Faye and I are already next to the fountain. I can hear snoring coming from James's tent. Its been about an hour since Zak and Bear went into theirs'. 

Faye only has her armor on. James took her bow and my dagger when we got to the 'safe room'. I do have that giant bow in my inventory, but no arrows. We really need to hit up that village and steal as much as we can.

"You ready Faye?" I ask her. I don't wait for her to answer and take out the key handing it to her. I don't know how to use it. She takes it and uses it to take mine off. Relief floods through me. She does the same for herself. Then hands her Collar and the key to me. We had already discussed hiding them in my inventory. I don't think it really matters, but it cant hurt.

"Yes. Just hold my hand." She finally responds to me. I grab her hand and she touches the fountain with her free hand. I have a feeling like something is off. Like i'm forgetting something. I put it off as just my nerves. Faye closes her eyes then my vision suddenly goes all kaleidoscope like on me. My stomach up turns and I feel like i'm free falling on some carnival ride. There is a dull buzzing in my ears. Its too much and I start to hurl, losing what little meat I ate.

"You okay?" Faye asks me. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you to close your eyes. It's not so bad like that." Sure its not. "Here let me clean your mouth" she says covering my mouth with her hand.

My vision recovers and i'm standing exactly where I was in front of the fountain only now it has chunks floating in it. Gross.

"Sorry. We should hurry." I'm really not liking this child body. All I do is cry and puke.

"Right" She grabs my hand and pulls me along with her to the exit. (Thump, Thump) (Shuffle)

I hear footsteps in front us. Faye must hear them too because she came to a dead stop and tightened her grip on my hand. I look straight ahead as the footsteps approach...

{POV Switch}[Faye]

"John?" I call out. I can see his outline now. "Wh-Why are you here?" I can feel Yuna's hand tighten its grip.

"She knew." John responds. "Miss Kira asked me if you were acting strangely. I had to tell her everything I knew. I'm sorry. It seems all of this was to bring out the truth about the girl. Her age was blank in her status and she knows Inventory. She was going to create an opportunity for her to escape, but she didn't expect you to get involved." John tells me in a morose tone. "I'm to kill you and bring her back if you tried to escape." Yuna is gripping my hand so tightly that it hurts. I look at her. I thought it worked out, but I failed and its cost me my life.

I look into her eyes to apologize to her, but what I see there stops me. I thought I would see despair and hopelessness in her eyes, but what is there is resoluteness. Then she smiled at me and let go of my hand. 

"It's okay" She says then turns to John. "You can have me, but you can't have her, let alone her life." she started to move forward, but I reached out and grabbed her.

"What are you doing!?" I loudly hiss at her. I don't want her to die.. , but I don't want her to stay with Mistress either. Maybe dying would be better. Fine. Then we both die here.

"What I must" she answers.

"Okay. Then I will as well." I say releasing her and stepping forward with her. "I'm sorry Yuna" I tell her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I feel only gratitude towards you. So, thank you, really" she says turning to look at me again. I do see a little sadness in her eyes this time. Then I heard her mutter very quietly "This time my death will mean something" She said then took off at a run towards John.

"Just because I need you alive doesn't mean I won't injure you." John informs her, getting in a fighting stance and not bothering to draw his sword. I'm not very good at close quarter combat. And from what I saw earlier today, neither is Yuna. I run after her none the less. She has just gotten in range of John when he kicks out at her.

She trys to dodge towards the inside of his leg, but it catches her leg and she gets thrown to the side and I hear the (Crack) of bone breaking. She doesn't make a sound as she lays on the floor. I stop in my tracks.

"I"m sorry Faye. I wanted you to get away with her, but.. well, it just wasn't meant to be." John says. He's about thirty feet in front of me still and he draws his sword. "I'll make it quick Faye." He promises, then started walking to me. My death is walking towards me in such a causal way. Do I amount to so little? I catch movement from Yuna. She looks up at me.

"Distract him." I hear her whisper. That's right! I can do that at least. Take his attention long enough for her to run.

"I'm not going to go down without a fight!" I yell at him. Stepping back and towards the fountain. Forming a plan to keep it in-between us, hindering him.

"(Sigh) I know you may think that, but you are no match for me Faye." His voice is sympathetic. My death has pity for me.

Yuna is now up, but she isn't running away. She is quietly coming up behind him. 'What are you doing!?!' I want to yell at her.

When she gets behind him he spins around kicking her again. This time catching the upper right side of her chest. I hear several popping noises. When she lands she struggles to look up at me.

"Run!!" she yells at me and then starts coughing up blood.

"What!?" I hear John exclaim in pain. I look at him, he's on one knee with his hands are griping his left leg. I look and there is a Collar wrapped around it. It's being pulled straight down towards the floor crushing his foot. I'm shocked at this development, but I still hurry to Yuna.

"No! L-(Cough)-leave me (cough) a-and run!" she yells at me through her coughing when I get to her.

"I'm not leaving you." I calmly tell her picking her up. I look at John. He hasn't detached the Collar so he must not have his key with him. He has stood up and is shuffling his way over towards the exit. He can no longer lift that leg and is putting in a lot of effort just to drag it. He plans to block the entrance to stop us from leaving. Yuna continues to try and protest, but I ignore her and hold her as tightly as I dare to. John is looking back at us while he trudges forward. I need to buy us more time or we won't get anywhere. He will just go back down to lvl 5 and alert Mistress that we escaped. We won't even have ten mins ahead of them. I think about it for a moment.

