Author's Note: So, guess what! We just eclipsed 100,000 words! Now, there could be arguments made that that's an arbitrary, worthless mark, but to me it means a lot of progress in my abilities, the story and writing in general.

It also makes me think to myself "Wow, self, you're gonna have a ton of work to do when it comes to editing. ;_;" I suppose we'll see, hm?

So how do we celebrate this? I don't know but I'd love to hear people's thoughts on it. Leave your ideas in the comments or PM them to me and I'll review then and maybe we'll see what we can get going.

Chapter 3

Kat's limp had abated some by the time they got to the plain looking carriage parked outside of an inn on the south side. Two nearly translucent horses were mounted in bridles attached to the carriage by way of magic braids of glistening rope that almost seemed to phase in and out of view even as the horses shifted in their bindings. The carriage itself looked like something Kat had seen from the traveling merchants and gypsies; it was tall, rectangular with a door in the back and glass windows that had been shrouded with thick red curtains to match the red paint of the carriage itself.

Litayna skipped past Kat with a merry little hum as she crawled up the little ladder to the rear door, opened it and poked her head in. There was some whispering and an excited 'come here' gesture before another head poked out slightly higher than where Litayna stuck her head in. At first Kat thought it was some kind of magic trick but it quickly became apparent that the new face, while being an identical match for Litayna, looked tired and haggard. Her long hair was pointing out at different angles and her eyes looked slightly bloodshot. She looked drunk.

Litayna pulled back with a triumphant smile aimed at Kat. "This is Litayna, Lit, this is Kitten. She's agreed to come with us!" The young elf looked up at her twin sister just in time to see her retreat back into the carriage. The door slammed shut behind her. Litayna and Kat exchanged a look before they both shrugged. "She's not a morning person."

"But elves don't sleep. . . ?"

"Semantics!" She bounded over to Kat and hooked an arm around Kat's, leading her over to the carriage. "So! Ready to go or did you need to use the little human's room?"

Kat perked a brow and shook her head. "No, I'm all set. Um. What're we doing, exactly?"

The elf started up a ladder built in to the side wall so she could get to the seat to take the reigns. Unconsciously, Kat followed. They didn't seem like bad people but she kept her reservations close to her chest, not quite ready to just blindly follow them but not ready to dismiss them either. Kat bit into her lower lip as she looked up, stealing a quick glance up the elf's skirt. Just to make sure she isn't carrying any concealed weapons, naturally. But anything being concealed didn't seem to be something this woman was familiar with. Kat coughed.

"Hm? You're not sick, are you?" The elf looked at her with sudden suspicion but it was more theatrical than genuine.

"N- No-"

"Then why're you red in the face?" She pointed accusingly. "You've got the- er- uh- red face plague don't you? Gah, we're doomed!" Litayna picked up the reigns smiling brightly.

Kat couldn't help but smile as she eased herself into the seat beside the woman, adjusting her sword so it wouldn't be in the way. "So, really, what're we doing?"

"All you need to do is to tell the guard we're on a diplomatic mission from the kingdom of Cormyr and-"

"Are we-"

"Of course!" She leaned back, whispering to some invisible audience. "Not." Then back to Kat, she smiled. "But my Envoy papers say we are!"

Kat opened her mouth to object but Litayna cut her off.

"Hey, I love a city as much as the next person, but these places grow on you like mold. It's nearly as good for you, too!"

"But-"

"It's this or the inside of a prison cell for the next six months while they figure out how we, A, got in and B, what we're doing here in the first place."

"I thought you said you were a travel agent-"

"I am!" She cracked the reigns and the carriage started forward. "I've been all over. My card." She flipped her left hand over so fast Kat barely registered it until she was holding a small paper card that looked as though a toddler had scrawled on it. She squinted, trying to make out the childish writing, giving up after a few seconds. When she flipped it over the scrawls followed the movement, crawling over the edge of the card by their own will to take up their positions on the back side of it. "Says Litayna Sisters, Travel agents extraordinaire. Yep yep."

"Uh huh. . . And what about those Envoy papers?"

"I've got those! Er. Somewhere." The young elf's bright eyes flicked about before she patted herself down. "Some. . . where. . ." She patted her skirt down, then her boots. "Uh. . ."

Kat looked forward as they approached the southern gate of the city. The walls were tall, the ramparts loaded with archers and a huge cauldron directly over the rather narrow trench that lead to the massive wooden doors which would take them out of the city. The guards on either side of the downward slope were looking at them expectantly as they approached.

"Here, take the reigns."

