(A/N: OK I made a mistake last chapter in the author's note: this is chapter two, that was chapter one! Yea I know, it's been a while *cowers from angry readers* IT WASN'T MY FAULT! OK maybe it was...wait I have to tell you guys my other mistake on chapter one: Dan has green stripes not brown (that's a Langi color; I'm surprised no one caught that....) OK enough of my ramblings!! And like promised: the lovers meet in this chapter *jumps for joy* SO HERE IT IS: ENJOY!!!!)
Chapter Two: Lovers Meet
Dan leaned against a tree, holding his side, an arrow sticking out and a mask of pain on his face.
'I need to get back to Tanger Territory before any Langi sees me,' he thought, wearily.
He weakly tried to stand up straight but immediately collapsed. He looked at the arrow in his side and groaned loudly. He unsheathed his bloody sword and tried to use it as a walking stick. He couldn't understand why an arrow was making him so weak. Then again, Matthew had this arrow pointed specifically at him... Sure, he had many other cuts and bruises along with a slash across his chest, but that wasn't too deep and all the other wounds weren't serious at all. So why was it making him so weak?
'Damn,' he mentally cursed himself for allowing this to happen. Everybeast was gone, he knew that. He purposely had stayed behind the army to make sure the survivors from the battle made it away from the fire arrows.
Dan's ears perked when he heard a rustle in the bushes nearby, "Who's there?" he asked painfully, "Show yourself!"
Out of the bushes came out a beautiful mousemaid. She slowly approached Dan. He stared at her and then realized: "You're a Langi..."
"Yes, and you're a Tanger..." she said softly, then, "You're injured, let me help you."
Dan raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Why would you help me? I'm your enemy."
She shook her head ruefully, "You haven't harmed me, and so I have no need to consider you my enemy. Besides that, you are injured. Please," she said, moving closer, "I'm a healer, let me help you. I've seen enough deaths on both sides to last me a lifetime. Please?"
Dan tried to stand up but failed once again. The mousemaid rushed to him and pulled the sword from his weakened grip. She wrinkled her nose at the blood that seemed to coat the mighty sword. Dan looked at her suspiciously.
"Don't worry, I'll put it aside safely and most definitely won't use it on you."
"Why are you helping me, Langi?"
"I told you: I'm a healer. It's what I do. And by the way, my name is Bryana. What's yours?"
Bryana pretended she didn't know who he was but she knew very well who this mouse was. He was her father's mortal enemy; the one he hated the most in this world. Yet here she was, helping him. She didn't know why, but just that it was the right thing to do...
"Dan. My name is Dan."
"Nice to meet you," she said with a small smile. As she examined the arrow at his side, however, her smile faded. Dan saw that and asked, "What? What happened?"
He groaned again, "I need to get you somewhere else. Somewhere safe," Bryana said, "And I think I know just the place...but first, we need to get this poisoned arrow out of you."
"Poison arrow? Ah, damn Sarmana!"
Bryana arranged his body so that he was sitting up slightly with his back against a tree. She undid the jacket of his uniform and cut his white shirt away from the arrow with her dagger. She examined the wound and noticed that the poison was rapidly spreading. She ripped the scarf off her neck and tore it in half, wrapping each strap of cloth around her paws.
"Brace yourself, Dan. It's gonna hurt like hell gates!"
"I'll be fine, just git this arrow outta my side!"
Bryana nodded and pulled out the arrow in one try. Dan let out a painful groan. His eyelids started to grow heavy.
"Uh, uh, stay awake, hey, Dan, stay with me!" she shook him and he wearily opened his eyes, "Come on," she said, pulling him up and putting his arm around her shoulders, "Let's go."
"Where?" he asked, weakly.
"Somewhere safe," Was the perky response.
Dan felt his arm around the mousemaid's shoulders. He took in her sweet scent and leaned against her even though he was still wondering why this Bryana was helping him. He felt his face lean into her neck. Bryana looked down at him.
"Mmm...You smell so good..." he murmured in her neck.
She still heard him though and sighed, "The poison is getting to you. We're almost there, just a little longer..."
"It's OK. I don't mind," he said, grinning painfully yet mischievously. Hey, it wasn't everyday he had a pretty mousemaid holding him this close before. Then again, he never paid much attention to maids that much before today. He was a workaholic, so he never really bothered...It's not that no maid wanted him or anything like that...He heard Bryana sigh loudly and then thought, 'Well, she is pretty so she must have male mice hitting on her like mad...'
"OK, here we are!" Bryana interrupted his thoughts and he strained his eyes and saw a small hut sitting on a small hill, which he never noticed that he went up leaning against the mousemaid.
'Ha, I was too busy thinking about her to notice...wow the poison must really be getting to me...'
