Chihiro shook her head. She had a bad feeling in her stomach about the situation she now found herself in and it had nothing to do with her recent bout of morning sickness. Rin was striding ahead of her, back rigid with tension and head held high as if to belie the fact she was nervous. They had been travelling in a westerly direction along a route Rin half-remembered. As the morning had progressed, Rin had remembered more and more about her surroundings. Chihiro could tell the depth of her amnesia was frustrating her surrogate sister. They had passed a small woodland pool an hour before. Rin had recounted a conversation she had had with one of her sisters there, but she could not remember her sibling's name or how old she was herself when the conversation took place. She had stood on the bank of the pool in silence for ten full minutes, fists clenched, trying desperately to remember more. But the memories would not come. It would take far more to break Yubaba's spell.

As much as Chihiro wished to help Rin, she was aware of the pressure of time. She had not dreamt of Haku for some time and her imagination was running wild with the possibilities of what could be happening to him. She needed to get him back soon, and there was still a long way to go according to Linca. The maps of the spirit world that Linca referred to were insanely complex, mainly because they magically updated themselves. All the shifting characters and symbols made Chihiro's head hurt and the map blur before her eyes. She was not alone; Scott could hardly read them any better. She guessed the spirit brain could process information more quickly than the human mind. Chihiro looked at the track she was walking on dejectedly. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how long she lived, she would never be as intelligent or as skilled as her sisters and mate were.

Her belly tightened and lurched. Chihiro swallowed her nausea and smiled. If she did not know any better she would think her child was telling her off for feeling sorry for herself. It was a bad habit left over from her years of living in the human world. Poor Chihiro who was sick in the head, nothing ever went right for her! But she was now Chihiro, mate of Haku, sister of Rin and Linca. Mistress of a bathhouse! The human who would save the spirit world from its biggest threat since its creation! She had no right to feel sorry for herself. She didn't have the time either. She had to find her mate and she also had to look after her confused sister.

Scott was walking alongside her, as was Linca. The water horse was scouting around the woods, probably tormenting the local spirits. There was the same mix of concern and tension on her companions' faces as there was on Chihiro's own. They were all worried about the same thing she was sure. What was it that had made Rin run from this place? Knowing the spirit as they all did, she was very unlikely to run from anything. As they got closer and Rin recognised more, Chihiro also began to wonder how much time had passed since Rin had started work at the bathhouse. The home she had been born in had certainly not been occupied for a very long time.

Chihiro was shaken out of her musings but a half strangled cry. Rin broke into a run and sprinted down the woodland track.

"Rin, stop!" shouted Scott.

"I remember this place!" she called over her shoulder, eyes shining. "The main road is just up ahead!"

Seeing they could not stop her, the humans broke into a run. Linca sprang lightly past them, her small legs pumping like well oiled pistons. She easily caught up with her sister and kept pace with her.

"I wish they would not make it look so easy," panted Scott, slowing his pace a little so not to outdistance Chihiro. His long legs could have easily carried him forward much faster but he did not want to leave her alone. Chihiro smiled to herself.

"I don't think they do it on purpose..." she gasped. "They aren't confined by physical limitations; their muscles can be stimulated with magic if they get tired and gravity is something that they work with rather than fight against."

"Well..." puffed Scott. "I can see why you fell for one... they are..." He shook his head. Chihiro did not know if he was saving his breath or simply did not have the words to describe the ethereal beauty of many of the spirit world's inhabitants. A few minutes later however, he spoke again.

"You know... this whole thing..." he began.

"It makes me uneasy too," interrupted Chihiro, saving him from explaining.

"I'm not uneasy," he huffed. "I just think this is another very convenient distraction from our mission."

Chihiro skidded to a halt.

"You think this is a trap!" she wheezed.

"I think this has "trap" written all over it in twelve-story neon illuminated letters," growled Scott. He took Chihiro by the arm and pulled her forward.

"There is not much we can do about it, but I would advise caution; we should treat our destination as hostile till proven otherwise."

Chihiro nodded; he was right.

"We must try and make her see the danger," he murmured more to himself than Chihiro. "At least send one of us to fly by the place and take a look."

Up ahead Rin and Linca had stopped. With a last mad sprint the humans caught up, Scott practically having to drag Chihiro. Chihiro wondered where all her strength had gone, but in truth, she knew; the little dragon in her belly was using it to grow. They caught up with the spirit women. Rin and Linca were standing at a crossroads. Rin was staring at the road as if it was going to bite her. The "main road" as Rin had called it was little more than a ridged and potholed dirt track. In places, fully mature trees were growing in the middle of it, with only the odd paving stone remaining.

