Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, I only own Aikane and William II

It's the HOLIDAYS!!! Hooray! I spend so much time on this fic, even more than my homework...

Chapter 3

Aikane woke up the next morning to find Kai packing the bags attached to the horse's saddle.

"Morning. About time you got up." Kai said, not taking his eyes off the saddle bags.

"When are we going?" Aikane said, getting up and stretching.

"Now." Kai replied in his rude, rough manner. He mounted the horse, and walked it over. "Let's go."

Aikane threw the bag over her shoulder along with her bow. She walked over to the river. The other side was a small clearing, and then the thick forest started again. She knew they had to cross the river. Kai looked at her, wondering what she was doing.

What is she thinking?

Aikane looked up the river, and there it was, a messy array of rocks. She ran toward the rocks, and jumped onto the nearest. Kai was mesmerized by the girl. She would look carefully at the pattern and figure which rock would be the best to jump to. When she had chosen her destination, she'd leapt across, and land without fail, onto the slippery rock. She looked like a deer, full of grace and elegance. Kai gave a huff of impatience and urged his horse to move on into the water. As the horse waded across, Aikane had managed to get across the river. The horse had no difficulty crossing, it was sturdy and strong, but if either one of them tried to wade, the strong current would overwhelm them, and wash them away.

When Kai had made it across the river, he looked at Aikane.

"Get on; I don't want to spend forever trying to get to the camp."

Aikane climbed on, and hesitated.

"Grab onto me, we're going to be going pretty fast."

She slowly placed one hand near his waist. Kai, out of impatience, grabbed both her hands and put them on his stomach, wrapping her arms around him. She could feel her heart sprinting, her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. He paused for a moment as he felt the beating pulse against his back, warmth spreading from his stomach where her hands rested. Maybe, he thought, I could do this forever...

He shook himself, shaking the thought out of his head. Or so he thought.

Tala's going to yell at you if you keep dawdling, Kai!

He squeezed his legs and the horse started to trot and then breaking into a canter. They were not alone. Silence was a familiar companion.

It was after an hour or so before there was a peep from either one. Their pace was slower, at a walk, so it wasn't so overwhelming to speak now. Aikane was the first to speak.

"Why are you a knight, Kai?"

Kai was struck dumb. Out of all the questions she could have asked, she chose the hardest one. Why had he joined the knighthood in the first place? He knew Tala had joined because he liked being such an important figure in society.

"I think I followed Tala into knighthood. He persuaded me into joining with him." Kai said with an air of uncertainty.

"If you had a choice, would you choose to be someone else?" she said, resting her head on the tip of his shoulder.

"I can't imagine myself doing anything else. It's become a part of who I am."

"Well, what about your girlfriend? Doesn't she miss you? Don't you miss her?"

Where the hell does she get all these ideas from?

"No, because I don't have one."

"Oh."

Did she sound disappointed? Disappointed because she couldn't pry anything else out of him?

"Well, if you fell in love, would you stay for her?"

Apparently not.

This question made Kai really think. Would he ever fall in love?

Don't be silly, love makes you weak...

But what if he really did? Would he really stay for the girl he loved most?

"We're here." Kai said gruffly, avoiding her question completely.

She hopped off the horse. Dozens of young men, not older than 20, were sitting around in uniform, chatting excitedly about the adventures that this war may bring. There were 3 rows of tents, and in the middle of the whole lot was a slightly larger tent, with flags at the entrance.

Sir Tala walked up to them.

"Okay, Kai, we've got that tent with the flags and she's with us, Airane-"

"Aikane" she corrected him.

"Oh sorry, Aikane, well you're sharing with us. Tomorrow we're going to have to teach these boys how to hold a sword and shit like that. Anyway, dinner is soon."

She had been hoping for a tent by herself, but she couldn't complain; it was better than sleeping with strange men or outside in the cold.

She walked into the tent, it was bigger than she had thought. There were already two sheets laid out. The third was folded and tucked away in a corner. Underneath was what looked like three blankets. She took the sheet lying on top and shook it out. She lightly placed it on the floor of the tent. It was close to the tent wall, and left a considerable gap between it and the closest sheet. Aikane sat on the sheet and placed her pack on her lap. She stuck her hand in and shuffled the various bottles until she found her diary and quill.

It's been such a long journey. Not much has happened, but an unexpected ambush by a horde of goblins delayed our trip here.

I have to share a tent with Sirs Kai and Tala. I've never actually shared a tent with a man...

There was a loud ringing. The forty or so men flooded out of their tents, holding bowls and spoons. She guessed it was dinner time. She went outside with her own bowl and saw a single line. She tried to catch a glimpse of what was being served. He was ladling something soupy out of a large pot. It wasn't until she was being served when she found out what it was. Stew.

When she got out of the queue, she looked around. The young men were sitting on the grass, slurping away. It looked as if they hadn't eaten in a while. The stew reminded her of home, in the winter.

"Hurry up, Little Bitch!" a boom came from the next room. 'Little Bitch' was what her father would call her. Ever since her mother's death when she was 10, he had forgotten 'Aikane' and now saw her as 'Little Bitch'. After working, he'd come home, slump onto the couch and demand beer. She ladled the soup into bowls and took one out to her father.

She sat on the woven rug by the crackling fire. She wriggled her toes. How good it felt to sit by the dancing flames while watching the snow fall outside.

"What's the matter?" smirked Tala as he sat down. Kai following close behind.

"I was just thinking about home." Aikane said quietly.

"Yeah... I always think about Hannah back home-"

"Not Hannah again..." Kai grumbled.

"Well, you're never going to know what it feels like to miss someone like hell, because you've never fallen in love!" Tala shot at him. He turned to Aikane, "Have you ever fallen in love?"

"I have." she said as a tinge of pink formed on her cheeks. And I think I'm about to fall again.