Pixie Tip: Pixies claws are pretty razor sharp; it's not like being scratched by Mr. Whiskers. Keep your distance or have something shield -like at the ready when approaching an angry pixie
Astley was a positively fierce pixie to behold. With the glamour removed, I could take in his true pixie self and was surprised to see that it didn't bother me as much as it used to—seeing him as a pixie. I could see a sort of beauty to the whole thing, but now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. It was hard to actually focus on anything being pinned to the ground. But as it was, Astley was circling the king (whom was still nameless to me) with what looked like a large tree branch in his claws.
"Easy there, tiger," the king said positively smiling, yet menacing as he prepared for a fight. "I wasn't gonna kill your girlfriend. Well, I probably was, but not yet at least. I just didn't want her to make a run for it while we were having a little chat." Then he looked at me and winked. "Actually, we weren't even done talking yet…"
"I don't care what you were doing, Garin. You're not going anywhere without a fight. You can count on it this time." Astley was angrier than I had ever seen him. He even dropped the tree branch so he could fight like a man. Well, as much as a man as a pixie could be, I guess.
I didn't even know who had a greater chance at winning this fight. I knew exactly what the other king, Garin according to Astley, was capable of; I experienced it first-hand. But I wasn't sure about Astley's fighting abilities. If his landings were any indication of his balance and skill in battle, then I had a lot to be worried about.
They were still circling each other, seemingly waiting for the right time to strike.
"You sure you really want to start this, Lee," Garin said. Lee? Since when do pixies go with nicknames? I seemed just as confused by this name calling as Astley was.
"You've made it pretty clear what your intention are, Gare. I'm not backing down this time." Giving one last glance at me to make sure I was ok—heart still beating and alive ok, since obviously I was pretty hurt—he leaped at Garin and a wild tumble of assault ensued before my eyes.
They each had speed on their side, leaping out of the way and making and missing blows from the other. As for skill, it was clear that Garin had some kind of training on his side. If pixies had karate, it would be similar to it. If I could find anything funny in this situation, it would be like I was quickly watching two smurfs fighting in the woods. And with that idea in my head, I knew I had lost too much blood to have crazy, stupid thoughts at a time like this.
Garin struck quick with precise moves at places that would hurt the most. Astley did his best dodging since his speed seemed to be his advantage, but I cringed every time Garin got in a punch to his gut or, even worse, a clawed punch to the back or face. Astley did a couple of sweeping motions to knock Garin off his feet that worked a few times, and I was starting to think positive about everything. He even impressed me when he jumped high, grabbing the branch above for leverage, and swung around to land an impressive kick to Garin's solar plexus.
'He's got to be out for the count,' I thought to myself feeling better about the whole thing, when Garin did some kung-fu flip from off his back, using his momentum to land a crushing chest swipe at Astley. Astley groaned and went down, blood seeping out of the marks on his chest.
Alright Zara, inaction gets you nowhere fast. Do something. Get up. Get up. You already let Nick down, you can't let Astley down. Not like this.
"And so it seems I win again, eh. You must get tired of losing Lee, but you never do learn who is the better, do you?" Garin was taking this opportunity to gloat. Jerk. He was obviously hurt from the fight too; he was breathing heavily and had some blood on his back and bruises were forming along his jawline.
Astley simply snarled, spitting some blood out of his mouth and seemingly cursing under his breath. He started to rise, still cursing, but this reaction only elicited a sharp kick to the ribcage by Garin.
I was afraid of what he was going to do next, so I wasn't going to waste more time laying down. Seeing that Garin wasn't paying attention to me, I drew in a deep breath and thought about what I was going to do. I had a plan that was either going to work great or suck horribly, but I had to try.
Thinking it was now or never, I gingerly grabbed the middle part of the arrow—closest to my shoulder—and using both strength and a bit of control, snapped it off so that the only part of the arrow still left was the part pinning me to the ground. Breathing out, I knew the easy part was done. I had hoped it wouldn't hurt and it didn't. If I wasn't strong enough, I wouldn't have been able to break the arrow without twisting it around, and that would hurt. I guess I could be glad for the moment that I was a pixie to pull it off. The next part was going to be the painful part. Just moving would hurt, but it would be worth it. I would move for Nick when I wasn't fast enough before. I would move for Astley because he needed me now. And now, I could do it. I changed for a reason.
With purpose charging my veins, I braced for the pain and shot myself up into a sitting position. I threw my hand up to muffle my moan before it came out of my mouth. I wanted the element of surprise on my hand, and I didn't want my stupid cry of pain to mess it up. Thankfully, thought it hurt a lot, it was great to have the pressure relieved and the pain was bearable. I blinked tears and now the falling snow at my eyes to look over at Astley.
Garin was still talking to Astley and kicking him now and then. What kind of warrior would you be to kick a man when he is down? That's low, even for a pixie. The anger pushed me on as I reached behind me to pull out the other half of the arrow that was dug into the ground. Grabbing it by the splintered end, I took it out and saw that the iron tip was still strongly intact. Good, cause I would need it for my plan to work out.
