Disclaimer: I'm honestly not sure what to put here, so... Apart from Bailey/Broken Arrow, I do not own the characters. Um... other legal stuff... If anyone has a better way to phrase this part, please let me know so I can update it.

Eventually, they slowed and Bailey took deep breaths, trying to return her breathing to normal. All the running had left her a little shaky, so she sat down when they stopped in a small, rocky clearing. The cool stone felt nice against her legs and arms. Bailey noticed Smalls unrolling a cloak and putting it on. Uncle Wilfred did the same once he put Picket down.

“There it is,” Uncle Wilfred said, gesturing towards a cave opening that had a stream running next to it. “The Savory Den.”

The word savory made Bailey’s stomach growl. She realized she hadn’t eaten anything since two nights prior.

“Can we drink?” Heather asked, pointing at the stream.

“Let’s make sure it is secure,” Smalls replied, drawing his sword. He put his hood up, hiding his ears under the fabric. He walked into the clearing while the rest waited behind some bushes and trees. He glanced around. It was cool to watch him. He looked relaxed, but like he could jump into action at a moment's notice.

“Please don’t move,” Uncle Wilfred said to Picket. “Just wait here a moment.” Uncle Wilfred then drew his sword and stepped behind Smalls into the clearing.

“Stand fast,” a voice called from behind the mist. “Take another step, and it’ll be a bellyful of arrows for you.” The hair on the back of Bailey’s neck raised and she had her hand on the hilt of her dagger.

“I’m so hungry,” Smalls replied, not showing a hint of fear, “I’d eat about anything now.” Bailey was surprised how calm he sounded.

“Make a sudden move, little one,” the voice replied, “and you’ll have your wish.” Bailey’s eyes widened, but neither Smalls nor Uncle Wilfred seemed to be affected.

“Have anything savory or dennish?” Uncle Wilfred asked. Bailey was confused. Why was he asking about food at a time like this! And what type of food would be dennish?

Suddenly, the wind blew away the curtain of mist in front of the cave. Bailey saw a tall, brown rabbit standing on a rock just inside the cave. He held a bow, but had not nocked an arrow. There were a couple of rabbits behind him, staggered to form the shape of a V. They all wore green, probably to blend into the forest.

“Is that Wilfred?” the rabbit asked, almost as if he didn’t quite trust him.

“It is,” Uncle Wilfred replied, squinting at him, “Is that Pacer?”

“The same,” the rabbit, Pacer, replied, bowing. He stood back up and jumped down from his rock, focusing on Uncle Wilfred and occasionally glancing warily at Smalls. Uncle Wilfred and Smalls sheathed their swords, but Smalls was still holding the hilt.

“It’s been a long time,” Pacer said, his voice quiet, but hard. Pacer had come to stand in front of them. It seemed like a very cold reunion.

What is going on outside of Nick Hollow? Bailey thought as she watched them. The other rabbits had arrows on their bowstrings, ready to attack if necessary.

“We’ve come far, and we’re very hungry,” Uncle Wilfred said. “We need to get inside.”

“No one enters until Lord Rake gives the word,” Pacer replied, nodding towards a rabbit behind him. The rabbit ran inside, probably to get Lord Rake.

“How long has that been the law?” Smalls asked, irritation creeping on the edges of his voice.

“Since our most recent betrayals,” Pacer replied, “It’s hard to trust anyone, regardless of their family connections.”

Most recent betrayals? Bailey thought. What is going on here? And what did he mean by family connections? There were so many questions flowing through her head. Hopefully she’d get answers soon.

“It is an evil age when old friends aren’t welcomed quickly,” Uncle Wilfred said. “But I understand your caution.”

What is there to be cautious about? Bailey thought. In Nick Hollow we just had to make sure not to go into East Wood. What evil world have I stepped into?

A tall, grey and white rabbit stepped out of the cave. He looked a little bit older than Uncle Wilfred and was well-dressed. He wore a gold chain around his neck with a large pendant on it and a dark gray cape. But, what drew Bailey’s eyes was his tunic, which had a simple design on it. Two diamonds next to each other, one green and the other red. She wondered what it stood for.

