The next morning, she groaned as she rolled in her bedroll. Muscles she had long forgotten about ached. Sitting up gingerly, she rummaged through her medicine pack, hoping that she'd remembered to pack her salve. Luck held for her, and she found it tucked away in its usual spot. Belatedly, she remembered Obi had packed for her and marveled that he's remembered how she preferred her medicines. Unscrewing the lid, she smelled the bite of menthol. Dipping in her fingertips, she scooped out some and smoothed it on her thighs and calves under her shift. Immediate relief set in and she sighed. Two more days on horseback and then she planned on taking a very hot bath to ease her strained muscles.

Once she was as nimble as she was going to be, she changed and set about breaking down her part of camp. Kiki, she let sleep as she moved quietly around the tent. Last watch had been Obi's, and his golden eyes greeted hers as she stepped outside of the tent and moved toward her gelding to attach her bags.

"Sleep well, Miss?" he asked, holding a cup of tea ready for her.

"As well as I ever do camping," she replied a little grouchily, accepting the warm cup. She took a small sip, tasting the honey she preferred in her tea already there. Warmth seeped through her, and she savored the drink, always a little surprised that he remembered the small things like this.

The peace was interrupted by a loud grunt and they whipped towards the tent that Zen and Mitsuhide had shared.

"Get off, Zen," Mitsuhide said, exasperated. Zen was not a quiet sleeper and once again his attendant had woken to a foot in his face and an arm curled around his leg as somehow the prince had managed to spin completely around in his sleep.

"Ugh, your breath smells terrible," the prince muttered, his eyes bleary.

"That's my foot, sir."

"Eugh!"

Obi chuckled, knowing well how strange things could be around his Master. He slipped a glance at Shirayuki, who had a fond smile gracing her face. There was some sadness there, too, but when she met his eyes, it cleared.

"Two more days, then Mitsuhide can sleep alone again."

"Perish the thought, Miss."

This earned him a chuckle and his lips canted in a smile. She had been so quiet on the ride. It was unusual. Normally their trips included her listing off all of the flora she saw and its uses. The silence worried him and he knew it was related to the reason for their trip. He didn't know all of the details, but he knew that she had been orphaned early on. While her father was still alive, he wasn't around and she had had to be on her own until she had moved to Clarines. He couldn't help but wonder if she was seeing the similarities between herself and her friend who was now going to be the king of Tanbarun far earlier than any of them had ever imagined.

Straightening up from his crouch by the fire, he stood and passed her a roll from food pack. His fingers lingered on hers and his gaze softened. She might have been alone then, but for as long as she'd allow, he'd follow her and never leave her on her own.

One lost round of Rock, Paper, Scissors later, Zen went to gingerly wake Kiki. Mitsuhide, glad that he had avoided another tongue lashing from the prickly woman, broke down the rest of camp and kicked dirt over the embers of their fire.

Within the half hour, they were ready to go and mounted up for another long day of travel. Once again, Shirayuki rode pillion and looked off into the distance, distracted by her thoughts. It was by pure luck hours later that she had reached forward for her waterskin when the first arrow whizzed by their mount. Obi's eyes darted to the trees and saw archers stretching around the trunks, preparing to fire again.

"Attack," he bellowed, pulling the reins of his horse to the side, hard, startling his mare and causing her to rear slightly as she turned. Miss was behind him and he could not let them hit her or the others. In her surprise, Shirayuki's left arm snaked around his waist and her right arm reached up, around his chest trying to hold on and brace as she pressed herself to his back.

The twang of bowstrings rent the air as the three archers fired again. They had lost the element of surprise, but were determined to finish the group off quickly. They were not aware of who their targets were, but the richness of the trappings of the horses screamed noble and that alone was worth a pretty good purse.

Two of the arrows went wide as the rest of the group turned their horses as well, preparing to take the fight to the archers. The third struck home, lodging itself deeply into Shirayuki's arm that was braced over his chest. Obi felt a slice of fear and rage overtake him at her cry.

