The late evening of the third day...

Watching atop a tall jagged rocky structure down at a fairly imposing appearing orange dragon,Cole sighed in exasperation.The admittably beautiful summery day was beginning to grow denser in it's vibrance and a sort of idleness had gradually fell around him,which he mostly disdained but dealt with.Suddenly,his attention caught onto a young girl making her way up from the far side below and once he saw the long brunette braid that swayed back and forth as she walked,he made a quick descent down to meet her at about the base.

"There you are."He greeted her with a bit of restlessness about him."I've been waiting all day.Did you hide the skulls well or did you already take them back to the future?"

Wendy's blue eyes were indecipherable but she replied in an eeriely calm voice."Neither."

At that response,Cole furrowed his brow."Wendy,this isn't the time for joking."his then began to inquire her entreatingly."Are they at least in a safe place away from the Huntsman?"

"If by safe you mean away from you and all dragons,then yes...they're safe."She told him in a more blackened tone,crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight a little bit.

His expression took on that of a thunderstruck one."What?"

As if on cue towards his realisation,an aggregation of Huntsmembers formed a full ring entraping around him with their staffs charged up to full power,surrounding every which way he could possibly have escaped.There was at least nine or ten regular ones from what he was able to make out,including the Huntsman and Huntsgirl.He felt a rush of instant resentment brimming in him and had to clench his fists to keep from doing anything that was too rash.

"You set me up?"He asked the obvious through gritted teeth,firing her a hard look.

"It wasn't intended to be at first."Wendy explained jejunely."It just sort of happened."

"A set up is a set up,Wendy!"Cole exploded on her,more angered at her lack of motive then her actually betraying him but suddenly he moved a little closer and dropped his voice in an urgent,remindful whisper."If their holding you against your well,then it won't be hard for us to take them all on together;all we have to do is come up with a quick plan now."

She gave him an abrupt shove backwards in the center of his chest and straightened up."I guess you have a hard time of understanding,"she announced loudly and clearly."You're the only one who's standing in our way of getting the only three remaining skulls right now and were going to do anything it takes to get them,even if it means physically removing you away from them."

"So this is for real then."He said in a low,halting tone,his coal eyes travelling over to his uncle.That bastard,he's managed to corrupt my sister.I should have known...

As if reading his thoughts,Wendy told him chastenedly."Huntsmaster has nothing to do with it,Reign.But I did inform him you're an AWOL Huntsclan trainee."a curling from beneath her mask that was evident of a smirk formed."What?You know eventutally you would have to deal with your past at face value.Even though you say you've overcome it,it obvious you-"

"This isn't who you are,Wendy."Cole cut her off in a carrying yet level voice."It's more of who I was then I'd ever care to explain.Now come to your senses and let's turn this around."

"Oh,really now..."She laughed harshly,hands falling to her endowed hips."You really are stubborn to accept the inevitable.Or more...your afraid."her azure eyes reflected success when she seemed to hit on her target."You heard me right.You're frightened about the fact that you nearly lost all control of yourself.Well...don't just stand there gaping at me like you don't know what I'm talking about.Take a shot at me,I know you're yearning to."

"You're making a mistake..."He warned her quietly.

"Am I?"Wendy challenged,undaunted."Just admitt it,without me...you'd be nothing."

He saw her there and yet he didn't really see her,it wasn't clear to him why she was doing this and yet she seemed to be showing free will excessively.But something didn't feel right and though he wished to talk it out with her,the need for action flooded him and taking a sharp in take of breath,released it out as he braced himself and then darted forward in a hurdle.

Somewhat surprisingly,he didn't see a flicker of a startle in any of her movements but pretty much figured she was now only watching in unexpectancy,as he shot past her and taking a large leap off the ground,arched his long legs out and landed a precise kick upside his uncle's head and viewed with deep,silent pleasure as the dragon skull helmet came to rest at his grounded feet.With utter casualness,he bent down and plucked it up off the bushy grass.

"Well,would you look at that."He said with an air of verbal irony,noting the other member's looks of shock at his irreverence."It seems I accidently caused a little dent in your skull,how like you to carelessly bring it out into public where any given someone can ruin it so easily."

As the Huntsman tried nearly in vain to pull over his cape and make a groping over toward Cole,the other Huntsmembers immediately charged forward to seize the teen.Rose,who had been as quiet as a church mouse thus far,waited for a moment to make sure the uproar was centered away from where she was and then flashed a glower onto the other girl.