The rabbit walked towards Uncle Wilfred and the two silently embraced. Bailey thought she saw the other rabbit start crying. This is weird, she thought, awkwardly glancing around.

“I am so glad to see you,” the rabbit said, stepping back. “You are very welcome, friends.”

“Thank you, lord,” Uncle Wilfred replied. “Lord Rake, may I introduce my nieces and nephew, Heather, Bailey, and Picket?” They stepped out of the woods, Bailey nervous about what the other rabbits might do.

Bailey glanced at the rabbits with the bows and saw they were aimed at her. “H-hi,” she stammered, terrified.

“This is Bailey, and she’s with us,” Uncle Wilfred said, stepping in front of her.

“I’m delighted to meet you all,” Lord Rake said, shaking their hands. “Bucks, please stand down.”

“But she’s a wolf,” Pacer began.

“I trust Wilfred’s judgement,” Lord Rake said, “Besides she’s young and dressed like any doe you might meet. All that I have is at your disposal. I see…”

Even though the bucks had all stood down, she could still feel their stares. That familiar voice crept back, telling her she didn’t belong here. She stared at the ground, wanting desperately to just take off and get away from the stares.

Heather gasped and Bailey looked up, glancing around. She saw Uncle Wilfred’s face fall and Smalls went over and put a hand on his shoulder. Everyone bowed their heads, and Bailey followed suit, confused.

“It will not be so in the Mended Wood!” Lord Rake called out defiantly, raising his head.

“The Mended Wood!” the other rabbits, other than Picket and Heather, exclaimed, shaking a fist in the air. Bailey glanced around and saw the change on the rabbits' faces.

The Mended Wood must be important, Bailey thought, I wonder what it is.

“Decker was a kingsbuck, loyal always,” Uncle Wilfred said, “He’ll be missed.” Bailey then realized that Decker, whoever he was, hadn’t made it.

“That’s right. There was never a doubt about his loyalty.” Pacer said spitefully.

Lord Rake frowned at him. “He has been our lookout for many years,” Lord Rake said. “Now we are more vulnerable than ever. Instead of a lookout, we’ll have a garrison of wolves down there.”

“How are we going to explain this wolf?” Pacer asked, pointing at Bailey.

“I’m not sure,” Lord Rake said after a moment’s thought. He turned to Bailey, “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay hidden for a while, or at least until we can figure out a better solution. We will get you set up in a room where you can stay for the time being.”

“How will we make sure she goes unnoticed on her way to her room?” Pacer asked, annoyance still in his voice.

“A cloak can cover her ears, wings, and tail,” Uncle Wilfred suggested. “But what about her face? It is pretty obvious that she’s a wolf because of her snout.”

“Would you mind wearing a mask?” Lord Rake asked Bailey.

“I guess,” Bailey replied, not liking the idea of hiding, but not seeing another option that wouldn’t terrify the rabbits. A rabbit ran and grabbed her a cloak and a mask. It was a dark green cloak and the mask was dappled, making it nearly impossible to tell how long her snout was.

Bailey could only see directly in front of her with the hood up, which was disconcerting. She felt like she was a secret agent from her books, not that she was going to say that out loud. It could get her in trouble.

Two rabbits emerged from the cave. One was short and quite round. He leaned back and forth like a bobblehead every time he took a step. The other one was an auburn doe in a white dress. She was the same color as the stripe on Bailey’s nose, which Bailey found interesting. The doe was carrying a black bag.

“Ah,” Lord Rake said when he noticed them, “Emma, will you see to this young rabbit, please?” He motioned at Picket and the doe, Emma, bowed, then walked over to Picket. Lord Rake and Uncle Wilfred started to talk with the other rabbit, apparently named Gort.

“Hello,” Emma said, smiling. She looked to be about the same age as Heather

“Hello,” Heather returned, walking over to her. Picket was sitting on the ground next to her and looked uncomfortable.

“Hi,” Bailey said, waving. She stayed a little bit further back, not quite sure how well the cloak and mask hid the fact that she was a wolf.

