17 . 6 . 11

Man, it's been too long since I've updated. I forgot to bring my computer with me to Internet Land last weekend, so yes. Anyway, enough of my life — I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Mel gripped the tree branch and took a deep breath, then blew it out impatiently. She was surprised and annoyed at her own lack of stamina. She couldn't fathom how Karl was able to leave the forest so often. Just a few hours away from the leafy arbor and she was starting to get short of breath. It's a good thing I found a tree here in Philettin.

There's more to the little one than you know, the tree advised her.

"Little one?" Mel said with a chuckle. "That's a strange nickname for Karl."

More than you know, the tree repeated.

"Alright, alright," Mel said, rapping the branch with her knuckles a little too firmly to be quite friendly. "Did you know he was in trouble, then?"

He is constantly in trouble.

If Mel didn't know that the trees were unfailingly patient, she might have thought that the tree had sounded a bit exasperated.

"Yeah, well, he's been kidnapped," she said.

He is a fiari; fiari are constantly in bondage.

"No," Mel said, blowing some hair out of her face with annoyance. The trees were very slow. "I mean, he's been kidnapped, on top of that."

By whom?

"Well… his master," Mel said reluctantly. She hastened to explain. "His master ordered him away, then kidnapped him before he could warn anyone about what his master was planning to do."

Ah, this must have to do with the Shayna's kin he brought through here a while ago.

"As far as I can tell," Mel said with a half shrug.

What is the wizard planning?

"Search me," Mel said. "All I know is that apparently Karl was trying to stop him."

That sounds far too benevolent to be Karl.

Mel chuckled.

"Perhaps. Maybe they have an impact on him somehow," Mel said with little interest. "Anyway, I need to go find Karl, wherever he is, and try to get some idea of what I'm supposed to be telling his little friends to do. I'll be back in a little while."

Don't let the little one entangle you in anything you can't handle, the tree warned.

"I rather think Karl is in the business of that," Mel said ruefully as she let go of the branch and flitted away.

It didn't take too long to reach the lonely wagon from the tree she had found outside of a city. She briefly considered trying to free the captives herself, but she soon abandoned that. It was far too risky to go against humans alone. Better to at least have someone along to distract them from the fact that you're a fairy.

The wagon was being pulled by two horses — a bit overkill for such a small wagon, Mel reflected — and it was flanked by two men on horseback. Including the driver and his companion, who were seated in the front of the wagon, that made four people. She was already invisible, but she assumed they would have to have some sort of magical training, so she kept an eye on them as she flew closer to the wagon from behind. That way, she would only have to watch the two riding horses.

"Lucky for me Karl's a mind-magician," she muttered to herself before gathering all her concentration and thinking his name as loud as she possibly could.

There was no response. Mel thought one of the horsemen twitched, but she couldn't be sure. She inched closer, wings beating feverishly in the hot air. Her eyes darted from one man to the other, but neither of them gave any sign that they noticed her presence. Then, she ran into a web.

The men reacted as one; the wagon jolted to a halt, and the men on horseback reigned in their steeds and swiveled around, drawing their swords. Mel's heart leapt into her throat as she tried to untangle herself from the spell, but the harder she struggled the tighter the threads wrapped around her.

She barely heard shouts from inside the wagon; her hearing was fuzzy, probably from the spell.

Karl! She thought desperately, using magic to uncoil the spell at an agonizing pace. The men were almost upon her, their swords raised as their practiced eyes scanned the area for the disturbance. It wouldn't take them long to find her.

Karl, help!

The day passed in restless boredom. For the first few hours after waking, Cameron and Nre jumped at every sound, thinking they had arrived. All the false alarms and bursts of adrenaline, however, left the pair exhausted. It wasn't long before Nre fell asleep on Cameron's shoulder, lulled to unconsciousness by the steady movement of the wagon.

Cameron took advantage of that time to really look at Nre. For knowing her so well through their years of correspondence, he felt like something about her always caught him by surprise when he was around her. The way her mouth curled up when she was trying to be serious, the freckle by her left ear, the callouses on her fingers from writing — the list was endless. Even when he could barely see her in the dim light of the wagon, he still noticed something new.

