The morning after we had returned from Hillsdale, I woke as the first rays of light came peeking through the window. Quietly sliding out of bed, not wanting to wake Ally, I froze as she moaned and rolled over quickly filling the empty space I had left. Slipping into my clothes, I grabbed an extra set that she had told me now belonged to me. "I'm going to miss you Ally," I whispered, heading to the door. I paused and turned around one last time, giving a small wave before slipping into the kitchen and grabbing a piece of bread. After I had wrapped it up and placed it on top of my clothes, I tiptoed to the door and out of the house. I made my way to the end of the path leading to their house and turned around one last time. "Thank you. You'll never fully understand how much you have done for me. Nor will I ever be able to say thank you enough," I said then turned around ready for my long journey to Jarrow, where I hoped to find my brother. At this moment I had no idea what kind of job I could get at the age of fourteen. I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't think of that right now. I glanced up at the sun to make sure I was heading in the right direction and then let my mind drift off to thoughts of the past days. I could not have been in my own little world for more than five minutes when I heard footsteps running towards me. It wasn't even five yet why on earth was someone else on the road? I turned around and was shocked to see Ally running towards me followed by Peter and Thomas. I stopped walking and waited for the three of them to catch up to me. "What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"We came to get you. Why are you leaving?" Ally asked, grabbing my wrists.

I lowered my head and kicked at the dirt. "I'm going to Jarrow to find a new life," I said quietly.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye? We were worried," Peter said, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, sucking in my bottom lip. "I don't like saying goodbye. You guys have done so much, I felt like I could not stay any longer... I knew if I waited then you would not have let me go alone," I said, slowly looking up at the three.

"Your right we would have refused to let you go by yourself," Thomas said, taking a step towards me, seeming like he was getting ready to hold me back if I decided to run. I lowered my head, not wanting to look at any of them at the moment. "And we still won't let you go alone," He said.

My head shot up and my jaw dropped. "You know the skills I have with a sword. I'll be fine," I said matter-of-factly.

Peter and Thomas chuckled. "We aren't worried about that... I'm worried you'll starve, you did tell me you burn anything you try to cook," Peter said smiling at me.

"Plus Dad and I have come up with a way to get you a job!" Ally said, with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"You did?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Yes we did. So you need to come back with us and we can talk about it over breakfast!" she said, letting go of my wrists. I stayed frozen to my spot not sure if this was a good idea, but then decided it would not hurt to at least go and see what they had come up with.

"Alright, I'll come," I said, taking a step towards the house.

"Good!" Ally exclaimed, jumping onto my back and hugging me tightly. "I can't wait to tell you all about it!" she said, keeping her hands tightly wrapped around my neck.

"She won't be able to listen to you if you choke her to death," Thomas chuckled, pulling his little sister off of me.

"Thank you," I said, rubbing my neck.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry Sam I was just so excited!" Ally said with huge eyes.

"Don't worry about it Ally I'm fine. Let's go, I'm starting to wonder what this idea of yours is," I said, grabbing her hand and walking back to their house.

"I was afraid that they would not be able to find you," Lucy said, pulling me into a hug as we entered the house.

"Ally would never have let us come back without her," Peter said walking over to the table and sitting down next to his father.

"What plan have you conjured up?" I asked, leaning against the kitchen wall.

"Sit down and eat your breakfast then we can move into the living room and they can explain everything," Lucy said, placing a heavenly smelling breakfast on the table. After Lucy was satisfied that we had eaten a healthy breakfast, she allowed us to head into the sitting area for the discussion.

One week later

"I still don't think this will work," I said, as I climbed into the wagon next to Ally.

Ally sighed. "Would you stop doubting the plan," she said, shaking her head. "Dad thinks you have a good shot. Which means you're in," Ally said, crossing her arms.

"He's just saying that to boost my confidence," I thought, but remained quiet. Who would not doubt it though? A past Red Dragon saying that you, a young girl, could put up a good fight against another Red Dragon, it was highly unlikely.

"Are you ladies ready to head out?" Andrew asked, walking out with Lucy.