"So you were just playing everyone this whole time...even that guy,whoever he is,that really seems to care about your wellfare."She shook her head stiffly."I thought you were different from the start,the only thing I missed was that you weren't trying to help dragons,traitor."

"It takes one to know one,"Wendy replied back malapertly.."Maybe I should do those two loser's work for them and spill the beans about you and Jake being an item."

The mention of that caused blind fury to momentarily rise in Huntsgirl and tired of hearing the girl's snide bantering,she made a quick arc move around Wendy and before she could react;Huntsgirl hopped onto the beginning of the huge rocky formation that serpentined out a bit and dropping her staff on purpose,clasped her hands onto a jutting appurtenance and swinging herself and her legs outward,tuned on a pivot and kicked up Wendy's staff just as she was advancing up on Rose and caught the staff as it fell;picking up her own as well.

"No fancy weaponary..."she explained in a no-nonsense tone."Don't look at me so,we're going to fight alright but it's going to be hand-to-hand combat and since I know you're not too knowledgeable on our staffs,I'm de-activating them.In other words,don't get any ideas."

Rose's intention was to draw out the girl she had gotten to know briefly over the last three days,to see if there was a real root to this drastic change of heart she still believed had to of been triggered somehow and yet she saw no hint of vurneableness.Nothing.Only a teen who was about her age,her blue eyes blazing with intent to fight now and her petite body tensely held.Slowly accepting Wendy's decision,she shut the staff's off and tossed them aside.

At once,the two began to circle one another."Let's do this."her new rival spoke a steady tone steeled with biting obstinance in her words."I've been waiting for a while now just to let all my raw feelings out and what better time then this?It's late,the skulls are hid;so it's go time."

Without another word,both girls lunged at one another.Wendy threw the first punch but Rose quickly caught her by it,twisted her wrist back as if it were nothing and grabbing on with both hands,flung her over her shoulder.Though she saw her jump back onto her feet and was coming at her,again to take another strike,which Rose blocked once more and tossed her over with an even harder body slam this time.Still,she saw her stagger a bit and stand.

Over and over again,Rose had lost count,they would perform almost the routine moves but Wendy never stopped.Everytime she went for the other girl,she seemed to know right off what she wanted to do.Though Rose heard her breathing becoming more ragged when she tossed her she knew she was going to do it until she wore herself completely out or was too hurt to move.Finally after about thirty minutes later and with the sky starting to thicken with a greyish hue overtaking the medium cerulean,she saw Wendy pause from coming at her.

She watched,sagaciously,as the more inexperienced girl hunched over and rested her hands on her knees,her upper body heaving with great pants of exhaustion and possibly pain.Rose finally walked up to her and pulled one of Wendy's arms over her shoulder,helping her up.

"I think you've had enough,"she commented gently into her ear."I don't want to hurt you and I know you don't to me either.We'll go some place and you can tell me what this is all-"

As quick a rapidfire,she recieved a blow to the back and collasped into a sprawled state on the stately kept grass,cords of throbbing pain moved through her back and down into her limbs.Pushing herself up with her hands shakily,she managed to turn her head and see Wendy standing over her with a balled dragon claw but it quickly dissolved back to normal.It hadn't been for nothing the way Wendy had relentlessly attacked,she had planned this all along.

Her blue eyes grew into a sort of murkiness,teeming with a remoteness that made her feel the other girl didn't even see her there and yet Rose felt a sort of soft crunching noise and what was like a foot pushing down onto the incredibly sore place on her back.She nearly cried out in agony but then the weight was instantly removed and Wendy was gone.The shadow of a girl she had become was gone but soon another figure loomed over her and she heard Jake's tender voice coaxing her to comfort;even though her body was surging with a sharpness.

"It's alright,Rose.I'm here."his arms encircled her and she felt herself being pressed to his chest,as he continued to tell her with a breathy laugh."We got them.The Huntsman and all the Huntsmembers who were with him have been captured.A younger one got away though."

But when she lifted her lids to see his face and offer him a smile despite the fact that her soul and body were wounded,all she saw was a world engulfed in the veiled ebonys of night time.

To Be Continued...

A/N:So many questions,so few awnsers at the current moment.Stay tuned!

LP