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Chapter Fourteen:

Challenge

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Jaelyn was surrounded by a train of native women, all of them performing some kind of task in preparing her for the marking ceremony and the celebration.

Two of them flanked her head, each grasping handfuls of her dull, white hair and trying to brush the age-old knots and tangles out. Another was attempting to clean out from under her nails with some kind of pick, which didn't bother her as much as the women with the combs did.

Jaelyn was aware of what combs and brushes were, she just personally chose not to use them. What was the point of brushing one's hair when it was just going to keep getting tangled anyway? It was better to let it be, or to just put it up out of the way. Still, she was amazed at how soft and straight her hair was once it was devoid of the jungle and the pain of her stinging scalp diminished. And a jungle her hair had been. The drow hadn't known one's hair could contain so many leaves, twigs and other miscellaneous greenery. It was as if something had tried to make a nest in there and then gave up, deciding it wasn't worth the effort.

Once they had finished up with her hair, Jaelyn pulled out her dagger, curious to see what her hair looked like when it was properly taken care of. Since the natives had no clue what a mirror was, she was left with looking at herself in the reflection of her dagger's blade.

She was more than a little surprised. She had never been a vain person, but even she could admit how lovely she looked. It was too bad she had never gotten that bath, otherwise she might have been stunning. There were dirt smudges on her face, spots of dried blood that she had missed, and some other assorted and questionable marks that she had no idea about.

And just as the idea of a bath came into her mind, she was then being stripped of everything on her body except that which she was born with as three other women began filling a large tub with hot water in the corner of the shelter. Jaelyn stood there exposed, her hands placed strategically to cover her intimate parts and feeling a blush starting from the very roots of her hair and creeping down to the very tips of her toes. She understood that they were all women and that they all shared the same anatomy, but she'd never in her life been naked in front of so many. No one was paying her any heed, too consumed with readying her for the ceremony. One woman was preparing her outfit, which she noticed was nothing more than a tan, animal hide brassier-like top and a shamefully short skirt; it was much like what all the other native women were wearing but hers was beaded and studded and had strange tribal designs all over it in green. Another woman was preparing something at the table in the shelter. That woman just happened to be Tega, who'd helped in healing Jaelyn's wounds. The two women at the tub were now pouring some kind of oils into the bath water and then the shelter came alive with the strong fragrance of jasmine.

Without warning, Jaelyn found herself being shuffled over to the tub and forced into it before she had time to get used to the temperature of the water, which was hot but thankfully not boiling. She hissed at the shock of the heat as three of the women knelt down beside the tub and began scrubbing her down with some kind of soap which smelled strongly of yarrow and burned like acid.

She bit down on her lip and bravely endured the torture, though once or twice she almost cried. By the end, her skin was glowing, which was apparently what they were trying to get it to do. Either that or they were attempting to flay her skin from her bones with only a bar of soap.

One of the women positioned herself behind her and took a clay jug from another woman, dipping it into the water and then pouring it over Jaelyn's head. The drow sputtered water out of her mouth, and wiped it out of her eyes.

She glanced across the shelter at Tega, who was finishing up with whatever she was doing at the table.

"Is all this necessary?" she asked her in drow.

"Yes," the woman replied in the same language, the only language they could communicate by. "It is tradition for one being honored at a marking ceremony to be given the best treatment we have to offer. Besides, your skin must be devoid of dirt and the like in order for you to receive the mark of the warrior. If the site is not clean, you could get an infection and possibly loose the limb."

Jaelyn blanched a little. "I see. Well, then, nevermind."

Tega came over, holding a small clay bowl in her hands and handed it over to the woman kneeling behind Jaelyn. The woman then proceeded to put whatever was in the bowl on Jaelyn's head. The substance was thick but it was fragrant, so the drow supposed it was some kind of hair wash. The woman's hands gently massaged the thick goo in, which felt like heaven against her scalp. She leaned back in the tub with a small sigh of appreciation, enjoying every minute of the treatment, for she was probably never going to experience it again.

Eventually, the head message made her grow drowsy but that was cured when a jug of cold water splashed over her head and made her bolt up straight, the quick movement causing the water to slosh over the rim of the tub.

She rubbed water out of her eyes.

"You said all who are honored receive this treatment?" she asked Tega. "Does that include my friend?"

She entertained the idea of Bishop being tossed in a similar acid wash and her 'inner, darker drow' laughed maniacally with glee. What she wouldn't give to witness something like that.

Tega frowned, not bothering to hide her disdain with the situation regarding the ranger. "Unfortunately, your...'friend' declined our gesture of honor. So instead of being marked as a warrior, he will be asked to join the ceremonial hunt. It will afford him a degree of respect among us. However, not as much as bearing a warrior's mark might."

The hunt actually sounded more fun than getting the tattoo, but Jaelyn wasn't about to complain. She needed all the respect she could get among them.

