The girl ran through the rain and mud, not daring to look back. Her sandy colored hair was a mess of tangles, framing a pretty oval shaped, worried face. She ran and ran, listening to the thundering of horses hooves on the wet turf behind her. Come on Rowan, she thought. Not much farther now. She was lying to herself, of course. She had no idea how far away the fort was. She just knew she had to keep running...Running...She had been running almost all her life, along with her mother. They had been separated down the road and she had no idea where she was. She had had several other siblings, but they were all dead.

............................................................................

- Emmalina's Point of View -

"Alright," Uncle John said, letting out a sigh. 

"One more time. Now remember, use your back and legs along with your arms. Before you let go of the string take a deep breath-"

"And let go at the same time." I finished.

"I know Uncle. We've gone over this at least 20 times."

"Make it 21."

I sighed and put my left foot back, drawing the bowstring back with my left hand.

"Very good. I still don't understand why you shoot with your left hand. You're not left handed are you?"

"Nope." I said, trying to concentrate on the target.

"Alright, on three....one...."

I took a deep breath.

"Two...."

I held it.

"Three..."

I let it out just as I let go of the bowstring. The arrow shot through the air at a hundred miles an hour. Shoving past the wind....and.....missing it's mark by a mile.

"I give up." Uncle John said, throwing his hands in the air.

"You have absolutely no talent for archer what so ever."

"Maybe I could learn something else."

"Like what? Robin is the best archer in the kingdom, he expects you to follow in his footsteps...Even if you stink at it."

I held in a laugh. I looked around at the wooden buildings and my eyes landing on the blacksmiths shop. I saw a simple, heavy bladed dirk on a bench. It was old and had a simple leather wrapped handle, and that was it. But it looked like it was sharp. I walked over to it and picked it up, running my fingers on the sides of the blade. I put it up to the sun and saw the fine line of the tip. It was quite sharp. I swung it around a little, testing the balance of it. It was easy to weald and light. It wouldn't be much of a problem carrying this around, compared to a bow and quiver at least.

"You have a good eye, Miss Hood." The Blacksmith said.

"I told you, Burt. Just call me Lina. Or Emma. I don't really care."

"Okay Linn." He smiled.

"That's a new one." And we both laughed.

We got along really well, probably because I was the only girl who ever came here. He was a big man, with black hair and a black goatee. He had brown, almost black, eyes and wore a dirt covered white apron.

"Are you using this?" I asked him, holding up the dirk.

"Nope. Just waiting for somebody to pick it up." He shrugged.

"Could I have it?" I asked.

"I'll pay you back." I hurriedly finished.

"Haha, no need for that, Miss Linn. I'd pay you to take it away. It's a good knife, but I have no use for it."

I thanked him and smiled, running back to Uncle John.

"What about this?" I asked him.

"You want to learn how to use that?" He didn't seemed very impressed.

"Well, it's smaller and easier to carry. Plus, for a fragile girl like me this knife would be very maneuverable." I said, flashing him a smile.

He started to laugh hysterically.

"Fragile girl indeed." He laughed even harder.

"Like I'm gonna believe that."

I started to smile to. Maybe that wasn't the best way to put it.

"Okay, for a person like me. I just think a knife suits me better. Plus, you could probably teach me how to use throwing knifes to, couldn't you?"

"I guess so." He answered, stroking his chin.

"Just don't tell your dad. He'll probably leap on me like a wild cat if he found out you stopped archery practice."

"Oh. You mean....LIKE THIS!!!" I said, jumping on him with all the force I could muster.

He stumbled back and few paces but didn't fall. He was to big for that.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" He asked, holding me at arms length while I through a couple of punches at him.

"Not a bit." I answered, jumping up and curling myself around his back, grabbing his arm and forcing him down on his knees.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"I taught myself. I had to keep some of my old skill for when you came back." I laughed.

He then grabbed the back of my neck and flipped me over his shoulder, making sure I didn't hit the ground too hard.

............................................................................

Rowan ran and ran. Stumbling over rocks and stumps, scrambling back up again before the horses chasing her could find out which direction she'd gone in. She looked around desperately. She couldn't run forever. They had horses and would eventually catch up with her. Then she realized, she was surrounded by trees. She looked around for the best one and then quickly climbed up into tree. She climbed up to the very top where the branches swayed in the wind. She didn't mind that, she had always loved heights when everyone else wouldn't dare go up that high. So she stayed there, in the wind and rain, trying to catch as much sleep as she possibly could.

- HEY EVERYBODY!!! I'm so excited. The first chapter of the second book. Wow. I had no idea I'd get this far. Thank you guys SOOOOOO much for all you've done. You have no idea how much this means to me XD Thanks again :D - Anna