"No," was my reply as Ally bounced up and down nodding.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

Lucy smiled softly and climbed into the wagon wrapping her arms tightly around me. She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Sam, you can do this. I've seen you practicing with Thomas and I can tell with just a few lessons you will be as smooth as any knight," She said kissing my cheek. I tried to get rid of the lump forming in my throat, but it wouldn't leave.

"I'll try," I whispered.

"That's all we can ask. Remember, that if you need anything you are always welcome here," Lucy told me, giving me one more hug before climbing out of the wagon. "Take care," She called as Andrew clicked the reins and the horse moved forward.

I took a shaky breath as we turned onto the main road. I was on my way to Jarrow to join the knights. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it tightly around myself, not because it was cold; but because it was a comfort. On the outside, I just looked unsure of the events to come, but inside I was terrified. There were so many little details that could go wrong with our plan. If one thing was out of line all the hard work that Andrew and his family had put into the plan would fall apart and I would be left with no hope for my future.

"Higher, get your sword higher Samantha." Andrew instructed me as I blocked another attack from his sword. We were on our second days of travel and had just hopped out of the wagon for lunch when Andrew started to attack me. If I was a normal girl I'd be terrified of all the yelling he had been doing. Luckily for the both of us I wasn't. I could handle strict orders and knew that it was all to improve me. Two hours later Andrew nodded his head and sat down next to Ally. "We'll practice again after dinner," Andrew said, running a rock down the side of his sword to sharpen it. I picked one up and started on my sword.

"Dad you're going to kill her!" Ally exclaimed from her spot. "You practiced three hours straight last night and two when we woke up and now two more hours. And you're going to make her work on a full stomach!" Ally said, throwing her hands in the air.

Andrew chuckled and shook his head. "I'll let you handle this one Sam," He said before walking off to feed the horse. Ally's eyes instantly turned to me.

"Are you really okay with being worked so hard?" Ally asked.

I smiled at my friend and nodded my head slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, tossing the rock in the air, my eyes watched as it landed with a thud. "I was the one that asked Andrew to teach me yesterday. I knew that my skills were lacking and wanted to improve them before we reached Jarrow," I explained.

Ally still looked unsure. "Sam, but dad is working you way too hard. You could barely hold the sword when he said it was finished," Ally cried.

I reached over and placed a hand on Ally's shoulder. "Ally, calm down. I asked for this. I know that it will be hard but it's something I need. If I have any hope of becoming a knight. I need to be trained well. I'm fourteen, most start training at ten. So if I want to be as good as them, I have to push myself. Even if my arms and legs feel like jelly when I am done," I told her, giving Ally a reassuring smile.

Ally sighed and leaned back against the tree behind her. "Fine you win. I'll stop bugging you about your training," She said.

After lunch I picked up my sword and walked away from camp. We were on top of a large hill. I walked to the edge and sat down looking out at the vast land that lay beyond. Andrew told me that it would take us four days to make it to Jarrow. We were on day two. Two more days for me to worry about what is to come. Once in Jarrow things would be so stressful. "Why did they take my parents?" I cried out, throwing a rock down the side of the hill. "How can I go on?" I cried, tucking my head into my hands. "They won't accept a girl. I have no future," I said, shaking my head as the tears flowed down my cheeks. I stiffened as I felt an arm go around my shoulder. I tilted my head to see Andrew sitting next to me. "How long have you been listening?" I asked meekly.

Andrew smiled down and pulled me close. "Since you abused the poor rock," Andrew said.

"Oh," I said, lowering my head.

"Samantha, I know you've only been a part of our lives for a short time, but I can already tell you are strong. You survived a brutal attack on your village. Then you went back, not even I could have done that at your age. You are something special," He said.

I shook my head. "No, I am nothing," I said turning away.

Andrew took my chin in his hand and turned me to face him. "Don't ever say that," He said. "You are special. You have so much potential," Andrew said letting go of my chin. "I know you feel so low right now. I could sit here and tell you I know how you feel because I lost my mom when I was your age, but you have been through so much more," Andrew said, brushing my hair away from my eyes. "But I won't. I will tell you however, that you have a family. Lucy and I will always be here for you." Andrew said, smiling down at me.

