A/N: Hello everyone!

I finally managed to get this one out… Had to rewrite it completely at one point because it just didn't come out how I wanted it to… Not that I managed to get satisfied with this version either, but at least it is a tad bit better. It's a longer chapter because I just had to cram a lot of stuff in it. Oh, I even tested out a new way to separate scenes, hopefully it works better. I hope you enjoy! :)

To Iron-ninja: Yep, there is more than one person from Earth in FoaW and also... pikachu for president! :)

I do not own wizard101 nor its characters, only my OCs.

Chapter 21 – Fairy Dust

Shard gaped in horror. The tower was shrouded in a swarm of dark fairies, who circled around it like bees defending their nest. Soon, they flew up in the sky, cheering for their freedom and scattering in all directions. He could see everything clearly even from a safe distance away.

"Just… How many did he corrupt?" Sabrina said in a lament.

Flint pointed his wand to the sky, "No matter how many there are. It just means it will take a bit more time for us to defeat all of them!" he cast a short incantation and a blast of fire was sent upwards, missing a bunch of dark fairies due to their distance.

"Let's avoid that! Remember, they used to take care of Unicorn Way. Without them, Life Magic in the street will disappear." Sabrina said, taking a firm grip on Flint's arm and making him lower the wand. "Maybe it's for the best to contact Ambrose. Daisy's telepathy should come in handy."

Moira snapped her fingers and grinned. "For once, smart thinking Sabrina!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes and stretched her hand towards Moira. A few awkward seconds passed and Moira tilted her head in confusion."What?"

"Daisy, I gave her to you earlier, take her out so that we can ask her," Sabrina said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh."Moira widened her eyes in surprise and patted her pockets, shook her head and looked in her bag. Lifting her gaze and shrugging, she said in a way too cheerful tone, "Sorry, must have dropped her somewhere."

"You what?!"

"Back in the tower…"

"No way!"

"It's not a tragedy," Moira waved her hand as if to dismiss it, but had to brace herself for Sabrina's lecture.

"You just dropped the person we were supposed to save and treat it as nothing! If it weren't for Daisy's telepathic message we wouldn't have even known the fairies were kept hostage!" Sabrina's accusatory finger was pointed towards Moira like a weapon. The theurgist's words coming out in a flurry as he cheeks turned bright red, making it look like she was about to explode in anger. "I gave her to you for safekeeping!" She spat.

Flint sighed and shook his head, seemingly used to such outbursts. Taking hold of Sabrina's robe, he anticipated her actions and restrained her from outright assaulting Moira and probably strangle her with her bare hands.

"Yeah, you messed up big time, Sabrina," Moira shook her head and sighed."You will learn, eventually."

"but… but… What?" If looks could kill, Moira would have probably been reduced to nothing more than a meager pile of ashes.

"You should know by now not to give me random stuff without specifically telling me what to do with it! I tend to think differently from you, remember?"

Everyone looked at Moira in disbelief. Emer had gone pale after the revelation that her friend was somewhere in the tower with Rattlebones and his swarm of dark fairies. Shard eyed Moira with suspicion; the fact that he couldn't tell whether she had done it on purpose or she was just being defensive about her mistake. He couldn't believe a Ravenwood student would have done something like that.

"Come on girls, stop arguing. I'm sure Moira wasn't paying attention…" Flint started, trying to calm them down before the discussion degenerated into a fight. Whatever he was going to say, was abruptly cut off by Sabrina.

"Watch out!" She shouted, freeing herself from Flint's grip. Her staff was raised upwards and she chanted a small incantation. The image of a winged helm flashed for an instant in front of the theurgist and a green barrier slowly formed around the group, sparkling with the power of Life magic. Soft crackles filled the air, like that of a fire consuming wood.

Shard found the source of the noise soon enough. Tiny particles of dust fell down from the sky like snow, shining brightly in shades of dark purple. They spiraled down from the swarms of dark fairies above, slowly descending upon Unicorn Way.

