Chapter 3:

Plus, I hear it's good to catch up with old friends.

J.M. pinned down the Angel, Alexandra. "Just leave me alone!" the red head pleaded. J.M., drunk and wanting, pulled down her collar forcefully, showing her collar bone.

"No." He leaned down and bit her collarbone. She tasted so delicious... Lex screamed. Someone threw him off the Angel. It was the Asian old Man.

"Move, solider, move! Get the others out!" he shouted at Lex. Crazy Old Man. He can't take the Angel from me! J.M. thought angrily.

"Old man, do not get in my way..." J.M. growled. The Asian got into fighting position.

"I fight for my country and my people! You're not getting my men, General!" he shouted crazily at J.M. The Asian glared at J.M.'s Lex. "Why are you still here, solider? Run!" Lex turned and fled. Anger filled J.M.

"You'll pay for that, Old Man!" J.M. hissed. The Old Man launched at J.M. J.M. dodged and punched the Old Man in the head. The Asian fell onto the floor, unconscious. J.M. ran up the steps, desperate to find his Angel. The route felt familiar to him. He had used it for the past two days to watch her sleep, from inside and outside.

Kissing Dean Howard was the last straw. J.M. needed her more than the bastard did, loved her more. He was watching them from behind a tree. When Lex kissed him for a second, J.M. convinced himself it was for pity. Then Howard kissed her like J.M. had wanted to for so long. And Lex had kissed him back. When J.M. saw this and realized it, he dropped his beer bottle. They didn't hear it. She didn't hear.

The Angel. The blissful day that J.M. had met Alexandra, he decided that he was going to kiss just perfect so when he kissed her, she'd fall in love with him. He had something to control girls, so he used it to practice. J.M. had vowed he'd never kiss the girls past the lips, because his mom, Jessica, said that meant total loyalty, kissing a girl past the lips. He saved that for Lex. Every time he saw Lex his heart beat faster and J.M. acted a little different around her. Like he was cool, and nothing could shake him.

What a lie. When his parents divorced, that shook him up. When McGregor made the soccer team and J.M. didn't, that shook him. When Lex said that she hated him, that shook him up. When she said that she was Howard's, that shook him up. She was all J.M. had ever wanted.

J.M. tore the door to her room open, a fire burning inside him. She wasn't there. He ripped open the door to Lex's closet. There she was. Her sunset hair, her blue eyes with gray splashed in them, her uniform dress, a leather book clung to her chest. Lex looked fearful, tears streaking down her perfect cheeks. J.M. breathed raggedly. "Love me," he whispered. Then she disappeared. Into thin air.

J.M. stood there for a second. Then furiousness and pain tore through his body. "NO!" He threw himself at a wall and threw both fists on it. The stone wall cracked. Stone? J.M. was no longer wearing his dirty skater shirt and jeans, but a noble outfit from the medieval times. He didn't notice.

He was in a stone room with a gaping hole that took up the whole wall. A white dragon was taking Alexandra away. His Alexandra. Somehow, J.M. knew what to do. "SHOOT AT THE DRAGON!!" he screamed. Soon, fire arrows were shot at the White Dragon. The Angel laid on its back. Her red hair whipping in the wind. She was wearing a white dress that was square low cut, long sleeved like a princess dress. The Dragon roared and flew away to the mountains. A few soldiers ran up to him. One saluted him.

"General, the Dragon has escaped." The Captain looked strangely like Armin Arnatovic.

"Well, pursue it, idiot!" J.M. shouted, "NOW!" Captain Arnatovic nodded and ordered one of his men to start a search party. J.M. watched a band of soldiers follow the trail of the dragon.

"Send search parties to every village. Someone knew of The White Dragon's return. Do not let the prophecy come true!" Captain Arnatovic snapped at a solider. The soldiers nodded, and ran to fulfill his Captain's order.

After the men had left, Captain Arnatovic put a hand on J.M.'s shoulder. "General Milakvic, King Deni must be informed. I'll send one of my men. He might want to see you." Arnatovic lifted his hand. "You okay, General?" J.M. watched the empty space where the Angel had been.

"When I have her, I will be."