Before Kat could object the rope was in her hands and she was watching as the elf skittered over the roof and executed a perfect drop off the back of the carriage into the cabin. She blinked. "I don't know how to-" She looked forward. "Aww man, come on. . . I don't know how to do this!"

There was no reply.

Kathrine fidgeted with the rope, uncertain how to proceed. She raised it a little and gave it a tug. Maybe that'd slow them down. When the horses didn't slow their pace, she brought the reigns down. "Um. . . Good horses. . . just slow down, now, okay?"

The guard station was rapidly approaching and the horses only seemed tobe picking up speed. Kat raised the rope again and tugged harder. They didn't slow down. She frowned as the station came up even faster. Her heart hammered in her chest as she pulled on the reigns. "Slow! Slow down! Litayna! I could use a hand up here!" They were only a hundred paces from the guards when the horses picked up a firm gallop.

With their heels clopping against the sandstone pavers, the horses started into a dead run. One of the guards raised a hand motioning them to stop. Kat yanked with all her strength but this only seemed to spur the horses on to greater speed. "I can't!" She shouted. One of the archers pointed at her, looking at the others.

"I can't stop this thing!" Kat stopped yanking. Only thirty feet away from the door. There was no way they'd make it in time even if the horses stopped right then. She had seconds to decide; become a criminal in a foreign land or wind up a smear on someone's front door. As if that was a choice. She grabbed a hand full of air, murmuring an incantation in broken Draconic as she turned her hand over to form the motions necessary. When she managed to blow out her breath, the Gust of Wind spell ripped through the distance ahead of them and shattered the thick beam of wood keeping the door from opening. In the next instant, the doors blew outward into an open meadow with a long trail that disappeared down into a valley.

Kat already knew what was going to come next even before the first arrow tocked against the cabin just beside her. She flinched and dropped the reigns entirely, turning her attention to the ramparts. This time, her mind was focused. The archers aiming at her didn't exist. She couldn't see them as a threat. She retreated into her mind and began another incantation, murmuring the words that'd bring forth a billowing cloud of noxious gas. It wouldn't be fatal but the powerful evocation, in her hands, would've rendered them unable to get a shot off.

Something hot and sharp seared her shoulder but the pain was muffled, thankfully, by her concentration. When she let the spell go, the pain hit her full force. She looked to see a growing red stain on her coat even as the cloud started to take shape above her. It filled the ramparts with smoke in the form of a fine mist, blocking the view from either side. The soldiers coughed and hacked, uselessly trying to scramble out from the growing mass of mist. Meanwhile, the carriage bucked up as the stone pavers turned into the hard packed dirt of the well worn trail. Kat jerked backwards and turned forward, grabbing for the reigns.

They weren't there.

You gotta be kidding me! Kat winced. "Adventure, she says. Fun, she says." Arrows thumped against the back of the carriage. "Blah. I need a new occupation." Her shoulder throbbed with a dull ache as she laid down on the bench seat, fishing around for the rope. It was just too far out of reach.

They were only a couple hundred paces from the downward slope of the valley and going much too fast to be safe. What little she knew about horses said they'd probably try to turn away from the edge and in so doing, would flip the entire contraption over the slope.

"Litayna!" Kat called out. There was no time, though. She swallowed and grabbed the edge of the seat. Her shoulder screamed its protest but she refused to listen as she lowered herself down on to the thick wood beam between the galloping animals. It bobbed and swayed under her, trying to throw her off despite her death grip on the edge of the bench. She could feel blood running down her chest from the open wound, her muscles screamed for relief. "Slow down!" She shouted.

Heedless to her plea, the horses continued their swift gallop, ever advancing towards the edge. Kat winced, stealing a glance upward and to the side, gauging her chances. There was no way she'd get clear without being trampled. And then there was still the women inside. Even if she had been abandoned, it wasn't in her nature to just leave someone to die. She had to at least try.

Abandoned or not. Story of my life. She swallowed. Kat took a careful step forward, still clutching the bench for dear life. She touched the reigns with her foot. So close. All she had to do was reach down and grab them.

But then what?

Her mentor had taught her better. She needed a plan before an action and here she was-. . . Overthinking the problem.

Kat let go of the bench and ducked. She snatched up the reigns and started to stand. The carriage bounced and pitched, throwing Kat off balance. She was just quick enough to grab the edge of the bench before she would've fallen onto the horse. She looked up, trying to gauge her chances at getting back in the seat without help. It was a lost cause. "Slow down!" She tried feebly.

Experimentally, she touched the horse's flank. When it didn't give, when she was sure it was solid, she put her foot up on it. Sucking in three quick breaths, she pushed off and hopped up into the seat. With a triumphant wince of burning agony from her shoulder, she stared at the valley fast approaching.

