DEAR LORD, SOMEONE STOLE MY PEN NAME. Okay, everyone reading this . . . go review the OTHER LADY KATHARINE and tell them (hopefully the pronoun is 'she' but if not, hey, whatever) to bugger off, I had it first. Either that, or help me think of a NEW, ORIGINAL name that NO ONE will ever try to steal. Such as mad umbrella woman. Except better than mad umbrella woman.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Where are the reviews?!?! After all that time . . . wasted! *sobs-in-manner-of-soap-opera-star* oh well. I wrote more anyway.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Why can't I log in?!?! what is going on? Why has the whole website suddenly turned against me? I hate technology. If you ask me, we should have just stuck with the typewriter. Ahh, here we go, I'm FINALLY logged in.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Why can't I upload?!?! What is wrong with computer? WHY DOES IT HATE ME? I just wanna take a hammer to its hard drive. for chrissakes, WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING?!?! Ahh, here we go.

I don't think I should be drinking as much coffee as I had this morning.

A Mad Dash in the Woods

Kel and Neal froze as soon as they heard the voice. They looked at each other, Neal's horrified expression mirroring Kel's own.

Suddenly, dozens of people came out from the trees, and one in particular strolled toward the two knights. "Just kidding!" the man called as he walked. Kel's heart started beating again, and she sighed with relief as she recognized Domitan of Masbolle, a man she trained with as a squire and Neal's own cousin.

Neal laughed, saying, "Dom, you blockhead! You almost gave us heart attacks!" He gave Dom a quick embrace, as was fit for cousins.

"I'll get you for that someday. I almost jumped out of my skin!" Kel promised as she shook Dom's hand.

"I'm just glad that you aren't Carthaks. That's who we were expecting to find, you know," Dom said.

"Yeah, what are you doing this far from Corus?" asked Neal. "Isn't this Carthak occupied turf?"

"Sir Raoul sent me and half our squad to look for lost Carthaks, hopefully idiot nobles or officials that we could . . . catch, I guess, and then who knows what. It's a stupid plan, but one of the best we've got right now," Dom told them.

"Is it really that bad?" Neal asked softly. Dom nodded soberly.

"But," he added. "I'm sure that Court will be happy to see you two." Neal and Kel exchanged looks.

"Actually," Kel began.

"Oh, I know," interrupted Dom. "Most of Court does. You're off doing something for the Crown and can't be bothered with us, but we're still glad to know you're alive. Now, since my squad has covered what we're supposed to cover, and the only things we found are two Tortallan knights, I think we can go back to the Palace and you can formally be welcomed home." Kel didn't say anything.

Dom didn't notice. For the rest of the day as they rode towards Corus, Dom talked almost nonstop about what had happened since they had left. Kel listened to the relevant parts, but the problem was, Dom was not a very objective speaker. He'd start talking about which fiefs had been in trouble, but then he would get sidetracked onto the fief lords' children and who they were, and what they were doing. Kel found listening to him very trying, and judging from the expression on Neal's face, he felt the same way she did.

Finally, Dom called a halt to his troops, and they began to set up camp. Dom insisted that Neal and Kel be in the thick of things, rather than on the outside as Kel would have preferred. She had to talk to Neal, and would rather that it be in private.

Kel stifled her need to talk until the camp was asleep, and only a few embers were popping quietly in the fire. She rolled over, so she was facing Neal, and found that he was as wide awake as she was. She began talking as if she was continuing an earlier conversation.

"There is no way we can go to the Palace," she stated flatly. "If we do go, it'll take months to be 'presented' back, months that we don't have. The Court doesn't really understand how serious this is, and we have to do this before it's too late."

"I totally agree," Neal told her. "There's no way we can go through the Palace and still get away in time to 'save Tortall,' or whatever it is that happens once we find all Six. I was thinking we should go tonight, before we get too involved with Dom and Court and everyone. Luckily, he didn't think to unpack our stuff, so everything's ready to go."

"Find by me," Kel agreed. "But where's Byrn? I haven't seen her since we met with Dom . . . which is, I suppose, a good thing," she finished reflectively.

Neal shook his head lightly. "I saw her following us all today. She was on my side, which explains why you didn't notice her. But she knows where we are – I think she's able to fend for herself, and since she's the one that met up with us, it's my guess that she's able to keep track of where we are."

Kel nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Well, if we are going tonight, we should probably go now, so we have enough time before dawn to get far enough away."

"I'll write a short note to my cousin so he won't be as vexed at us for leaving as we are," Neal said. "You go saddle Topaz and your mean-tempered gelding."

Kel arched an eyebrow at him. "I want you to know that this is the one and only time you will ever get to order me around. And Peachblossom is only mean-tempered to people he doesn't like – like you. He's perfectly fine with me."

