As we all recall from last chapter, there was a supposed plan that went totally wrong. (As the title of the chapter told us, now that I think about.) So, after that pointless sentence, here's the next chapter. ~~~

" Shit!" Aaron cursed himself, reaching for the tree trunk to keep his balance. Suddenly, his foot was yanked out from under him and with a yelp he grabbed at a branch above his head. There wasn't one there, so he crashed into the branch he'd just been walking on. Flailing for a moment, he swung his ankle free of the man that had grabbed it, then kicked the man so that he went yelling to the ground.

Rushed for time now, Aaron scrambled to his feet, and had little time to choose what direction to head. And few options, others were on the way up, and would rip him out of the tree tops if they had to. Aaron found the best option he had and ran with it, literally for the first few meters. Then it was a long time period of being careful, but still trying to work fast. His muscles ached and hurt, especially his legs, but there was no stopping now.

He was in deep now, and there was no getting out of this pinch.

This is when what the knights below were saying began to have some actual meaning to Aaron. This was hard, and it would be much easier to give up then keep going like this. At one spot, Aaron looked down at the ground below and thought that he was an idiot for killing the guy who'd actually offered him a hand. That feeling quickly faded, however, as Aaron focused on what he was doing rather then things that would distract him. That and he remembered the way the man had called him a kid.

Aaron's thought produced this: Yeah, I'm the kid that kicked your ass.

Easing out onto the branch further until he heard it crack under foot, Aaron again made a running jump and grabbed for the branch he had the best chance of reaching out to.

To his surprise, or rather misfortune, he guessed the right branch. Ended up feeling pain whip up his right arm in a wave that made him gasp and cringe, but he guessed right.

" FUCK!!" he screamed out, getting the attention of those below, who watched in horror for the few moments he spent dangling off the branch. The fighters who had started climbing this tree halted just like their comrades below.

Finally, Aaron struggled up onto the branch, crawling the few meters before getting to his feet. There seemed to be a group sigh from below, but it didn't last long once Aaron sent another of their friends hurdling for the unforgiving earth below.

Fighting in the trees was no easy task for either side. Obviously, they only did so on thick branches closer to the trunk of the tree and focused on knocking each other off balance until it became too difficult for either side to feel stable on their feet. By that point it was around the time that Aaron made his brave leaps and then the process started over again. It was a vicious cycle for Aaron, who had to endure it over and over again from tree to tree, while also moving upwards and having a branch close enough to one from another tree to attempt his jump.

However, Aaron had one very distinct advantage over the horsemen that climbed the trees. He didn't have to worry about their lives. The cavalrymen were out to capture him, not to kill him. Aaron was more then aware of that fact. He'd known this long before he'd even encountered the land of Araluen or Gilan, and he used it to his advantage as much as possible. They were desperate to have him, while by dieing, Aaron could destroy their only hopes. That, for some reason, was a very soothing thought whenever Aaron thought about it.

Either way, Aaron had to focus or face his possible death, which nobody wanted at this point. The pain in his right arm felt horrible anytime he forced the arm to lift his up from one place to another, but Aaron did this so much, that the arm felt numb within the same tree he'd wounded it to get into.

Getting close to the trunk, several fighters were ready to meet him already, and several below that would probably try to yank his feet out from under him like the others had done. Aaron had to make this as quick and painless for himself as possible.

When the first came at him, Aaron hauled himself to the branch above himself, then swung into the person who had attacked him, knocking him instantly from the branch and out of sight. Landing quickly, he ran and grabbed the trunk to keep from falling. Turning, he gasped, taking his left arm to take hold of the branch above himself again, but too late.

The man's sword, though wielded very clumsily, cut a pretty good gash across Aaron's stomach before he could get out of the way. Bouncing back, Aaron swung around slashing a man with one of his knives again. He needed to be careful, he only had four knives on him still, as the rest he'd already thrown or given to Halt to use. Stabbing the man, he fell back and out of sight while Aaron spun and kicked another out of his way. Using this momentum, Aaron tripped another that fell out of sight. Then he set to climbing up and out again, watching the people below him suspiciously.

Several had already started to climb down, as they weren't close enough to be considered helpful, while the ones that were close enough to be helpful were still below Aaron, and would most likely grab at his feet and ankles.

Suddenly, out of no where, both of Aaron's feet were thrown from under him, and he fell into the branch with a loud "OMPH!" Two horsemen had come up with a plan, and somehow ambushed Aaron in the confusion of the fighting and the tangle of leaves, twigs, branches, and the occasional bird's nest.

However, they hadn't accounted for the next series of strange events.

To start, instead of just staying in place, Aaron rolled over to get off his wounded stomach that had just been dealt a hard blow into a tree. Well, here's the thing, he's in a tree. IN A TREE. There was no where to roll off TO.

Aaron ended up rolling himself right off the branch and hurdling to the earth towards a fate he'd dealt to so many others already today. That was a bit of irony that would be hard to swallow later. Spinning, Aaron grabbed and reached for anything he could get a hand on to stop his falling.

This was the incident that made Aaron appreciate those lovely idiots we all so hate, but couldn't stay alive without. One of the horsemen below Aaron had a spear with him and was struggling to get a hold on a twig that simply couldn't hold his weight. Being the not brightest color in the rainbow as he was, the butt of his spear was sticking out, while the point was stuck into the tree so he might get some leverage and advance upwards.

Aaron, having only been falling a few meters or so at that point, had snatch a hand onto the spear butt with a frantically swinging hand. Aaron had even surprised himself with this catch. The spear shaft creaked and cracked like the tree itself did when it could no longer hold a certain weight.

It snapped quickly, but it had sent Aaron swirling and launching out his hands in any direction to attempt to grab a hold of something else.

With this new spinning, Aaron was thrown into a thick branch with a loud yell of pain escaping Aaron when his back hit the bark. Thrown out into the air again, twigs ripped and slapped at all of Aaron leaving scratches and bruises that would not soon be forgotten. Then he slammed into another thick branch, this one causing him to shout out again though it hit his side, before the fall finally ended when Aaron finally flopped into a third obese branch and was still, his leg dangling in the air, limp and lifeless.~~~~~~

Whoa. Didn't see that coming did you? What now? REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED!! Thanks for reading.