Neither one fought the guards as they were lead up on the platform where two nooses already hung. Cassandra was watching Hetar, waiting for a sign or a motion to say the time was right, and then she would fight with everything she had.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun hanging just above the horizon, gleaming down at the two who were supposed to hang.

As Cassandra looked down from the scaffold she met the eyes of dozens of people who had come to watch. Hetar got a lot of nasty remarks thrown at her, and someone even threw a stone, but the guards soon put a stop to that. Cassandra stood straight and tried to look strong and proud, and to some degree it was working; nobody shouted at her, nobody threw anything. Some of the women in the crowd pointed at her and she thought she heard them commenting on such a shame it was, hanging a young girl.

You should only know, she thought. This young girl has killed more men than you have loved. She has faced things you could not imagine. And above everything, she gave her heart to the enemy.

The city's Lord was there, sitting on a chair on another platform a little distance from the scaffold. He stood up and spoke to the people, but Cassandra did not have time to listen, the strange nagging feeling she had felt all night grew stronger. It was still not clear enough to be certain, but she felt it like a beckon inside her mind, a whisper on the edge of hearing.

One of the executioners came forward to put the noose around her neck. She lifted her head proudly, ready to spin and kick, and caught a glimpse of a shadow up on the wall, just below the burning disc of the sun.

The violent heartbeats in her chest ceased and she ducked on instinct. Falling to her knees on the scaffold she heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air, and then hitting flesh.

"Up there!" a guard screamed, but looking up they could see nothing but the sun's brilliant glare over the wall.

Another arrow took out a guard and the next one killed the second executioner. Then the shadow on the wall moved, running on the parapet faster than the guards could keep up with.

At the same time Cassandra and Hetar noticed another tall figure, this one cloaked, coming out from the mouth of an alley and heading for them. He jumped the platform at the same time as the guards reached the women on it. Cassandra saw two three-fingered hands performing a series of quick movements and the next moment the guards were running away in panic, their bodies out of the control of their own brains.

A knife gleamed and soon Hetar had her hands free. Grabbing the knife from the other troll she cut Cassandra's bonds as well.

"Come," she ordered, motioning towards the western wall of the city keep. "Way out."

Cassandra ran with them, struggling to keep up with their long strides, and at the same time wondering what was happening behind them.

They had almost reached the wall when a figure dropped down from above and landed like a cat, on all fours, in the street in front of them. Cassandra ran to him and before she managed to speak he had picked her up and nodded to the other trolls before continuing towards the wall.

The cloaked troll pointed at the wall a little way off and said something in his own language.

"Hold on!" Jah'ren ordered Cassandra, and as she slung her arms around his neck he jumped.

Stretching his body to its full length he grabbed hold of a gap in the wall, and jumped from there on to a small ledge. The other two trolls followed, working their way up the wall and soon they were on the battlements.

Jah'ren looked over the edge a second before glancing down at Cassandra.

"Kass, close eyes. Not look."

Cassandra knew better than to protest, so she closed her eyes tight and tried to ignore the rush in her stomach as he jumped of the wall and fell towards the ground below. Rolling as they landed Jah'ren was on his feet again in seconds, ready to run, but he stopped as Hetar spoke. Cassandra did not understand the fast conversation in their rhythmic language, but when they were done Jah'ren turned back and all three of them started running along the city wall.

"What are we doing?" Cassandra asked, hanging on to her friend's body like a koala on a tree.

"Other troll has plan," Ja'ren explained quickly. "We go the way they don't think we go."

She saw the logic in the plan, but she was still anxious about staying too close to the city and the keep.

They came to a place where the walls of the keep rose up from the cliffs above the ocean, and Jah'ren let Cassandra down, motioning her to be quiet. From behind them came to sound of soldiers and horses as they searched the forest for the escaped prisoners. Hetar and the cloaked troll started climbing down the cliffs towards a small brown shape in the water that Cassandra realized was a boat.

"Kass climb? Or hold on to Jah'ren?" the tall hunter asked and looked down the cliffs.

"I'll manage," Cassandra answered, not being certain she could.

She had no problems with heights, but climbing down a sheer cliff over sharp rocks and white water did not feel exactly safe, even with Jah'ren climbing below her, assuring her he would catch her if she fell.

Luckily, they got to the boat without accidents and crouched down in the bottom of it. Hetar loosened the rope holding the vessel and the cloaked troll took the oars, carefully maneuvering them out from the rocks.

"We be silent," Hetar whispered. "Ba'ka take us to safe place."

They sat silent while what Cassandra had come to understand had to be a troll priest rowed them along the cliff wall. The ocean was still, only some lazy, rolling waves lulling their boat. Cassandra was itching to talk, to speak to Jah'ren and to tell him who the female troll was, but she knew it would have to wait until they were somewhere secure.

