Blood pooled in the cracks of her skin, seeping over the edge of her palm and the crimson liquid slowly dripped down onto the rock she knelt on. It was sticky as the hand closed around it, making the blood bubble up through her closed fingers until you could see more red than her dark skin. She couldn't see it, she only watched the couple in the water. Her eyes never leaving their necks.

She had given them enough warning, the witch had chosen to ignore them like the cut on the other girls hand. The longer you leave it the more stained your body becomes. She stood up to her full length, she was short in stature but made up for it by positing one foot on the top of a rock and leaning down, the allusion of power. She wanted fear to override everything else, she needed the witch to fear her.

With her good hand she drew away her braided hair from her face and let it fall across her armoured back. The armour was worn and battered from fire and war, she took it from her late mother and the smell of ashes and her childhood still lingered on the fabric . It covered her torso but the sleeves were beyond saving, so she improvised, this time scraps of fabric taken from a corpse covered her right arm. She could still feel the fog on them, but pain made her stronger.

They were beginning the ritual, it had to be here She laughed to herself, the first place she had seen the pair would be where she would reveal herself. Her heart beat was normal but it thumped in her chest as she unclenched her palms and brought a sticky finger to her face and began to cover her white scars that lined her face with fresh crimson blood.

----

They stood as still as they could. Murphy watched the Grounder out of the corner of his eye.

"Winnie," He whispered as she stared at him, her eyes glazing over as if she feared to look anywhere else, "What do we do?" He rose his voice and the low pitch seemed to shred the warped silence that had fallen on the trio.

The women was still the huntress, walking with an agonisingly slow pace around the edge of the pool towards them her bow and arrow still trained at their chests. She jumped down from a rock to the next, the sound seemed to become lost in nature.

"I don't think there's anything we can do" Winnie replied, her face completely void of any emotion, only staring at Murphy, "Besides run but that didn't work out too well the last time."

Murphy swore, "You really are a bad luck magnet Win."

That's when Winnie noticed it, "I think she's staring at you." Winnie didn't even want to think about Murphy with anybody else, or any girl around Murphy. They should have been more careful, should of brought more weapons, she should've just dragged Murphy back to camp with the others.

Murphy felt ice again, except it travelled as the grounders own eyes travelled. Up and down, lingering on certain spots that made him grimace. Yet when he looked the arrow was still trained and the women still looked like she was ready to pounce at any given time.

They needed a plan and for once Murphy was going to take the lead, "You run and I stay," Murphy tried to give her the most comforting look he could manage, softening his features as best he could. He knew Winnie would never agree to it but it was the best he could do, at least it was something, "Odds are she'll stay and you can live."

Winnie was so shocked at the idea that she started shaking slightly because she knew he would do it. She knew he was willing to let her go to leave him to this fate and she knew that she didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve somebody else to sacrifice themselves. She shook her head as the answer. Reaching up to stroke his cheek to try and convey how much he meant to her, her action was cut short by another arrow that narrowly missed Murphy.

Time was running out. They were both being given what they wanted; not to be alone.

"You offered first," His lips held the saddest smile Winnie had ever seen. She tried to not look so blank but couldn't help it, no memory came to light at his words, "You were willing to be hung for me, you offered Winnie. You can't forget a thing like that, never. I can never beat that Winnie."

He was torn between wanting to pull her close to him and to push her further away. He could do neither with her watching but the void between them was agonising. She just needs to leave, she just needs to survive.

"You already have John. You don't need to do anything special," Winnie was going to say it, she had to tell him now that he didn't need to be a witch or a leader and he definitely wasn't better being a martyr. He was all she needed right now, "John I-"

Murphy couldn't take it, she was standing there when every second that passes was one more second towards whatever fate this not so friendly grounder had in store for them. No, he thought, it would just be for him, "Just run Winnie!"

"No," She replied with an equal tone, "Not without you."

"Winnie-" His voice cracked and Winnie couldn't help look at the sixteen year old and think about how much he had gone through. How much of a childhood they had both missed and she was not going to let some grounder rid him of a future.

"John Murphy you would not leave if the roles were reversed." Her voice triggered something in Murphy, he didn't want to leave at all. Not now, not again, not ever.