The woman sitting behind her rinsed her hair a few more times and then wrung the water out of it. Jaelyn was then being pulled out of the tub and toweled off at a remarkable speed.

The hide outfit (what little bits of it there were) was then being placed and pulled onto her and then was laced and fastened up. She was then sitting in the chair she'd been in before and two women were back to flanking her head again, combs in hand.

She eyed them warily. She was not looking forward to the combs, again.

The women made quick and rough motions with their little torture devices, occasionally pulling out hair in small clumps and creating scalp trauma. At the end, Jaelyn was surprised she even had any hair left and that her head wasn't bleeding. Her scalp felt like it was on fire again, completely negating the soothing effects of the massage she'd had moments ago. The women began braiding strands of her hair that framed her face and then ornamenting the ends with small wooden beads of brown and green to match her outfit. The rest of her hair they left hanging down her back, the long, white strands nearly reaching her waist. She was almost tempted to have them just hack it off short, but then decided against it. As much as she hated how it got in the way sometimes, she was attached to it. After all, it was the hair she was born with and had grown up with.

When they finished up with her, one of the women gave Jaelyn a comb as a gift. The drow wondered briefly if the woman was trying to tell her something in a subtle manner but the smile on her face and the sincere look told her that the woman was offering it as a true gift.

Jaelyn tried to give it back, but the woman wasn't having it. She said it was the only thing she had to offer in return for Jaelyn saving her life. Apparently, during the raid, one of Jaelyn's arrows had struck a drow that had been in the process of trying to kill the woman.

She accepted the gift. It would've been rude not to.

When the women were gone, Feral came out from underneath the bed where he'd been hiding and climbed up onto it next to Jaelyn, giving her arm an eager rub.

She scratched behind his ear, staring at the comb in her other hand.

It was old but impressively made, constructed out of some kind of bone with a tropical scene carved into it. There was a boat, riding against the waves while the sun set over the horizon. It wasn't colored or anything, just carved. It was beautiful; it was one of the best gifts Jaelyn had ever received.

And she realized something.

The natives must've seen boats to have carved that scene into the comb. Was it the boat the drow had come on? If it was, was it still about somewhere? It could be their way off the island.

Jaelyn made a strangled sound of shock and then shot up from the bed, clutching the comb tight.

"Stay there." she said to Feral, who gave her a befuddled expression, shrugged and then curled up on the bed.

Jaelyn bolted out of the shelter, nearly running down Bishop, who'd been lurking nearby, waiting for those women to leave so he could come in there and poke some fun at her to pass the time, and because he was secretly hoping to catch her without any clothes on.

Hands grabbed her shoulders to avoid a head-on collision and gold eyes roamed over her carefully, noting the amount of skin exposed courtesy of her new outfit (or lack thereof), the cleanliness and soft look of it, the renewed brilliance of her white hair and the floral scents coming from her.

"In a hurry?"

"Yes and you're in the way." she said, smartly. "I think we may have a way off this island. That is, if it's still around."

"Eh?"

She thrust her comb under his nose and pointed at it.

"This."

He looked at it, at her, and wondered, not for the first time, if she'd lost her marbles. And as with all insane people, it was best just to humor them.

"A comb?"

Jaelyn frowned at him. "No, you idiot. The boat."

"I don't get it."

"Look, one of those native women gave me this comb. They made it, so they must've seen this boat before. That's the only way they'd know about one. Remember what Gulaonar said? He and the other drow crashed on the island. So, I was thinking, maybe their boat is still around here somewhere."

"If they crashed, then the boat's obviously damaged." he pointed out. "So, there goes that idea."

"The way I see it is if we help these natives with the drow, then they'll owe us. They can pay us back by fixing the boat." she replied. "It may be a little...mean, but it's our only chance to get off this island."

He looked at her curiously for a moment and then smirked in a devilish fashion. "Might work. But...wouldn't that ghost have mentioned something about his boat if it were around?"

Jaelyn frowned again. "Not if he wants to make sure we help the natives fight the drow. He'll keep any chance of us getting off this rock secret until the drow are taken care of. He's desperate to protect these people. And besides, I get the feeling that he's keeping things from us, anyway. A lot of things."

Bishop's smirk widened.

More than you know, was his thought, but he didn't dare speak it out loud.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I get that feeling, too. Glad to see you're paying attention to things like that."

She cocked her head to the side. "Well, I'm not blind, you know. Nor am I stupid."

"That's only one person's opinion."

Jaelyn put her hands on her hips. "Oh? Then what's yours?"

She knew she was asking for it before she even spoke the words, but they came out anyway. There her mouth went again, running away with the words before her brain had time to approve them.

"What do you care?"

Jaelyn shrugged. "Well, despite how much I'm going to regret saying this, you are kind of a friend to me. And the opinion of my friends do matter."