As she slept, she caught a corner of his shirt between her forefinger and thumb, and she rubbed it lightly — like a worrystone. Cameron smiled slightly and kissed her hair. Karl watched the two of them through half-open eyes, not tired, and tense. As he watched Cameron tuck a piece of hair behind Nre's ear, he wondered if either of them really knew what it meant to look death in the eye and spit in its face.

He hoped they would learn fast.

Even Karl was almost asleep when the wagon jerked to a stop. Cameron and Nre — who were quite asleep — fell over with cries of surprise, but Karl jumped to his feet with a curse at Iain and all things human. He knew immediately that it was Mel outside; he could feel her racing mind. He should have known she would try to find him. She didn't know enough about the situation to continue on without more guidance on his part.

"What's going on?" Cameron said, also standing and looking at Karl.

"One of my friends," Karl muttered, concentrating on finding Mel and releasing her from Iain's spells.

"What—"

"Shut up," Karl said forcefully.

As soon as his magic brushed Mel, his mind was filled with her thoughts.

"A dampening spell," he said angrily. "So that no one could contact me unless they were in the spell. Iain, why do you have to be so brilliant? It would be much easier to hate you if you were stupid."

Karl! Help! They're about to—

Calm down, love, Karl thought coolly. I'll get you out in just one second.

They'll kill me in one second! Mel thought in a panic. Karl could see in her tangled thoughts that the soldiers were approaching her; she had moments left to live if she couldn't free herself. She worked against the spell with all her might, and the threads finally began to loosen. A stubborn few threads still clung on.

You have to find Nre's parents, Karl said quickly. They're probably at Iain's home on the coast of Molln. Mel, listen — Iain's going to destroy the fairies.

The soldiers spotted the magical disturbance, and one of them lifted a sword.

KARL—

Karl took a breath and shoved all the magic he could spare into Mel. The sudden burst of energy snapped the strings and shoved Mel backward, safely out of the road, just as the sword struck the air she had been in moments before.

Mel didn't waste a moment; she was flying toward Molln and away from those soldiers before she had time to be relieved.

Karl listened, holding his breath, to see if he had just spared Mel or killed her. The nasty words that escaped the soldier's mouth, muffled through the walls of the wagon, were all Karl needed to take another breath.

"That was rather closer than I would have liked," Karl said.

"What—?" Nre said, unsure of how to continue.

"That was our only stab at life, and she very nearly died," Karl said. "That friend of mine I was telling you about. She's going to find your parents, Nre, and hopefully get them to Iain's before we're all dead."

"How can my parents help?" Nre said, confused.

"I have learned, over the years," Karl said, sitting down as the wagon started moving again, "to never underestimate parents. Especially royal ones. Somewhere between the righteous anger and the unlimited resources, they become quite a force to be reckoned with."

He paused, then added truthfully: "I just hope it's enough of a force."

Mel flew over the barren wasteland of Philettin, occasionally passing over a city or village, but mostly seeing yellow dust and the occasional strangled shrub. She was intensely grateful for adrenaline and Karl's magic; they were the only two things that kept her in the air. Once she was far enough away from the wagon to breathe properly again, Karl's words hit her between the eyes.

Mel, listen — Iain's going to destroy the fairies.

"That's what he wanted with Shayna's Wish," she said to herself, shaking her head and starting to panic. "Oh, stars. Oh, Shayna. Oh, trees of life eternal."

She covered her face for a moment — but just a moment, since she was still flying, and flying quite quickly — and pulled herself together. She had a mission.

"Nre's parents, Mollnian coast. Iain's house. I have no idea where that is."

She hit something that almost knocked her out of the air, but she caught herself with a yelp. She looked around, but there were no birds. Confused, she looked down and realized where she must be. A large house was sprawled beneath her on the Philettin plain, far away from any villages or towns.

"Hello, Iain," she said nastily, feeling out the protective spell she'd run into and skirting around it.

Unlike the last one, this spell wasn't meant to catch, but to keep out.

"Just fine with me," she muttered, finally getting around the huge barrier and continuing on her way.

