A/N Here's one chapter for you! Happy easter! A bit late though...

ScbaStv: Uhm... what's spunky?
~One google translate later~
Ooh like that. Haha. Don't apologize, I like it! Yeah she did confront Evanlyn. It was very funny to write. Thank you for your kind review!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own RA.

Chapter 12.

May.

The plan was nearly perfect. Or we thought it was. Sneak to the bridge after nightfall. Make four piles of wood at the bottom af each pillar holding up the bridge, using the wood we walk on. Light the piles on fire, make sure the cables catch fire too. Then run before anyone notices. Easy enough. Only it wasn't as easy as we thought it would be.

We made the pyres without trouble, and lit them with no problems. However the flames went out after a while. To make it better, they went out on the other side of the fissure. Without a second thought Will and Evanlyn run across whet's left of the bridge, and desperatly try to light the flames again. They're too busy with that, they don't notice the wargals coming for them. The bridge is too damaged to run on. maybe if you walk slowly, you can make it.

"They're not noticing those wargals." I tell Horace beside me. "I'm going to help them. Stay here. If anything might happen, Hunter's code is 'yellow leaf'. Run when the bridge is destroyed." I dismount Hunter and run to the bridge. I shift into my fox form, I'm a lot lighter like that, and run across the nearly falling apart bridge. When I get to the other side, I shift back in the shadows, unfortunatly Evanyn sees and stares at me in shock.

"I'll explain later, right now you've got to get out of here. Some men are coming for us." I tell her. I point to where the men are coming. I swing my bow off my back. That's the best thing about shifting. When I shift back I return to what I looked like before I shifted, with everything I was holding. I nock an arrow and fire. One wargal drops dead and I fire another one. By now Will joins me and the wargals flee. I nod and help Evanlyn to get the fire started again.

"Give me your knife." She demands. Yup she's a princess alright. I give her my saxe, and look back to where the wargals ran. four figures come out of the shadows. These are not Wargals, they're worse.
"Skandians." I say out loud. "They had to sent Skandians." I get up and nock another arrow. I've got about ten left. I let my arrow fly, and to my frustration I miss. I almost never miss. I run to where Will's hiding behind a rock.
"Skandians. It's no use to fire untill they're close." I tell him. "They'd just dogde them." Will nods. I look back to where Evanlyn is, and see that the fire's on again.

"Let's go!" She shouts. Will wants to get up, and I stop him.
"Stop and think Will, we can't. They can still put out the fire. We must stay to make sure they won't." Will nods.
"Evanlyn, you go! We'll stay to make sure the fire keeps going." He says.
"No I am not going!" Evanlyn shouts.
"This is not the time to be stubborn!" I tell her. "Now GO!" I scream. Evanlyn stares at me, but then gets up. And right at this moment, the bridge decides to break down. With one final sharp snap, it collapses into the depts of the fissure. Worst. Timing. Ever.

"Damn." I mutter.
"See what happens when you listen?" Evanlyn tells us. "If I was on that bridge I would've fallen to my death."
"Yeah, and now you'll get killed by skandians. Now get behind that rock before I drag you there myself." I snap at her. It's bad enough we don't have an escape route, now she has to make things worse with a stupid comment. She nods and hands me my saxe back.

"You're going to need it." She says. I turn my attention back to the skandians. They're hiding behind rocks. More are coming from the small cave. There are about six. One's trying to draw our fire, while the others steadily advance on us. We're trapped and there's nothing we can do. We're doomed. I fire arrows to try and stall them, but it's no use. One of them knocks Will out with a thrown rock. The skandians laugh, but I keep fighting. They captured Evanlyn and corner me. My back is against the rock wall, and I only have my saxe and throwing knife.

"Give up, little lady. You can't fight us." One of them says.
"That's where you're wrong." I tell them. I throw my throwing knife and hit one of them in the shoulder. He cries in pain and falls. I hold up my saxe in defense.
"I'm more than what the eye meets." I hiss at them. I'm about to throw my saxe when the side of a blade hits me in the head. My vision blurs and I fall to the ground. Then everything goes black.

Gilan.

"Cassandra left to visit Celtica about eight weeks ago." King Duncan says. I let my eyes fall to the ground. "She's a good friend of Princess Madelydd. When all this business with Morgarath started, I thought she'd be safe there. I saw no reason to bring her back. Tell me. What do you know." He asks in a low voice.
"My lord," I start, but then stop to gather my toughts. I don't want to cause unnessecairy pain for the king. "She came to us, recognized Will, May and me as Rangers. Apparently, she had managed to escape when the Wargals attacked their party. She said the others were..." I stop again. I can't go on. I can't tell him his daughter is dead.