"NOOO," he roared as his hands found his knives and whipped them at the bandits before his brain could even catch up. All three archers crumpled; the blades having struck true. The arm around his chest went slack and he felt her slump against his back. Desperately he gripped the arm on his waist as he tried to keep her from slipping off of the mount. Red stained his chest where her arm had been and a small slice split the material. Her arm hung limply to the side, an arrow firmly lodged in her forearm.

"Miss, I've got you. Hang on." His eyes darted through the trees, looking for any other threats and finding none. Zen was beside him in moments, dismounting and sliding the girl down to the ground. Obi followed right after, helping the prince stretch her out onto the ground. Shirayuki hissed through her teeth at the pain of her arm moving and tried to curl it to her.

"Careful," Zen said, holding her gingerly by the elbow. "We'll have to get you fixed up."

"That's my job," she panted lightly, trying to sit up. Zen pushed her shoulder lightly, keeping her down.

"Today I think it'll be my job," Obi said grimly, eyeing the bolt. "Mitsuhide, I'll need your help."

The time he had spent watching her care for the soldiers at the clinic had paid off. He felt gently around arrow, wincing with each cry of pain from his Miss.

"It hit the bone and went through," he said, his lips set in a firm line. "I'm so sorry, Miss, but this is going to hurt."

"It's ok, Obi," she said, eyes squeezed shut tight against the pain.

He grabbed a few items from the pack. Bandages, poultice, splint. The stitches might have to wait til later, he thought. From his prodding, he knew that the bone had split and he wasn't sure how much she could endure. The last thing he pulled from the pack was a leather strip.

"Bite down, Miss," he said gently, "I'll be as quick as I can."

Once she was ready, he pushed the barb of the arrow the rest of the way through her arm, then snapped it off. Her scream was muffled by the leather as she bit down almost hard enough to crack her teeth. He cleaned the wound as best as he could and watched it for a moment, noting the amount of blood coming through. Missed the artery, thank the gods. Carefully he applied the poultice and wrapped the wound, then lined up the splint and gently shifted the bones back in place. At this, the edges of her vision darkened and Shirayuki fainted. Obi's shoulders tightened and he worked as efficiently as he could, setting the splint and binding it, then fixing a sling over her head and around the arm.

Her breathing was short little gasps and showed she was coming back to. He quickly repacked the medical kit and tried to wipe his hands off on his pants. Wipe her blood off of his hands. Mitsuhide shifted back from where he had been holding Shirayuki's shoulders down while Obi worked and Kiki rested a hand on Zen's shoulder. The prince had gone pale at watching him minster to her. Arrow wounds were always ugly.

"Obi," she rasped, her voice worn out from her screaming. He was there in an instant.

"Here, Miss. You're all patched up, but I'm afraid you'll be resting that arm for a bit." His golden eyes looked over her for any other wounds, and finding none, settled on her face. Anything to not see the arm resting on her chest. Proof that once again, he had failed to protect her.

"You're hurt," she said, simply, reaching her uninjured arm up to brush against the slit in his shirt where he had not noticed blood that was not hers.

He started. "A mere flesh wound, don't you worry." Sure enough, a small cut on his chest over his heart had been oozing blood. He realized had her arm not been there, the arrow would have pierced his heart, and no matter how talented his Miss was, there wouldn't have been much anyone could do. The weight of what had happened settled on him and he grasped her hand as she still tried to move his shirt, to examine him. "Rest, Miss. I'm sure Miss Kiki won't mind patching me up this time." He tried for brevity but it fell flat as she gripped his hand, trying to ride through a wave of pain.

"We should check them over, see if we can find out if this was a planned attack," Mitsuhide said, glancing back at the bodies.

"On it, Sir," Obi said grimly, moving to set down her hand and go to the bandits.

"Please, please don't leave me," she plead, clutching his hand tighter. His heart twisted at the sound and he sunk back to his knees, other hand lightly touching her shoulder, rooted as surely as if he was a tree.

"Always," he murmured.

Kiki raised an eyebrow and motioned the other two to the side with her head. "Zen, can you see to the horses? We'll go check out the bandits." Mitsuhide followed her to the bodies.

"What was that?" he asked quietly.

Kiki sighed, "They're being fools."

