Author's note: Okay, I'm back in business. Sorry, school has been keeping me really busy! But, here's another chapter, so I hope that it's good enough!

Arctic Wolf 18: Thank you for being very protective of my characters! First Mithra and Kara, and now you're protecting Skye! Hm, maybe I need to hire you as a personal body guard….;) Thanks for being an awesome reviewer, and here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it, since you're the only person reading this. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I've already said it.

A/n: Now, on with the story!

…

But, before it could reach her, two dark shadows burst from the forest. In each hand, Bishop was holding a twelve-inch dagger, and he launched himself at the huge monster. When Skye glanced over her shoulder, she could hardly follow his movements, because Bishop was literally flying around the giant, making various cuts and slashes, drawing the monster's eyes to him.

While Bishop distracted the monster, Jarek jumped in and clamped his teeth around the monster's neck. The monster roared and feinted a slash at Jarek. Bishop jumped down and slashed the monster's claw before it could reach Jarek. But, Bishop had made an almost fatal mistake: he had forgotten about the monster's other claw.

"Oh no," he thought.

The creature brought up its other claw and ripped its nails across Bishop's stomach. It would've decapitated him with one giant, hooked nail, but Bishop quickly summoned his magic and snapped the monster's finger off. While it threw its head back and howled in fury, Bishop jammed both of his daggers into the tender area underneath the jaw. Its howl stopped halfway through, and a long hiss came out instead.

Bishop ripped his daggers out of the creature's neck and jumped back. Jarek ripped a chunk out of the thing's neck also, and then he dropped gracefully to the ground. Then, without warning, the monster dropped forward and landed with a loud crash, with its life spilling out its neck.

"Are you alright?" Skye whispered, edging around the giant to Bishop.

Bishop somehow managed to put both of his daggers away, but he drew in a sharp breath and looked away. His eye glazed slightly, and Jarek leapt forward as his master slumped to the ground.

"Triforce curse it!" Skye swore.

She rushed forward and somewhat caught Bishop before he hit the ground. Skye was surprised that Jarek didn't growl at her.

"Come on, Jarek. Help me get him back to camp," she grunted and tried to lift Bishop.

Seeing as she couldn't, she slowly flipped Bishop onto his back and hooked her arms underneath his armpits. She slowly dragged Bishop back to the camp.

…

Gage slipped out behind the fortress and began to prepare the area that he would stake out. Being practically second in command, Gage could go where he wished, whenever he wished, and no one would stop him from leaving the premises. He silently prepared the area and slipped away.

…

It was after the sun slipped down from the horizon when Bishop finally came back to the waking world. He groaned and lifted his head.

"Finally awake?" a soft voice asked.

Pain seared across his stomach, and he bit his tongue to prevent himself from crying out. Blood pushed its way out of his mouth and down his cheek. Skye reached over and wiped it away.

"Don't overexert yourself," she warned.

He gave her an odd look, and then he glanced around. His sword and his bow were lying beside him, and his whip belt was resting beside him. His quiver was propped against the rest of the belt, and the feathers of the arrows cast long shadows against the ground. Jarek was lying against his right side, and a small fire was going. When he was about to say something, Skye held up her hand.

"I had to risk it. Without a fire, it would've been impossible for me to boil the salve that I needed to rub into your wounds," she explained with her back to him. She was doing something over the fire.

Then, Bishop noticed that his shirt was gone, and some white paste had been spread over the gashes on his stomach. Blood stained the top of his black pants, but no wounds extended down that far.

"Can you eat?" she calmly asked over her shoulder.

Bishop grimaced as he tried to raise himself onto his elbows, but more blood started to spill from his mouth.

"I'll take that as a no," Skye sighed and gently eased him back down.

"That Taol did a number on me," Bishop groaned.

Jarek stood up and loped up to Bishop's head, and he gently pressed his nose against Bishop's head, and when Bishop lifted his head, Jarek laid down. Bishop rested his head against the wolf's soft flanks and waited for the lights that appeared in his eyes to disappear.

"Here, sip this as best as you can," Skye softly said, and she moved over to his side.

She was holding a small bowl, and some hot, clear liquid swished around inside. She pulled a spoon from her pocket, and she filled it with the liquid. Then, she held the spoon against Bishop's lips.

"This will help," her soft voice said as Bishop opened his mouth.

She let the liquid slip out of the spoon and into his mouth. This type of feeding continued on for a few minutes, but Bishop finally shook his head when Skye's hand returned for the umpteenth with the filled spoon.

"Enough?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said harshly.

"Okay," she quietly replied.

She moved away and returned with a blanket and another bowl. She dipped her fingers in the bowl and began to dribble some purple liquid over the white paste.

"This will keep the paste from rubbing off, and it will help you heal quicker," she said. Although her eyes were downcast, she could still see the question in his eyes.

She continued to spread the liquid over the white paste, and she was able to cover his gashes four times with the strange purple liquid.

"The more I put on, the faster it will help the paste," she explained, her eyes were still downcast.