He rose a brow and seemed on the verge of a laugh. She was going to slap him if he did.

"A friend, am I?" was his unpredictable response.

Jaelyn held out her hand, her thumb and forefinger measuring out an inch of space. "Only that much."

Bishop moved, closing up distance between them and making Jaelyn retreat from him until her back hit the hide walls of her shelter. He trapped her there, his hands planted on the wall and at her sides so there was no possible way she could elude him.

"Is that all?" His voice was low and husky, laced with seduction.

Jaelyn fought off the maddening urge to press herself against him. It felt as if their bodies were magnets, strongly being pulled to one another.

Her hand curled around one of the shelter's support posts. Her body was not a magnet. She was not going to throw herself at him.

As it turned out, she didn't need to.

It shouldn't have come to a surprise when he closed in on her, but she still found her breath lodging itself in her throat, stubbornly refusing to budge.

Her grip of the support post tightened until she feared her knuckles would split through her skin.

Due to her short stature, he was bent a bit, but still able to have a good portion of himself wedged up against her, slightly crushing her back against the wall.

The close proximity made Jaelyn extremely alarmed, terrified, embarrassed, aroused, angry, and a load of other confusing things that made her head spin. He was all warm, hard muscle and strength and man. And he had a heavenly scent. To any other woman not familiar with the outdoors, he might have smelt like an unwashed tramp, but to her he had the scents of nature around him, of leather and dirt mingled with the thick smell of smoke from countless campfires, and just a faint hint of pinewood.

He was intimidating as much as he was alluring, and she was stuck between kicking him in his soft dangly bits and dragging him into her shelter to have some fun with him. The last bit was shocking, for she had never done anything like that before and had no idea how to go about doing it. Her feelings were natural, she supposed and continuously told herself. Her...desires toward him were just a part of the feminine nature, nothing more, but even still, they were damn hard to ignore and nearly impossible to keep from acting upon. It seemed everything inside, every part of her body was yearning to have those desires sated, to know a man in that manner. And there was a man in front of her now, willing to go all the way, no doubt. She wondered if maybe she should just do it and get it over with. After all, once it was out of the way, those feelings would be gone and she could concentrate on other, more important matters. But then another part of her thought it wasn't a very good idea. When Weilsung had tried to explain the 'birds and bees' to a young, confused Jaelyn, he had told her that it was a type of bond between two people who loved one another very much, it was an expression of love. She may have liked and cared about Bishop to a minute degree, but she in no way or form loved the guy and she never would. Loving someone like him would be beyond idiocy and madness. He would never return those feelings.

At this close proximity, Jaelyn got a good look into those golden eyes. From far away, that's exactly what they looked like: liquid gold, but up close, one could see the deeper brown around the abyssal pupils. Gorgeous eyes, admittedly; it was just a shame they were on such a beast.

There was something else of note in his eyes. It was a very predatory look; a gleaming, hungry expression.

His mouth curved as he brought his face closer to hers. His mouth just barely brushed hers, teasing her, or perhaps provoking her into action.

Her knees threatened to give out. Damn knees.

"Breathe." he said, his tone full of mocking.

Had she still been holding her breath?

Apparently, she had, for she suddenly realized how lightheaded she'd become.

Bishop pulled away from her, laughing.

"You're far too weak, drow," he went on. "If you nearly swoon when a man gets too close to you. You wouldn't last five minutes in my bed."

Jaelyn frowned. Weak? What in the Nine Hells was that supposed to mean? And who in the Nine Hells even said she wanted to be anywhere near his bed, let alone in it? Well, she was going to show him.

"Swoon?" she said with a scoff. "You're misunderstanding what you see. I was merely holding my breath against your smell. It may be a new concept to you, but there is this thing called a bath. Try it sometime, for all our sakes."

She knew it was a cheap shot (and an untruthful one as well, considering she actually liked the way he smelled), but she didn't care. Weak? Where in the hells does he got off?

"Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Jaelyn pushed past him, his gaze on her every move and a sinister expression on his face.

Let her say what she wanted. He knew he had her. He'd seen the desire in her for him behind all the fear and uncertainty; it was there and it was growing. It just needed to be fed a little bit more, until she could no longer deny it, until she gave in.

Jaelyn crossed the village square, trying desperately to hold back the anger she felt at the ranger's insult. She should've been used to all of his mocking by now and she didn't know why she wasn't, or why she was letting him get to her so much.

