'Assai!' Veronica cried out when she saw her friend.

The young woman looked up in astonishment when a disheveled Veronica burst into the hut, soaking wet and clad in gray shirt and pants, definitely not her usual attire.

'Veronica, what's wrong,' she led her to a chair and forced her to sit down. 'What happened?'

'We ran into traders this morning. They took us to their camp, but I escaped. He didn't. I-- I don't know what to do.' Veronica broke down as Assai embraced her tightly, letting her vent the emotions bottled up inside of her for the past twelve hours.

'He did it for me. He sacrificed himself for me.' She lamented, voice cracking. 'But what if I can't do the same Assai? What if I cannot help him?' 'What if he died to save me?'



Assai watched as her friend slept soundly on her bed. Several near- encounters with slave traders had left her with enough experience to know that they were crafty and brutal. A lethal combination.

Assai buried her head in her hands, thinking of the young man whom Veronica held so close to her heart.

He was a good friend, and people like him shouldn't have to face death at the hands of the slave traders. It shouldn't end like this. It can't.

She was startled out of her musings when four people were led into the hut.

'Challenger, Roxton, Marguerite,' She greeted them each, eyeing the strange man who came in with them.

'My name is Jakum, Miss.' Assai smiled at that.

'I'm Assai. It is good to meet you,' She gripped his hand in a firm handshake.

'How is Veronica?' Challenger asked, kneeling by the bedside, a frown appearing when he took in her present clothing.

'She is sleeping. She was running a fever, probably due to shock. She has a few bumps and bruises but no sign of torture. Physically, she's seems fine. But I can't say the same for her emotional state. Would you all like to dry off?'

'We're fine,' Challenger half-heartedly answered.

'You know what happened?' Assai shook her head at Roxton's question.

'But you do,' Marguerite directed this at Jakum. 'You were there, weren't you?'

Jakum nodded slowly, understanding the hidden connotation.

'I'll tell Jarl to assemble the men in two hours. Will that give you sufficient time Jakum?'

'Yes, I would like to leave the village as soon as we can,' he glanced at the explorers.

'I fear for his life.' He added softly.

'We all do Jakum,' Marguerite said.



*Flashback*

'So, tell me why we had to get up so early again?'

'Because if we get back to the treehouse before the others wake up, we can paint our faces black, hide under the table, and scare them out of their wits.'

Malone cocked an eyebrow at Veronica, who was fighting to a straight face.

'No. really.?' A small giggle escaped her lips and he couldn't help but grin. 'Seriously though, is this some new tactic to avoid the dinosaurs?'

'No,' her grin grew wider. 'I told you, it was a surprise.'

'I'm not too fond of surprises, Veronica.'

'Don't worry. It's nothing too damaging.' She burst out in hysterics at the brief look of horror that he gave her.

They climbed steadily uphill, grabbing shrubs and roots to hoist themselves up. Suddenly, Veronica looked over her shoulder, gave a small yelp, grabbed Malone by his wrist and started pulling with great urgency.

'Veronica, what-'

'Quick! Keep climbing. The sun's about to come up.'

They worked at a frantic pace for about five minutes before reaching the top of the cliff. Malone was about to sit down on a large rock to catch his breath when Veronica yanked him up again.

'Veronica-'

'Sshh. Look, look at that sunrise.'

Malone had to admit that the sunrise was pretty much worth the effort of huffing and puffing their way up the hill. The rays that peeked over the mountain range seemed to be thrown at some particular angle that scattered them into shades of crimson and magenta across the sky. As the sun rose, the shades turned to orange and pink, then to yellow, and finally, the sky returned to its normal blue.

'Amazing,' he breathed at the end. 'Never got that kind of view from the treehouse.'

Veronica smiled at the wonder on his face. Two years on the plateau had still not remove the vestiges of innocence that made him so endearing.

'So, did you like it?'

His lips slowly curved into a grin.

'Well, it wasn't too damaging, but.' he made a dramatic pause, 'I like those colours better when they're on your face.'

In the split second that Veronica took to get the joke, Malone had already grabbed his pack and started climbing down.

'Edward Malone, wait till I get my hands on you,' she yelled in mock menace. 'You know what colours are going to be on your face when I'm done with you?'

'Blue and black, that's what,' came his laughing reply.



By the time they reached the bottom, they were so winded that they could hardly breathe, let alone laugh. They lay against a large rock panting, faces flushed with exertion.

'I'm going to die from asphyxiation by the time this is over,' Malone gasped, his shoulders shaking with controlled laughter.

'Well, it's your fault,' Veronica punched his arm lightly. 'If it weren't for your dumb quips, we wouldn't look like we had just run away from a Mother T-Rex.'

'Two,' he corrected her. 'Two mother T-Rexes and raptors to boot.'

'Right,' she leant back and rested her head on the rock, eyes closed. 'And to think, going through all this trouble just to get you to watch a sunrise. But at least it was nice, wasn't it?'

There was no answer.

'Ned?' she opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the barrel of a gun in front of her.

'Sorry miss,' the owner of the gun leered. 'Didn't get to see the sunrise.'

When Veronica shifted slightly, the gun was pushed closer to her temple.

'Don't try anything funny,' he snarled. He gestured to another man, who pulled her up and held her tight.

'My master will be pleased to have you join our trade,' the man with the gun grinned as he bent so close she could smell whisky on his breath.

'It's not often we get to sell white-skin slaves.'