She tired faster than she used to, and was panting by the time she reached the path that led to the ruin. She almost stopped and walked, but she knew she didn't have the time to train gently. Twisting her fingers into her tunic to quell a tearing stitch, she gritted her teeth and jogged on. The pain was both glorifying and horrible, her tongue ached from lack of oxygen, and she felt horribly unfit. Every breath was like inhaling chips of glass, but it was better than spending another day doing nothing.

Her steps were small and stumbling by the time she reached the ruin, but she lifted her head and lengthened her stride just in case the hunter was awake and about.

He wasn't. When she walked into the ruin, legs aching and chest heaving, he was lying beneath the last chunk of roof, wrapped in blankets and a leather sleeping sack. She gasped. The lock of hair she'd seen fall from his hood last time really hadn't done justice to the rest of it. The strands fell at least to his shoulders, mussed with sleep, and were the same colour of gold. Yet with hints of fiery red, and streaks of cinnamon browns. Beneath the silken mass of phoenix feather, his face was young and innocent. Suddenly, Mycena realised he couldn't be hardly any older than her. He had been so hard and cold before, there was no space left on his face for the youth to shine through. But in sleep no expressions of anger marred the perfect peace upon his features.

She suddenly realised she was staring, and quickly backed away from the ruin and round to greet Ebony. Her horse was delighted to see her, and pushed her braids around with her nose. Mycena scratched her strong neck, and looked around to see that there was new hay and fresh water in the small trough. The hunter. She would thank him when he woke up. But for now, riding.

She and Ebony flew along in perfect harmony, the trees flashing past. Mycena couldn't have said where her horse ended and she began, they raced as one being and with one mind. She hardly had to touch the reins, instead allowing Ebony to lead wherever the horse wanted. A fallen tree rushed towards them, then rushed away beneath as Ebony leapt like a deer and hit the ground running. Mycena stood in the stirrups, whooping her joy to the early morning sky. The sun had risen a while ago, it being summer, but pink was still washed across the horizon. Clouds were picked out with hints of flamingo, and when they burst out of the forest they were greeted by a sea mostly blue but with flashes of brilliant rose.

They stopped in a clearing and Mycena went through half an hour of sword practice. Her arms still ached, but the moves were flowing and felt more natural. She was just packing up when her stomach rumbled loudly and she realised something. She'd forgotten any food. She had been relatively used to going a little hungry before her marriage, certainly after what little money her parents had escaped with ran out, and she had gathered wild foods occasionally to fill little gaps when they were particularly hard pressed. She scanned around for berry bushes, it was late summer and wild berries should be plentiful.

She was just about to give up and ride back when she saw a bramble thicket out of the corner of her eye. The small fruits were her favourite, and as a child the thorns only posed a more exciting challenge. She scrambled over and started picking the berries, quickly staining her fingers bright pink.  Some weren't quite ready, but there were plenty that were plump and delicious. She ate until she could eat no more, glorying in the feeling of stuffing herself after always having to eat like a lady at Dastar's palace. When she started to feel sick, she swapped to picking into her undershirt, which she decided to sacrifice to the pink stains in favour of having some more food for later.

The thorns and tangled thicket made for slow picking, but she persevered for what felt like nearly an hour, until her shirt was stuffed so full she could hardly tie it at the top. She stowed her berries in a saddlebag and cantered Ebony out towards the village.

She needed to make more preparations for her planned adventures, and she had brought another necklace and a couple of brooches for her to barter away. She made a mental list of the things she needed; some small bags for things like berries and mushrooms, a tinderbox for starting fires, a good knife for skinning, some string, a sleeping sack, a good cloak and, if possible, a hunting bow and some arrows. She'd only used a bow a few times before, but practice would surely help, and she would need to learn to hunt if she was to survive by herself. She bit her lip at the thought of being alone. She wanted to be free, but she couldn't leave Dastar. He was her everything. He calmed her soul and made her broken spirit whole again. He healed her, and while she could run for a day, maybe two, the thought of not being with him scared her more than she liked to admit. He was part of her, her soulmate, and she didn't exist without him. She couldn't keep going, day after day, without his smile to buoy her up, without his hand to cling to. She bowed her head, aching, but when she lifted it again, her eyes were clear of tears and her jaw was set. She might need Dastar, but she didn't answer to him. He might be her soulmate, but she had a soul too. She had a soul who bowed to no master.

Mycena found and brought some small cloth bags and a hunting knife, but was informed by the shopkeeper that for sleeping rolls and a cloak she would have to go to the next village, two hours ride away. It was midday, so she set off, following the directions the shopkeeper gave her. Ebony's long legs ate up the distance but Mycena realised she hadn't ridden for so long her legs had become weak and she was becoming saddlesore. She shifted slightly on the saddle, trying to ease the chafing without much success.

