The storm was gone, and the sun returned. It was the middle of the afternoon when I noticed a small dot of land in the distance. We were almost there. The boat was silent. Guinevere had cleaned off my axe, so that it was spotless. I remembered the day she gave it to me.

I was fighting in the arena, beating every knight with my bare hands, when suddenly Lance became angry and yelled at me to get a weapon. I decided to leave the arena, since I had no idea where I would get one. But I was stopped by Guinevere, who smiled when she saw me. She held out the axe and said to me, "Hunter, even though you're stubborn at times, you're the strongest and bravest man I know. Your courage is remarkable."

I knew, or thought, Guinevere had feelings for me, but I was too cruel to be loved after what had happened in the tavern. Although, Gwen was right about me being courageous, I suppose. I had just wrestled a shark for her. I had used my axe to chop it's head off. I studied the axe carefully. I saw something on it I hadn't noticed before. It had letters carved into the handle. They spelled out, not surprisingly, "Courage."

I was about to ask Guinevere about this, when she said joyfully, "We're here!"

As soon as we docked our boat, Guinevere led our two horses off and she ran onto shore. The shore was rocky and grassy, unlike the Sapphire Islands' sandy coasts.

"Finally!" Guinevere sighed with relief. "I was getting a little seasick," she tried to laugh, but when she saw how serious my face was, she stopped.

"Gwen, the Jade Tribe is close," I murmured, pointing towards the woods. We had to go through to get to the Gold Tribe. I hated the Jade Tribe. They hated King Kraven and planned to take him down. My uncle respected me, more than Guinevere did. He was truly a father to me. If only he had had the sense to attack sooner. He never had the courage to, though. No one did, except me.

"Guinevere, the woods are probably completely guarded by the Jade Tribe. It'll be impossible to just run through on our horses. We have to sneak through. Silently." I tied the horses to trees and told Dream to stay.

"We're going to leave them here?" She asked, sounding worried.

I didn't want to. But they would be too noisy, trotting through the woods.

"I want to take them, Hunter. We can keep quiet. Besides, we'll need them to ride up the mountains," she said.

"Fine, but we have to move slowly, and stealthily."

Night was falling. We had been wandering through the forest for a couple of hours. Surprisingly, we had seen no guards. Guinevere didn't really look scared, actually. She seemed to be talking to her horse, and smiling at it. Suddenly, way ahead of us, a snowy mountain came into view. Guinevere smiled and walked a little faster. I slowed her down. We didn't want to be heard.

My stomach growled so loudly, Gwen whispered, "Do you want me to go get some fruit?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to be caught, and we still had a ways to go.

"You need to eat, Hunter. Who knows if the mountains have any food at all," she whispered.

I shook my head again, more sternly. I turned around to tell her to stop talking, but she was gone.

"Gwen!" I whispered loudly. She had left her horse behind with Dream. I had no idea which way she had gone.

"Gwen!" I had raised my voice. I was now very worried. What if she had been caught? Why couldn't she at least answer my call?

After whispering her name several more times and searching for her, I heard her scream, desperately. I followed the sound, even though it seemed to be coming from all around me. Finally I caught sight of her. She was in someone's garden being beaten by a man. She had obviously tried to steal his food, and he had caught her. I was about to sprint over to her, when suddenly the man saw something out of my sight and retreated. Gwen desperately looked around, saw me, and sprinted over to me. She didn't look that hurt, but I was still angry at her. I held her firmly, as she ran into my arms, sobbing. I could still see the man sprinting away, when an arrow entered his leg. Startled, Guinevere and I sprinted back to the horses and started running.

"Stop! Thieves!" We heard voices of soldiers behind us. I was sick of guards chasing after me. I turned to face them.

"Go Gwen," I said calmly.

She gazed at me worriedly, and stood still.

"Gwen! Don't make me force you! Go now, or I'll make you!" I thought that would scare her away, but it didn't.

"Gwen! I'll knock you out, I swear I will!"