I took a deep breath and turned to face Andrew. "Thank you Andrew. You and your family have done so much for me," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "But what happens if they don't accept me?" I asked quietly, once again turning away.

"Then we come up with a new plan!" Ally piped in. Sitting down on my other side. "We won't just leave you Sam. Like dad said you are a part of this family for life," Ally threw her arm around me. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I felt the warmth of two loved ones wrapped around me.

"Thank you for being here for me," I said with a sigh.

Andrew nodded and ruffled my hair as he stood up. "I will give you girls a few moments, but we do need to get back on the road. We still need to make it a good deal before nightfall," Andrew said walking back towards camp.

Ally and I sat in silence wrapped in one another's embrace. "You know I've been thinking," Ally started.

I giggled as she rolled her eyes. "You know you could hurt yourself," I said through giggles.

"I've been thinking about what you said about being accepted. I think I might have come up with a way to work around it for a while," Ally told me. I tilted my head and sat silently as Ally continued with her plan "But we won't be able to put it into action until we reach the Inn at Chains," Ally said, finishing up her plan. I nodded my head slowly.

"You know what Ally, I think your crazy plan might just work," I said, chuckling to myself as I thought about what we were going to do when we reached Chains.

"Girls!" Andrew called from the wagon. Ally grabbed my hand and the two of us ran towards the wagon. We jumped in just as Andrew moved the horse forward. Riding in the wagon was fun at first. Ally and I joked around and talked about our upcoming plan. It took a lot of persuading to get Andrew on board with us.

A few hours later, we stopped for the night. After setting up camp and fixing dinner Ally and I were relaxing around the fire when Andrew pulled out his sword and held the tip to my neck. I sighed as I reached beside me and flipped my sword up, knocking the sword from Andrew's grasp just long enough to stand up and redo my grip on my sword. Andrew's smile grew when I started moving towards him. "You've learned," Andrew said, blocking one of my thrusts.

"I have been lucky enough to have two good teachers. Both said to always move towards your enemy," I said, lunging at Andrew. With a few quick flicks of the swords and some fancy footwork I was able to pry the sword from Andrew's hand and held the tip to his neck. "Yield" I said with a smirk.

Andrew chuckled and nodded. "I yield," He said, placing his fingers on my sword and lowering the blade. I nodded and placed my sword down. "Work on your foot movement for the next hour then go to bed. We have a long day of traveling tomorrow," Andrew said moving over to Ally and helping her clean up their supper. I practiced for the next hour like Andrew instructed before falling to the ground and sharpening my sword.

"You look awful," Ally said.

Giggling I shook my head. "That's what I like to hear."

"Anytime. I just speak the truth." Ally said with a nod of her head.

"Girls go to bed soon," Andrew said, coming back from checking on the horse. We nodded and said our goodnights as he climbed into his tent. An hour later Ally and I yawned as we cuddled down under our blankets.

"Rise and shine!" Andrew called throwing open our tent flap. We mumbled as Ally shoved her head closer to my body so I would block the light for her.

Laughing, I pushed her away. "Andrew's right Ally we have to get up. We don't want to get stuck in the dark," I said stumbling out of the tent. Less than a half hour later we were packed up and heading down the road. We only stopped once for lunch otherwise we were stuck in the wagon. Ally and I sat in the back going over every detail of what we were going to do tonight at the Inn. "I don't believe that it will work," I said, shaking my head.

"Shut up," Ally said smacking my cheek.

"Ally," Andrew said from the front after hearing the smack.

"Just knocking some sense into our dear little Sammy," Ally said sweetly as I rubbed my red cheek. "Why don't you think it will work?" she asked, ignoring the glance her dad gave her.

I leaned back against the wood. "Because, I don't have the body to pull it off, plus my voice is high," I said closing my eyes.

Ally scooted closer to me and lay her head on my shoulder. "You actually can pull off the part perfectly. I mean in Jarrow there is a much wider variety of people," she said running her hand down my long hair. "But the hair has to go tonight."