Note: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for taking so long. Been having poweroutages for the past few days and didn't want to fry my computer. Sorry for this chapter. It's kinda fast. Let me know what you think. Live or die? Thanks.

Lost

It took them a while to notice that Kida was gone. When they did, they had no question to where she went.

"Stupid girl!" Lancelot vented.

"What does she think she's doing?"

"She will get us all killed!" snarled Lancelot.

"Calm down," Arthur ordered.

"What do we do?"

"Nothing," Liam started. "Kida went off to slow them down. She would do best on her own. Large numbers are easily spotted."

"What can one person, one girl, do to slow down an entire army?" Lancelot asked.

"We are in a forest. Superstition can be a powerful ally. She will think of something," Liam said having a bit too much faith in Kida. "As long as she's not seen, she will be fine."

As predicted, Kida crept along, trying to pick the easiest targets. There were so many of them. For a moment she froze. What if they saw her? Then she remembered who it was she was doing it for and forced her focus back to the task at hand. If she kept to the trees and never gave them a chance to see her she should be fine. Slowly she drew her bow and let loose a bolt. It found its mark and caused a Saxon to drop dead.

Quickly she released many others. The Saxons confused at first but quickly pulled themselves into formation. The arrows were not going to work any more. She would have to wait for them to let their guards down again. They continued on their march, moving closer to Liam and the rest of them. Her arrows had not even caused them to flinch. What was she going to do? If she didn't do something quick, they would be on Liam and the others soon.

The sound of the Saxons drums reached them. The people began to panic. "Keep moving!" Arthur shouted.

Frightened, the people moved. They trusted Arthur and knew he would not let them be slaughtered. Liam glanced back. Kida was out there, he prayed that she would be alright. Quickly, they moved through the forest and came out to an open field. The knights looked at each other. Which would be the best action? Take them out into the open or try to hide in the trees? What ever their decision, they needed to find one quick.

Tristan looked back, hoping for some sign of Kida. What did she think she was doing? He was to wrap up in Kida that he did not even notice the small woman stealing peaks at him. He wanted to go find her and bring her back, but he didn't. She was a grown woman and thought she knew what was best, why should he interfere? Frustrated with himself and Kida, he rode ahead, doing exactly what he didn't want to.

They came upon them as they reached the end of the meadow. Arthur and his knights stopped as they watched the massive Saxon army emerge from the trees. Obviously, Kida had not been very inventive with her attempts to slow them down. The knights looked at one another and dismounted. They would have to fight. They ushered the people on and moved out into the middle of the meadow.

Liam looked for some sign of Kida. Had she failed in her attempts due to death? He looked at Arthur and the others. They did not want to face the Saxons, but there was no way they could escape them. The knights took out their weapons and stood in formation. If today was their day to die, they were going to take a few Saxons with them.

Doom, Doom, Doom. Went the Saxon drums. The Saxons raised their weapons. The villagers stopped, frozen in fear. Arthur watched them stop. "Go!" he yelled. "Go!" To afraid to move, they did not go. Arthur mounted his horse and rode towards them. He was not about to have them all die.

Lancelot followed Arthur and they pushed the villagers on. The others stood in formation, prepared to fight. The Saxons let out a bone-breaking cry and charged.

Kida heard the cry. They had found them. Loosing all sense of danger; she mounted her horse and rode hard. She had to do something. As she came to the clearing, she saw Liam and the others standing in formation, their weapons raised for battle. The villagers were frozen and refused to move. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The Saxons charged. She rode faster. Pulling out her bow, she let loose her arrows as she charged at them.

She met them midway. She turned, twisted, and weaved through the Saxon troops, cutting and slicing at what ever came within arm length. Her horse reeled and she maneuveredpassed the mass and rode away. They were too many. She turned around and watched them. They still marched. She had to do something. They had to do something.

She looked ahead of her. The woods were their best chance. Perhaps they could find a place to hide. It was worth a try. She rode towards the knights. "Into the woods!" She rode past them, they followed suit. They moved the villagers. The Saxons were gaining ground and they had no defense. Kida glanced around her. They were near the river, she could hear it. "The river!" someone called and they herded their charges in the direction of the river.

