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.

They were coming for her and her family and there was nothing she could do about it. She saw Heather, cornered by wolves. Picket was trying to get to her, but the wolves wouldn't let him.

She tried to run, tried to shout, but she couldn't. She was stuck.

Then she saw him, Redeye Garlackson. His eye glinted in pride. "This is the end, little traitor," he said, menace dripping from his voice. He lunged.

Bailey screamed, sitting up. She looked around, realizing that she was in a bedroom. As her breathing returned to normal, she remembered where she was.

"Are you okay?" Uncle Wilfred asked, rushing into the room.

"I'm fine," she replied, "it was just a bad dream." Her stomach growled.

"How about I go get you breakfast," Uncle Wilfred suggested, "and then I show you around a little bit."

"That would be great!" Bailey replied.

"Good," Uncle Wilfred said. "I'll be back in a moment then." He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Bailey grabbed the book she had left on the nightstand the night before and walked over to the reading chair. She curled up and started to read.

Shortly thereafter, Uncle Wilfred came in carrying a tray of food that smelled delightful. Bailey looked up and saw peaches in some sort of sauce. She immediately got up and started eating. The sweet taste of maple surprised her, and her eyes widened.

Remembering her manners, she said "Thank you." But, she had food in her mouth and it sounded more like "Fank too."

Uncle Wilfred just shook his head. "You are a funny child."

After Bailey finished eating, she got up to grab her cloak and mask. She put them on while Uncle Wilfred collected the dishes.

"We'll stop down in the Savory Den first to drop these off and then I'll show you around," Uncle Wilfred said.

"Okay," Bailey replied, excited to see what Cloud Mountain was like. She held the door open for Uncle Wilfred and off they went.

A wave of sound washed over Bailey when she entered the Savory Den. It was somehow comforting. They walked over to a bucket meant for dirty dishes.

"Peregrin and Meriadoc!" they heard someone shout. "If I ever catch you in my kitchen again, you'll be cleaning the dishes for the next month!" Bailey saw two bucks run out of the kitchen, each carrying an armful of bread. They were chased by Gort swinging a rolling pin, even though he didn't seem like he would be able to catch them.

"Who are they?" Bailey asked.

"Just two jokesters," Uncle Wilfred said dismissively. "How about I show you the rest of Cloud Mountain instead?"

"Okay," Bailey replied, excited. She was still wondering why the bucks looked so familiar.

Uncle Wilfred led her to a wall. Bailey had sworn there was an open passage there a second ago. He then knocked and a soldier opened the door. The soldier raised an eyebrow at the cloak.

“She gets cold easily,” Uncle Wilfred said and kept walking. Bailey followed him, pretending to shiver. They turned left, instead of right towards the rooms. The hallway ended in a steep spiral staircase.

“That’s a lot of stairs,” Bailey said, craning her neck to see the top. “Can I fly up them?”

“That could cause too much attention,” Uncle Wilfred replied, “So no, you’ll have to walk. Sorry.”

Bailey pouted excessively and half-dragged herself up the first couple of steps. She then smiled, laughed, and ran up the rest of the stairs. Uncle Wilfred just shook his head and followed her.

As they neared the top, Bailey noticed glowing, which was odd, since they were in a mountain. They reached the top and Bailey gasped. There was a walkway to a garden which was lit by multicolored light. She looked to her left and saw a building, covered in colored glass. She spun slowly as she entered the room, trying to take everything in.

“This is King Whitson’s Garden,” Uncle Wilfred said, motioning with his hand. Bailey saw a statue of two rabbits near the back of the garden. They were frozen in mid-fight and it was breathtaking.

“Wow,” Bailey said, staring at the statue. “It’s King Whitson and Blackstar!”

“It is amazing," Smalls said, walking to stand besides them. She noticed he was in his cloak again.

They kept walking and went under an archway. There was a door with a soldier standing next to it. He glanced warily at the three of them, but let them through. They stepped into another long hallway, this one only dimly lit with a couple of torches.

“There are a lot of soldiers,” Bailey commented once they were out of earshot.

“It’s just a precaution,” Uncle Wilfred said. They came up on a round room with three doors. There was also a big barrel sitting in the middle of the room, with three guards pacing around it, as well as two guarding the doors on the right and in the middle. The soldiers all turned to look at them. Some were staring at them, watching their every move, while others were glancing at them every couple of seconds, worry in their eyes.

Why don’t they trust him? Bailey thought.

“This is Hallway Round,” Uncle Wilfred said, waving one arm across the room. “Follow me.” He led Bailey through the door on the left.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Bailey saw a large green hillside, surrounded on the edges by the mist. There was a field and a rather large garden. Beyond that, there was a row of small houses. It was slightly overwhelming, being as Bailey hadn’t lived in a large village, or really a village at all. She frowned slightly at the thought of home. Uncle Wilfred noticed and put his hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, “How about I show you one of the other rooms?”

“I would like to actually spend a little time outside,” Bailey replied, “The fresh air is nice. Do you know what’s behind the mist?”