The dust wasn't able to go through Sabrina's ward, much to Shard's relief, but everywhere else, once they landed, they dissolved in black vapor, leaving no proof at all that they had actually fallen from the sky. What chilled the blood in Shard's veins, however, wasn't the dust itself, seemingly harmless, but its effect on the plant life of the street; trees and plants withered upon touch and healthy gardens dried up and died all throughout the street.

Sabrina eyed the swarm surrounding the tower with a mixed expression of pity and anger. "Rattlebones talked about Lady Oriel, I'm sure they'll head to the Hedge Maze soon. Let's regroup with Nolan and think of our next step." Looking back at Delia's Tower and the swarm of dark fairies that guarded it, almost like they had no idea what to do with their regained freedom, Sabrina sighed. "As for Daisy, you'll be back and do something about it later, Moira"

"Fine," Moira said. Waving her wand in the air, another ward, resembling a thin layer of black mist, formed around the young wizards, reinforcing Sabrina's spell. Satisfied with herself, Moira gave a quick glance around and sniffed the air like a wolf following the scent of food. Licking her lips and relaxing in a grin, she pointed to a nearby building. "Nolan is in there. His fear has that… snobbish touch if you know what I mean."

Both Sabrina and Flint nodded at the comment, seemingly understanding what Moira meant. Following the Necromancer's lead, they headed down the road, ignoring the increasingly desperate attempts of the dark fairies to get through their wards with their dust. To Shard, despite the seriousness of the situation, it oddly felt like safely walking under an umbrella on a rainy day.

The inhabitants of Unicorn Way had found refuge inside their houses and eyed the outdoors with caution. Nobody dared to make a move against the fairies, nor they walked down the road with wards like the young wizards were doing. It was in times like these when it became apparent that, despite the name, most of Wizard City's population wasn't made up of wizards.

"Stormgate! Are you there?!" Moira shouted once she got in front of the entrance door to the house.

"Moira?" a boy replied, the door opening up to reveal a boy, seemingly Moira's age and dressed up with a dress of green leaves ending up in a miniskirt, green leafy shoes, and fake butterfly-like wings departing from his back.

"Do you really think it's time for you to be lazy?" Moira thundered, slamming her palm on the door and opening it up once more as to avoid the boy from closing it in her face.

"I'm not being lazy! There are people who need protection here, and I'm the only one powerful enough for the job, despite you trying to turn me into a fairy!" Nolan replied, trying hard to straighten up and appear dignified despite his fake wings fluttering left and right.

"Yeah, do tell me about it," Moira said, rolling her eyes. "We need to get to Headmaster Ambrose, like right now, so don't bring up any excuse."

"I don't think that's going to be easy. Have you seen the sky? It's full of dark fairies! I might not make it there and I'm obviously the most powerful among us."

Sabrina pushed Moira aside and lifted her staff in a rapid motion. The boy had just the time to blink once and emit a half-hearted groan when a poof of smoke enveloped him. Once the smoke disappeared, the fairy outfit had changed color, becoming similar to that of a dark fairy.

"Wha-? Why?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes and ignored the snickers coming from Moira and Flint. "Listen, I worked hard to enchant that outfit and you will put it to use. Go find Ambrose, it's important."

"Are you sure the enchantment will work and they'll think I'm one of them?" Nolan asked, eyeing his outfit with utter disgust. "And why did you bound it to me with magic?! I can't take it off!"

"I'm sure. We were going to use it to bait out Rattlebones anyway, why shouldn't it also work on dark fairies?"

"But..."

"Just go, already!" Moira shouted, putting her hands on her hips in an unspoken threat.

"Okay, okay, I'm going…" As Nolan ran off, Sabrina chanted a spell and the thin outline of a barrier enveloped him.

After fairy-Nolan disappeared from sight, they entered the house and saw that there were indeed a bunch of people hiding inside. From children to adults, humans and other races alike. They were all sitting or standing up in the living room, sending nervous glances to the window. A man wearing armor and held a spear in his hand came to meet them at the door.

"Thank Bartleby, other wizards. I hope the situation will be resolved soon."

