Ohhh new story! I've just had this idea for FOREVER, and I never really even thought about making it into a fanfic. But…I just sat down to write…and this is what came out.

Summary: Rose is taken captive by Jake and Lao Shi for several months in order for them to learn the secrets of the Huntsclan. Rose blows them off completely at first, but over time, she begins to question where her loyalties lie.

The only background information you must realize before reading this is that Jake and Rose have never met before in human form. They've only ever met as dragon and Huntsgirl in this universe.

Chapter 1: Disownment

Once again, she found herself lying face down on the cold, hard concrete of the abandoned alleyway. The taste of blood filled her mouth, and every single muscle in her body ached from the constant fighting. But she couldn't give up…Huntsgirl knew that her future was on the line if she were to fail her master again.

This had been the pattern for the last few weeks. She'd stand back up only to fall back down, push only to be shoved. The constant battles and training had worn her out entirely, and now she had almost no strength at all to fight back with.

But she knew who to blame for that…the dragon. That heartless, dirty monster that had been defeating her day after day after day.

At first, the two had been equally matched. But over time, the beast grew stronger and stronger, only leaving her to grow weaker and weaker, until her very existence had become something to fear for.

Reminding herself of these things, Huntsgirl pushed herself up off the sidewalk with all of the strength she could muster. As she looked up, she found the dragon standing before her patiently, waiting to successfully complete his mission again. The simple thought made her sick.

"Dragon," she spat, the blood dripping off of her lip and on to the darkened pavement. She kept her eyes on the item he held in his hand. The item she was supposed to return to the Huntsman.

"Looks like this is over," the dragon flashed her that wicked grin before opening his wings and flying off into the darkened, midnight sky.

And Huntsgirl, no matter how many times she reminded herself of the consequences of failure, simply did not have the vitality to chase after him.

Instead, she collapsed on the sidewalk in exhaustion, contemplating about what her punishment might be.

XX

"You WHAT?" The Huntsman banged his fist on the table in front of him.

Huntsgirl sighed in order to calm herself down. "Mm…master," she stuttered, "That dragon…he's much too powerful to fight alone!"

"Or, you're much too weak in comparison," the Huntsman spat.

Huntsgirl didn't even get a chance to defend herself before her master began to lecture her for the fifth time that week.

"You've been blowing missions for the last two weeks, Huntsgirl," he accused. "You're getting sloppy in your training, and you're losing respect for your authorities. These dragons," he continued, "are terrible evil creatures. Heartless beings. They'd destroy our kind in a second if they were given the chance," he began to raise his voice. "These dragons, Huntsgirl, need to be slain."

"I understand, master," Huntsgirl bowed quickly in reply, "but…I've just been working nonstop for these past few weeks. I need a day or two to recover before I can be back at full strength! And then," she promised, "I can defeat that…that dragon," she spat.

"I'm afraid not, Huntsgirl," her master replied coolly.

"Wha…what do you mean, master?" The young girl stuttered, fearing what his next words would be.

"I can't afford to lose anymore," he explained, folding his hands neatly behind his back. "I need people out there who can win…who can defeat these dragons…they must be destroyed. All of them."

"And clearly," the Huntsman continued turning his back to her," you are incapable of doing so, Huntsgirl."

"Master…no…I…" Huntsgirl struggled frantically to find the right words to save her position.

"Silence!" He spun around quickly and shot her a deadly glare. "You have failed me for the last time! You are banished from the Huntsclan."

"What?" Huntsgirl shot back immediately. "I can still help! Still train…try to become better!"

"Out," the Huntsman pointed to the door.

"You can still use me!" She explained. "I can train the new recruits…"

He grabbed strong hold of her arm and began to drag her toward the exit. As he expected, she struggled against him.

"Master! Please!" She pleaded. "I have nowhere to go…I'll try harder, I promise!"

"That's enough!" He spun around as they reached the door. "I don't want to see you ever again," he opened it and kicked her forcefully in the stomach, sending her flying on to the ground of the alley outside.

Before thinking twice about what he had done, he shut the door, locked it, and returned to what he had been doing before she had so rudely interrupted him.

Meanwhile, Huntsgirl whimpered in pain on the hard, cold cement. She was now not only freezing and hungry, but completely 100% homeless.

And as if right on cue, thunder struck, and the rain came pouring down on her already shivering body.

At this, Huntsgirl allowed herself to go numb, and she slowly drifted off into a deep and troubled sleep.

XX

"Gramps, I have NO idea what's been up with the Huntsgirl lately, but she is suddenly unable to compete with the Amdrag," Jake bragged as the two made their nightly rounds through the city, keeping a watchful eye out for anything suspicious.

"We are very lucky to have recovered that gem," Lao Shi explained. "With it, the Huntsman would have the ability to locate any magical creature he would wish to find."

"The important thing is that I've got it covered," Jake chuckled. "As always…"

"Young dragon!" Lao Shi scolded him. "Keep watch for anything that may seem out of the ordinary."

"Grandpa, everything seems fine!" Jake shrugged. "I really don't see why we need to be flying out here in the cold and rain when I seriously doubt that anything is going on."

"Ah yes, Jake, but it is better to be safe than sorry," he added.

"Right," Jake replied, but his attention was elsewhere. "Gramps, is that the Huntsgirl lying down there in the rain?" He noted as they neared what they knew was one of the Huntsclan's bases.

"Hmmm," Lao Shi looked down at the small, unmoving figure Jake had spotted on the pavement. He began to fly downward to get a closer look, and Jake followed immediately behind him.

As the two landed in the alleyway, it became clear that it was, indeed, the Huntsgirl who was unconscious on the sidewalk.

"Ummm," Jake thought for a moment, "this isn't where we fought at. I didn't leave her here."

"I wonder why then she is out in the rain," Lao Shi pondered.

"Maybe she passed out right before she got to the door?" Jake suggested with a shrug.

His grandfather didn't say anything in response. Instead, he moved toward the motionless young women and lifted her up in his arms.

"Gramps, what are you doing?" Jake questioned him.

"We will take her back to the shop and keep her captive," he explained. "Maybe…just maybe…if we keep her long enough, we can find a way to get her to reveal secrets about the Huntsclan."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jake asked his master. "I mean, would if she escapes and murders us in our sleep?"

"One of the guest bedrooms has a set of locks and bars on the window," his grandfather explained. "I've specifically designed it to hold a prisoner in the case that we would ever find the need to keep one."

Jake thought about it for a moment.

"Alright, Gramps," he finally said, "I just hope this doesn't end badly."

Lao Shi merely smiled at his grandson in return before opening his wings and flying back up into the sky, still holding the unconscious girl in his arms, and Jake followed shortly after.

XX

Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that to some extent. Let me know if you think I should continue with the idea.

And once again, my apologies on the delay of Secrets of the Past. I'm getting there…I'm in the process of rereading chapters to figure out where exactly I was going with it…Lol. I guess that's what happens when you don't update for four months.

Thanks for reading!

~ada