Fred and Jane ran and ran and ran. Fred forced Jane not to look back at the hordes of flying beasts appearing out of the top of the mountain. He forced her to run hunched over and to run as hard as she ever could. He forced her to lie face down in the damp undergrowth of the wood. He forced her to lie as silent as she could, not even breathe. Silent tears streamed down her face as her legs became like lead and her chest began to feel heavy like a stone. The siblings hid in hollow trees and in thorny bushes that cut their faces and forced them to bite their lips in pain as fairies swooped overhead. Fred tried to pant silently. It didn't matter what they had to go through now, they were out of that place and now they just had to find the others. He had to physically stop himself from groaning out loud. How to find the others? He felt for Jane next to him who readily grabbed his hand. They held their breath as they heard little wings beating overhead. They lay, rigid, as the small horde flew around the trees and then disappeared into the air. The brother and sister lay still for what seemed an age, before daring to move. Trying not to make a sound, they crawled out and ran harder than ever. The trees seemed to be trying to stop them, as they ran past branches whipped their faces and legs. Jane sprinted ahead of Fred and collapsed in a clearing. Her chest rose up and down and up down, her breath a wheeze. Fred crumpled down beside her. His breath matched hers and together their chests heaved. Looking at each other, Jane started to giggle. Her hysterical laughter rose above the trees and into the sky. Fred tried to quiet her but she couldn't stop.

"Fred, we made it, we made it, we got away!" Jane's laughter became higher and birds rose out of the treetops, frightened. Fred watched anxiously. Too soon, though he was laughing along. The stupid fairies, they wouldn't think to find them here. They had escaped! Fred sat up, gasping for air. Jane followed him and soon they were running again. The trees didn't seem to be as hemmed in as they had been; there was more space to run, to hold their heads high. Fred couldn't stop smiling as Jane sprinted forward and fell back, as they whooped with delight at their cleverness and ingenuity. Fred felt a familiarity as he ran among the trees. Frowning he slowed down.

"Jane! Jane slow down! Came back!" Fred felt his heart start to pound again as Jane hurried back.

"What is it? Can you hear the fairies?" Jane's anxious face peered around the surrounding undergrowth. Fred shook his head. He looked around to be sure and smiled grimly.

"Look around. Does this place feel familiar?" Fred watched Jane's face change from confusion to terror.

"This is – this is where we started…"Jane trailed off and her eyes searched between the trees. Brother and sister continued more cautiously. Too soon they came to the edge of the clearing where they had first met the Old Man. Fred and Jane huddled under the cover of trees. Their eyes hunted for any movement in the clearing and surroundings. They looked for the fire and the Old Man, but both were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Jane gasped and pointed to the opposite side of the clearing. Three figures were emerging from the water. Soaked they tramped up the back and staggered into the clearing. Jane turned wide-eyed to Fred, who was also as unbelieving as her.

"Can it be - " Jane's voice was filled with hope. Fred shook his head.

"I don't believe it, I mean," he turned to Jane, "it has to be them, right?" Jane nodded excitedly. The two stood up together and ran across the clearing and down to the bank. Ollie was the first to hear their yells. He looked up and stopped in his tracks. Elizabeth and Agnes didn't notice till they realised he had stopped. The girls shuffled back. "What is it?" Elizabeth anxiously watched Ollie's shocked face. He rubbed his eyes and pointed. The sisters turned and watched with astonishment Fred and Jane running towards them. Jane ran straight for Ollie and caught him in a hug that nearly suffocated him. Fred sauntered up to Elizabeth and Agnes. Clapping his hands together he asked, "So where have you girls been?" Elizabeth laughed nervously. "You don't have time to know."

"Should we get under cover or something?" Agnes looked around. The children nodded and moved towards the trees. Laughing they half-ran to the cover of the trees and collapsed into sleep.

John and James trudged behind the lines of armed dryads. Their arms were weighed down with packs of rocks, ready to fire with slingshots all dryads were commissioned with. Each of them had been commissioned with one as they bow and arrow had been deemed unsafe if held by these two. James let out a soft groan, which was met by narrowed eyes from the commander.