"Yuna give me another Collar." I tell her setting her down gently. 

"Why wont you just leave me?" She asks.

"Why would I?" I counter. "Now hurry and give me the other Collar." She looks at me for a moment then (sighs) and the Collar appears in her right hand. I take it and head towards John. He is almost to the exit, but stops when he see's me coming.

"I can't let you leave Faye." He sounds like he is in a lot of pain. Soon to be even more.

"I don't care what you can or cant do." I start running towards him. He has forgotten his sword on the ground and I grab it on the way by. He see's this and takes the Great sword off of his back. I don't know how to use the sword, but I know he has a much greater reach then me. But he is also almost stationary because off his leg. I continue towards him and stop just outside of what I think his range is and start to circle around him as fast as I can. 

When i'm almost behind him, he grips his sword in both hands and wildly spins around towards me slashing horizontally at me. He has to pivot on his injured foot. I can see him grimace in pain as he spins around. He manages to keep his balance as I hop further away from him. It came close to hitting me. Too close. I circle him again. He seems to have caught on to my strategy immediately because he's now inching towards the wall. I need to go faster.

I manage to get around him a few more times, but he always managed to keep his balance. I can tell he only has a few more times in him though. Unfortunately, he's made it close enough to the wall that I can't safely go behind him any longer. 'How can I get him away from the wall? Think!'

"It's over Faye. You lived up to your words. You didn't go down without a fight." 'What kind of Bullshit is he spouting? This isnt over yet. He has to kill me first, otherwi- That's Right! I got it!'

"You're right." I say smiling. I hurried away from him towards Yuna. I carefully picked her up while holding the sword and Collar. I start walking to the now unblocked entrance.

"No!! You Cant!" John screamed at me. I looked over and he was shuffling as fast as he could towards me leaving the wall behind. His face grimaced in pain. He can't 'not' come over and stop us. He was told to stop us, so he cant stay over there with his back to the wall.

"Whats wrong John?" I ask him innocently. I feel a little bad because I know he doesn't have a choice, but.. I place Yuna back on the ground. Blood is dripping from her mouth and her breathing is ragged, but her eyes are still open and she is still watching me.

"I'm sorry John, but we are leaving one way or another." I hurry towards him and start around towards his back. 

"Damnit!" He curses and we start our dance again. 

The third time he finally stumbles, but I don't jump at him. 'What if he is faking it?' I let him recover and circle behind him. I do it 4 more times and I hear a crunch and he gasps in pain and falls to the floor. I Jump at him this time dropping the useless sword. I leap onto his back and force the Collar around his neck.

As I connect the ends I feel a punch to my stomach. I scurry off of him as fast as I can. When i'm out of his reach I look down and there is a knife sticking out of me. It seems i'm going to die after all. Soon, but not yet.

"Goodbye John." I say to him as he struggles to move now that he is pinned to the ground by his neck. "Thank you for trying to help me when you could." He stops and looks at me. I can see sympathy in his eyes again.

"I truly am sorry, Faye." John pauses his furious thrashing to look at me. "You may yet still live. Take her and Run!" John yells out then resumes his struggle to come after us.

I pull out the knife and hurry towards Yuna. I barely feel any pain from it. Yuna has tears running down her face now.

"W-we (Cough, cough) have to go b-back (cough) down! (Cough, cough, cough) Y-you need one of those p-potions(Cough)." She pleads at me while blood flies out of her mouth every time she coughs. We both need one, but I know we won't be able to get one. I just smile sadly at her.

"Put this knife in your Inventory. We have to go." She looks at it then reaches out and touches it. It disappears. It truly is something. Only someone special can know that Skill. In this Kingdom its only Royalty that has it.

I Pick her up and start out of the Dungeon into the cave at a fast jog. I know I don't have much time and neither does she. The way she is breathing and coughing up blood. Her lung has most likely been pierced by her ribs.

I won't give up yet.

I get out of the cave and head for the cabin and the stables behind it. Its well into the night. I hurry in to the stable. I try to approach the first horse I see, but it shies away from me neighing. I hurry to the next one. Its allows me to approach it. I reach out and pet its cheek.

"Will you bear us for a little while?" I ask it. I don't know if it can understand me, but I still ask it for permission. It doesn't have any tack or a saddle on so all I can do is open the gate for its pen. It immediately starts to head out of the stable.

"Wait!" I call out. It stops and turns to look at me then Neighs. I hurry after it with Yuna. Her eyes are starting to lose focus.

"Yuna. Stay with me okay? Don't go to sleep!" She mumbled something unintelligible at me. I hurry to the horse and Lift Yuna up to it and try to drape her over it. Now I need to get up...

The horse is next to the stable door which can be unlatched so it will horizontally split in half. I do so, then I climb that first then I jump over and scramble on to the horse. I don't think it liked me doing that, but i didn't have a choice. I shimmy up further on the horse to Yuna. She isn't breathing. I lift her up as fast as I can so she is sitting in front of me leaning into my stomach.  She coughs up some blood and starts to breath. I reach around her and grab the horses mane and tighten my legs on its flanks slightly.

"Can you please take us out of the forest towards the village?" I ask the horse hoping it understands. 

The horse just starts walking out at a slow pace heading around the cabin. As we get to the front, it starts heading down the trail back towards town while picking up the pace. I don't know what to do now. My lower body is covered in my blood and the pain has finally arrived. 

MutedLight

The horses are called something else, but I decided to just refer to them as horses to not unnecessarily complicate it.