I stared at them, I couldn't fit my head around how I was going to even begin picking out an army.

"Okay!" Nick's sudden shout caused me to jump. "I want everyone to form three lines! Stand in front of your designated number!"

I watched as four-hundred grown men scrambled to find their spots. I had seen quicker lines made by kindergarteners.

Nick put a notebook into my hands. I looked down at it, and found that it was a log of sorts. It began by listing someone's name. Then it had their age. Next would be their strong points, both in personality, and in battle terms. Then there was a number.

Nick had said for the men to stand behind their number. I saw that there was a ruler laying at their feet, it had numbers painted on it, from one, to some four-hundred.

I turned to Nick, "I don't know what to do." I whispered.

He hesitated, "Well, go down the rows, if you see someone you think should be in your army, then check their number, then find him on your list. If you do decide to keep him then you can check their name off there." He said as he pointed to the notebook.

I looked at him doubtfully, but turned and headed for number one.

It felt strange to have so many eyes watching my every move.

I tried to see myself through their eyes… A short, powerless, eighteen-year-old girl, who doesn't look as though she had ever lifted a sword in her life… Yeah, the odds seemed to be against me.

Walking down the row of men, I looked at each man's face as I passed him, nothing really clicked.

I had just about decided I was doing it wrong when my eyes found the face of 'the jerk'. I hadn't expected to see him in any of these lines. He still hadn't changed out of the dirt and blood covered clothes he had been wearing earlier, what I noticed next was the fact that his face shown with respect as he looked at me.

"So what? Do I have to roll all of these men into thorns to get them to respect me? Or maybe just slam their faces into the ground?" I thought, as I stared in wonder at the man I had been calling 'the jerk'.

I looked down at the number at his feet, then to the notebook. I found his number, and name. "Peter Hudgins?" I asked him.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded.

I almost laughed at the use of the word 'Ma'am. He was at least twenty-five years older than me.

I put a check beside his name as I smiled to him. Then I quickly made a note beside it to ask Nick if Peter could be a… commander of sorts. I knew he would make a great one.

"Thank-you." I said before moving on. I hoped he would understand the hidden meaning, and by the look in his eyes I knew he did.

I suddenly realized that I had been skipping over the angry or disrespectful faces as candidates for my army.

I turned to Nick, "I don't think this is really getting us anywhere."

"I concur." Matthew chimed in, and I heard a few grunts of agreement coming from the men.

"They have doubts." I said, motioning to the men behind me.

Nick and Matthew's eyebrows rose at my words.

"They do? How so?" Nick asked.

I wondered if they even saw the men's faces. They would have to be blind to miss that they didn't like me so far. "They don't think I'm capable fighting in the war, much less commandingan army." I turned to where I could see both Nick's face and the men in line's faces. "Before I can even think about picking people out of these lines I need to gain their trust. Their lives will be in my hands, and they can't risk going into a battle with me as their leader without knowing what kind of stuff I'm made of."

My voice softened a bit, "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to let them know I won't fail them." At that I got encouraging smiles from Andrew and Jonathan. Who were right in my line of vision.

"What do you have in mind?" Matthew asked.

"Why don't we continue our earlier lessons?" I asked.

Matthew chuckled, "That's fine with me. Just pick your opponents."

I had to hold back a laugh when Peter let out a very audible groan behind me.

I gulped, and rechecked the math once again, "Four hundred divided by ten equals forty. So I'll have to either fight a group of forty men ten times, or fight a group of twenty men twenty times…" I shuddered as I thought of how I was going to feel by the end of the day… if I even made it that far.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, "Are you sure you want to do it this way?" He asked.

I sighed, "I don't have any other choice. This is the simplest way."

"She's right, Nick. She'll gain their respect, and we can judge which men would make better soldiers for her army." Matthew said.

Nick stared at me, his gaze felt probing, like he could see every fear I had right then. "Under one condition." He finally said in a soft tone.

