He wanted her every night after that. Moreover, it was somewhat apparent that he expected it, after that first seduction, and she found herself going along with it. She had lost herself for a moment, but revenge still burned in the back of her brain, and she wouldn't give that up for anything; she feared he would question her if she refused him.

Most of the time… she was okay with it. Despite herself, she had grown somewhat warm towards her unlikely companion. Every night, her body anticipated his first touch, waiting to respond to gentle kisses that sent shivers down her spine.

Sometimes, though… she wasn't quite so interested, but found herself playing along, playing a game that she was new to, but turned out to be surprisingly skilled at. Those nights, her enjoyment came from the simple satisfaction of reducing the man to his baser instincts.

But every once in a while, it hit her like a bolt of lightning who he was, and where he was from, and found herself suddenly overcome with loathing. Once, she abruptly tried to push him away; he thought she was just playing, and grinned as he pushed back to hold her against the ground.

She could have resisted; she was an Amazon, the pride swelling within her, and at any point she could have removed life from him with a few skilled maneuvers. Yet she surprised herself as she gave up the protest, bracing herself and gritting her teeth with impatience for him to finish. He didn't seem to notice as he released her, he sighing in release, she merely staring at the sky above, wondering what she was doing, and what would happen next.

Lise had long since lost track of how much time she had spent traversing the Beast Kingdom. She realized, frightfully, that she had little sense of direction to guide her, with no sun to mark the way, and she was essentially dependent on the thief to get her through.

Once the thought took hold of her, it would not let go.

She found herself eyeing Hawk's back, wondering if she should simply stab him and flee. Behind that thought, however, came a nagging bit of emotion, that she would miss him if he was gone. It would hurt if she killed him… but suddenly, she was even more afraid that he would abandon her.

Hawk looked down to where she was clutching his arm. She did not remember grabbing it. "Hey, Lise!" he said, in that always-jovial tone. "What's the matter?"

She shook her head, trying to clear it. "I… I don't know," she told him, for once being truthful.

He looked at her with compassion, of all things. "It's alright, Lise, we'll be out of here soon." Hawk wrapped one arm around her, pulling her close, and Lise sunk into the gesture. His left hand snaked around to grab her right, and together they walked through the forest, awkwardly joined, but neither wanting to let go.

The monotony of the trees, the touch of Hawk, his closeness, his scent… they were comforting, hypnotic. Altogether, it lulled Lise into a vague, dreamlike state.

She barely registered when something hit her over the head.

"Lise!" she heard the cry, as the world spun around her. Vaguely, she was conscious of a pack of wolves surrounding them, and Hawk whipped out his knives, his speed overtaking his opponents, but leaving him badly outnumbered nevertheless.

"Wait… I'll help…" she said, but the words came out a garbled, incoherent mass. She fumbled for her spear, but her fingers would not obey her command. Her arm flailed wildly, before control left her completely and the void took over.

----------------

Cold.

That was the first, primary sensation, before it resolved into finer distinctions. The cold stone floor below her, the cold air surrounding her, the textures and feelings different, but with that same icy sameness.

Then… warmth. A streak, across her torso. She looked down to see a slender, muscled arm around her.

Lise turned, to look into Hawk's worried face. "You've been out for a while," he told her. "I was worried."

She pulled herself to her knees, vision still slightly swimming. "Where are we?" she asked, switching straight to the point.

"The Beast Kingdom. Their prison, to be exact," Hawk told her. "They found us in the forest, and they didn't ask a lot of questions before they dumped us here."

Her eyes focused, and Lise took it all in. The four dark walls, the small, barred window…

"Noooo!" she shrieked, tearing herself from Hawk's hold and running to the window and the small sliver of moonlight it let through. She gripped the bars, rattling them as if she expected them to break at her command. "I can't! I can't be a prisoner! I am not slave! I am an Amazon!"

The words escaped her, mindless shrieks descending into almost guttural calls, her anger and fear directed towards the moonlight outside as if it could do anything. She had no idea how long she screamed, nor was she fully conscious of Hawk's arms pulling her away when she was finally too weak, too worn out to resist him.

He was lightly dressed, but he removed his own tunic to wrap her, leaving him bare-chested and, some part of her noted, shivering from the cold. Not that she was shivering any less, but it was not temperature that bothered her, as her whole body shook in frustration and pain.

Hawk pulled her to him, and Lise, weak as a baby, let him enclose her in his arms as her leaned back to lie beside her on the cold stone floor. One hand reached up to stroke her hair, his fingers entangling in the golden threads, then slowly sliding down their lengths to her waist, the sheer repetition of the gesture lulling her. Slowly, the warmth of his body crept into her, and the comfort of his presence as well.

