Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.

I'm back! Here is the next chapter, enjoy.

Chapter 5: Venture In The Woods

After we all found our room we were exhausted. As soon as we found our beds, we instantly drifted off to sleep. Jess' bed was by the window, Staci's bed was against the wall, and my bed was closest to the door, next to Jess'. I was having a pleasant sleep until I woke up to Staci yelling.

"What's going on?" I asked groggily.

I looked up but I felt more weight on my bed than normal. I froze and looked up to see Jess in her pajamas right above me. She took a step forward and ended up smashing my head.

"Ow! Jess what is the matter with you!" I yelled, clutching my injured head.

She didn't answer but she just kept walking. A light bulb came on in my head and I sighed.

"Staci," I said.

"Yeah?" she replied in pain.

"I think she's sleepwalking," I said as Jess bumped into the door.

We got out of bed and put our jackets on. Jess opened up the door and began sprinting down the hallway. Staci took off after her, trying to catch her before she injured herself. I grabbed Jess' jacket and ran after them. Jess was sprinting down the hallways and to our dismay it seemed like she was gaining speed. Suddenly, Jess burst through the front door into the road. A sudden spike of energy sent me flying down the hallway. I caught up with Staci and we proceeded after Jess. I cringed as my bare feet pounded in the wet road.

"Why, of all nights, did she have to leave in the rain!" Staci yelled over the falling rain.

"Let's catch her and get back. Otherwise we'll all get pneumonia!" I yelled back.

We pushed our bodies to their limits to catch her and we even tried to call her name but our words never reached her. Jess turned one last time and ran into a forest. My eyes widened in panic as I saw her barely miss a tree. Staci and I yelped as rocks and branches were painfully introduced to our feet.

"It's amazing that she hasn't hit a tree yet," Staci said.

WHAM! Groan.

"You just had to same something, didn't ya?" I asked glaring at her.

We stopped in a clearing and saw Jess laying on her back in the mud. She stirred a little and sat up, holding her head. I kneeled next to her and wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.

"What the heck happened?" Jess asked in a groggy tone.

"You brought us out in the rain and mud in nothing but our pj's! If you guys don't mind I would like to head back before we get colds," Staci said as she helped Jess to her feet.

As we started to walk forward, I stopped abruptly and listened to the wind. "Brenna, what's wrong?" Jess asked with a calm voice. I closed my eyes as the wind grew more restless. It seemed like it was talking to me but I couldn't make out the words. With no warning, I heard something flying through the air with great speed. "Staci… look out!" I yelled.

I jumped in front of her blocking a sleek black arrow with my body. It struck me on my upper right arm below my shoulder. I yelped in pain and grabbed my wound, tears blocking my vision. Staci helped support my weight as Jess spun around, searching for the attacker.

"Where did it come from!" Staci yelled at Jess.

"I don't know!" Jess answered in a raspy voice. Jess heard a rustle in the bushes and turned to look into the face of a fat man. He chuckled as Jess backed up. Soon we could see red uniforms surrounding us. An archer hopped out from behind the fat man and smiled evilly at my shoulder. Jess backed up and stood next to Staci and I.

"It's odd that girls would be out in the cold rain and not even properly dressed," the fat man said, looking at our clothes.

Jess grew angry and wrapped her coat around her tighter. Staci drew something out from under her pant leg. With a quick look I saw that it was a dagger. I nudged Jess and nodded at her when she saw the dagger.

"Don't even think of escaping. All three of you will come with me and be part of my historical collection," the fat man said gleefully.

The troops started to advance and Staci took action. She grabbed my wrist and charged the weaker side of the forces. The few soliders that were there she injured severely but the dagger became lodged in one of the soldier's armor so we lost our only weapon. We ran as long and as hard as we could until we had to hide. When we were safely out of sight, I returned to the arrow that was still embedded in my shoulder.

"Staci you have to… get… this thing," I panted while pausing to cough. "Out of my (groan)… shoulder."

"Are you sure? We could go back and ask Rhys to…"

"No," I said, breathing hard. "I need you… to do this for me… now."

Staci looked at me with concern and placed her hand gently on the arrow. I nodded and closed my eyes, mentally preparing for it.

"One…" Jess said.

"Two…" Staci spoke.

"Three…" I declared.

Staci yanked on the arrow as hard as she could and it came free. I lurched in pain, trying not to scream and give away our hiding spot. I leaned against the tree in agony as a pool of blood soaked my shoulder. I placed my hand over the wound and sighed. "Well… that wasn't bad," I tried to say with confidence.

Staci just stood there holding the arrow. She dropped to the ground and breathed in the longing air that had some how escaped. I held out my free arm and gestured for the arrow. When Staci handed it to me, I started to clean the tip frantically.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, keeping low behind a tree root.

"This is the only weapon that we have so might as well use it," I replied.

"I don't know about you but I have two great weapons right here," Jess said, holding up her arms.

I giggled and winced but tried to keep a smile on my face. "Sh… I hear something," Staci said and we all ducked.

The fat man and some of his soldiers walked right past us. I knew that we were in no condition to fight. "We have to find some clothes to fight in," Staci said.

"I think that there are merchants around sometimes," Jess suggested.

"Oh come on! Be reasonable! A merchant out here!" Staci exclaimed.

At that we heard bells and a horse. I looked over and smiled as a merchant was passing us.

"Now that is good timing," I said, struggling to get up.

Jess helped me up and Staci ran to the merchant. She explained a little of our situation (leaving out the danger part) and the merchant handed us clothes and bandages. We told him he would be repaid (well… at least sometime in the future).

"Hey, what about weapons?" Staci asked.

"I'm sorry but I need money up front to give out weapons," the merchant answered.

Jess quickly bandaged my wound and we said farewell to the merchant. We were all in pants and tunics. The best thing was: we had boots! We crept around, searching for anything we could use as a weapon. Staci and Jess grabbed sticks and I had the arrow. It wasn't much but at least we could defend ourselves. We snuck over to what we thought was the fat man's base.

"Oh no!" I said.

"What?" Staci asked.

I pointed to the fat man and the merchant we had visited was kidnapped. His kidnapper drug him over to the fat man and the worst thing was, the soldier was carrying our pajamas. The fat man walked up to the beaten merchant and towered over him.

"We know you've had contact with three girls," the fat man snarled.

"This is bad. If he gives us away then-" Jess started.

"Sh!" I exclaimed, covering her mouth.

The fat man raised his staff to the merchant with an evil grin. "For the last time, where are they!" The man's staff began to glow.

The merchant didn't say anything but hung his head low. I slowly stood up behind a tree and began to gather energy. I moved the wind about me until it became a bow. I took a deep breath and strung the arrow on my wind bow as if it were real.

"Die!" the fat man yelled.

I whipped around the tree and pulled back on the black arrow. "Wind guide me!" I yelled as I released the arrow.

It flew in between the merchant and the fat man, striking the archer that fired on us earlier. The merchant and the fat man looked at me in shock. Staci and Jess came out from our hiding spot and stood next to me.

"Well, well, well. You've decided to come to me, have you?" the fat man asked.

"Correct, we've decided to kill you," Staci replied.

The red armored men got their weapons out and we knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Get them!" the fat man yelled, pointing his staff at us.

We stood our ground and stared as the enemy came running and yelling in all directions. The only thing I knew was that this time, there was no escape.

Ok, first of all thank you so much for the reviews. I've finally got the next chapter up and I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say. Oh yeah, if anyone knows the real name of the "fat man" please let me know. He's the guy who wanted Reyson for his collection... or something.

Please R&R