Well, she'd admitted it to him, didn't she? His opinion of her mattered because she had the unfortunate stupidity to call him 'friend' when he was more like 'annoying, deriding man who won't shut up for everyone's sake'. She supposed she called him 'friend' because of all the things he'd done for her over their journey together, though in actuality, 'friend' was really a loose term. She didn't consider him a friend as she considered Quin one, but a part of her had to appreciate him for how he had taught her to stand up for herself, and she respected him to a small degree as a fellow ranger, mostly for his prowess with the bow and his uncanny ability to track. Other than that, there was nothing else about him worthy enough to be labeled 'friend' material. She trusted Quin with her life; she trusted Bishop about as much as she trusted Feral not to maim and eat a hostile drow. She understood Quin's intentions, knew that he was always out to do what was best, but when it came to the ranger, she had no clue what his intentions were even at the best of times. Though she liked his unpredictable nature, it was often alarming and frightening when she didn't know what he was up to. Like his sudden 'interest' in her. Ever since they'd met, there'd been a whole lot of hostility toward each other and not much getting along, which made her liking him all the more confusing. And now he seemed to have grown some kind of interest in her. She was suspicious and she planned to do some deep investigating.

Well, that would come later. For now, she needed to focus on this boat.

Jaelyn headed for the shelter she knew the leader of the tribe lived in. It was the largest shelter in the village, constructed to look kingly(or as kingly as the natives could manage) and somewhat elaborate to set him apart from everyone else. His was a two story shelter with a set of outside stairs leading up the side of the shelter to the second floor rooms. The poles that held the structure up were towering and thick, and engraved with tribal symbols and strange pictographs. The roof was different than all the others, making a cone shape with colorful pieces of straw sticking out at the top instead of the flat square roofs all the other shelters possessed. The front door was wide and covered with a fine looking piece of fabric that probably would've looked better on the back of a couch, hung on a wall, or placed under a table or something.

There were two dark-haired men standing outside the door, one of them incredibly tall and buff and the other of average height and build, with their arms crossed over their chests. They seemed to be guards.

As Jaelyn approached, the large one held out a meaty hand, tattooed in green, to stop her. He looked her up and down with a frown and spoke something in the native tongue.

Jaelyn frowned at him, sticking her hands on her hips. She had enough of male aggression for one day.

In drow, she said "Look, I know you understand me. So speak drow. I need to talk with your leader. Now."

The man's frown became a sneer and he spoke in drow as if the words had a funny taste. "You may not see him. Without a summons, you cannot enter."

His drow was crude at best, but she understood him well enough and she knew he understood her.

"I don't need a summons!" she shouted at him, impatient and frustrated. "Need I remind you that I'm the one that helped fend off the drow that attacked your village?"

Jaelyn knew it was mean, but she didn't care. He was in the way, damn it, and he didn't look to be moving any time soon. She was close to physically removing him, though she knew that would be a bit of trouble given his size compared to hers. It would've been like an ant trying to move a boulder.

"It may mean something to...to..." the man struggled with the appropriate drow word for leader and settled for 'lord'. "Lord Olland, but it means little to me. You fight your own people. If your own people mean so little to you, than others will mean even less."

"I beg your pardon?" Jaelyn snapped. "I'll have you know, sir, that I fought my own people because I had no choice in the matter. They would've killed you! How dare you stand there and make what I did-what my friend and I did-nothing! We risked our lives to save yours!"

"Risk?" the man replied, his face contorted in hatred. "You fight from a distance with...with those little flying sharp sticks, not face to face like a true warrior. You don't deserve the title, nor the honor of the warrior mark! Lord Olland offers it because he can offer nothing else."

Jaelyn's hands, clenched tight at her sides, shook with her anger. She thought about turning away and leaving, just forget about it and wait until she got to this Olland when he was away from his guards. She even felt her foot slide back, but no, that's what this bastard wanted, it was what they all wanted, what they were all trying to get her to do. They wanted her to back down. Well, not this time. Not ever again. She was done backing down and running away.

"Is that so?" she growled at him. "Well, then, how about I challenge you to combat? How about I earn the mark of the warrior through your blood?"

Jaelyn could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, how angry and blood-thirsty they sounded. Why was she even doing this? What did she have to prove to this man?

That you're more of a warrior than he is. He probably cowered during the raid with the women and children! came the angry, insulted voice of Pride from between her ears. So, come on, prove yourself! Make a fool of him!

The man grinned. "You challenge me? High guard to Lord Olland; his most trusted warrior?"

His comrade was smiling, too, but in a less nasty way. He merely looked amused at the prospect of Jaelyn fighting the man, or so she assumed.

"That's right." she replied, firmly. "I challenge you! Do you accept?"

"I accept, but we will face off as true warriors. No distance, but face to face and hand to hand."

Hand to hand? But...that guy's huge! It's an unfair advantage!

Jaelyn swallowed but held her ground and heard herself say "Fine. Hand to hand, then."

The man grinned again. "Good. I will inform Lord Olland of the challenge. He will want to witness it, I am certain and it will likely be held at the ceremony. Before you are marked, let us pray."

He turned to his comrade, spoke a few words to him in native and then disappeared behind the curtain.

