A/N: Well, my third chapter in the story. Like I said before, the story gets way more interesting when they go ogre hunting, which is coming up in the next chapter or the following one.

Here's a better summary than the one given:

"There's something wrong…something isn't right…" Jonas knew there had been something; that's why he sent his best apprentice, a girl orphan named Leigh, to protect the future king of Kyrria, Prince Jerrold. When both meet, any chances that they might get along vanish immediately. Both are just two different, both just too stubborn to back down from a fight. But, when their lives and Kyrria's fate are at stake, both have to learn to cooperate. With traitors, lies, deception, who knows who to trust, when everyone seems to have a something to hide? Who can the pair trust? Because if they fail, all Kyrria will fall…

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ella Enchanted.

-Chapter 3-

When they had gotten home, Jonas had told Leigh to go to bed. But he had gone straight to the kitchen, to think. And then, at dawn, he had left, leaving a confused apprentice behind. She had heard him leave and had wondered why he did. He never did, usually, without telling her. And he had looked unusually…grim. Grave.

Leigh ate breakfast in silence, wondering when he would return. After she had finished, she went upstairs. But before reaching her door, she stopped before Jonas's. The only room in the whole house that she had never been inside. Ever since a small age, Jonas had steered her clear of his room. But he wasn't home now…he wouldn't find out if she didn't tell him…and her curiosity was taking over her so she gently pushed open the door, peaking inside. Seeing as there was no trap, she opened the door fully and entered inside.

Disappointment hit her. The room was simple enough. It had a bed, a table, two windows…pretty much like her room. His walls were lined with medals and rewards he had received. Leigh began walking across the room but then stopped short. The floor beneath her sounded…hollow. She bent down and knocked on it with her knuckles. Yes, definitely hollow. Meaning that there was something beneath this wooden tile…

Leigh gently opened it and was met with dust. After coughing, Leigh blinked and peered inside. Covered in dust, was a painted picture. Leigh picked it up gently and cleaned off the dust. Beneath the dust was a threesome, all of them grinning. Leigh immediately recognized one of the men, on the far left, as Jonas, only about twenty years young. Her eyes traveled to the man on his left, the man in the center of the threesome, and was surprised to see familiar blue eyes staring back at her. Her father. She studied her father's young face. He was handsome, that was clear. His face was full of laughter and humor and a sparkle was in his eyes. He had a handsome, boy-ish smile that would melt girls' hearts.

Leigh studied her father's face for a little longer before looking at the man next to her father's. This face was unfamiliar, however, Leigh saw black eyes that seemed slightly amused yet this man's face was serious and he seemed to be the uptight man of the group, the serious one. He was handsome but didn't have that charm her father seemed to have.

Leigh slowly placed the picture on the floor, next to the hole and then put her hand inside, feeling around. Her hand felt a small worn book and she brought it out. It was very old, she could tell, and it looked like a journal. She read on the cover, in fading words, her father's name. William. With excitement flooding through her, she opened the worn out journal and flipped a few pages before stopping, and she began to read.

May 4th

It seems attacks are more frequent now, now more violent. And I am sure the ogres aren't working on their own. No, someone much more powerful is behind this. Someone clever, someone who is a good sneak. I'm sure of it. And I'm sure they have a spy on our lines. How else will they know when events that are suppose to be secret occur? They seem to know every route in Kyrria also.

Jonas is worried, I can tell, even though he tries to look as if he isn't. He can feel it too – something's wrong. Ogres don't attack like this; they only attack when they need food. I am sure he thinks that someone is ordering these attacks as well.

Nathan isn't himself either. He seems more uptight then usually. It's like he's expecting an attack. I don't know, but he's been more cautious around Henry, the new recruit, a timid, jumpy man. I highly doubt, however, that he would be the spy but I suppose Nathan thinks he is.

The king and queen are worried as well. Their son – Prince Jerrold – they fear he is in danger as well as their lives. The prince is only five years old and knows nothing of the danger that everyone fears. I can tell by the letters the king and queen send that they are scared, frightened for their son, the heir's, safety. I fear for the young prince's safety as well.

