hey ia ms going to bold this just to make sure everyone reasds the authors comments this time.

yesterday I got a bad head injuury and now hasve a bad concussion. i cants mees to type very swell, and all i see is a mess of blur on the monnitor, so please excuse anything i write. if i make a comment on your story and its in a jumbled mess, please forgirve that.

Furthermore, this chapter is UNETDIDED. I have not done any editing on it, nor is it FINISHED. I decided to upload the unfisninshed chapter so I can include htis is mt a/n.

I will finish the chapter as chapter 1t, and co back to edit this chapter when i am no longer stuck in this daze.

Once again, I am stuck in bed, and this time its because i injured my brain :/ not air.s

CHAPTER 14: Hurting

The only sound to be heard was the sound of hoofs beating against the dirt path. Dirk was not thinking clearly, he had stopped trying to think altogether.

Jake…

How could he? And everyone knew it… he would be beheaded, and his head would be shoved on a pike for all to see… and there was nothing Dirk could do about it…

Oh yeah, that and he handed your little brother over to the enemy and sold top secret information to that same enemy.

Without really meaning to, he slowed the horse to a slow trot. The sky was starting to lighten, the first signs of morning shining through the darkness. He was tired - his entire body just wanted to lay down and never get up. Before he realized it, he noticed himself leaning dramatically to the left, and quickly dismounted before he fell off the horse. It did not matter much though, because his legs seemed unable to support his weight, and he fell to the dirt.

All he could see was Jake in front of him, smiling that beautiful, addictive smile of his. He could almost feel him in his arms. Maybe he was too quick to anger? All these years, Jake had never left his side. The only time Dirk did not have Jake within arms reach, was when Jake got one of those surprise headaches, and wanted to be alone…

He did not realize he had gripped his fingers through the dirt, clenching it so tightly that it had compacted in his hand. A part of his brain was yelling at him to turn around and go back after Jake, while the other part was screaming at him to hurry up and rescue his brother. He was torn.

He looked up, finally realizing that he was crying. Through the tears and the darkness, he saw a shadow materialize, a silhouette approaching.

… … …

"Dave!" Jade cheered, running over to a blonde boy as he entered his room, followed by a few guards. She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly with a cheerful smile on her face, "How are you? What did they do to you down there?"

She had been waiting in one of the Chambers the Queen had prepared for him for hours. The Queen had forbidden her to enter the room they were performing the 'experiment' in. Instead, she offered to help set up a Chamber for Dave in the castle. That helped calm her nerves severely. If they were setting up a Chamber for him, then that would mean he was expected to survive the experiment! And here he was! In one piece!

He was looking at her with a confused expression, his red eyes looked lost. He did not say anything to her, only blinked. She suddenly wanted to frown, why was he looking at her like she was crazy? But for his sake, she kept smiling and released him, reaching down and grabbing his hand, and leading him through the Chamber.

"It's not very big!" She smiled, "But here is a sitting area, and in the corner there - the maids and I set up some curtains to cut off a sort of 'sleeping chamber' for you. That way you can have some privacy from the rest of the chamber to sleep… oh! And over there is a balcony! You should see the view Dave! Its so beautiful!"

She led him straight over to a pair of large double doors. She pushed one open, she giggled when she saw him flinch back and shield his eyes from the light. Carefully, she guided him out onto the balcony, blinking a few times to let her eyes adjust to the sudden light.

Jade liked this balcony a lot more then her own. From Jade's balcony in her own private Chambers, she can look over the horizon, the endless fields and right out to the forest. She always liked to watch the sun break the horizon over or under the trees. But from Dave's balcony, he could look over the entire town! The Castle Town of Prospit was laid right out before him, and he could greet the people every day!

He released her hand and stepped out across the balcony, leaning against the stone railing. Worry nestled itself in the pit of her stomach and she walked over and leaned against the railing with him.

"Is it sunset or sunrise?" Dave asked.

The question did not catch her off guard. She smiled, "Sunset. You've been down in that room all day! I've been worried."

He looked over at her - still with confusion, "Why?"

Jade felt as if she had been slapped in the face. She stepped back, "Oh…because we're friends now! And friend's worry about each other!"

"I'm sorry." He looked her straight in the face, their eyes locking on each others, "I can't remember a thing."

Jade frowned, "What did they do to you down there?"

"I don't know." Dave replied. She could hear the honesty in his voice.

She smiled again and gently put her hand over his, squeezing it reassuringly, "Well, what do you remember then?"

"I thought I remembered something… but the Queen said it wasn't true." Dave explained, "I remember a giant tree… and a nest… there was three eggs in it."

"Eggs?" Jade asked,

"Yeah." Dave shook his head. She saw a shiver go up his spine, "Never mind. Its not important." He turned to face her again, "You said we were friends right?"

Jade beamed, "Yes!"

He placed his other hand on top of hers, so her hand was now sandwiched between his, "I don't remember anything. The Queen said my name is Dave… what is your name?"

