The sound of an arrow hit a tree. He had been found. Deep in the night hidden in darkness they were still able to find him. It was that damned mage, he could see everything in the darkness. Years had passed and still they hunted him for failing to defend the princess. Someone who had been held so high in respect to defend the princess was now considered scum of the earth. The kings ear bent to a man that had probably aided in her murder was leading the attack. But there was no proof, he couldn't bend the Kings ear back in his favour.

More arrows would follow if he didn't run. As he ran he could hear the hounds that hunted him. The yelling of the men and the galloping of horses growing closer. He had been lucky so many times to escape their hunt but this time it was seeming hopeless. Out of no where came a root and it tripped him, leaving him falling face first into the snow. The snow was soft but even now it didn't absorb the pain of the fall. Though he had plenty worse happen with many close calls, and it seemed now his luck hadn't given up on him yet. A hand grabbed the back of his his heavy cloak and yanked him down under the tree that had just tripped him, or maybe it had been a foot.

When he recovered and could see who was looking at him he saw a dirty faced woman. Her eyes were icy blue and her hair seemed to be brown, it was hard to tell. She was dirty and smelled of coal. She smiled at him though and rubbed her thumb on his forehead, her hand coming away smudged with blood, his blood. Then she put a finger to her lips and pulled him deeper under the tree. It was warm under here, he could feel straw under him. There was a dim light as well letting him see her before she turned and turned off the light. Her hand held his arm, seeming to let him know she was still there. Then he could hear the thundering of hooves and hounds running past. Before long the sound faded away into nothing, they had passed by and not noticed them hidden under the tree.

Hal waited a few more moments before he dared to speak. "Thank you, they would've had me for sure if not for you." He tried to sit up a little, but stopped as soon as the pressure inside his skull increased with the action. It seemed he bumped his head harder than he had imagined. With a strained grunt he lowered himself again, to ease the pain. It was starting to get harder to keep his eyes open and for a moment there he thought his vision was swimming.
"Can I ask your name?" His dry throat disfiguring the sound into a dry rasp, barely louder than a whisper. The bass making it sound like someone was grounding boulders together.

"Kat," She whispered as well and moved to keep him from hitting his head. "You should rest for a moment, but please try to focus you hit your head." She looked him in the eyes and leaned in close. But it wasn't because she was trying to get close, it was rather cramped in here. "Look at me and talk to me ok?" He could see her better in the dim light now. She was young, at least by the look of her face. Her body said a fully grown woman but her face was still young. It was hard to judge her age. "Once the world stops spinning we will go but not until then." She put a hand on his shoulder, almost to comfort him. Then she pushed herself back to a sit so she huddled in the small space there was and watched him. "What's your name? Why are the kings men after you? Keep talking to me." She tilted her head as she spoke trying to get more comfortable.

They were alone but moving right now was probably a bad idea. A rain was starting to pick up but that would help hide them even more from anyone trying to find them and the men would then want to return to the palace not be out in their armor to rust.

After a few moments consideration Hal decided not to lie to the girl. "My name is Hal, I used to be the princess' personal protector..." Hal's voice trailed off a little as the memories of another lifetime flooded back to him. "I failed in my duties and got blamed for delivering the killing blow myself." Even though it had been a few years in the past, almost like it was something that happened to someone else.
"I came down here because there was a lead as to who the actual killer was, only to find the hunting party waiting for me." He gave another grunt as he tried to sit up again. Laying down made him feel nauseous at the moment.

Kat smiled at him as he spoke. "You're an idiot then." Then she rolled her eyes as he gave a grunt. She pushed her hair from her face then moved to help him get comfortable. "So you've been framed in other words. Though I'm not sure if I believe you." She stared at him accusingly, then suddenly shrugged. "Not like the royal family cares about a peasant like me, so what do I care? In fact you probably did us all a favour. She would have ended up just as twisted as the magicians that move the king like a puppet. If you've been gone for a bit you probably don't know but since the princess died all of her knights were slaughtered. Suppose that would make you the only one that lived. I always wondered if maybe one of you killed her to save her." She sat next to him now so he could lean against her. "She was supposed to be kind hearted. But I don't even remember it. No sense in dwelling on the past any ways."

"You plan on staying or do I have to go back to the boss empty handed?" She grinned, not giving him a chance to respond to her, "Oh yes I was sent here on purpose. Most people tend to make noise when someone like you comes around. Who knows maybe my boss knows who killed her or can help you figure it out." He could feel her fidgeting as he rested against her. Then she kicked out her legs and leaned back, closing her eyes. "Let me know when you're head stops spinning and we'll go out. There's a farm house not far that we can spend the night at. Then from there it's about a half days walk to our destination."