Jaelyn looked at the other guard, who smiled at her. He was a nice looking man, well-built, but not as buff as the other. His features were angled, strong and masculine, and he had round, dark blue eyes like sapphires. His mouth spoke of a life of good humor, for it had a natural upward curve and made him look all the more handsome when it was in full-smile. His jet-black hair was short and unkempt. He had the tribal tattoos twining down his muscular arms to his wrist. They spread across his chest and neck and one particular strand of markings curled up across the left side of his jawline to his temple and then spread out to his left eye. The tattoos seemed to be some kind of small symbols or possibly the native's version of writing set in a vine-like pattern. They were very elaborate and no doubt they'd been painful, especially coming that close to the eye. Still, she found the man alluring.

He cleared his throat in a nervous manner and she saw that his face colored a bit.

"I must apologize for him." he spoke in drow, his voice deep and resonating. "He...hates your kind. They murdered his wife during the raid."

"I am not like them." she replied, sternly in defense.

The man shook his head. "No, you are not. I know that. I saw you during the raid and I've seen you around the village, how you interact with us. You are far from what those...others are. Grimnar, son of Grimmar is still grieving his wife. He lashes out, it is his way of coping with the loss. Actually, I think maybe this fight is what he needs, despite what the outcome will be."

Jaelyn lifted a brow. "Despite the outcome? What do you see happening?"

The man smiled, making Jaelyn's heart skip a beat.

Dear gods...

"There is a saying from where you come from. He will have his...head handed to him?" he said, uncertainly and then laughed. "I believe it went something like that."

Jaelyn nodded with her own humorous smile. "That's right. We also say 'he'll have his head handed to him on a silver platter.' In any case, I appreciate your vote of confidence."

He gave her his uncertain look again and a sheepish smile. "Forgive me?"

She laughed. "I just meant that I am grateful you think I'll win."

He nodded. "Ah, I see. Yes, well, Grimnar may be a tough man and he may fight well, but you are the more experienced when it comes to battling opponents. Besides, I've seen you fight. It may have been with...what do you call that weapon you use?"

"A bow."

"Yes, you may have fought with a bow, but much of what I saw in its workings are not much different than fighting close." he said. "Always, you must judge distance and accuracy. It takes focus and speed, as well as reflex to fight."

Jaelyn nodded her agreement and tilted her head a bit in curiosity. "I thought your people didn't know how to fight."

"We know something of it, otherwise we would not be here. But what we know isn't enough to combat the drow."

"And you think I'll win?"

"Without a doubt, but don't tell Grimnar that. He'll skin me alive." he replied with a laugh.

"It'll be our secret." she said.

"I have never shared a secret with a woman whose name I do not know." he went on, smoothly, leaning back against the shelter wall and giving her a sly look.

"I thought my name would've been known across the village by now."

"Oh, no. No one in the village knows your name. Some simply call you the 'good drow'."

"Oh, well, I'm Jaelyn."

The man smiled pleasantly. His eyes seemed to reflect that pleasantness, for they sparkled.

"Jaelyn." he echoed, letting her name roll off his tongue as if it had a nice taste to it. "Lovely...just like you."

Her skin darkened with a blush.

"Well, that's a first." she said after a moment of being embarrassed.

"What is first?" He had that uncertain look again.

"It's a saying. It means that what you just said was something that has never been said to me before."

He tilted his head to one side and gave her a look of true puzzlement.

"Why not? Do people not tell the truth where you come from?"

"Well, some do. It's just that where I come from, my kind isn't exactly liked...or tolerated."

"Your home doesn't sound very pleasant."

"It isn't. Believe me. But...is it any different from here?"

His brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I see the looks." she went on, solemnly. "The hatred. Admittedly, it isn't everyone, but it's hard to miss the ones that are doing it."

"My people have never faced anything like those drow. They've been a plague on us for a few island lives now. Only now have they come in full force. And we have no idea why. There are rumors of a greater army, but nothing of their reasons for harming us. My people are frightened that they will come again one day and kill us all. And now, one of them walks among us. You must understand."

She shook her head. "I can't. I've tried to all my life, but I just can't. I am not one of them. Why can no one look beyond my appearance, beyond the color of my skin, beyond my heritage?"

"There will always be some who will refuse to look beyond it. Perhaps you should not worry about them and pay more attention to the ones that do."

Jaelyn looked up at him and gave a small inclination of her head. "I can try."

"Do, Jaelyn." he corrected. "No one has ever gotten very far with a 'try' view. Think 'do' and you will do."

"You're wise for one so young." she replied. "How do you know so much?"

He grinned. "I do not try, I do. My father is also the Prophet of our people, a very wise man. He is the oldest among us and has named seven leaders."

"How old is he?"

"A hundred and fifty island lives." he replied with a proud smirk. "But quite young at heart, is my father."

Jaelyn stared at him in shock. "A hundred and fifty years old? Most humans don't live past eighty. He's lived through several generations!"

"Yes, most people believe he should have been named the leader long ago, but at the chance, he turned away to serve as Prophet."