Onto a lighter note, my daughter, Leigh, is doing fine, Rebecca tells me. She is the little troublemaker toddler but she is sweet. I haven't seen her in about a year; this war against the ogres has kept me away from the house I long to see. Today, Leigh turns three years old. I feel a pang of guilt as I know I missed her birthday but what can I do? The war keeps me away from the house long. I wonder how they are both doing. Is little Leigh almost ready to walk a little? Rebecca keeps me updated about whatever happens with our little Leigh, every single thing she does. And Rebecca thinks that Leigh is on the verge of saying her first word. She almost said "mama", Rebecca told me but then she burped and the word was lost. I laughed and told Rebecca perhaps she wanted her first word to be "daddy".

I have to leave now. I think we're going to leave camp now and start fighting again against the ogres. I think Jonas heard movement in the forest and we need to be prepared.

Tears were in Leigh's eyes as she read the passage about herself and her mother. So her father hadn't been able to be around long because of the ogre war. But he had wanted to come, he just couldn't. He was needed out on the battlefields; he was one of the best and had helped Kyrria win the war.

Leigh flipped to the next page, eager to read more about her father and about his soldier life.

May 14th

The days have flown by and I didn't have enough time to write. Ogres have been launching us with surprise attacks and we had to be alert and more cautious now. Jonas and his excellent hearing saved us all from death when he heard a tiny crack of a twig a misfortunate ogre stepped on before attacking us with his tribe.

Someone has betrayed us again. The king and queen, with their son, were going to travel secretly to Ayortha, away from danger. But someone told the ogres and they stopped the royal carriage, almost killing the royal family. And something else happened. A group of hooded men had appeared and had attacked as well. They had torches and were burning the carriage, which the royal family was inside, except Jonas, who had been scouting, had rescued them out of the carriage.

I was with him and had fought the hooded men. Between slashes, I demanded their names, demanded to know who they were. There was a fire in my eye that seemed to frighten my opponent because he said, "We are the Shadows, we are your deepest fear. We are the nightmares that will haunt your every move, your every time. Fear us, flee from us, or be ready to be destroyed." The other men beside him seemed furious that he had told me their name. So they immediately fled, burning a Kyrrian flag as they rode off.

The king and queen are all right and so is their son. But they are headed back to the palace. It is the safest place we can offer them for the time being now. The roads are far too dangerous now.

Nathan is more wary now, watching everyone carefully, watching for the tiniest suspicious things. Most of the men are calling him "Mister Wary," nowadays, although they never let him hear this new name. Nathan's been wary of everything. He's always checking over his shoulder, making sure no one was following us. And he seems to glare at the young boy, Henry, more often, usually making Henry shrink in fear.

Jonas is even more warier than Nathan, however. He doesn't show it, no. He always keeps his face impassive, unreadable. It's a good method but I wish he would tell me what was going through his mind then I wouldn't always be left in wondering.

We're leaving again, moving to a different campsite. The ogres, after they attack us, leave our past campsites utterly destroyed so we've been moving constantly. Jonas seems to have thought of a secret route we can use to get around, attacking the ogres with a surprise attack of our own. Let us hope this will succeed.

Leigh was now entranced and, without even thinking, she turned the page. But then she stopped herself from reading and flipped to near the end of the book. Surprisingly, the last twenty or more pages weren't full. Leigh flipped to the very last entry in the journal, which was a year after the first entry she read, and began reading, completely forgetting whose room she was in and that she wasn't supposed to be in here.

May 6th

All this time, I should've known, should've known that the spy would have to be someone that everyone would have thought they could have trusted. I should have seen the signs, the suspicious behavior. But I never expected him to betray us…never did…

I am in a hurry. I had separated from my group to go exploring. That's when I saw him. I spied and watched him converse with the ogres and a group of hooded men. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. But it was true. He was – is – their leader and has been the traitor all during the war.

I need to go to the king and queen immediately and tell them. But I'm in danger. He spotted me as I tried to get away and ordered the ogres and men to capture me, dead or alive. I managed to escape them but for how much longer, I don't know. I just know I have to end this, I have to go to someone.