I nodded, "Anything."

"You let me do it with you. I'll be on your team, so I can protect you." He whispered.

How can I say no to him when he looked at me that way? I wondered if he was melting my heart on purpose, or if he had no idea what he was doing to me.

"Okay." I said in a weak voice.

He beamed and leaned forward to pull me into a hug.

"Me too." I turned to Andrew when he said this. He had come from his place in line to listen in on our conversation. I saw that most of the other soldiers were wandering away from their spots as well. Andrew's expression was almost grave. He still hadn't gotten used to me and Nick being together… I didn't think he ever would. When you love someone like he did you can't just let them go.

Jonathan came up beside him, "I'm in." He said, as if I had actually asked him to help.

I glared at them. Why were they doing this? I had literally never done anything nice for them. I didn't want them getting themselves hurt for someone who was never ever there for them. I didn't think that I had even ever said anything worth while to them. I had even broken both of their hearts! They didn't owe me anything. And I didn't deserve their friendship.

"I won't be on your side, Rachel. I think I could do more to keep you safe if I was on the other team… Sure, I'll be trying to kill you, but I'll also be able to call off the men if things get too intense for you." He said it all seriously, and he didn't even laugh when he said the part about trying to kill me.

Since when did I suddenly become so vulnerable in all of their eyes? I had always been able to take care of myself… Except for that short stretch in time, after my father's death, when I was practically killing myself with grief. That doesn't count though.

"I wouldn't mind being on your team." I turned to burn holes in the person who said that, only to see Peter standing there. "I really don't want to get beat up by you again. Once is enough for me. I've learned my lesson." He said with a fake worried frown.

For some reason, I didn't want to accept any of the offers. I felt my pride taking over. "I would rather do it by myself." I said, quietly at first. But when no one heard me, on account of the 'planning' they were doing, I spoke up, "I don't want your help." I knew it sounded harsh and rude, but that's how I was feeling right then.

Apparently, I didn't have a say in it, because five disbelieving eyes turned my way.

There was a pause, then their angry voices came at me in a wave of simultaneous shouts.

"Not. On. Your. Life."

"There's no way you can stop me…. legally."

"You are not going up against that many guys without their help."

"You should probably rethink that answer."

"I don't care. I'm going to help you. No matter what."

I wasn't sure what words came out of whom, but it wasn't a hard guess.

I crossed my arms across my chest, trying to stave off the feeling of fear once more, "I wish you wouldn't." I said, not meeting any of their eyes. I did not want any of them getting hurt trying to protect me. Even Peter had a soft spot in my heart already.

I felt a pressure on my hand, to my surprise, it wasn't Nick, or even Matthew. "The way you're feeling now? It's the same way we all feel towards you. Don't push us away. We need to do this, to protect you." It was Jonathan who said this. He had snuck past my barriers, and I couldn't help but listen and understand.

We were faced off against some of the scariest men I had ever seen. I wondered if they had pushed the bigger, angrier looking guys to the front, because that's all I saw. Muscle, and sharp swords. Any of the men could very well kill me. I don't mean like just counting me as dead. I mean that their knives, or arrows, or swords could slip a little further than they meant for them to, and I could die for real. The tips of the swords were all corked, but there was no other protection from the sharp edges of the blade.

I went over the plan in my head once more. We each had eight people to kill before we could be completely safe. There were five of us, and forty-one of them. We wouldn't run straight for them when it was time to charge, we would actually turn around and head into the forest at our backs. The same forest I had sought shelter in so many times before.

I knew that the other team had trackers, good ones. I just hoped they wouldn't follow me. It was kind of selfish, but if all of the others were counted as dead the game would keep progressing. I was the main target, they had to kill me to win. I had Matthew to thank for those rules, I had been completely shocked when he had stated them earlier, and I had wanted to throw the nearest sword at him right about then.