"What does he do exactly?"

"Well, he speaks to the island and the island grants him visions of the future. We all speak to the island to a degree, but father can hear it much more clearly." he replied. "There are only certain times we can do this, however. We cannot speak to the island when it is moving; that was how we did not know of the drow coming. However, days before, my father received a vision of a boat nearing the island and three people getting off of it and onto a smaller boat to reach the shore. One of the people was a child. You and your male companion make that three. Do you have many children from him? Or is it just the one?"

Jaelyn nearly choked on the very idea.

"Oh, no!" she said, holding her hands up and shaking her head. "You've got that all wrong. He's not...I mean, well, he isn't...it's not like that. Besides, the small person that was with us is not a child. He's a halfling."

"Half...ling?" he replied uncertainly.

"Yes, they are a race of small people from where I'm from. He was captured by the drow before we could reach your village."

"Oh...forgive me."

Jaelyn nodded. "We're going to get him back, though. We have to."

For the first time, the man looked grim. Jaelyn didn't like the look on him; it was more suited for someone like Bishop, who was grim at heart.

"Many of my people taken by the drow have not returned." he muttered and then rose his head quickly, giving it a hard shake. "Forgive me. I should not have said that. I was being-"

Jaelyn held up a hand. "It's all right. I have wondered about his...mortality myself. Gulaonar says as long as he remains useful to the drow, he will live. So...you said your father cannot receive visions from the island when it's moving? Does the island move a lot?"

The guard nodded. "It is called a Life Journey. For every island life cycle, there is a Life Journey."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "The same reasons why we breathe; to live, to survive, to simply be. It is only natural."

"So, the island has to take the Life Journey to...live?"

He nodded. "As it has always been and will always be."

Jaelyn 'hmm'ed. "Weird. So, your people think this island really is alive, then?"

"Isn't it?"

"I was under the impression that land wasn't alive, at least not in any sentient manner."

The man frowned, not understanding. "Sentient?"

"Well, yeah, like you and me, how we're alive."

He shook his head. "It is as much alive as you and I."

"Well, I suppose it has to at least be animate if it can move, but I'm not convinced it's sentient."

She shook her head on the matter, considering it closed. Thinking about it too much made her head hurt in any case. Land as a living, breathing, thinking thing? Ridiculous.

"You never told me your name." Jaelyn said to the man, conversationally. "I think it's only fair, since I told you mine."

He smiled humorously. "I am called Akereth, elder son of Akore."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Akereth."

"And you, Jaelyn."

They stood there for a moment in silence, then Akereth cleared his throat again in a nervous manner.

"The man you mentioned before, your companion, he is not...er...the both of you are not mated?"

Jaelyn's eyes widened. "Mated?"

"Yes...er, he is not your life partner? Forgive me if the question is too private."

"No, it's not too private, and no, he's definitely not my life partner. Just kind of a friend."

"And will he be your mate in the future?"

Jaelyn gave her head a negative shake. "Absolutely not. I wouldn't 'mate' with him if he were the last male on Toril."

The man grinned. "If you feel this way toward him, why is he with you?"

She shrugged. "It's one of those things...you know, you pick something up and you can't get rid of it. He's like one of those plant barbs that get stuck inside your clothing and you can never get them out again unless you cut it off. One of those things."

Akereth didn't seem to get it, but he continued smiling at her, liking the way she talked.

"Well, in any case, I never wanted him along. My friend Quin, the one captured by the drow, he was the one that wanted him along."

She shut up, because she realized she was blabbing under his intense stare, which was making a little tingle of excitement run down her spine and kindle in her belly where it heated up. It was a similar sensation to that which she'd felt upon finding the ranger staring at her in a lascivious manner. It was suddenly hot under her clothes, but then she realized she was hardly wearing any.

"Well, since you are not claimed by another, would you...er...consider me..." the rest of Akereth's words trailed off into his native tongue, which was completely lost on Jaelyn.

She looked back at him with a small smile, trying to keep from laughing, even if he was on the verge of it himself.

He scratched the back of his head. "Forgive me. I, er, lapse into my natural language when I am nervous."

"Why am I making you nervous?"

"Well...I've never, er, asked a woman to dance with me before."

Jaelyn grinned at him trying to ask her out. It was a first for her as well; a first at being asked out to do anything.

"And you're asking me? Where would we dance?"

"At the ceremony, of course. There is always dancing afterward; dancing and feasting."

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind being seen around the village dancing with me?" she asked to be certain.

His warm expression reassured her. "If anything, Jaelyn, I would consider it an honor."

"Well, I must warn you. I can't dance."

He grinned. "Neither can I. But I like the idea of us making fools of ourselves together."

They shared a laugh, which was promptly broken by the other guard returning to his post with a satisfied look on his face.