The town she rode into was much larger than the small village she'd visited previously. The single road was cobbled rather than dirt, and it boasted a blacksmith, a tailor, a tannery and a pawnshop. She visited the pawnshop first, as she didn't want to leave a trail of gold jewelry in her wake, and traded her brooches and necklaces for enough money to buy everything she needed, and more. Her bag was a satisfying weight by her side, carefully tucked into her jacket so it wasn't so noticeable.

She bought a bow and arrows from a stall in the market, and headed into the tailors to look for a cloak. The bell chimed softly as she stepped inside and the tailor came out from the back of the shop. She was a small woman, but her dark red hair reached past her waist, falling arrow straight from around her pale face. She was wearing a simple dark blue dress with a wide leather belt. Mycena eyed her suspiciously. The belt wasn't like anything she'd seen another woman wear, and- There. She caught a glimpse of a slender dirk strapped to the woman's waist, mostly hidden by the folds of her dress.

"What would you like to buy?" the woman asked, her voice soft with a rolling accent. She moved towards Mycena, and the tip of a scarred brown boot peeped out from below the hem of her dress. Who was this lady, with her knife and her boots? She moved like a warrior, but she worked as a tailor? Mycena couldn't work it out.

"I'd like to by a cloak, please," she said, "Brown or grey if possible." The lady studied her intently, and Mycena was suddenly aware that, whilst this lady wore boots and a knife, she was wearing a tunic and a pair of swords. She twisted awkwardly under the scrutiny.

"How old are you?" the woman asked, pursing her lips.

"Uhhh...sixteen.." Why did this woman want to know how old she was? She shifted anxiously, peering deeper into the room. The woman swung round and headed to where the fabrics were held. She returned with two lengths of fabric, a soft drab brown and a dove grey. She held up the grey one, fitting it against Mycena's body.

"A bit long, but I'll tack it up and you can bring it back when you grow into it. What were you wanting it for?"  Mycena froze, but she continued, "Not meaning to be nosy, but it affects how long you want it. Is it for in court, or hunting, or travelling?"

"Uh travelling, I think. Or hunting. Both?"

Ok, so you'll want it not too long, for riding, but long enough to keep the rain out. And I'll get the thicker ones for sleeping rough. What's your price range?"

"Umm.. just get your best, I'll pay whatever."

She looked at her again, then held up the cloaks for her to see. "Which colour would you like? Then I'll get it in the thicker version." Mycena looked at the cloaks. One was a soft pearly grey, with a darker lining. The other was a drab brown, with ripples of green and grey to break up the blank form. She turned it softly, to see a dark midnight blue lining. "I'll have this one."

The tailor returned with the thicker winter coat, and named the price. She counted out the gold pieces from her bag, placing them on the wooden counter. The tailor's eyes widened. "What, are you some sort of renegade heiress or something? Ran off with your husband's treasure and living the wild life?" She winced, because maybe this did count as running off with my husband's treasure. "No..." She managed to stutter out.

The woman leaned forward, "Well, if you ever need a place to stay, my door is always open..."

Mycena bit in a breath. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "That's for me to know and you to find out, little runaway princess." But she clearly couldn't keep it to herself because she blurted a moment later, "Captain Bethany Kyle of the ship Snowbound. Also known as the Stormy Petrel." She looked smug.

"Ship?" Mycena almost sqeaked with excitement.

"Yep," Bethany replied, "fastest ship this side of the narrow straits."

Mycena looked at her closer. "How old are you?"

"25, I ran away when I was 14 and joined the crew of a privateer. Within five years, the Snowbound was mine."

"You're a pirate..." She couldn't keep the awe out of my voice.

She grinned at me. "And a tailor. I've got to give my crew some time in town, and the Snowbound has repairs that need doing. We had a bad summer and I thought some honest work would do me some good. We're almost finished, we're heading back south before the month is out. Weather's awful up here in the winter."

"Within the month..." She wanted to go. But a month..... She needed more time. She couldn't just sail away within a month.

"Anyway," Bethany continued, "I've gotta pack up soon so maybe I'll see you in a few days? If you wanted to come and see the Snowbound I'm up doing repairs on Sunday."

