Thank you for the jacket, Carter is happily in a corner trying to kill me with a pencil. And I'm gonna need that digital suit of armor by the end of this chapter. Now then! Since that's out of the way! Onward! Beware! Slight rape…well, attempted rape in this chapter!

Chapter 14

…Liabilities…

Before the note hit the floor Carter was out the door. Before the door closed Carter was kicking down the castle gate. And before the gate had fallen he had tackled the one and only person that loved June and wouldn't sue him for losing her…again.

As he pulled the young man slowly out of the crowd of eating people and into an alley, he slowly stole a chicken leg off his plate. Then he sat the boy down and stared at him for a moment. This was way too close to Will's tales of bravery with Horace. Well, at least they're not burning down a bridge. Just a ship…or two…or a whole port, whichever comes first.

"You will be sick for a month because you have…steeliosus. You will also be quarantined for lack of knowledge on this disease. You will follow me instead and help me with a problem I have gotten into." Carter said.

"What's steeliosus?" The boy replied.

"Whatever the hell you want it to be. Now, get a sword, and a horse and I'll kick your ass if you don't help me." Carter snapped, kicking the boy back out of the alley.

"He didn't have to be so rough." Simila sad, rubbing his head as he ran towards the barracks.

Twenty minutes later Simila was mounted on a horse and trotting quickly over to the gate where another horse waited in the bushes. After Simila convinced the guards on duty, he set off at a canter down into the village.

A man in a molted green and black cloak came up beside him and said, "Where heading to port. Then setting off in a course north East, towards our destination."

"What happened to June?" Simila asked when they had left town.

"At least the boy has enough sense not to ask that in a crowded area, but June's…in a…" He paused searching for the right words. "She's in a complicated situation because of a certain characteristic about me that has a way of angering a certain person and that person is a mean killer." Carter said, smiling.

"So basically she's been kidnapped by some bad dude that has a grudge against you." Simila sighed, resting his head on the pommel of the saddle.

"…Yeah that just about sums it up." Carter nodded and urged Smoke into a gallop.

"I'm a kill you." Sims said, chasing after him.

They had come upon a simple village near the coast. Carter had spent the rest of the day gathering intelligence and information about anyone who had passed through here recently. Answer, traders.

Simila sat a one of the taverns scarfing down as much food as he could as Carter walked in, downcast. HE sighed as the depressed Ranger slumped, his head on the table. As he crammed a roll with beef stew and bacon laid over it into his mouth he poked the man.

"So, what's your name?" Simila asked.

"If you knew than you'd be ten feet underground in a wooden box."

"Okay then who about what's your favorite color?"

"Black."

"Favorite food and drink?"

"Food: Toast. Drink: Coffee."

"Favorite way to annoy June?"

"Calling her flat chested, cheating in chess or kicking her door down for no reason. How about you?"

"Poking her repeatedly, calling her July, stealing her diary."

"She has a diary?"

"Yup, it's disguised as a plain black notebook."

"Really now…"

"So, favorite game?"

"Truth or Dare"

"Fav. Activity?

"Sleeping or shooting."

"Favorite way of showing off?"

"Hanging upside-down above June and stealing her hair bow without her noticing or beating her in chess repeatedly."

"June told me about the Gathering and what you did to her."

A sudden sputter of coffee and hitting Sims on the head took place as Carter blushed, chewing on the now empty mug.

"I thought something happened."

"You suck! You tricked me! Anyway, I learned…nothing so basically we're heading to Skandia." Carter said, handing Sim a note.

"But this says Diaskina or something." He said, scratching his head.

"Exactly, If you put the first three letters at the back and move the previous last letter forward two spaces and remove third to last letter you get Skandia. If you're wondering they do a lot of things in code in the bandits camp."

~Across the sea in an abandoned shack~ (attempted rape)

"Ugh." Another harasser grunted as he hit the floor holding his crotch.

"Rapist." June said, pulling again at her bonds.

Her hands were tied to a post and she had slipped one of her legs out of the bindings. She had just kicked four men and they were huddling around, groaning. Another man walked in, but he had a different aura than the other idiotic bandits that were lustful and brutal. He had a look of cruelty and the smell of a killer on him.

He walked around her surveying her half-naked body before saying, "Hello there."

"Shut up and get over here so I can kick you too." June growled.

"That's not very nice June dearie. After all, you should be grateful. I'm the only reason they didn't rape your unconscious body." The man said, smiling.

