"Falling"

What Happened?

Ridding through the woods she now knows so well, pushing her horse as much as she can, Bella prays that the message had been a mistake and it wasn't true. She doesn't know what happened but she will find out, and she dared anyone to try and stop her.

She arrives at Josh's war camp in the early hours of the following morning and, as she makes her way through the labyrinth of tents, she sees Josh's war tent. Without a second thought, she heads straight there, knowing that that's where she will find Josh. Climbing down from her horse, she hands the reigns to a soldier and tells him to keep the horse there.

Bella storms into the tent, seeing Josh and Jared going over something on the map in front of them. They both turn as soon as they hear her storming in, Bella noticing that Jared is clearly hurt, but refusing to leave his post.

-"What the hell happened?" - Bella looks straight at Josh, not caring with formalities, her voice raised.

-"Captain, gives us a moment. Head to the healers and let them look you over." - Josh dismisses Jared with a nod, who, as he walks past Bella, stops and says he's sorry, his eyes never meeting hers, shame and sorrow all over his face.

-"What happened?" - Bella sees Josh taking a breath and his hand racking over his hair.

-"I sent Jensen on a reconnaissance mission. He took a squadron, as well as Jared, to go and find out if your father didn't have any nasty surprises for us, like hidden troops or something of the sort. Before they could reach your father's war camp, they were ambushed."

"According to Jared and another soldier, your father's soldiers made a point of only knocking Jensen out but kill the rest of the men. Once most of the men were dead, they tied Jensen up and loaded him on a horse. They killed everyone with the exception of Jared and one other soldier so they could tell me what had happened to Jensen and to wait for a message from your father."

"I already have pulled my men back and am trying to come up with something to get Jensen back."

-"How could this happen? Jensen is a skilled fighter and so are the men in your army."

-"It was just bad luck. They were outnumbered and were caught off guard. Bella, I promise you I am doing all I can to get him back."

-"I will talk to my father and I'll have him free Jensen. I'll bring him back."

-"I can't let you do that, Jensen would never forgive me if I did."

-"I don't care. God knows what my father is doing to him right now. I have to do something. I'll do whatever I need to do to get my husband back."

-"I'm sorry, Bella, but I can't let you take that risk."

-"I would love to see you try and stop me."

Bella turns on her heels, her blood boiling, not because of Josh, but because of her father. She climbs back on her horse and heels it forward, the horse rushing forward fast, hearing Josh calling her name. As she is ridding fast past a messenger, she snatches the white flag he is carrying, heading straight into the battlefield, soldiers shouting for her to stop.

She rides across the battlefield, her hair wiping behind her, the flag raised high. Bella prays to any God that might listen that she can do this and that she isn't too late, the thought of losing Jensen making her spur her horse forward even faster.