Neal grinned, the firelight reflecting in his green eyes. "Understood on both points. Now go saddle them!" Kel rolled her eyes emphatically before quietly standing up and making her way to where Peachblossom and Topaz were picketed. Peachblossom whickered in delight when he saw Kel coming, but she signaled him to be quiet, and he fell silent.

Quickly, Kel saddled both Neal's mare and her own horse. Just as she was finishing tightening the girth on Topaz' saddle, Neal quietly strode up.

"Ready?" he whispered.

"Let's go," she whispered back.

They mounted up and rode into the night. They rode until the next night, in order to keep themselves on the correct sleeping schedule.

It took them three more days to reach the outskirts of Corus. Kel sighed wistfully, standing just inside the ring of forest overlooking the city walls. Neal stood silently beside her.

"I miss them," she said sadly. "Owen, Merric, Faleron, Prosper, Sir Myles, Raoul . . . everyone. Who knows when, or even if, we'll ever see them again?"

"I know," Neal said quietly. "But there's less of a chance if we don't finish this, whatever it is." They stood in silence for a few more minutes, than turned back into the forest and continued on their way.

Kel lost track of how long they rode. Nights blended with days, creating one endless twilight. It didn't help that as they rode farther and farther north, there was a higher and higher chance of precipitation – especially fog. The grayness merged time together even more.

They knew they were getting close to their destination when once, in the middle of an extremely dark spell (Kel couldn't tell whether it was night, or whether the sun was just being blocked out by a bad tempered cloud), they almost stumbled into the middle of Scanran raiding camp. After that, the two Tortallan knights slowed their pace down, realizing an obvious need for caution.

They had just resumed their trek after a meal (breakfast? lunch? dinner?) when Kel halted Peachblossom.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I thought I heard —"

Byrn flew screeching in between the two horses, warning them. An arrow thudded into a tree on the right side of their path, followed by two or three more. Kel and Neal bolted their horses into a run through the closely fitting trees.

"Why are we being attacked?" Neal shouted, frustrated. "Doesn't anyone like us?"

Kel ignored him. Trusting Peachblossom to keep her in the saddle, she turned around to see if she could catch a glimpse of their attackers. She picked out several bodies on horseback, garbed in ragged brown cloth, but other than that she saw nothing but another three arrows. Ducking, she felt the wind from one arrow pass over her head, and shuddered.

"Did you see anything?" Neal shouted over the thundering of their horses' hooves.

"Just bodies," she yelled back. "But they weren't wearing uniforms. Do you think it could be the Scanrans?"

"Who else would it be?" Neal twisted in his saddle to look behind them. "Looks like you're right – Scanran raiders. Like you said, they aren't wearing uniforms, and no one has a reason to attack random passersby. Scanran raiding parties pick off everyone they can."

Through their short conversation, their horses had faithfully been carrying the two knights deeper into the forest, avoiding all low-hanging branches that would brain an unsuspecting rider. Kel glanced down at Peachblossom, seeing his foam-flecked neck and shoulders, his labored breath echoing in her ears. A quick look at Topaz revealed that she was in the same state as Peachblossom.

"We can't keep up this pace!" Kel shouted at Neal. "Look at the horses! They're not used to all-out sprints for this long! We're going to have to fight them, sooner or later, and better for us if it's sooner! But their bows are a problem – can you fix them, somehow?"

"I can try, I guess. We learned something . . . " Neal trailed off, concentrating. From behind them came several shouts of surprise, then sounds of anger.

"What did you do?" Kel asked.

"We learned a spell for exploding enemy bows." Neal said, smiling grimly from his success. "This is the first chance I've had to use it – I'm glad that it works!"

"So the bows are gone?" Kel called.

"The bows are out of business!" Neal reassured her.

"Then we may as well fight!" Kel told him.

They were coming up on a small clearing. Upon reaching the far side of the clearing, they wheeled their horses around. After a few seconds, horses and riders burst through the foliage on the other side.

Kel gulped. She could see their pursuers clearly – it was definitely Scanran raiders. Nine of them.

Oh joy! I figured out how to reach the reviews! Okay, I'm happy now. About the next chapter . . . There will be a FIGHT!!! I've been wanting to write one for a while. So keep looking back! It will be up soon! Thanks for reading so far – replies to my faithful reviewers on the next chapter, so if you want to feel special and get a special, personalized message, review my story/stories!!

I have a PS: what exactly are plot bunnies and why do people keep referring to them? I am very confused. The only bunnies I can think of are my friend's pets, who bite me whenever I try to pet them, and don't give me story ideas. Could someone please explain this wonderful yet mystifying term?