"Well thank you for that, now would you please either leave and kill all the perverts out there or try to skip first and second base with me." June snapped, glaring as best she could at him.

"You should be grateful." He growled again, slapping her from behind in the face.

The cruel light in his eyes reminded her of another light in somebody else's eyes.

Her eyes snapped wide as she made the connection. The humorous and joyful light in Carters eyes was the exact opposite of this man's eyes!

"Made the connection now have we? Well good." He said.

"Your Carter's father!" She snapped, turning around to address the man.

"Correct a Mondo! Score one for the lady! Now then what do you know about that asshole of a son of mine?" He growled.

"Well sorry, I just don't remember right now. Maybe you should try NOT setting rapists on her the minute she wakes up!" June snarled a quick flash of anger in her eyes.

"Maybe, but after the floggings you come to accept the raping. Usually." He said, adding the usually as an afterthought.

"Go die in the hell hole you crawl out of. Carter should have ripped your head off when he had the chance. He's coming here and he's going to hit you so freaking hard you're gonna dig your own grave." June growled.

The man paused at the mention of his defeat to his own son. Then he pushed it away and reached for a thin corded whip with simple balls of hardened leather very other inch. June shivered at the weapon as the man cocked his hand back to whip her.

"One," HE said as the leather slapped her skin.

"Two," The leather stung against her skin.

"Three," she was defiantly gonna have blisters.

"Four, Five, Six." The man smiled as he whipped her faster

"Seven, Eight, freaking Nine." June counted for him, stiffening a yelp.

"Ten." The man snapped, throwing the whole whip at her.

It clunked against her head and she grunted as a large chubby fat man walked in. Wearing the creepiest leather thong in world history.

"Can you put on some clothes? I think your blinding me in your ugliness. Either that or your hiding the light in your fat rolls." June said, trying very hard to ignore the pain of her flogging.

The man smiled and advanced. June was working on her other foot strapped as the man kicked her forcefully in the gut, successfully freeing her from the leg bindings.

I'm gonna have to pray a lot more when I get out of this. June mused as she ran up the man's neck and wrapped around his head.

"Seducing me?" HE asked as June shook her head, bringing her foot around to under his chin.

"Die in a hole fat rapist." She said as she kicked his head all the way back.

She heard a sickening crack as the man dropped to the ground with a bone sticking out his neck. She stiffened the urge to puked, but couldn't stop some of it from coming up anyway. She spit the small amount out and watched as two men pulled the man out and kicked him out of the way. Nobody else came in.

Carter, get here as fast as you freaking can. I don't really want to be raped by a sadistic…blankity blank blank, like your father. Or that fat guy, that was the creepiest thing I have ever and ever want to see. June shivered, finally letting exhaustion get to her and falling into a shallow and incredibly light sleep.

~Carter~(End of Scene)

" Sims, get up! Get the freak up! I will flip this mattress if you don't get up NOW!" Carter growled, tapping her foot.

Similas head snapped up and jumped up, putting on a pair of pants and the shirt he wore yesterday before racing down stairs and grabbing a roll and leaving out the door. Carter sighed as he grabbed the backpack and jumped out of the two story window. As he slid down the rough wooden shingles he grabbed the edge and flipped towards the wall, sliding down it.

"Show-off." Sim said as he untied his horse.

"What's that horses name anyway? It'd bug me if you stole an unnamed horse."

"Oh, this is Storm. For his black coat." Sim said, climbing slowly in to the saddle

"Oh dear God help me now. I have an amateur on my hands. I guess I'll have to teach you something. And keep up on your training. Great." Carter sighed, climbing onto Smoke and casting a look on Simila.

"I'll show up the prospers of Battleschool!" Simila said, sticking out his tongue.

"And I'll show you the fruit of having seven masters and seeing all of them die before your very eyes." Carter said solemnly.

"So what where you trained in by those masters?" Simila said, slightly taken back by Carter's statement.

"Spears, unarmed, shield fighting, mental, swords, and basic street fighting." He said, slowly taking to a canter down the road.

"Street fighting?" The knight in training asked, confused.

"Basically fighting with anything you can get your hands on, a lead pipe, maybe a chain. A bottle or even pocket change." Carter explained.

"Pocket change?"

"Basically you put the biggest coins in between your knuckles, it works like combat gloves." Carter explained carefully.

Simila nodded and followed Carter as he continued explaining thing about his training. After a few hours of riding, they stopped to rest to horses and stretch their legs. Carter climbed into a nearby birch and kicked down a set of branches.

