Ioret laid on her back staring up at the ceiling. It was a cold, stony floor. She slowly sat up to find herself in a very elegant dress. Possibly elvish. It was beautiful, except, the hem was ripped off, leaving the end of the dress in tatters. The room was vast and empty and Ioret soon found her self wandering around the room. She continued to walk until she found a lone piece of furniture. A mirror. She walked up to it. Her reflection was different. Her long, mahogany coloured hair had been cut short at the shoulders and hung in a short braid down her neck. Her tanned skin lay hidden under a man's tunic and her arm bracelet was gone. She reached out to touch the mirror, but as soon as her hand came in contact with it, she heard panicked screams and the glassy surface grew unbearably hot, and even though she had removed her hand, she could still feel the burning sensation and terrified screams. As the heat began to engulf her mind, her world began to slowly fade to darkness and she could hear a pounding noise in the distance…

Ioret sat up with a start, still quite flushed from her dream. She sat for a while, breathing in slowly and listening to the distant banging… Banging?! Iorets head shot up and she jumped to her feet. Now she could hear, and smell, it. Fire. The village was on fire and someone was banging incessantly on the locked prison door. Ioret started to run up to the heavy wooden door way, when she heard an unsettling crunch and a triumphant yell from the other side of the wall. Within seconds, the door had been unhinged and knocked down. When the dust and hay cleared Ioret was shocked to see the two figures on the other side of the wall. Mena and her betrothed, Hctor, Son of Gaman, stood in the door frame, panting and perspiring heavily. Mena smiled at the sight of her friends and ran to give her a loving hug.

"Io. It worked!!" Mena cried, flinging her arms around the slightly taller girl. Ioret could smell the sweat on Menas vest. Ioret went rigid as realization dawned on her.

"Mena, YOU set fire to the VILLAGE?!" Ioret gasped in disbelief and shock. The small emery haired girl pulled back and looked Ioret in the face.

"Not the village, Io, just the loggers cabin. That place is always catching on fire anyways…" Mena pouted, sticking her pink lower lip out. Ioret just shook her head and turned to Hctor.

"And you let her get away with this?" Ioret asked disapprovingly. Hctor just shrugged and put aside the ax he had been using to cut through the door.

"It was already ablaze by the time I got to her. You can't push this on me, Io. She's your friend." He said with a sigh. Ioret could feel steam coming out her eyeballs.

"She's YOUR wife!!!" she practically shouted. Hctor just put on a sideways grin and tossed Ioret a bag.

"Future wife. Here. I found this on her when I caught up to her. For some reason, she was under the silly notion that you were going to escape… She even pulled one of the horses out of the shelter. It waiting outside for you as we speak." He said, ushering the two girls out of the room. Mena just smiled broadly and nodded her head in confirmation.

"Mhm. Now. I packed it up for you. It's got all the necessities. Dried bread, fresh water, spare laces, a couple of Hctors outfits, A-" Mena didn't get to finish when Hctor interrupted.

"My what? You gave her MY clothes? What's wrong with yours? Or maybe even her own clothes. Hmm?" Hctor folded his arms over his chest. Mena just gave a tired sigh.

"Yes, yours. She needs a disguise and it's not safe for girls to travel alone." Mena stated pointedly. Mena shook her head as if she had just stated the obvious. "Okay." Mena continued on to give Ioret her marching order. "You're going to ride out, and then, after I've cleared a few things up, I'm going to come out behind you." Mena was about to continue when Hctor cut in again.

"You're leaving, too. Why? What did you do? You can't leave Mena." He desperately tried to reckon with the young black haired girl. Mena placed a comforting hand on Hctors shoulder and then leaned her head affectionately on his other one. She began gently stroking his hair.

"Hctor." She said, pulling away a bit. "Hctor, I have to go. Ioret wont make it on her own. I promise I'll come back for you." She said softly. Hctor pulled away this time.

"Then I'm going to. I'll ride out with Ioret." He said. Mena bit down on her bottom lip.

"You cant. We need you here to throw them off the trail. Ioret was accused of thievery and murder. Apparently who ever robbed the house had to kill the owner to get out of it. You know no one in the Clan will let that go. Within a week almost all of middle earth will be on the look out for her. We just need to make sure that their looking in all the wrong places, and that's why you've got to stay here. C'mon. Be a man! Brave the wrath of the Bear Clan." Mena said encouragingly, giving Hctor a playful punch in the arm. He didn't think it was so funny, but he did, however, reluctantly agree to stay behind. Mena continued to give Ioret instructions when, almost instantly, Hctor stopped, changed directions, and came back carrying a sheathed soldiers dagger.

"Ioret. Turn around." He said in a firm, demanding tone. Ioret paused and gave him a suspicious look, but complied and turned to show him her back size. Before either of the girls knew what was going on, Hctor grabbed a fist full of Iorets hair, brought out the dagger and, "slash", cut off her thick, waist long hair abruptly at the shoulders. Ioret was in shock. She had never seen so much hair on the ground at once. Her hair to be exact. She almost fell over. Hctor sighed, sheathed the dagger and handed it to Ioret.

"Boys don't wear their hair that long…" He said before turning again and heading back through the hall. He stopped just before the exit and turned to the stunned Ioret. "Goodbye, Io. I'll miss you." He gave a curt nod to Mena and then turned and left. Mena eyes blurred, but she quickly blinked it back and turned to usurer Ioret out of the building. Mena spent several minutes trying to convince Ioret to leave and even more time trying to wrestle her onto the horse. As Ioret headed to the gate, she turned back to Mena.

"You promise you'll come up behind?" Ioret asked worriedly. Mena nodded. "And Hctor will keep them off the trail?" Ioret asked again. Mena just nodded her head. "And… And whose horse is this?" Ioret suddenly asked, looking down at the brown haired beast that she rode upon. Mena paused, as if thinking and then shrugged.

"Who knows? As long as it gets you there…" Mena thought aloud. Ioret almost fell off.

"What?! Oh, great! So now I'm a murderer, a thief, and a horse-napper. Thanks. Mena you idiot…" Ioret shook her head in disbelief. Mena gave a small giggle and patted Iorets knee.

"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is getting you out of here. The fire is spreading, but we only have a few seconds left." Mena explained sadly. Ioret smiled and the two girls exchanged temporary goodbyes. As Ioret rode out through he gate, she turned and called out to Mena over her shoulder.

"Catch up soon, Mena! I'll be waiting!" Ioret turned back and nudged the horse to a canter, not looking back again. As soon as Ioret had gotten a few miles away she felt a drop of water on her back. She slowed the horse and looked up just as the swarm of raindrops descended. Ioret sat in the pouring rain, clutching the horse's tack helplessly. As she wiped the rain water out of her eyes her only thought was, "Oh, the irony…" With that, Ioret pulled up the reigns and continued on, riding blindly into the dark night.

~*~*~*~

A/N- La-de-da. Hope you liked it. Railroad Runners(R&R)!! Ch 3 coming soon^^. Maybe she'll actually do something… Oh, well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Luv ya in the straightest way possible. See ya later.

Ja

~redtopaz