There was a burst of cold air and a flash of silver light that shot out of Jillian's hands. It struck the burning stake and there was a crackling sound. Jillian stared in awe. The whole courtyard was covered in ice and snow. The guards were literally frozen to the ground. They pulled at their boots, trying to move.

Jillian ingored them as she ran over to Kit. He was staring dazedly at her. Then he grinned. "I knew you could do it!"

"Well that makes one of us because I sure didn't." She quickly united the ropes binding him to the stake. It was only then that she realized her hands were free. The ice had snapped the shackles.

"Jillian!" Kit's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I lost you there for a second."

"For a moment, I thought the same thing," Jillian said shakily. She suddenly threw her arms around him in a hug. Kit stiffened for a moment but then returned it.

The guards got over their shock and yelled, "Get them!" They had freed their feet from the ice.

"Let's move!" Kit and Jillian ran towards the high wall that surrounded the entire prison. "If we can get to the top, we can jump over the side!" Kit said. He started to scale the wall slowly.

Jillian glanced behind them and saw the guards gaining. She stared at her hands. Could she do it again? She thrust her hand forward and the ground becmae slick with ice. She smiled with satisfaction as the men slipped and fell on top of each other.

She turned back and saw that Kit hadn't made much progress on the wall. "Hey, what if we use that?" She pointed at a rope ladder a few yards away that guards must use to get to the platform at the top of the wall.

Kit turned red. "Well if you want to do it the easy way." Halfway up th ladder, Jillian could hear the shouts as more and more guards swarmed into the prison courtyard. Many began climbing up other ladders to apprehend them.

There was the shout, "Fire!" And Jillian's stomach plunged as an arrow lodged itself into the wall, inches from her head.

"We're not going to make it!" she screamed to Kit.

"Yes we are!" He reached the top platform and pulled her onto it. They surveyed the scene. There were so many guards. Nearly forty. She gulped nervously.

Kit was staring at the moat. "Its wider than I thought," he said. "If we jump, we'll land right in the middle of it and the alligators will get us."

Jillian gripped his arm, "We can do it!"

"No, you can do it," he corrected. "If I throw you, you'll make it to the other side and can get away."

The guards were getting closer, Jillian blasted the ladder off of the wall. "But what about you?"

His face was unreadable. "I'll stay behind and distract them long enough for you to get away."

"NO!" she screamed. Ice formed around her feet. "They'll kill you!"

Kit gripped her shoulders. "Its either both of us or one of us. I'll be fine, Jill."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Every fiber of her was screaming not to let him go, but she nodded and stepped onto the edge of the wall.

"One, two, three!" He gave Jillian enough momentum to soar across the moat, wind whipping her face. She landed on the other bank and landed in the mud. She scrambled to dry land and looked back.

He was waving at her to keep running. Then he turned and vanished from sight. Jillian hurried to a grove of trees and watched anxiously. Any minute now he was going to try to jump across.

There was a scream of pain and the guards roared in triumph.

"NO!" she howled. "KIT!" Jillian fell to her knees and cried. Her body shook with pain and sadness.

She couldn't stay there forever. The guards would find her. She struggled to her feet and ran through the forest, crying so hard she could barely see. Jillian ran until her legs ached and her lungs were screaming for mercy. She collapsed under an oak tree and cried until she fell asleep.

Jillian didn't dream, which was a relief since any would be about her lost friend. She awoke to a gentle tugging on her left boot. She opened her eyes and saw a filthy little man tugging at her shoelaces. "ARGH!" She kicked out with all her might and hit the man square in the chest. He flew back a few feet and lay there, massaging his ribs.

She advanced menacingly. "How dare you try to steal my shoes!" she growled.

The little man trembled under her gaze. "I wasn't stealing," he squeaked.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" he repeated eagerly. "I was..uh...going to clean them! Messy shoes make a messy life!" He looked up at her hopefully.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Jillian thundered. "Don't answer that!" she added as he opened his mouth. She noticed that he really was a little man. No higher than her waist. Then she saw his pointed ears.

"You're an elf!" she exclaimed, a mixture of pleasure of seeing a magical creature and contempt for the thief.

"Yes, yes! You have much knowledge of creatures! Very smart and will let elves leave peacefully?"

Jillian rolled her eyes and began to walk away. She didn't have time for this.

"Wait! Wait!" The elf ran infront of her and jumped on a log. "Why is a smart miss like you walking in the woods alone? There will be ogers and trolls about! I am sure of it!"

The events of the day came crashing down on her. "Well I had a friend, but...he didn't make it." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

The elf's ears drooped. "I am sorry, miss. Elves can only make it up halfway, but I will accompany you on your journey!" He puffed out his chest proudly.

"Oh! You don't have to do that!" she said, surprised by this sudden act of kindness.

"I know that, miss, but I want to! So I will!" He hopped off of the log and grabbed her hand with his own child-sized one.

"What's you name?" she asked him.

"They call me Merko," he said. "And you?"

"Jillian."

"Miss Jillian!" Merko cheered, bowing.

"Oh, no, no. Jillian is just fine. No 'miss'."

"Okay, Miss Jillian!"