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Here's the next chapter loves, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nariza and Kamalia are mine, Disney owns the rest

Usual rules about text, normal is english, italics is Umshunko.

I ran faster down the twisty dirt path, duck and dodging around trees to avoid being seen. Casting a quick glance behind me, I could dimly spot the outline of the sentry as he came poking around the camp. Thankfully, he didn't seem to have noticed me yet. Turning around, I narrowly missed running slap-bang into a palm tree, managing to get away with only a sharp slap across the face. I hissed in pain, feeling blood trickle above my left eye and right cheek. That was annoying. Skidding behind a particularly large palm tree, I dabbed cautiously at the cut above my left eye, the one on my cheek was less severe. A sizeable amount of blood appeared on my fingers, as I hastily applied pressure to the wound to stop it bleeding. My fingers slipped in my own blood as I absent-mindedly wiped my forehead. Oh, fantastic. I groaned in frustration, then speedily slapped a hand over my mouth. That could easily have been heard, the acoustics in this place were dreadful. One minute, two minutes, three. I sighed softly with relief, either I hadn't been heard or the sentry had given up.

Peeking out from behind the palm tree, I looked around to make sure it was clear. Assuming it was, I hopped out and was very nearly run over by an enormous ball of…something. I shook my fist at it crossly, and then scratched my head in sheer bewilderment, ignoring Gaja's scratches. What was that thing, were there people in it?? Whatever it was, it was rolling at a tremendous speed across the jungle floor. Wham! An arrow slammed into the tree centimetres in front of me. I turned round, and my heart sprang into my throat. There, shrieking and snarling with unfulfilled bloodlust, was practically every singe warrior in the tribe! I took to my heads, a scream of sheer terror torn from my throat. My feet pounded across the spongy jungle plants, dodging around trees and jumping over bushes. I forgot about the prisoners, I forgot about the stranger who had freed me. Every instinct in my body was concentrated on putting as much distance away from as I could, as fast as I could.

I ran until I was bathed in sweat, my breath coming in gasps and my sides heaving. The jungle scrub sloped steeply downward, it wasn't until I stumbled that I realised that the tribe wasn't following me and that if I didn't slow down, I'd die of a broken neck. Of course, knowing my luck I was already halfway down the bloody hill. My feet skidded and slipped in the dust and stones as I fought to slow down. I could feel small stones scraping against the sides of my feet, the bushes catching at my smock. I seized for the nearest solid thing I could find, which happened to be the trunk of yet another tree. My nose inhaled the sweet, earthy scent of the bark as I struggled to regain both my feet and my breath.

After I had stopped panting, I proceeded to pick my way down the slope. Time was short, even though the tribe must've been distracted by the prisoners. Normally we only had what was washed up on the island, a shipwrecked sailor or maybe a longboat full of them. Once we even found a horse in the hull of a wrecked ship that had been marooned on the tide line. I'd spent ages studying that horse; stroking its pelt, admiring the clear amber of its eyes, batting its tail back and forth between my hands. Kamalia had loved that horse too. My breath caught painfully in my throat, causing tears to bead the corner of my eyes as I fought not to give in to weeping. Kamalia, my precious Kamalia….how could I have let them do this to you? My chest heaved with a silent sob as I remember her glowing smile as she clung to me. Teeth gritted, I resisted temptation to touch the bones on my ankle for I knew that if I did that I would break down completely.

Forcing myself upright, I snapped my eyes open, and rubbed my nose roughly with the back of one hand. I had to get off this island, dying here; in this way would be an insult to her memory. Scowling, I stomped my way down to the bottom where scrubland gave in to soft brown sand. I stopped there, pulling small stones and thorns out of my feet and from in between my toes. With a sudden flash of lucidity, I realised that I didn't know what to do next. My only thought had been to get away from the camp. What could I do now? Going back was out of the question, could I perhaps find a distant corner of the island, make a dwelling there and live out the rest of my life as an outcast? I shuddered, through all their faults; I missed the companionship of my tribe. The feeling that you had a safe place to sleep at night, the community and the knowledge that everyone else had the same as you. With a sudden pang of clarity I realised that I couldn't live on my own. I'd go mad, day after day on my own, my former life little more than a memory.