She considered how powerful Iain must be to cast spells in such a huge diameter that they reached her in the air. That magic plus Shayna's Wish could easily—

Mel didn't let herself finish the thought, instead thinking of what she was going to say to Nre's parents (the King and Queen of Berensia!) when she saw them. Did they know who Karl was? How could she convince them that she wasn't one of Iain's men leading them into a trap?

Well, at this point, they might be willing to spring a trap if it meant getting close to Nre, she considered.

Mel glanced down to check her progress. Flying in a general southwesterly direction was leading her over Ladyra now. She could tell the peaceful country even from her position high in the air because of the brightly-colored flags that the citizens insisted on flying from every crack and crevice of their lives. It was surprising the people themselves didn't just wear flags. Most of the houses sported at least two of the purple and yellow pennants, and there was one flying from every wagon.

If she remembered her geography correctly, she should be taking a jog through Liot before she reached the Mollnian coast. Once she reached it, she supposed she'd have to scour the whole coastline for traces of magic.

I hope Iain was the only wizard living there, she thought, skimming over the Liotian plains. I don't have that much magic to spare, to be searching out every house along the beach.

Indeed, the fairy — though she didn't want to admit it — could feel herself flagging already, and there were no trees in sight. Still, she pushed onward for several more hours, with Karl's words ringing in her ears.

Iain's going to destroy the fairies

destroy the fairies

Mel, listen—

destroy

fairies

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Mel said, gritting her teeth; the Mollnian coastline was almost in view.

Questioning the people in the town was more frustrating than productive. The soldiers split up and covered all the families in just a few hours, but the news they brought back was murky at best. A few families thought he had another home "west of here," but everyone else just shook their head and shrugged.

"We tried to avoid him as much as we could — why would we know anything about his personal life?" one woman said, almost affronted, when General Henchfeld asked her.

"This is a nightmare," Gloria said, her head in her hands. They were sitting at a table in the town's tavern, and all the locals were giving them a respectful berth. "We're wasting time here."

"But we don't know where to go," Thomas said, the frustration evident in his voice. "'West of here' is about as helpful as not knowing anything."

"It's not their fault," Gloria said tiredly.

Thomas didn't say anything, but Gloria felt his hand toy with a lock of her hair. It was quiet in the tavern. The people had all but vacated the place after they realized that the exhausted-looking couple in the back were the king and queen of Berensia. Gloria felt the polished wood under her elbows, and she heard the soft singing of a maid washing dishes echo from the kitchen. The murmur of voices outside was indiscernible, for the most part. She made out a few words every now and then.

"—farm."

"That boy—"

"—here—"

"'Ey, that's the king and queen of Berensia in there," said a voice that was louder than the rest.

Thomas wrapped the lock of hair around his finger, then released it; he wasn't paying attention to the people outside. His mind was trying to discern what to do next.

"Lady, did you—" started the same loud voice.

"I'm well aware who's inside," came another voice: strong and female. "That's why I'm going inside."

Gloria peeled her head from her hands in time to see a woman stride in the door of the tavern and head straight for their table. She was quite obviously not from the town; her dress was strange, and her demeanor was set. Thomas was on his feet, hand on his sword, before she reached them.

"Your majesty," the woman said, stopping in her tracks and dipping into an embarrassed bow. "I'm sorry; I forgot my manners."

Gloria stood as well.

"What is your business here?" Thomas asked warily.

The woman didn't speak immediately; she looked like she was trying to choose her words carefully. Gloria took a moment to examine her; she was pale, with hair black as ebony and eyes like a pine forest. She was dressed in a style completely unfamiliar to Gloria, and something about her put the queen on edge.

"My name is Mel. I come with a message from Karl," she said, looking carefully at them.

"Karl?" Thomas said, instantly focused on what she had to say. "What is it?"

"He's in danger," she said, "along with the Prince and Princess. Iain's captured them and is taking them to his home in Philettin."

"Philettin," Thomas breathed.

Of all the countries, that was the worst she could have named. Which would be, of course, why Iain chose it as his second home. The warlike nature of the government and people would keep most everyone from bothering him there — especially foreign royalty.

"Do you know where his home is?" Gloria asked.

