The boggans didn't follow us. How could they when their attention had been adverted to the rampage of oncoming leafmen they were about to have the misfortune to fight. Battle cries echoed in the background from our soldiers, followed by several grunts, yells and thuds from the boggans. It was silly of me really, to think that all the evil in my world was obliterated so quickly. Of course there would be something else to delay my happily ever after. I just thought once I defeated Mandrake it would all be over, I had never anticipated further resistance. I feel a hollowness in the pit of my stomach, expanding into a void that sucks all my happy emotions in. It takes me a minute to realise what's causing this black hole inside me. But when I do, I notice it is directly linked to the reservations I've been having about marrying Nod. What if there's always some form of enemy to fight off? I know I wouldn't be allowed within a ten-mile radius of the danger due to Nod being so protective over me, so fighting alongside him is out of the question. The Final Stand was the last battle I will ever fight in if Nod has his way. All that leaves me is to wait anxiously to see if Nod has returned from another life threatening mission with the leafman army. Then my mind begins to spiral out of control, bombarding me with 'what if' scenarios. What if one day he never returns and I'm all alone this world I only love because of him? What if he becomes so focussed on killing the enemy he loses who himself in this purpose? The worst what if has haunted me from the moment The Final Stand began, what if he dies trying to protect me? Suddenly I'm back in the tunnel, running, Tara yelling things at me that I don't understand until she points at a ledge with two boggans on. They each hold a spear, trained on our moving figures. This threat doesn't worry me, because I know they won't hit us, not a chance. We are racing across the tunnel far too quickly for their amateur throws. As predicted they aim, throw and miss by half a meter behind us. What worries me however, is that if two were on that ledge, how many more will await us in this maze of unknown?

Tara is completely leading this rescue mission, I have no clue where we are or where the leafmen will be. Her face screams determination which comforts me, somehow I know she won't give up until she finds her men, or more specifically her man. Her longing for Ronin is just as deep as mine. Since this search began, my mind has never faltered in thinking Nod is alive. But now I am starting to question my theory. I have no idea of time, what I do know is my legs are complaining from overuse meaning we have been on the move for a while. This terrifies me. We have been through countless tunnels since the one where we met the boggans, with no sign of the leafmen. Unless we are going around in circles, I suggest to Tara that we are going in the wrong direction. We sit down on a couple of large boulders to figure this mess out. All together there were 22 leafmen sent on this mission (including Ronin and Nod), since we haven't come across any more boggans we decide to retrace our steps to where we found the two that tried to kill us with spears. Once we are walking back, trying to navigate the way back to that first long tunnel, I can't resist the urge to ask Tara about the thing worrying me most - which I can't resolve myself.
"Tell me honestly, do you think they are alive?" My voice quivers during my question.
"We may not have found them yet, but I hope so." Tara looks downcast, but just like me I know she won't give up until she finds them. Somehow I know we will find them, the real question is are they dead or alive?

The cave walls all look the same. Made of stone, laced in cobwebs and shining from the water that clings to it's surface. We pass wall after wall, go through tunnel after tunnel, still with no sign of our leafmen. At this point any little hint at their location would be a blessing. Eventually we come to a halt, realising we are getting no where. That's when I see it. The spear that hit the floor instead of puncturing me. I race forward and pick up the clue that we desperately needed. My eyes light up as I show Tara enthusiastically. Our original plan was to return to this tunnel and follow it back to the area that we arrived in, but the leafmen we came with are not there anymore. Several boggans lie lifeless on the ground as we tread carefully around them. Even though they have kidnapped the love of her life, she can't help but frown at the unnecessary loss of life. Me, however, am less noble and can't help thinking that's what you get for ruining the happiest day of my life. Although, I don't smile. As bitter as I am towards them, I wouldn't be happy about anyone dying - maybe except Mandrake. One boggan catches my attention, he seems the most jinn like, instantly his face begins to morph into Nod's. A gasp of horror escapes me and before I know it my two hands dart over my mouth and tears are streaming to the floor. Tara immediately understands the reason behind my distress, a tear falls down her own cheek which she makes no attempt to hide. I think it's to comfort me - to show it's okay feeling upset. After my hands cleared my eyes of water we scan the large cavern. Tunnel openings scattered all around the walls. We have no idea where to go, the odds of picking the right one are against us. If we don't pick the right one (which is highly likely) then we could get endlessly lost again. That's when an idea hits me.
"When I was last here, there was a large open bit at the centre. It showed all the levels and I'm sure that would give us a better view. We could also try checking the place where Mub and Grub were held since that could be where all prisoners are kept."
Right now, my idea was the best one we had.

Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get to it from the tunnels. So without further hesitation I whistled Acira, when she landed I jumped on and helped Tara climb gracefully up. It always amazed me how she was always so coordinated, no matter the situation. I circled the air above and sent my bird into a breakneck dive. At first, my passenger thought I was insane, for all she could see I was launching us straight into the ground at a perilous speed. To a person who had never seen this place before that's all they would see, but I had been here before - it is the place that still frequents my nightmares. I remember every detail of my last visit. My fears. My enemies. My exit. I remember Nod helping me through a hole in the roof, at the time it was our exit from a world of hell, now it is exactly what we need. The hole isn't very big, after all it was meant to let in a small shaft of air - not leafmen. Luckily, when Acira folded in her wings it was a comfortable fit. Tara may have screamed the duration of way down, but once we landed she seemed very happy with the result, we were standing in the centre of the underground lair with a full view of the different levels. Our original plan was to search the outskirts of the cavern, time-consuming but we didn't have an alternative. However, we didn't need to use that plan, as soon as we stepped on solid ground we heard loud yelling and bangs coming from a lower chamber.

Running. Panting harder than before. Eyes frantically trying to find the people causing the interruption in the eerie silence. This tunnel (like all the others) was unfamiliar to us, our only hope was to chase the noise and pray it led to the missing soldiers. Eventually, our stamina ran out. We leaned against the wall, heads hung in exhaustion as the sound of shouting rang in our ears. There was no mistaking it - the noise was definitely getting louder. Our steps were cautious for the remaining length of the tunnel. Suddenly, the tunnel walls widened until we stood at the edge of a giant cavern with a huge drop a few meters ahead. We exchanged one glance (one mixed with delight and horror) before we ran to the edge of the cliff. Well, we certainly found our missing leafmen. All the missing army stood at the bottom of the cliff emitting loud battle cries and screeches. Screeches? I knew they weren't jinn. So what was making the animal cries? Then I realised the leafmen weren't alone, about ten large shadowy creatures were attacking the soldiers with teeth and claws slashing ferociously. Several lay lifeless on the floor - some with their tails still twitching. That's when I recognised them. Rats. Disgusting, humongous grey rats. My mind couldn't piece together this battle. Nod had said he was only rounding up stray boggans - not leading a war against angry monsters. Surely he wouldn't lie to me just to stop me from getting worried about his safety? No. For whatever reason he was here, it wasn't originally planned. I had to get down there and help. Tara had the same idea, she whistled for Acira instantly and we flew down into the war zone adamant that we would find answers.

Leafmen looked at us in confusion at our arrival and instantly began to order us to the back wall for our protection. One concerned leafman ran over to a bruised Ronin (who was leading a company in taking down a charging rat) and told him of the situation. Immediately, Ronin hurried over to us. Weary Ronin approached us with a quizzical look, which quickly turned to seriousness.
"Ronin, what is going on here?!" Tara asked with pleading eyes.
"We chased a large group of boggans down here, well what we thought were boggans, and have been trapped down here ever since. There is only one tunnel out but these rats came and blocked it. Our birds couldn't hear us from all the way down here so we have fought these rats from the moment we stepped foot in this stinking pit!"
"Wait, what did you mean by what we thought were boggans?" I asked.
"Well, they looked like boggans until they took off their helmets and pelts, then they were just insects. We fought most the remaining boggans and the rest have either fled or been killed in the Final Stand so it looks like we have a new enemy." Ronin said the words I had feared most. A new enemy. Reservations flooded my mind. Of course, a new enemy to cause Nod to go into war. To risk his life. Nod! By the time I returned to reality from my world of doubt, Ronin and Tara were locked in a tight hug.
"Ronin where is Nod?!" I screamed wildly scanning the battlefield for that one face.
"He's alive MK, calm down. Listen you can't go out there it's far too dangerous, it's also very dangerous for me if I let you - Nod made me swear not to send you into battle again." To be honest I stopped listening to Ronin once he told me Nod was alive. My mind was buzzing trying to find a path into the heart of the fight. Once he stopped talking I launched sideways in trying to dart into battle, however Tara must have been a step ahead of me as she brought two roots from the ground to entwine around my legs. As I began to struggle against my bonds, Tara called Acira and without my consent placed me on the birds back behind her. We flew to the ledge and looked down at the raging fight below. The roots released me but it was far to late - I couldn't descend the cliff. I watched helplessly as Tara used her magic to aid the battle, taking down rats with roots exploding from the soil. Like a caged tiger I paced the edge with frustration eager to rejoin the outside world. That's when a set of arms enclosed around my chest and dragged me into the dark tunnels.

