It feels like we have been running for ages, when in actual fact it has only been near 2 miles. Nicole's breath comes out raggedly, but I see only pure determination on her face when I look up. I observe her features just a little longer. Smooth skin, sharp jaw, lips trapped between two teeth…Teeth I feel a bit jealous of. Wait. What? No Waverly stop that! I shake my head and tap Nicole's shoulder, causing her to look down at me.

"You can put me down now. I think we are far enough away." She looks like she is about to protest so I quickly add "Look, you are pretty...strong" My eyes briefly flash to her biceps. "But you are also only human and you can't keep this up forever." She smiles at me sheepishly before nodding and putting me on the ground. "All right. But you probably won't be able to walk."

I attempt to prove her wrong, failing miserably. As my mangled foot touches the ground, pain surges through it. I let out a yelp of pain, almost falling over by the overwhelming sensation. But once again, strong hands are there to keep me from hitting the ground.

I look into warm brown for a long moment, they stare back at me curiously. I swallow and clear my throat, trying my best to hide the fact that my heart has started beating faster despite me not having been the one running the last two miles carrying another person. I right myself, taking Nicole's proffered hand. Then Nicole puts my arm across her shoulders, helping to support my weight. "Hang on. We are almost there." She says as we start walking again.

I look around and see only green and brown. There's no path or landmark, but Nicole seems to know exactly where she is going. "Where exactly is there?" I ask, causing her to look at me again.

She smiles happily, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "Home. We are almost at my house." Nothing indicates that we are anywhere suitable for someone to live, but I take Nicole's word for it.

We walk through the underbrush, Nicole taking deliberate turns and checking behind us to make sure we are not being followed. Jack follows behind us diligently, waiting for any signal from his master.

Then we finally reach a break in the woods, opening up into a beautiful clearing. Right in the middle of this oasis amongst the trees, sits a quaint wooden house. I hear the sound of flowing water and can make out a stream next to the house on the western side of the clearing.

"Wow. Is that your house?" I say with slight awe. Nicole looks at me with pride in her gaze, smiling widely. "Sure is. Built it myself." Mmm she seems to very much skilled with her hands. For building and handling bows of course. No other reason why this thought would be floating in my mind. None whatsoever.

"That is quite impressive. But why do you live out here? All alone like this?" At my question she looks down, avoiding my gaze.

"Uh hey. How about we get you inside first. Let me have a look at your ankle?" She is very clearly deflecting and I am about to turn around to confront her about it, but the pain searing through my foot has me nodding rapidly at her offer. "Yes, that would probably be best."

Nicole nods and leads me to the front door. She unlocks it and we enter a small living area equipped with a fire place, table, two chairs and a rug. Jack immediately makes a beeline for the rug, curling up on it for a nap.

As Nicole moves to light the fireplace, I notice the multitude of framed drawings on the wall of the little living room. Each drawing is clearly a scene taken from the woods. One is of a lark preening itself on a tree branch, another is of butterflies flitting above a prairie full of daisies. The most beautiful one, however, is that of a deer drinking from the stream.

I reach out and run my hand over it. The animal's grace was perfectly captured amongst its serene surroundings. It feels as if I am really there, witnessing the magical event. This was drawn with care, every precious detail of the moment placed on the paper with skill and passion.

Nicole must have heard my gasp of awe, because I hear her move to stand next to me. "Do you like them?" She asks softly. I look up at her in surprise and wonder. "Did…did you draw these?" She looks down bashfully before slowly nodding. "Uh, yeah."

"They are magnificent." I tell her honestly. I make the mistake of looking back at her in that moment. She looks at me in the same way I had just look at her drawings, with a mix of awe and wonder.

Her gaze makes my heartbeat speed up again. And we most definitely cannot have that! I bring up thoughts of stolen hares and mocking laughter to try and counter the effect this strange woman seems to be having on me. I clear my throat. "And here I thought all you were good at is scaring off other people's dinner and having bad aim."

The smile drops from her face and is immediately replaced with annoyance. I ignore the drop in my stomach at her disappearing smile.

"Yeah yeah, princess. Just take a seat so I can have a look at that ankle. You know the one you twisted because you somehow couldn't see the tree root that was right in front of you?" She says with a victorious smirk.