"I do," Mel said. "It's heavily guarded with spells of protection."

"Lead us to him, and we'll decide the plan as we move," Thomas said. "Gloria, I'm going to go tell the General."

"Very good," Gloria said. "I'll head to the horses, then."

But Thomas had already left the tavern at a jog, calling for General Henchfeld.

"You don't have a plan?" Mel said, looking after Thomas with apprehension. The way Karl had said to find them — she thought they would have a plan of action for attacking the wizard, and perhaps a few wizards of their own for the battle.

"I assume you have your own horse," Gloria said, leading the way out of the tavern and toward the stable.

"Not exactly," Mel hedged, jerked out of her confusion to realize that she was a fairy standing in front of a human monarch.

She was suddenly very uncomfrotable; she looked down, then to the side. Gloria recognized a guilty look when she saw one.

"Did you steal one?" Gloria said matter-of-factly.

Now was not the time to be judging anyone. She would have stolen a whole posse of horses if it meant getting to Nre any faster.

"I'm a fairy," Mel said quickly.

She kept a healthy distance, in case Gloria overreacted. Humans didn't exactly like keeping company with fairies. And the monarchs were the most powerful ones, so she could be in some real danger. Mel supposed she could see why they might not like fairies. But that doesn't give Iain the right to—

"Like Karl?" Gloria questioned, looking puzzled.

"Oh," Mel said, unsure of what else to say. "Um, yes. Karl is a fairy, too. Well, fiari."

"So, why are you helping us, then?" Gloria said. "Not that I'm complaining," she was quick to add. She started working at the knot tying her horse to the stable wall — there hadn't been enough stalls for all the horses.

Karl's words bludgeoned her mind once more, and her blood ran cold again as the enormity of her task fell on her shoulders. She had to somehow guide these humans to defeat Iain before he managed to destroy everything and everyone Mel had ever held dear.

The queen's eyes, soft and brown, stared expectantly into her own green ones. Mel swallowed, memories coming forcibly before her eyes and bringing the sting of tears with them as she realized that could all disappear in a matter of hours.

"Iain, the wizard, is going to use Shayna's Wish to destroy the fairies," she said, barely able to make her voice audible.

Gloria's eyes widened, and she dropped the rope.

"You're—oh—by the crown," she gasped.

She might not particularly like the fairies, but this was genocide — this wizard (Iain, Mel said?) was taking it upon himself to decide the fate of an entire race.

"We have no time to waste," she said, pulling the knot free and pulling herself onto the horse.

The other soldiers were running to the barn, and half of them were already on their horses. Gloria put her hand on Mel's head — the only part of the woman she could reach from the top of the horse.

"We're going to stop him," she said.

Mel didn't say anything, but Gloria thought she saw a scrap of a smile. Then, the woman closed her eyes and when Gloria blinked, she saw a small blur of purple-black whirring in front of her horse.

Mel flew close to her face, and Gloria thought she heard a whisper, then felt something touch her forehead. Within minutes, everyone was on his horse once more, and they followed the fairy along the road leading northeast.

"So, what happens if we catch up with them before the lady comes back?" Sarah asked gingerly. "Not to be too forward, but we don't exactly have weapons. Well, you and Faidn do, but we can't even pretend to look menacing."

"She has a point," Faidn said, eying the raggedy bunch with a pained expression. "You all are in need of some proper exercise and a few square meals."

"That'll be harder to get, since Karl's supply bag ran out," Rose said softly. The only one who heard her was Sarah.

"She's got to come back," Carvin said, but he didn't sound like he really meant it.

He looked at the map again. They were steadily gaining on Cameron and Nre, and it looked like they might even catch up with them by the end of the day. No one said anything, but Dannlin and Sarah traded a look.

Carvin heard what wasn't being said. Was he going to lead them into danger unprepared? Was he going to risk everyone's life to hang on the words of a woman whose name he didn't even know?

But how could he stand idly by while Nre was in horrible danger?

"If she doesn't return, we'll wait," he finally said. "I'll scout ahead, but you all should stay back. I can't put everyone at risk."

"Just yourself," Faidn pointed out. "I don't think so. I'll come with you."