I filled the air with terror filled screams unaware of what was happening. One thing I did know, they weren't a friend because the grip they had on me was cutting off my air supply. Once my screaming died down I was alerted to other shrieks. Tara's cries for help. Immediately I began to yell her name causing a giant furry hand to clamp over my mouth. We were dragged through several small tunnels and once we reached the dimming daylight my kidnapper threw me on to the back of a large bird. I stopped struggling during the flight, as much as I wanted to escape the thought of falling to my death wasn't appealing. When we finally landed my struggling began relentlessly. Flailing arms and thrashing legs kept the kidnappers away for a few seconds before latching themselves on to me and heaving me inside a tree hollow. Tara landed next to me with a dramatic thud and instantly scrambled to find me.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Tara shouted, her voice quivering in rage.
"I'm surprised you haven't heard of me," The largest of them said as he stepped forward into the light. His face shocked me, I had never seen such an ugly toad in all my life. A gasp of shock escaped my lips earning a chuckle from the toad man.
"I thought Ronin and Nod would have told you about me, after all they shouldn't keep secrets from you should they?" I began to snarl at him and forced my legs into the air, I had aimed for the toad but instead I got one of his accomplices. Oh well. One out of three down.
"You're very violent girlie. Don't do that again, I don't want to knock you out. Restrain her." At his order a large furry creature lifted me into the air with a python like grasp on my waist.
"I think it's time I introduce myself, I am Bufo. I've dealt with illegal betting all my life, but now I'm moving into the big money. Someone has put a very large price on your heads and I intend to claim it." Revealing his plan, typical evil villain. Immediately they tied us up and left.

So who was this person with a price on our heads? What had we done to deserve this? And most importantly, why hadn't Nod told me about Bufo? These were the questions I couldn't answer. A ray of moonlight lit up our hollow, bathed in the white light I could see Tara's face. It had lost all it's usual spark - now it was showing distraction.
"It will be alright, we will find a way out." I said, but it was clear she wasn't listening.
"I can't believe Ronin didn't tell me. We have been through far too much to keep things from each other, at least that's what I thought." So Tara was thinking the same as me. I thought she was focused on finding an escape plan but naturally her heart was invading her mind. During the silence I had come to two conclusions; one, Bufo was so insignificant they had never thought to tell us, and two, he was such a threat it was safer to keep it a secret. Either was possible. I had wriggled against the ropes that wrapped around me and noticed my wrists bleeding. Could this day get any better? Apparently yes. My eyes began to become heavy with exhaustion. I started a personal struggle within myself to keep them open with no success. Blinking was a huge challenge but there was no way I was letting myself become as vulnerable as sleep makes you in this situation. My eyes had closed together momentarily and it became impossible to open them again. My body gladly accepted defeat and lay still to enter sleep. Dreams evaded me tonight and nightmares flooded in to replace them. Every 'what if' scenario plagued my head. First Nod dying in battle and having to go on with my sorry existence, then him being corrupted by power and trying to kill me because I stopped him from killing Ronin and to top it all off Nod falling for another girl (that one was new to me).

