She finally made her way out of the greathall and hid in the dark shadows of the courtyard. Entering the stables she neared Talbot and he greeted her with a nudge and deep breath.

Oh! Talbot how am I going to get us past the tower guard?

She caressed his head and rubbed his neck gingerly. She took to the task of saddling him and fixing him up to mount him.

"Going for a midnight stroll?" the familiar voice spoke and came closer.

Her heart caught in her throat at being discovered.

She watched as Katherine came closer and stood to the side with arms crossed.

"So what I suppose your going to run and tell Gavin I am leaving?" Brienna faced Katherine.

With an amused tone and intrigue she stepped closer.

"Are you, But why? I hope your not leaving on my account."

Stepping back annoyed with her tone, Brienna continued readying Talbot.

"Rest easy my lady, your not the cause. T'is a departure long overdue, But unlike most, I know when to leave," Brienna retorted.

The darkness of the stable hid Katherines nasty glare.

She stood silent for a while and watched Brienna tighten Talbots saddle.

"So you are really leaving?" the eagerness in her tone was evident.

Pausing, Brienna looked up towards her.

"Aye, I must. If I stay here any longer, then my purpose for training and getting better at my skills would be all for naught," she spoke with few details.

Confused Katherine watched Brienna mount Talbot.

Excited and eager for her to go, she inched closer to Talbot and looked up at Brienna.

"How will you leave with the tower guard on watch?" she asked.

Slowly walking beside her as Talbot walked forward.

"I am pretty sure you, more than any one can think of a way to distract him," Brienna nodded towards the tower.

Knowing full well what type of a woman Katherine was, it was no secret to what she was willing to do to get Brienna far away from Ravenhurst either.

The tower guard turned in time to see Katherine stand before him.

"M'lady your not allowed to be he..," his voice trailed off as he watched her drop her chemise to pool around her feet. The moonlit night gave him an expansive view of her inviting voluptuous curves.

Crooking her finger slowly for him to come closer, he obeyed.

In a slow trot, Brienna looked up and watched as the tower guard turned and disappeared. With one last glance, her heart thumped in her chest.

Her tears fell freely.

I will avenge your death papa, and bring Defoe to his knees.

With those words she turned Talbot around, and rode out into the dark night.

******

The loud knock at his door stirred him from his sleep, the second woke him up in curses and moans.

Flopping over to his side he felt for the warmth of Brienna, but she wasnt there. The knock again came with Harouns voice begging him entry.

With an oath and growl he shouted for him to come in, Haroun barged in quickly to see him alone in his bed and regarded him with a look that had Gavin concerned.

"Talbot is gone," Haroun spoke quickly.

"Horse thieves?" he asked sitting up quickly he began to dress.

Haroun hesitated.

"No, Brienna," he spoke in a low voice.

Gavin sat and dragged on his boots then looked up at Haroun with a quizical stare.

"What about Brienna?" Gavin stared at him.

"She took Talbot, I confirmed my suspicions when I did not see her here with you. She is no where to be found. "

"She left," Haroun swallowed as he watched Gavins face turn from disbelief to full rage.

In a fluid motion he was out the door in two strides. He walked quickly in to the greathall and bellowed her name in anger.

The scuffles and screams of Kevin dragging Katherine and Gawain into the greathall, broke him from his thoughts.

He whirled around to see him drag them before him.

"What is the meaning of this," Gavin yelled.

"Milord, Gawain was not at his post last night, I suspect that is how milady was able to leave undetected," he shoved Katherine forward.

"He was being entertained by this one."

Quickly Gavin held her at arms length with a scowl.

"Is this true?" he stared at her in disbelief.

With a defiant chin raised and triumphant smile, she sneered.

"I finally got rid of her, I helped her leave," she gave a deviant smile.

In shock Gavin stepped back.

"Why would you do such a thing?"

The cries of Naan and Mags was behind him.

"Milord you must find her, she..." Naan stopped mid sentence when all eyes turned to look at her.

Nervously she twisted her skirts and gave Gavin a pleading motherly stare.