"Lord Olland granted the challenge to be a part of the ceremony." the large man said, his chest puffed out, making Jaelyn wish she had a pin handy so she could deflate his ego. "An hour after sundown, we will face one another in battle."

Jaelyn nodded curtly. "I look forward to it. Now, can I go in?"

"No. Lord Olland will see no one before the ceremony." he replied in a stern tone. "He will speak with you on the morrow."

Jaelyn sighed. "Fine. I guess it can wait."

She turned and left, Akereth smiling happily as he watched her go.

His large comrade eyed him with disapproval and in the native tongue he asked "What are you smiling about, Akereth, idiot son of Akore?"

The smaller man folded his arms and sighed. "I have found her at last."

xxxxxxxxxx

She was in trouble, that much she knew.

She should have never challenged that guard; she should have gone with cowardice and run away. Her new-found moxie had gotten her into deep water and now she was roaming the village, looking for the last person she wanted to ask a favor of.

Jaelyn cursed herself for her stupidity until she found him on the outskirts of the village, laying back in the grass under a large(and friendly) shade tree, eating an apple.

"There you are." she announced. "I've been looking all over for you."

Bishop looked up at her while picking a piece of apple out of his teeth with the point of his dagger. His expression was the type you found on someone who has just been rudely interrupted during some very important business.

"So you found me. What do you want?" he demanded irritably.

She ignored the tone. "That's bad for digestion, you know."

He gave her a strange look. "What?"

"Eating on your back."

"What do you want?" he repeated, his tone hard and meaning business.

It figured. The moment he found a peaceful place to relax in the shade, she had to come and ruin it.

"Uh..." she began nervously, digging the toe of her boot into the dirt. "Uh...I think I may have gotten myself into trouble."

"So?"

She looked off into the forest-anywhere was better than looking at him right now-as he pulled himself up and leaned back against the tree trunk.

"I need your..." she gulped. "Help."

The ranger rose a brow, staring at her for one long moment and then he shrugged, coldly. "Whatever it is, it's not my problem."

Jaelyn sighed heavily in frustration as she knelt in the grass next to him.

"Come on," she said, careful to keep the desperation out of her voice. "How many times have I helped you?"

"I never asked you to."

"No, but I still did it."

"Not my problem."

Jaelyn grit her teeth and then hung her head. Bishop watched her closely, noted the desperation she was trying to hide behind frustration.

Ah, so the little drow needed him for something, did she? Well, he might help her...for a price.

"What is it you've gotten yourself into this time?" he inquired, casually.

She looked up at him in surprise. "I thought it wasn't your problem?"

Bishop paused in the midst of biting into his apple and gave her a stern, impatient look. "Forget it. You just ruined your chance."

He moved to stand up, but Jaelyn latched onto his belt and held him down, her face now showing much of her desperation.

"All right, all right." she said hastily and he settled back, smirking.

Frowning at the bastard, Jaelyn told him what had happened not long ago with that brute of a guard at Olland's shelter. When she was finished, he laughed at her in amusement, making the frown on her face deepen.

"It's not funny." she said firmly. "I was only taking your advice to stand up for myself."

"I didn't tell you to initiate fights with men several times your size." he replied. "I would've thought you'd know which fights to avoid, but apparently you don't. Are you sure you're a trained ranger?"

Jaelyn deflated, holding her face in her hands with a groan.

"This is no time for wise cracks. I'm in a terrible spot, damn it. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Depends."

She looked up, hopefully. "On what?"

The wickedly seductive look on his face knocked hope right out of the proverbial ballpark and into space.

"On how you plan to pay me back."

"Pay you back?" Jaelyn demanded. "I shouldn't have to owe you anything after all the times I've helped you."

"Oh, really? And I didn't help you when those drow put two bolts in your back? That made us even, drow. Now you're asking a favor of me, so yeah, you're going to owe me."

She sighed. "Can't you just do it out of the kindness of your heart?"

Who in the Nine damn Hells was she talking to?

Bishop laughed sinisterly. "What heart?"

"Oh, right, I forgot. Well, what's your price, then?"

She knew she shouldn't have asked. She shouldn't have even gone to him.

His eyes looked her up and down in a very predatory manner that made her skin crawl. She'd seen looks like that in nature a lot. Usually it was the expression on a wolf's face just before it pounced on its unsuspecting prey.

"Steep." he finally said, cryptically.

Jaelyn frowned. "What in the hells does that mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Jaelyn groaned. "That's not fair! You're the only person I have to go to for help. Gods, why do you have to be such a dick?"

He laughed. "Relax, drow. You don't even know my price, yet."

"That's the problem! With you, it could be anything, though more than likely it's going to be something bad."

Bishop smirked. "Maybe you do know me better than I give you credit for. Still, who's to say you won't like it?"

"I highly doubt it." she huffed.

"You didn't seem to mind it too much last night."

