"Who's screamin'?" I heard a deep voice say.

Jaks!

I never thought I'd be happy to hear a drunk-sounding voice in my life.

I scrambled off the ground, dusting the dirt off. "Over here!" I called out. "And hurry, if you don't mind."

"Ah, it be dat princess. We're comin' for yer, ye mutt!" Jaks responded back sharply.

Did he just call me a dog? That little rascal! I almost died thanks to your pathetic choice of weapon.

I walked toward his voice, eventually finding him and Gus. "I was almost eaten!"

They exchanged a glance between them. "But ye seem to be thrivin' and livin'. 'Ave ye bumped yer 'ead on a rock?"

"Hmm, close. You were chased by blood-thirsty faeries," the voice said.

I ignored it and threw the bow and arrows at them. "Screw your hunt! I'm going back to camp. If you have a problem, take it up with Knightley. Good night."

Stomping my way back to camp, I conjured all the curses I was going to spit at Ashe.

Nothing came to mind. No words could describe how much of an ass he'd been. He allowed me to go to my death. He tried to kill me!

"Now, I suggest you go easy on Ashe—"

"Shut up. You have no idea what I'm going to do to that man," I snapped back.

"Poor man," the voice murmured.

I sighed, climbing over a rock to enter the camp. As I entered, people looked at me, their eyes wide. I wasn't sure why they were looking at me until I looked down at my clothes. My tunic was sliced into ribbons over my breasts, as well as my back. The trousers looked like a tiny skirt now, and the boots were tattered, the soles missing.

I looked demented. Like a demon had just tried to eat me.

"At least you'll have a show," I told the voice, disappointed that my clothes were ruined. And that I almost died, but I was trying to forget that part.

"You," the voice began, "have no idea."

I marched through the camp, everyone parting their way for me. I made my way to the Tent, knowing that if there was a mirror to see me right now, steam would be shooting out of my ears.

On my way to the Tent, I saw Zeena, her face smiling, but when she saw me, she immediately followed after. "What happened to you?"

"Cannibal faeries," I grounded out.

"You really don't hold back, do you?" the voice sang in my head.

"I—Cannibal faeries?" Zeena asked. She grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "Are you ill?" she said, putting the back of her hand on my forehead.

I removed her hand, stomping to the Tent. Past the curious glances and expressions that said, "Was she mentally ill?" I could see the Tent.

Rysdan was sitting outside, but as soon as he saw me, he scrambled out of his chair. "Saints, what happened to—"

"Get out of my way!" I pushed him back onto his chair and marched into the Tent, seeing Ashe and another man sitting, drinking from flasks.

I didn't say one word.

I didn't have to.

One shoe. That was all I did. I took off my shoe, launching it right at Ashe while he was drinking from his flask.

"What the hell—," Ashe said, startled as he shot out of his seat drenched in water. His eyes darted to me.

This time, I didn't notice myself pick up a chair and hurl it at him.

Ashe dodged the chair, cursing on his way down.

"I almost died, you bastard!" The man that was sitting with Ashe stood in front of me, but I pushed him away and skewered my sole-less shoe into his foot. "Come here, you rat!"

Ashe held his arms out, trying to stop me. "I warned you—"

"Clearly not about the man-eating faeries!" I spat at his face. "Look at me, you bastard! I almost died!"

He looked at me. One, two—ten seconds. Then he said, "You look and feel very alive, at the moment."

"Oh, you!" I tackled him to the ground, punching his chest. "Idiot! Ass! Bastard! Damned rat! I hope you fall in a ditch and get ran over by a horse, you donkey!"

Ashe pushed me off with ease, pining me to the ground. His body felt wet over me, and the water he had spilled on himself dripped off his hair and onto my face.

"I'm not one to punch a woman," Ashe warned, "but under these... circumstances—"

"You mean cannibal faeries, right?" I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"You insisted on going!"

"You were supposed to stop me, you moronic moron!" I lifted my knee to hit his groin and push him off, but his legs caught them, further pinning me to the ground.

The muscles of his neck clenched. "I can't read your mind, you know. If you didn't want to go, you could've just said so, and I would've continued training you like normal."

I heard someone clear their throat. Breaking my stare at Ashe, I saw the man and Zeena staring at us. Zeena stared at me with daggers in her eyes, and the man looked at me with no emotion.

Ashe came off me and dusted his clothes. "Zeena, escort him out of the camp," he ordered.

Zeena's eyes locked on his and stared for twenty three seconds. Ashe stared at her too, but his stare was of confusion on why she was still standing there like a statue.

Finally, Zeena glared at me and marched toward the man, pulling him out by his arm.

"Asshole," I muttered.

"Indeed," Ashe said.

I snapped my head at him, grinning. "I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about you, Knightley." I came off the floor, suddenly aware of what clothes I was wearing—or lack thereof.

He shrugged, picking up pieces from the chair I had launched at him. "I must disagree with you, Arya." He looked at him while he picked up a leg.

"You're a donkey," I said, storming out of the Tent.

Rysdan ran up to me, handing me his jacket, but I threw it back at him. "Shove that in your mouth."

"I just wanted—," he started, but when I glared at him, he shut his mouth.

"Now's not the time." I continued walking back to my tent.

While I was walking, people kept staring at me. I ignored them, but I noticed them all quickly turn away. When I looked back at Rysdan, who was walking behind me, I noticed him glaring at the people staring at me.

"You know," I whispered to him, "I don't need you to keep them from staring at me."

Rysdan scoffed and came up next to me, handing me his jacket again. This time, I put it on. "It's only out of respect, Princess."

"Do you usually act this way with your masters?"

He looked taken aback. "My masters? I do not take orders from people," he said, his voice laced with annoyance.

"Of course you don't," I muttered. "Only from Ashe and Prodos, right?"

"Ashe asks me to help, and I do. Of course he would ask me to help. I'm amazing at fighting."

We stopped outside my tent. I quickly turned around and noticed him already watching me. "So you say?"

"Sweetheart, I'm the best fighter you'll ever see." He grinned. "Sneakiest, too. Just you wait. One day, I'll sneak up behind you and toss you over a waterfall."

"Sure he would," the voice said.

"Calm down there, gladiator." I said, chuckling. "You might strain a muscle."

He smiled again, opening the tent for me. "Impossible."

I went into my tent, but Rysdan didn't follow in. What did I expect? For him to follow in and actually have a conversation with me?

Impossible.