Jonas will be able to help me; he knows the land as if it were the back of his palm. I only have to catch up with my group and rejoin them and we can all immediately try and get to the palace.

The only thing I fear though is what he will do now that he knows I know it is he. I think – and this is a strong think – that he will go after Rebecca and Leigh. I mustn't let them be in danger because of me. I don't know what to do, however. Should I go to the house and bring them with me or what? Rebecca knows some fighting skills; but against ogres and men? She's outnumbered. And Leigh…so young…no, I will not have her blood on my hands. I will have to go back and bring them into safety.

I

"What are you doing, Leigh?" Leigh jumped and whirled around and saw Jonas standing in the doorway, his eyes traveling from her guilty face to the floor and the journal.

Leigh said nervously, "I-I-I…well, see, I…err…"

Jonas stepped into his room, the floor groaning slightly under his feet. "My room, Leigh, is still off limits, even though you are older. Please resist any other temptations to enter my room again."

Leigh nodded. "Yes." She hesitated before asking, holding up the picture, "Is…is this you and my father?"

Jonas's eyes traveled to the painting and a brief smile crossed his face. "Yes…it was when we were younger…it was about six months before your father died and the war with the ogres ended."

Leigh pointed to the third man. "And he? Who is he?"

Jonas's eyes flickered to the man. "Nathan. A man in our unit."

Leigh looked at the man again. "What happened to him?"

"Dead. He was killed when the ogres attacked us in a surprise attack."

Leigh nodded slowly and then asked, "Who…who was the traitor my father was talking about in here?" Leigh lifted the journal. Jonas stared at the journal for a long time.

"We never found out," he said at last. "Your father was the only one who ever knew and he was killed in the carriage crash. The war ended. It seemed that the traitor was scared that your father might have informed someone and that someone would immediately tell the everyone if he attacked again so soon."

Leigh frowned. "Was…could it be possible that…that the carriage crash had been…planned? To prevent my father from telling?"

Jonas's face had a closed expression on it. "We will never know, Leigh. All we know is that a carriage was coming the other war, the wheel fell off and the carriage went slamming into your parents' carriage."

"But…wasn't my father going to go and get my mother and I? Why was my mother in there and I wasn't?" Somehow, everything wasn't fitting. After reading the journal, everything was now…not coming together.

"Your father did come and picked up your mother and you. But then it seemed he had second thoughts about it. What if he was attacked on the road? He rather not take the risk and he left you at the house, hoping that I would come to search for him and instead find you. And I did. A little after I got you, I received word that your mother and father had been killed."

"But…" Leigh still didn't – couldn't – put the pieces together. For some reason, everything seemed…wrong. Like one of the things she was hearing was a lie and the other was true. Or maybe it was all lies. Maybe none of this was true.

"Leigh, I can't explain it more simple than that. Reading your father's journal might have…confused you a bit. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that your parents were killed. Whether it was planned or not, we will never know. Now, come. Let's get out of my room and downstairs. We need to talk about your upcoming mission. And I still want to prepare you for it."

Leigh nodded and quickly stood. She left the journal and picture on the floor and exited the room. Jonas, however, paused. He went to the picture and journal and gently laid them back inside the hole that they had been before, gathering dust.

"If only you knew her, William…" Jonas muttered. "If only you could have seen how your daughter grew up…you would be proud. You always wanted a warrior. If only you could see how she is today…" He carefully placed the floor tile over the hole. "You would have been so proud…"

----------

"…if they're attacking from all sides and the group is completely trapped in a circle, what do you do?" Jonas had been drilling Leigh with questions for an hour at least, if not more.

Leigh's eyebrows came together as she frowned, thinking. "If they're attacking from all sides…with what weapons?" She asked quickly. Jonas nodded slightly, happy with her response.

"With rocks," he answered smoothly. Leigh thought more and then brightened. "The prince goes in the center of the group as the circle around him hold out their shields to block the rocks. And…and the group steadily tries to move to the group with the weakest aim…then one man…attacks that side…all the attention goes on that person – hopefully – and the rest escape. Right?"

Jonas nodded slowly. "Yes, yes…but what if there is no weak side? You cannot hold them off forever with the shields; they're bound to attack soon."

