Yay, I got the next chapter up! Hope you like it. Remember to review...

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Gladaegal rushed into Orien's room at the crack of dawn and hurriedly woke him up, saying happily: "Up, brother! It's a new day, and the rest of us have decided that the time is ripe for another hunting trip! Hurry and get dressed; everyone else is already ready!"

"...hmm?" muttered Orien, still mostly asleep. Then, he realized what his brother was telling him and quickly sat up. "What are you talking about? We just went on a hawking trip yesterday, and I'm too tired to get up now! Besides, we still have to prepare for the Trader's Day!"

"Yesterday was just a short trip of a few hours where we allowed the hawks to do the hunting for us. This time, we will be gone for days, and we will do the hunting! And more than just rabbits too."

Orien blinked. "We can't go on an extended trip now!"

"Oh, yes we can! And we are, too! Come on, Orien, it's been ages since we've done this; yesterday made all the men realize how much they've missed it. There's still more than a week 'till Trader's! We can make it, easy; besides, we've got servants to work out all the little details for us, in case you've forgotten. I won't take no for an answer!" And with that, Gladaegal yanked Orien's covers off his bed and opened the curtains wide, at the same time shoving some clothes at him. "Be ready in twenty minutes! Your horse is already saddled. And hurry!" Gladaegal rushed out of the room as hastily as he had entered, probably to wake some other poor man despite the fact that he had told Orien that everyone else was already ready and waiting for him. Grumbling, Orien pulled himself out of bed. It was just like him to do something like this...

Ten minutes later, Orien was eating a quick breakfast while Gladaegal stood over him, telling him to hurry up. The moment the final bite entered Orien's mouth, he hurried him to the stables and up onto his horse, which really was already saddled. A small crowd of mounted men cheered when they saw him ride out. Maybe Gladaegal hadn't been exaggerating when he said everyone was waiting for him, thought Orien in surprise as he smiled at the and gave a small wave. Silently promising himself that this trip would last no more than three days, Orien rode out of the gates at the head of his men.

I love you.

-Lyss.

Birle reread the last lines of the note again in disbelief. She was gone. Lyss was gone. Her baby, her little girl, her beautiful daughter had run away.

Griffin has asked me to go with him on a trip to a 'Trader's Day,' in the capitol, and I've told him I will.

A 'Trader's Day?' Birle wasn't even completely sure what that was. She had never been to one herself, and Orien had never told her anything about them. Oh my god, thought Birle, she was gone. Somehow, Birle didn't seem quite able to register that fact.

She needed to talk to Nan. Now.

Turning around, Birle ran back towards the Inn. People stared as she rushed by, but she didn't care. Didn't they understand that her baby was gone? Something needed to be done, and now. Suddenly, Birle realized she had just run by the blacksmith's shop... Griffin's father was there. Skidding to a stop, she ran in there instead. "Tahl!" she shouted, searching desperately for him "TA-"

"What?" came a slightly surprised voice from behind her. She spun around and glared at him.

"Do you know where Griffin is? Huh? Do you?" she practically shouted at him. Perhaps she was a little less calm than she had thought...

Tahl frowned. "I assume he's off somewhere with your Lyss. Birle- calm down!" he said alarm, as Birle looked ready to murder someone. "What's wrong!"

"You're completely correct; that's what's wrong! He is off somewhere with my Lyss! Only I don't know where—and I doubt you do either!"

"What're you talking about? They'll be back any minute now; it's starting to get dark!" At the mention of it getting dark, Birle lost it. She just broke down sobbing into a startled Tahl's arms. She just couldn't stand the thought of her baby out there somewhere, alone, in the dark... well, Griffin would be with her, but he was no longer qualified to have anything to do with her daughter, in her opinion. He had stolen her away in Birle's eyes.

After she had calmed down a bit, Tahl gently set her down in a chair and asked her what exactly had happened to upset her so. In answer, Birle shoved Lyss's note at him. She didn't much care that it showed writing; Tahl and Griffin and Nan and a few others she could trust had discovered she could read years ago.

Tahl stared at it for a few seconds, and then said; "Uh... Birle, I can't read this."

"It's a note. From Lyss." said Birle in a soft voice. "It says... it says she's gone. It says that your son asked her to go with him to a 'Trader's Day,' whatever that is, in the capitol, and she agreed. It says they won't be back for a month. They're gone."

For a moment, Tahl was silent. Then, slowly, he said; "I should've realized something like this was going to happen. A crier was here a few days ago... I doubt you saw him... he was telling us all about the Trader's Day. Griffin was very interested... I never even thought about what that might mean... the moment work was done, that day, Griffin disappeared to talk to him about it..." Then, Tahl shook his head as if to clear it. He was a very levelheaded man, and no doubt believed that he couldn't waste time brooding on it if there was nothing to be done. Yes, Griffin was gone, and yes, that saddened him. But there was nothing he could do about it. Griffin was a smart boy who knew what he was doing, and he would be back within a month. He did his best to comfort Birle, but she soon realized that the man wasn't going to be of any help. She needed to return to her original plan—finding Nan.