The buzzing woke me up. Everything looked blurry, except the two insects hovering outside. Guarding us. From what? Surely the leafmen were still preoccupied. Tara herself had just woken up and gave me a concerned look. This was our last chance at escape and we both knew it. The tree was empty except for a few rocks which were carelessly discarded at the back. It was a long shot, like all my plans, but we were desperate. By the time I got to the pile of rocks I was bruised and aching from tossing myself around to get to this point. One sharp rock caught my eye and I quickly scraped the edge on the rope. Finally, the rope released me and I brought the rock over to Tara and released her. That's when my plan began to fail. We stood in a tree with no way down. The guards hadn't noticed our freedom yet, probably because they knew even if we broke free there was no way down apart from falling. If we just had a leaf we could parachute down. Yes, our desperation had hit a new low.
"Hello ladies, planning a nice fall to your deaths?" Bufo asked in sarcasm.
"Do us a favour and fall to yours?" I retorted.
"So close and yet so far..." He clicked his fingers and the gruesome gang picked us up and threw us into a small section of log. Then it began to fly. Fly? Since when can logs fly? I looked through a small hole in the top of our log and saw two pigeon like birds carrying us. Carefully edging to the end of the wood I saw the horrifying drop down. My scream vibrated through the air as I crawled back to Tara. We sat clinging to one another for dear life as the log carried us to this mystery person who wants us dead. My heart physically flipped in fear. "Tara, what's going to happen to us?" I sounded almost like a child.
"I don't know MK, but now would be a great time for the rescue attempt!"
So there we were. Afraid. We soon hit solid ground we were immersed in darkness. The log began to tilt upwards forcing us to roll out, Tara looked very annoyed (probably because for the first time in her life she hadn't landed gracefully). They cut our bonds leaving us poised for attack, then two figures entered the room - I could only recognise one.
"You surprised me Bufo, here is your reward." Said the mysterious stranger.
"Pleasure doing business with you, I will deliver the note now." Bufo replied.
A bird descended allowing the toad to climb on and he left. Every colourful swear crossed my mind towards him but it felt wrong to express them in front of Tara.
"Finally, Tara. I have waited a long time for this." It was then I decided this voice definitely belonged to a male.
"You took your time Tyron." Tara coolly replied. Wait she knew him?
"You know I would wait forever for you my flower." He said sarcastically.
"Let MK go, she has nothing to do with this." Surely Tara knew I wouldn't leave her.
"Hmm, I'm going to have to say no dearest. I will just kill her to get Ronin even more annoyed."
"WHAT HAVE I DONE AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" I interrupted without thinking. You go MK. Make the crazy guy notice you more. The mysterious voice then stepped into the little light in the underground hideaway. His jet black hair blended into the darkness, the striking grey eyes trained on mine and a jagged scar running down the left half of his pale face. He walked closer and smiled at me, amused at my confusion.
"It's a sweet story really. You see, I was the second in command of the leafman army. So naturally there was no one better to protect the Queen - except the General but he was already married. Before the bud bloomed the Queen at the time drew up an agreement for me to marry to the new Queen, what better way to protect my Queen and country?" At this sentence Tara gave a loud sarcastic sigh and Tyron gave an agitated snarl in retaliation before continuing his tale. "When Tara had been picked I decided not to tell her until I got to know her better. Over time she matured and our friendship grew, one day - when I thought was the perfect time - I showed her the agreement, she refused and that night ran away with Ronin. Determined to go through with my promise, I followed them. Tara claimed she was in love with a common leafman - Ronin - and vowed to marry him even if it meant she would no longer be Queen. I objected and Ronin felt the need to butt in. He was the idiot who gave me this scar. They went back to Moonhaven and said I was dangerous so they banished me, completely unfair!" Tara just stood slowly shaking her head whilst my mouth hung open. Who knew Tara had such an interesting - maybe slightly deadly - past?
"Actually no, the agreement stated any high ranking-leafman, not you, I said I loved Ronin and couldn't marry you. Then you came at me with a sword and Ronin blocked it from killing me! So, go on. Get it over with."
Tyron emitted a cold laugh, a laugh that sent shivers down my spine whilst slowly shaking his head to Tara. I had the feeling if he was going to kill us he would have done it by now, no, he intended to use us in some demented way.

Tied up. Hanging by my waist from a tree branch. How I got here? I can answer that in one word, Tyron. We were deep in the foliage, concealed by leaves with nothing but a long drop between us and the ground. To pass the time the villain always revealed their master plan, Tyron was no exception. He told us every detail. How Bufo left a note demanding Ronin came alone to save the Queen and the girl, how he planned to fight him to the death and if he dare bring back up, cut our ropes and watch us fall to our deaths. He was such a cheerful person. So all that was left to do was to wait. Slowly, I struggled to get air. The rope was constricting me and soon I wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. However, little did I know this was Tyrone's plan. I was just about to pass out when Ronin exploded through the canopy, the gasp of shock allowed me to cling to consciousness a little longer. His bird landed on the branch that Tyrone was landing on and after Ronin took one look at Tara fighting for breath his face turned beyond livid. A few seconds later another leafman burst through the trees, Nod. Once he joined the branch too he stared at me in disbelief. For the first time since he left Moonhaven, I got a good look at him and Ronin. Through the vexation on their faces, their exhaustion showed which only intensified their current rage. They had a few small cuts and bruises but nothing big boys couldn't handle.
"You better let my fiancée go before I inflict some serious pain!" Nod yelled.
"Oh Ronin, you didn't come alone... You know what that means." Tyron then threw two swords into the air, slashing our ropes.
Falling. Screaming. Certain death.

Don't worry I will update soon since this is a cliffhanger! Hope you like it and please review.