They had sped up at her pulling but the only other thing she'd ever seen people do with a wagon was snapping the reigns. Was that how this worked? Kat licked her lips. "Slow!" She cracked the reigns. "Slow down."

To her surprise the animals began to ease their gallop.

"Hah!" Kat cracked the reigns again and again. The animals slowed down to a lazy trot just in time to take the downward turn of the road. She glanced back to see the spell cloud still roiling down the walls. It likely wouldn't be long before they mobilized some kind of response but with any luck Kat'd be long gone by then. "Let's see. . . uh." Kat gave a slight pull on the reigns and the horses picked up the pace down the slope. It was a comfortable pace that they didn't seem to have any problems keeping up without loosing control of the carriage. They continued down until they reached the valley floor where Kat pulled harder to give them a distinct lead on whomever might pursue them.

"Now how do we turn. . ." She gave a slight pull to the left and the horses obeyed without hesitation, both speeding up and turning to the left to follow the trail. The trail lead into a densely packed forest several hundred feet ahead. Beyond the thin veil of bright green leaves, shadows cloaked most of the deeper forest in gloom so thick she was sure none of the day's sunlight would be able to pierce it.

"Found it!" Litayna's voice came from the rear of the cabin. Kat looked back. She was climbing up the back but stopped when she saw the arrows. Her expression went slightly slack as she looked at Kat accusitorially. "What happened? I thought you said you could handle this thing!"

"I said I couldn't!"

She nodded thoughtfully. "Guess that explains the noise- Hey, you're bleeding."

"No kidding! I was trying to tell you to-"

"Duck."

"No, I-" Aww crap. Kat looked forward just in time to see the branch that hit her in the face. "Oof!"

She was out before her head hit the carriage.

When she came to it was dark out and her body ached all over. A fire burned nearby, casting flickering shadows over her body and fought off the chill of the night which kept creeping in around the circle of light. As the sensations registered, Kat saw the twins playing with some instruments; one had a flute and the other a mandolin. The one was wearing a green skirt- presumably the one that'd dragged Kat into this mess in the first place. The other was wearing a skimpy silk outfit that barely covered her breasts and hung down from her hips with a white lined strip of cloth dangling between her legs to mid knee length. She wore stockings that came up to her mid thigh and matching gloves that stopped just below her bicep. In her hands, the flute almost seemed to dance with the kiss of music.

Kat groaned.

The sisters turned back to look at her unenthusiastically.

"Ah, you're awake." The woman with the flute stopped playing. "How do you feel?"

"Like my head got bashed in by an orc."

"Not far from the truth!" The girl in the skirt chirped.

"Can we get you anything?"

"An explanation would be nice. . ." Kat lifted herself up to a seat. She felt woozy, bracing her hands behind her. "Why'd you leave me up there? I didn't know anything about-"

"I really thought you said you did!"

The woman in the flute shot her sister a disapproving look. "What happened?"

"What? I thought she-"

"Get inside. Mother would have your hide if she knew what you were putting this poor girl through."

"Blah, blah, blah. She did great! And besides, we're out of the city now, so-"

"Shoo!"

Litayna scrambled out of her sister's reach, bounding around the fire, over towards Kat. She stopped just long enough to reach up and ruffle Kat's hair with a bright smile. "You did great!"

"Lit." Her twin crossed her arms under her breasts. "Now."

"Aww. Spoiled sport."

Kat slumped back against the forest floor to keep from passing out. The world was still spinning and she couldn't tell whether she was sitting on an incline or flat ground. She laid there for a moment in silence and closed her eyes, trying to get her bearings. "Ugh."

"I'm sorry." The other woman approached, kneeling down beside her. "My sister can be a bit rambunctious."

"That's one word for it. Duplicitous is another one."

"Now let's not get carried way." Her voice was soothing, warm and slightly protective. Kat opened her eyes to see the woman kneeling down beside her, looking down with a soft, concerned expression. Her skin was bronzed perfectly, decorated in faint, barely visible tribal tattoos that glittered in the flickering light as though it was water on her skin, glistening only when the light caught it just so. Kathrine's gaze followed a particular chain of tattoos up the woman's thigh, around her tight stomach and over her chest to her neck. Seeming to catch the look, she smiled slightly and laid her hand on Kat's shoulder. "She means well but she over stepped her bounds. If you'd let us, I'd like to make it up to you."

Kat blinked. "S- She had said she'd help me get to Mount Envsta. If we can do that, that'd be really nice. I'm kind of in a hurry."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Uh. . ." She squinted at the upheld hand. "Three?"