"Don't worry private, we're on it," Sabrina reassured him, smiling at the people as if nothing was wrong. It had been a rather abrupt switch from the attitude she deserved to her teammates. "We sent Nolan to fetch Ambrose and the professors, it won't be long."

"The fairy boy… right? Not sure why he was dressed like that, but he threatened to release the wards around the house if we questioned it," The private said, shifting his spear in his hands.

"Yep, don't worry, there is a reason for that outfit. He is trustworthy. Most of the time that is..." Moira replied.

The private seemed to relax and asked a couple more questions. By the time he let them be, Sabrina had given him a run-down of Rattlebones and his plan. The private, who introduced himself as Private O'ryan, walked towards the rest of the citizens and updated the people himself. From what Shard could hear, his words were carefully selected to avoid triggering mass hysteria.

"What's the plan, Sabrina?" Flint said as the three adepts made their way to the room's corner in search of privacy. Judging from Sabrina's strict look, Shard and Emer should have had to stay put and leave matters to them. They had just been rescued after all, and novices couldn't do much anyways.

They sat down, away from the crowd and close to the window, looking outside as Unicorn Way withered under the deadly effect of the dust. The dark fairies' themselves, had started to fly progressively lower, exploring the street and making all sorts of mischief. Giggling and chattering, they threw pebbles at the windows in an attempt to break them, they stole clothes hanging out to dry and dropped them in the closest puddle of mud available, and at one point, they even got their hands on what appeared to be bright red paint, scarring the faces of the buildings with meaningless doodles.

It didn't exactly look like a dangerous situation if it weren't for the dark dust piling up and draining the life out of anything it landed on.

Despite it all. The thing that troubled Shard the most, was a memory. The memory of Emer's wand, broken and useless on the tower's floor. If only he hadn't been so useless, he could have done something, anything. Maybe things could have gone differently and Daisy could have been saved too.

He shook his head. It was Moira's fault that Daisy wasn't safe and sound. It was her who left the sprite in the tower. He told himself that like a kind of mantra, but an insistent thought kept nagging at the back of his mind.

He hadn't checked on Daisy at all during the escape, thinking first and foremost about his own safety. A selfish and useless person, who would rather snap his friend's wand instead of even trying to help. That was who he was. The truth was painful. He hadn't even tried to cast the spell, giving up as soon as Rattlebones had raised his voice. Yet he wanted to desperately be better than that. He owed it to the people who came to be his friends in Wizard City.

Will I ever learn? Even now, I'm so wrapped up in myself that I don't pay attention to others, he thought bitterly.

Lifting his eyes from the floor he looked at Emer. Her skin was pale and her eyes flickered restlessly from the window to Sabrina. A couple of times she glanced at the door and her body tensed. It was clear she didn't like how the Adepts were losing time when Daisy was in danger.

"They will save Daisy, I'm sure," Shard tried to reassure her.

Emer jolted after being addressed so suddenly. She eyed the window once again and nodded, "I hope so."

The Adepts had finally finished their little talk, and while Sabrina and Flint headed straight for the door, Moira approached Shard and Emer. "They're going to the Hedge Maze to warn Lady Oriel of the incoming threat, go figure." She didn't seem too happy about the plan.

"And Daisy?" Emer asked weakly.

"Oh, I do get to make a quick trip to Delia's Tower and fix my little… mistake," Moira said, patting Emer on the head. "Do not worry, my dear. Daisy won't die just yet." After she had said that, she went to the door and followed her teammates out of the house.

A terrible feeling spread in Shard's stomach despite Emer's seemingly improved mood. Moira had promised wouldn't have died, not that she wasn't going to be corrupted. It was an omission that he couldn't ignore.

"Everything is going to be alright. Moira will save Daisy and the Professors will solve the problem with the fairies." Emer's confidence made Shard smile. It wasn't that he believed that everything would have been solved that easily, but hearing it from Emer, made him doubt his own pessimistic predictions. Maybe things weren't as bleak as they seemed.