"You'll be the death of me Winnie." He said

John Murphy then turned his attention to the Grounder, she coxed her head at them. She had been waiting since the beginning of their banishment, she would wait until the star-crossed lovers had finished there argument. She knew they would not be able to escape and she liked seeing them like this, them conflicting. She lowered her bow and put it over her so it rested along her torsom, she didn't need it now that they stood facing each other, no water to seperate them.

Viena Kom Azgeda had all the time in the world.

Murphy wiped his nose with the back of his hand and then offered it for Winnie to take. He wasn't going to submit to some women who wasn't even attacking him, he believed he could take her on in a fight. He looked at the girl and the way she carried herself, she had them in the palm of her bloodied hand. But Murphy was done being a pawn, done being a playtoy of people that think they are better than him.

Winnie wouldn't have done it. Winnie knew that running might make the situation worse but as she saw the frown that plastered the Grounders features as Murphy held her hand she knew for once she had to trust a person and not the gods. Maybe the determination in him would be enough to save them and maybe for once she had to let herself believe that the best can be achieved.

The Grounder started to walk towards them drawing her long rusted sword from its sheath. Suddenly she felt very tired of waiting.

"Fuck that-" Murphy ran so suddenly, Winnie felt her arm being pulled out of its socket before she told her legs to run and use the adrenaline that had been building in their veins since they had seen their opponent for the first time.

Their way was littered with snake like roots and broken glass branches but not once did they think about stopping, last time they stopped they almost died. Now it was keep on running or die trying.

Viena realised as they gave chase that it was exactly what she needed; another witch that wanted a fight. Her oncoming victory already felt sweet,. Whichever road Winnie and Murphy take, be it the road less travelled or the highway, Viena Kom Azgeda will be victorious. She laughed a low mutter to herself as she saw a shadow weave its way through the trees in front of the pair

Winnie saw it as well and spurred her feet onwards. She would escape for Murphy, that was her only thought. Murphy was none the wiser, his hair was plastered in front of his eyes and he was too cautious to move it and risk losing his footing despite not knowing exactly what lay ahead of him. It was his stubbornness that carried him.

Viena without any warning signs stopped dead in her tracks skidding on the dirt floor in the process. She was the King and she let her Pawns do the dirty work for her.

Anya was a cheetah and Viena knew she was right to trust the leader of this clan for this mission as the Chief slammed the hilt of her sword between the boy's eyes. The sound of crushed bones and cartilage carried on the wind as his nose broke although the blood that filled his vision and the shock waves as he fell over was his major concern. Winnie let go of his hand just before he could pull her down as well.

Seeing Murphy like this for the second time was enough to relight Winnie's spirit, enough to make her Lucifer. Despite having no training of hand to hand combat she had to try. She remembered to try and get them off balance but the grounder hadn't even flinched as she attacked. Then the sword was being yielded her way, she ducked down to avoid the ark only for the grounder to quickly kick the girl in the chin. She recoiled upwards grasping for any air as the attack continued as the older women elbowed her in the stomach. This time Winnie managed to recognise the pain quickly and as a reflex grabbed the upper arm of Anya and swung the women with a surprising amount of strength but she only stumbled backwards a couple of paces. Winnie swore she even heard laughter leaving her lips.

Murphy had regained more control but it still hurt to breath, he managed to finish what Winnie started and as Anya walked backwards she tripped over the body she thought she had finished with.

Taking the hand Winnie offered Murphy stood up only to put one foot on the grounder's chest. Anya wanted nothing more than to wipe the grin off his face but instead she waited there and stared up at the boy prematurely celebrating a small battle but losing the war in the process.

"Nothing we can do huh?" Murphy's teeth were covered in blood as it poured out of his nose, Anya wrinkled her's in disgust as it dripped down onto her. She was so close to breaking her rank, to killing the boy where he stood but the main show was just about to begin.

Winnie looked down at the grounder and immediately sensed something wasn't right, she put a hand out to stop Murphy but was stopped by a whispering in her ear, "Hodnes laik kwelnes."

Love is weakness. Murphy and Winnie didn't even get the chance to contemplate its meaning before they lost the war and were plunged into the deepest sleep they ever had on the ground.