Jaelyn flushed deeply and looked away. She could feel the heat of her embarrassment traveling all the way into her boots.

"Uh...I did too mind it!" she replied defensively.

"Oh, yeah? You've got a strange way of showing it, kissing me back like that."

She sputtered for a response. "Yeah, well...uh...I also told you to get out."

He smirked in a very smug and annoying manner. "Yeah, but we both know why you did that."

"We do not!" she replied angrily and then shook her head. "I mean, you don't."

"Sure, I do. Your cowardice runs pretty deep."

Jaelyn glared at him. "Look who's talking."

"Think I'm afraid? If that were true, I wouldn't have initiated it in the first place."

"Oh, you can kiss and screw just fine, I'm sure." she spat. "You're just too damn afraid to feel anything while you're doing it."

"Don't confuse choosing to feel something with incapable of feeling something." he shot back, getting angry. "That's a good way to find yourself disappointed, especially around me."

She smiled in a smart manner. "You can easily point out the cowardice of others, but you're such a coward that you can't even face your own cowardice. You refuse to believe it's even there. That's the purpose of all your walls, right? Too damn afraid of letting someone in, too damn afraid to feel anything, and too damn afraid to face the truth. Here's an idea, Bishop, why don't you heed your own advice for once? You need it more than I do."

He leaned forward, a look of deep anger on his face as he glared into her eyes.

"Go to the hells, you bitch." he bristled. "You don't know a fucking thing about-"

"Oh, save it." she snipped his words off, seething. "That's always your godsdamned excuse, but you said so yourself, didn't you? I know you better than you give me credit for. Besides, if I couldn't see right through you, then there would be no need for you to get all angry and defensive about what I say, right?"

She had no clue of the dangerous ground she walked on, nor of the anger she was building in him with mere words. But no, it went deeper than words, didn't it? That's what was really bothering him. It went deep down to the truth, to the heart of the matter. She tread on that dangerous ground on purpose because more often than not, she could see right through him and she wasn't afraid of him.

The drow was staring at him, waiting for a reply. Her face was calm and serious, but he saw the smug gleam in her eyes. And it only made him all the more angry, but it wasn't just because of that look. He had no idea what to say back; he had no idea how to react. That was a first.

So, like the wolf she'd seen in his predatory look, he pounced on his prey without warning, knocking her backward into the grass and pinning her down.

Jaelyn wiggled under him and fought madly against his iron hold. He leaned down close, smiling while he pressed her arms firmly into the ground.

Her eyes glared like green fire, and oh, how he loved her anger. It fed his desire.

"Let me go." she said through her teeth.

"Why? You know you want it."

"You disgust me!" she shouted at him, twisting her body around.

He moved so that his knees were at either side of her thighs, trapping her body so she couldn't move about.

"Do I?" he replied mockingly. "Then why'd you kiss me back?"

Jaelyn suddenly grew still, surprising him.

Her green eyes connected with his golden ones. "Why did you kiss me in the first place?"

Bishop laughed hard. She could feel it against her, could feel it rumbling up out of his chest, which was pressed close to hers.

"Avoiding the question with a question." he said. "I think I have my answer."

"And you're avoiding it, too." she shot back. "So, I have mine as well."

"You'd be wrong, then."

"I would? Then why don't you give me the right answer?"

"Why won't you give me yours?"

Jaelyn laughed. She simply couldn't help it. They could go back and forth like this forever. They were both equally as stubborn and unwilling to let the other win, or to openly admit the truth. They both desired one another. Whether it was a desire to know what lay beyond the stone walls, or a desire to conquer what no man had yet been able to conquer, the desire was there.

"What is your interest in me?" she asked him seriously when the laughter subsided.

He shrugged. "What every man's interest in a woman is."

"Not every man is like you, Bishop."

He smirked. "I won't deny the truth in that."

And he leaned down further, meaning to prove it, but the tables turned.

Jaelyn somehow got her knee up and perfectly positioned between his legs. She threw all her body weight to one side, using her knee in his groin for leverage so she could roll him over. Jaelyn straddled him with one hand wrapped around his throat as she glared down at him.

She was aware of his hands on her hips, one of which was questing down to her backside. She slapped it away with her free hand.

"That wasn't a compliment." she said and then quickly rolled away from him, getting to her feet.

Bishop sat up on his elbows as she walked away.

"I thought you needed my help, drow." he called after her, smirking.

She paused in her stride and looked over her shoulder, her beaded braids clicking together. That white hair spilled straight down her back like a waterfall but the thick bangs still covered the left side of her face. He liked it better when it was a mess, when it looked like she'd just gotten out of bed.

"I did." she replied. "But you made me realize it's not worth the trouble."

She turned back, leaving him with the image of her departing, swaying figure.

He tried not to imagine the things he wanted to do to it, but it wasn't easy. He really needed to get laid.

Bishop fell back into the grass with a groan.