Did she really call him an idiot? Well, it shouldn't surprise him. Hal gave a grunt of his own when she moved him, not because of any pain, but because it somehow felt uncomfortably comfortable. He fell into silence at her viper speech about how the princess would have been ruined by the court had she still lived, but Hal kept his own opinions to himself, he had been there after all. Part of his job had been to educate her as well as keep her out of harm's way. Falling into his usual bar room silence he listened to the wind and the rain for a while, his thoughts imprisoned in his skull.

The next thing Kat spoke off made his heart jump however. It made Hal hopeful that his ordeal to find this place had not been completely for naught. "You mean to say this wasn't a chance encounter after all?" How stupid that sounded when spoken out loud. After that he spend some more time churning on his thoughts about how things had ended this badly, not just for him, but everyone else who had been killed or scattered as well. They had been such a tight group of 'heroes', although even now the sound of it sounded bitter.

The rain had stopped a little while back and Hal was done with the silence for now. It was time to get up and move on again. He gently nudged the girl a couple of times to wake her up. "We move." He said as he got up and out of the shelter. Staying as low as he could.

Kat hadn't realized she had dozed off when he spoke. She startled but forced herself to stay quiet. It wasn't like her to let her guard down so much. She crawled out behind him, slinking along the ground. Not wanting to use very many words she gently grabbed his arm and pointed in the direction she wanted to go. At least he knew how to move quietly, she thought to herself. She had had much worse assignments before. They were able to move quietly together, patience was proving to be a virtue though. There were patrols still about, the hunt for him hadn't ended yet. But if either of them were to be seen,they would both surely be hung. Kat was no less a traitor by their standards than he was.

They came to the opening of a field, of course that was a downfall to a farm house, most of the tree were often cleared away. There didn't seem to be any patrols though. Kat frowned as they sat hidden in the bushes just before the clearing. "I'd be happier if we had seen someone poking about, at least we'd know where they were right now." She whispered, having to lean into his ear so he could hear her. Her eyes moved over the land in front of them. There had to be someone near by, there always was someone, but if they were friend or foe she wasn't sure. Of course there was really only one way to find out, but she really didn't like taking that chance. "Thoughts?" She asked out of curiosity.

Hal had been scanning the tree lines as much as the field, there really wasn't much out there to use as concealment. When Kat asked him for thoughts on the matter he simply shrugged. "Best wait for nightfall and crawl I guess." There really wasn't another plan. The ground would be soggy from the rainfall, if they were lucky they could use it to mask their tracks as well.

.After a night of crawling through dirt and mud they finally reached the farm. Hal had to pull Kat out of the sucking mud twice and she in turn had to pull him out a couple of more times. Looking back on the girl, her face and clothes covered in as much mud as he was, He gestured for her to go up to the house first. Seeing as he wouldn't know at all who was friendly and who not.

Kat frowned, "Just wait here.." She whispered motioning to him. "I'll wave if it's safe." She moved out of hiding and into the open field. She let her hands brush along the high grass as she moved like she really did belong there. The best way of not raising suspicion was always looking like you were supposed to be there. But everything was still so quiet. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had been trusted with such an important task of bringing this man back to camp with her. She was good, she got that, but this was more than just moving supplies and killing a few guards, not this was much more. It was a living a breathing, man, with mage's and a great deal more after him.

She finally reached the door and sort of stared for a moment. Then she carefully pushed open the side door of the barn and looked inside. She could see the blinking eyes of two large horses. A cat stared at her as well. The barn smelled clean for a barn. She turned around slowly and waved at Hal with a nod. She waited for him to join her. Once he had cleared the field and joined her in the barn she locked the barn door from inside and climbed up to the loft. As promised to her, food and water was waiting for them. There was even a troff of water with hot rocks in the bottom waiting for them. Smiling she went over to the water feeling it. Thankfully it was still warm. "Eat, and get clean." She whispered to him. Then she stripped down to nothing, she wasn't timid about her body. Then she climbed into the water and went to work scrubbing away with a small bar of soap and a scrub brush, it was probably used for the horses but it was better than nothing. They were both caked in mud. She was perfectly used to being in a public wash, though she wasn't a woman who had a house, so she bathed at camp like all the other men. "We'll rest here then go when night returns." She said to him, leaving him to his own devices.

Hal was thankful for the food, it had been a while since he had been able to enjoy something that came close to a normal meal. Most of his days he would've eaten wild berries or stale bread, sometimes he would get leftovers when passing through a town or village. It wasn't until he thought about it until he remembered how hungry he actually was.

