I really hope you all like this bit, especially my muse, Midgett, and my little fountain of ideas, Karone-Sakura. Thankyou guys! BIG HUGS!

Cookies and Easter choccies (even though it's a bit late) for everyone who reads this! Um um!

Jade

Well, another couple of weeks past, and now I was about four months. And I was starting to seriously bulge. But… strange as it was… the ribbon I'd been given months before seemed to have some sort of magic entwined in it, which kind of hid my belly whenever I put it back on. Amanda and Jake noticed this too. It was… kinda freaky to see.

I'd bet anything the weight programs would give anything to have this sort of thing.

Soon, I felt my moods becoming extremely erratic. Like, one minute I was happy and laughing, and the next… sobbing like I did when I was a little girl. I think Cassie and Rachel might have guessed, and maybe Ithiell too, but the rest… well, the rest were just clueless.

Okay, maybe not Rtaia. She came to me when we were taking a watch together.

"You are with child, are you not?" She'd whispered to me, and when I'd looked at her in shock, she just smiled.

"How did you…"

"Females of my species just… we just know"

"Oh. Brilliant" I muttered.

"Do not fear. You secret is safe with me"

"Nice to hear" I muttered again, suddenly having a strange craving for vegemite and chicken all at once. Freaky…

We'd figured out we were in Asia somewhere. Maybe. In one of those countries, anyway. We met very few people, and when we did, Ithiell and Rtaia talked to them as humans. Who knew those aliens were so… linguistic?

We also managed to find out it was somewhere between the sixteen hundreds, and seventeen hundreds. We saw primitive versions of guns, we guessed, being carried by the men. I also saw a couple of hair combs in the females hair, and wanted so much just to brush my hair. Maybe cut it a bit too…

It was one night that things really got interesting. Rtaia was temporarily being my 'doctor' and was checking me over. Making sure I was going all right. I'd put on a couple of kilos, and was back to my original weight, so I guessed the H.Bs had something to do with that.

Once we were done, we got Amanda, who helped me down to a small stream to wash. I just felt so grimy, and after being sweaty for over a week… I just needed it. We all did.

I was the only one that hadn't been. Amanda decided to go with me in case I slipped or something. She and Jake were now more protective of me than ever. It was kind of annoying in a way, but also kind of nice to know I wasn't alone in this. Even though I was the one carrying the damn thing… whatever it was…

I thought about this as I clumsily put my boots back on, after my wash. Amanda was soon helping me, with Rtaia being the watchful guard, somewhere up in the trees.

"I hope it's a girl" I said suddenly, patting my tummy as she finished putting my left boot on, then gave me my ribbon to wind around my stomach.

"Why do you say that?" she asked as she helped me up, and I cursed myself for feeling so wobbly. I mean, it never used to be this hard to stand up…

"I don't know. I guess I just want another Phoebe around or something" I sighed, stretching my arms and cracking my neck a little Amanda winced when I did that.

"Well, that's a creepy thought. Another mini-you"

"Mini… what? Phoebe isn't…"

"Oh come on Jade! She's a carbon copy!"

"Look out!" A shout from above, then something cold was pressed against the back of my neck. Amanda was in front of me, and I guessed whoever was there hadn't come to say hi.

"Gee. Wish I knew Japanese or something" I muttered, hearing Rtaia drop down from the trees, probably right behind the person who had a blade at the back of my throat.

"Who are you!"

I blinked. Then looked at Amanda. She shook her head slowly.

"Did I just…"

"Speak! Or I will separate your head from the rest of your body!"

"Pushy little thing, aren't you?" I said, not really answering her… because I now knew it was a her… at all.

"We… we mean you no harm. We are… we are lost…" Amanda put her hands out, shakily, trying to talk to this girl like a hostage negotiator or something.

"How do you speak our tongue so fluently?"

"Say what!" I cried, not moving. Then it hit me… the H.Bs had done something to us again! Damn those beings…

"Look, we mean no harm. We truly are lost…"

(You even scratch her and I will have your head for breakfast) I heard Jakes voice, and out of the corner of my eye I saw something black on orange lurking just to the right side. On my left… a white furry creature that wasn't really white at all.

Suddenly the blade was removed, and I spun around to see my attacker.

She was young, probably a little older than the rest of us, but she wasn't dressed like the women we'd seen. True, she wore the traditional silk, but it was in the form of pants and a short-sleeved top, not like the long-sleeved dresses I'd seen.

She was obviously Asian, and had her hair back in a tight plat. In her hands she wielded a small dagger, intricately crafted, and I noticed a quiver of bows and an arrow slung over her shoulders. She wasn't small and delicate either. You could clearly tell she was a warrior. Her feet were not bound tightly like the others either. They were normal-sized. That, I was glad about.

Being threatened and not being able to move as fast… I wasn't so glad about that little bit.

"You… the creature speaks, but it does not!" She looked astonished, holding her hands to her ears and looking down at Jake with something that was almost like fear.

"He won't hurt you. He's a friend" Cassie was suddenly there, along with everyone else.

"Animals cannot speak! Not even the tiger, as proud as he is! No… this cannot… who are you!" she suddenly demanded of Cassie, wielding the dagger towards her.

"A friend. All we want to do is talk to you. Please, we won't hurt you. And I promise our… animal friends… weren't either" She shot a glance at Jake, then at Robert, who backed away into the night. Moments later, they both came from where the others had come. Jake embraced me in a tight hug, then turned to the girl.

During this time, Cassie, with Amanda's help, had managed to talk her into putting away the dagger. We invited her back to our campfire, and she came with us. I guessed she was one in this time who wasn't really racist.

Ithiell, Ax and Rtaia were all now human, and we all sat down, being careful to make sure she didn't think we were going to hurt her. Amanda and Cassie sat on either side of her, and I sat beside Amanda. Rachel and Rtaia sat on Cassie's side. Jake and the boys kind of made up the rest of the circle.

"I… I do not know what to say. Your presence… confuses and fascinates me. The creatures… do they come to your bidding?" She asked in wonder, turning to me. I just smiled and said,

"Well, not always"

This mild joke just seemed to pass right over her head, and she instead looked to Cassie, then Amanda.

"First off, why don't we start with names? My name's Cassie"

"I'm Amanda"

"My name is Karone-Sakura. I am… a lone warrior"

"Yes, we can see that" Robert said. I could tell he was absolutely fascinated with her. She had him at lone, I think.

"I have been… this way for quite some time. My father did not like me to be taught the ways of fighting, but I refused. I learnt off my brothers. They taught me everything I know now. Sadly, they were taken into war not long ago, and I have not seen them since" She swallowed the lump that was probably in her throat, and managed to continued.

"I ran away from home, in hopes to join our army and search for them. Sadly, I could not fool them for long, and was cast out. I now hope to find them myself"

"Sounds like a long way to go to find your brothers" Rachel muttered, leaning back on the grass.

"I understand. I have two brothers too. I'd probably have done exactly the same as you" Amanda said, putting a hand on her arm. Karone-Sakura smiled at her.

And so, our friendship with the Chinese girl named Sakura began.

Hope u lyked it! And I thank Karone-Sakura, for letting me use her absolutely cool name! Thankyou!

More to come! Just… I need my muse back…

Heeeyyy MIIIIIDGGEEEEETTTT!

Tehe:)