"Keep it up soldiers, nearly at the post now." John exchanged a bleak smirk with James before staring ahead again. James tried not to look at the soldier in front of him. The solider seemed to have a weird growth on the back of his head that unnervingly looked like a spider. James thought it had moved a couple of times and he didn't feel in the least compelled to find out the truth. Instead, he looked around at the trees, the bushes, the trees, the frightened animals, the trees and look there was a clearing, that looked –

"Psst John, John!" James kept his voice low but John couldn't hear. Not wanting to attract attention by calling John he pretended to trip and fell on John. John tried to prop him up but the line kept moving regardless. James saw the commander coming down to see the problem. He quickly turned to John.

"Look around. This is where we started! Keep an eye out for the others! And the Old Man." James started to whisper more fervently as the commander closed in. "The signal is a massive whistle, you know when you use two fingers?" James waited for John to nod before straightening himself up.

"Everything okay here boys?" The commander eyed the two humans suspiciously. When he saw the fear in their eyes he softened. It was their first battle, and human skin was very weak. He smiled and walked back to the front. John and James smiled gleefully and marched back to the beginning.

Amelia sat in the middle of her cage, her head hanging forward. She hugged herself and sniffed. She would not cry it was too late for that. She looked around the cavern and found she was all alone again. Standing up she swung forward and back on the cage bars. Wiping her eyes she stopped and started to kick the cage walls, she shook the bars and tried to ram the tree boughs with her shoulders. When it all ended in her being battered and sore, she sat back down on the floor. She jumped back up when she heard someone calling her name. Peering suspiciously around the cavern her eyes couldn't pick out any abnormal shadows or figures.

"Amelia. I am sorry. I didn't mean for you to be like this." Amelia spun around in her cage, trying to find where the voice was coming from. Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar someone exited the shadows.

"You. What do you want now?" Amelia crossed her arms as Dylan walked towards her cage.

"I am sorry Amelia! I didn't know they would put you here." His eyes pleaded with Amelia. She sniffed.

"Right, like you didn't think they would do something harmful after you drugged me." She rolled her eyes. Dylan stayed quiet. He stood watching her as dared him to say something more. After a time, Amelia became impatient. "Well? Do you want anything? I can't really do anything when I'm stuck in a cage like this." Dylan turned and walked away. Amelia dropped her arms. She was going to be here for a while now. He suddenly ran back up to the cage and started whispering to tree branches that made up the walls. Amelia walked slowly backwards to the other side of the cage, watching anxiously. She screamed as the braches suddenly started moving and separating from each other, each entwinement becoming undone and slowly dropping to the floor. Soon enough, one whole wall was lying on the floor. The unnatural procedure got to Amelia. "Stop! Please, that's enough. Thanks." She stood still in the cage, while Dylan waited on the outside. He stood silently, not knowing if what he had just done was for the best or not.

"You can leave now. No one will know you have gone till the celebrations tonight." Dylan silenced himself. The less he said the better. Amelia nodded and walked out to the open cavern floor. She looked around. "Which way is the way out?" Dylan took a deep breath.

"I can take you back to the clearing, your brothers and sister have been sighted there." Dylan saw a glimmer of joy appear on Amelia's face. It was immediately replaced by a frown.

"Will it cost me anything for you to take me there?" Amelia crossed her arms across her chest. Dylan shook his head and started to walk across the cavern floor. Amelia hesitated a second before following.

Agnes sat up suddenly. She could have sworn the ground was shaking a second ago. She shook Elizabeth.

"What? Do you have to wake me up?" Elizabeth blearily looked around; they were still safe hidden under the bushes. They were right next to the clearing, so there was no chance of missing the boys or Amelia.

I thought I felt the ground shaking." Agnes placed her palms flat to the ground. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and turned back over. As she closed her eyes she felt a vibration go through her body. Sitting up she turned to Agnes, "Okay so I believe you now. Wake the others. We have to go further undercover." Quietly the others were woken and the frightened children peered through the branches of their hiding spot. Jane gripped Ollie's hand as they saw line after line of green creatures march into the clearing. They held oaken bows and arrows and wore no armour apart from a chest plate. Elizabeth pulled Agnes closer as even more armed creatures entered the clearing. As the girls watched Fred scuttled as quietly as possible to the girls.