Half way through his plate he heard a sound coming from just from outside the barn. It hadn't startled him, but he went into his customary guard position. For a moment Hal had all but forgotten about the girl. He looked down from his vantage point to see her in the tub at the ground floor. He didn't have time to let his mind wander too much on her though, there was potential danger outside. Looking through one of the cracks Hal could see a soldier wandering around the farmstead. The royal heraldry clearly visible.

Making as little sound as he could manage on the groining stairs he made his way down to ground level. Hal approached the tub where Kat was still scrubbing and with a quick motion he made sure to pin her and cover her mouth. "There's a soldier outside." He quickly whispered, and then repeated slower before letting her go again in a gentle fashion. Hoping she wouldn't make too much of a ruckus.

Kat tried to gasp when he had first grabbed her. She thankfully didn't thrash, in fact she almost went limp. She was already working to escape by the time he whispered in her ear. She stopped and looked at him as he whispered. She gave a small nod as he released her. She didn't move, moving in water was noisy, it rarely let you move quietly. She grabbed his arm before it got too far away. "Will he pass?" She whispered in response. Her hand released his arm and she carefully reached over the rub pulling a dagger from her clothes. She eyed him for a moment, wondering briefly how long his eyes had wandered on her nude body, but it was a brief thought and she scolded herself for it. This was the worst time to be thinking of if a man found her to be attractive. Until a year ago she wouldn't have cared, but now these days, she wanted men to look at her the way they did other men, but they didn't. No they had all been warned away from her.

She forced herself back to reality. She wondered how much noise she'd make getting out, but even as she wondered, she got out, grabbing Hal's shoulder to balance herself, last thing she needed was to fall. "Where there's one there's often more." She whispered into his ear, grabbing her shirt as she did. "He'll find us.." She pulled on her shirt. She cringe to how much noise she was making, but maybe it was a good idea. Maybe they should be making noise, get him inside the barn. But, she wasn't a fighter, she was a thief, a good one at best. What to do right now for her would be to hide, but with him here, it wouldn't be so easy.

Looking around Hal pointed out a hiding place for the girl, by now she had made enough noise to wake a sleeping giant. He gave her some time to conceal herself while he checked the tub for any markings of missed clothing and what not. When he was satisfied with how things looked he snuck towards the barn door and unlocked it from the inside. With a bit of luck the soldier would simply think that the tub was a water reservoir for the horses, if not, Hal would have to improvise. Taking up his own concealed position near the door the waiting game started.

Kat hid silently, unmoving. She watched Hal from where she hid frowning a bit. She didn't know what this man's capabilities were. He was supposed to have protected the princess that either meant he was terrible or he very good and had barely managed to escape. She felt her heart sink as the door to the barn opened. In strode the soldier, curious, and without friends for the time being it seemed. He stood in the door, looking at the bathtub with curiosity. He scratched the back of his head, and walked closer to the tub. He hadn't noticed either of them yet.

Kat sat motionless in her hiding spot. Her hand clenched around her dagger as she stared wide eyed at the soldier. She felt like she was frozen in place, everything told her to run, there would be more, but she couldn't. She had been told to hide and she was being obedient. He reached down feeling the water, his nose flaring to the smell of soap. The water was still warm, his hand tightened on his sword as he turned, shaking his hand of the water. He started making his way back to the door, but he still hadn't set eyes on Hal. They were almost in the clear until he paused and looked right at Hal, unmoving, but his eyes narrowed are he looked into the shadows. Kat felt her heart sink, they were going to have to fight, and then run, she was certain of it.

The moment they locked eyes Hal jumped forward with dagger in hand. The soldier barely had the time to loosen his saber from his scabbard, but by then the other man was already on top of him. A flurry blows followed where both combatants took equal share of hits before breaking apart and circling each other, looking for a weak point in the other's defense. During the initial assault Hal had lost his dagger and now the soldier was pointing his own at Hal's throat.

Deciding not to give his opponent the upper hand Hal launched again, feinting left before striking out from the right, knocking the blade aside. The fight moved back and forth, first the soldier lost some ground and then Hal was pushed backwards again. Eventually they bumped against the tub, the soldier used his weight and moment to throw Hal off of him, but his grip was too firm. The soldier toppled into the tub first with Hal on top of him.

When the slashing finally ended the tub was half empty and the soldier's face was contorted in an eternal howl of fear and agony. His eyes had already lost their shine and there was blood at the corners of his mouth, the evidence that he had bitten his own tong.

Panting hard Hal looked to where Kat was hiding, he looked like a half drowned dog. "We better move quicker than planned. I don't think he was alone around here."

