{}Arcana{}
Rhoswen ran through the trees behind Prince as the falcon flew high above. Though she knew not where she was being led to she felt that it was the right path none the less. Especially now since she remembered who the bird was.
Prince slowed as he trotted out of the trees and into a field, Rhoswen following behind him. The falcon swept down and landed on a large rock, staring at her as though trying to communicate. Prince continued on as Rhoswen stopped by the bird.
"Prince, don't go any further." Rhoswen called out to him, but Prince barked and ran off anyway, "Wonderful..."
The bird gave a small call, earning Rhoswen's attention once more. She stared at it and shook her head. Of course he would use you- she thought of her brother as she examined the somewhat large white bird.
"Is my brother here?" She asked as she moved closer to the bird. The bird kept quiet, only staring at her. She took a deep breath, thinking of a new question, "Are you supposed to lead me to him?"
The bird once again stared at her silently, his beady black eyes piercing through her. She looked around at where she was and thought for a moment. If he did send the bird then it had nothing to do with him- she thought as she looked back at the bird sitting calmly on its perch, waiting for the right question.
"Am I supposed to be here?" She asked finally. The bird gave a loud 'chup' in reply as a normal falcon's response. Rhoswen narrowed her eyes at it, "Why here?"
She asked softly though she knew the bird couldn't answer it. She stared at the bird as she tried to imagine why her brother would lead her to a ruin castle in the middle of a forest. Unfortunately, she would just have to let him lead and find out later what he had in mind for her.
"Alright. You win; lead the way." She whispered and suddenly the bird took off into the sky. It flew above the castle, circling it over and over. Prince ran back from where he had gone and up beside. He nudged her hand several times and then trotted off towards the ruin castle, stopping and looking behind him at her as though waiting for her to follow. She looked at the falcon and then ran to catch up with Prince, both telling her that the castle was where she needed to go.
She quickly grabbed Prince and pulled him behind a large boulder, gripping his muzzle tightly as footsteps approached. She leaned her back against the boulder, listening to the footsteps as they got closer. She didn't dare look around the boulder for fear of being captured. When the footsteps drifted away she released Prince and made sure the area was clear.
The falcon swooped down in front of her and then went through an archway leading into the castle yard. She followed the falcon's path, Prince right at her side. She stopped when Prince ran passed her and up a small flight of crooked stairs. She followed and looked over his head as they both peered into a small window.
Through the window she spotted a man with light hair sitting at a table with a plate of food before him. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that he couldn't be who she thought he was.
"Prince Wendell..." Rhoswen whispered as she watched the Fourth Kingdom's heir. Prince began barking and quickly Rhoswen dropped down for fear of being spotted. She listened to the chair Prince Wendall sat at scratch against the stone floor as his footsteps neared the window. Prince barked and tried to squeeze himself through the window, failing.
"It's you..." Prince Wendell's voice rang out softly towards the dog. Prince barked again, trying to fit himself through the window once more, "It's me...four legs...It's me. You're me."
Rhoswen's eyes narrowed at the words. Prince gave another few barks and then ran down the stairs again. Rhoswen watched him, unsure of whether or not to follow. The falcon in the sky 'kaked' again and then flew away in the direction Prince had gone.
Rhoswen stood from her spot and chased after them both, unsure of what was going on. They ran through the forest and through a field, ending up in a small town. Rhoswen chased after Prince and the falcon, nearly tripping over the townspeople as she passed.
"There they are!" Rhoswen looked behind her at the troll King's children; Blabberwort, Burly, and Bluebell. The falcon flew off as Burly, the one who had called out before, pointed at her, "Get them!"
Rhoswen picked up her pace, her eyes widening as panic filled her chest. Prince began to bark, continuing to run further into the town. They ran around a corner and Rhoswen's eyes landed on a familiar man, holding his glittering pinky in the air.
"Tony!" Rhoswen called out as she and Prince ran towards him. Tony turned around and stared at her in surprise.
"Rose!" Tony called out as he spotted Blabberwort come out from a side alley, "Look out!"
Rhoswen dodged to the left as Blabberwort launched herself out from behind a building. Bluebell got a hold of Prince, who barked and nipped at him to let him go. Burly ran to help his brother, getting bit himself.
"They're just a dog and a girl, you cowards! Let them go!" Tony called out as Rhoswen ran at the trolls, intent on tackling one of them. She landed on the back of Burly the troll, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to grab the club from his hands. Burly thrashed left and right, pulling at her arms to free himself from her while the other two grabbed Prince.
Burly thrashed again as he began backing up towards the edge of the road where it met the river. He then elbowed Rhoswen in the gut, causing her to release her grip on him and fall into the water of the river they had all come in on. Rhoswen surfaced after a moment, gasping and swam towards the shore. She hoisted herself up as Tony ran at the trolls, pinkie out in front of him.
Her eyes went wide as she tried to scramble to get back on land. She outstretched a hand at Tony as he ran straight for the group of trolls and Prince.
"No! Tony don't!" Rhoswen screamed, but it was too late. She stared at the sight for a moment before pulling herself up onto the road. She ran to Prince and fell to her knees beside him.
"Oh no..." She whispered as she stared at Prince, frozen gold like the three trolls behind him.
"Tony!"
"Dad!?" Tony's head lifted at the two voices while Rhoswen outstretched a hand towards Prince, but was too afraid to touch him.
"Stay here. I'm gonna go get Virginia." Tony ran off the way Virginia and Wolf were calling him from. Rhoswen stared at Prince, trying to think of a way to unfreeze him. The falcon swept down from the sky and landed on Prince, 'kaking' several times over.
