Joey paced the small clearing, every so often looking up into the sky to gage the movement of the sun. Pacey should have been there hours ago. Every time she tried to reach out for him, her nervousness and worry would break the contact. She grew more and more frustrated as the hours passed, which increased her agitation and left her unable to even pin point his location. All the time she'd been waiting had given her ample time to think. If he had been caught...he would fight. She knew he would do everything in his power to return to her. Everything except use his magic. Damn his honor, he would refuse to use the advantage against his foe. And if he lost...they would kill him. Maybe not right away, but Winchester would not rest until his body hung limp from the noose. And her father...well, the laws were quite clear on the matter of kidnapping the princess.

The more minutes that passed, the worse her fear became. Dare she go back and bear witness to his execution? No. She would not--could not bear to see him die without seeking revenge on those who stole his life. And unlike Pacey, her conscience would not hold her magic in check.

With a resigned sigh, she forced herself to relax knowing her worrying was of no help to the situation. She walked over to where her horse was calmly grazing under the shade of a large elm tree and gazed up at the wide branches. Her head tilted slightly in contemplation. From up there, she'd be able to see farther than from her spot on the ground now. It had been a while since she'd climbed a tree, but surely it wouldn't be that hard. A small smile graced her lips at the thought of the challenge it would prove and she reached up for the lowest hanging branch and hoisted herself up. She grimaced faintly, hopefully her dress wouldn't tear too badly. The horse seemed to neigh his disapproval at her new endeavor and Joey frowned down at him. "Oh, do be quiet. This way I'll be able to tell if anyone is coming before they see me," she scolded before she began to climb further up.

She had to bite her lip to keep from letting out a sound and managed a tiny squeak as she grasped onto the trunk of the tree, the toes of her slippers barely brushing the bark of the limb below her. She carefully began to pull herself up, managing not to wince when she heard the undeniable sound of fabric tearing. With one hand she reached out for a jutting branch that was just out of her reach. Her fingertips scraped at the bark as she tried to get a good grip. If she could just reach it, from that vantage point she'd be able to see everything. Her gaze dropped to the ground below her as she reached for the branch and she breathed in deeply. "Oh dear, that's pretty high," she murmured. She was a good fifteen feet above the horse and she tried not to imagine what would happen if she fell. She made herself concentrate on the task at hand as she made a grab for the branch again. Funny, this had seemed much easier when she was younger.

Pacey emerged from the underbrush and warily scanned the clearing for Joey. His tunic was stained dark red, sickly splashes of blood coated his face, "Joey?" He called out warily, his voice hoarse.

"Pacey?" A loud exclamation left Joey lips as her hand slipped and she managed to catch herself before she fell too quickly to the ground.

"What are you doing up there?" He watched her scramble down the tree. He wiped at the sheen of sweat on his brow.

Once she was back on the ground, she smoothed her hands over the material of her dress and brushed out her hair. "From up there I can see farther," she answered logically. Her eyes doubled in size once she got a good look at him. "What happened to you?"

"Sword fight." He answered simply. "You weren't supposed to wait this long."

She ignored his words and instead rushed to his side. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," He shrugged, masking the pain. He turned and put his lips in his mouth releasing a high pitched whistle. Thunder trotted into the clearing, a heavy burden on his back. "He's the one who needs help."

Joey's eyes grew wide when she realized the horse was carrying a man. At least that much she was able to discern despite the blood and bruises. She could not stop herself from going over and seeing what she could do to help him.

"Hello, Princess," Drue smiled stiffly at Joey as he recognized her.

Pacey came to her side and using brute strength, lifted Drue from the horse and laying him down on the soft moss at the bank of the river. "The wound is worst on his right side," he pulled back the blood soaked tunic and revealed the deep gash. "The others on his arms are superficial." He lifted his eyes to meet Joey's as she knelt on the other side of him. "I just couldn't leave him there to die."

"Of course not," Joey said as if any other option was ridiculous. She leaned over to inspect his wound. "It will need to be cleaned."

"Do you know how?" He asked, his brow furrowed with worry.

She swiftly climbed to her feet and grabbed the brown package that held her wedding dress off the back of her horse and tossed it to Pacey. "We'll use this to clean and dress it."

He looked from the package to her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes. We must do it quickly."

"All right," he nodded and tore open the package, ripping the garment into strips as Joey collected water from the river.

Joey chewed on her lower lip nervously and cast a glance over her shoulder at the injured man. She'd never actually had done anything like this before at least for nothing more serious than the scratches and scrapes she'd gotten herself into as a child. Hopefully, it was more or less the same just on a grander scale.

She returned to Pacey's side and he dipped a strip of the dress into the cold water, carefully cleansing his skin of the blood. Thankfully, there were no bits of dirt or fabric imbedded in it, at least that he could see.

"Well, I guess that does not look so bad," Joey said with more conviction than she felt as she surveyed the area. She glanced up. "Does it hurt much?"

Drue grit his teeth, “Excruciating."

She frowned some more and turned thoughtful. "Well, I suppose I can try something..."

"As long as it is quick," Pacey said, watching Drue's chest rise and fall with his shallow breathing. "He has lost too much blood."

"Very well." Joey raised her gaze upward quickly and murmured something inaudible under her breath. She knelt beside him on the grass and pressed her hands against the stab wound, squeezing her eyes shut as she concentrated, his blood seeping up through her fingers.