As Hal looked to where Kat was hidding, she was pushed out of the shadows. A hand was over her mouth and there was a blade pressed firmly against her neck, already drawing blood. She struggled briefly until he forced her head back, making it very hard to breath as his hand even started to block her nose. "Hal!" His voice growled from behind Kat. He was so tall and the way he held her Kat was now dangling from his arms. He could see the tears in her eyes already sliding down her cheeks. It hurt and she struggled just to keep her neck from snapping. "I never send my men alone." He grinned as he held her.

Hal had only seen this man once before, sitting on a massive war horse, taking over the army he had once been a part of. He was a general by the name of Aaron Kopphear. He had been put into the ranks just as Hal had been chased out. He had a reputation all the same of being merciless with his victims. He was still a man of honour in some ways but not in many. Women who fought were treated as any other warrior, something to be commanded or killed. "Now be good it's time we bring you in hmm? The king has asked for you alive thanks to you finidng this little bird." He motioned with his eyes to Kat.

Hal was smart enough to know the situation had turned hopeless. Trying to negotiate him into letting Kat go would only give his troops more time to close in and seal any route of escape. He couldn’t simply let the girl die either, it was against his character, that and what Aaron had said about her being the reason that he was wanted alive. He didn’t give himself completely over to despair however. Already he was thinking about possible scenarios in which he could escape together with Kat and get some answers out of her.

“Alright, I’ll come with you.” Hal spoke softly, not being able to completely keep the anger from his voice though. He got himself out of the tub, his hands raised, his head still held up high.

Aaron lowered Kat from his grip, but he grabbed her shoulder and drove his dagger into her shoulder. She let out a cry of pain before being kicked into Hal. She winced nearly collapsing right against him as she did. "There was poison on the dagger, so if you don't want her to die I strongly suggest you behave yourself. It'll take but a few hours to kill her with that." He grinned. The dagger was still in her shoulder as he felt Kat shivering in pain against him before she slid to her knees. "You'll help her walk, don't worry my men aren't far from here." He laughed and motioned for them to start moving. He wasn't a very patient man at all.

Kat pulled the dagger from her shoulder, tossing it away. Already her shirt was soaked with blood. If the poison didn't kill her bleeding out might soon enough. Already she could feel a fever coming as the poison coursed through her blood. She leaned heavily on Hal as they were forced to walk along. The world was starting to blur and every step became more and more agonizing. She pressed her face against Hals chest until finally her legs gave. But they weren't far from the camp.

Men approached them, all of them with the same crest. They took Kat from Hal, who was too weak to even resist. She just muttered something under her breath. Hal wasn't far behind, sword ready they forced him to a cell as well. They searched him for any weapons before he was tossed into the same little cell that Kat was in. They hadn't given her an antidote yet, and even that short hour of walk had really put her into a bad place. She was leaned against the bars, with her head turned and blood slipped from between her lips. She coughed weakly, her eyes closed. Once they were both firmly locked in the cell a small vial was passed through to Hal, the yellow liquid inside didn't look like it would be fun to take. Kat didn't even move to react to it, she probably wasn't even aware of it. "You're in for a long night," the guard who gave him the antidote whispered. He seemed to be an alchemist of sorts but he didn't linger any longer to tell him more.

Grudgingly Hal took the antidote and administered it to Kat. He took off his shirt and soaked it in water nearby. Ripping one of his sleeves he used it as a bandage for the wound. The rest he used to cool Kat's fever with. The only reason why Hal cradled Kat against him was because it was the most comfortable position to nurse her in, not that she would be conscious enough to notice anyway.

Kat lay against him, completely unaware of were she was. She twisted and winced, then moaned and struggled through the night. She slowly got worse, it seemed like the antidote wasn't helping at all. Her eyes opened at what point though, bloodshot and blurred. She gripped at him, having now idea who he was. "it hurts.." She whimpered and closed her eyes again. It wasn't until deep in the night that she calmed. Her fever finally broke. She lay quietly against him now. It was almost like the first night they had spent together. dim lights over them, making it hard to see her. But now she was at least clean. Her soft ivory skin could be seen with her auburn hair. She was pretty, but she didn't quite look like she was from these lands.

Her eyes slowly opened and she gave a shudder as if the pain finally became bearable. "Hal.." She knew it was him now, that was a very good sign. But she didn't bother to move. "Where.." She felt like she had finished the sentence but it hadn't all come out. She still was well, he could probably ask her a lot and get answers that would be truthful but not easily understood.

"I'm here." Hal told her as she started to come round. He had to admit that she looked attractive enough. He had imagined how he might have felt about her had they met under different circumstances. He hadn't slept well, only dozing off for less than 5 minutes every now and then. Whipping some more sweat of her brow. Hal told her where he imagined they had been taken. His voice drifting in and out almost as much as hers.

"Who are you, really?" Hal finally managed to ask. Thinking it unlikely to get an answer in return.