*O.o*

Jay sat on her bed. She was thinking about Dean's rants about Lexi. "She's perfect! She's almost flawless, but she acts very much like a doctor's experiment," Dean had told her. Good. Dean deserved Lexi, and Lexi deserved Dean. Jay had become almost bff with Lexi. Lexi was tough. Though this whole relationship was too mushy for Jayla. If Jay ever got a boyfriend, he couldn't be that mushy. Jayla wondered how their date went.

A pig rubbed against her and oinked. Jayla shot up and stared at the pig. How the Hell did a pig get in my room...? She examined the place. She wasn't in her room anymore. She was in a pig sty. "What the...?" Jay stared at her run down peasant dress. Why am I in a dress? Jay stood up and carefully walked out the pig sty. Something caught her eye. She stared at the night sky, unbelieving. A white dragon was flying through the air. Somebodies was shooting at it. Jay noticed it had someone in its claws. Lexi. The Dragon carefully put Lexi on its brilliant white back.

"The White Dragon has finally came back for Princess Alexandra. Why?" some girl asked. The girl had short straight brown hair, brown eyes, average, and she held the pig that had snuggled with Jayla.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Jay asked.

The girl blinked. "No. I'm Laura Farrington, and this is my pet pig Marco. Say hi, Marco!" The pig oinked. Laura snuggled it. "What's your name?" she asked Jayla.

"Jayla. Jayla Smith." They shook hands.

"So you're new around here?" Laura asked.

Jayla nodded. "I guess so... where am I?"

Laura laughed, "Denon, duh. I guess you're too tired to think straight." A band of horses started to flow where the dragon was going. "Come inside," Laura Farrington whispered. Jayla followed Laura and her pig. What choice did Jay have? And where the Hell was she?

*o.O*

Jamie sat on the couch, waiting for the millionth time for Dean to call about his date with Lexi. It was weird that Lexi and Dean were dating. Lexi was like his little sister, and Dean was Jamie's best friend. Still, Jamie still wanted to know the details(HOW IS HE A GUY?!?!). Dean had had a crush on Lexi since they were five. Dean had whispered to Jamie, "That giwl is cute."

Out of the blue, Jamie started to think of Madine, Lexi's world. He actually had been there. That's how he knew Lexi wasn't insane. Just magical and talented. She was recording things that happened in Madine at this point. Jamie, every time he looked through her notebooks, did not find a single self-portrait.

Then he fell out of a tree.

"Ow! What the...?" Jamie rubbed his head. He looked up at the nighttime sky. Two moons? The only place Jamie could think of having two moons was Madine. I'm in Madine? He asked himself. Or maybe it was just a dream. A dream where he could feel pain? No, he was in Madine. But where in Madine? And why?

A girl popped in front of him. "Need help?"

She had long brown hair and was short. She had a smiling mouse face. Jamie remembered her name.

"Nah. Thanks anyway, Ashley." Ashley Ortman shrugged. She was a ranch hand at Jamie's Madine dad's ranch. A horse nudged Jamie. Jamie petted the mare's nose. "I'm fine, Dayana." The brown mare helped him up.

"Where are we going again?" Jamie asked.

Ashley blinked. "To Denon, remember? We gotta go to sign up the ranch for the contest." Denon. Capital of the country Bernon, also where Lexi was princess. They weren't far, or else Jamie wouldn't have been sleeping in the tree. Maybe a day away.

"Hey, Dylan, can you help me with this?" Ashley asked Jamie. Jamie blinked. Dylan? Seeing no one else coming, he stepped forward and helped her with the fire. "It's sad that Jamie had to run away," Ashley sighed, "Just because he was friends with the Princess and probably knew her whereabouts too. I hope he's okay." Jamie nodded. He got the whole picture now. King Deni was looking for Lexi, and Jamie's Madine Dad probably said he ran away and renamed him Dylan, the new ranch hand. (Jamie's awesome at making inferences.)

"I bet he's fine."

Ashley nodded. "Did you hear? The princess returned to Denon! Jamie might come out of hiding now. It'll be great to have him back. Dayana probably misses him, but she's taken a liking to you." Dayana nudged Jamie. You can't trick animals, he thought, stroking between her eyes. A shadow flew over them. Jamie looked up, and gaped. A white dragon was beating its wings. On its back, Jamie spotted a wave of red hair. Lexi?