“You’re Emma, are you?” Heather asked. “Well, it’s not fair that we know your name and you don’t know ours.”

Emma laughed and Bailey chuckled. “No, not fair at all. But I shall endeavor to overcome this devastating calamity.” This caused Bailey to laugh, hard.

“I’m Heather,” Heather said, pointing to herself, “and this sourpuss here is Picket.” She jabbed her elbow in his direction. “And the one currently dying over there is Bailey.” Bailey laughed harder, laying on the ground.

“Well,” Emma said, laughing, “I’ll see what I can do for his bad foot, though there’s nothing in my bag that cures pouting.” Bailey now was laughing so hard her face was turning red. “Or death by laughter. I’m afraid your sister is beyond my help.” Heather and Emma laughed again. Heather was trying to encourage Picket to laugh along, but he wasn’t. He smiled half-heartedly, then frowned again.

“All right, Mister Grouchypants,” Emma said. “Let’s have a look at that foot of yours.” Bailey gasped for breath and sat up, starting to be able to control her laughter.

“It’s fine,” Picket said, stubborn.

“It is?” Emma asked, arching her eyebrows. She flicked his foot and Picket shouted in pain. “I see, yes. It seems to be perfectly fine. No problems. I’m glad young bucks are always honest.” Bailey lay back down, laughing so hard you couldn’t hear her. They continued talking, but Bailey was laughing so hard she no longer heard what they were saying.

“Bailey?” she heard Heather ask.

“Yes,” Bailey managed to say through laughter.

“It’s time to go get something to eat,” Heather replied.

“Okay,” Bailey said, catching her breath. Then she realized that to eat she would have to take her mask off. “Umm… One sec.” She walked over to Lord Rake. “Where am I going to eat?” Her stomach growled.

“You’ll have to eat in your room,” Lord Rake said, “I’m very sorry for the inconvenience. Once we get them settled in the Savory Den, I’ll take you to your room.” Bailey’s stomach growled. “And don’t worry, I’ll bring some food up with me.”

“Thanks,” Bailey said, hunger starting to gnaw at her. She was surprised that she hadn’t really noticed it until they had stopped. Another good quirk to add to the list, she thought. Even though she was different, most of the differences seemed to be to her benefit, so she didn’t mind as much.

They walked farther into the cave. Torches along the walls gave off enough light to see by, but Bailey’s eyes were still adjusting and she couldn’t see much with the cloak, so she found herself squinting so she didn’t run into rocks on the floor. The passage was long, but it finally opened into a much larger room. There were rabbits gathered around tables everywhere, eating and chatting merrily. They were dressed in a variety of colors, many of them darker or green like Pacer’s.

There was one rabbit sitting by himself though. He looked tall and had black fur, and Bailey could tell he wanted to be left alone. When a rabbit came and asked if he could sit with him, the black rabbit just stared. The would-be friendly rabbit quickly walked away. Bailey thought the lone rabbit was probably trouble and best to be avoided, not that she’d be talking to many people.

“My friends,” Lord Rake said, his booming voice bringing Bailey out of her head, “the Savory Den.” It got quiet, which was a little disconcerting to Bailey. Lord Rake bowed slightly and all the rabbits bowed in return. Smalls and Uncle Wilfred returned the bows. Then the general din of chatter returned. Most of the rabbits were smiling, but there were a few who warily followed Uncle Wilfred with their eyes, worried about his presence.

What did Uncle Wilfred do? Bailey thought. And how do we know that he is who he says? Maybe he just looks like Father. She shook her head, almost as if trying to clear it. He couldn’t.

“Thank you,” Heather said.

“You’re welcome,” Lord Rake said. “Now Bailey, how about we go find you a room?”

“Will you not stay to eat?” Emma asked.

“I’m really tired and need to sleep,” Bailey replied, yawning. She hated lying and hoped Emma didn’t see right through it. “If I ate, I’d probably fall asleep in my food!” She laughed.

“Okay,” Emma said, laughing, “Well have a nice rest! Hopefully I’ll see you soon!”