Gavin stared into the elderly womans nervous glare and his heart began to pound out of control. His uncontrollable rage only made her step back away from his gaze.

"Speak Naan," he grew impatient.

Naan swallowed hard, but the lump in her throat wouldn't go away. Fresh tears began to fall looking at Gavins now anguished stare.

"She is with child, and she is unaware of it" Naan cried through trembling lips as tears began to fall like waterfalls.

As if kicked hard in the gut, Gavin gasped and stepped back. His ears were decieving him, he tried to comprehend what he heard. His heart lunged and rage blinded him again as he heard Katherine gasp.

In a blink of an eye, all stepped back and cringed at his roar as he lunged at her, held her neck in an iron grip and slammed her up against the wall.

"What did you do, you bloody whore?" enraged with so much hate he squeezed harder as she clawed at his merciless hand.

"You have done nothing but cause strife and discomfort in my home. I regret the day I ever met you," he shouted.

He never felt the arms around his neck from one of the guards, or the pleading of Naan and her shaking hands that held his arms, keeping him from strangling Katherine to death.

As if he were a burly beast he shook them off and slammed her again against the wall ringing a scream and cry from her lips.

"Where is she? tell me or I squeeze the life out of you this instant," reluctance stared at his murderous glare, but disappeared as he squeezed her tighter.

She looked as if she would rather die and welcome death,  than utter a word of Brienna's whereabouts.

Haroun pleaded with him to let her go. Dead, she can not speak.

He shot Haroun a heated glare that was matched with his own because he wouldn't back down.

With disgust he shoved her away. His eyes never left hers, with so much hate and disdain he spoke.

"If any harm comes to my wife and my child. I will kill you. Take her to the dungeon."

Katherine kicked and screamed as she was dragged off by two guards.

Haroun turned to look at Gavin and observed his friend.

Gavin silently turned and walked out to the stables. He needed to find her.

Lost in thought, he mounted his horse and pulled out of the stable. Quickly he noticed a few of his men and squires mounted as well.

"We ride with you milord," Kevin announced pulling his horse forward.

Pulling up to his side, Haroun nodded to them all.

"Aye, we will all help find her."

The heaviness in his heart would not let up. His grim look instilled a weary feeling in them all.

"Milord!" Naan called out to him.

Pulling his horse close to her, he looked down into her sad eyes.

"Bring her back safe," It was more of warning than a plea he felt in her tone. She had developed a mothely love for her.

Trying to grasp for some control on his anger and heartache he nodded, turned his horse around rode of with his men following.

******

She rode for hours and her backside was feeling it. She was feeling exhausted and hungry. Her thoughts were on Gavin and how they all must be frantically searching for her. Her thoughts had her so entranced she was scarcely aware of the wood growing darker as she rode deep in its thickeness of tall trees and bushes. The tallest of the trees hovered over one another blocking the days light.

The cool air got chillier riding in to shadowed woods.

The canopied green overhead darkened the area giving it an eerie look about it. Suddenly a feeling of alarm settled in her spine. His words came to her as she immediately looked around.

"Stay alert, always ready and strive to be aware of your surroundings and the terrain around you."

Closing her eyes to Gavins words she tried to calm her emotions and her breathing. She wanted so desperately to cry. Tired of riding Talbot, she dismounted and stretched her now shaky wobbly legs from disuse. Angry with herself for being so weak and vulnerable in a blink of an eye, she was surrounded by men who slowly walked out from behind the nearby bushs. Her heart clammored in her chest as she looked at them. A good six of them stood spread out before her.

She readily had her hands on the hilt of her sword.

In battle mode as they began to inch forward with swords drawn, she unclipped her hook from her cape, pulled the hood down and tossed the cape to the floor and stood her ground with sword ready in hand.

They stopped mid way as if in shock and slowly she saw as they lowered their swords.

Confused with forrowed brows she continued to hold her guard.

"Brienna!" the deep voice from behind her croaked.

Slowly she turned.

The familiar face covered with dirt and grime stared at her.

She blinked trying hard not to back away as he inched forward.

