A/N: Again I would like to thank Clowns or Midgets for being my sounding board and giving me great feedback on this story, especially at the end. She helped me draw the story to a close. Her help was amazing and I can't thank her enough. If you've not read any of her stories, give them a try, they are great.

Lark is found, but no one knows the true extent of her injuries both mentally and physcially. There are going to be trials and hardships as they continue their journey to take the elf and fairy home. Thank you for the silent readers and I would love to know your thoughts, even if it's just a few words. Reviews do make my day. NC

Chapter 25

Three armed elves stepped from the trees with bows strung and arrows pointed at Lark. Before anything could be said or done, Sam and Dean ran from the opposite direction with guns drawn ready to do battle. Everyone stared at each other like a Mexican stand off, none lowering their weapons. Lark stood between the elves and brothers, her sword ready to use, her body tense and adrenaline still racing through her body making her hyper alert. She took a small step back so she could see both parties, ready to continue the fight if either attacked. Her mind was on overload and didn't recognize the elves or the brothers as not being her enemies. Her only thoughts were to protect the innocent ones in the wagon. She would fight until her dying breath if she had to, to insure their safety.

The female elf stepped from the wagon and spoke in her native tongue to the elf soldiers who slowly started to lower their arrows, but didn't un-notch them. She turned to the brothers studying them for a moment before speaking to them. "You must be the friends that she spoke of." she said in a calm, clear voice.

Before Sam or Dean could reply another elf stepped out to stand by the soldiers. He was dressed differently and seemed to have an air of authority about him. He quickly took in the scene and walked toward the wagon as the youngest female elf, Ash, saw him and ran toward him.

"Papa!" Ash cried running into his outstretched arms and hugging him tightly.

"I knew you'd come." Willow choked out letting her father pull her into his embrace.

"Sister, are you well?" he asked Mylaela as he held his daughters close.

"We are unharmed brother." she told him. "This young warrior freed us." she said looking to Lark who was still on the defensive, not lowering her sword.

spn

Sam slowly started to lower his gun when it seemed the elves were here to rescue their own people. Dean took in everything as his mind went to places he didn't want to see. He saw the condition Lark was in and the blood that coated her almost naked body and then looked at the groaning man on the ground with the sword sticking out of him before stepping closer to put two bullets into his chest ending his life. He had no regret for what he just did as the darkness invaded his thoughts.

The soldier elves quickly jerked their bows back up aiming at Dean while the others jumped from the loud noise of the gunshots that echoed through the clearing. The young female elves clung to their father in fright. Lark never moved as she still held her sword out ready to defend herself.

"Whoa! No! Stop!" Sam yelled stepping behind his brother to block their aim. "We don't want to fight you. We came for our friend who was kidnapped like I think your people were."

With a hand signal from their leader, the soldiers stood down, but remained close if they were needed. They eyed these strangers and their strange dress and even more strange weapons that they carried. All saw the man on the ground jerk from the gunshots and saw the blood that began to seep from the wounds. They had never seen a weapon that could do that type of damage and were leery of the tall strangers. All remained silent, waiting on orders from their commander, but couldn't help staring at the woman covered in blood and hardly anything else. They looked at the blood trails down her face and the way she handled the sword she was holding. All knew it had to have been her that killed one and wounded the other since the other two strangers arrived seconds after them. It seemed she was some kind of devil woman or Amazon or an unknown being.

spn

"Lark, hey, it's over." Dean said softly as he put his gun in the waistband of his jeans and held his hands out in front of him to show her he meant no harm. He took in her blood painted face and all the blood that coated her upper body wondering just what happened here. "You can put the sword down now Babe..."

"Dean, I don't think she recognizes us..." Sam said slowly seeing the wild, dark, cornered animal look that haunted her eyes. He put his gun away and started unbuttoning his long sleeved shirt for Lark to put on to cover her almost naked body. "Here, see if you can get this on her." he said offering Dean his shirt. "Is that her blood?"

"I don't think so, can't really tell." Dean replied not taking his eyes off Lark. He didn't want to imagine what she had gone through before they got there since it made him sick on his stomach. He tried to inch closer but she shuffled back and spoke in a voice he didn't recognize nor the words she was speaking.

"What is she saying?" Sam asked slowly moving to her left. He saw Lark's eyes quickly glance his way for a second, but quickly went back to Dean.

"My child, you have freed us. You are as much a warrior as my best soldier." Mylaela spoke to her, but Lark didn't respond to the words.

"Babe, why don't you give Sammy the sword and we'll get his shirt on you..." Dean spoke softly holding the shirt for her to see. "Please Lark..." he begged hoping to see some recognition in her eyes, but all he saw was defiance, hatred and death. He didn't know what to do. Trying to disarm her could result in both or one of them getting hurt. Dean knew she was an excellent fighter since he had seen it numerous times when they had hunted together. He honestly didn't know if he could take her in a true battle and really didn't want to try. She had suffered enough and he didn't want her to suffer anymore.

spn

No one saw the little elf or fairy until they rushed into the clearing and straight for Lark. Talon threw his arms around her legs and cried her name. Ara hovered in her line of sight, chirping excitedly and begging her to come back to them. She danced back and forth in front of her face trying to break into her racing thoughts.