Jade giggled and placed her other hand on top of his, finishing off the tower of hands, "Its Jade."

"Nice to meet you… Jade." He whispered.

Jade felt the blush creep over her cheeks, and she quickly stepped back, hiding her face behind her hair, "Um… yes. N-Nice to meet you too. Um, oh yeah! I forgot! Follow me Dave!" He looked like he was going to protest for a second, but when she reached out her hand for his, he was quick to accept it. She smiled and started to lead him back into his Chamber.

She walked over to the curtained off area, and pushed the curtain aside. For the first time, she realized that the guards were gone - they had slipped out while Jade and the Derse Prince were on the balcony. She pretended not to notice, and led him into his makeshift 'sleeping chamber'. A small bed was set up against the wall, and a wardrobe was pushed up behind it. Sitting on the bed was a gold and silver outfit - made out of the finest materials Prospit had to offer.

"I managed to snag these for you." She looked down at his attire, "I thought they would be more comfortable then the rags you are wearing?"

Dave looked down at his outfit, as if realizing what he was wearing for the first time. He was wearing…yeah. Rags. It looked like someone had grabbed a curtain from a wall and quickly draped it over him, cutting a hole for his head.

"Thank you." He mumbled.

Jade blushed again, and backed out of the chamber, "Try them on, I'll wait out here."

He said something in reply, but she could not hear it. It kind of sounded like he was mumbling to himself. She giggled and walked back out to the balcony. The evening air was nice and cool, and the sun was just heading over the horizon. She looked down at the entrance to the castle. A few guards were dragging something out, something covered by a sheet.

The curiosity exploded through her, and she leaned in to get a better look. Whatever it was, was struggling weakly. It actually managed to break loose from the sheet for a moment, and Jade felt her heart skip a beat. It looked like Dave, but that was stupid, Dave was right behind her getting changed. It also had orange hair and large orange wings. She covered her mouth with a hand as the creature turned and looked up. Their eyes met, and Jade saw herself staring into bright orange eyes. They looked frightened - almost as if they were pleading with her to help him.

She felt someone come up behind her, felt their arm brush up against hers. She did not look over and whispered, "What kind of experiment did they do?"

"I don't know." She heard Dave reply. She looked over and saw him looking at the creature with distant eyes. He sighed, "When I woke up, I was strapped to a table, and that…that thing, was writhing on the ground next to me."

"What is it?" Jade whispered,

"I don't know." He repeated, "When they took me from the room, that thing was still in there."

The sky was starting to get dark, and it was casting shadows all over. Jade wondered why no one had come into the room yet to light the candles. She turned around to face Dave. He looked… awkward in the Prospit colours. He looked like he wasn't very comfortable in them either. She suppressed a giggle.

"What?" He asked, looking down at his clothes, "That bad huh?"

"N-No." She could no longer stop herself and giggled, "Come on, I bet your hungry. Let me show you around the castle." Dave nodded, and Jade led him over to the door. She opened it up, and saw two guards standing outside.

"Good Evening Princess." One said, "The Queen has granted you permission to come and go as you please, but until we can make sure the Prince can behave himself, we are not permitted to let him leave, please understand."

Jade nodded. She looked back at Dave, "I'll have a servant bring you something to eat."

He nodded, but did not say anything.

She turned the leave, and finally he spoke up, "Where are you going?"

She turned back with a smile, "To go check on John!"

"Who?" Dave asked.

Jade felt a knot form in her stomach, "You really don't remember?" He shook his head. She forced a smile over her face, "John is our friend! If I can, I'll bring him up to say hello!"

Dave just nodded wearily.

She sighed and turned around, walking down the hall, "I'll be right back, Dave!" She felt that knot tighten. John's going to be heart-broken when he hears about this…

And something just did not feel right. She remembered the bird-like creature staring at her from the ground… and Dave's story about a nest and eggs…

Was it all just coincidence?

A shiver went up her spine as she walked away from Dave's room, and back towards the Hospital Wing. John was still very sick. The Guards outside the room were told not to let him leave yet. She entered the Hospital Wing, thinking about how she was going to break the news to John, when she found the place surprisingly empty. A nurse or two walked by, but besides that, the guards that had previously been stationed there were gone.

The door leading into Dave's old room was open. She looked around, there was no guards, no doctors nearby - nothing. She walked in and immediately realized why. The room was completely empty. Panic set in. The Queen had not banished him back to the dungeons had she? She quickly whirled around and ran out of the room, and straight up to the first Nurse she saw, "Where is John?"

"The Prince?" She asked. Jade nodded vigorously. The Nurse shrugged, "The Queen asked for him to be brought to the Throne Room nearly an hour ago."

"The Throne Room?" She asked. The Nurse just shrugged again and went back to work.

Jade felt her heart pound heavy in her chest, and she went racing out towards the Throne Room.

… … …

The chapter continuedm but i cannot write anymore due to a severe head injuurt. i will write when i can. sorry everyone :(again, this was unedited and unfinsihed. So please be nice?