His mind didn't change though, and looking at the dark fairies thrashing Unicorn Way, he took a decision. Rummaging through his bag, Shard took out the box containing his wand, offering it to Emer. "Take it. As you said, things will be resolved, but in case the worst happens, you are the only one who can use magic among us. Not to mention, I did break yours…"

"Not a chance. It's your wand and I know for certain that if you put your mind into it, you can cast something." Emer pushed the box away from her, back towards Shard.

"Aren't you a bit overly optimistic here?"

"And aren't you overly pessimistic?"

"Whatever."

Shard took the wand out of the box and held it tight in his hand. The light outside dimmed, filtered out by the dust, almost like it reacted to his own thoughts. He hoped he didn't have to use it. He really did.

"You know… I'm sorry for what happened to your wand. I didn't want to break it." He talked after a few minutes of silence, not thinking things through.

"Come on, it's not a big deal. I'm sure I'll get a new one once all of this is over," Emer replied softly.

Not even fifteen minutes had passed since Moira had left when the door slammed open, and she marched into the house as angry as a cat who had been forced to take a bath.

"Moira… you were fast!" Emer exclaimed, getting to her feet and rushing to her.

"You two… we're going to the Hedge Maze, now," Moira said in a tone that left no room for replies. The Private, who startled by the sudden noise, was brandishing his spear, didn't even have the courage to object as the two novices were dragged out in the street.

Fragment of a Wish

Shard and Emer walked as close as possible to the Necromancer, paying attention to stay under her protective ward. Moira didn't tell them much at all after barging into the house and fundamentally kidnapping Shard and Emer under the Private's bewildered gaze. From time to time, Dark fairies flew down from above, tackling Moira's ward, just to be repelled and fly back up.

"Daisy wasn't in the tower and the fairies are preparing to strike, we've got to save those two… I mean, how stupid can you be to play the hero's role and just dive straight into the most dangerous place without much of a plan?" Moira snarled.

She angrily waved her wand towards a group of dark fairies in her way. The swarm was scattered with violence, almost like a huge invisible hand had pushed it aside.

"Was Daisy... corrupted?" Emer asked, eyeing the sky as if she could find her friend if she looked long enough.

"Most likely."

The news hit Shard harder than he imagined they would have. His relationship with the sprite was superficial; they merely talked a couple of times when he went to visit Emer at the Infirmary. Nonetheless, it felt horrible to lose her to Rattlebones' corruption.

"Why are we heading to the Hedge Maze?" Shard asked, looking at the fairies, who were slowly gathering up in a huge swarm up ahead. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"It is, but Rattlebones isn't the only enemy," Moira increased her pace as she explained, forcing Shard and Emer to keep up to listen to her. "We have to beware of Daisy. I saw her leaving the tower and well, she has certainly grown an interesting and dangerous personality."

"Daisy? Dangerous?" Emer asked. The novice Theurgist quickened her pace to hear out what the necromancer would have replied.

"Believe it or not, Daisy is now the new Fairy Queen. Just look at the dark fairies. Didn't you notice how their behavior changed?" Moira seemed almost amused as she pointed her wand upwards.

Shard and Emer looked up and saw what Moira meant. Since flying out of the tower, the corrupted fairies had scattered everywhere, doing whatever they pleased, but now, they moved in an orderly manner, heading in the same direction as if summoned by an irresistible order.

Moira lowered her wand and adjusted her beret. Her tone of voice held what could be perceived as mild curiosity and respect. "She is using he telepathy for control. Who could have thought that little thingy could do something like that?"

The trek through the street continued in silence. Unicorn Way looked like a ghost town. Nothing moved as people had barricaded themselves in their homes, waiting for the wizards to solve the problem. Those that couldn't make it, lied sprawled on the ground like lifeless puppets, covered with a thin layer of purple let out a horrified gasp and covered her eyes once she understood what had happened. Shard's gaze lingered on the bodies for a while, unable to think of them as anything more than asleep.

"We can't do anything for them." Moira waved her wand impatiently while whispering few arcane words. The pavement shattered and three ghouls clawed their way out of the ground. Without Moira ordering them, they started dragging the unconscious people all in one place. Once they were done, the Adept Necromancer waved her wand again and black barrier, similar to the one raised around her and the two novices, surrounded the bodies. "Won't let them be used for Necromancy though." She winked.

