A/N: I'm doing this like half asleep right now, I'm totally exhausted, so if there are like any errors in this note then yeah, that's why. Uhm...Okay two things. Firstly, I loved reading your reactions to the last chapter, seeing what you thought was going on with Britt and San. And just you guys that post that you like it or love it, that's really awesome!

Secondly, now I wouldn't say I'm upset per say, but I think annoyed is more of an appropriate word when it comes to the guest reviewer(s) I don't know if there is more than one. To put it simply, if you do not like what you are reading, if you have some ridiculous issue with either Santana or Brittany, then please feel free to i don't know, stop reading. Really, I don't understand why you would continue to read something when you obviously don't like it and then comment negatively for the soul purpose of trying to what? Hurt my feelings? Mhmm...alright well that's not really going to get anywhere and all you're doing is showing other people, who read through reviews, that you're a trolling asshole who gets off on looking like an idiot. If THAT is your purpose then I congratulate you on a job well done.

So! Now that we covered that, I'd like to focus my attention on the majority of you that actually read this for some reason, maybe it entertains you or something ;), and let you all know that you're kickass and that I write for your enjoyment. And its fun :)

Hope you enjoy, loves, mwah!

-B

Fourth Age, December, 727:

You wake to hushed voices arguing directly in front of you, and crack your eyes open, squinting as the bright sun beams reflect off the river's surface, shinning directly into your gaze. You wince and lift your hand, shielding your eyes, and look at Puck and Sam bickering a few feet from you.

"Why must the two of you bicker constantly?" you groan, pushing yourself upright. The dwarves stop immediately and Puck glancing to the side before crawling closer to you.

"The elven princess is saying we are to get up and move to the forest." He says with narrowed eyes.

You nod and follow his gaze to Brittany standing clothed and with her pack only a short distance from the trees. She looks back towards you, her enhanced hearing must having picked up on Puck's whisper.

"I know. We agreed it would be best for us to travel with some coverage of the trees." You say, getting to your feet as Puck watches you. He stands up as you toss Sam your satchel.

"You agreed? You've let her manipulate you into-"

"No, Puck." You shake your head, pulling your pack on. "There is no doubt in my mind Irenaeus has already sent his guards after us. They don't expect us to return to the forest."

"How can you be certain?" Sam pipes in, adjusting your satchel strap across his shoulder as he walks over.

You bend down and scoop some sand onto the small flames of the fire, extinguishing it instantly, and brush your hands off as you straighten. You wet your lips and glance at them before looking around.

"You're not certain."

"Brittany believes it's best if we-"

"We don't follow her. We follow you." Puck says quickly, pointing harshly over to the elven princess before poking you in the arm.

You huff and run a hand through your hair, "Then follow me."

"You said you would keep an eye on her."

"And I am. That doesn't mean I can't agree with her when she makes a suggestion."

"I don't believe you are-"

"Puck, please." You sigh, adjusting your sword in your belt before glancing at him through your lashes, "Just, don't question me." You finish softly before checking around your feet to make sure you're not leaving anything behind, and turning to walk towards Brittany and the trees.

You walk behind Puck and Sam, Brittany leading the group through the forest. Your left hand sways by your side and your right hand rests on the hilt of your sword. You've been walking for a fair amount of time and the sun is sitting in the middle of the sky warming you periodically and saving you from the harsh cold winds.

You watch Brittany gracefully leap over a fallen tree and smile faintly with fondness as Puck and Sam climb over it with some difficulty.

Sam glances back at you when you chuckle, him landing on the other side of the tree on his rump, and blushes, scratching his head as he jumps to his feet.

"C'mon." Puck grumbles, nudging Sam along while you place your right hand on the rough tree to give yourself leverage as you jump over easily. "How much further are we going before princess up ahead deems a site suitable?" Puck hisses.

You reach forwards and smack the back of his head, sending him a firm look. He frowns and rubs the spot as you move to Brittany's side.

"How much longer?"

"I do not know."

You look at Brittany and then back at the dwarves before wetting your lips and looking forwards, "The dwarves are beginning to tire-"

"We haven't found a safe resting place yet." She cuts you off sharply and you shake your head. "Be content with the fact that I'm leading you somewhere safe and away from my father's path." Brittany says before lengthening her strides to put distance between the two of you.