"That's better," his voice said gently.

Lise shut her eyes, but found the energy for one word. "Why?"

"Because," the single word answered her. She did not open her eyes, letting her ears settle on his voice as he continued. "Don't worry, Lise. I'm a thief, I'll pick our way out of here soon enough. Just rest."

He murmured that over and over, like a lullaby. "Just rest," he told her, again and again, and she did.

--------------------

It was chaos that finally brought her back to full cognizance. Lise sat up with a start, to see Hawk crouched near the door of their prison, peering intently.

"What…" she began, but Hawk hurriedly put one finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

A few long strides, and he was at her side. "I've been working on the lock for hours," he whispered to her, "but then something started happening in the castle…"

Lise nodded, and they huddled together, the mysterious din permeating their hearing, growing ever louder, but not offering any clues as to what was going on.

Though any sense of time had long since left her, it seemed hours the two sat together. Hunger and thirst teased her, but she ignored them in favor of the more immediate concerns.

Abruptly, the heavy metal door to their cell slammed open, it ringing against the stone walls.

Hawk leaped to his feet even before Lise did, to see a young man, about their own age, silhouetted in the doorway. Behind him, a cadre of wolf-men were visible. He was heavily muscled, and a shock of fire-red hair stuck out wildly from his head.

"Who are you?" Lise asked warily.

"My name is Kevin," the young man told them simply. "Prince Kevin." Hawk opened his mouth to say something, but Kevin beat him to it. "There's no time to explain. The king, my father, is being overthrown. He's the one who imprisoned you, and I will let you go, if you're willing to fight for me."

"Give me my weapon," Lise replied immediately, as the adrenaline began coursing through her veins. One of the beastmen behind Kevin tossed her spear to her, and she caught it neatly, satisfaction crossing her features as her fist closed around it. She barely noted Hawk catching his dual knives with similar ease.

The Beast Prince nodded, bowing his head for a moment, until his entire body… wavered… and changed. The golden eyes of a wolf rose to peer at them, but they were still the same eyes they had seen a moment before.

"Now," Kevin said, his voice lower, a grating rasp. He stepped back, and motioned them through the door.

---------------------

The Beast Castle was a bloodbath to rival Rolante, the more so because a large part of its denizens were still alive. The injured bodies in the corner groaned in pain from broken bones and lacerated insides.

Lise found herself in the middle of it, fighting with a gleeful frenzy. Somehow, all the viciousness she had wished upon the conquerors of Rolante surfaced; and though this was a different fight, a different place, every time her razor-sharp spear blade penetrated the body of another Beastman, the animal yelp he emitted even more gratifying than the either an animal's roar or a human's scream would be.

Hawk was at her side, his knives smaller but quicker, carving their way through the castle just as easily. Bodies fell to all sides, Lise savagely stabbing each one just in case some vestige of life might be left inside them.

Lise and Hawk made their way forward, unthinking in the face of the carnage before them, until Lise glimpsed a sliver of moonlight ahead.

"Hawk!" she yelled to him, pointing. He looked to her, as his latest opponent fell to the floor snarling, and nodded.

She grabbed his wrist, and as one they ran.

-----------------------------

The brush crunched between their footsteps. They had no direction, no desire but to put as much distance between themselves and the Beast Kingdom as possible.

Finally, they crashed into a clearing, where a gold statue exuded a comforting light, somewhat like the moonlight but more so, not quite the power of the sunlight. It was something all its own.

Lise approached the statue, and tears filled her eyes as she recognized it. It was a statue of the Goddess, carved from the same mold as several that had been in the castle of Rolante.

Hawk came up behind her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "They used to say the statue looked liked me," she said, tears suddenly trickling down her cheeks. "What is it doing out here in the forest, anyway?"

"All our forest is holy," answered a voice.

They turned to see Kevin striding towards them, the fire of his hair visible now in his eyes as well. His face was an odd combination of happy and mournful.

"We have been victorious," he announced. "The Beast King… is dead. I am the new ruler. The two of you… were invaluable," he announced.

Kevin paused, and knelt before the statue. A long moment passed. "I… buried someone here," he finally spoke. "Someone who mattered to me far more than my father."

"I'm sorry," Lise answered for them both.

The new King of the Beast Kingdom rose, his face unreadable. "It doesn't matter. All you need now is to claim your suitable reward."

Lise looked at Hawk, but found him looking back at her respectfully, for once asking her to make the decision. She broke the gaze, returning to Kevin.

"I only want one thing," she announced. "Lead us to Forcena."