A painful gasp, then a cough that came from deep in her lungs. Water streamed out of her mouth and down the side of her face. Every part of her ached, and her head was too heavy to lift.

She could feel coarse sand beneath her back and water tickling her feet and ankles. The feeling of the sand was what assured her that she was not, in fact, dead.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the sunlight. It stabbed at the back of her brain, but she forced herself to look around. Above her, she could see the sky, lined along one edge with a bit of greenery which she came to realize was the branch of a tree.

To her left, someone was panting. The image of the gnome standing by the bridge flashed through her brain, and she quickly turned her head to see who it was that lay beside her.

It was Gallagher.

She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or exasperated, but settled for regretting that she had tried to move so quickly. Her head pounded.

"All well?" he asked, still breathing hard.

Her mouth felt like glue, and she still was a bit confused by what had transpired.

"Letty?" he asked, sitting up to look at her.

She coughed again, but no water came out this time.

"The gnome cut the rope," she croaked.

Gallagher laughed. "What, Gatlin?"

Letty noticed that Gallagher's hair was dripping, and she realized that he must have pulled her out of the water. Working backwards (her brain felt slow, but maybe that was normal after almost dying?) she realized that he must have dove in after her, and that meant that the figure she had seen by the bridge had been Gallagher, not Gatlin.

She closed her eyes against the brightness of the sun. She heard Gallagher shift and realized he was blocking the sun from her eyes. She looked up at him gratefully. Pieces of his dark hair were stuck to his face by the wetness.

"Normally when someone's been hurt, I'd offer them water, but I expect you've already had a good drink," he told her.

She managed a small grin. She was slowly gaining control of her body, though she was still sore.

"What happened?" Her voice sounded raspy in her ears.

"I've been following you," he replied, looking a little sheepish. "I know you didn't want me to, but—well, this is a dangerous forest, and I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Given the circumstances, I suppose I can try to curtail my anger."

He smiled. "Anyway, when you were crossing, some of the planks gave out underneath you—I expect they were pretty old, and probably rotting already. I jumped in after you. I tried to get you out before the waterfall, but you had gone under so you were hard to find."

Letty turned her head and noticed for the first time that there was a waterfall behind them. It was roughly the height of the castle walls, but the cliff face too steep to climb up again.

"We'll have to find a way around that cliff wall, but I don't think we'll have to go too far."

Letty sighed and propped herself up on her elbow, and then, with a little help from Gallagher, sat up all the way.

"You're all right then?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," she answered. "And you?"

He nodded.

Finally feeling that she had regained control of all her limbs, Letty examined her surroundings. Underneath her was dark, coarse sand, and shortly behind her the foliage of the forest began again. The forest growth was denser here, with a thick undergrowth covering the ground beneath the close-growing trees. Along the edge of the river bank was a rough line of bushes and ferns and other plants she didn't recognize.

Letty gasped. Staring out from behind the fronds of a large fern plant were a set of eyes. Gallagher followed her line of sight and saw the eyes too. He stood up quickly, and a figure emerged from the bushes. He was certainly human, but taller than anyone Letty had ever seen. He had pale, milky-white skin and coal-black hair that reached all the way to his shoulders. As he stepped out of the bushes, four others emerged as well. All of them were equally tall, and with the same milky-white skin and black hair.

Letty realized for the first time how defenseless the two of them were. Gallagher had lost all of the things he had had with him when he had dove in the river to save her, and she was just generally useless when it came to defense.

One of the men said something to them in a language Letty was sure she had never heard before. When neither she nor Gallagher responded, the man beckoned to them both to come with him. She looked up at Gallagher, who shrugged.

"I don't know what else we can do."

Letty had the distinct impression that these people were hostile, but also knew that Gallagher was right. These men were much larger than the two of them, not to mention that she and Gallagher were outnumbered. She shakily got to her feet, and they followed the strange man into the depths of the forest.