“Thanks,” Bailey said, turning to follow Lord Rake. They walked towards the corner, where there was a passage hidden. Lord Rake held the door for Bailey to step through. He led her down a long hallway, which seemed to slope upward ever so slightly. There were lots of doors on either side.

Finally, Lord Rake came to a door about midway down the corridor. He opened it and stepped inside. Bailey followed him. “This,” he said, motioning around the room, “is where you will be staying. It is one of the nicer rooms and since you will be staying in the room most of the day, I thought it best.”

“Thanks!” Bailey exclaimed, surprising Lord Rake with a hug. He patted her gently on the back.

Bailey then turned to look around the room. It was bigger than her room at Nick Hollow, about the size of their living room and dining room combined. There was a big bed in one corner, with a nightstand with a lamp next to it. Noticing some large bookshelves lined with books, Bailey walked over and ran her hand over the spines. She smiled wide, noting where some of her favorite books were. Along the other wall, there was a chest of drawers and a nice large reading chair.

“Where’s the other door go?” she asked, noticing a door on the far wall.

“It’s the private bathroom,” Lord Rake replied, enjoying her excitement.

“A private bathroom!?!” Bailey said, eyes wide.

“Yes,” Lord Rake replied, chuckling. “Most rabbits have to share one with two or three other rabbits, but since you will want to avoid being seen as much as possible, I thought you should have your own.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Bailey exclaimed, hopping around Lord Rake in excitement.

“You’re welcome,” Lord Rake replied. “I’ll go get your food now.” He walked out of the room.

As soon as he left, Bailey ran and started jumping on the bed. It was so much more bouncy than the one at home. She then ran over and grabbed a book from the wall. She sat down in the reading chair and began to read.

The sound of a knock on the door brought her back from the world of elves and dwarves.

"Can I come in?" she heard Smalls ask.

"Sure," Bailey called. Smalls opened the door, carrying a tray full of food.

"Found a good book?" he asked, seeing Bailey curled up on the chair. Bailey nodded, staring at the food, drooling slightly. Her stomach grumbled. Smalls set the food on a table near the middle of the room. Bailey walked over.

"This smells so good!" she said, inhaling deeply.

"Dinner was really good tonight," Smalls agreed. Bailey started eating. Smalls browsed the books while he waited.

After finishing, Bailey set her fork down. "Can we talk about, you know…" Bailey started, but then drifted off.

"Sure," Smalls replied, putting the book back and walking over to Bailey.

"I don't know, I just want to tell someone," Bailey said. "I never wanted to bother Father, I mean Heather and Picket's father, about it. And I didn't think their mother would know much about it either. You just seemed like you might know something.

"I wish I knew who my real parents were, and what caused this," she gestured to her wings.

"I understand that feeling," Smalls said. "I know who my father is, but I never met him really. I was too young to remember when…" Smalls stopped.

Bailey pulled out the dagger, rubbing her finger along the hilt. "This is the only clue I have to my past," she said, handing it to Smalls for him to examine.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the fabric covering the hilt.

"Sure," she said, "when I was back at Nick Hollow, Father suggested I keep it wrapped, not sure why though."

Smalls examined the dagger and the symbol on the hilt. The symbol looked like a red diamond with a fang on it. "This seems to be made by the wolves, like a ceremonial blade or something. I’ve honestly never seen anything quite like it. Where did you find it?”

“I don’t know,” Bailey replied, “I’m not sure if I took it when I ran away, or if I had it before then.”

Smalls rewrapped the hilt and handed it back to Bailey. “I would keep this hidden for now,” he said. “Tell no one about it, except Uncle Wilfred and possibly Lord Rake.” Bailey nodded.

“I need to go now,” Smalls said, moving to get up. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” Bailey replied, “See you later.” Smalls left, taking the empty tray with him.

Bailey grabbed the book she had been reading and settled into bed. About an hour later, she set the book down on the nightstand and fell asleep, finally feeling safe.

That was a fun chapter to write. The last part was a little harder, but I like how it turned out. Any guesses on the book she was reading?

Anyway, I hope you like it and any feedback would be great!