Lark shook her head slightly and let her gaze finally rest on the fairy, focusing on her, as she slowly began to lower her arm slightly. Dean quickly stepped to her and pulled the sword from her hand, handing it off to Sam. He gently draped Sam's shirt around her shoulders and started to button it to hold it around her. He didn't bother trying to get her arms through the sleeves thinking it might be for the best.

"Hey, Talon, c'mon kid, let's get you out of the way." Sam told him pulling him from Lark only to have him cry out and start fighting him. "Calm down...Ow! Damnit! No biting." Sam complained letting him go when he nipped his arm. He looked at the bite mark and saw the faintest trace of blood before rubbing it to stop the pain.

Before Dean could get the second button buttoned, Lark wavered and would have crumbled had he not grabbed a hand full of shirt to lower her limp body slowly to the ground. Talon was by her side and threw his arms around her neck hugging her and whispering softly in her ear. Dean moved Talon enough to feel for a pulse in her neck and let out the breath he was holding when he felt it under his fingers. It was racing and her breathing was short and shallow.

"Is she okay?" Sam asked when he saw Dean checking her out.

Dean saw the crimson stain forming on the shirt sleeve and pulled the shirt from her left shoulder to see where it was coming from. "Get the first aid kit Sammy; this is going to need stitches."

"On it." Sam said hurrying back into the trees for their pack. He could tell Dean was barely holding it together right now and knew he was going to need to be there for him.

spn

Neither brother was paying attention to the elves as the leader gave instructions to his soldiers who stowed their arrows and slipped the bows over their shoulders before disappearing into the trees to do as requested. He stepped back to his daughters and sister who stood patiently nearby and watched Dean.

Sam came back with three packs and sat them nearby. He opened Lark's pack and found her surgical kit for Dean. "Here you go." he said handing him the kit and a bottle of water. He also grabbed out a pair of brief and sweats for Lark thinking she would feel more comfortable when she woke if she had clothes on.

Dean accepted the items, laying them beside Lark. He opened the kit and took out what he needed. Using the water, he rinsed off her arm of the blood and wiped it with gauze to see how deep the gash was. "It's gonna need stitches for sure to stop the bleeding." He picked up a suture and pinched the skin together with two fingers. He couldn't stop the tremble in his hand as he tried to make in the first stitch.

"Here bro, let me do it." Sam offered taking the suture from him and began to stitch the gash closed. "Check her knees out, they look pretty bad." he told Dean wanting to give him something to do.

After digging in the kit, Dean came out with some cream and pads for her knees once he had them cleaned. He wet some gauze and gently wiped the dirt and grim from both knees noticing how raw and scratched up they were. Once he put the cream on, Dean taped the pads over them to protect the injuries. He wet more gauze and wiped Lark's face trying to remove the streaks of blood.

Sam knew his brother was stressed and worried about Lark and couldn't blame him. His feelings ran deep for her and seeing her like this was breaking him. Once he was done, Sam put a pad over the wound and wrapped gauze around it, taping it in place. He packed up the supplies and put the kit back in Lark's pack. After pulling his shirt back in place and buttoning it, he stood up letting Dean take his spot.

Dean picked up Lark's briefs and slipped them over her feet and moved them up her legs and settled them on her hips. Once he had her covered, he cut the ragged piece of blanket off her and tossed it away. He worked her feet into the pant's legs and eased them over he legs, being careful of her knees, and settled them on her hips under Sam's too big shirt. He didn't try to put a shirt on her thinking Sam's was fine for now. Dean cupped Lark's face in his hand and ran his thumb down her cheek lovingly. If he could, he would take away all her hurt and pain as his own...If only he could.

spn

"Your friend was very courageous when she freed us." Mylaela stated to Sam. "You will come with us and she will be taken care of. It is the least we can do for her bravery."

"My elves are making a travois for the female warrior." the leader told him.

"Thank you." Sam said when he saw Dean wasn't going to reply. He saw all his attention was on Lark and no one else mattered at the moment. Sam looked behind them as the elves came back with long limbs and began assembling the travois, like Native Americans used in their world. The kidnappers had three horses and one was to be used to pull it with Lark on it. He watched them quickly assemble it using blankets and rope they found in the camp. When he saw it was finished, he turned to his brother, speaking softly. "Dean, we need to move her now. They're going to help us. Lark needs help." He bent down to help pick Lark up but was pushed roughly away.

"Don't touch her." he growled defensively.