"Why are you bringing us with you?" Shard dared to ask. It was a question that had been bugging him since Moira had taken them out of the house.

"Simple, I'm not letting my teammates getting seriously hurt, despite what they might think of me, nor will I leave you under the care of clumsy private O'ryan. Remember, Daisy is out there somewhere controlling an army of fairies, she knows you, can sense you, and therefore will find you."

Emer widened her eyes and stumbled. Righting herself up again, she asked, "why would she look for us? She is evil now, right?"

"Corrupted," Moira corrected as if the term made a whole world of difference."Corruption, no matter of which kind, makes you feel dirty. You escaped before Rattlebones could have his way with you, and she might come to resent that. Resent those that aren't cursed like her… "

"But then, shouldn't we wait for the Professors? We could have waited for them with the private," Shard argued.

Moira snorted, seemingly growing impatient of explaining stuff," The dark fairies weren't flying around just for show. Look at the sky! Rattlebones worked hard since he occupied Delia's tower. Now we have to deal with a needlessly powerful ward around Unicorn Way. No porting allowed, and I could swear they won't let anyone close enough to the maze."

She then pointed her wand at the dead body of a man in green robes, overcome by the effect of the dust. "The wizards here are no help either, they wouldn't harm their precious fairies and try to turn them back with dire consequences."

"You sure know a lot about it, don't you?" Shard eyed Moira suspiciously.

"Of course, not for anything I have my secret way of gathering info," she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at them with a grin. "Want to know it?"

Shard nervously glanced at the countless dark fairies which encircled them, staying away from Moira's wards and eyeing them with malice. The assaults may have stopped, but he wasn't exactly sure that stopping in the middle of the street to reveal a means of gathering info was the right way to survive.

Moira didn't wait for an answer from them and whispered, "I observe my surroundings, obviously. That and I make up stuff. It usually works."

Shard blinked. "eh?"

Moira resumed her walk and laughed."I'll just tell you at this point, otherwise, it's no fun. It's obvious that staying with the private was the safest option for you. Daisy would have been far too busy attacking Lady Oriel to look for you, probably…"

Shard and Emer stared at Moira in bewilderment. They didn't dare to get away from the Necromancer, fully aware that the dark fairies awaited for them just outside the ward.

"In case it isn't clear enough. Your presence in the Hedge maze will be an irresistible bait for Daisy, which makes you the key to resolving this fast and efficiently."

"I won't let you do anything bad to Daisy!" Emer attempted to speak with panic in her tone.

"Either that or all the dark fairies need to be killed with some big spell. Decide, Emer."

Emer lowered her gaze and didn't speak. She didn't try to get away from Moira either. Shard hated how Moira was using them to pursue her strategy without giving them much of a choice. He was sure she might not have protected them if they chose to head back without her. Even so, she did seem to want to be in a hurry to help her friends out in the coming battle. "How can you be so sure that we will work as a bait?" he asked.

"Reasons,"Moira replied with a mysterious smile. "We're losing precious time, let's go!"

And thus Shard and Emer followed the necromancer with reluctance, wondering whether Moira's words were the truth or they hid ulterior motives behind ulterior motives.

Fragment of a Wish

"So this is the Hedge Maze…" Shard said, when Moira stopped in front of a huge door with floral patterns on it. He could feel the fairies above them buzzing with anger, attempting to get closer, but whatever Moira was doing to repel them, worked even against hundreds of them.

"Ready your wands," Moira said, slowly opening the door.

Shard slowly did as she asked. His hand trembled a little bit as he held the wand tight.

"Rattlebones broke mine…" Emer said.

Shard stared at her in surprise. She wasn't even acknowledging that it was he, the one who snapped it in front of her. The words gave him a sense of relief, soon followed by guilt. Though he had no money, he wanted to buy her a new wand in the future.

"I see. Don't worry about it. You'll just have to stay close to me and avoid doing anything stupid," Moira said. She then proceeded to open the doors and guide them inside.