After an hour in the boat the priest steered it out to a small island, where they dragged it onto land in the shelter of some trees hanging out over the water. He then led them to a small cove by the water where he turned to the others and took his hood of.

His face was kind and smiling with large tusks and his hair was a strange pink colour.

Hetar put her arms around her mate's neck and they held each other for some minutes without uttering a word.

"Jah'ren missed you," a soft voice said by Cassandra's ear, and she knew he was hinting.

She turned around to embrace him, but was instead lifted up and squeezed in his arms, struggling a little.
"Don't crush me," she warned, but he did not listen and held her even tighter. "I missed you too," she whispered in his ear and stroked his hair affectionately.

Her lips moved along his chin, leaving little butterflykisses until she reached his lips, then he turned his head and kissed her deeply until they both discovered they were being watched. The two other trolls were looking at them, a mixture of disapproval and bewilderment in their eyes.

Cassandra crawled out of the tight grip and got her feet back on the ground.

"Jah'ren," she said, trying to find a good way of telling him. "Do you remember any of them?"

"I not remember," Jah'ren answered, being far to occupied with stroking her hair to even take a second look at the others.

"Well," Cassandra continued. "Hetar says she is your big sister."

"Hetar?"

Hetar spoke to him in their own language, and Jah'ren finally let go of Cassandra, walking over to the other trolls. Cassandra stood back, feeling left out and a little disappointed that Jah'ren did not seem much pleased to see his sister. As she sat down on the sand, still listening to words she did not know the meaning of, Hetar's mate came over and squatted down beside her.

"Ba'ka," he said, motioning to himself. "That me name."

"I am Cassandra," she smiled. "I am sorry, but I don't speak much trollish."

"Ba'ka speak little human," the priest comforted her. "Not like Hetar. She smart."

Cassandra watched the redhaired troll as she and Jah'ren talked quickly and a little irritated to each other.

"They do not seem too happy," she commented. "Can you tell me why?"

"Oh, yes, me know," the troll beside her smiled slyly. "Hetar no happy little brotha be with human."

"But that's none of her business," Cassandra said annoyed. "I hate that everyone gets mad at us for being together."

"Oh, no." The priest grinned at her again. "Not like dat. Hetar say Jah'ren only have little human for pet. She say: When you bore, throw pet away, like toy when little. Not be bad to nice human. Jah'ren say: Stupid sista, Jah'ren not little more. Jah'ren know love. But Hetar not think Jah'ren right."

Cassandra looked at the two siblings, not able to keep from smiling.

"They're siblings alright," she laughed. "Already fighting about nothing much."

The priest laughed with her, shaking his head as he did so.

"Jah'ren 'n Hetar always fight. When little, no peace in tribe for little brotha and sista always make noise."

"You are from their tribe?" Cassandra asked, trying to remember the little Jah'ren had told her about his past family.

"No, not from tribe. But other tribe, live same place. Ba'ka older than they, go with Hetar to look for Jah'ren, to bring home."

"You are going to bring him home?"

She got a look that told her the priest had said something he should not have, and before she could ask again, a large hand touched her shoulder.

"Kass," Jah'ren said, obviously wanting her attention.

She looked inquisitively at him, but instead of saying anything he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the other end of the cove, where there was a little patch of grass. Sitting down he placed her on the ground beside him and snorted a little at Hetar. Cassandra did not understand what was going on, but she snuggled up beside Jah'ren and soon they got comfortable, him half sitting against the rock wall, and she laying beside him, her head on his chest.

Ba'ka had found himself a rock for a chair and Hetar sat down between his knees, resting her back against the stone.

The two pairs stared at each other across the small sandbank inside the cove until Cassandra broke the uncomfortable silence.

"How did you find us?" she asked both the male trolls. "Did you cooperate?"

It was Jah'ren who answered:

"No, we did not. And I feel Cassandra, easy to find her."

She nodded pleased as he continued. They were becoming good at feeling the other one's presence.

"And I thinked, I thinked much!"

Hearing the pride in his voice Cassandra almost held herself from teasing, but it was too good an opportunity to pass.

"Jah'ren," she moaned. "What have I told you about thinking? It only makes your head hurt!"

Two green eyes watched her, narrowing down until he looked frightful, but she knew the trick and did not feel the least bit scared.

"And you get so grumpy too," she complained. "I swear, one of these days your head will explode and then what shall I do?"

Jah'ren put his hand over her face. It was large enough to cover most of her eyes, nose and mouth, and she fought him half-heartedly while laughing into his palm. Through the rumble in his chest she could hear the sound of the other trolls laughing too, something that pleased her.

Still, somewhere inside, her mind tried to remind her of what the priest had said, but for the moment she was enjoying the warmth of his familiar body next to her.