You falter with your steps and furrow your brows in confusion, glancing to the side as Puck and Sam pass you with knowing looks.

It is hours before Brittany deems a small area of grass acceptable. Its lower ground and has a bit of overhead cover from a large rock and slanted tree. Brush surrounds the sides before flattening out, little patches of mushrooms decorating the eastern side of the rocks base.

You slow as you come to the camp, Puck and Sam dropping to their bottom's with exhausted huffs, Sam pulling off your satchel and placing it behind his head as he leans against the large rock. Puck narrows his eyes at him in jealousy and your gaze shifts to Brittany as she places her belongings down away from the dwarves.

"Is there a reason you feel the need to isolate your belongings and yourself from us?" you ask with a small smirk.

Brittany lifts her head, eyeing you before rolling her eyes and removing her bow from her back.

"I am going hunting."

"Ou! Try and catch some more rabbit." Sam beams. Puck shoves him to the side as Brittany sends him an annoyed glance before disappearing through the trees.

You shake your head as you watch her go and look to the dwarves after she's gone.

"That one's difficult, no?" Sam asks you and you laugh, nodding.

"That she is, Master Sam." You say playfully, ruffling his hair while crouching to begin a fire.

You slowly blink your eyes open and frown in confusion as you glance around your surroundings before remembering where you are.

It's darker now. The sun having set a while ago.

You hear the faint crackles of the small fire and look right and then left, sighing in disappointment at Sam sleeping against the rock with his large mouth open as he snores. You debate waking him so he can continue his turn of guard and eventually decided against it.

You push yourself to your feet and arch your back, stretching your arms over your head as a yawn passes your lips. You squint and rub your neck before tilting it side to side, hearing the cracks.

You find yourself walking a few steps from the camp, looking around and listening for any sign of a threat. When you find none you relax and turn. You still and furrow your brows, your eyes darting around the camp when you just now notice Brittany's absence.

You turn your head to look to your sides before spinning in a slowly small circle, "Where…" you trail off, narrowing your eyes as you quietly head to your bedroll.

You see Brittany's things are still here and nod to yourself as you crouch by your things, eyes focused on the darkness around you. You quietly pick up your sword and push to your feet, looking back at Sam and Puck.

You shift unsurely. Should you wake them up or let them sleep? You sigh and move to Puck, crouching as you place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Wha?" he jerks awake, sitting upright as his hand moves for his battle hammer at his side.

"Calm down." You tell him in a whisper as he blinks, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. The fire heats your back as you catch Puck's focused gaze.

He blinks and swallows, "What is it?" he whispers.

"Brittany is gone." You tell him and his eyes narrow. You hold up a hand to silence him before he even speaks and he clamps his mouth shut, "Her things are still here. I don't know if she just went for a walk or if her father's guards took her."

"Surely they'd nab us all had it been the elves."

You nod slowly and glance over your shoulder, "I'm going to see if I can find her." You say, looking back at him, "I didn't want to leave the two of you asleep while I was gone. Sam is exhausted," you pause, both of you looking at the blond dwarf snoring loudly, "Can you stay awake and guard the camp until I get back?"

"Of course." Puck nods firmly and you pat his shoulder before standing.

"Good." You breathe, glancing around once more, "I should be back soon." You tell him before you turn and head south-east.

Your nose scrunches in disgust as you lift your foot and press it against the dead spider's body, pulling your sword from its head. You wipe your blade on its back to get rid of the blood, and fix the front of your vest before glancing around.

You look back at the spider and shake your head, looking up into the trees. The thing had dropped down and surprised you from behind. Thankfully, it seems there was only one.

You let out a sigh and continue on your way.

You would guess it's been just over an hour of walking in search of Brittany. You could turn and head back to camp but something inside you was pulling you south-east, telling you to go just a little further.

Leaves and seeds from the trees crunch underfoot as you go. You spot a slight incline of the ground and jog forwards, running up it only to stop at the top. You jump onto a log resting against the incline, slanting downwards to a pile of fallen leaves, and sheath your sword. Your arms fly out to your sides as you walk with expert balance down the log. You step down from the log and kick the pile of leaves, wincing when a squirrel scurries up the nearest tree, chatting away at you accusingly.