I let out an indignant huff as I move to sit down in one of the chairs, taking care not to put weight on my injured foot. "Stop calling me that! My name is Waverly."

Nicole just keeps smirking and walks over to a door on the left side of the living room. When she opens it, I notice a double bed complete with two bedside tables, all skilfully made from wood. Looks like Nicole had built everything in this house by herself. I find myself impressed regardless of my annoyance at the woman.

I hear Nicole rummage for something in a drawer, then she returns to the living room. In her hands she holds a piece of fabric and jar containing what seems to be some kind of salve.

She drops to her knees in front of me, placing the items on the floor next to her. Then she gently removes my leather boot to inspect my foot. I am very much horrified at how gross it looks, with my ankle all purple like that. To my relief, Nicole doesn't seem perturbed at all. She just gently takes my foot in her hands and starts moving it around, prodding here and there taking note of where I wince most.

Then she nods and picks up the jar, taking out some of the salve. She sets to work, gently applying the salve all around the swollen area on my ankle. I marvel at her gentleness. I barely feel any pain as she works. To stop me from falling asleep from the delicious trance her ministrations are causing, I start talking. "So how did you manage to find me?" She looks up smiling at me briefly before continuing her task of wrapping my foot with the strip of fabric.

"I didn't. I have just always been tracking Bobo and his men. He is always capturing some innocent person, and then he torments them for information or just for fun." I see her jaw clench in the anger she must feel towards the coat wearing maniac. "I can't allow it to happen, so I try my best to free them." I am taken aback by the determination in her eyes.

"So what, you raid his camps at night, freeing innocent damsels like me?" I aks playfully. She smiles at me ruefully. "Pretty much yeah. I was on my patrol tonight when I spotted them bring in a new victim. I didn't know it was going to be you, I just had to try and help whoever it was."

She finishes up the wrapping of my foot and then looks down, saddened by something suddenly. "I do not always manage to succeed in helping the victims, allowing that sick bastard to get away with hurting people who cannot fight back." I see Nicole's fist tighten. Her whole demeanour indicates that she is quite upset at the thought of Bobo treating people the way he does.

I look at her in wonder again for a moment. Not only was she apparently very good at building stuff and drawing stuff, but she was also very brave and selfless. She had the very qualities of the charming Princes and Dukes mother used to tell me stories about.

Unable to take the redhead's dismay any longer I reach forward, compelled by an unknown force, and gently lift her chin to look into her beautiful eyes. "Hey, don't do that. You managed to save me, right? And for that I am very grateful to you. I am also pretty sure everyone else you have ever saved feels the exact same way. You are making a difference with what you do, Nicole. You give people hope."

She looks at me again with that look of wonder. "Thank you, Waverly." She says softly. My eyes are caught in her gaze again, then they drop down to her lips. All I had to do was lean down and…

The sound of a log popping in the fireplace startles us, causing Nicole to jump back and me to sit upright. Nicole gets up quickly, awkwardly. "Uh sooo, you must be really hungry? I will go get you something to eat. I just nod at her rapidly. "Yes. I am rather famished." I say and I mentally slap myself at my formal tone. What was I, British now?

When Nicole leaves, entering another room behind me which I assume to be the kitchen, I let my head drop to my hands on my lap. "Idiot." I mumble at myself.

The remainder of the evening was spent sharing a meal of roasted hare (apparently Nicole had managed to catch my hare after all) and ale, accompanied with Nicole telling me about her drawings.

After I let out a huge yawn, Nicole ushered me to the bedroom. I protested vehemently, before she assured me that I alone would be taking the bed. She took a blanket and pillow and bid me goodnight with a small smile, before heading back to the living room.

I laid there for a solid ten minutes just thinking about the absolutely crazy day I just had. And to my great annoyance, I was still no closer to finding Wynonna. I wonder what she had done to anger Bobo? Was Jeremy okay? How was I going to get back into Monument to talk to the dentist, and avoid being captured by Bobo again?

Then I think of the annoying, yet gentle and brave redhead who I keep seeming to cross paths with. She saved me, treated my injury and gave me her bed. She makes me feel things that I cannot yet explain. Yet, she is a complete stranger who lives alone in the woods and she doesn't seem too keen on telling me. I'm going to find out her story tomorrow, I say to myself determinedly before I drift off to sleep with the smell of vanilla beans surrounding me.