Rin was blinking rapidly as her eyes swept from one side of the road to the other.

"Rin?" whispered Chihiro, frightened of startling her. "What's wrong?"

"I... I... I was at the meeting that agreed to make this road," she stammered. "I was given special dispensation to be present as it was my idea. Concubines normally did not get involved in government affairs..." she trailed off. "But I was different... He was going to bond with me... make my child his heir..." She stared around in bewilderment. "This road was finished when I left; I remember running on it... I tripped and broke my wrist... I kept running anyway."

Chihiro swallowed as she listened to Rin. Her anxiety increased. She was not the only one; Linca's hands were worrying the edges of her tunic. She bit her lip and looked at Chihiro. Neither of them wanted to burden Rin with their fears and with Rin's mood being far from stable she would not listen to them if they were not delicate about the situation. They were saved from the dilemma when a flushed and still panting Scott stepped forward and boldly took Rin's hands in his own. Rin jumped in surprise, startled out of her half formed memories.

"Rin," he said softly. "I think we should rest here for a while."

"Why?" she asked, looking questioningly up at him. "I'm alright, really I am!"

"I know that," he said soothingly. "But things have changed since you left. The person you left may not even be here anymore. We may be walking into the domain of a hostile spirit."

"I can take care of myself," retorted Rin with a frown. She tried to pull her hands away from the tall human's but he tightened his grip. He smiled at her warmly.

"Yes, I know you can," he reassured her. "You are strong and quick witted." He released her hands and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her sideways slightly to look at Chihiro. Chihiro at that moment was doing an excellent impression of a landed fish, still panting from her run. After weeks on the road she was sure she looked rather dishevelled too.

"You may be able to defend yourself," said Scott softly "But is this worth putting your pregnant sister in danger?" Rin blinked several times and paled a little; this was clearly something she had not considered. Scott stepped away from her, giving her a couple of seconds to consider what he had said before he spoke again.

"We are going to go with you, Rin, and are willing to meet whatever we find there. But we must have an idea of what we are going to face. Let Linca investigate a little and the Nygel can help her." Linca gave an indignant squeak. She still barely tolerated the horse spirit. Scott gave her a warning look.

"Give us a day, Rin," whispered Scott. "It will be dark in a few hours; Chihiro needs rest and if I am honest so do I." Rin looked up at him, surprised he was admitting such a weakness so easily. He shrugged and smiled at her.

"I'm only human," he said his smile broadening to a grin. Rin looked from Chihiro to Scott and back again. Her face hardened; she had decided.

"We will spend the night here. You humans can rest and I'll look after you both," she announced then turned and stalked into the woods. She dumped her pack on the ground and began to remove the camping equipment.

Linca and Chihiro stared at Scott.

"What?" he asked. "I have a sister," he added, as if it explained everything.

"You are a lot smarter than you look," exclaimed Linca.

"Thanks," said Scott dryly, turning to follow Rin.

"Of course, you look like a retard," the sprite snickered. Scott sighed and walked towards the very busy Rin.

"That was not nice," muttered Chihiro.

"We don't want him getting ideas above his station!" Linca protested. Chihiro rolled her eyes. No matter how dire the situation, Linca could be relied on not to take it too seriously.

They made camp and the Nygel returned from hunting for his food to be told that he could not sleep off his bulging flanks; he had to go scouting again.

The equine spirit flatly refused to enter any town; he was far from welcome in most spirit dwellings, mainly because of his kind's voracious appetite and reputation for eating anything of under a certain size. Linca only refrained from commenting because Chihiro stamped on her foot.

The Nygel and Linca melted into the woodland a short time later.

Rin was restless; she gathered more wood than they could possibly use in a week, prepared a massive meal from several rabbits she caught and some local shrubs as a garnish. She handed Chihiro an entire bunny on a stick and a metal bowl full of leafy salad. Chihiro's stomach shrank. She was not normally squeamish, but the smell of the meat made her stomach turn. She really wanted some fish. Some freshly caught trout, grilled over hot coals... Or some tuna sushi, using only the best of the belly meat would be even better! Her stomach rumbled at the thought. She looked at the rabbit again and at Rin's concerned face. Chihiro bit into the animal. The hot juices that flowed into her mouth would have normally been delicious, but it was all she could do not to spit it out. After an internal struggle she swallowed the meat.

