A jolt to my head woke me, sending a lightning shaft of pain down my spine. I groaned, and my head again hit the floor. I vaguely heard the creaking of wheels, and I could feel coarse wood under my cheek. Where was I?

Opening my eyes, I saw wooden walls around me, and a passing tree-line above them. I was in a wagon of some sort, passing through an all-too-familiar forest. In fact, there was the cliff where I had first met Samka. Samka… How long had I been out? It was almost sunset now, but that meant nothing. I could have slept a day, two days, three days…

"Boy," a foot nudged my ribs, sending sparks of pain through me. I hoped my ribs weren't broken, then again, if I was alive still they probably weren't. "Are you awake?"

I glared up at a man sitting in the cart bed with me. He glowered menacingly, "If you make a noise, or try to shift, you will be dead faster than you can breathe."

Considering I could barely breathe now, death would not have had to be fast.

The day passed into night without much fuss, and I found myself becoming very bored. I wasn't walking- I probably couldn't- so all I had to do was lie on my back and try to keep my head from hitting wood at every bump in the road. My body was very stiff from fever and bruises, and the shivering had not lessened yet. I couldn't down the meager bread they fed me, feeling more than slightly ill.

At every moment, a guard watched me with knife in hand. They made it a point to make it known that the blade was poisoned. I still felt the effects of the avian drug, and had no desire to relive them. So, stiff from the journey and fever, I allowed them to drag me from the wagon some time around midnight, not caring where they grabbed my wounded skin. As they jostled me, I could figure out by amount of pain if any bones had been broken. None. I guess that was a good sign, for a broken bone would have made my plight more unbearable.

I had just about given up the hope that Samka had gotten help. He wasn't able to shift, and Mother would sooner cage him than try to understand him. A dull, intangible ache rested in my chest as I thought about it. At least he was safe, granted he made it out unharmed. I wondered if he had run to the Keep, or just retreated to his home in the woods. Maybe I had only imprisoned him. What if he hadn't become attached to me, and saw me only as a source of free food? My throat tightened at this thought. I was stupid for letting myself get attached to him. I had thought I could teach him to shift, so neither of us would be alone.

A hand pushed hard on my back, my guards dropping me as I pitched forward to the ground, my legs too weak to support me. The grass was damp and cool against the heat of my fever, and I didn't mind the wetness soaking my clothes. I didn't care anymore. I really didn't care.

I heard the sound of an arrow stretching against a bow, I closed my eyes and pressed my face against the grass. They wouldn't know they were granting my wish. They would think they were killing an innocent Prince. If they killed me now, they would still start another war. They really didn't need me alive, I wondered why they hadn't killed me when Samka had fled.

The talk around me hushed, as the kidnappers waited with bated breath to watch the execution of the Crown Prince. And then, suddenly, a screech of battle rang through the forest where we had stopped. The man with the bow was so startled he loosed his arrow, nicking my arm through my jacket and shirt. The pain was lost in astonishment when I opened my eyes to see the entire Royal Flight herding the kidnappers like cattle. Even more shocking, my dream-figure ran at me, dropping to his knees before me. Longish silvery hair glinted in the moonlight as he lifted me from the cold ground to untie my hands. He didn't have the conspicuous patches of feathers this time, though.

My hands were free, but I couldn't move them. I was too weak. That didn't seem to matter, as the solid-dream-figure pressed me to him with painful enthusiasm. He nuzzled his head in the bare skin where my shoulder met my neck, and I felt hot slickness of tears smear on my skin. I closed my eyes and relaxed, mainly because in my mind, he reminded me of Samka for some reason. Through a daze, I found myself lifted into the mystery man's arms, and hugged close to a rapidly beating heart. A cloak was draped over me, and in the newfound warmth I fell asleep.

……

It was so hot. I struggled out of the inky blackness of sleep, to awake gasping for breath. Once again, I was smothered under hundreds of blankets to fight off my fever. I sat up and threw back a couple layers, to lessen the pressure on my chest. Able to breathe now, I took in the familiar surroundings of my room at the Keep. It was such a comfort to be back in the glowing brown and gold.

One thing didn't fit, however, as I noticed a head of silvery hair resting on my bed. A young man only slightly older than myself was sitting asleep, his head and arms floating on my covers. It was the same man who had held me the night I was rescued, and the night I head dreamt during my kidnapping! Who was he?

My hand inched forward, to touch his intriguing hair, but before I could reach he awoke, lifting his head to stare at me out of stunning blue-gray eyes. I suddenly found myself unable to speak, locked in the intensity of his gaze. He moved from the floor to a chair, his slick motion hinting of serpiente blood.

"W-Who are you?" I choked out finally, starting to feel a bit panicked that my parents would leave me alone with utter strangers.

"You named me," a low, beautifully accented voice fell from his lips, shocking me even further. I named him? I've never met him before!