At its banks they found a bridge, large enough for a carriage to cross. Tristan, Liam, Kida, and Bors stayed behind, shooting down as many Saxons as they could while the others helped their charges across the bridge. Once they were all across the bridge, the rear guard crossed. Kida taking up the rear. The Saxons were at the banks now. If they crossed they were dead. Kida looked for some way to stop them. The bridge moved. She looked down and saw that it was held together by ropes. Looking for the main rope she backed slowly towards the other shore. The Saxons took out their crossbows and began to let loose bolts. The knights moved their charges into the cover of the trees, but they were not quick enough to save them all. With the first shower of arrows, ten of the villagers fell and two of the Roman guard.

Kida found it. She took out her knife and sawed at the rope. Another shower of arrows flew. "Kida! Come on!" Liam cried.

Kida ignored him and continued on sawing.

"What is she doing now?" Lancelot asked.

"Kida!"

The bridge groaned. Saxon troops began to file on. "Now or never," she mumbled to herself. She stood up and faced them. They raised their crossbows at her. She lowered her head and prayed. With one final movement she cut the final cord and the bridge began to move. The Saxons stopped, confused and scared. The planks of the bridge began to move apart. The leader of the Saxons watched as his men fell into the swift river and sank as their heavy armor took in water.

He glared at Kida. Taking up a crossbow, he shot at her. She fell and was lost in the water. He smiled a grim smile and ordered his men to keep firing.

Liam watched as Kida fell. He raced towards the river, but Tristan held him back. "It's no use. She's gone." Liam took one last look at where he saw Kida fall and fled into the thick trees. They lost five more people in their retreat. The mourners of the lost ones left their bodies, at the will of the knights, for they could not spare the time to give the dead the proper burial rights if the rest of them were to live.

They moved deep into the forest. All quite and willing to do whatever the knights told them too. Liam rode silently. Why did she do that? She just stood there and fell. He replayed that moment over and over again in his mind. She cut the rope and stood there as the bridge fell apart. If she ran she would have made it, if only she ran. He saw the arrow fly and hit her. He saw her gasp, he saw her fall. No she couldn't. The arrow ended that possibility.

He wished to go back there to find her, but he knew she would surly be dead. If not from the fall or the arrow, she would have drowned.

Tristan rode up beside him. "I am sorry for your loss."

"I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why did she do it?"

"For you," Tristan said. "For her love for you."

Liam shook his head. "Not only for me, for all of us."

"I don't see why," Tristan remarked.

Liam looked him in the eye. "Do you not?"

"She loved only you."

Liam sighed. "Are you that blind?"

"What?"

"She loved us all. We are her family."

"She didn't show it."

"That is not her way."

"And how do you know that? Might I remind you, you have been delusional about her for most of the time."

"You are right, but I have come to understand her a bit over the past few years. To me she was always openly loving, but that was because she knew I would not reject her. She tried to love our mother, but she would not have it. To others she loved them but never let them know. As I observed her over the past year, her stand-offishness has been the result of love. She did not want us to worry about her when we left. She still had three years of her time to serve. It all makes sense now."

"No, you speak nonsense."

"You're bitter because she rejected you."

"No."

"Deny it, but I know you are. But let me tell you this. You were something she did not expect."

"Ha."

"Did you not notice that those she loved the most she pushed away the hardest? For instance, when we discovered she was a girl, she pushed me away. If you think her pushing is hate, it is love. She does it to save you pain. She did it to protect us."

Tristan shook his head. "I don't believe this. Protect us? What does she have to protect us from?"

"I don't know. I just know she was trying to protect us." Liam paused. "I can't believe she is gone."

Tristan looked away. What Liam had said confused him and he did not like being confused. Liam rode ahead of him, leaving him to his thoughts. Kida, love him? That was a laughable concept. She made it pretty clear that she had not interest in him. He turned around and rode back to the river. The Saxons were moving along the river, trying to find a shallow place to cross. By the speed of the river, it would be a while yet before they found a spot. The planks of the bridge floated down the river. Tristan watched them disappear.

His eyes fell on the spot where Kida fell. She was gone. Gone for good. He rode the length of the river. Planks had gotten caught in rocks and along the bank. Slowly, he made his way near the water. A plank was wedged tightly between the bank and a jagged rock. Tristan went to investigate.

As he approached it he could swear he saw something move. He identified it as a body. For a moment he dared to hope. Kida?