The sound of the manor collapsing covers my escape from the life I knew into the unknown.

  I sent the soldiers northwest, and the temple is south of here, so I start walking northeast and search my brain for useful knowledge of the area.

  The northern border is guarded by General Wang. The White Mountain pass is the easiest place to come over the mountains, but not the only way. The year I finally move to the capital, northern soldiers swarm the border, killing the crown prince and taking several northern cities before they get pushed back. The third prince's late heroics give him importance and the opportunity to fight with the second prince for the throne. I was twenty-one then. The uncertainty and fighting forced the Song family to bring me to the main house.

  If I can find one of the general's scout groups, can I find a way to save the crown prince before then? If he never dies, and the third prince stays weak, unable to abuse his influence...

  Rather than finding them, they find me when I pass out from exhaustion and dehydration. "She's awake."

  I blink several times before I am sure that it is just dark. "Where am I?"

  "Leave the questioning to us, little miss. Where do you think you are?"

  The sky is cloudy, but even if there were stars, it wouldn't help me. "North of hopeless and east of despair. Somewhere between lucky and useful."

  "I didn't know those could be found on a map." The voice is amused, and familiar.

  "Cou-Commander Song?" I sit up and try to make out the scouts, but they have no light and the night is dark. Scout squads generally travel in groups of five, but I can only tell that there is more than one.

  I can hear insects in the silence. Is it not him?

  A small woosh is the only warning I get before fire bursts to life before me in the form of a torch. "Ae, Song Zhiyuan!" I complain, covering my eyes. "You haven't learned manners yet?" It makes sense, though. If I am seventeen, he must be nineteen or twenty-one. I peek through my hands. He looks so young, so energetic.

  Like someone who doesn't hate me, yet.

  "How do you know my name? Why did you call me 'Commander'?"

  Half of my letters were from him--even after I moved houses, he still wrote once a month. He was the only one who kept replying until I moved to the main house.

  "Haven't you been in the army five or six years?" When did he get promoted to commander? "Don't tell me, you're still just a captain?" I shake my head, "You bring shame on the family."

  "Someone you know?" One of the scouts has the face of an angel and a voice of silk.

  "What do you know of my family?" Captain Song holds the torch close. "I've never seen you in my life."

  Ah!

  That makes sense, though. We won't meet for four years. No one (who matters) in the family saw me before I moved to the capital. It would have been dangerous, they said, when they had claimed that I was lost.

  I look at the other scouts. For the late hour, they seem wide awake. Their uniforms are unmarked dark green cloth, comfortable for sleep yet functional for their daily tasks. If Song Zhiyuan's letters can be believed, they are the spies of the army. They watch the borders, but they also carry information and secrets.

  Seeing unmasked scouts...isn't that a death sentence?

  So much for my new life. If my cousin doesn't recognize me, it'll be no life for me. "I saw your portrait in a letter."

  "Song Huali!" His expression changes instantly, his grip on my arm softening. He passes the torch to another scout and helps me to sit up. "What happened? You reek of smoke."

  That's a relief. Song Zhiyuan still likes me, he won't let me be sentenced to death. "They looked like bandits...The manor burned." He can make his own conclusions.

  "And Song Huali? Where is she now?"

  Oh. Oh? I feel my heart pounding in my ribs. Is it worth the risk? Can I be close enough to protect, without being me? "She went to shelter at the temple." My voice is breathless from nerves.

  Song Zhiyuan disappears into the dark, and I hear another scout convincing him not to stay and offering to go himself. As long as he can return before their general checks on them, it won't be a problem. They're expecting a visit, but the temple is not far.

  The beautiful man offers me water to drink and some flatbread to eat. "You got really lucky." He manages to sound and look impressed, but the glimmer in his eyes betrays other thoughts.

  Not just a pretty face, then. "I was trying to go to the fort for help." They'll stay suspicious of me until the scout confirms my story, though. By now third brother will have woke and questioned everyone at the temple...Will Mimi have confessed? This was the first time we met properly, when he rescued me. Then, we buried Mimi together. This time, will he believe that she is Song Huali, if she pretends to be? She might, if she thinks I am safe and will come back soon.

  The scouts offer me a rough, round blanket-sack to rest in while they take turns keeping watch. Close to dawn, one runs into their camp in a panic. "The commander! Commander Meng is nearly here! What do we do?"

  The missing scout is technically a deserter, his group equally culpable.

  In the growing light, I can see all four of them. Besides my cousin, there's a tall, rough looking youth, the beautiful one, and an emotionless girl.

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  "Does your commander know all your faces?"

  The beautiful one smiles, but his reply is cut off by the girl. "Of course not."

  "Perfect. Throw me an extra uniform--he'll never notice." They all look at me suspiciously. "What? I feel responsible. If I hadn't gotten confused going to the fort, you wouldn't be missing a scout."

  "Right, but, no offense, you're a girl."

  "Except for farm boy here," I point at the pretty boy and the stoic girl, "will he notice one more?"

  Pretty face tries to explain that I look way too young to be a scout, but that's just the dirt and the state of my hair. I would look older if I weren't falling apart.

  Except that I am seventeen. I forgot. Still, I am old enough to be a scout. My cousin joined at fifteen.

  "No time." Zhiyuan throws me a shirt and pants from the missing scout's pack. "Stay behind us and don't talk." They turn their backs to let me change. "We line up, we salute, we stand easy." They show each stance as he speaks. "If he asks, your name is Zhang."