He reached out a trembling hand, and as I watched, a wave of black feathers shifted lazily up his arm. I gasped, unable to help myself, and jerked back, "Samka!?" He immediately broke into a pleased grin. He was… He was human! "When did you… How…" I couldn't get the words out. Luckily, I didn't have time to before the door to my room opened. Mother came in, looking pale underneath her golden hawk's tan. Father trailed quickly after her, shutting the door behind him. Samka stepped back and allowed my parents to hug and pet me, making worried noised and sighs of relief. Finally they pulled back, and Samka took his place by my side, taking one of my hands into his cool palm. If they noticed, neither of my parents showed it. Father leaned against a bedpost and grinned, "Your little bird here was amazing." He recounted the story of how Samka had barreled into the Keep, squawking to raise the dead. As soon as he had made it to their private rooms, he landed on the floor and had tumbled into human form. After he had relayed then news, he didn't even wait for Mother's reaction, just shifted and flew back towards me. "Your mother didn't even have time to organize a flight," Father laughed, "She just shifted and called reinforcements while she flew." Mother inched an arm around Father's waist, smiling sheepishly.

"We were so worried about you, babe," she sighed, leaning wearily against her alistair. Not knowing what to say, I shrugged. "Well, thank the gods you're fine," she nodded, biting her lower lip, "Jezzi told us what you said to her, the day we left serpiente land. She feels awful. I think she's here now, actually-"

As she spoke, the door to my room flung open and Jezzi leapt at me, knocking me back into my pillows. Her arms squeezed tight around my neck until I could barely breathe. "Jezzi…" I managed, "Let go…" She quickly complied, sitting back on her ankles and thrusting out her lower lip.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped, tears dampening her fiery eyes, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you. I should have listened to you. It's just that… the last attempt was eons ago, and, and, the guards would never ever do something as stupid as that, but they weren't guards, and… I'm sorry!" She buried her face in her hands, as her soon-to-be mate took her shoulders and lifted her gently from the bed. They retreated to a corner of my room, until the girl calmed down.

Mother looked more than slightly uneasy at the display, but said nothing. She touched my forehead, smiled, and then left my room with Father. Jezzi and her lover left also, wanting me to get sleep. I doubted I could find it, however, with Samka sitting in his human form.

"What did they do?" he asked after sever moments of silence.

"Who?"

"Snake girl and hawk man," he said, pointing to the corner where Jezzi had been, "They had their faces together."

I leaned back against my pillows, "Oh. I think you mean kissing. They do that a lot."

"Kiss?"

I wondered how far this conversation would go. I refused to explain the birds and the bees to the poor mix, but… I guess somebody had to eventually. "A kiss is something two people share when they love each other," I settled for a simple explanation.

"Love?"

Suppressing a sigh, I told myself that he was a mere child to our cultures. He had tons to catch up on, because he had lived in the forest his entire life. "Love is a feeling. It makes you sad when someone isn't around you, and happy when they are near. You want to touch them, hold them, just be near them," I wondered if I was getting through. All the while, his eyes held the same blank look.

And then suddenly, "Do you love me?"

Quite sure that I was now beet-red, I fumbled for an answer, "No. Well, not… Not in that way… Yes… Maybe?" Again, his expression never changed.

"I love you."

I started, telling myself that he was new to this world and had no idea what he was saying. Yet, some part of me wanted to believe him. I knew that I wanted to hold him, to protect him, to keep him from being alone, but the rational part of my brain screamed at me. He was clueless. Absolutely clueless. "Samka, you don't just… say something like that. It's very hurtful if you say it to the wrong person."

In response, he slipped from the chair and gracefully climbed onto my bed. He knelt over me, his hands resting at each of my shoulders, and bent down shyly, pulling back fractionally only once, before dipping all the way. His lips brushed mine gently, uncertainly. It caught me completely by surprise, and my breath halted in my lungs. When he drew back, I could barely think straight. I suddenly longed for his touch, yet I knew that he had no idea what he had just done. I wished he understood; I didn't want to take advantage of him. I couldn't. It wouldn't be right.

I sighed, "Samka…" The look on his face hurt me like a physical stab. He looked so lost, a chick fallen from his nest. "Love means you put the other above yourself. You never want to make them cry, only to make them laugh. It's very hard," why was I explaining this? He wouldn't understand.

"I do!" he pleased, clenching his hands into fists, "You named me! When bad men took you it hurt here," he touched his chest. "And when I found you, my eyes wet. Gold hawk said it was for love." Gold hawk- Mother. Had she comforted Samka? I still found it had to believe she had even listened to him about me. "You do not love me?" he sat back on his heels, his eyes glittering sadness.

A/N- Here, the story gets a bit (ok, well, more than a bit) slashy. If that makes you in any way queasy, don't read. Especially don't flame, please. If you are not bothered by slash, by all means read on.