With as little warning as she had given when she had barged in, Birle took off again, leaving an exasperated Tahl behind her.

She reached The Falcon's Wing in record time and rushed inside to find Nan in the kitchen. Nan, seeing her almost-daughter practically hysterical, rushed over to try and calm her. "Birle, what is it!"

"It's Lyss! She's gone! She's gone, Nan—she's run away with Griffin."

"She has, has she? ...well, it seems to me that you did much the same thing when you were her age. And she has Griffin with her, you say? Well, you can take comfort in that, at least. As far as I knew, you were alone. Griffin's a good boy; he'll take care of her and see that she comes to no harm. Birle, calm down now! There's nothing you can do about it! I'm sure she'll be back soon. Which is more than I could say when you ran away. Yes, it's dangerous out there, but it's dangerous in here too! I had to tell myself these things over and over again when you ran away to keep from going crazy. There's nothing you can do about it right now! Come on now, we can talk about this in the morning; it's getting late. And you're in no condition to walk home at the moment; you can sleep in one of the empty guest rooms. Come on..." Nan gently but firmly led her away upstairs and unlocked the door to one of the unoccupied rooms. "Get some sleep." she told Birle, and there was a note of finality in her voice. She left, and Birle sank down onto the small bed with a sigh.

Nan always had a way of making her feel better, even when she didn't really seem able to do much. Like now. There was just something about her sensible look at things that helped calm her down, her black and white take on everything that make the answer seem so simple. Yet, even as she sank into an exhausted sleep, Birle knew that even Nan couldn't simply wave a magic wand and bring her daughter back to her. But Birle did know something; she knew that people weren't kidding when they said it could be dangerous out there. She had more than learned her lesson about that when she herself had run away. Not that she regretted it—she wouldn't have traded that part of her life for anything. Her last comforting thought before sleep took her was that, maybe, Lyss would feel that way about whatever adventures she might have with Griffin.

They'd been traveling on foot hours, carrying little with them and no longer talking much. They were both tired, having gotten up so early—or, at least, Lyss had. She wasn't sure what his excuse was. But they were both tired, and finally stopped without a word by the edge of the forest and began to set up camp. Soon, Griffin had a good-sized campfire going, and Lyss had put together a sort-of dinner from what food they had brought with them. They ate in silence, and then simply sat there, neither one quite ready to fall asleep in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a blanket between them and the cold, hard earth. With a small shiver, Lyss wondered if this hadn't been the smartest thing she'd ever done. Suddenly, she noticed that Griffin seemed to be staring at her.

"What?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"Oh, uh..." said Griffin, seeming to snap out of it. "Sorry... it's just..." he trailed off, and Lyss realized with annoyance that he was once again staring at her.

"You're doing it again."

"Huh?" He realized what she meant, and turned slightly pink. "I'm sorry..." he said again. " It's just... you look very beautiful, out in the moonlight like this..." Lyss blinked. Well, she certainly hadn't expected that.

"Griffin..."

"No, wait. I have to say this." He took a deep breath and moved closer to her. "Lyss, I..." somehow, he couldn't seem to put the right words together. And then, without warning, or any explanation at all, Griffin kissed her.

Lyss was so shocked, she didn't know what to do at first. Then, she pulled roughly away from him and stood up. She couldn't think... she didn't know what to do, what to say... Griffin was like her brother... this... this... she couldn't even quite grasp what he had just done, what it meant... Confused, Lyss just stared at him.

"Lyss... I'm sorry..." He stood up, and she backed away from him. She felt like she didn't even know him, like he was a stranger. "Lyss, don't..." Griffin moved towards her, and Lyss, in her confused and frightened state, simply turned around and ran. She couldn't stay there... now, she thought she knew what people meant when they were telling stories, and they said that some character's world had been 'turned upside down.' She'd never understood that before. But now, she just didn't know what to do. She'd never found herself in a situation like this before. So she did the only thing she could think of, and ran into the trees... just ran away. Exactly what she was running from, she couldn't have said, but she knew she couldn't have stood remaining there a single second longer.

In some remote corner of her mind, she could hear Griffin shouting after her to stop, to come back, that he was sorry and wouldn't do anything like that again. But Lyss just ran on, and eventually his shouts faded away. Oh, what was she going to do? Lyss now wished more than anything that she had turned Griffin down when he had asked her to go with him. If she had, then maybe things would still make sense...

HA, cliffhanger ! Hope you liked it. All reviews are greatly appreciated..