I forgot to say in the last chapter that I was sorry for not posting sooner. I've been really, really busy with school. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this, and yes GreenFantasy64, you are Green the SkullKid. LOL Enjoy peeps!
P.S
PYROLEIGH WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO DARK IN THE MOST RECENT CHAPTER OF LIGHT IN THE DARK?! THAT WASN'T VERY NICE! –Cough- Sorry, just pointing that out. Also! There will be some action…I MEAN action as in fighting, none of that juicy stuff that I'm sure all of you were thinking of just now. DON'T DENY IT!
~Dark's POV~
The black knight stood in the courtyard, relieved to see that his son had arrived home safely. He chuckled at the large grin on his face. "So I take it everything went well with Fireflye?" he asked. Arun nodded.
"It sure did!"
"Did you ask her to the dance?"
"…I forgot."
Dark laughed. "Well, you'll have another chance." Arun nodded. "I was hoping to see her tomorrow." Dark walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, walking with him to the giant doors leading inside the castle. "I think she might say yes." He encouraged him, which made his son smile. "Well, I'm tired. I've had an exciting day. I'm turning in for the night." He announced, unwrapping himself from the arms of his father. Dark nodded and walked away, heading toward his room, where Zelda was waiting for him. She was at her desk reading a book, lost in it actually. He smirked and began to sneak up on her. He took his time, and when he was finally behind her, he grabbed her waist and gave a shout, causing her to jump up. "Dark!" she said, lightly smacking him on the arm. He burst into laughter. "Oh your face was priceless!" he laughed. She rolled her eyes and closed her book. "So, how is he?" she asked once Dark stopped laughing. "He's fine, a little giddy, but otherwise fine." He reported. She chuckled. "That's good. Did he invite her?"
"No, he forgot, he's going to invite her tomorrow."
"Ah, I see. Well, let's hope he doesn't forget then either."
~Fireflye's POV~
~The next morning~
Fireflye was doing her morning rounds like she normally did. Green and Leigh were walking with her. "Mother, something doesn't feel right about today. I feel like something bad is going to happen!" Leigh said, holding Fireflye's hand. "Me too." Green agreed and held her other hand. "Well if you two don't feel safe, you guys can go home." They cheered and disappeared, leaving Fireflye alone. The duo was right, something didn't feel good about today. Fireflye narrowed her eyes, and then hovered above the ground, landing on a high tree branch, her eye's scanning around her. She didn't see anything from her perch…yet. She was just about to go to another area, when she heard a scream. It was the sound of a child. She gasped and flew off, going to where she heard the sound of the scream. What she saw made her grow angry. Four men had somehow snuck into the forest, and had three of the Skull Kids. Two were locked in cages, while once was cornered, and one of the men was trying to catch him. "C'mere you little brat! You're coming with us!" He snarled, inching closer. The SkullKid whimpered. "Mother!" he cried. Fireflye was already hurtling toward the man. With a snarl, she rammed into him, sending him flying. Her fist's glowed with a strange magic, its color black. "You dare harm my children?!" she demanded. Her eyes, once green, turned red as blood. She looked at the SkullKid. "Run Leaf!" she said. Leaf nodded, and ran away. Two men grabbed the cages holding the other two SkullKids, and bolted, leaving the third one to face off against Fireflye. "So the legends are true…" he sneered. "There are SkullMothers…" Fireflye glared at him. "You've taken my children. You will die first…"
~Arun's POV~
Meanwhile, Arun had cheerfully rode out to the forest, however, he lost all cheerfulness when he approached it. The forest had seemed darker, and much more foreboding. He dismounted Kage, and approached the forest. "Fireflye?" he called. His reply was a scream. It was a SkullKid, he was running toward Arun with tears in his eyes. "You have to help her!" he cried. Arun held him and patted his head. "What's wrong, where's Fireflye?" He asked. The SkullKid sniffed. "Four men came into the forest and attacked me and my brothers. They have my brothers, but I escaped thanks to Mother. But my brothers have been captured! And Mother…" he paused. "…Mother's fighting them!" Arun's eye's widened. "Can you lead me to them?" he asked. The SkullKid nodded. Arun mounted Kage, and put the SkullKid with him. "Alright, just say where to go!" The SkullKid nodded and pointed straight. "Go north!" Arun nodded and spurred Kage, muttering a hold on to the SkullKid. Kage ran through the brush, and leaped over rocks and logs. Soon they came to a creek, a bridge led across it. "Go over the bridge, and past the clearing!" The SkullKid directed. Arun nodded, guiding Kage toward the destination. Before he rode past the clearing, however, Arun stopped. "You should head home, you'll be safer there." The SkullKid nodded. "Ok, but please bring Mother and my brothers back!" He said, then teleported away. Arun spurred Kage once more, dashing through the clearing and to the area where Fireflye was. Fireflye was attacking the man with an onslaught of magic attacks. Black-colored magic flew from her hands, looking snake-like and dangerous. The man tried to cut them away, but ended up getting knocked away by them. One tendril of magic came down on him, as if to impale him, but he rolled away and stumbled up. "I won't come back here again, just let me live!" he whimpered and ran away. It was a while, but a scream followed after he left. Arun's eye's widened and he looked at Fireflye. When she turned to look at him, he gasped when he realized her eyes were no longer green, but red. "He fell in a bear trap." She muttered. She hovered again, black magic pulsing around her. "They still have two of my children, will you help me?" she asked, her eye's looking desperate, and the slowly went back to green. Arun nodded, his gaze hardening. "Lead the way." He said. She nodded and flew off, him following close behind.
