Author's Notes: I upped the rating because I like some real cussing in my stories. ;-P Thank you everyone for commenting! I love reviews…it's what keeps me going. So r/r please!

Part 2:

Gasping for breath the queen tried to regain her footing on the rocky path leading down to the beach. Looking back, she saw the captain of Montoya's regiment running after her.

"Damn it!" She cursed loudly.

"You can't run forever you bandita!" Grisham saw her quickly disappearing back towards the waters.

Once both reached the water's edge, the queen lashed out wildly at his arm. He recovered just in time to avoid the sword's reach for his flesh.

He jumped back and then lunged forward to slice a piece of her billowing sleeve. His attack induced a deep cut on her left arm. The queen gasped as pain hit her nerves.

"Man, this is not even fun. I played along with your game. I let you pretend. Now, let's get down to business." He smirked at her.

"What are you talking about!" She yelled.

"You're not the Queen of Swords. Just save the act and really fight this time."

"You asshole! I am the queen."

"Tsk, tsk. That's not how the real queen talks. You're slipping. You don't even fight like her. The real queen knows how to fight…you're just a pain in the butt." He sighed loudly.

"Are we gonna finish this or what?" The impostor was quickly losing her patience.

"No. Sorry, run along now. I should go back and catch those friends of yours who stayed behind to rob the treasury. They didn't know I got my soldiers waiting for them. You were a nice distraction. Really. Go! Before I shoot you in the head!" Grisham's patience was wearing thin. He was disappointed that he didn't get a decent fight with this woman…more like a young girl.

Realizing that her scheme had been foiled, the fake queen scrambled towards her freedom.

Grisham sighed. He looked down at a rock near his boots and gave it a hard kick.

"I let her go. God, I'm losing it."

He turned to retrieve his horse.

Hiding behind a cliff outcrop, the real Queen of Swords witnessed the whole fight. She had been spying on Grisham the entire time.

"What's going on with you, captain?"

Throwing a half empty bottle at the wall, Grisham turned around to kick his chair over. Inside he was angry. Angry at himself for letting the bandita go. Although, his soldiers managed to capture the other bandits and eventually divulged her hideaway, Grisham still couldn't get over why he let her go. His old self would've admonished this new side of him.

"What's wrong with me?" He whispered.

The dreams are coming more frequently. Nightly terrors of dying women and children and other soldiers at various times in his life. Grisham had seen more battles than his soldiers saw in a lifetime. He was used to the carnage and bloodshed, but the nightmares are becoming too real. He woke up screaming every night. His solution was to drink himself to a stupor every night so he can sleep soundly without dreams. But the hangovers were getting worse and worse.

"I can't take it anymore. I need to do something."

He rummaged through his drawers and found a glass bottle. He stared at its amber content.

His jaw set in a tight form. "No. I can't do it." He put it back.

"Grisham, I sense boredom in you. It seems like you don't seem to appreciate the assignments I'm giving you lately. Please tell me. How can I accommodate your needs?" Colonel Montoya's concern didn't reach his dark eyes.

"I'm fine. There hasn't been much going on lately. In terms of crime I mean." Grisham stared back at the colonel.

"Well…well…my pet dog is bored with the bone he's been chewing." Grisham's insides boiled when Montoya called him a "dog" again, but his face was impassive.

"In fact I have right here a new assignment for you. That is if you are willing to commit to it."

The captain's face lit up. "What are you proposing?"

"I have a new plan to catch the Queen of Swords. We're going to be at her mercy" Montoya chuckled.

Grisham was troubled and confused. Fighting with the Queen of Swords is one thing, but deceiving her is another. He remembered the last time he tried to blame a crime on the queen, needless to say it backfired on him. He could still remember all the trouble he went through to get the antidote.

"Do you want the job or not, captain?" Montoya was irritated. First, Grisham wasn't listening to him and second, the captain was thinking. A thinking Grisham is not good. No, not good at all.

"Yes, sir!" His voice firm and resolute, but his conscience wasn't.