Pacey watched, his breath baited as the brightly colored tendrils of her magic surrounded her and Drue. Biting down on his lip, he watched as Drue's skin turned a bright pink as the scar tissue began to slowly form over the wound.

He had managed to successfully lead the search party away from Joey and deeper into the forest to the East. He had no problem eluding them later, all except for Drue. The determination of his friend to hunt him down had left them no respite but to face each other sword to sword. Drue could not return to Camelot without Joey. Having already received the dishonor for losing her once in the forest, and not catching her and Pacey's escape from his post as guard earlier that day, he was determined to do the honorable thing, even if it meant killing his friend.

In the end, the fight had been Pacey's and the young warrior could no more leave Drue to death in the cold woods than he could stop breathing. Under the duress of time, he had hoisted Drue across the back of his horse and started walking.

"T-There. I think that should do it." Joey fell back onto the ground with an exhausted breath.

He rested a hand on her shoulder, knowing the energy it had taken to perform a spell of that magnitude. "Rest," he urged her to lay back on the soft moss. "We camp here for the night. By morning we should know how he fares."

"I hope it worked," she murmured. "I've never done that before."

He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it, not wanting to get closer to her in his dirty condition. "I'm sure it will."

Moving away from her, he started a fire nearby, knowing he had to keep Drue warm. Periodically, he'd glance to Drue and then Joey, who seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. Once the flames were roaring loudly, he collected more water from the river, drizzling a few drops between Drue's lips, he had finally succumbed to the pain, and lay blissfully unconscious. Satisfied that Drue had drunk enough, he set out to hunt something for dinner. They had planned to make it to the cave by now, but that would no longer be an option. Twenty minutes later, he returned with a large hare and quickly used his magic to set it over the fire to roast. Then, he finally made his way to the river, stripping out of his ruined clothes he waded in the cold waters, first washing his clothes, and then himself.

After a short nap, Joey awoke feeling significantly refreshed. She was still tired, but she was no longer sapped completely of energy. She sat up and moved to Drue's side, examining his other wounds. Relieved to see that they were barely scratches, she sat back and scanned the clearing for Pacey. Her eyes lit on the fire burning nearby and the rabbit roasting on a spit that magically rotated by itself.

It wasn't until she looked back to the river that she found him, standing knee deep in the water, his back to her, completely naked. She stood frozen to the spot for several long moments, staring at the smooth muscle of his shoulders, and back...and lower, the curve of his butt above a pair of strong legs. Heat suffused her young body as she watched him move, rinsing his clothes in the water. His movements were strained and jerky, and it wasn't until he turned back to the river bank to spread his clothes out on the grass that she understood why. A deep laceration started on his right bicep and ended at his chest, it looked as though Drue's sword had taken one hard slash at him. Another, deeper wound pierced his shoulder, by the looks of it, still continued to bled.

She lifted her skirts and rose to her feet. "You're hurt."

"Hhmm?" He lifted his eyes to focus on her and watched as hurried toward him. "What? I'm fine."

"Well you certainly don't look it," she remarked doubtfully.

"I'm fine, honestly." He turned away from her to go back in the water to wash off caked dirt and blood from his upper body.

She tentatively took a step closer to the water's edge. "At least let me check it."

"Can it wait until after I'm clean?" He called back over his shoulder.

"Oh." She nodded. "Of course."

He dunked his head under water, running his hands through his hair. After resurfacing he carefully washed away the dirt and blood from his skin as best he could. The cold water had caused his shoulder to start throbbing, and it became too painful to move his arm much. Washing his face one last time, he headed for the shore, too tired to care about Joey's delicate sensibilities, he didn't bother to try and cover himself.

Joey caught herself staring and blushed, turning her head away. "I'll leave you to dress." She walked over to check on Drue, trying not to look over her shoulder.

He pulled on his damp braies, knotting the ties securely. Leaving his chest bare so she could inspect his wounds, he picked up his tunic, examine the tears in the fabric as he carried it to the fire where it would dry faster. He checked on the rabbit and judged it would be ready soon.

"He seems to be recovering," Joey commented as she rose from beside Drue.

"Thank heaven," Pacey smiled in relief, "We cannot stay here more than this night. How are you faring?"

"I am fine," she replied walking over to him. "It is you I am worried about."

"Tis barely a scratch."

"It does not look like it." She frowned and leaned over to get a better look. "How did it happen?"

"I led the search party back to the east, and managed to lose them. All except Drue." He shrugged, and then winced in regret, "We were duty bound to fight."

"So you did that to him?" she questioned lightly while she tentatively pressed her hand against his arm. "Does it hurt terribly?"

"Only when I move," he replied glibly.

Joey rolled her eyes. "Hold still." This time she was able to perform the healing spell much easier than before.

He put his hand over hers on his shoulder, adding to her strength. "You needn’t have done that."

She smiled faintly. "I wanted to."

"You don't feel too tired?" He asked softly.

She shook her head. "No."

He pulled her closer to him, and slid his arm around her waist, holding her close. Resting his chin lightly on the top of her head, he inhaled deeply, "No turning back now, my love."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly and sighed quietly. "I know."

"We should eat soon," he kissed her temple as dark started to creep in over the forest.

She nodded and glanced back at Drue. "Should we wake him?"

"A few more minutes, I think..." he raised a speculative eye brown in her direction.

"Okay."

He brushed his lips lightly over hers, and rested his forehead against hers. "We're going to be fine, Princess."

She smiled up at him. "I know."