Leigh went back to pondering. "We…they…two men protect the prince as the rest launch a surprise attack, full front, at the attackers. At this distraction, the men, with the prince in between them, immediately get away."

Jonas nodded slowly again. "And if you don't get anywhere?" He asked.

Leigh grinned. "Then we do a sword-fighting duel." Jonas frowned. "No, Leigh. If one man blocks your path, you fight while moving steadily with the prince behind you, the other man also protecting the prince. You don't just immediately start dueling, abandoning the prince."

Leigh sighed but nodded, storing this information for later. "Yeah…okay…are we done? I mean, really, I am tired you know."

Jonas sighed. "Leigh, this is serious. You are protecting a monarch; could you at least be a little more serious?" Leigh sighed, completely bored. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"All right. But can we please take a break?" Jonas frowned but nodded. Leigh immediately raced out of the room and went to her room, making sure Jonas didn't have second thoughts and made her stay for another hour of drilling her with questions.

Leigh couldn't help but let her mind travel back to her father's journal, the last entry he had ever written before he was killed. Then her mind went traveling to the picture of her father's face, full of laughter. He had seemed so…so humorous, so enjoyable. Leigh was sure people must have liked her father. He had…in his writing, he had sort of a carefree manner, a energetic manner that you couldn't help admiring and wishing you had. Leigh only wished she could have met her father; wished she could have talked to him and seen that sparkle in his eyes.

Minutes flew by and Leigh found herself longing for the painting of her father. She only had one other picture of her father and mother and it was a picture of them both, standing side by side.

"Leigh? Leigh?" Jonas's voice traveled up the stairs. Wearily, Leigh called, "Yeah?"

"I meant to tell you: the royal family thinks you and the prince should get better acquainted before the mission. You are to meet the prince at the royal menagerie in about…hmm…actually, you better start going if you want to be on time."

Leigh groaned. Another day with a self-centered prince? She rather be nailed with questions about the upcoming mission for another two hours. Perhaps she could act as if she was sick…?

Jonas then called up the stairs, his voice stern, "And don't even think about pretending to be sick, Leigh!" Leigh groaned again. Jonas had the ability of knowing what a person might be thinking. Darn it.

----------

"Ah…I am guessing that your master forced you to come, seeing the look of anger on your face?" The prince said to a very annoyed Leigh, who was in her boy clothes. Trousers and a white long shirt, her traditional thing she usually wore.

Leigh shot him a look of disgust. "How did you guess?" She asked sarcastically. "Could it possibly be my cold manner, my anger? Oh, no, wait. You must be a mind-reader because you could have never guessed otherwise, could you?"

Jerrold raised an eyebrow. "Milady, do not act like it was my suggestion to meet you here. I do have other things to do that I rather much do. I still have to prepare for the ogre hunting."

Leigh glared at him. "And so do I, Your Highness. What, do you think I'm coming for pleasure? I need to prepare as well but no, I'm here conversing with you."

Jerrold frowned. "We have to end these formalities. At least, you do. I never knew that I could find a lady saying 'Your Highness' so annoying after while. Jerrold. Call me Jerrold."

Leigh blinked and her glare wavered a bit. But then it came back, full force. "I prefer 'Your Highness', if you don't mind," she said frostily. She began walking away, towards the garden that separated the birds and ogres. Jerrold, frowning, caught up to her and took hold of her arm.

Leigh's eyes slowly moved to his hand on her arm and then she looked him right into the eyes, her eyes dangerous. "Let go of me," she said softly, yet in a dangerous voice. Jerrold felt her move slightly and saw her hand move to her waist, as if wishing her sword was there.

His grip tightened on her arm. "Not until we stop this formalities. It's tiring, you know."

Leigh glared angrily at him. "What if I prefer saying 'Your Highness'? Is that a crime?"

Jerrold looked slightly angry. "Fine then. I order you as prince of Kyrria to call me Jerrold. No more formalities. You must address me informally. That is my order that I am giving you."

Leigh bit back a scream. Then, with a slight smile, she nodded. "All right."

Jerrold looked expectantly. "All right what?" He prompted.