"Exactly my point. You need to rest and recover a bit."

A surge of cold air swept over her and Kat looked over to where she'd been laying, finding her coat balled up to serve as a pillow. "I'll be okay."

"It's night time, too, there's nothing to be gained by throwing ourselves into the maw of the forest. It'll just have to wait until dawn."

Kat groaned.

The girl's hand lingered on Kat's shoulder as she smiled down patiently. "Patience wins any race. I'm sure whatever you feel you need to do can wait for a few hours, don't you think?"

She tried to sit up but a sudden wave of dizziness forced her back down. "Urgh. Yeah, I guess so."

"That's the spirit." Slowly, almost reluctantly, she pulled her hand back, trailing a line against Kat's shoulder. "I applied some salve to your shoulder and bound it, I hope you don't mind." She smiled revealing a row of perfect teeth. "In the morning we can see about removing the blood stains."

"T- Thanks." Kat smiled weakly. "But, hey, what was that all about?"

She pursed her lips, considering for a moment. "My sister has a way of getting under people's skin from time to time. Something about an upset noble or some such rot. We really do have Cormyrian travel papers, but she'd locked them away. It was a misunderstanding, you see."

"One hell'f a misunderstanding."

"I did apologize." She said evenly. "And if you want, I'm sure we'd be happy to make it up to you." A slight smile lit her sculpted face. "She's quite smitten with you."

Kat blinked, staring at her. "You're serious."

"I am."

"Jeez, that's. . . kindda forward, don't you think?"

She stood up slowly. "At least we're on the same page. The offer is there, I've some things to do." With that she stepped around Kat, leaving her there to stare up at the sky. Her head throbbed and her body ached. She was cold and hungry and thirsty and she'd been propositioned, almost lewdly by someone who'd not so many hours ago thrown her to the wolves.

"Adventure my a-"

"What's that?" The woman glanced back.

"Nothing!" Kat curled up against her coat and scooted closer to the fire. She laid there, shivering against the night as her vision slowly came back to some semblance of normality. Her body still ached but her thoughts and her ability to see had returned to functional levels. In some way she kind of wished they hadn't. The cold ground and her balled up coat were pale, empty imitations of Bree's warmth.

She was dangerous, deceptive and had a hidden agenda that Kat could only begin to guess at, yet for all her failings, she was also warm and tender; powerful and respectable to an extreme. For their brief time together, she'd fulfilled a aching need in Kat's life that she hadn't even realized was there. It was a need to be held, challenged and utterly, hopelessly, dominated by an intellectually superior woman. She had done it all and then some but she'd never once crossed any lines or hurt Kat. She was the kind of lover Jez could've only dreamed of being.

Kat wanted it. More than anything, she wanted that kind of acceptance and passion. Love or not, it was only in the absence of Bree's addicting nature that she felt truly lost. To the hell with the cold, she wanted to be warm and cared for. Wasn't that what anyone wanted?

Kathrine swallowed, gnawing into her lower lip. The twins had offered that, hadn't they?

Could they really have taken Bree's place, though?

Did it matter? A day and she'd be back in Eveningstar burying that cursed relic.

Kat peeked over her shoulder at the carriage. The door was open just slightly, light pouring freely from between the crack. She sighed and looked back to the fire.

She didn't need those things. She could be better without it. Sure, they were attractive, but could they really have taken care of her the way Bree had? To make her forget the real world and loose herself in the passion of another? Not likely.

A gentle breeze blew over Kat's bare arms, carrying the chill of the night like a blanket that wrapped tightly around her. She shivered involuntarily.

She could be better without them. She had learned to adapt when Jez was gone and. . .

Who was she trying to kid? She hadn't adapted at all. She'd substituted one failed relationship for a string of trysts and one night stands promising herself, every single time, that she'd do better next time. She'd be more in control, she'd spend time building a relationship with those who's names she didn't even know half the time. It'd worked, the relationships, but the end result was almost always the same; she woke up in a bed with someone she didn't really care for, comparing them to Jezebel, wondering why she hadn't just locked herself in the room that night instead.

But then there was Bree. The first person since Kathrine was a child that could actually and honestly challenge everything she held dear and everything she thought she knew without even trying to. Kat grabbed her coat and hugged it close. What was she doing right now? Wondering why Kat stole the relic? Why she abandoned her friend and lover?

Kat stole another glance towards the carriage. Maybe she could've slept with them. Just to stay warm. After all, it was pretty chilly. What could it hurt? Slowly she rose, still hugging her coat to her chest as she stood there.

"Yeah. . . What could it hurt?"