She left the shop in a daze, thoughts of Bethany Kyle whirling around her head like miniature birds. Sailing. The part of her that yearned for adventure knew that she needed to sail away, needed to leave with no road to follow, and sail the path of the moon ...but she couldn't go yet. She couldn't drift away with no thought of what to do next...but wait. Wasn't that what she had wanted all along? No destination? No ties from the past to hold her down? She pulled at her tunic anxiously, unraveling a stray thread. Her mind was a mess of contradictions, and she felt far more lost than she ever had in any desolate forest. She didn't know what to do or where to go.

But then Ebony pushed her nose onto Mycena's face, setting her gold-tipped braids swinging with a puff of grass-scented breath. Mycena smiled. She didn't know what her direction was, but wherever she went, so long as she had Ebony beside her, she was happy. She swung her new cloak around her shoulders and, grabbing Ebony's mane, leapt up onto her horse's broad shoulders. A touch of her heels, and they were away, her cloak snapping behind her. It was cliché, but it felt amazing.

Mycena was starving by the time she pulled Ebony to a halt by the ruin. She inhaled deeply. The scent of a deep, rich stew was drifting from the hunter's shelter. She dismounted, and slightly miserably, pulled the soggy shirt full of blackberries. She eyed it, her stomach growling. She realised she should've brought food from the town.

She jumped slightly as the hunter appeared from around the back of the cottage. He was carrying a bucket, but stopped when he saw her. "Been out all day?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I went to the town to buy a bow."

He acknowledged her with a nod of his head. She was amazed by how he just accepted it. She was the nosiest person ever, if anyone said anything, she wanted to know the whole story. "You know how to use it?"

She was startled by his question. "Um... I was just going to work it out as I went along..." It seemed implausible now. She twisted her foot into the dirt.

"I can show you if you want." Well. She hadn't seen that coming. She finally forced herself to look up, into his face, which was cold and distant again.

"Yes please, that would be amazing!" She winced internally. She sounded way to eager for such a casual suggestion. Ugh. Mind. Get out of the gutter. He's showing you how to use a bow and arrow, for god's sake, not asking you to marry him. Face flaming darkest ruby, she scooped up the bucket he'd set down on the ground. "I'll get the water."

"Stream's down to the left."

She set off, fast, turning to hide her burning face. She couldn't get the image of his flaming green eyes out of her brain. It was like all of the green things in the world, trees and leaves and grass and lizards and the northern lights had all been concentrated down into those two points of brightest green. They were darker than any green eyes she'd ever seen before, like pine needles, but also with swirls of brighter colour. Damn. Why did she know so much about his eyes? She'd looked at him for a grand total of three seconds.

The stream was a silvery babble running between the rocks of a small mossy glade. She stooped to fill the bucket, moving a couple of stones from the stream bed to create a deeper pool. She looked up to see a tiny, fat black bird fly past like a bumblebee. Dipper. She caught a flash of it's white bib before it was gone, and she stood to heave the bucket back towards the ruin. Water slopped over her legs, and she winced, but steadied the bucket and set off at a swift walk.

When she got to the camp, she sat down beside the fire to find the hunter eating, and another bowl of stew waiting for her. She took it gratefully, and started scooping food into her mouth with a rough-hewn wooden spoon. She only realised how hungry she was once she started eating, and soon had gobbled all of the potatoes and chunks of meat. She raised her bowl and drank the rest, juice dribbling down her chin. The hunter only smirked at her. She realised she still didn't know his name.

"What's your name?"

HIs face closed over. Wrong question. "My name doesn't matter. You can call me Fox. She nodded. "I'm Mycena." It was an extended hand of friendship, which he didn't take. She tried again. "I picked some blackberries this morning. We could have them for pudding."

He nodded. "It's been a while since I've had pudding." She knew better than to ask why now. Questions only made him close up more. She brought out the shirt full of berries, and they scooped up handfuls of the slightly squished fruit, juice seeping out between her fingers. She was relaxed and happy, all until he said - "Your husband's men came round this afternoon. They're looking for you." She froze. Dastar.

"I... I'd better get back." She looked up to see the sun low in the sky. "I didn't realise how late it was," she was suddenly flustered. "I'll be going then." He merely nodded and bent to add more branches to the fire. She was almost gone when he said, "If you want to learn to hunt, meet me at 4am the day after tomorrow."

4am! She couldn't think why he wanted to get up then, it would still be half night-time. Still, she didn't know the first thing about hunting, so she wasn't in a position to judge. She jogged smoothly through the trees, the shadows lengthening around her. Dastar's manor appeared like a looming prison before her, and her heart was heavier than she expected as she slipped in through the side gate. The servant she passed gave an audible gasp and dropped the basket he was carrying, but she strode past and headed up through the manor towards the war room.

Well, that was a very long chapter. There didn't seem any way to cut it so.... :)