"The White Dragon's back?" Ashley whispered.

Jamie gaped. "And he's got the Princess."

Ashley widened her eyes. "What? Why?"

Jamie shrugged. "I don't know. Let's pack up. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"You, sir, are right." somebody said.

Jamie spun around, finding a ring of soldiers surrounding them.

"What are you doing out here?" the middle solider asked.

"We're heading to Denon to enter the St. Damon Contest," Ashley said.

"So why are you awake so late at night?" the middle solider inquired suspiciously.

"I fell out of a tree. I was sleeping there. Trees are much more comfortable to sleep in than the ground," Jamie explained. The middle solider thought this agreeable and turned to leave. But one of the other soldiers froze.

"Wait a second..." He got off his horse and came closer to examine Jamie. Jamie's heart pounded in his chest. If this guy recognized him, and Madine Jamie didn't want to be recognized, he'd be in big trouble. The solider examined his face.

"It's Jamie McGregor! The Princess's friend! He must've been in this plot!" the solider cried. Automatically, Jamie backhanded the guy. But it was too late.

"It's McGregor!" the other soldiers cried.

Ashley gaped at Jamie."Jamie...?" The soldiers came and got him to be in arrest formation.

"Jamie McGregor, you are under arrest for treason in the highest degree."

"Like Hell he is."

A girl showed up behind the soldiers. She had short, curly brown hair. She had two swords strapped to her back, and wore a dagger and some poison darts around her waist. She wore a long sleeved, tight, black shirt with white outlying the edges, archer's gloves, black breeches, and white military boots. Her hazel eyes shone in the darkness behind a midnight black and blue mask.

Ashley gaped at the girl. "The Midnight Warrior..."

Jamie smirked. "That's no Midnight Warrior. That's Emilee Gormly."

Em smirked too. "Names never fail you, do they, Jame?" Jamie shook his head. In a split second, Em knocked out the solider arresting Jamie with her fist. Jamie whirled around and punched one of the soldiers. Em took out her swords and perfected her slices against the soldiers. Jamie used his weight and size against them. They faltered under the pressure. I guess football is good for something in life.

The soldiers crumbled onto the ground. Em put her swords away. She grinned at Jamie. "Well, Jame, you have gotten a lot taller than the last time I saw you." Jamie grinned and hugged his old Madine friend. Em laughed. "I guess that ranch has been keeping you in shape!" She patted his hard rock abs. Jamie grinned.

"What are you doing here? And what's with the new nickname? The Midnight Warrior! Fear me!" Jamie mimicked. Em chuckled.

"Well, as long as I'm hiding from Deni, I might as well do it the right way. I'm here because someone tells me about a tournament in New Ferie. It's the next town over from Denon. I'll stop in Denon anyway, though. What are you doing here?"

Jamie shrugged. "There's that St. Damon contest in Denon. Ashy, me, and Dayana are entering it. I think my dad will join us." Ashy shook her head.

"Nah, Jamie. He said he was too old. So he's sending Micheal."

Jamie shrugged again. "Why don't you travel with us? We might find out what happened with The White Dragon and Lexi." Jamie offered. Em thought about it.

"Why not? Not like I have nothing better to do. Plus, I hear it's good to catch up with old friends." Em went to go change so she would seem inconspicuous. When she came out, she was wearing her father's old tunic, cut so it would fit her. She had tied her hair back. Jamie climbed up into a tree and fell asleep for the first time in a long time in Madine.

*-w-*

Jayla woke up, rubbing her temples. What a dream... She looked around. She was in an boarder room. So, maybe it wasn't a dream. Laura came in the room, Marco at her heels. She gave her oatmeal.

"So you don't even remember where you were traveling from? Only your name?" Laura asked her. Jay took a bite of her oatmeal. She had told Laura last night that the last thing she could remember was that she hit her head on a rock on a trail. Jay claimed that she didn't remember a thing besides her first name. "Smith", this was the day that Jay was actually paying attention in SS, was used when one didn't want to reveal their last name or couldn't remember in medieval times. Laura was working on her recovery system.

"Why don't we go into town today? We might be able to refresh your memory." Laura suggested. Jayla nodded. She changed into her peasant dress. Jayla soon followed Laura into town.

