We were heading for where we heard the Raven had been spotted: Limmat.

Currently, Jesper and I were standing at the stern, and I was sitting on the railing while Jesper stood beside me, with his hand on mine.

Suddenly,  everyone was talking about there being two people in a small boat that we were going to rescue.

Turns out it was two girls, one our age and one Ben's age.

Jesper was the only guy not commenting on the girl's looks, he just stood by me, and I was still on the railing.

"Jesper, Cora, come meet Lydia and Lili." Hal said.

Jesper helped me down from the railing even though I didn't need it because he was being nice.

I shook Lydia's hand and waved to Lili.

Jesper shook hands with Lydia, but before he could say anything about Lili, she and Ben tackled him.

I couldn't help but laugh, although, I helped him up.

That night, Jesper and I were the only ones still awake.

"Can you sing again?"

"Oh Jesper. You sound like a little kid."

"Pleeeeaaaase?"

"What if I'm not up to it?"

"Darn."

"I'm picking on you Jes."

"Oh, ok."

  One more depending on a prayer

And we all look away

People pretending everywhere

It's just another day

There's bullets flying through the air

And they still carry on

We watch it happen over there

And then just turn it off

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

We must stand together

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

There's no giving in

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

Hand in hand forever

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's when we all win

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's, that's, that's when we all win

That's, that's, that's when we all win

They tell us everything's alright

And we just go along

How can we fall asleep at night

When something's clearly wrong

When we could feed a starving world

With what we throw away

But all we serve are empty words

That always taste the same

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

We must stand together

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

There's no giving in

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

Hand in hand forever

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's when we all win

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's, that's, that's when we all win

That's, that's, that's when we all win

The right thing to guide us

Is right here inside us

No one can divide us

When the light is nearly gone

But just like a heartbeat

The drumbeat carries on

And the drumbeat carries on

Just like a heart beat

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

We must stand together

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

There's no giving in

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

Hand in hand forever

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's when we all win

Hey, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah

That's, that's, that's when we all win

That's, that's, that's when we all win

Jesper and I sat in a comfortable silence until I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, we put to shore, and Lydia led Stig, Hal, and I through the swamp.

That's when we ran into trouble.

Some of Limmatian wanted to kill us because Zavac had taken over Limmat, and they thought we were going to attak them as well, but Lydia put a stop to it.

Turns out the guy in charge was named Barat.

He kissed the back of my right hand.

I was repulsed.

Jesper won't like this guy either, I thought.

"I'm Cora, Erak's daughter." I said, introducing myself.

"Erak... I've heard that name before." Barat said.

"Well, considering he is the Oberjarl,  or leader, of Skandia, a lot of people have heard of him."

"Ahhh, ok."

We eventually headed back to camp, and I was talking to Lydia as we sat around the fire.

"I see why you don't like Barat. I mean, my only problem with him is he assumes every girl is in love with him." I said, causing Jesper to suddenly pay attention. "I mean, does he do that to every girl he meets, kiss their right hand?"

"Yes, he constantly flirts too." Lydia replied.

"Well he needs to back off of Cora." Jesper grumbled.

I smiled slightly at that.

"Calm down Jes. He is a pompous idiot and has as much chance with me as Tursgud and Sean." I told him, ruffling his hair.

Later that evening, I took Ben and taught him some drawing techniques.

Then, from by the fire, I heard a conversation.

"Hey, Jes, did Hal tell you his plan yet?" Wulf asked.

Uh-oh. This was going to go badly.

"What did you just call me?"

"Uhh..."

"No one calls me Jes but Cora, understand?"

"Yes."

"Everyone else got it?"

Everyone nodded, and conversation continued.

The next day, Svengal and the crew of Wolfwind found us.

I inwardly groaned.

We're done for, I thought.

"You've come to take us back, haven't you Svengal?" Missy asked.

"Nope, we've come to help!"

"Svengal,  how is daddy?" I asked, a little childishly.

"Cora, he's been drinking more than Thorn used to. Jesper's mother and Karina were trying to talk some sense into him, and Jesper's mother mentioned something about letters, and that's all I know."

"Letters? About what?"

"I don't know.  Maybe you should ask Jesper, who is turning a very bright shade of red!" Svengal laughed.

I turned to Jesper,  who was as red as a tomato and obviously embarrassed about something, so I made a decision.

"I don't want to know." I said.

A couple days later, we were taking the Limmatians to the other side of the town.

We had just gotten all the Limmatians to the other side.

Stig made me come with him to talk to Barat.

As we were approaching,  I was complaining.

"But Stig, Jesper can't swim! He and Hal could die! Hal can't support his weight forever if he comes untied from the log! We need to get going!"

I saw the look on Barat's face, and I don't think he liked the fact that I was so worried about Jesper.

"He knew what he was getting himself into!" Barat exclaimed.

"I didn't ask for your opinion,  you pompous idiot, so just shut the heck up before I really lose my temper. Give us a couple of your men so we can go get them."

"No! They're idiots who can drown for all I care!"

That's it. This son of a biscut needs to be taught a lesson.

I punched him as hard as I could, harder than I ever hit Tursgud, or anyone, for that matter.

He flew back, I'm not sure how far, and he was unconscious.

We took six men and went to find Hal and Jesper.

When we found them, I hugged Jesper tightly, then got towels and began drying him off and getting his wet shirt off since that was only making the cold wind worse.

Suddenly, he took my face in his hands and kissed me, not letting me break the kiss.

"Come on Jes, I need to get you dried off before you get frostbite, or worse." I said softly against his lips.

He let go reluctantly,  and I finished drying him off and put a new, dry, warm shirt on him.

I kissed his cheek before going back to the till, so we didn't get spotted by the gaurds, because we were coming a little close for my liking.

A small gust of wind hit, and I shivered slightly.

Suddenly, someone put their arms around me, and it felt as if they had a blanket around them.

"Just because I almost got pneumonia, doesn't mean you have to be cold." he said.

"I'm not cold, Jes, honestly."

"Oh just shut up and let me stand here." he growled softly, pressing his lips to my neck.

"Ok. D-did you hear what Svengal said earlier. A-about m-my dad?"

"Yes, it'll be ok, I promise."

"Ok."

He rested his chin on my shoulder, and stayed with me till we got back to where we beached the ship.

The next day, we attacked Limmat.

Everything was going perfect... Until Ingvar was taken down.

When we sieged the shore, I slipped away to find Zavac, which I did. Only  for him to stab my right thigh, side, and take a poisoned arrow an inch away from my heart.

I stayed awake long enough to send Ben to get Jesper, who carried me to the others, and give Svengal a note for my father.

I started to see black dots, and Jesper kissed me before I blacked out.