A quick check of their attackers revealed run of the mill bandits. They shifted them off of the path and removed Obi's blades. Kiki wiped them on the bandits' pants, grimacing at the thought of being on the receiving end of one of them. Poor bastards. Though honestly it was faster than if he had gotten his hands on them. Small mercies, she decides. Glancing back over, she sees Zen has rounded up all of the mounts and is glancing over at Shirayuki and Obi with a puzzled look on his face. She shook her head lightly. The breakup had been mutual but still hard. Kiki had suspected for a bit that there was more between the red haired girl and her guard, but she had not realized how strong the former assassin's feelings were. Zen would have to just come to terms with it on his own.

Kiki slowed her steps on her way back to the group. Obi's head was bowed over the small girl, his eyes closed and his mouth moving in words that the wind stole away before they could reach her ears. He was so still he almost looked like he was in prayer, if the man could even pray. Upon hearing her approach, he lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes flicking to his daggers in her hand.

"Thanks, Miss Kiki," he said, reaching up his free hand to take them back and sheathe them at his side. He knew they couldn't afford to stay here much longer, not if bandit activity had picked back up in the forest.

"Obi? Do you think we can move her? I'd like to get closer to Tanbarun tonight before we set up for the night. The sooner we're in the castle, the better." Worry tinged Zen's voice, and his eyes skated over the trees, looking for any other threats.

"Miss?" Obi looked back down to the girl, who had quieted some and had eased her grip on his hand.

"We need to go," she said, pain coloring her tone, "Raj needs us."

Damn Raj, Obi thought as he nodded, bracing behind her shoulders as helped her sit up. After getting her to standing, he passed her carefully over to Mitsuhide and mounted, then between the knights, they got her up in front of him. Obi was not confident in her ability to hang on one handed, and her sore arm bumping against his back was sure not to aide in any healing.

Once the rest of the group was mounted, they turned back to the path, going slightly slower than before, but it was no use. Every jolt speared through her arm and Shirayuki gritted her teeth together, trying not to cry out in pain. Obi's arm tightened its hold around her waist. "Miss? Will you be alright?"

"I – I don't know if I can… It hurts too much," she panted, trying to keep from curling in on herself. "I need – I need something for the pain."

He was an idiot. Of course she needed something for the pain. What a piss poor healer he was. It's a good thing she was their Miss. Carefully he settled her back against his chest and unwound his arm from her. He rifled through the medicine pack, looking for any kind of pain killers. Willow bark, devil's claw, alone they'd handle minor pain, but nothing like this. He bit his lip in frustration, there was no way they'd make it the rest of the way like this.

"Try – try the new one," she groaned, her good hand clenching the front of the saddle hard enough that she thought her fingernails might leave an impression.

"Miss, are you sure?" His brow furrowed as his hand hovered over the pouch, unsure of trying such a potent medicine.

Her arm jolted again and she hissed in pain. "Yes. Three drops."

"Miss."

"Now, Obi," she gritted out, firmer than she usually was with him.

"If you insist," he said, carefully unscrewing the dropper. She twisted towards him and opened her mouth. His normally steady hands trembled lightly as he focused on the dropper. One. Two. Three. As he went to draw his hand back, the horse stumbled, foot catching on a rock and a fourth drop flew perilously close to her mouth. Heart in his throat, he pulled his hand back and stoppered the bottle. He then swiped the pad of his thumb over her lip where the droplet had landed, wiping it away.

With a long sigh, she relaxed back against him and went limp. Cursing, he slid the bottle into his pocket and caught her before she could fall. Anxiously he dipped his head down, waiting to feel her breath against his cheek. Soft puffs blew against him and his heart unclenched some.

"Thank the gods," he sighed, "I wasn't ready for us to meet them quite yet."

Arranging her legs over his lap and cradling her to his chest, he held her close. Her head lolled against his chest, hair lightly slicked with sweat. Zen and the others looked back at him, concerned. He shook his head slightly and tightened his arm around her, the other holding the reins lightly. They should get as far as they could while she rested. They continued through the afternoon, stopping only briefly to water the horses. Shirayuki slept, the only signs of life the rise and fall of her chest. Obi had long since stopped checking her pulse, trusting that the slow, steady pace meant that he had removed the errant drop of medicine in time and no harm had been done.