She still didn't leave.

"Run! Now!" That wasn't me. It was a quiet voice, which seemed to be coming from behind a tree.

"Follow me! Please!" The voice whispered again, louder. A brown-haired girl, about Gwen's age, appeared from behind a tree, and beckoned Gwen to follow her. I had no idea who she was, or what to do. But Gwen finally mounted her horse, and followed the girl out of sight.

I mounted Dream. The guards surrounded me. The tallest man, whom I assumed was the Chief, dismounted his horse and said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

When I said nothing, the Chief announced, "You are under arrest for trespassing and stealing. Guards!"

I hit Dream, who immediately shot through the crowd of soldiers, causing them to fall off their steeds. I took off through the woods, when I came to a wide and deep trench, which Dream refused to jump over. Every horse had one silly fear, and Dream's was heights. The soldiers rode towards me. I took out my axe, knowing I had to fight with it. Dream charged straight through the army, as I swung at the soldiers and horses. Many panicked. Many retreated. But the Chief chased after me. I galloped through the woods, trying to think of a way out of this. Dream leapt over bushes and logs as the Chief's horse did the same. Then we came to a river. Dream was used to water, and easily swam across the river. But the Chief's horse whinnied, and panicked so much when he saw the water, that he bucked the chief off his back. I was safe.

Now I just needed to find Guinevere. I knew she was smart enough to head towards the mountains, and to not actually follow that strange girl. I searched around me for a tall mountain. But it was a dark, cloudy night. And I didn't see one mountain. I got off of Dream and started leading her through the woods. I whispered Gwen's name, hoping she'd hear me. But I knew it was hopeless. I had no clue where that girl had taken her. I wouldn't find her.

Frustrated, I threw my fists against a tree, screaming with rage. If only I hadn't left the islands. If only I hadn't killed those men in the tavern. How could this have happened? How could I have been so foolish? This was...definitely my fault.

Panting exhaustedly, I hit the tree again. Wait. This couldn't be a tree. It sounded...hollow. There was a door in this tree. Curiously, I opened the door, and found a staircase leading downward. Dream couldn't fit through the door, so I went down alone. I found a long, twisty tunnel dimly lit with torches. Gripping my axe, I ventured onward. I came to a door, that I could tell wasn't locked. I grasped the handle...and stopped. What was I doing? I needed to find Guinevere. Not explore hidden passageways! Who knew what that girl had done with Gwen? Surely she didn't take her here. I immediately dashed to the staircase. The girl's image was glued in my brain: Long brown hair, big brown eyes, smooth skin, a normal-looking face and about average height. She sounded like any other girl, but I knew exactly what she looked like. I could pick her out of a crowd full of brunette girls. And when I did, I would make her tell me where Gwen was. No matter what it took.

I climbed the staircase and was about to open the door, when I heard hoofsteps outside. The soldiers were out there. But they didn't know I was in here. This door was much too hidden.

Then one yelled, "There! There's the intruder!"

What intruder? Was there another? Did they see me? I opened the door a crack and glanced at the scene. An armored black-haired girl, holding a sword, was running from some guards. Suddenly, one guard ran ahead of the army of soldiers, and threw the girl into some thick bushes. Then the girl disappeared completely.

Soldiers came my way, and one said, "I remember a door being in one of these trees. Maybe she hid in there."

Typical. There were too many to fight. I sprinted down the stairs, through the tunnel, and to the door. I grasped the handle and hoped that Guinevere would be through this door. I pulled the door open and stepped into a small room with four doors. Two girls were standing in it! But they weren't Gwen or the brunette. One was...the black-haired girl I had just seen! The trapdoor had led her here! And the other girl was red-haired, and held a golden bow in her hand. In her quiver, she had many arrows decorated with lime green feathers. They were same arrows that had shot the man who had beaten Guinevere. Where was Guinevere? Who were these girls? My thoughts were interrupted as the fourth door in the corner of the room creaked open.