Disclaimer: WE ARE NOT MAKING MONEY! WE DON'T OWN THIS.

Factoid-about-this-story of the chapter:  hmmm… We won't really kiss you… HEHEHEHE

Later that night I tried to think of ways to leave without anyone noticing. I remembered something Daine once said to me: Never, if you are hurt bad, such as a broken bone, change to or from a different shape. You will hurt your self worse because your body won't be able to handle the changes. (A/N okay, okay, I know it doesn't say this in the books but oh well.) I figured I would just have to stay this way. "Yea." I muttered under my breath. But maybe that's not such a bad thing, part of me said. But then the other part of me said, "What about Tortall?" You're the country's last hope. You need to get Daine here to heal you so you can continue to spy. This caused me to start a vicious argument with myself. Part-of-me-1 won. I decided to stay. It's not like I could go anywhere anyways even if I wanted to go.

"Rise and shine." Said Sam as he leaned over me. I closed my eyes and grumbled. "Well that's no way to talk to the person who wakes you up to another lovely, exciting and in your case painful day." I was going to hit him but then realized that would probably be lethal.

"Yea." I replied; then I thought of something. "Could you help me?" I asked.

"Depends on whether your nice enough."  He smiled mischievously.

"Do you know Numair and Daine Saliman?" I asked.

"Not personally."

"Do you have anyway you can get a message to them?" I hoped he wouldn't go to far in to the matter. It would be quite embarrassing to say "Oh, yeah I lied and really am a spy." After I told him different.

"Well, maybe… Oh! I know! In two months a mage will be here who can."

"Thank you." I said relieved. I could be saved.

As the days went by I felt good enough to work around the house. Sam and I became good friends. In fact I "like" liked him. I helped with what I could around the healer's office where he worked. I got to know Sam better. I learned his family had had this healer's shop for five generations. His parents died in a smallpox epidemic a few years back. He was seventeen, same age as me. Luckily he did not probe into my life.

   Winter faded to spring and finally Sam said my rib had healed. He said I couldn't leave yet. He wouldn't like me to travel for a few days. But the point was I was well enough to change back. Sam said that the mage would be here in two or three days and I should be able to see him. I knew our peaceful days were about to end.

"The ice is thin enough to break through on the river. I'm going ice fishing. You want to come?" Sam asked me the morning after I healed.

"Yeah." I said and flew out behind him. We went down to the river. He bashed a hole in the ice and dropped in his line. We caught several fish and even though it was starting to warm up, Sam insisted on more fish. I noticed the crack under me first.

"Ack!" I yelled as I rose into the air. The crack spread like millions of spider webs and they reached Sam.

"Uh oh. Uh oh." He kept saying.

"Move!" I yelled seeing the danger he was in but he just kept saying "Uh oh." Apparently he was scared stiff.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I- c-can't- s-s-swim." He said trembling. He had hydrophobia. Then the ice cracked and he fell in.

"CRUD-MUFFINS!" I yelled heroically as I changed back from a stormwing and dove in. The water was freezing. I swam around with sharp branches brushing against me. I moved my hands around and found a foot. I pulled Sam out and lay him on the shore. I was very cold and realized I needed clothes. I went into Sam's pack and found a wool poncho. I built a fire and dried his outer clothes. I put Sam under a spare blanket he had brought and put him close to the fire trying to warm him up. His teeth were chattering and his lips were blue- almost as blue as his eyes. I found some dried soup and cooked some soup in a skunk cabbage leaf (A/N Skunk cabbage leaves provide an excellent container for boiling water ect.)

(Lily: Yea! More useless information!)

After much difficulty I managed to force soup into him. He started blinking as he woke up.

"Sahnzi?" he asked blearily.

"The one and only."

"How'd you save me?" he asked in the same tone.

"Swam." I said checking his pulse.

"But stormwings can't swim." He said.

"I know." I said checking his temperature.

"Okay, Whatever." He mumbled as he fell asleep. He seemed to be doing better. I gave him more soup. His skin started to lose its bluish tint.

A great bruise the size of Carthak was on my chest. I hadn't slept at all that night so I made sure Sam was warm and fell asleep with one last thought. What if he wakes before I do?

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