It didn't take too long to find the other two men. They had a wagon, and inside were the two SkullKids, still locked up in their cages. Arun growled, and unsheathed his sword. "Let those SkullKids go!" he demanded, cutting the harness that attached the horse to the wagon. He then smacked the horse on its rump, making it whinny and run off. "Or face her wrath." He said, as Fireflye hovered in behind him. Her eyes went red again, and she bared her fangs, unleashing a hiss. One cowered, then shortly took off. The other pulled out a crossbow, and shot it at her. She lifted a hand, catching it, and throwing it back. It barely missed his head, moving so fast that it cut a few strands of hair from him, and nicked his ear. He gasped and stared at her. "That was a warning, the next shot will go in between your eyes." He whimpered, and ran away as well. Fireflye took a deep breath, and landed, returning back to her normal state. Arun walked over to the cages. The doors to them were bound with leather hinges, so he cut those. Once the doors were open, the SkullKids ran to Fireflye, and she picked them up in a large hug. "Cloud, Zack, are you too ok?" she asked. Both of them nodded, and shed tears of relief. Fireflye sighed. "Go back home, Leaf is waiting for you." Both boys gasped and smiled, excited to see their brother. They did exactly as she told, leaving her and Arun alone.
~Fireflye's POV~
Fireflye smiled at Arun and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you for helping me." She said. Arun chuckled. "No problem, but I didn't really do anything."
"No really! If you hadn't set that horse free, I could've given chase, but lost them!"
"Oh well, I guess that could've happened."
"How did you find me anyway?"
"I'm assuming the crying SkullKid I ran into was Leaf. He told me. Actually, he showed me the way."
Fireflye chuckled. "There would be no other. I'm just glad all three of them are safe…" Arun chuckled. "Well, if you want, I can walk you to your home." Fireflye nodded. "That would be great." The two of them walked away in silence. Arun was guiding his horse by the reins on foot. Arun broke the silence. "I heard that SkullMother's were powerful, but I didn't expect that powerful." He said. Fireflye chuckled. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? We have to be powerful if we want to protect our children." Arun nodded. "I guess that's true." Some more silence followed. "What did those men want with the SkullKids?" Fireflye looked down. "Unfortunately, from other forests across the world, men have been coming into the Woods, and started stealing SkullKids. If they're successful, they sell the SkullKids at auctions."
"What would they sell them for?"
"Slavery."
Fireflye turned to look back at the prince. "This is why I'm normally on my guard, and taking all of these rounds. To make sure they won't get hurt. It'll tear me apart if one of my children is taken. It'll kill me if more follow." She explained with sad eyes. Arun walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Then let me help you Fireflye! I'll help you protect these SkullKids! No one deserves that fate!" he declared. Fireflye's eye's widened. No one had offered to help her before, so this was a little more than surprising. "Really?" she asked. Arun nodded. "Yep! I'll start tomorrow too!" he said. Fireflye smiled. "That'd be great Arun." She turned to walk away, strangely missing the feel of his hands on her, when he grabbed her shoulder. "Wait! I nearly forgot!" he said quickly. Fireflye turned back to look at him, curiosity on her face. "Fireflye, do you want to join me at the ball being held at the Castle? My parents, well my mother really, would love to meet you. And I'm sure everyone would love your music!" Fireflye's jaw dropped. She, as in herself, the SkullMother, was being asked to go to the royal ball. Her answer was immediate. "Yes." She said. "It's rare for someone like myself to go to a ball such as this. Given my current status…" Arun tilted his head. "Status?"
"Well, I mean-Oh never mind! Yes I'll go!"