I mentally sorted out what kind of strategies the men would use;

There would be the pack, the ones who followed the person who seemed the most capable leader or tracker.

There would be the loners, they would either get hopelessly lost, or they would stay on my heals. Because obviously, it's easier to travel and sneak when you're alone.

And lastly, there would be the assassins, the scariest part about this. They were the ones who you never even saw until after you had been shot or stabbed. How I knew all of this? I played capture the flag when I was a lot younger. This was pretty much just a larger, more dangerous version that. Except, I was the flag, and they were all trying to kill me.

I wondered if any of the others were getting nervous. I looked at them, they all had smirks. They were freaks, of course they weren't nervous. They looked so intimidating with their grins, I was glad they were on my team.

I had a sword, a bow, and a small knife. The arrows in the sling on my back didn't have a sharp point. It was more of an arrow, with a rock instead of the normal arrow head. They would only bruise anyone I shot them at, but the person would still be counted as dead.

A high pitched whistle pierced the quiet.

I spun, and searched for the best path into the forest. Jonathan and Peter were already running, but I noticed Andrew and Nick were waiting on me. I jerked into motion as I saw a small opening between some trees. It would be impossible for more than one person to fit through at a time, so it would slow the oncoming soldiers down some.

I gained a strange burst of energy when I came to the edge of the forest, and I almost squealed in delight as I remembered my unfair advantage in the woods. I would be faster than the men.

Nick and Andrew were able to keep up with me for maybe half a mile, but I soon couldn't hold back for them anymore, my senses took over, and I pulled away from them, running at full speed.

The cool air stung my face and lungs. That was a down side to being in the forest, I could feel things with much more intensity.

I propelled over a large tree that had fallen, landing smoothly on the other side and stopping to ready myself for the ones that would soon catch up with me. I could hear shouting not far away, but it didn't seem like they were getting any closer.

I suddenly felt sick when I realized that Nick and Andrew were probably trying to hold them off. I wanted to go back, but I knew I couldn't.

Everything quieted, and in a matter of minutes, I heard the crunching of leaves, and the snap of twigs as many feet rapidly approached where I was hiding.

I decided to climb up one of the trees beside me, I had a hundred arrows in my sheath, so I could just pick them off from a tree.

I picked a tree with thick branches. It also had spikes at the bottom of it, so it was hard for me to climb because I kept getting caught on the thorns, but that also made it hard for any pursuers to climb. I got up it without too much trouble. And settled on a branch that was high enough to feel safe, but low enough to see all of what was happening on the ground.

I heard the rough cursing voice before I saw it's owner, "I know I saw her. She's around here somewhere."

I almost laughed when he stopped to look around right under where I was sitting. I pulled out one of the arrows, and simply dropped it on his balding head. I was surprised to find that it knocked him out cold. I hadn't planned that, but I should have seen it coming, what with how heavy the rocks on the end of the arrows were.

It was strangely funny and exciting. I could have laughed at how the rest of the men were looking around for their tracker, who had suddenly disappeared. The man had fallen behind some bushes when I knocked him out. He was just out of sight of his men, but it didn't help that he was wearing camouflage.

There were only three men with him, I found. I smirked as I pulled three arrows out of the sheath. It was strangely easy to knock them out too.

I came down from the tree, and checked to make sure they were all still breathing. Then I stole the man's green jacket, I was wearing a white shirt, and it was a wonder they didn't see me up in that tree.

I hurried away from the scene before more could come and find me there.

A/N

Hey.

How are the three people that read this story?

Is there anyone else out there other than you three?

No, but seriously, you guys rock my world!

Sorry It took so long to update.

How do you like this chapter?

It's a five pager! Pretty boring, but at least it's long, right?

Do ya'll like the fight scenes?

Or would you rather some more Rrrromance?

Please review, tell me how you like it 'ja?

I'll shut up now.

Pokemonchen; Yeah! IKR!?

Booksnake; Thanks so much!

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Ya'll have a nice weekend!