The Hedge Maze. It once looked like it had been green and full of life. The dark Fairy dust had fallen on every plant and tree, turning everything it touched into dry and menacing thorns. The entrance to the maze awaited them; the hedges opened up in a deadly hug.

Moira eyed the many dark fairies fluttering in circles above the maze. She made a wary step forward. The buzzing of their wings intensified and the formation scattered. The dark fairies moving to protect the place from any who dared to approach it. Moira moved one step back and the fairies returned to circle above the maze as earlier. "Don't touch the thorns and no screaming, please. We'll have to make a run for it. They will attack."

"Wha-?" before Shard could even ask anything, Moira dashed forth and the two novices chased after her in a mad run. The barrier around them was assaulted by a barrage of crazy dark fairies who tried to punch and kick their way inside. Each hit made the barrier shake and deform like ripples on water.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Right. Left. Shard lost count of their twists and turns in the Maze. Branches reached out to them from the Hedges, dead grass attempted to tie around their feet to slow them, and roots always found a way to appear in the most convenient places to trip them.

"Take cover, I can't keep the ward up in these conditions," Moira said, pausing for breath at a crossroad. She didn't even finish her sentence that cracks started to appear on the barrier.

Shard tripped and fell on his back when the ward broke and dark fairies streamed inside. They took with them their dust and threw it at them, as soon as they got in range. Others just went straight to brawling, resorting to pulling hair and poking them with short sticks when they discovered that their kicks and tiny punches weren't very effective.

Emer whimpered as she tried to shoo them off, waving her hands frantically. Shard tried to get up, screamed and tripped back on the ground with his legs tied together with vines. In not even a few seconds, Shard could feel his strength diminishing, sapped away by the dust. Every movement of his body felt sluggish at best and his eyes seemed to be determined to close by themselves.

"Enough!" Moira's wand cracked like a whip as a blast of Death Magic disintegrated a bunch of fairies.

Emer gasped at the sight and Shard was sure she was going to protest for such a cold-hearted action, but her sudden stop of movement, gave a dark fairy the chance to poke her in the eye, transforming whatever she was going to say in a cry of pain.

After getting some space for movement, Moira started executing complex gestures and drawings with her wand. The symbol of Death Magic appeared in front of her and whispers came out of her mouth, creepy and powerful, they revealed fears and weaknesses. The whispers grew in intensity, taking a life of their own.

Whispers turned into screams, piercing, icy screams that took with them the power of Death. Before long, Shard found himself crawled up into a ball with his hands stuck over his ears. His own voice, strained to its limit in a prolonged shout, joining in with Moira's spell.

He couldn't move, trapped in a mere body of flesh. It shuddered and trembled in fear as the heart kept on increasing its beating speed, thumping faster and faster until it could finally burst, releasing his soul and making it possible for it to run away. Soon enough, he even felt eager for it to happen. It never did. Instead, the cries stopped abruptly and all he could hear was his sharp breath.

"Oh, Sorry for that. Thought you could take it," Moira said.

Shard lifted his gaze. Moira stood in the middle of the Maze's passage, watching the two novices in amusement, almost like they were funny animals she had randomly encountered during a pleasant stroll. Behind her, stood the figure of wrinkly woman with no visible legs, pale grey skin and a rat's nest of grey hair. She floated above ground for a few seconds and then slowly faded away.

"What did you-?" Shard started.

"Knocked the swarm unconscious and saved our lives, no reason to thank me." Moira tilted her head and looked at Emer as if to dare question her. "I would have killed them if it weren't for this overly sensitive Theurgist. In return, you won't talk to anyone, I repeat, anyone, about this." She gestured her hair as a whole and how it was full of small knots, certainly a gift from the dark fairies. With a wave of her wand, the hair untangled by itself and Moira breathed in relief.

"Thank you… Um, I won't tell anyone…" Emer muttered, slowly getting up. The sudden scream had shaken her up too, and she was visibly trembling.

"I told you. No reason to thank me. I'll do whatever it takes to get both of you out of here safe, I owe you that for my little manipulation. Let's just hope we are in time to save my rather heroic, teammates. Just… where did they end up to?"