I got to my feet slowly, pausing only to make sure I hadn't drawn attention to myself. I heard Astley start to speak as I started walking toward Garin. Good. His voice would hopefully cover the sounds of my approach.
"It's nice to know that you kick a man when he's down. Real brave of you," Astley was saying as he was working his way up to a sitting position.
"Just be grateful it's not something worse than a kick. I could have killed you already, but I was giving you a chance; waiting to see how much you could take before you fought back. How pathetic are you?" Garin was shaking his head at him looking pleased with himself.
I was now within a few steps of him. My heart was pounding so hard I was actually worried it would give me away. Should I strike at the heart from the back? Should I just wound him? How much damage could I actually do with half an arrow at arm's length? All these questions ran through my head as I moved in closer. I could tell Astley knew I was there, but he wasn't letting on.
Squeezing the arrow tight, I thought of Nick fighting for me; Astley defending me; Issie and Devyn being there for me—everyone that mattered and did things for me. It was my turn to do something useful. And most of all, this was for me; for him killing Nick because I wasn't smart or fast enough.
Garin started to speak again as I closed the final gap. I prepared to strike.
"You know how pathetic you are Lee? You are so pathetic that it takes your injured girlfriend to come to your rescue." And with that he swung around, taking the arrow from my hand and throwing it to the ground. Damn it.
"You can't sneak up on me princess," he said getting closer to my face. "I'm a little too quick for that. Besides, I could smell you coming a mile away. You're going to have to wait your turn."
But he didn't get to finish his sentence before he let out a cry of pain and surprise as I saw an arrow protrude from his stomach, then quickly disappear as Astley took it out to keep as a weapon. My distraction seemed enough time for Astley to grab the arrow and make a move.
"Not fast enough for me Gare," Astley said, standing up, still wielding the arrow.
Garin seemed to pause to decide what to do next, still with a smile on his face. Turning from Astley slightly, he reached out, grabbed me by the bad shoulder and swung me in front of him like a shield. I struggled, but he was still stronger.
Breathing heavily, Garin looked down at me and then at Astley, who still had that warrior look on his face, coupled with concern. "This is far from over, Lee," Garin spit out. Digging his fingers into my wound for good measure, he gripped me tight and practically threw me at Astley. And before I knew it, he took off into the sky above the tree line.
"Bastard," I panted into Astley chest as I started going to my knees.
Astley knelt down by me, ignoring his own injuries and looked me over with concern etched all over his face. "You're gonna be ok, Zara. It's going to take time to heal, but in the meantime we have to put pressure on it. You're bleeding a lot."
"I hadn't noticed," I said to him sarcastically as he started taking his shirt off and ripping it into a large strip. "You know, this is the second time in a day you've taken off your shirt for me," I laughed, then winced as he tied the shirt around my shoulder tightly.
"Owwwwwww. That freaking hurts. Owww."
"Sorry," he said tying the shirt off. "I really mean it too."
"You weren't the one who shot me with an arrow. That would be my mom," I said as he looked like he was about to ask who shot me.
"Long story short, she thought I was an imposter. I guess she thinks we can shape shift or something crazy and shot me. Moms, huh..." I was trying to be brave and nonchalant, but my shoulder really was killing me. I felt dizzy and nauseous from it all.
"Wait, Astley. Are you ok? Your chest. It's crazy bleeding. Oh geez. We need to get you some help. Some majorly big band aids." He seemed to be in worse shape than I was, what with blood all over his bare chest and back, oozing from claw marks. The bruises on his ribcage didn't look well either. It looked like maybe a rib or two was broken. I stood up quick to possibly take off the bottom part of my shirt to help him, but was quickly greeted by the ground as the dizziness threatened to knock me unconscious.
"Zara! Astley said, crawling over to where I had landed. "Are you okay? Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Stay with me," he said, grabbing my hand, which I noticed was blue. I forgot I didn't put my glamour back on. It didn't seem so important at the moment.
"Just gimme a minute to breath," I said laying there in the snow next to Astley. "I don't think I can move just yet."
"I'll carry you," he said, getting up and groaning.
"Oh stop trying to me a macho man and just wait a minute. I can do this." I didn't think I could, but I knew then we couldn't lie there longer. He was bleeding almost more than I was. We needed to heal up somewhere.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up slowly and reached my good arm up to Astley. He shook his head as if he were going to argue. "We'll lean on each other and get out of here. End of story." I took his hand, and he pulled gently. I wobbled a bit as I stood, but he steadied me. We exchanged a look that was both concern and gratitude, and like wounded animals, started a slow trek through the woods.
Wow, I think this was my longest chapter, lol. Hope this feeds your literary appetite for the meantime. As always, enjoy and review. I love reviews so please do comment. Cheers.