  "Xiao Zhang," the farm boy adds. Considering how well the uniform fits, the name is not surprising.

  Commander Meng has been deploying scout squads here for years, although court officials would mock him and call it a waste of resources. Where were these scouts when the crown prince's life was in danger? Is that why they were disbanded after the war?

  Meng looks us over a moment before giving the at ease command and asking for their report. Then his eyes notice the number of horses, which is the kind of missed detail that is keeping cousin Song stuck at captain.

  I step forward and salute again. "Commander, if I may?"

  Song Zhiyuan's alarmed glare proves he still hasn't thought of the missing horse.

  "I would like to join your scouts."

  "You seem to have joined already."

  Too late to undo the past. "Not at all. My own clothes passed through fire and were unwearable. These brothers were kind to offer me a temporary replacement."

  I am saved further comment by the return of Xiao Zhang. The temple must be quite close. He ties his horse to a tree and joins our line with a calm salute.

  Commander Meng gestures for us all to sit down. "Skip to the explanation that makes me least angry."

  "Xiao Zhang, report." Captain Song tries to speak calmly, but the tremor is there. It's weird to see him so young, so uncertain.

  "A manor near the water temple burned to the ground last night. Song Zhilan saw evidence of bandits in the wreckage. The household happened to be visiting the temple, so it seems no one was hurt." He nods to cousin Song, whose relief gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. And Mimi lied for me! God bless that girl and her love of finery.

  "I'm still angry."

  The feeling is quickly destroyed by an intrusive memory of familial betrayal. I'm still angry, too. It's only been a week since I was framed, imprisoned, abandoned, murdered...

  I should've slept more.

  Xiao Zhang continues his report. "They rode northwest from there, on army horses."

  That takes cousin Song's worry and doubles it. "Army?" He shoots me a look of questions and confusion before remembering his commander and trying to smooth his expression.

  "How many?" Commander Meng's tone is also altered with greater concerns than one extra scout.

  "Six horses."

  Commander Meng and Captain Song debate reasons for such an attack and what should be done about it.

  It would be better if we didn't chase after the dowager queen's henchmen, especially if they lead to the third prince. What else happened that summer? I spent it in bed, recovering from being poisoned.

  "New recruit."

  The pretty one waves a hand in my face to get my attention and directs me to Commander Meng, who watches me with shrewd eyes.

  "Commander?"

  "You came to bring that news and seek assistance, and now you want to be a scout?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Why?"

  Why? Because this is where I ended up, after running from the life I had. "It's safe." Safer than being an unwanted member of a great family. Safer than being my fake brother's fake sister. Safer than being the third prince's first love.

  They comment on the dangers of war, but I don't believe it. "The northerners are in mourning, so they won't attack before winter. And this winter is early and long..." I know I've made a mistake from the way the commander's eyes narrow. "If it is, then the mountains will be impassable until summer."

  Seeing that I don't understand his continued suspicion, Commander Meng gives a hint: "Mourning."

  "Yeah, for the prince..." Wasn't it common knowledge? I peek at the other scouts, but they're all facing straight ahead. From what I remember, even servants were talking about it...

  After--after I met my cousin, after he moved me to a little town south of the temple. When did the northern prince die?

  "What's your name?"

  "Hua..." I need a new fake name. "Jun."

  "If you can keep up with Captain Song by winter, you can stay."

  "Eh? She can stay? Doesn't she seem too...delicate?" The pretty boy puts his hand under my face.

  "With you here, no one will notice," the farm boy tells him.

  Ice girl looks like she might be amused, deep down inside.

  "You'll have to train hard," Cousin Song tells me.

  Winter will come early this year--but scouts are just runners and trackers, right?

  Wrong. Running, riding, and examining trails are just what Meng's scouts were known for after they disbanded. From day one, my training includes archery, knife throwing, and sword fighting. "If you pass this stage, you get to learn to do it all mounted."

  "Good thing I have four years before the war."

  Song Zhiyuan's eyes betray the shock and confusion that he cannot express in words.

  "Just kidding?" I try to laugh. "Pass me an arrow?"

  When he picks up a bow, puts an arrow into place, throws his shoulders back and pulls on the string, it looks natural and easy. "Before the war..." he mutters, releasing the arrow into the forest. A yell of surprise precedes Scout Min, who springs from the trees, broken arrow in hand, to tackle his captain.

  While they wrestle, it takes me several times to 'notch' an arrow, and several more to draw the string back. Xiao Zhang corrects my form as he passes, unfazed by the fight. "Is it normal?"

  "No, don't raise your shoulder..." I follow his instructions as best I can, having only ever watched one archery competition.

  "Why do I need these skills?" Actually, I can think of a few people who might improve from an arrow hole...

  Xiao Zhang fixes my posture, unbothered that I am female. "What do you know about scouts?"

  That they existed; that Zhiyuan was one. That they were officially soldiers, actually spies. That they failed to prevent the crown prince's assassination, and that was the end of them. "As much as anyone."

  "Should be 'nothing'. We train for speed and efficiency. How quietly can you infiltrate an enemy camp, and how quickly can you end a life?"

  I'm fairly confident Song Zhiyuan didn't get to use those kinds of skills until he switched to the regular army. He complained of boredom, not bloodshed. My first arrow hits the dirt, failing to even reach the edge of their small camp. "What happens in winter, that I need to be trained by then?"

  Xiao Zhang smiles brightly. "Ice."