When the bowl was empty, she flicked the rest of the liquid off of her fingers, and, after she moved back over to the fire and began to scrub something, Bishop ventured a question.

"Where did you get the bowls?" he asked, surprised at how well he felt.

Her eyes never left her work, but she smiled, "You don't think that I left the castle completely unprepared, do you?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she silenced him with a sharp glance.

"Don't talk. I'll tell you as soon as I'm done here," she said.

Then, Bishop realized that she was scrubbing his shirt. Apparently, she had rubbed some type of cleaning liquid on it, because the blood was dripping off and wasn't leaving a dark stain against the black cloth. When she finished, she folded his shirt and laid it beside him. Then, she picked up the blanket that she'd brought over earlier and laid it over him.

"When I left the castle, I left through my window," she said, drawing her knees up to her chin and staring into the small flames, "Then I crept around outside until I got to the kitchen. They always leave the window unlocked, so I opened it and slid in. I put three bowls and some various eating utensils in my pack, and I snagged some food. After I finished that, I basically left the way I came and headed for the Dark Forest," she concluded, and she let her legs back down.

"You seem a lot more mature now then when I first met you," Bishop commented, and Skye glanced over at him.

"You do something to make everyone underestimate you, right?" she asked.

Bishop slowly nodded, and Skye continued, "What I do to make someone underestimate me is act really immature. If I find myself in a dangerous situation, I try to make my enemy underestimate me, and, if I succeed, I use a fighting technique that I learned from my father," Skye whispered.

"Who's your father?" Bishop quietly asked.

"The Hero of Time," she replied.

"How old are you?" Bishop inquired.

"Fifteen."

"The Hero of Time disappeared over fifteen years ago. How would you have learned anything from him?" Bishop asked.

"I found one of his journals that my mother must have missed. His journal was filled with his fighting moves, techniques, and weapon choices. I have it with me," she whispered.

"Is that why you ran away?" Bishop pressed, wanting to learn more about her.

"It's late," Skye evasively danced around the question and said, "You'll need your rest, because if you get enough, you'll be well by tomorrow morning."

Skye carefully unfolded a blanket for herself and continued, "You're lucky. That monster didn't get its claws very deep. If they'd've gone in any farther, we'd be here for a week or longer, considering that that's how long it probably would've taken me to heal you, if not longer," she said in a meaningful tone, glancing at him.

"Yeah," he mumbled, staring into her eyes, trying to find the truth.

Feeling uncomfortable in his gaze, Skye turned her back to him, arranged some large stones around the fire, and walked back over to her blanket, and settled down on the hard ground. She rolled herself into her blanket, snuggled against the ground, and was asleep in seconds.

Bishop stayed awake for a little while, and he listened to her breathing. He could feel Jarek's flanks rising and falling with each breath, and Bishop let his head sink into Jarek's silky fur.

"What does she have to hide?" Bishop thought, gazing up at the stars.

The fire crackled and sent a small shower of sparks into the air. As Bishop slowly let himself slip into unconsciousness, he felt as if something was watching him. He tried to ignore it and fell into an uneasy sleep.

…

Later that night, Jarek suddenly shot up and vanished into the forest. Bishop's head cracked sharply against the ground, and he muttered an oath.

"Jarek?" he whispered, glancing around the black night. The fire had long since gone out.

Harsh breathing came from the forest in front of him, and it was steadily growing louder. Bishop carefully felt around him, and his fingers found his sword and whip belt. He quietly pulled his things toward him, and he quietly buckled his whip belt around his hips. Then, he reached for his sword, dragged it toward him, and slipped the top over his shoulder. He brought the two ends of the strap, which were attached to his scabbard and held his sword on, together over his chest, and he quickly buckled the two ends together. Bishop felt the hard leather biting into his left shoulder, and the strap also bit unmercifully into the right side of his stomach. He ignored the pain and slowly undid his whips as the strange breathing shattered the still air. He silently rose onto his haunches, but he suddenly hissed in pain. Lights exploded in front of his eyes and he gripped his head with his whip handles.

Suddenly, he sensed something. He sensed that a dark form had slipped into the camp. Bishop sensed his own disability to move quickly, and he shrank back into the shadows, trying to avoid being seen until the last second. The dark form approached, and its harsh breathing was still. It slid over to Skye bundled-up form and slowly reached down. Bishop's muscles tensed. It reached down and flipped the blanket off of her face. Bishop could feel a terrible smile spread across its lips.

"Princess Skye. My search is at an end," it hissed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Bishop growled.

The dark form spun at the sound of Bishop's voice, and a sword quickly gleamed in the sudden moonlight.

"She's traveling with someone?" it harshly questioned the night.

In a silent reply, Bishop stretched out his hand, and red light erupted into the night. The man recoiled and his eyes were momentarily veiled with blindness. Bishop used that to his advantage. He leapt to his feet and launched himself at the man, and he set his whips soaring ahead of him. The man's cry of pain announced to Bishop that his whips had found their target, and Bishop viciously ripped his whips away, taking the man's skin with them.