You purse your lips, mumbling an apology, and quickly turn your head. You strain your ears and pick up the sound of water. Driven by curiosity you follow the sound and push aside the bushes blocking your path before coming to a stop.

"Christ…" you breathe.

Beyond the bushes is a wide clear pond, flat grass surrounding the land around it before it grows into trees and brush. The nature itself is quiet beautiful but your eyes are drawn towards toned pale flesh.

You tilt your head slightly, lips parting as you quietly move closer, watching Brittany as she cups water in her hands before lifting them to her body and letting the water run down her skin. You watch as she dusts her hands lightly over the surface of the water, creating small ripples, and how she smiles faintly to herself, her head turned to watch as each ripple expands and moves away from her.

Your breathing picks up as Brittany dives under the water before slowly surfacing, running her hands over her hair, removing it from her face. Sudden she straightens and you widen your eyes in panic before letting out a silent, relieved breath when Brittany wraps her hands around her wet hair, squeezing the water from her golden locks. You swallow as your eyes follow one of the droplets down her beautifully smooth back until it's trailing the curve of her perfectly shaped backside.

A low growl meets your ears and you tense, subtly moving your hand to your sword. You unsheathe slowly and quietly, turning around and straighten as the cream colored wolf bares it's sharp fangs at you, it's brown eyes narrowing dangerously while it's brown nose twitches.

"Shh, it's alright." You say gently, lifting your other hand out, "I'm not going to hurt you." You whisper and the wolf takes a few steps back, bringing its ears forwards while heeling. You begin to smile only to tense once again at the unmistakable sound of an arrow being readied behind you. You hesitate before looking over your shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asks sharply, keeping her arrow pointed at you as you turn to face her, your eyes lowering to take in the sight. Brittany stands in her naked glory before you, water droplets sliding from the tips of her hair down her body. You can't help but rake your eyes over her perky breasts, strong toned stomach, continuing down to the defined 'V' her hips makes. Before your gaze can lower any further, Brittany steps forwards warningly, lifting her arrow to your head.

You snap your gaze up, your cheeks burning just as much as your loins, leaving you completely confused.

"I asked you a question, rider." Brittany hisses.

You blink and shake your head, ridding the flood of inappropriate thoughts from your mind, "Y-yes. I came to find you." You tell her, opening your eyes slowly. "I had woken and when I saw you were not with us I thought you might've been in some trouble." You swallow, holding Brittany's gaze at she searches for any sign of a lie.

"You immediately think the worst?"

"Either you had gone for a walk in the middle of the early morn, you were taken by your father's guards, or Puck was right and you-"

"You think I'm here to gain your trust and then betray you." She states and you sigh, closing your eyes briefly while running your free hand over your face. "Your dwarf companions still do not trust me."

"Can you truly blame them?" you ask in annoyance, shrugging your shoulders. Brittany lowers her bow a tad and you continue, "You haven't given them any reason to trust you."

"I saved your lives." She states firmly, "Twice."

"You're secretive." You counter, "The dwarves and I know of each other's past. How we came to be who and where we are and you haven't given us anything. It's evident you do not trust us either."

"I trust you as much as need be." She huffs, lowering her bow completely.

"And how much is that?" you question knowingly as you try to keep your gaze from following her naked body as she moves to gather her clothing from the edge of the pond.

"All you need to know is there is a level of trust between us." She says while slipping on her clothing. You look at the ground to hide your questionable disappointment, and glance back up when Brittany walks back over to you, tying the strings of her tunic. "And when I say us, I'm not including the dwarves. They are a greedy race."

"As you believe are humans." You point out. Brittany casts you a glance while pulling her bow over her shoulder, "Yet you have learnt to trust me, as you just said."

You hold her gaze before her eyes drop to look over you. You feel your heart quicken its pace and watch brilliant blue eyes lift to meet yours.

"You're different." She says before brushing past you.

A/N: Damn, that lil rant I had totally woke me up.

Okay anyway, so San saw Britt in the nude...no biggie ;) Aaaaand they;re kinda building a sort of foundation for a friendship or something. I mean, Britt did say she trusts San.

I actually really like writing Puck and Sam, which doesn't really relate to what I was just talking about, but yeah, they're fun to write.

So let me know what you thought! Next update: Friday

-B