Without giving Shard and Emer much time for rest, she chose a path, gestured for them to follow, and started to run. The Hedge Maze seemed to become greener as they ran towards its center. No dead leaves littering the paths and no thorns trying to get a hold of them every few steps. Shard could feel the power of Life Magic that just a little while back, covered all of Unicorn Way. The dread and despair were replaced by hope.

They could make it! Once they reunited with Flint and Sabrina they could hold off all the dark fairies with no problem at all! Such optimistic thoughts filled Shard's head.

"Meh, for once, I'm kind of pleased that there is Life Magic around here. At least those fools are still alive with Oriel."

"It's Lady Oriel, especially for you girl." The one who talked was a small fairy, who went out of her way to fly down from the top of a Hedge and cross her arms in front of Moira. Her outfit was green, like that of the fairies before corruption, and her eyes held no malice; if only a hint of annoyance.

"I'll take back everything I said about being pleased."

"Your friends are with lady Oriel. You better go and help them out. I'll show you the way." She gave a quick, worried glance to Shard and Emer, but without adding anything, she led them deeper into the Maze.

"Why does it seem like you aren't on good terms with that fairy?" Shard asked.

Moira smirked."Oh, that's because I'm not in good terms with fairies in general. I like to prank them, you see…"

She was cut off by the fairy who said,"Ehem, actually if that's what you call pranks I…"

"Oh, come on little Tinker Bell. Don't we have more important things to do than to discuss whether my pranks are pranks or not?"

The Fairy stopped abruptly and turned just to glare at Moira."Stop calling every fairy you talk to, Tinker Bell. What's that supposed to mean anyway?"

"I'll stop doing that when you girls start giving me your names," Moira smirked.

"Haha, not a chance Necromancer. Who knows what you'd do if you get to know them."

"Fair enough, Tinker Bell."

The fairy stiffened and kept on leading them until the narrow paths of the Hedge Maze opened up to reveal a glade. Trees grew on its sides, strong and healthy, carrying on their branches the small weight of tiny fairy houses made of wood and leaves. At the center of it, a stone platform marked the deepest part of the Maze.

"Welcome, young wizards," a voice spoke. It belonged to a woman with golden, shoulder-length hair, dressed in a simple, yet elegant, white tunic. Two feathery wings, of a purer white than her immaculate dress, sprouted from her back. They didn't seem to flap much, but regardless, the woman floated above the floor.

Shard shuddered as her deep blue eyes weighed down the new arrivals with intensity. Once the eye-contact broke, and the seraph smiled, Shard breathed a sigh of relief. The raw power radiating from her, left him no trace of doubt that she alone could overwhelm them easily if she thought of them as a menace.

"You are in the presence of Lady Oriel, Princess of the Seraphs, and protector of Unicorn Way," The fairy announced in way too pompous tone. Her eyes even darted towards Moira, challenging her to disrespect the lady.

Obviously, Moira seemed to take up the challenge.

"Yeah, what a protector we have here. Unicorn Way is in utter chaos," Moira said.

"How dare you disrespect our Lady!?"

Before the fairy could start arguing with Moira, Lady Oriel stopped her with a sign of her hand. "That is indeed the case, young wizard. When Unicorn Way's inhabitants turn against each other, the path to take is never an easy one. I still think of the Dark fairies as my beloved kin, but I can't ignore the cries of help of those who suffer by their hands."

"I think it's simple enough. The dark fairies need to be destroyed before they do anything unforgivable."

"No!" Emer shouted upon hearing those words. Everyone stared at her in surprise for the sudden outburst."There must be another way!"

"What's your name, young wizard?"

"Emer."

"I see. Why did you bring two novices with you, Necromancer?" lady Oriel eyed Moira strictly, looking like a teacher scolding her student.

"Oh, don't worry about them. I'm sure they can survive one way or another..."

"How could you?!" the voice that spoke didn't belong either to Moira nor to Oriel, but to an enraged Sabrina Greenstar who emerged from the Maze. "I told you to get Daisy back. I told you to protect the citizens. I even told you to avoid the Hedge Maze no matter what! Why are you here, Moira?!"