“What do you mean?” Uncle Wilfred asked, his forehead wrinkling in thought.

“I mean, is it another mountain or open space?” Bailey replied.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just open space,” he replied. “No one has ever checked. Why?”

“No reason,” she answered, skipping ahead a little bit. Uncle Wilfred just shook his head and followed her. Smalls chuckled.

As they drew nearer to the village, Bailey noticed the black rabbit from the other night under a maple. At least she thought it was a maple; it was covered in pumpkins for some reason and she knew pumpkins didn’t grow on trees.

Uncle Wilfred spotted Lord Rake on the other side of the village and walked over. Bailey and Smalls followed.

“Sorry I couldn’t check back on you last night,” Lord Rake said. “I had to talk to some rabbits. How are you enjoying it here?”

“I love it!” Bailey exclaimed. “I really like the books and food.” She drooled slightly.

“That’s good to hear,” Lord Rake said, smiling. “Is it okay if I talk to Uncle Wilfred and Smalls alone for a minute? There are some pressing matters I need to discuss with them, but I don’t want to bother you with it.”

“Okay,” Bailey replied, wondering what they were going to talk about.

“Just be careful not to reveal yourself,” Uncle Wilfred whispered to her as she walked past. Bailey smiled wide and took off.

“Have fun!” Uncle Wilfred called after her.

While the cloak covered most of her head, she could still feel the wind against her face. It was awesome to just run again. Thankfully, the hood wasn’t coming off in the wind, because if it did… Bailey ignored the thought and just enjoyed herself.

There were some hills along the side, some of which were grassy. Bailey ran over and started to roll down them. After rolling a couple of times, she leaned against the hill and just stared at the bright blue sky above the wall of clouds. How she wished she could fly.

How long will I have to hide? Bailey thought as she watched the clouds above go by. Will I ever be able to just fly again?

A scream pulled Bailey from her thoughts. “Heather!” she exclaimed, trying to find where the scream came from. She saw Heather, Emma, and Picket. None of them looked like they were in danger.

Then she saw it, the black rabbit was being attacked by what looked like birds with pumpkin heads. That explains the tree pumpkins, Bailey thought, running to see how to help. It didn’t look like the black rabbit would make it, there were too many birds, and it looked like wolves, to avoid. He would avoid some, but then be right in the way of others. One time, one of the bird’s talons splintered and headed right for him. He only barely made it behind one of the model wolves in time.

He fell, narrowly avoiding some of the birds. “Stay down!” called several in the crowd. But, he jumped back up, immediately in danger again. This time, it looked like there was really no escape.

Suddenly, Smalls, Uncle Wilfred, and Lord Rake joined in. Emma tried to run and help, but Heather and Bailey, who had just reached them, held her back.

“What does Strider think he’s doing?” Bailey said, shaking her head, “This is madness.”

“Strider?” they asked in unison, turning to face her.

“Oh,” Bailey said, surprised, “That’s what I’ve been calling him in my head.”

“You must read a lot,” Emma said, turning back to watch, “And his name is Helmer the Black. I was just telling your siblings about him.”

Lord Rake was swinging on a rope on top of a bird. Just as he seemed to be firm on it, he cut the bird free, sending it into the ground. Smalls was running hard towards Helmer, shedding his cloak. He and Uncle Wilfred were keeping pace. In one fluid motion, Smalls drew his sword, threw it to Uncle Wilfred, and fired an arrow. Uncle Wilfred caught Small’s sword, unsheathed his own, and cut down two more birds.

More shouts rose from the crowd as Small’s arrow headed right for Helmer. It went just over his head, sinking into the wooden wolf behind him. Smalls fired two more arrows individually, and then three all at once, shouting. The wolf fell over.

Uncle Wilfred then tossed Small’s sword back and grabbed the rope of a low bird, using it to get closer to Helmer. With perfect timing, he cut the rope, sending the bird harmlessly into the ground. He then sliced two more ropes as he flew past Helmer.

Helmer actually seemed annoyed to see them. But, even with the help, the situation seemed doomed to fail. Three birds converged on Helmer at once. He dodged two of them, but a third was coming for him fast. Both Lord Rake and Uncle Wilfred were too far to help. It looked like the end.

Bailey looked away, then she saw a glint of white. Smalls! He kicked the bird out of the way and then fell to the ground. Bailey could tell he was hurt, and from her angle it looked pretty bad.

Bailey then turned to see Helmer being dragged away from his tree of death. He looked annoyed and slightly surprised. His expression quickly turned to shame. Bailey kind of felt bad for him and wanted to give him a hug. But, he probably wouldn’t like that, so Bailey decided against it.

A fresh wave of screams drew her attention back to the tree. The bird that Smalls had kicked out of the way had turned around and was coming back for him at a ridiculous speed. Smalls was wounded and wasn’t able to get out of the way. Bailey ran to help, but she knew she wouldn’t get there in time.

