I help Meghan onto the horse, watching with amusement as the horse tries to buck her off. I murmur in it's ear before climbing on behind her, encasing her in my arms as I ease the horse forwards.
"It's definitely offical – horses hate me." She mutters as we set off. I chuckle.
"Not all horses. It's just because your a Summer fey. It can sense it and it doesn't like it." I know without looking that Meghan is skeptical which makes me smile. "Not everything is out to get you you know." I murmur in her ear. She shivers and leans back into me.
"Where are we going anyway?" She asks after a minute.
"That's actually a very good question." I mutter to myself before saying loud enough for her to hear. "Whatever took Puck and Snowdrop can't have got far with both of them." Meghan turns to look at me, raising an eyebrow.
"So we're just going to ride this thing until we run into them? I think this is the first time since I met you that you don't have a proper plan Prince Ash." I mock glare at her.
"Hey I have a plan. For when we find them. Like I said, they shouldn't be too hard to find, just follow the chaos and we'll find Goodfellow at least." We ride in silence after that, until the Wyldwood starts to emerge through the snow and ice. We've gone furthur than I thought we'd have to when I see something sticking out from the bough of a tree. A black raven feather. I pull the horse to a stop, snapping Meghan out of whatever daydream she's been locked in during our journey.
"Do you see that?" I ask, pointing to the feather. She follows my finger and nods, a small smile on her face as she recognises it.
"Puck." She says softly, shifting in the saddle as she reaches up to unhook it from the bough. She runs a finger along it, neither of us saying anything for a moment.
"Well, this means he was conscious at this point." I say, kicking the horse forward again.
"I guess." She mumbles.
"Meghan? What is it?" She sighs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"It's just, if Puck was conscious here but could only manage to produce a feather to tell us we're on the right track, then whoever has him must be a lot stronger than he is." I hadn't thought of that and my stomach drops at the thought of an assailant big enough to keep the Summer prankster subdued. My arms tighten around Meghan's waist at the thought.
"It'll be alright Meghan. I haven't met a creature that has been able to keep Puck down for long. You'll see. By the time we get there, Puck will have already escaped and most likely tormented his captor so much that they're begging for death." Meghan giggles at that, lightening the weight that has settled in my stomach once more. I glance up at the sky, my eyes widening a little as I realise just how quickly the sun is setting. I push the horse faster, unwilling to let Meghan see just what kind of danger lurks in the Wyldwood when night falls. We eventually stop at the opening of a cave and I slide off the horse first before wrapping my hands around Meghan's waist and helping her jump off the horse too. I can feel her watching me as I tie the horse to a tree near the cave, feeding it an apple from the saddlebag before pulling the bag off. I turn around and hold my hand out to her, smiling when she takes it, her hand cool from the wind. We reach the mouth of the cave when Meghan stops abruptly, pulling me to a halt as well.
"Megahn?" I ask, turning to face her with a frown. Her face is pale in the dimming light and her hand has started to shake in mine. I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Meghan, what's wrong?"
"It's dark." She whimpers. It takes me a minute before I realise what she's talking about. This is the first time she's truly been in the dark since we found her. There's always been some form of light in her room. Looking back at the cave, I can see why she's so scared. It's pitch black, just a gaping hole in front of us and it's only through many years of hunting in the Wyldwood that I know this cave is abandoned. I pull back a little, pushing Meghan's hair back behind her ears and tilting her chin up so she's looking at me.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, alright? I won't let it." I pause before throwing some blue faery fire behind me, lighting up the cave. I add a few more orbs until the whole cave is alight with blue flames and Meghan has stopped shaking. "Is that better?" I ask softly. She nods, but the fear is still prominent in her eyes, making me wonder once more just what exactly Rowan did to her. A surge of glamour snaps me out of my thoughts and I watch as the cave entrance is suddenly lit up with a cheerful fire. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"Show off." I say, nudging her gently with my shoulder to make her smile. Instead, her gaze drops to the ground and I have to strain to hear the sorry she mumbles under her breath.
"Hey." I say, pulling her into me once more, forcing her to look at me. "Don't apologise Meghan. I'm impressed. It wasn't too long ago when you couldn't use your glamour without passing out. Besides, it saves me a job." I finally get a small smile in return and I lean down and brush a kiss over her lips. "That's better. Now come on, you haven't eaten all day." I lead the way into the now brightly lit cave and start unpacking the food that I put in the saddle bag earlier. While I prefer to hunt when I'm in the Wyldwood, I knew before setting off that Meghan wouldn't be eating until tonight and that she probably wouldn't appreciate me wandering off for an hour and leaving her alone in the middle of the Wyldwood. We settle back against the cave wall as we eat, watching the flames try to throw a little light into the darkness outside. I wrap an arm around Meghan when she curls up into my side and let my eyes slide close. I pride myself on keeping alert no matter where I am but even so, I miss whatever makes Meghan jump and cower into my side a little while later. My eyes fly open darting between the cave entrance and Meghan and back again.
"What? What's wrong?" I ask, my heart thudding. I'm not used to feeling like this. Normally it's just me in the woods, with no one else to worry about. Now I have Meghan and...Puck...and the thought of losing either of them, especially Meghan, terrifies me.
"I heard something outside." Meghan whispers. We stand up and I gently ease Meghans hands off of my shirt so I can get to my sword. I unsheath it and motion behind me.
"Stay there Meghan, alright?"
"But Ash-"
"Promise me Meghan." I say turning to face her. "Promise me you'll stay here until I tell you it's safe." She pauses but nods, pressing herself against the cave wall, her eyes never leaving me. I blow one of the faery orbs out into the darkness, peering out into the gloom, my sword outstretched. The fire blows furthur out of the entrance on the soft breeze, producing a cry of,
"There you are Princling. I was wondering where you'd got to." I re-sheath my sword and grin despite myself.
"Well Goodfellow, it's only you missing. Why should I rush?" Puck appears in the darkness, looking dirty and dishevelled but otherwise unharmed.
"I'm touched that you care ice-boy." He opens his mouth to say something else when he's tackled by a blonde blur.
"Puck!" Meghan says, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, making him stumble and me laugh. It takes a second to regain his balance but he returns the hug wholeheartedly. There was a time, not long ago, when the sight of Meghan and Puck hugging like this would have made me insanely jealous. Now though it makes me smile because I know Meghan is mine and that she loves me. Not that she doens't love Puck but more as a brother than a lover.
"Hey Princess." Puck murmurs before pulling back and looking at me. "Don't mean to be rude Prince, but I don't suppose you've got any food going spare? I'm starving!" I gesture to the cave behind me and have to grab Meghan's elbow and pull her out of the way before Puck runs her over in his haste to get to the food. Meghan wraps and arm around my waist as we head back inside and settle back into our previous positions, watching as Puck devours the leftover food.
"Good job I left some in the bag for breakfast huh?" I whisper to Meghan making her giggle. Once Puck has been satisfied I can finally ask him the important questions.
"Goodfellow. Who took you? And where did they take you?"
So first off ~ HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2015 bring you everything you want and more! Secondly, I couldn't keep Puck away for too long and it makes sense in my mind that Puck would manage to escape. But we've yet to find Snowdrop and just who kidnapped them anyway? Next update should (hopefully) be up in the next few days but, as always, please review! xx