Leigh smiled sweetly. "All right…Jerry." With that said, she immediately wrenched her hand out of his grip and stalked into the garden, the smile gone. Jerrold sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Just when you think you're getting through to her," he muttered before chasing her and catching up. "I would prefer that you call me Jerrold. I…hmm…let's say I don't really like the name Jerry."

Leigh flashed a smile. "But, Jerry," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Did you tell me you disliked formalities and wished to be called informally? And Jerrold is such a formal name and I thought it better if I followed your order to the exact words. Since, of course, you ordered me to."

Jerrold closed his eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath. Then, opening his eyes, he said, "All right. I apologize for ordering you around, abusing my power as prince against you, Lady Leigh."

The smile vanished from Leigh's face. "Your apology will be accepted if you do not call me 'Lady' and you address me informally as 'Leigh'. Nothing else but that." Leigh made sure to make her words exact so he wouldn't pull the same prank as he did to her.

Jerrold raised an eyebrow. "What if you and I both call each other only by the name the other requests?" He suggested, hoping to seek a compromise with Leigh.

Leigh thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "All right. Fine…Jerrold."

Jerrold flashed a genuine smile. "Fine…Leigh." The pair was now nearing the ogre huts, which were triple guarded now since the ogre attacks all over the land. An ogre with a scar on its cheek was glaring at the two with such hatefulness, Leigh almost took half a step back. Instead, she looked the ogre right into the eye with narrowed eyes.

The ogre stared back and then, he let out a bark of laughter, his eyes surprised. The guards were also surprise; they looked at the ogre warily, holding their weapons at ready. Jerrold moved slightly in front of Leigh and Leigh frowned, not quite understanding what the ogre was laughing about.

The ogre then said, "Ah…the daughter of Lord William, I presume?" He chuckled. "Yes, I can see your eyes match his exactly. I remember him looking right in my eyes as if it were yesterday. He had fought fiercely, your father did, girl, in the previous wars. He was the one who gave me this scar on my cheek. But now, where is he? Dead. That's where. And no one can protect Kyrria for long. We'll be out of here soon and you'll be joining your father soon. Soon, all you Kyrrians would wish you had never went against us!" He laughed again, a laugh sending chills down his spine. "Down fall Kyrria and up rise the new king!"

Leigh's eyes were now narrowed. "You're speaking nonsense," Leigh said flatly. "Kyrria will never fall under you; you and your ogre friends are far too stupid to act alone. Tell me, who is in charge of all these attacks?" Leigh knew that ogres weren't really stupid; they really were actually quite clever.

The ogre laughed again. "Like I would tell you," he sneered. "Right. And my master is back, I can tell. I have heard of the ogre attacks and of the hooded men. They have returned. And my master will soon rule all over Kyrria and we, the ogres, will be his right hand men because we were faithful to him and we will help him to achieve his goal." He then stared at Leigh. "Your father could have joined us, you know. He wouldn't have been dead if he hadn't gone off poking his nose in business that wasn't for him to know. He could have had a bit of power. But he decided to be the good guy. And look where he is now, girl. Dead. Are you proud of him? Are you proud he died rather than join the most powerful man alive?"

Leigh opened her mouth to respond but Jerrold held out his sword threateningly to the ogre. "Leave the lady alone, ogre," he growled. "She has done nothing to you."

The ogre laughed, although it was now hollow. "She is the daughter of the man who destroyed us years ago. And since her father is no longer alive, she will pay for his mistakes. She will suffer greatly."

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Jerrold bellowed, his eyes flashing. "Don't – you – dare – lay – one – finger – on – her," he spat out threateningly. "Not – one."

The ogre glared at the young prince. "Not I, Your Majesty," he said in a mock polite voice. "Oh, no. My master would rather have a word with the girl. I should say he never liked William very much and will have the pleasure of torturing his one and only daughter."

Jerrold looked dangerous; far beyond angry. "You tell your master not to hurt her," Jerrold said in a soft but dangerous voice. "You tell him that."

The ogre laughed. "Ha! But Your Majesty, how can I deliver such a message when I am confined here? Besides, the master won't care what I say; he'll still want revenge. Her father almost sold him out and would have too if he made it to the palace."