Moira shrugged. "It's too late to save Daisy and I'll take full responsibility if anything happens to these two."

Sabrina shook her head in disbelief. "Well, since you're here, help us with the wards." Sabrina bowed to Lady Oriel and headed to another passage.

Moira sighed, muttering something about how the whole plan was bound to fail, but followed Sabrina without questioning her directly. Flint, who was already waiting for both of them close to a hole in the hedge, disappeared back in the passage.

"Lady Oriel… sorry if asking is disrespectful, but what will you do?" Emer asked, the two novices found themselves alone with the Princess of the asking the question, she had kept sending random glances to the sky.

A green dome of green magic shone brightly over their heads. Dark fairies flew around it, but other than eyeing it warily, they didn't seem to be making a move.

"I won't abandon anyone. My decision is to save as many dark fairies as possible along as many inhabitants of Unicorn Way. I believe, we can do it."

Lady Oriel's words carried with them hope. Shard's chest swelled with courage, despite knowing fully well that he was beyond useless in such a situation. They could save everyone. It was possible. Shaking his head, he tried to think rationally.

He knew well how magic tended to affect people, and he didn't want to jump straight into something bigger than him just because a seraph said so. Giving in to a futile hope kindled by Life Magic could be just as lethal as succumbing to the fear awakened by Death.

No. That train of thought was exactly what was preventing him from accessing his magic. He needed to think about how it could be useful, not on what problems it could bring. His hand held his wand tight. If only he wasn't so useless.

"Do you have a plan to save everyone?" he asked, coming to terms that the best course of action was to trust the seraph.

"Of course. You novices stay close to me. The preparations for the purification spell are almost complete."

Fairies and sprites hurried along with small brushes and paint. Following Lady Oriel's orders, they drew lines, circles, and shapes on the stone platform in the middle of the maze. The lines departed from the center in and moved to the edges in spiral and circle patterns.

"Is this…" Shard started, suddenly aware of what was going on.

"An enormous Magic circle!" Emer completed for him. Lady Oriel's words seemed to have had a greater effect on her. "We will take Daisy back!" she smiled.

Lady Oriel smiled back warmly."Indeed, we will purify all of them at the same time."

Soon, Moira, Sabrina, and Flint returned. The necromancer, seemingly indifferent regarding everything that was going on, grinned. Sabrina, on the other hand, scowled, leaning on Flint to walk with fatigue evident on her face. Flint, in the middle of the two, had the perfect poker face.

"I reinforced the barrier as much as I could. Did I buy enough time?" Sabrina asked, doing her best to speak despite her ragged breath.

"You did a wonderful job, young Theurgist. It will give us just enough time…"

A loud thump interrupted her. Everyone looked up only to see Rattlebones, grinning triumphantly with the sword in his hand, standing on top of the barrier. "Lady Oriel, it is time for our fated encounter. Why don't you lift the ward and let the fairies play?"

Rattlebones brought the sword down on the barrier with brute force, making the powerful enchantments interact with the protective spell. Cracks departed from the spot that was pierced by the blade, and the green glow dimmed and disappeared. Slowly, the ward became as transparent as glass and ripples covered its surface. After an interminable instant, the glow appeared again. This time, smoky black.

The cracks grew wider and wider until the barrier partly gave in. A hole through which dark fairies entered, carrying their dust with them.

Rattlebones jumped inside, landing in front of Lady Oriel with a smirk. "And so it begins, my dear. Let us decide the next ruler of the fairies!"

The final battle is about to begin! Ooh, I wonder how will lady Oriel and the wizards fare against Rattlebones' army. Will they finally get to find Daisy? And if they find her, will she be on their side? That's something for next chapter though.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you so wish, do leave a review! I feel quite a bit drained after writing it, and hearing from you always cheers me up. Yes, even if you want to wish me a slow and painful death. It means that someone is actually reading this and it justifies my surprisingly insane devotion to this thing, lol.

Edit: Thanks to gh0st for pointing out some errors! Went back and fixed the chapter up. :)