Suddenly, a chilling howl erupted through the cold night, drowning out the man's scream. Another man raced into the campsite with a shadow pursuing him. The howl erupted again, and Bishop smiled. Jarek never missed his prey. With a spell-bounding leap, Jarek flew into the air and came down on the man's back. The man screamed as the back of his neck was ripped apart by angry fangs.

Meanwhile, after Bishop bound the man's hands with his whips, Bishop pulled out his twelve-inch dagger, and he forced it through the man's neck. Blood erupted from where the tip of the blade quickly emerged while the man's eyes went blank as he pitched forward, dying.

Bishop jerked his dagger out of the man's neck, and he yanked his whips away from the man's wrists. He glanced down at Skye, but she wasn't there. Her blankets were still lying there, and Bishop noticed that a dark form that had something slung over its shoulder was slipping away through the forest.

"You did not," Bishop growled in rage, and he set out after the form.

Shouts erupted around the campsite, and Bishop quickly realized what had happened. Two trackers had found Skye's trail and had led a brigade of soldiers to their hiding place.

"Triforce curse it," he swore.

Before leaving the campsite behind, Bishop quickly stooped down and picked up Skye's pack, and he quickly strapped it onto his belt. Then, he chased after the shadow that was vanishing through the darkness. Suddenly, Bishop charged straight into the brigade of the soldiers, and they all stared at him in shock. Bishop's muscular stomach heaved as he observed them all, and the soldiers eyed his large muscles with fear.

A few seconds of shock passed, and then the commander of the soldiers broke free of the trance and recognized Bishop as an enemy. "Kill him!"

The soldiers were quick to comply, and they eagerly jumped forward with their swords drawn.

Bishop swore again, and, with lightning speed, he had his whips wound up and had his long sword clenched in his hands. This made the soldiers pause for a millisecond to stare at how long and powerful it was, but then, the first of the soldiers reached him and swung his sword at Bishop. Bishop dodged, brought his sword up, and slashed through the soldier's stomach. Then, Bishop swung his sword around and caught another blade that was slicing through the air toward him. Bishop quickly brushed the sword off and drove his sword through the soldier's neck. But, the next second found a sword biting sharply into Bishop's left arm. Bishop roared an oath, and he swung his sword around, decapitating the soldier. But, after that soldier fell, another soldier was there to take his place.

"There're too many. The man with Skye will be long gone by the time that I get rid of these soldiers," Bishop grimly thought, blocking another flying blade.

Then, Bishop summoned the magic that was sleeping in his sword, and the magic awoke, making the sword spring to life. The black flames erupted from the sword, causing all of the soldiers to fall back in fear, but then Bishop was among them. They all saw flames flying everywhere, and the soldiers who weren't killed were set on fire with fire that couldn't be quenched. Since his sword had created a large confusion, Bishop quickly took the opportunity to summon a mist, and soon a thick mist rolled into the area, creating more confusion then before. Soon, the soldiers were fighting themselves, and Bishop slipped through them and sprinted after the man who had Skye.

Bishop sprinted through the forest, and he was carefully tracking the footsteps of Skye's captor. Soon, a shape formed in front of him, and he could see Skye's large blue eyes staring at him desperately. Skye tried to call his name, but, at that moment, she realized that she'd never heard his name. But, she could see the anger in Bishop's eyes, and she watched while he charged at her with his sword drawn. Her captor heard his breathing, and he whirled around to face Bishop.

"It's too bad that you came all this way just to die," her captor commented, since he had never encountered Bishop before.

"Will everyone stop telling me this!" Bishop roared, and, with one mighty swing, he decapitated the man.

Bishop caught Skye as she flew from the corpse, and he sprinted through the forest with her in his arms. Skye watched the trees while they whizzed past, and she could feel Bishop's muscles tensing and relaxing with each breath. Suddenly, Skye realized that Jarek wasn't loping behind Bishop, and she looked around more carefully to see if she could spot the wolf. But, as if in answer to her question, Jarek materialized through the forest, and he fell into step behind his master. Bishop took no notice of his wolf, and soon, the sound of the fighting at the campsite faded into the background.

After they had gone a bit further, Bishop slowed down and set Skye on her feet. He inhaled deeply and looked at her.

"You okay?" he gasped, placing his hands behind his head to help regain his breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Skye nodded, shaking in fear from being snatched in her sleep.

"Sorry that I didn't get to you sooner," Bishop apologized, breathing deeply and regaining his breath.

"It's okay," Skye whispered, but then her eyes widened in shock. "You're bleeding!"

"I bleed all the time," Bishop replied casually, and he examined his left arm and shrugged.

"It'll be okay, but we need to make tracks," he told her.

Skye nodded, and Bishop set off at a brisk jog, so Skye fell in behind him with Jarek. They ran through the night, leaving the campsite far behind.

A/n: So, how was it? I'm sorry this update took so long, but like I said above, school has kept me very busy. But, hopefully, I'll be more prompt with my updates. Next chapter coming soon!