"No, I'm staying and fixing this." She argued with the bird, not caring what she looked like to on lookers. She placed a hand on Prince's head and then bit her lip, no cure coming to her mind.
"I think he'll come apart from the others pretty easily." Tony's voice sounded from behind Rhoswen. She pet Prince's head gently and then let her hand fall limp in her lap. The falcon gave another 'chup' and then took off in the air. It swooped back to Rhoswen and tugged on her shirt, trying to pull her away.
"I said no!" She screamed and shooed the bird off of her, "Now stop it!"
Rhoswen stood up as the bird landed back on Prince's back, staring at her with it's beady eyes as it's head twitched from side to side.
"Rhoswen?" Rhoswen looked back at the other three, staring at her strangely.
"I can fix this." She proclaimed, pointing at Prince
"Rose, this is my mess." Tony began, taking a step forward. She looked back down at the dog, shaking her head.
"I should have used a dispersing spell from the beginning and this never would have happened." She placed a hand on her hip and then rubbed her forehead with her free one, thinking about every spell she knew, "I'm going to fix this."
"Rhoswen, I'm sure it'll wear off." Virginia spoke up, trying to be optimistic.
"Magic doesn't just wear off!" Rhoswen shouted and then began trying other spells that came to mind, "Revenire! Deliquesco!"
Nothing happened. Prince stayed frozen as well as the trolls. Rhoswen took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Retexo!" She tried another spell, "Retroago!"
The others moved closer to her and the golden statues. Both Tony and Virginia watched her slightly confused as to why she was trying so hard.
"What's going on Wolf?" Virginia asked, looking over at him.
"She's an enchantress from the Eighth Kingdom." Wolf replied, understanding what was going on in Rhoswen's head. He looked down at Virginia and then at Tony, who shared the same unknowing look, "Enchantresses and sorcerers from the Eighth Kingdom know every spell, enchantment, charm, and curse in all the Nine Kingdoms. They're the best. Where do you think the witch that poisoned Snow White came from?"
Wolf gave a small huff and looked back at Rhoswen, crossing his arms. Tony and Virginia's eyes followed.
"So shouldn't this be easy to fix?" Tony asked as Rhoswen placed her hands on her head, searching for more spells. Wolf gave a half shrug, thinking of an answer.
"Being able to reverse a 'turn everything to gold' mishap should be easy for her." He started while Rhoswen began to pace. Rhoswen scratched her forehead and then let her hands fall from their places to lay limply on her sides, "There's gotta be some stronger power keeping her from reversing this. A stronger wizard or maybe a witch. It's definitely dark magic."
"Antitheton!" Rhoswen lifted her hands up and pointed them towards Prince. A small glow of white light illuminated from them as she drew more power from herself, "Discussi! Reverto!"
Rhoswen let her hands drop and fell to her knees, feeling drained. The falcon on top of Prince gave a 'chup', its head twitching from side to side as though trying to figure out what she was doing. She shook her head and then suddenly stood up, storming away.
"Hey, where's she going? She can't leave!" Tony spoke up as Rhoswen walked passed them and out of sight.
"Don't worry. She just needs to cool down a little." Wolf gave, not exactly sure if that were the truth.
"We have to go after Acorn! He's got the mirror." Virginia chimed in.
"Then let's go." Rhoswen walked back passed them, a small wooden cart with wheels behind her. She stopped by the golden statues and set the cart beside Prince. She outstretched her right arm, palm up but only pointer and middle finger out while the others were clenched together, "Attollo."
She raised her hand slightly and Prince lifted from the ground. She slowly moved him onto the cart and then released the spell. She pulled the rope attached to the cart and handed it off to Tony.
"Let's go." She announced and stepped aside, waiting for one of them to begin leading the way. Tony looked at the other two, his eyes asking them something. Wolf lifted a hand and made a motion by his neck, telling Tony not to ask. Tony nodded and looked at Rhoswen before beginning to walk in the direction they had left the boat. Rhoswen trailed behind as they walked through the town.
Her eyes landed on a small stand. She broke from the group and walked over, looking at the set of weapons.
"Rhoswen, what're you doing?" Wolf asked as he and the others stopped. Rhoswen ignored him and looked around the stand.
"Hello, my dear." A middle aged man approached her from behind the stand.
"Hello." She answered with a small smile as she picked up a large dagger, letting her fingers graze over the blade.
"These are dangerous miss." The man spoke up as he watched her pick up another dagger. Rhoswen looked up at him and reached into the pouch on her hip. From it she pulled out a hand full of golden Wendalls, the currency of the Nine Kingdoms.
"I want throwing knives, silver sais, thigh holsters, and the best sharpener you've got." She stated as she placed the Wendalls on the stand before the man. The man looked at the money and then hurried into the back of the stand.
Rhoswen finished placing the holsters on and walked back to the others.
"What is all that for?" Tony asked as he and the other two watched Rhoswen slip the sais into each of her holsters. She then took the throwing knives and placed them into the pouch on her hip.
"Insurance because someone's screwing with my magic." She growled and then set off on the road they were told Acorn had gone down.
"Did I mention that the North part of the Eighth Kingdom can be very hostile?" Wolf spoke up, earning a look from Tony.
"Well, then I'm glad she's on our side." Virginia spoke up, following after Rhoswen. Tony and Wolf looked at each other and then followed after the two women, Tony pulling Prince along behind him.