"Hey! Farrington!" Someone yelled. Laura turned to face a blond girl with multiple colored eyes. Jay couldn't decide what color they were. The girl was short and a little big.

"Hey, Erin. What's up?"

Erin hugged Laura. "Nothing. Just saw you and Marco."

Laura chuckled. "Jayla, this is Erin Howard. Erin, this is Jayla Smith. She had amnesia." Erin made an "Oh..." face.

"So where you goin?" Erin asked. Laura grinned.

"The tavern. Where I work." Erin rolled her eyes.

"Work, smirk. Hey, did you hear? General Milakvic tried to make his move on the Princess last night, and The White Dragon took her away! Now he's on a frantic search for her. The General, I mean. King Deni is furious." Erin gossiped.

Laura nodded."Yeah, I saw The White Dragon last night take the Princess away. It's a little sappy when you think about it. Too fairy tale."

Erin nodded dreamily."Sometimes, I wish Princess Alexandra's life was my life."

Laura scowled. "No thanks. Have to wear fancy dresses every day? Nuh-uh. Well, I'm off to the Tavern. Hopefully, Bekom wont mind if I bring a helper. Ta ta, Erin!"

"Bye!" Erin said in her high pitched voice. "Bye, Jayla!"

Laura lead Jayla to the Tavern. Bekom, who turned out to be a rat-like looking man, didn't mind the extra help. Jayla's job was to make food. It wasn't hard, considering she was alone most of the time with her working single dad and left to make dinner, Bekom praised her cooking. Laura, who was the other cook, joked that Bekom was going to bow down to Jay soon. Jayla started to talk to people more.

"Hey, Laura, who's The General? I don't remember." Jayla asked after a waitress gossiped with her. Laura shook her head.

"You can't remember anything about important things, yet you remember how to cook. The General is General Jared-Muhammad Milakvic. He's fallen head over heels for Princess Alexandra. He's kissed many of the women here. Only on the lips though. He wont kiss you past the lips." Laura informed Jayla. Jayla gaped. Jared-Muhammad? J.M.? Lip-Locked-Milakvic? The General?!

Laura noticed Jay's face. "You remember him?" Laura asked hopefully.

Jayla shook her head. "His name sounds familiar, but that's disgusting!"

Laura clamped her hand over Jay's mouth. "Don't let anyone hear you say that!" she hissed. "You could get arrested!" Marco squealed in agreement.

"Dude, that stinks," Jay muttered under her breath. Jay did not like this place at all, and she was going to get out as soon as possible.

*.*

"Okay, right now, since our names are still on the most wanted list," Em began, "I'm Jae, or Lady Jae of Casion in the tournament world."

Jamie laughed, "How did I know you would be in a tournament as the only girl-knight?" Jamie joked. Em grinned.

"I never fail you, do I?" Em kidded. Jamie shook his head.

"And remember, I'm Dylan Jamal, a ranch-hand at the McGregor Ranch," Jamie reminded her. Em grinned even bigger.

Ashy had left to go sign The McGregor Ranch in at the St. Damon Contest, so she had gone ahead. They planned to meet her at the Ferdinand, a tavern that was, apparently, awesome. Em recommended it, even though she didn't go to taverns much. "There is no way you're gonna get me and a drunk soldier in the same room," she had explained.

Em guided Jamie to a blacksmith. Jamie eyed her swords. They were bent in many different places. "What happened, Jae?" Jamie asked.

Em handed her swords to the blacksmith. "Careful," she told the man, "These have been passed down in my family." The bald man nodded. She turned to Jamie. "Tell ya later. Too many people around," she whispered, glancing suspiciously around at the people on the street. Jamie nodded.

"Lady Jae?" Em glanced at a boy, and immediately grimaced. The boy raced to her. He looked like a street kid in a soldier's uniform with a forgettable face, yet a good-looking one. He was seemingly pale. He grinned toothily. "Lady Jae! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in New Ferie for the next tournament! I'm gonna go if Captain Arnatovic or General Milakvic doesn't make me go on the search. Who's he?" the boy made a face at Jamie.

Em sighed. "Dyl, this is Raymond, a solider of King Deni and my number. One. Fan." Jamie raised his eyebrows.

