Also Titled: It's So Fluffeh!

A while after Alfred's departure Arthur was ready to head out to the island. He looked up when thunder rumbled in the distance, but it seemed as if the heavy clouds above would pass by the lake without incident. To be safe, he carried Lilli inside an abandoned hut made of grass and wicker. She whimpered as he wrapped her up snugly.

"It's alright, Lilli. Go to sleep, nobody will find you here," he comforted. Nobody could find them here, any sign of civilization was miles away. He'd decided against taking her with him to the island as he couldn't quite trust the craftsmanship of the old boat he was taking. "I'll be back with Lukas Bondevik very soon," he told the brownies as they walked in.

Roderich positioned himself by the papoose. "Ve vill guard her vith our meager lives," he promised solemnly. Gilbert hurried to his side and nodded, thumping his spear into the soft sand for emphasis. Arthur nodded back and for once the Nelwyn and Brownies were in perfect agreement.

Arthur huffed and paused momentarily to wipe some sweat from his brow. Even though it was small, rowing the Daikini boat was proving to be a huge challenge. He looked ahead and was relieved to see the island was only a few yards away now. As he got closer he inspected the island. It was tiny, really, with a few sad-looking trees growing on it along with tufts of brown grass here and there. "Not very hospitable," he muttered.

When the bottom of the boat brushed the sand he jumped out and pulled it the rest of the way onto the shore. A dead tree had fallen over and he tied the rope to one of it's branches. Why didn't the sorcerer just float back to land on a tree like this? Arthur wondered and he finished the knot. Maybe this Lukas bloke wasn't too bri-

CRUNCH!

Arthur looked down, trying to figure out what he'd stepped on. A tiny scream escaped his lips when he realized that he'd stepped on a Daikini bone. He scanned the ground around him, his panic growing when he realized he was in the middle of a veritable pile of skeletons. Not very hospitable at all!

"Lukas!" he yelled, hopping and sidestepping around the bones as he tried to get to the top of the island. "Lukas Bondevik! I have to talk to you, please!" There was no answer as he cleared the scraggly trees. He reached the top and tried once more. "LUKAS!" a strong wind whipped by, ruffling his hair and snatching his call.

Shoulders slumped, Arthur wandered back to the sturdiest looking tree and leaned against it. A tiny island full of skeletons and not much else… a Nelwyn couldn't live here, let alone a Daikini. Lukas would have died long ago, or possibly escaped. Either way… "He's not here."

A loud, chattering screech above him made him scream for the second time that day. Arthur whipped around and looked up at the tree he was leaning against. Amid the leaves was a large, blond squirrel. It looked back at Arthur with dark beady eyes and asked, in a high-pitched voice, "Who are you?"

Arthur stared in amazement.

The squirrel hopped onto a lower branch. "Who are you?" it repeated.

"I-I'm," Arthur stuttered. "I'm Arthur Kirkland."

"What are you doing here?" it- he (Arthur was almost sure it was male) demanded.

Maybe this creature was Lukas' familiar? "I'm looking for the great sorcerer, Lukas Bondevik."

The squirrel leaned precariously closer. "That's me. I'm Lukas."

Arthur blinked once… twice… "This can't be right!"

Swishing his tail in an unimpressed manner, the squirrel responded, "Ivan transformed me before he banished me here. Believe me, it could have been worse!" He gestured with a paw to the skeletons. "Ivan also put a spell on this island, to kill anyone who tried to find me… hm… I guess he never accounted for Nelwyns though."

"Oh." Arthur stared at the squirrel blankly for a bit before remembering his task. He quickly pulled the wand out of the pouch on in belt. "Well, this wand is for you. It's from Elizaveta."

Lukas stilled. "The prophecy… it's true then. The princess has been born." He scampered down the trunk and ran until he was at Arthur's feet. "Take me to her!"

Arthur looked around at the bones. "Can I? I mean, the spell-"

"Only prevents people from landing on the island, not leaving," Lukas snapped. "Come! I must see the princess!"

Perched on Arthur's shoulder, Lukas stared wide-eyed at Lilli. As he'd predicted, they'd both been able to leave the island safely and row back across the lake. Not a talkative squirrel by nature, Lukas kept his absolute joy at seeing Lilli Zwingli alive and well to himself. The prophecy of Ivan's downfall was being fulfilled at that very moment! Arthur grinned as he held Lilli in his arms. She seemed to like Lukas, and her judgement of character was something he was starting to believe in more and more.

The brownies, however, were less impressed.

"Zhat's Lukas?" Gilbert asked in amazement.

Roderich shrugged and gesticulated. "I, er, don't know! I expected somezhing more grand. Less, uh-"

"Fuzzy."

"Yes, fuzzy!"

Lukas twitched an ear angrily at their comments. That brought up another point…

Arthur flinched as the squirrel leapt off his shoulder and landed in front of him in the sand. "You must use the wand. Turn me back into my human form," Lukas instructed.

Nodding, Arthur pulled out the wand again and asked, "What do I do?"

