(Wow! Thanks everyone. But be warned, there is something here I'm sure none of you suspected. I know I was surprised when I wrote it!)

Chapter 11

A cold, wet cloth was suddenly plastered on my forehead and my eyelids flickered.

"Hey, he's alive."

That was Conrad's voice and I was ready to get up and strangle him for not doing anything when I had been caught in the paws or claws of that filthy demon.

I started and my eyes flew open as I cried, "Dang it, Conrad!"

"Don't get up," said Perceval putting a hand on my shoulder and forcing me back down to the ground.

I didn't feel like getting pushed around. I brushed his hand away and sat up, then leaned against a rock behind me. I glanced around at the forest surrounding me and at the creek babbling away and at Ares eating quietly at its side.

"How bad are my wounds if I can't get up?" I asked wincing at the mention of my burned arm, neck, torn back and throbbing head.

"Your neck and back are the worst," said Perceval. "They probably would have been better if Conrad had done something," his tone said a hot, I told you so.

"How did you know that man was dangerous and a demon?" I asked as Conrad looked uncomfortably away.

Perceval shrugged. "Instinct. I've seen them before. Don't worry, Prince Lance, you'll live."

I gaped. Then quickly closed my mouth as Perceval smiled slyly.

"Yes. I know. I've known it since my cousin told me about the wild horseman on top of a strangely large and beautiful horse. The horse is from Gaul and no one is allowed to ride such wonderful animals except his majesty himself."

"Don't call me that," I said, my face falling in an almost childish pout. "That's one disgusting reason I left," I said, slighlty mimicking his voice.

He shrugged. "I don't blame you."

I suddenly remembered the girl we were supposed to rescue and I asked about her.

Perceval shrugged again. "She kinda disappeared. I guess she was demon as well, and was afraid when it's master killed."

Conrad suddenly gasped and said, "Hey, Perceval, you're hurt!"

Perceval shrugged and moved his arm behind his back. "It's nothing, just a scratch."

I knew he was trying to hide something and I was feeling so much better that I leaned over and grabbed his arm. I was surprised to find it so skinny, yet strong as I pulled to examine it.

Perceval winced and I saw his lower face turn pale as I brushed away his sleeve. A long gash was in his slender arm and his glove was bloody and torn. The wound was bleeding a lot, but I could tell he had washed it and had tried to make it stop. If it didn't get taken care of soon it would be infected then we'd have some problems.

"How did this happen?" I demanded as Conrad rushed to the river to get a bucket of water.

"The demon used magic to send some sort of laser to my arm. It cut it right when I let the arrow fly," said Perceval, his voice finally showing the pain he was feeling. "I've been losing blood ever since."

"I thought you were smart," I almost smirked. "This is the dumbest thing you've done yet. How could you spend hours caring for me when I only got scratches when you could get killed from this?"

I didn't wait for an answer because I knew he wouldn't give me one. I washed away most of the blood and Conrad applied some herbs. Sometimes Perceval jerked his arm when we touched a tender spot and I could tell he was gritting his teeth and keeping the tears back. Poor kid probably never felt anything like that before.

After a while we let him rest and I got a few winks of sleep, too. My shredded back hardly let me get comfortable and my arm was still hurting badly, but I knew it was nothing compared to what Perceval had.

"Hey, Lance," said Conrad, waking me with a little nudge.

"Huh?"

"There's a camp not far off. The people...er...creatures there are really friendly and might be able to help."

"Creatures?" I mumbled opening my eyes.

"Yeah, they aren't exactly humans. They areten times as big as us, but they are as gentle and shy as new born kittens. Don't worry I made sure they weren't demons or anything. They said they had a pulp that would help Perceval's gash, they said it was made especially for demon wounds."

I nodded wearily and was surprised that dusk had already fallen on theforest. We (Perceval and I) had slept the day out. I crawled over to Perceval and nudged him.

"Hey, Perceval, we got to go."

He winced but still remained fast asleep. I felt sorry for the kid so instead of shaking him all the more I put my arms under him and lifted him up. He was very light and I had no problem in standing up and carrying him to his horse, even with my sore back and burnt arm. As I set him up on the saddle his hood fell away and I gasped as I nearly dropped him.

Him?

What was I saying?

The hood had been hiding the most beautiful face I had ever seen on a girl. The face was pale, yet still had that natural pretty flush to it and long lashs lined the eyes. Locks of curly auburn hair framed her face and I hesitated as she stirred.

She? Dang that sounded wierd. Perceval was a girl! I quickly put the hood back on as I heard Conrad behind me ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said. "We need to hurry and get to that camp."

I couldn't stop thinking about what I had seen as we rode into the darkening forest. I was surprised at myself for not noticing before. She certainly had pulled off the stunt of being a teenage boy well, because I never suspected anything. It explained the times Perceval had suddenly talked softly and his...her voice changed, and actually sounded like a girl's. It explained why she was so light and small. But it did not explain her ability with the bow or the couarge she showed with her wound.

A light flickering in the darkness told me we were getting near the camp of the giants. Ares pricked his ears forwad and began to trot, but I pulled him slower. That bouncing was like jabbing a few thousand needles into my back and it made my head dizzy.

As we neared closer I saw several very, very tall figures dancing around the bonfire that was getting very big. In the last rays of the sun I could see the giants wore a skimpy loin cloth and most of thier body was covered in hair. Their faces were mostly drooling smiles, bright big eyes and a running nose.

Conrad was right, they were just like new born babies.

One saw us approaching and began clapping loudly.

"Here! Here! Demon killers are here!"

All of the other giants immediately turned around and began to jump up and down as I, Conrad, and Perceval entered their meadow.