"Continue." Duncan demands.
"She said all of the others where killed." I say. "She didn't tell us how. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. We thought she was a boy at first." I add.
"A boy? With that mass of red hair?" The king asks.
"She cut it short." I explain. Something's not right. I don't know what, but something's not right. I shake my head and instanty regret it. I nearly fall for a third time, and Halt catches me for a third time. To my surprize the king helps.

"Ranger Gilan. Please forgive me, I have kept you up for my own sorrow. Please Halt make sure Gilan gets some food and rest." He says.
"Blaze." I manage to say.
"I'll take care of Blaze." Halt says. "With your majesty's permission?" The king nods and Halt helps me out of this tent.

"My god it's not her!" I wake up with a start. I've been dreaming. In it, Evanlyn had long red hair, a little like May's. Only the Evanlyn I know, has blonde hair.
"Could you give a bit of warning when you're going to start shouting like that?" Halt's sitting in the same tent, fixing some arrows. "You've been asleep for six hours and wake up like that. Let me know if you're going to do that next time."

"Quickly, I've got to see the king." I get up and walk into the night. I can practicly fell Halt roll his eyes and raise one eyebrow. I run to the kings tent, and enter it. To my surptize, he and my father are discussing something.

"Gilan what are you doing here?" Father asks.
"Not now Father." I tell him, and turn my attention to the king. "You said earlier today that Evanlyn has red hair?" I aks him. Halt shrugs.
"Yes, but I don't see how that matters." Duncan tells me.
"Because the Evanlyn I saw doesn't. She has blonde hair, like you. And green eyes." I tell him.

"Small of stature? Slight built?" He asks. I nod. "My daughter is alive. She's alive!"
"Gilan how far behind are they?" David asks.
"A day, maybe two." I answer.
"Then we will send a company of the fifth lancers to meet them halfway. They'll leave in an hour." David says.

"I'll lead them." I offer.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Father says. He takes the kings shoulder and smiles at him. "I can't tell you how happy I am for you." Duncan smiles back.
"My daughter is alive." He repeats one more time.

Like father said, we left in an hour. Only half a day has passed, and I'm already impatient. We should meet them around noon today. I'll be happy to see May safe again. To be honest, I did not want to leave her there alone with Will, Horace, and Evanlyn. She has a habit of getting into trouble when she's left alone. I smile when I think of her. The captain signals that we're taking break.

"Something funny Ranger?" He asks me with a grin.
"Oh, I was just thinking of something funny." I tell him. I get off Blaze and pat her neck.
"Care to share?" He asks. We're interupted by the lead group.

"Horseman coming!" Most of the man got into a battle stance. Most of them don't even know why they where riding to Celtica.
"Whoever he is, he's in a hurry." I'm staring at the horizon where a small dustc cloud is getting closer. Fast.
"Four horsemen." I tell him.

"So what will we do?" The captain asks. Now that he's getting closer I can recognize him. Or I can recognize the horse he was riding. Hunter. But it wasn't May riding him. It's Horace. Where are the others. I climb back on Blaze and signal her to take off. I leave the captain behind me. I meet Horace halfway there, and he stops.
"What happened? Where's May? Why are you alone?" I ask him.
"They took them. They took Will, and May, and Evanlyn. At the bridge. Skandians took them." Horace tells me. By now the captain caught up with us.
"Bridge? What bridge?" He asks.
"Morgarath build a bridge across the fissure, that's why he needed the Celts." Horace explains.

"But it's gone now?" I ask. Horace nods.
"We burned it. But skandians took Will and May!" He says.
"And the girl?" The captain asks.

"Yes. Of couse they got her. I'm sorry, but Will's my friend, and May can kick my ass which is more than I expected."
"You're sorry? Do you have any idea who..." I cut off the captain.
"That's enough." He was getting a little impatient. "The fewer who know, the better." I turn my attention back to Horace. "Is there any way they can repair the bridge?"
"No, maybe a small rope bridge, but not a bigger one." He tells us. I nod.

"Good. Captain, go to the fissure and make sure no bridge is made again. Horace and I will ge back" The captain nods and gathers his men.
"The Skandians,' says Horace. "They're not just on the plateau. They're sending a force north of the Thorntree Forest as well."
"We must get this to the king." I tell him, and we're on our way back. I remain silent the entire way.

They took May. I can't believe they took my May.

A/N That's it people. See you next chapter.

Please review? It makes me happy!