Ok, so the last chapter sucked, lol. But I had to write it so my plot would make sense!! It was either, confuse them now or confuse them later... I thought it would be easier to stick that in there now. Thanks for all yall's reviews! Keep it up!! Happy Reading!

Ch. 17

Daine's blue-gray eyes scanned the crowded camp that she, Numair, and Philip had barely arrived to. Everywhere she looked was tents, men, animals, and weapons. She strained her eyes a bit further and caught a glimpse of a slow, but steady flowing river. The gi rl sighed with obvious relief. 'I finally get to bathe again!' she thought happily to herself. She was tired of having mud in her brown locks and under her fingernails.

She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, impatiently. The smell of freshly cooked meat wafted in her direction making her mouth water. Mithros was she hungry! She glanced behind her at Philip and knew his thoughts were similar to hers. Numair had gone ahead already to inform the captain of their arrival.

Philip caught her looking at him and smiled. "You hungry?" he asked in a deep rumbling voice.

"Starved."

"Let's go ahead without Numair then. I'm sure our noses can show us where the mess hall is."

Nodding in agreement, Daine and Philip slowly made their way to the eating area; the aroma of freshly cooked meat continued to intensify as they got grew closer. They finally stopped in front of a large metal colored tent and realized that they had reached their destination.

The young man extended his tanned arm and pushed back the flap. "After you milady."

Daine grinned as she walked past him and softly gasped when she entered. There must've been over a hundred men there! All of them busy stuffing their faces with beef, rice, and dried vegetables. She felt strangely out of place when she could only spot a dozen other girls beside herself; most were in charge of food duty.

Philip stood beside her and gestured with his hand towards the long line of hungry soldiers. "I have a good idea this is where we have go in order to get food."

"Excellent guess," a deep voice behind them responded.

Surprised, the two new arrivals turned around and saw a handsome middle- aged man with a long crooked nose that, to them, looked as if it had been broken a couple of times. He had his arm around a small, but sturdy red head with piercing violet eyes.

"Are you new around here?" the woman asked politely.

"Um, yes ma'am." Philip replied somewhat shyly. "We just arrived a couple of minutes ago."

"Ah really! The name's Alanna and this is my oh so charming husband George of Pirates Swoop."

George grinned at his wife lovingly and extended his hand to them, which they both shook.

Daine was still in a bit of a shook. This woman was wearing breeches and had the crest of the capital on her tunic, a privilege granted only to the best knights. Could this be the famous Lioness and her husband the ex King of Thieves?

Clearly Philip hadn't noticed or he hadn't heard the legendary stories of these two. If he had, he didn't show it.

"You...I...we..." the wild mage started

"Me, you, we...I think I understand." Alanna responded amused.

"Well my Lioness, we best get going to...to...care for our horses." George stated, a bright twinkle in his eye.

"Alright laddy-me-love." She responded. "Nice to meet you two! I hope you enjoy your stay here despite the war." With a smile, the copper haired woman and her husband turned hand in hand and exited the noisy tent.

Philip turned back to Daine, "It's nice to know there's still people in love around here even though there's a war going on." He sighed and pushed his hand through his wind blown hair. "Alanna and George are lucky. Someday I want to wed an amazing lass, and our love for each other will be as strong as theirs." He stopped and looked down at her, a look of longing in his eyes.

Seeing the longing, Daine quickly glanced away, her cheeks burning. The young man continued to gaze down at her, smiling widely. He put his arm around her small shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "My Veralidaine," he whispered.

*~*~*~*

The wild mage groaned in defeat when she couldn't bear to eat another bite. The main cook, a big, round, rosy cheeked lady, had heard about they're recent arrival and insisted on serving them double the amount of food the usual soldier ate. Philip too had stopped eating and was now staring down at his hardly dented food as if it were poisoned.

"Philip, I seriously think I'm about to-"

She was cut off by a familiar deep voice. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but Philip, we need to clarify some things about you're post here at the camp." Numair glanced hesitantly at Daine. "Alone."

Daine smiled, "I can take a hint Numair." She got up and looked down at her half eaten food. "Here, have the rest of my grub." She slid her slightly rusted tin plate across the wooden oak table. "While you men talk, I'll be getting myself acquainted with the animals."

She turned and walked towards the exit of the tent ignoring the whistles that were intended for her. Stepping outside, into the light breeze, she cleared her mind of thoughts and tried to sense an animal nearby.

'Anyone out here?' she mind called.

A furry baby squirrel poked his head out of a prickly bush, looking around sleepily. 'Who ARE you?'

'I'm Daine...what's your name little guy?"

'Gabboth. Do you have any food?'

Daine smiled and pulled out some walnuts from her pocket and placed them in front of the little squirrel. 'Don't stuff yourself now.'

Suddenly the critter's ears perked up and his eyes widened in fear. He scampered off into a tall, sturdy tree, leaving behind the desired food. Confused, Daine looked around and didn't see anything. Her breathing started to get shallow as the tension increased. 'Its probably nothing.' She told herself. 'Squirrels are just squeamish.'

The blood drained from her face as someone grabbed her swiftly from behind, pulling her forcefully into the dark shadows. A rough, callused hand covered her mouth, preventing her from crying out. She couldn't scream, couldn't move...she was trapped.

"Well, well, well...what 'ave I got 'ere. Not everyday we get perdy gals like you 'round this pert of the country," the man whispered sharply, his lips brushing against her ear, amplifying Daine's uneasiness.

The young woman struggled to free herself from this devious hoodlum, but it seemed the more she struggled, the tighter his grip was. She whimpered in pain as he pushed her forcefully against a nearby tree, his low chuckle echoing in her ear.

"We're gernna 'ave fun tonight Sweet Pea..."

A/N: Okay, so what'd yall think? Wanna make my day go better? Send me a review and I'll make the next chapter extra long...lol, geez, it sounds like I'm bribing my readers! But would I do something like that?... Anywho, I finished my job, which was write this chapter, go do yours! REVIEW!!!!! :)

Till Next Time!

*~*SportzGurl*~*

PS: Hope yall had a snazzy Thanksgiving!!