"That was quite vague. Give us a proper timeline," Elijah demanded.

Ian had to pick between pleasing the men around him or upsetting Scarlet. He was more concerned about the way Scarlet might try to kill him if he went against what he promised her. He was yet to give away that they were already engaged so he was safe when it came to Scarlet.

"In the future," Ian answered. He was thankful to be holding a gun to protect himself.

Leonard sighed while Tyrion shook his head.

"A day. Tell us when we can expect good news and if you say the future again, I will bury you where you stand," Elijah threatened Ian. "It is quite obvious that you two share the same room. I will not have you get my granddaughter pregnant without marrying her first. Respect her to do it the right way. I won’t have it happen again."

"Did you just glance my way?" Tyrion asked, hoping he was mistaken. "I had a small wedding with your sister. Didn’t you move fast with Rue? Don’t look at me."

"I did not," Elijah replied. "But while we are speaking of you, I would also like that Ian does not take my granddaughter and take her far away from where her family is. Like some people here did."

"How are you still upset by that? Penelope is the one who wanted to explore the kingdom and your mother was fine with it-"

"Do not mention my mother,’ Elijah interjected, his focus going to Tyrion now.

Ian didn’t know what the two were arguing about but he enjoyed that the heat was off of him and onto someone else. While it appeared at first that Elijah and Tyrion did not like each other, Ian now noticed how close the two were. It was just awkward for a friend to marry your sister.

Tyrion ignored Elijah’s wish and said, "Your mother liked me and your father, well. He never said it but I have a feeling that he liked me. I gave up being a king to be with your sister since she didn’t like the palace. Isn’t that enough to make me a good match for her? Forget it, I am on his side," he pointed at Ian.

"No one cares what side you are on. You’re a Castro," Elijah said, not caring whose side Tyrion was on. "This is Collins business which is why you were not invited along."

"My wife was once a Collins and she’s your sister so I think I have good reason to be involved in this. And I care for Scarlet like one of my own. Why don’t you just leave the two to decide when they are going to get married? You know that he plans to wed her. He wouldn’t be so foolish to play with our little Scarlet," said Tyrion.

Elijah wanted to hit Tyrion. "Our little Scarlet? She is my granddaughter, you fool. The only person I will allow you to have is my sister."

Tyrion laughed as it was funny that even many years later Elijah thought he allowed anyone to have Penelope. Since when did Penelope ever listen to what her brother wanted? "I cannot wait for Lily to show up so you can go hide somewhere."

"You’re still the same annoying bastard that I remember. Ian, we are not done with you yet," Elijah said, planning to ignore Tyrion for now. He had bigger fish to fry. "Fine. Let us say you would marry her in the future but how far or close is that?"

"Close if Scarlet wants to marry now and far if she says no," Ian answered. "Are we not here to hunt?"

"We are and you are the prey right now. Why don’t you run a little so we can chase you? I want to test if I am still good with a spear," said Ryan.

"You know, I am going to tell Scarlet how you are now," Ian said, having no shame in running to Scarlet.

"You are going to tell on me?" Ryan chuckled, amused that Ian was not going to deal with this by himself. "Too afraid to fight me?"

"No. It’s just better to watch you run from Scarlet. You are afraid of her and I know the tales of why you are. It doesn’t matter that you are taller than she is. Should we test if you are no longer scared of her?" Ian challenged Ryan. "She is the one most eager for a hunt."

"Everyone needs to stop going off course for why we are here. Wait, is that my wife?" Elijah questioned and then went quiet to listen again. "It is. The women are looking for us."

Ian smiled as his little knight had to be on her way. He enjoyed that Ryan was no longer confident. Thanks to Scarlet once being taller than Ryan and treating him like a little brother, she left a mark on Ryan that she would always be the one to bully him.

"Rue," Elijah changed his voice for his wife.

"You are all having fun while we were left to sit around and drink that tea. I want to have fun," Rue said, taking the spear from Ryan’s hands. "Any volunteers to try dodging my spear? I am a little rusty with it so I probably won’t hurt you."

"As fun as that sounds, Ian and I will sit that game out," Scarlet said as she walked to Ian to inspect him. "Good to see that you are as I left you."

Ian leaned close to Scarlet, ignoring the look he received from the men around him. "Ryan was against me with his questions."

Scarlet looked at Ryan who smiled like he was innocent. She would return this to him tenfold when it was his time to introduce someone to the family. Scarlet smiled but it wasn’t like Ryan’s smile. It gave away that he had something to worry about in the future.

"I hope none of you questioned Ian so much that he would run from my side. I won’t forgive any of you if that were to happen," Scarlet said, staring down her grandfather and father.

Tyrion raised his hand and said, "I am on Ian’s side. I know what it is like to marry into this family and it is dreadful."

"Dreadful? You received a warm welcome. Our families have been close for years so don’t speak nonsense now. Ian will get the same warm welcome. I want to join you for a walk," Penelope said, holding onto Tyrion’s hand so they could walk close.

Tyrion didn’t think the same. Penelope wasn’t in his shoes to know just how cold the welcome was. While her mother was happy for them, her father threatened him in silence like he wasn’t almost the king of this kingdom. Years later those threats seemed to live on with Elijah around.

Scarlet couldn’t be more grateful for the women helping to distract the men so she could be alone with Ian.

"I didn’t give it away," Ian said before she could ask.

"I know that you didn’t. A few of them are not good at keeping secrets and by now my grandfather would have whispered it to my grandmother. I can’t leave you out of my sight as you might make the mistake of revealing it. Or would it be better to sew your lips?" Scarlet wondered.

"That wouldn’t be good for you later on. Unfortunately, you must leave my side since something was brewing while we were away. Am I the only one who noticed it?" Ian asked, pointing to Alana and Dawson who kept sneaking glances at each other. "I should be rewarded for helping to make that happen."

Scarlet hadn’t noticed how strange the two were acting until now. "You did nothing and if you want a reward, get it from them. How close have they gotten?"

"Think of how close we got fast," Ian replied. "Do you want my gun to hunt? They have not caught anything so no one is ahead of you."

Scarlet was stuck between taking the gun from Ian or going to Alana to hear what happened while she was away. "I will speak to her when we return inside. I don’t want to lose in hunting, so you must do well to help me earn points. The official hunt is tomorrow. You need to get familiar with the hunt."

"What animals are you hunting?" Ian asked, handing the gun over to Scarlet.

"A few birds. There will be clay targets put up with little flags inside of them. That is where you get the points," Scarlet answered.

Ian did not see the fun in this as there were a few people who seemed eager to shoot someone else. "And how do I guarantee that I am not shot when you are all rushing to break targets?"

"It is simple. You do not run ahead of the group. I am counting on you to help me protect my title. The best way to silence their questioning is to beat them," said Scarlet.