"Hey, look down into the middle of the pack. Do you see two blonde heads?" Fred grinned as the girls tried to control their joy. John and James looked exhausted and were carrying huge packs, but they were alive! The cousins lay down on their stomachs and held a meeting of sorts.

"Okay we need a signal that they will know but will be inconspicuous." Fred whispered fervently.

"What does inconspicucous mean?" Ollie's tongue tried to find its way around it. Agnes rolled her eyes.

"It's inconspicuous and it means it won't be noticeable. Duh." Agnes smiled smugly as Fred nodded.

"Anyways, what can do that won't raise an alarm or anything?" The five children lay in silence. Jane looked up. "Anyone got anything?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Nothing."

"This isn't working!" Fred hit the ground with his fists. The children didn't know that they wouldn't need a signal before long.

John and James stooped in their line as the commander went off into another tangent about the filthy oreads, the despicable oreads and the relentless oreads who would kill them in an instant. John caught James' eye and rolled his eyes at the commander. James nodded and smirked. The commander strolled up to the boys. "Do you think this is a game? Do you think the oreads are to be trifled with? Do you think…"

James saw John get his bored look and also allowed his eyes to glaze over. Finally the commander screamed at them to strike camp. Thankful, the brothers marched over to a spot and dumped their bags of rocks on the ground. Sitting down the massaged their legs and arms. They stopped laughing when an older dryad wandered up to them.

"Hello boys." They answered with a nod. The dryad seemed pleased with this response. He leaned in.

"How do you like the commander over there?" John glanced at James who shrugged. The dryad squatted next to them. He started to whisper.

"Well, there's a group of us who want him out. Care to join?" The dryad winked and sat back on his heels. James remembered all the cutthroat antics and rants and he nodded at the dryad. John wasn't so sure.

"What will happen if he doesn't give up?" John watched the dryad stroke his chin. John frowned.

"What's your name anyways?" At this the dryad started. He wagged his finger at John.
"You have to earn that knowledge. Now little one, come with me and meet the others." The dryad stood up and didn't wait for James to follow.

"James! What do you thin you're doing? You're following some mad old dryad!" James was watching the dryad's progress through the crowd. He grunted and looked back at John.

"Yeah, well he annoys me to no end. Give the lecture a break, they're for Amelia to distribute." He hurried off. John watched him struggle through the crowd and enter a tent that had been erected rather quickly. He frowned and turned to his bags of rocks. He'd show that stupid dryad.

Amelia stuck to the shadows. Dylan was only a little way ahead and she still wasn't sure whether he was for real or not. She ran when she him signal and stood breathless beside him as he searched the forest in front of them.

"We are nearly there I think." Dylan looked up in the tree foliage and frowned. Amelia watched with anticipation.

"What is it?" She saw Dylan shake himself. He turned to her, his face expressionless.

"The trees tell me that there is a small dryad army stationed at the clearing where we are heading." He sighed and walked on. Amelia hurried beside him. The sunlight filtered down through the trees lighting up the path, making false appearances. Amelia's chest relaxed when she the familiar trees and the path again became smooth and slightly curvy. Dylan turned to her and placed his finger upon his lips. Amelia nodded obediently and crept forward. The two of them took a wide berth in case of sentries and were soon behind Dylan's tree. Amelia watched with horror at the small-armed mass spread over the clearing. She looked for John and James but even their lightness she could not find. Amelia felt a chill roll down her spine and a scream half rise in her throat as a hand covered her mouth. Her legs froze and grounded themselves as the hand squashed her mouth.

"Shut up you idiot. It's just me." Amelia's entire body fell apart as she heard Fred's voice in her ear. He released his hand and Amelia spun around. Tears pricked her eyes; she grabbed his hand and slapped him with it.

"You are so stupid." Amelia made him slap himself again and went to turn to Dylan. She looked the other way. She shrugged, he was gone and she was with the others now. She followed Fred into the undergrowth with Dylan watching over them.