"Fai—"

"Look, I just held my own against at least three different bands of pirates and general scallawags," Faidn said, his voice like granite. His eyes shone with what might have been the beginning of unshed tears. "I'm not going to let my best friend run into danger without me whooping at his side."

Carvin stared at Faidn. They had been best friends practically since they were born. There hadn't been many tests of their friendship during their easy life at Greyson, but now Faidn had as good as said he was willing to die alongside Carvin.

"Alright," Carvin finally said, breaking the silence. "You and me, then."

"Just like always," Faidn said, satisfied.

"Carvin."

They heard the woman's voice a split second before they saw her.

"I'm sorry it took so long," she said immediately. "I had to—nevermind, that'll take too long to explain. Suffice it to say that I found some reinforcements then took a pit stop in an outcropping of trees."

"Reinforcements?" Faidn said brightly. "I like the sound of reinforcements."

"Who?" Carvin asked.

"The king and queen of Berensia, and a battalion of Mollnian soldiers," she said, quickly explaining what she understood of the king and queen's story. "Cameron and Nre are going to arrive at Iain's house within the hour. When you get to the town of Fron, go through it and hide in the rocks just out of sight of the town. Wait there until the soldiers arrive."

"Then what?" Dannlin asked boldly.

"Then…" the woman said, "we fight."

"We fight," Carvin said with a brisk nod.

"Through Fron, hide in the rocks," the woman repeated. "The soldiers should be there by morning."

She turned to go, but stopped and looked back at Carvin. Her eyes locked into his in a way that made his stomach lurch uncomfortably.

"Carvin, don't get any heroic ideas. Wait for the soldiers. Iain is a very powerful man, and maybe even a madman."

Pine tree green eyes burrowed into his memory. He gasped.

"You're the fairy from the—"

But the woman had already vanished.

Everything is starting to come together! Ahh! What do you think of Mel? And Thomas and Gloria?

Lady Thorne: Yes, Mel is the fairy woman. And I love that you assume she has an ulterior motive — obviously no one would help Karl of their own volition. XD But it's true — she just wants adventure, really. Hah. I'm glad you like Karl; he's quite the interesting character. I've loved fleshing out his character through Nasap and Jab, and I can't wait to write him again in some of the next stories in the series. —grin— Yeah, Gloria and Thomas' storyline have been what's really interesting for me this time around, since their stuff is actually all new. I think it adds a nice angle, a different angle, to the plot.

Mazzie: Well, you know. It happens. ;D And now you're out of the country, so you won't be the sole reviewer for a while. Sad face. I'm sorry, by the by, that I couldn't get this up before you left. Wrestling with the internet at the place where I'm living is frustrating and nearly pointless, so I have to wait until the weekends. And then I forgot my computer last weekend, of course. Butanyway. Your review: Faidn is totally in on these conspiracy theories of yours. I can see it all now; the two of you are hunched over some old documents purporting the existence of vampirates, wide-eyed in the flickering lamplight and constantly looking over your shoulder in case you're being spied upon. Ahahaha. You give up on Thomas and Gloria too easily; of course they get magic powers (thanks to Mel). They are parents in search of their youngest child! THEY WOULD INVENT THE AIRPLANE AND FLY. O_O Ahem, anyhow.

Yeah, splitting up with 50% safe and 50% kidnapped/dead is better than not splitting up and 100% kidnapped/dead. This is why splitting up, although counterintuitive, is always the best plan. Just make sure you're never with the people everyone is actually chasing. See how smart Dannlin was in getting separated from them? You know it was intentional
(CONSPIRACY). Wow, why do I have Review-Reply-ADD today. I need to finish this up so I can actually post this chapter. Haha, faulty logic indeed. I never claimed that Iain was a master of common sense — just wizardry. XD I wish you would have mentioned when you were coming back — I hope you don't miss the ending, at least, but thanks for the fangirly-squee anyway. And I do hope you'll read the story I'll be posting after this — it's for the Ficathon and I'm loving it already. :D

Captain: I know you're reading this, even though you're not reviewing. Thanks for reading, friend.

Reviewers get lemon tarts!