"You mean you're not a sorcerer?" The tone in Lukas' voice was one of astonishment.

"Yes!" Arthur quickly defended. "Well… sort of…I'm a farmer by trade actually." The brownies both groaned in disgust and turned away, throwing their spears to the ground. "I do know a few tricks," he added, glaring at the tiny duo.

The chattering laugh from the squirrel added to his shame. "Tricks? Elizaveta sent you?"

I'm getting bloody tired of everyone I meet underestimating me, Arthur thought. Lilli cooed at him happily and he was forced to admit that not everyone underestimated him. Still, more likely than not Lilli overestimated him.

"You must learn real magic."

Arthur looked up in shock. Lukas was looking him up and down critically, but not in a pessimistic way. His heart leapt at the possibility of actually learning powerful magic, the kind the High Aldwyn practiced. Perhaps-

"Vhat vas zhat?!" Gilbert demanded nervously. "Everyone, quiet!"

They all went silent and listened carefully. Arthur strained but all he could hear was the wind and water… No, there was something else. It was-

"Horses!" Roderich yelled, bending down to grab his spear. Gilbert followed suit and they both rushed out of the hut.

"Quick! Take her!" Lukas yelled. Arthur followed heed and scrambled out carrying Lilli. He'd barely crossed the threshold when at least ten black horses came into view. He gasped in shock, how had Ivan's soldiers found them so quickly?! The answer became painfully clear when the last two horses arrived. Riding one of the horses was…

Alfred.

He looked worse for wear, covered in bruises and signs of a whipping showing from around his ribs. His hands were bound and the rope was held by a surly-looking soldier. The fact that he hadn't willingly betrayed them comforted Arthur only a little.

Roderich wasn't as forgiving. "I knew he vas a traitor!"

Alfred grinned sardonically at him. "Sorry 'bout this, peck."

"Keep your mouth shut," the soldier barked. He dealt Alfred a vicious backhand blow and dropped the rope, allowing him to fall of the horse with a dull thud. "Told you we'd find them without his help," he added to the others.

More soldiers dismounted, and before Arthur knew what was happening one man was grabbing at Lilli's blanket. "Give me the baby!" he yelled.

"NO!" Arthur struggled as hard as he could but the man simply snatched her away. Lilli began sobbing. "Give her back!" Arthur half begged. He watched despairingly as another man grabbed Lukas and stuffed him inside a sack. Any chance for escape was blocked as the rest encircled the area.

Five more horses rode up, led by the blonde girl from the tavern. The man who'd grabbed the baby walked to her side and held Lilli aloft. She coolly pulled back the blankets and rolled up Lilli's right sleeve, revealing the mark. "This is the one we're looking for," she announced, relief tainting her voice. "We must take it back to Nockmaar."

Alfred and Arthur exchanged glances, the Nelwyn pleading with the Daikini to do…do something! Unable to do much of anything laying bound and bloodied on the ground, Alfred settled for glaring viciously at the woman. She noticed the look and sneered. "Lose your skirt?" she asked snidely.

Grunting, Alfred pushed himself up to his feet and staggered over to confront her. He looked up at her and smirked. "I've still got what counts," he half whispered.

"Not for long," she replied in the same tone. Without warning her leg shot out and dealt Alfred a vicious blow under his jaw. Arthur winced as Alfred staggered back, miraculously keeping his feet. Alfred glared at her again, despite his nose and mouth bleeding profusely.

"Bring them all!" the woman commanded, looking bored.

"At once, Lady Natalia," a man called as he grabbed Arthur roughly and started dragging him along. He kept struggling, kicking, even biting as his hands were bound and he was thrown over the back of a horse. Craning his neck awkwardly he could see Alfred being forced onto a horse again and the bag containing Lukas being tied to a saddle.

A sob escaped Arthur's lips. He'd failed… Lilli would be in the clutches of an evil king, and heaven knew what would happen to himself and his friends. Wait… where were the brownies?

Roderich and Gilbert tried to keep up with the galloping horses but, of course, they were completely hopeless at it. Gilbert let himself flop onto the sand, breathing heavily. "I zhink my lungs are trying to kill me!" he whined. "Ve'll never keep up vith zhose horses…"

Roderich bent over, leaning against his spear. He was grateful that he and his companion had been able to hide before they'd gotten squashed, but in doing so they hadn't been able to hitch a ride. "Zhen ve vill have to track zhem," he said once he'd caught his breath.

"Zhat vould take forever," Gilbert pointed out. It was true, one hoofprint was twice as long as themselves. "Besides, even if ve find zhem, zhey'll probably catch us, stick us in cages, torture us und finally devour us."

"Are you suggesting ve go home?"

Gilbert thought about it for a second. "Nah… zhis is more fun!"

Roderich huffed in exasperation. "Fine zhen. Let's go."

Another rumble of thunder drowned out Gilbert's hissing cackle.

Yay! We finally meet our squirrel! Ain't he cute? XD And hoo boy, looks like the gang's in a spot of bother...