"Okay, but she needs to be put on the travois." Sam huffed not taking offense with Dean's actions. He did pull Talon loose and held him at arms length as he struggled to get back to Lark. "Hold on kid..." Sam complained almost dropping him. He didn't want bit again and kept his arms away from his mouth.

Dean reached down and carefully slipped his arms under Lark's body lifting her from the ground. He hugged her to his chest and moved to lay her in the middle of the travois. He made sure she was comfortable and accepted a blanket one of the elves held out and covered her body, tucking it tightly around her. Sam stepped to them and sat Talon down beside Lark watching as he curled into her side, stroking Lark's face and humming to her. Ara fluttered down and landed on the other side of Lark. She started smoothing her hair down and chirping softly. Sam saw Lark's boots and jeans off to the side of the camp and picked them up to lay beside her, knowing she didn't have any other shoes to wear.

"You can use the other animal for your packs if you like." the leader suggested. "These vermin won't have any use for them."

"Who were they?" Sam asked eyeing the two bodies on the ground and saw the feet of a third in the wagon he assumed Lark had been held.

"Bandits, scum, scoundrels, the lowest form of life." he spat in disgust. "They attacked the troop bringing my sister and daughters home. We have been looking for them for nearly two weeks. They were going to ransom them back to us, but we found their trail and followed it here."

"Bummer. Lark was taken early this morning. She went for water and never came back. My brother is the best tracker around and picked up the trail and ended up here just like you. I'm Sam and that is my brother Dean." Sam said introducing them. He held out his hand to shake and after a moment, the leader shook it.

"I am Thallon, my sister Mylaela and my daughters, Ash and Willow." he introduced everyone to Sam. "Our brother is the high elder of our kingdom. He will want to meet your friend to thank her for saving our sister's life and I would like to personally thank her for saving my daughters. She should be rewarded for ridding our land of the evil that plagued it."

Sam glanced over at Dean who was standing next to Lark with a neutral look on his face, but knew underneath he was hiding all his emotions. He didn't think he would be letting her out of his sight again after this. He couldn't blame him. None of them ever dreamed that something like this would happen. They expected possible attacks from beings or creatures from this land, but not this. And these bastards were human.

"Please excuse my brother for not being social." Sam told him. "He has a lot on his mind."

"He has strong feelings for the young female." Thallon observed.

"Yes, this is hitting him very hard." Sam said sadly looking toward his brother.

"They did not treat her nicely." Mylaela whispered softly so Dean wouldn't hear. "All three had their way with her, even though she was unconscious for most of it. She did try to fight, but it did no good. They were...They did not treat her like a lady should be treated. They planned on selling her when they were through with her."

"Shit...Sonovab..." Sam huffed madly, letting his anger surface. "Sorry, excuse me for my language ma'am. Don't say anything to my brother please; he doesn't need to know the details, but I think has figured it out."

"You speak strangely and dress like no one I have ever met and carry unusual weapons. I know most of the human settlements in our land, but I don't think you come from any of them." Mylaela noted looking at both brothers. "Where do you hail from?"

"We are not from this land." Sam explained, deciding to be honest. "We came through a thinning into your world to try and get the small elf and fairy back to their own people. Lark found them being held prisoner and rescued them. She wanted to bring them home."

"That is a noble undertaking for ones not familiar with our lands and the dangers in it." She noticed the amulet around Sam's neck and nodded to it. "I see the Grey Wizard has made your acquaintance."

"We did meet him in our journey." Sam said fingering the amulet. "He helped us."

"Then you are honorable people young Samuel. The Grey Wizard would not have let you pass if he saw otherwise." she commented.

"They are ready Sister." Thallon said when one of the elves signaled to him. "Shall we leave?" He lifted Ash first and then Willow onto one of the horses so they wouldn't have to walk. "Sister, you shall ride the other."

"As you wish." she replied bowing her head to him and letting him help her onto the horse.

"I have sent one of my soldiers ahead with the news they have been found and are safe. We will meet up with the rest of my troop a day's walk from here. Your packs can be tied to the horse pulling the travois."

"Alright." Sam acknowledged handing the packs to an elf. He stepped to his brother's side before speaking softly. "They're ready Dean." He could see the anguish and pain in his eyes as he looked at Lark's unconscious body.

Dean didn't respond, but kept pace with the horse as an elf led it away from the smell of death. He wasn't feeling anything at the moment, because there was too much to feel. This was like his worse nightmare had come true and he had not been able to stop it. Guilt ate away at his soul, even though a small voice was saying it wasn't his fault. He was moving on autopilot right now, just making an effort to put one foot in front of the other.

Dean felt the presence of his brother nearby and at least that gave him some comfort. He had to force his hand to unclench from the tight fists they were in because he wanted to destroy something, hurt someone, anything to release the rolling rage inside of him. Killing the one was not enough. He tried not to think about what Lark had to endure, but couldn't get it out of his mind. He wished those bastards were alive so he could kill them slowly and painfully and exact his revenge.