Scott eyed her suspiciously as he tore into his rabbit while Chihiro took only delicate little bites. When Rin stepped away to get water from the local stream, Scott snatched Chihiro's rabbit from her and replaced it with his own almost stripped carcass. As he wolfed down Chihiro's rabbit, happily licking the juices from his lips, he opened his pack and produced a shiny foil packet. He leaned over and pushed it into her pocket.

"Snack on that later," he said with his mouth half full. "You look a little green."

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's one pack of dried bananas and peaches and another of dried fish. It will all be a lot less taxing on your stomach than game meat," he said with a wink.

Chihiro could have hugged him but Rin returned with her water. She was pleased to see her meal had been devoured and sat down to eat her own. There was little conversation and shortly after Rin had eaten and disposed of the carcasses the sun went down and the stars came out. Scott used an old oak near the fire to prop himself against and appeared to have no intention of moving for the rest of the night. Rin sat close to the fire, the light reflecting in her dark eyes. Her head began to nod.

"Rin," whispered Chihiro. "Go to bed, we will wake you as soon as they come back."

Rin protested, but finally her sleepy brain could not think of an excuse. She crawled into her tent of plastic sheets and was soon snoring gently. Chihiro guiltily nibbled on her fruit and fish while Scott dozed against the trunk of his tree. She looked up; the stars were shining brightly above her. She wondered if Haku was able to see the sky where he was.

She put another peach in her mouth but instantly spat it out. It tasted of metal! She looked at the peaches in the bag; they seemed normal apart from one that had little dark spots on it. She picked it up. She then realised the problem was not with the peach, it was with the hand that held it. Blood was dripping steadily down her fingers. She wiped at her hand. There was no pain, she was just bleeding. It was then that she saw that it was her mating scar that was bleeding. One corner of it had opened and blood was oozing steadily from it. Chihiro stared at it, not quite ready to believe what she was seeing. Her brain kicked in and she hurriedly located a first aid kit. Bleeding was still bleeding even if it was not a wound she had anything to do with. Her heart was cold. She wanted to scream at the sky that she was tired; she just wanted to go home and be with her mate and await the birth of their child in comfort. But she could not do that, she did not have the luxury of falling apart. She cleaned and bandaged her hand. She would invent an excuse about it later. No sense worrying everyone when nothing could be done about it.

Once her hand was dealt with she sat down and took a deep breath. She felt in her pockets. She drew out a small glass vial and a lock of hair. The hair would normally be a shiny green-black but it was matt black and lifeless. It felt coarse to the touch; it was not the gloriously silky hair of her mate. It was not the hair that she would occasionally weave into the odd small braid while he slept. He would wake and angrily pull them out, complaining that he was not her doll to play with. He was a mean, terrible dragon and his mate of all people should respect his dignity. His minor rants did not stop her playing with his hair though. The hair in her hand he had cut from his own head to be given to her.

The sample of lake water was not encouraging either. It had a distinct green sheen to it, as if it was beginning to turn stagnant. The lake would be suffering without its physical self and it appeared the physical manifestation of her mate was also in poor shape, if his hair could be trusted as an accurate indicator. Chihiro clutched the water and the hair to her. She forced back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She was going to rescue him! But she was running out of time; he was getting weak and she would make no progress until they had resolved Rin's history. Chihiro felt so torn; beloved sister or beloved mate? How could she possibly choose? She couldn't leave Rin to face her past alone and she could not afford to be delayed.

"What do I do?" she whimpered into the night. Whether she remembered the prophecy with clarity at that moment or whether some other being reminded her, Chihiro could never be sure, but the Old Man of Arron's voice echoed thorough her head.

"The options are numerous, the choices hard. If she can keep placing one foot before the other she will walk on through the haze, through which my insight grows dim."

Chihiro smiled up at the stars.

"One foot before the other," she murmured. Her path had been decided for her, but she had to have the strength to walk it. She put the hair and the vial back in her pockets. The situation may be another cleverly organised diversion by Kenshin, but it could not be as bad as being thrown down a cliff. She suspected the spirit just wanted her to waste time. She would not give him the satisfaction; she would aid Rin then make it to his cursed desert in record time.

There was a hoot and a flutter of wings. Linca and the Nygel had returned.

A/N- Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I finished my second novel last week. Icedancer is out to my Alpha readers for feedback and will be with my editior by the begining of november. I'm so excited!