At this point, the guards advanced on the ogre, weapons out. The ogre growled at them and then he turned away. But then he turned quickly back around and said, looking straight into Leigh's eyes, "Don't worry, girl. If the master is in a hurry, he'll kill you quickly; no pain." He smirked. "I hope you like dark and shadowy places, girl. Because you'll be spending a long time in them." Then he disappeared into the shadows.

Jerrold began steering Leigh away from the huts. "Come on, come on," he muttered, not looking at her. Leigh followed, a little stunned at Jerrold for threatening the ogre because it had threatened that his master would have revenge on her.

When they were a far away from the huts, Leigh decided to speak. "How come you were so…protective back there?"

Jerrold didn't look at her; instead, he responded to the ground. "The ogres cannot go threatening people like that. If we allow them to continue, they will think that we are weak and might try and overthrow the security. I rather not have an ogre attack within the grounds of the palace, now will you?"

Leigh nodded. "Well…thanks anyway…" she muttered. Jerrold glanced up and into her face for the first time. "I mean…thanks for bellowing at the ogre and…intimating it, I guess…"

Jerrold nodded slowly. "Your welcome…Leigh." There was silence before he said, in a somewhat awe voice, "Did we just have a civil conversation there?"

Leigh laughed. "Yes, I think we did."

The pair, after laughing, then began making their way along the path. Suddenly, Leigh spotted a gnome. She always wanted to meet a future seeing one to tell her of her future but never did. She quickened her pace and managed to catch up the gnome.

"Hello," she said politely. The gnome indicated his head in recognition. "Hello, lady," he said in a quiet voice. He spotted the prince and bowed. "Hello, Your Majesty. It is an honor to see the both of you."

Jerrold nodded. "A pleasure meeting you today too, zhulpH." Leigh raised an eyebrow, surprised that he knew the gnome.

ZhulpH nodded his head and then turned to Leigh. "I can see in your eyes that you want to know if I can read futures?"

Leigh turned red in embarrassment. "Err…yes…I was kind of wondering…"

ZhulpH nodded. "It is all right, lady. The prince wanted me to as well. I remember when he was eight and he spotted me. He came charging at me and couldn't stop himself. Pushed me over and scared me to bits, he did!"

Leigh burst out laughing, picturing a young Jerrold running to a startled gnome and knocking him over. ZhulpH smile kindly. "Would the lady kindly hold out her palm?" Leigh did so and zhulpH began studying her palm, looking intent. "Your palm…I will not lie, lady…this palm is…hmm…it is quite dangerous what is ahead of you, lady. Danger…terrible danger, beyond what you can imagine…a traitor…and…a choice…a choice that could…I do not know the details, lady, but the choice is terrible, either way…I know it will hurt, your choice will…you will be torn about it, not knowing what to do. Self-happiness or…or someone else's happiness, I believe. Yes…I think so…the details…they are…quite confusing…" He then looked Leigh in the eyes. "A quest, lady, you have before you that you must complete, you must accomplish at all cost. Your life and many others depend on it. And…you must not fail." He looked away and then, letting go of her hand, shuffled away.

Leigh stared after the gnome, looking confused. Then, trying to make the situation lighter, she said in a light voice, "Well. First a threat and now a grim future. What next, an attack?"

Jerrold was frowning after the gnome. "Leigh…this has to be taken seriously… zhulpH is never wrong in his predications…never…he is one of the most trusted gnomes to ask for him to see your future, actually. No…you better be careful, Leigh. The way he said it…it was like…like something terrible is coming. Something worse than Kyrria has ever seen before."

Both looked at each other, now both grave and wondering what could be so terrible. Up above, birds were scattering away quickly, fluttering their wings anxiously.

A/N: Yes, the gnome is the toddler from Ella Enchanted, just older. He had to grow sometime! LOL. Oh and for those who read Fairy Tales Just Aren't for Me, How to tell you I love you, and this one, go to my profile for information on when they'll be updated. And Fairy Tales Just Aren't for Me will be updated today or sometime this weekened!

Please review!