A/N: I promised you I would put two chapters up tonight! So here it is, chapter 17. This one will have a lot of violence, possibly borderline R. you have been warned. Remember to review!

Emily

Disclaimer: still aint mine.
Annie was awoken very early by the sound of pounding on the door. She yawned and lazily made her way over to the door.

"Get dressed. We're under attack." Daine's announcement woke Annie up completely. She quickly woke up Kala and the two teens got dressed quickly. They joined Daine outside.

"What do we do? Can we help? What about the horses?"

"The animals are safe. And, um, can you use a weapon?"

"I have a fair hand at the sling shot." Kala said shyly.

"Ok, go and do that. What about you? Can you use a sword?"

"No."

"A spear?"

"No."

"A bow?"

"No."

A sling shot?"

"No."

"Can you use anything?"

"Um, I can kick someone really hard. And I can bash people over the head with my shoes!"

"Um, just don't go outside!" Daine raced off, leaving Annie in the deserted hall.

Well, obviously when you tell a teenager not to do something, their going to do it. So Annie promptly went outside, into the war.
Arrows rained down over the Harop army. Knights, pages, and squires raced out to clash with the Harop army. The clash of metal meeting metal rang out. An arrow lodged itself into a Harop's eye. He went down with a screech of pain. Alanna slashed at a man, leaving a deep wound in his stomach. Blood gushed out of the wound as the man died. Kel speared a man through the chest, leaving a gaping hole in the man.

A white dog leaped at a man, tearing his throat. A Harop was engaged in a sword fight. The man was about to spear the woman when a rock hit him square in the temple. One Tortallians knight went down as a Harop swiftly sliced the man across the waist. Another Tortallians man rode up and sliced the head off a Harop who was trying to spear Neal.

One man let out an agonizing scream as black magic burnt him. A group of sparrows swarmed around one Harop's mount, causing the terrified animal to throw the rider to a waiting Tortallians, who with a swift stroke of his sword, brought him down. Up above, Archers expertly let arrows loose, marking their targets with ease. A strawberry roan reared up and came down hard on one man. Kel's spear went through the head of one man.

The crimson blood of another enemy adorned tall knights armor as he slashed a man through the throat. One man was about to slice Kel when a high heeled show flew through the air, hitting the man on the head and giving the young page time to kill her assailant. A large group of animals emerged from the woods and started bringing people down. A group of Tortallians men were burnt as grey fire burnt them the source of the grey fire was soon hit by black fire, the two mages locked in a battle of their own.

Annie watched the scene unfold below her. Her stomach turned at the sight of bodies being slashed, limbs being detached from bodies. A foul stench filled the air, causing the girl to gag. Nearby, she heard somebody scream "stormwings!" Annie watched as a large group of creature flew into view. The arches immediately started to aim at the creatures. Annie was suddenly wondering if she should have actually listened to Daine. She screamed as one of the monsters swooped down at her. It scraped her head. Her hands flew up to the wound and she shuddered as she felt the trickle of blood fall down her head. She removed her hands to find the covered in the sticky crimson blood.

Annie walked over to another spot that not as many people were stationed in. she looked up to see a stormwing falling. A man riding him landed a few feet from Annie. He quickly got up and advanced towards the girl. His eyes blazed with anger.

"Oh shit." She mumbled. The man was now right in front of her. He punched her and she stumbled back. She promptly kneed him in the groin. As he bent over in pain, Annie slipped her other shoe off, banging him on the head. She did a little jump and let out what could be described as a victory squeal. She then raced back to the others.

The bloody war raged on all day and night. It was short, but bloody. At the end of the second day, The Harop's finally retreated. But they left a bloody mess. Dead bodies scattered the ground. Men missing heads, legs and arms littered the ground. The grass was stained with the crimson blood of victims of the bloody war. Alanna limped out of the field, a deep wound in her leg. Kel was supported by Neal and another boy with a wound to he shoulder. Everyone was exhausted, and it showed. Annie could barely remember collapsing to the ground.
She awoke on a makeshift cot. She rose slowly and looked around. People were crowded into the room. Most of them slept soundly. The people were all filthy, many of them covered in blood. Annie swung herself off the bed to go look around. She quietly crept out of the room and ran into the read headed woman who she had seen fighting earlier. The woman was talking to Daine, who noticed Annie first.

"Your awake."

"Yup. So, did we win? What happened?"

"We haven't won the whole war yet. But its looking good." The red head woman said.

"Oh, Annie, this is Alanna. Alanna, this is the girl I was telling you about."

"Nice to meet you Annie."

"You to. So, how are the horses? Are they ok?"

"Yes, they are mostly ok." Annie let out a relieved sigh.

"What about the humans?"

Alanna answered her. "The death toll for both sides is high, but not as high as it could be."

"That sucks. What about my friends?"

Daine gave the younger girl a smile. "Their ok."

"Good. Well, I'm going to go. See you! Nice to meet you Alanna." She walked off, leaving the two women to talk.
A/N: hey, what do you know? this one is actually shorter than the last one. grr. sorry guys. well, I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to make it good. I hope I did a good job. Well, tell me what you think. Like? Hate? I want to know! So, keep those reviews coming!

Emily