For the first few hours, the ride through the forest was a silent and monotonous affair; Arthur and Henry, still apprehensive about the possible rogues in the forest, kept a watchful eye on their surroundings and a hand on their swords, their heads swiveling about like turntables. It was only when Rebecca finally sighed and waved her hand that the silence was broken, her lips uttering an incantation in a strange tongue that cut through the silent air like a knife.

  A tiny golden flicker of light, not unlike a firefly, blinked to life from her hand and zipped away, before circling the trio in a rapid fashion.

  "What is that?" Arthur demanded, his hand still on his sword hilt.

  "It's a simple ward, nothing more," Rebecca replied, looking back down at her book. "If anything breaks the circle, it will intercept it and alert us."

  "Remarkable," Henry said, amazed.

  Arthur rolled his eyes. "Will you stop that? It's unbecoming of a knight to fawn over such cheap parlor tricks."

  "I can remove it if you'd like," Rebecca offered. "I only conjured it to save your necks, and to stop your incessant head-turning."

  "On second thought, I love it, an absolutely marvelous spell," Arthur grinned.

  The three rode on for another hour in silence, the morning sun slowly climbing higher into the sky as they progressed further through the forest. With the added security of the ward, Henry allowed himself a measure of relaxation once more; he leaned back in his saddle, feeling the swaying motion of the horse slowly lull him into a state of semi-sleep. The forest had regained its former charm and tranquility, the sunlight filtering through the branches and casting a warm, inviting glow upon the road; the faint sound of birds chirping and rustling leaves added to his serenity, and his eyelids threatened to close into a blissful sleep.

  "I'm boooored," Arthur moaned, shattering the peace. "How about a song, Henry? A cheery sonnet for the bonny lass?"

  "Sing and I will hex you," Rebecca hissed.

  "Oh come now, surely a mood so sour has to have a sweet side?" Arthur slowed his horse down to match Rebecca's, allowing Henry to take point. "You've been nothing but a grouch since we got to know you."

  "A warranted mood, I can assure you," she retorted.

  Arthur clucked his tongue. "Now now, we got off on the wrong foot. We've a long journey ahead, and the road is but a vessel for our friendship." He flashed a smile at her. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. Arthur Braddock, of House Braddock."

  "I know. You've said that at least a dozen times before we left."

  "And Henry here," Arthur continued, waving gesturing to the squire, "of House Gallant, and the youngest landowner in the Regency!"

  Rebecca raised her brow. "You own land? As a squire?"

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  Henry shrugged. "Technically, it belongs to Sir Paulus at the moment. He simply named me the steward of the Gallant estate, that's all."

  "Technically or not, young Henry here is a landowner nonetheless," Arthur harped. "And seeing as I'm his proctor, I suppose that makes me... the master of a landowner?"

  "Delightful," Henry sighed.

  "Wait, you're the proctor?" Rebecca asked, giving Arthur a puzzled look.

  Arthur's smile wavered. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Oh. It's just... I figured it was the other way around. Seeing as Henry seems to be the more mature one of you two."

  Henry and Arthur stopped momentarily as Rebecca rode on, Arthur stammering and spluttering.

  Henry smiled and nudged Arthur. "She has a point."

  "Shut it," Arthur snapped. "I'm still your proctor, Lord Three-to-One."

  "Keep up now," Rebecca called back. "The ward only goes so far."

  The midday sun, once a blazing chariot that raced to its noon position, now felt as if it inched along at an unbearably slow pace as the trio's ride through the forest continued. Arthur's terrible singing felt like knives on Henry's ears, as the squire clenched his teeth in a futile effort to steel himself against the howling.

  "Didn't you say you can hex him before?" he cried to Rebecca, wincing as Arthur tried to hit a high note. "Now would be a very good time to do so!"

  "I was bluffing!" Rebecca grimaced. "I don't know how to hex a person yet!"

  "Well, what about that bubble you had with Master Nezwick this morning? Can't you conjure something like that?!"

  "I can't! That's an advanced spell he's yet to teach me!" Rebecca clapped her hands over her ears as Arthur began belting out yet another stanza. "I can only hex objects! And small ones, at that!"

  Their efforts to silence Arthur or garner his attention had all been in vain; the knight-apprentice had either ignored them or couldn't hear them above his "singing," a debilitating sound that sent birds scrambling from their nests and silenced even the hardiest cicada.

  His voice pierced the forest air like a cursed lance; his pitch was completely wrong, his key as stable as a drunkard staggering home from the bar:

  "Here's a health to the company,

  and one to my lass!

  Let us drink and be meeeerry,

  all out of one glass!

  Let us drink and be meeerry,

  all grief to refrain!

  For we may or might never

  all meet here again!"

  "How small?!" Henry demanded, desperate. "Sorry, how large can it be?!"

  "No larger than a stone, or a fruit!"

  An idea popped into Henry's head. "Perfect! I've just the thing!"

  He dug into his saddlebag, rummaging about for a moment; Arthur continued his tune, much to Rebecca's dismay. After digging around for a minute, Henry's hand emerged from his saddlebag, holding an apple.

  "Can you hex this with a silencing spell or something?"

  Rebecca nodded, her eyes widening. "Got it!" She held her hand out and chanted a quick incantation, a faint trail of magic burrowing into the apple.

  Once it was done, Henry cocked his arm back and slugged the apple straight at Arthur's head. The fruit sailed through the air for a brief second, arcing towards the knight-apprentice for a graceful moment before smacking into his head with a glorious thwack.

  Arthur stiffened for a moment before going limp, slumping forward in his saddle and against his horse's neck.

  Rebecca's mouth hung open. "What-what was that?! I thought you were going to make him eat it!"

  "I was!" Henry cried. "I thought he'd see and catch it, like he always says he does!"

  "Well obviously, he didn't!" Rebecca rode forth and checked on him. "I certainly hope you didn't kill hi-"

  Arthur emitted a loud groan, as if in response.

  "... never mind." Rebecca sighed. "It seems I was wrong. You aren't as mature as I had thought."

  "Listen!" Henry interjected. "Do you hear that?"

  Rebecca frowned for a second, before a smile spread across her face.

  Silence. Blissful silence.

  They rode together in beautiful, elated silence for the better part of an hour until the sounds of the forest gradually returned.