"Do not worry yourself about them. I shall deal with my fears soon enough," there was a sense of determination in her little voice. Holly stared ahead, her eyes were narrowed. "Let us just work on making me the best ranger that ever lived," she smirked.

_________________

"We both might have to share that title." she gave Holly a gentle punch in the shoulder with her free hand. "I am sure as you learn to be a ranger, your fears will dissipate as you learn to defend yourself and fight. When uncertainty is replaced by certainty, fear cannot infect the doubting your heart because there will be no doubt." she looked affectionately down at her. "You know they'll recognize both of us now..." she said thoughtfully puffing on her pipe. Her voice was deep enough, and her features were not overly feminine...she smiled crookedly.

"I might just share it with you. Might," she stressed playfully. "I cannot wait for that feeling of certainty. I cannot wait to have a peaceful sleep. I long to not fear him. He will pay for what he has done." Holly looked round at Lairiel. "They will. Again, I am sorry I have dragged you into this. Still the quicker I learn the ways of the ranger, the quicker we can defeat them and my uncle. Then, my dear friend, we can walk freely and do what a ranger does best." She smiled warmly.

_________________

She smiled grimly. "There are things you still must learn. A ranger does not seek revenge, even though I cannot stop you." she shook her head, a bit sadly. Even though he was evil, he should be dealt with in a fair fight, not assassinated. "Stop apologizing, Holly."

"As much as it would be revenge I would also be doing a public service. Do not worry I would give him a fair fight. I dare not lower myself to his standards as much as he deserves to be assassinated for his crimes." Holly frowned deeply. "No he shall get a fair fight. He will be my own to deal with though. I vow that the next day he sees me I will not be the same defenceless child he took advantage of. I will be stronger."

_________________

"And older." she grinned. Noticing a small stream, she stopped. They had been walking for quite a while. "Now, we stop to eat." she tossed Holly a bag of food, then took out a dagger and went to the slow moving stream. Looking at her reflection, she took the dagger and chopped her long braid off. "They will be looking for a woman, not a man." she whispered as she buried her braid so it would not be found.

Holly's eyes widened as she ate her food. "They will not give up looking for us. My uncle is rich and will surely be paying them a pretty penny. Perhaps we should walk in the stream a little? Hide our trail for a little while?" Holly reached back and pulled her hair out of her face. She tucked it back under her clothes and pulled her hood up high over her face.

_________________

"Aye, but they will not give up looking for two women. They were never looking for a man and his younger brother." she grinned as she smeared some dirt on her face. This would be fun. She would have to bind her curves to hide them.

Holly nodded and walked over to her. "No need to bind your curves. May I?" She asked tentatively as she pulled out Lairiel's shirt. "Leave your clothes baggy..." she said. "Now lets keep moving. Once we have covered some ground...we can maybe find a small town to recuperate in." She grinned.

_________________

She nodded "You are learning." Lairiel would bind her curves anyway once they reached a town. Better safe than sorry. "Take a mud bath, then we'll be on our way." she grinned lopsidedly at Holly as she smoked. "From now on, call me Theo."

Holly reached down and picked up some mud. Gingerly, she dusted it onto her cheeks. "Alright Theo..." she giggled softly. "Call me Haldir. Now lets go." Her hand, instinctively, fell to rest upon the hilt of her sword as she walked through the stream.

_________________

She laughed at that. "You may want to go with a less conspicuous name." she followed her, although she was serious. Should the name Haldir be heard around here, minds would start working. She wanted them to be invisible. Of no consequence to everyone.

"True..." she nodded her eyes narrowed. "How about Hayden?" Holly asked. Holly picked her way through the stream. The cool water soothed her burning feet. "We can leave the stream a little further down. This should throw them of the scent for a little while at least."

_________________

"You needn't worry about our scent, those fools could not and would not be smart enough to afford or think of hounds. That is another thing you must remember to do, think of everything. A Ranger never does anything unnecessary." she nodded her approval at the name "Hayden is good."

"At the very least, we are not leaving footprints for them to follow. Although I do suggest we get out very soon. They may not have the brains or funds to employ hounds, but they will have the brains to surmise that we entered the stream to hide our tracks. I suggest that we return to the stream when we can. Lead them on a wilds goose chase, if you will."

_________________

She chuckled, remaining silent. She was trying, although she was doing it out of fear. Soon enough she would learn to think beyond the fear of survival.