She slowly looked around to all of them and recognized them. The dirty faces with unshaven beards and unkept hair did not hide the familiar eyes.

Quickly she turned to look back at the man, they slowly walked toward her. His kind smile and cautioned raise hands meant he was not dangerous.

All images flooded back to her of her home, her family and those that died. Those she thought had died. Quickly she looked up and couldnt contain her emotions.

"Edward!" she gasped as tears fell.

This was not real, they were not real. Her mind was playing games with her. She was going mad because of lack of food.

He stood before her tall as ever.

The impression was two great and she began to breathe faster, her head began to spin and the last she heard was an oath slip from his lips before darkness claimed her.

She fainted before him and quickly he grabbed her before she slid to the floor.

*******

It was morning when she finally opened her eyes. With a gasp she sat up quickly and saw the familiar faces again.

It wasn't a dream...

They sat around a large fire and she watched as Edward came forward and sat beside her offering her cup of warm broth.

" I am glad your ok. Take it, it will warm you up," he placed it in her hands.

Silently she sat and sipped. Looking to her side she stared at him.

He sat with his knees bent to his chest and placed his elbows above them.

"I can assure you, I am not a ghost," He smiled turning to look at her.

"What happened? how are you still alive?" she closed her eyes trying to erase the image of holding on to his hand as she was being dragged away.

"Sir Collin found me along with those that werent too badly hurt," he nodded towards her fathers head of the guard.

She watched as he came forward with a sad look and knelt before her.

He looked at her for while.

"Upon yer fathers request we were to find ye, take ye and leave, he told me where he hid ye but, the attack was too great from all sides, I never got to you intime." he looked away.

"I looked for ye and I found Edward, he told me ye had been taken,"

She saw as his eyes glazed over with tears.

"We have trailed behind that bastard in search for ye lass, but when we last looked you werent with him, and we feared the worse," he breathed.

"Where have ye been lass, we thought ye were dead," he clasped his hard callused hands in hers.

She turned to look at their concerned gazes.

"I was injured. Defoe shot me with an arrow, and Lord Gavin found me," she dashed away a tear.

"The Earl found you! but how did he know?" Edward questioned.

"Thomas rode to find help," she looked at them as their gazes with hope that another survived quickly disappeared as she mentioned he did not survive his injuries.

She continued to retell all that happened.

"He married you lass?" Collin let out a brief choked tear filled laugh and rubbed her hands.

"But, how are ye here alone. What happened? Did he mistreat ye? Immediately his eyes turned dark with anger.

Shaking her head, she sniffed.

"Nay, he has shown nothing but love for me. But...tis I who left," she spoke.

His concerned look turned to horror he stood and stepped back.

"If he loves ye as ye say he does, then he must be at his wits end searching for ye. Lass, a man of his fury is not to take lightly, he will be looking for ye, Ye must go back to him lass, " he began to pace nervously.

Shaking her head she refused.

"Nay, I cant. I made a promise to avenge my fathers death. With or without your help I will do it," She stood up to face them.

They exchanged glances with each other.

They watched as she angrily stormed off towards her horse.

Quickly Edward ran to stand before her.

She defiantly looked at him and stood her ground ready to fight any who stopped her.

With tear filled eyes she spoke enraged and filled with so much anger.

"I can not be at peace until I know he has paid for what he did. I am done hiding and running," she cried.

Silently they stood watching her pull her horse close.

"She is right. We can not hide anymore, we are done running. That bastard must pay," Collin stepped forward and knelt before her.

"His men killed my wife and unborn child, I have dreamt of nothing else but to make them pay for what they did," Franklin another guard stepped forward enraged with tears in his eyes, he knelt before her.

Soon each one of them followed and all knelt before her.

Edward turned and knelt before her as well.

"We ride with you m'lady, we will fight together," he spoke.

She looked at them all and nodded her head.

In a loud cheer and clank of their swords they stood.

Collin turned to look at her.

"Now we need a plan m'lady if we are to bring Defoe and his men down.... And a bloody good one at that."