Maybe the prisoners had arrived here in a vessel? Maybe I could find it, and somehow make it seaworthy. I stood up, brushing the sand off my legs and headed towards the beach. I had to go slowly, as my legs were still sore from the past three days of crouching. As I neared the beach, I became aware that there was shouting and yelling. I moved faster, partly out of curiosity and partly because I didn't know where the noise was coming from. I had a nasty suspicion that whatever it was, it was coming from behind me. The noise grew louder, I broke into a run across the sand, dodging the scattered human remains. Grimacing in disgust, I rounded the bend and stopped dead in my tracks.

There, right in front of me, was possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. A ship, black from the wood to the sails with the elegance of a person. I took a few hesitant steps forward, unwilling to believe my eyes. Was this really here? There were two people near it, one running around on deck and the other hauling at a rope coming off the ship. My casual musings were interrupted by the melee that had also taken my route. I turned round to look and my eyes popped out of my head. They'd found me! The whole tribe was yelling and whooping as they chased a figure that was rapidly gaining on me. I didn't know who or what it was, but I wasn't stopping to find out. Deciding to take my chance with the ship, I started running towards it. There were several others ahead of me that were running toward the ship. I didn't know who they were, or really care in all honesty. The seawater splashed against my legs, feet churning up the sand. Reaching it, I scrabbled wildly and somehow managed to catch part of a lattice of ropes hanging off it. Swarming up it, I latched on and took a last look my home, for I doubted I'd ever see it again.

It also allowed me to get a closer look at what the Pelegostos were chasing. I felt an inexplicable surge of happiness in the pit of my stomach when I realised who it was. It was the stranger who helped untie me, he'd somehow escaped again! Feeling completely flabbergasted, I watched as he swam closer to the ship. Leaning down, I held out a hand to help him up. The expression on his face was priceless as he recognised me, halfway between confusion and relief. He seized my hand and used his other to get a firm grip on the rope. Flashing a brief smile at me, he turned to wave at the tribe, saying something that I couldn't understand, but got the general gist of.

'Alas my children, this will be the day that you will always remember as the day that you almost...'

Unfortunately, the rest of his words were cut off by an impertinently timed wave, which soaked the pair of us. Having my mouth open at the time, I swallowed a sizeable amount of the stuff. Coughing, I didn't catch the strangers name nor barely noticed when he prodded me lightly in the side. Pushing my sodden hair out of my eyes, I barely registered that he had poked me again, slightly more forcefully this time. Automatically, I began to climb up the ropes as best I could. This ended with me landing with a thump on the deck, in an undignified heap. I scowled in annoyance, not noticing that my companion of sorts was right behind me, and had nudged me forward to give him room to move. A clicking noise sounded to my left, and I realised that one of the men, a tall bearded fellow was pointing a curious contraption of metal right at my head. I narrowed my eyes warily, as I hadn't got a clue what was going on. But I got the knife pointed at my midriff all right. A man, barely the size of a child tickled my belly with the blade.

Hesitantly I raised my hands in a placating gesture, but before I could say anything my rescuer intervened yet again. Flapping his hands wildly around, he comically slapped the hand of the man who was pointing the piece of metal at my head. I giggled at the look on the slapped mans face, it came out unnaturally loud in the quiet. Ignoring me for the moment, my rescuer waved his hands some more and muttered something in an annoyed tone.

'Leave the lass be…she's had enough.'

Reluctantly, the man and the dwarf lowered their weapons. I shook my head from side to side, trying to comprehend what was happening. Evidently, my strange friend was a person of considerable authority.

Hope you had fun reading that, there will be some explanation of Kamalia in upcoming chapters, I don't want to give away too much too soon.

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