Daryn stopped the horses, staring ahead at the trees. Daelyn came up beside her, looking at her face. She was deep in her own mind, flipping through her options. They could continue, take the chance of losing the fight and losing the prince. They could go around them, safe but cowards. If they fought the group, there was always the chance that they would be discovered for who they were. Whatever the final choice, they needed to keep the prince hidden. Daryn scaled her surroundings, wondering if there was a way to fight from a distance, so the birds could help. 

"We can't go around," Daelyn said, quietly beside her, "Night is falling, and we would be lost in minutes if we strayed from the path."

"We can't confront them," she said in agreement, turning on her horse to face him, "Or else we risk Triver's safety." They just looked at one another for a second, sharing the same thought. How do we fight them from this distance? An owl sounded overhead, like a hint. Daryn looked around in fright, thinking of the birds in the arena. An idea hit her, and she jerked back to look at Daelyn. "What if we fight from above?" Daelyn's face lit up, and he nodded with a smile creeping across his face. They both dismounted, tying the horses to a tree. 

"Daelyn and I will ambush them, since they already know we are here. We can't hide from them, and night is falling too fast to go around. I will climb  up the trees and over to where they are. I'm a pretty good shot," Daryn said, tapping her bow, "I can knock the first three out before the other four know what hit them. That's where Daelyn will come in. When the other four uncover themselves, he will catch them off guard and knock those four out." She paused, looking up at the trees. "Ser'deni, we need you to stay back and protect Triver. We can't risk them seeing him, or else every bandit in the area will know we are here. From here, if we need help, you can send some." 
 
Then, Daryn looked down at her outfit. She was wearing that stupid dress. Daelyn caught her looking at it and drew his sword. With a swift movement, he chopped it off at the knee, yanking the rest of the fabric away from Daryn. It was embarrassingly short, showing most of her leg and boots. Daelyn didn't like that so much skin was showing, but she seemed to like it as she disappeared into the nearest tree. She'd always been much better at climbing that he had. Daelyn gave the made and prince a nod, moving forward in the shadows of the trees. Ser'deni had been right. There were three men with jagged, worn swords drawn waiting on the path. They whispered amongst themselves, eyeing the bushes behind them every so often. Daelyn assumed that was where the rest of there crew hid. 

Daelyn heard the whistle of the arrow right before it struck the first man. It hit right where Daryn had aimed, the heart. The dead man looked at his two partners and collapsed on the ground as another arrow struck the second man. By now, the third was checking the trees, sword at the ready. These bandits were unaccustomed to confrontation. While he turned himself in circles, Daryn shot her final blow, hitting this man in the back, clearing through to the front. He gave a guttural cry and collapsed beside his friends. 

Silence spread over the small path. Daelyn held his breath, hearing Daryn moving overhead. If the four were hiding behind the trees, they weren't coming out. Daryn stared down at Daelyn's hunched figure, waiting. Nothing was happening. She cussed under her breath, putting her bow back over her back. When she led out a long breath, the arrow sizzled through the air, landing in her thigh. It was all she could do not to scream, ducking further into her shadows. They knew where she was. Tears formed in her eyes as she jerked the arrow out, feeling the warm blood flow down her leg. She had to get down to Daelyn. Already, though, she was light headed. 

Daelyn saw the bloody arrow land on the grass beside him, and he jumped up. The source of the arrow was a man clad in black, hiding right in the shadow in front of the bushed. When Daelyn stood, the three other men did the same, swords drawn. The black dressed man disappeared, making Daelyn cuss. It was all he could do, though, to keep the other three men at bay. Panting, he drove his sword through their stomachs, pushing them into a heap behind the path. 

Overhead, Daryn watched the man in black run towards Ser'deni and Triver. She fought her numb leg to move, eventually crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap. Daelyn heard her hit hard ground, following the sound to her bloody body. He picked her up and raced back to where he was sure the man was heading.