"This doesn't belong to either the Tangers or Langi. In fact, this isn't in any territory... I found it a couple of months ago. No beast knows about it except me and now, you. Come on, let's get you inside."
Bryana pulled the door open awkwardly and closed it behind her with her footplate. She laid him in a bed on the left side of the hut and scurried around, gathering herbs, bandages, and whatever else she could find and placed it on a table. She dragged the table near the bed and began working on him.
Ron and Ricky scanned the infirmary room.
"Where is he?"
They looked at each bed while briskly walking through the room. Natasha spotted them and walked up to them, despite her heavy work load.
"Hey, are you guys looking for someone?" she asked.
"Is Dan here? Nobeast's seen him since the battle..."
Natasha shook her head, "No, haven't seen him. He has to be here somewhere, though, he should be fine..."
"You don't know that for sure," Ricky said, now worried, "What, what if he's dead?"
"What?! Don't you say that Ricky!" Natasha exclaimed.
"What if I'm right?"
"You're not!"
"He's not invincible, Natasha! He can die!"
"OK! Hey, stop it, you two! This is no time to argue," Ron exclaimed, interrupting them, "Natasha, don't worry, we'll find him soon, OK?"
He took her paws in his and squeezed it warmly and she nodded, tearfully. Ricky rolled his eyes, 'He's just saying that 'cuz he doesn't want to upset her...' he thought. Ron turned and nodded at Ricky and they both left the infirmary.
"We should tell the Chief that Dan's missing..." Ricky said.
"You're right...We should..."
So, they started to walk to the center of the village where the chief's home was. The chief's home was easily distinguishable from all the other houses surrounding it as well as the market place, where all the Tanger creatures bought food, clothes, etc. Some of the Tangers nodded respectably at them as they walked through the market place. They finally approached the door of the chief's home and knocked solemnly. A very young squirrelmaid answered the door.
"Is the chief there, Mia? We need to talk to him. It's, um, urgent..."
"Um, yeah, he is. Come in, Captains."
Mia led the two males through the giant house and to a dining room where two older squirrels were.
"Father," Mia said, "Captains Ricky Danfos and Ron Brush are here to see you. They say it's urgent."
"Thank you, dear. You may leave us," the male squirrel said standing up. He nodded at the female squirrel and both squirrelmaids left the room.
Ricky and Ron stood at attention in front of the squirrel, "At ease, soldiers. What's the emergency?"
Ron sighed, "General Rasakaro is missing, Chief Jared. We haven't seen him since the battle.
Chief Jared's eyebrows shot up in shock, "What?! Missing?! Organize a search party. I want him found, do you understand?"
The captains exchanged glances, "We already organized one, sir, but there is still no sign. We searched everywhere, except for the Langi Territory, of course..."
Jared rubbed his eyebrows wearily, "Damn it.."
"What do we do Chief..."
Jared was silent. The brown-furred squirrel paced the room, trying to figure out what he could do to fix this situation, but nothing came to mind. He turned to Ron and Ricky, "You too are excused. Leave me to my thoughts."
"Errm, yessir!" Ricky said.
The two males left the frustrated chief to himself. Jared couldn't understand what to do. Never in history has this happened. Dan was the core of the Tanger Army; now that he was gone...trouble would erupt,
'Where could he be? If Sarmana had him, he would tell us. He would announce it to the world and probably display Dan's head on a platter knowing him...if he's not there, then where is he????
Bryana sighed loudly, "Finally done!"
She glanced over at the sleeping form in the bed. Dan had his head bandaged, giving him a roguish look, but the same could not be said about his torso, which was completely bandaged. His chestnut brown fur was ruffled and disarrayed since he had just come out of a battle. He was also a little pale. Bryana grimaced, remembering how he was turning purple before she gave him the special antidote that she had made for that poison. Her father wanted her to find an antidote just in case any of the Langi soldiers were exposed to poison. She smiled ruefully and shook her head, "Imagine if he found out I used it on a Tanger..."
Bryana brought a chair next to the bed and sat on it. She stared into Dan's face, still confused on why she had saved her so-called "enemy."
"He's not my enemy. He's my father's enemy and the one...the one who murdered my brother...what am I doing? I... I don't understand..."
She stood up and paced back and forth, now extremely frustrated. She stopped and then turned to look at the mouse again. He actually looked peaceful as if he never got that much sleep before.
"Well, you are a general..." she said, stroking his cheek, gently, "If I could, Dan, I would tell your family that you're safe, but I can't...Goodness, they must be worried sick about you..."
(A/N: wow, that was a seriously long chapter....so yeah I guess I owe to all my reviewers for making them wait that long for the next chapter...well you see that button right below....well click it! R&R!!!