Simila raised an eyebrow as he used his saxe knife to cut off extra foliage before handing on of the sticks to Sims. He took it and looked at Carter who was twirling the wood around in his hands. Simila silently asked with his eye what the heck they were doing. Carter answered by lightly tapping the stick.

"Oh, we're sparring." He said, changing his grip on the stick.

"NO, we're looking for a giant piece of toast covered with gravy to fall from the sky surrounded by angels." Carter said sarcastically.

Carter rolled his eyes and hide one hand behind his back as they started. Simila took no notice as he swung in an overhead slash at Carter. It was blocked and they stared each other in the eyes before Carter head-butted Sim and slapped him on the legs with the practice sword.

Simila yelped as it stung but settled again on the balls of his feet, surveying Carter much more carefully. He finally noticed he was playing one handed and raised an eyebrow. Then he noticed Carter's stance.

It was just simply standing shoulder width apart. He was bending at the knees and had the sword resting on his thigh. It had almost no gain in it, but he didn't see any good way to attack, it was a stance that covered all.

"This stance is originally used for a game called tennis. Tennis is where you have a racket and hit a bouncing ball back and forth on a court. Maybe I'll teach you some. I liked this stance because it's easy to maintain and can block most regular blows." Carter stated, then he spun sharply on his feet and snapped a blow to Simila's shoulder before he could blink.

"Your fast." He said, rubbing the stinging shoulder.

"Do you want a handicap? I can play with my left hand." Carter smiled.

Sim said nothing as he took a step forward and did a quick thrust, side slash and then switching his grip, came back and held the sword similar to a dagger. Carter diverted the thrust, leaned almost all the way onto his back to avoid the next strike and then grabbed Similas wrist and turned it. Simila was suddenly turned around, his back facing the horses with his arm held behind his back in an uncomfortable position.

"Ow." He said.

"Ow indeed. Just remember, I'm on your side and I'm teaching you." Carter smiled, releasing Simila. "So I'm going to teach you the way of the sword. Or at least the way to be the most unorthodox sword fighter in the world."

"Unorthodox? Doesn't that mean you have no real way of fighting?" Simila asked, rolling his shoulder.

"It just means you do things people wouldn't expect. And I'm teaching you it." Carter said, dropping his sword and walking over to Simila. "Now, get into the stance I showed you."

Simila slowly settled into the stance and Carter kicked his leg out more and showed him where to position the blade. Simila then practiced blocking all different types of slashes and cuts and thrusts. Then Carter took the practice sword and his own, tied them to Similas saddle and got onto Smoke.

As Simila started getting onto Storm Carter said, "Now what in the heck do you think you're doing?" He asked, riding up and tying a rope from Smoke to Storm.

"Getting ready to go save June?" Sims proposed.

"No, no, no, you're running beside us and if you can't keep up then I'm not slowing down until you pass out." Carter smiled as the set off at a brisk trot down the road.

Simila rolled his eyes as he set off at a jog to keep up.

They arrived at port the following morning to have a large stroke of luck. A Skandian ship had docked and was about to head out. Carter smiled before dragging the exhausted Simila up to the nearest bar. They found three heavy set men wearing horned helmets. Carter tapped on one of their shoulders and waited.

As the man turned around Carter said, "Excuse me for the sudden asking but do you think you can carry a young boy, me, and two horses to Skandia? We have to pick up somebody." Then he slipped him some coins.

Counting the coins, the Skandian smiled before saying, "Aye sir, we can take ya, but it'll cost ya extra to get you back."

"That's fine, I just need to get to Skandia." Carter said, smiling before walking out with Simila and boarding the ship.

As the Skandians loaded Storm and Smoke and Carter threw Simila into a hammock Carter walked to the helm of the ship and leaned out over the seas. He was halfway there.

"I'm almost there June, just wait a little longer for me." He whispered quietly. Had he known what she had just gone threw in the past day, he would be swimming across the seas riding a shark which would be missing most of its nose. And he would probably be watching Carter eat it too.

Thank you for reading and I'm proud to announce that I have over 1,000 views! Hurray! The next chapter will have little insight on June's situation because I hate myself for writing that scene and would like to stab myself with a rusty pin to death. Rape is a horrible thing and people who do it should get struck by lightning, run over by an eighteen wheeler and then some. That being said Carter is trying to bite my head off and or suffocate me with his legs. And Simila in the background is throwing things at me from his Plexiglas box. Read &Review! OR DIE BY SIMILA'S OMELETT OF DOOM!