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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to those who have reviewed. You guys have been so supportive throughout this entire story, and I cant say thank you enough!
As Elizabeth thundered down the path following William and Bryant, she struggled to catch her breath in the heavy rain. Here she was, completely drenched, following her two captors in the middle of a wicked storm, to go risk her life trying to save men who would shortly march off to go fight in the war against her own countrymen. As hideously wrong as the situation seemed, Elizabeth had no one to blame but herself for getting herself into this mess. They hadn't asked her for her help. Hell, they tried to keep her from coming! But no, she had stubbornly followed them into this mess.

When her horse shied suddenly to the right, she used every bit of concentration that she had to keep herself upright in the saddle. She cursed herself for allowing her mind to wander when at a breakneck gallop in such sloppy conditions. Clenching her jaw, she dropped back in the saddle and guided the gelding back onto the trail, willing herself to pay attention to what she was doing. When Bryant's horse spooked at something in front of them, William slowed so as not to cause a collision. Through the blinding rain, Elizabeht could barely make out the shape of a four foot obstacle blocking the trail, where a tree had fallen. William muttered a curse and moved off the trail into the woods, trying to find an easy way around the blockage. Because the underbrush was so dense though, he was having to pick his way very carefully. Bryant, unable to fit abreast, moved in behind William.

Elizabeth was just tightening her reigns to follow when she heard something over the noise of the storm. She halted and waited a moment, listening carefully. When the sound came again from somewhere up ahead, she turned to call out to William and Bryant, who were still searching for a way around the fallen tree. She stood in her stirrups and shielded her hand over her eyes, peering out into the rain. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she could barely make out two or three figures slightly in the distance. As she squinted trying desperately to make out the shapes, the wind and rain quieted slightly. As the sight in front of her became more clear, she was able to make out four figures standing with outstretched arms, waving frantically. When the air cleared slightly more, she finally saw the river.

When had been a lazy moving river before was now a rushing torrent of frothing water, breaking over the banks and dragging trees and shrubs along with it. The men were standing in the middle of what had once been a land bridge, but was now effectively an island. What was worse, though, was that the island was shrinking. The rising water was pulling the riverbank down into it, chipping away at their little land mass bit by bit. As Elizabeth watched, one man slid and would have gone under had he not been grabbed by one of his companions. As it was, his lower half was now submerged. The other soldiers leaned forward to grab on, but Elizabeth could see that the earth under their feet was beginning to give way.

"William!" She cried out, pointing towards the water. William, his horse still struggling to get through the underbrush, tried to call out to the men. Elizabeth, frustrated with the hopelessness of the situation, spun her horse around.

"Should have known this would be too much for her" Bryant said bitterly, backing his horse out of the tangle of briars that he had walked into. William, alarm in his eyes, turned around in his saddle to look towards Elizabeth.

"Don't try it!" He yelled.

"What the..." Bryant trailed off when he saw Elizabeth wheel her mount back around. Sitting down hard in the saddle she kicked the bay on, expertly guiding the animal straight towards the center of the tree. At the base of the tree, she leaned forward out of the saddle, squared her shoulders, and squeezed with her legs. Pressing her hands forward along the horse's neck, she released the reigns and the horse lifted off. The pair sailed over the obstacle, landed, and skidded to a stop after a few strides.

"Damn it..." William growled, and spurred his mount. Elizabeth turned as the two men finally crashed through the underbrush towards her. When they got close enough, Elizabeth was stunned at the murderous look in William's eyes, directed completely towards her. She caught her breath. She had not been expecting admiration, but his fury stunned her.

He swung his lean body off of his mount, pulling off the two ropes he had brought with. One he passed to Bryant, and the other he coiled loosely at his hip.

"Bryant! I want you about 50 feet down stream. Find a shallow spot and see if you cant wade out. Be ready in case any end up in the water." He barked tensely.

"Yes sir!" came Bryant's reply, as he moved down the riverbank.

Finding a sturdy looking tree, William quickly tied the other rope, and then wrapped the other end around the pommell of his saddle, so that it could be easily reached.

"What do I do?" Elizabeth called, still sitting astride her prancing mount, who was eyeing the floodwaters with something akin to panic.

"You stay right there, and don't move!" He snapped, mounting up again.

Although she was furious with his treatment of her, she knew that her response could wait until after the men were all on dry ground. Right now, there was just simply too much going on to waste time with hurt feelings. As she stood there with fisted hands, another crack of lightening lit up the sky above her. Her mount danced beneath her, but didn't bolt. William, unfazed by the storm's second wind, kept right on moving towards the water despite the increasing rain. Biting her lip, Elizabeth said a quick prayer as the horse and rider moved towards the raging water.





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