into a bear hug, "Thank you so much. You are truly the best friend I could have ever asked for."

"Of course, but could you let go you are kind of crushing me."

I pulled back and laughed, "Oh, sorry I forgot how strong I've gotten over the years."

"Yes, well training every day to put up with Noah will give you the strength of ten bears. It's honestly why I'm not worried about you going to war. Everyone thinks you are this dumb queen, but I know how strong you are; both mentally and physically."

We both laughed together for a while and talked about our lives before getting down to business. We needed to come up with a plan for her to stay locked in my secret room and continue with all of 'my' work.

It was simple after we thought about it. She would continue to do her servant duties and act like she was tending to me. That way no one thought anything funny was going on and she could work hard from the sidelines. I made sure to promise to write to her every day. I was planning on it anyways, but I know me saying it aloud made her feel better.

Finally, it was time to put the plan in motion and for me to leave the palace. I went to talk to Noah to tell him about my plans to stay in my quarters for the war planning and that my servant would bring me all of my work to and from my office. He agreed with this plan as long as it meant I was helping him. That was the only part I was worried about and after that was done it was time to pack up my stuff and leave for camp.

My looks were the other part that I was concerned about. Everyone in the kingdom obviously knew what I looked like so I needed to disguise myself so they wouldn't recognize me.

I put my hair into a tight bun and found an old facial mask I used back when I first got to the palace and did not want anyone looking my way. It was a rugged mask not suite for a lady, but I liked it. It was a black leather mask that only covered my mouth. The design was quite beautiful, snake scale design across the entire thing. At the top and bottom of the front of my mask was pointed which usually would be considered inconvenient but for war it was quite protective. Most camps did not allow for such masks unless you were born with a birth defect. Luckily, they did not require you to show that birth defect as it would be considered rude.

My bags were all packed and my mask was secured snugly around my head. I took a look around at this space one more time before turning to Elizabeth who already had tears glazing her eyes.

It broke my heart to see her weep for me, but I knew that I would return. I put out my arms and without a second thought she ran right into them. I warned her to be careful of the points on my mask, but she didn't listen. She only wanted to be close to me and hug me.

In a voice so quiet I almost didn't hear it she said, "Come back alive, please."

I hugged her tighter but made a promise in my mind that I would return alive. When I did, I was taking her away from this palace so that she could live a life she always wanted. She deserved it. She's my best friend, the one who stuck by my side in the wretched place. I would not abandon her once this war was over.

We said our final goodbyes before I snuck out of the castle and to the stables to grab my horse. Elizabeth already got her ready for me so all I had to do was swing on her back and ride straight to the camp.