Light glinting off of steel caught her eye and she saw a sword flying through the air. Uncle Wilfred had thrown it, attempting to cut the rope. His face was a mixture of fear and fierce concentration. It would have to be a perfect throw to cut the rope.

Bailey watched, looking back and forth between the descending bird and the sword. Time seemed to slow down as the blade got closer to the rope and every second felt like an eternity.

The sword cut the rope and the bird missed Smalls, sinking into the ground and stuck by the knives. Heather and Bailey ran to Smalls. Uncle Wilfred dropped to his knees in relief.

As Bailey got closer, she could tell that Smalls was hurt pretty bad. Both his feet had multiple cuts on them from the knives. She knew it would probably take a while to heal.

Emma walked over to them, with a strange rabbit walking up right behind her. He was dressed in white and Bailey guessed he was the doctor. Something about his appearance made her back up though. Maybe it was the way one ear was bent, or the fact that one eye didn’t seem to be looking the right way. It was probably nothing, but she had never really liked doctors anyway.

“Making way! Out of mine get it, you crazed lookers-on!” he shouted in an accent that Bailey couldn’t quite place. She backed up, heading back over towards the hills where she could watch, but not be in the way.

Bailey turned away from Smalls and saw Helmer and Lord Rake in a heated debate. Lord Rake was whispering roughly and swinging his arms. Helmer, on the other hand, stood still, and objected every once in a while. Bailey snuck a little closer, wondering what they were arguing about.

“I’m trying to prepare myself,” Helmer said in a hoarse whisper, his voice sounding like it hadn’t been used in a while.

Prepare for what? Bailey wondered.

“More like getting yourself killed,” Lord Rake objected, “and others!”

“I didn’t intend for that,” Helmer replied. “You know I would never…”

“Well, if you weren’t so blind to anything good!” Lord Rake replied.

Helmer sighed, looking at the ground. “I deserve exile,” he said, lowering his voice. “I deserve worse.” Bailey really wanted to give him a hug, he seemed to need it.

“Well, you’re stuck with us, Helmer,” Lord Rake replied, not a hint of joking in his voice. “Even if it seems like it’s worse for everyone.”

“I won’t stop practicing,” Helmer said, raising his head. His voice was firm. “I can’t change. It’s who I am.”

“Don’t forget who you were once, and might be again,” Lord Rake replied before turning and walking away.

Who was he, and why must he be so mysterious? Bailey thought. Why don’t I seem to get answers to anything? She walked over to see how Smalls was doing and maybe get some answers.

“He’ll being fine as frog of hair in the nick of no time flat,” Bailey heard the doctor say. She chuckled. She could sort out most of what he said, but ‘frog of hair’ didn’t make any sense. Hopefully it was a good thing.

“He is cutting a bad cut on one of his foots,” he continued, “and the other is nothing to bads.”

“How soon can I be on the move?” Smalls asked, determination in his voice.

Why is he in such a rush? Bailey wondered.

“Not less than three and one-half days and you’ll be well enough to moving everything of your feets,” the doctor replied. Bailey was trying not to laugh.

“Good,” Smalls replied, “Thanks, Doctor.” He moved to get up, and Uncle Wilfred came alongside to balance him.

They really are like father and son, Bailey thought. She wasn’t sure how, but she could tell they weren’t related.

Suddenly, Uncle Wilfred’s face darkened, which scared Bailey slightly. She turned and saw Helmer walking over to see how Smalls was.

“Get away,” Uncle Wilfred said, his voice as cold as ice. Helmer turned and started walking away.

“No,” Smalls said. Helmer paused, but didn’t turn back around. Rabbits were on either side of them, watching. Smalls put his fist over his heart and said, “My place beside you, my blood for yours, till the Green Ember rises or the end of the world.”

Everyone was still for a moment. Then Helmer looked at the ground, put his hand on his face, and quickly walked away.

Bailey didn’t know quite what to think. Then a thousand questions flooded her head. What is the Green Ember? What’s with Helmer and his tree? Who’s the doctor and what’s with his phrases? Bailey put her hands on the side of her head. More questions, but no more answers.

She turned and walked quickly to the hill. Laying down, she exhaled slowly. Bailey just stared at the clouds go by, and tried to calm the raging headache that had just started.

What she needed was some food and water, so she got up after a couple of minutes and headed down to the Savory Den. Bailey trudged through the door, past the guards, and down the long staircase. Grabbing some water and bread, she hardly noticed Gort chasing the bucks out of the kitchen, again. She headed to her room. Once she got there she threw her cloak and mask in the corner and ate. After that, she grabbed a book and curled up in her bed. A couple minutes later, she was sound asleep.

Sorry for the delay! I wasn't sure where exactly I wanted to go at this point. Anyway, it's a longer chapter, so hopefully that makes up for the delay.

There was a reference I wanted to put in the chapter but didn't seem to fit quite right. When Helmer says "I can’t change. It’s who I am." I just wanted to add, "Weapons are part of my religion." Unfortunately it didn't quite fit. Comment if you see the other references.

And as always, any feedback would be great! I hope you like it!