"Lucky you." Jamie mouthed.

Em nodded remorsefully. "Raymond, this is my old friend Dylan." Ray glared at Jamie when Em wasn't looking.

"So, Dylan, what do you think? Go to the tavern now or later?" Em asked Jamie. He bit his lip.

"Well, depends. How hungry are you?" Jamie asked. Emilee shrugged. Then she smirked playfully.

"How much are you itching for a drink?" she teased. Jamie scrunched his nose.

He remembered, before the days Lexi was trapped in the insane asylum, he was in Madine and Lee had taken the three of them into a tavern. Lee had stolen a beer, and was trying to get someone to take "only a bit of sip" of it with him. Em had downright refused, and convinced Lexi not to drink it too. So Jamie took the blow, even if Em glared at him not to. Lee handed him the bottle, and Jamie took a huge gulp! Jamie's eyes bulged and threw up right on the spot.

"That was gross! Never again!" he had hissed.

"When I said never again, I meant, NEVER AGAIN," Jamie muttered. Em laughed.

"I told you not to. But did you listen? No," she chortled. Then her face saddened. "I wonder how he's doing..."

Jamie looked at the burning swords thoughtfully. "Yeah, me too." Raymond stared at the both of them.

"Who?" he squeaked.

Em smiled a little. "An old friend of ours," she replied softly. She snapped back to reality. "Okay, I think we should go to the tavern now, before they get crowded. Hey, Mr. Viviaun! What time will my swords be ready?"

The blacksmith rubbed his polished head. "'bout 5 o'clock, miz."

Em nodded. "I'll be here to pick them up then. I'll pay you after the work is done." The small man nodded, and went to fill another person's order.

"We'd better head out then," Jamie turned and headed into the street. He jerked back, along with the rest of the street. An arrow whizzed past his head. A guy ran past him, grasping a canteen to his chest. Some soldiers were chasing after him, shooting arrows.

"STOP HIM!" one bellowed, drunkenly. The guy literally leaped gracefully to get away.

"LA LA LA LA!!! IMMA NEVER GONNA GET CAUGHT CUZ I AM THE CHAMPION OF RUM!!" he sang. It sounded awfully familiar.... Then he started to sing in another language. "ALLES IS GOED! ALLES IS FIJN! IK VOEL ME FANTASTISCH EN IK HEBRUM! IK GA EINDELIJK M'N OUDE VRIENDEN ZIEN!!! "

In a split second, Jamie ran after the guy. Em scratched her head. "That doesn't even make sense..." her voice trailed off. Then a light bulb went on in her head. "NO WAY!" She dashed behind Jamie. Jamie barreled between the barrels the drunk guy was tossing behind. The soldiers behind them were still shooting arrows.

They raced into the forest, the guy still singing his song off-key. Em had set some traps, taking two of the drunk soldiers out. Jamie was two inches away from the guy. Jamie reached out a hand to grab the guy's shoulder....

"UGH!" Jamie collapsed. An arrow was lodged into his shoulder. The sharp pain surged throughout his body, sending blood seeping.

"Ja- Dylan!" Em shouted. The guy turned around, gazing horrified at Jamie. The guy whipped out a book, turned to a page, and glared at the solders, chanting,

"Piler skrur på erke, som Jager Konge Deni soldater vekk borte borte! Til Generell Milakvic ser hans dume menn!" The arrows slashing in the air, glowed and hung in the air for a second. In a whiplash, the darted right to the ones that released them.

The soldiers darted off screaming, "WITCHCRAFT!" The arrows followed their every move. Em was at Jamie's side in a second. She slowly tried to pull out the arrow. The boy swooped down, right across from her.

"You'll never get it out that way, onnozel meisje," he scolded playfully. He took hold of the arrow and yanked it out. Jamie howled in pain.

"YEAH, AND THAT WAS BETTER?!" Em yelled.

The boy smirked. He put a hand on Jamie's red shoulder and closed his eyes. He started to mumble. "Заживите, старыйкомпаньон, и никогдастрелкапроникает в Васснова."

Instantly, the pain was gone. The skin on the wound regrew rapidly, looking as if an arrow never was there. Jamie rolled over and looked right into the guy's sparking, proud eyes. "Long time, no see, Lee."