Charlie Flynn

I've never run so fast in my life.

The village that we were just currently at wasn't too far from mine, but still, it was a little ways to go, and we needed to get there before the black fairy does.

I never knew what the black fairy was capable of until now. I never would've guessed she would go this far just to get to three teenagers.. I guess Robin and her friends must be pretty important.

I do want to know more about Robin and what it was like for her with the black fairy, but I didn't want to overstep my boundaries or make her think about any trauma she might have from it.

For right now, my number one priority was making sure everyone in my village is safe. I will not let the black fairy harm them, and I know Robin won't let her either. She seems to despise her (understandably so).

When I first saw Robin, I recognized her from the poster immediately, but I never thought she was dangerous. She never gave off that vibe, and I was sure of it when I started to have a conversation with her.

Plus, if she wanted to hurt me by now, she would've. I don't think she will, and I have good instincts. I know that this girl just wants to live. Both her and her friends, and I hope that I'm helping her finally have that chance.

As soon as we arrived back at my village, Robin turned to me. "Alright, you live here, where should we go first?"

"The pub," I say simply as that's the place most of the people in my village hang out.

"Alright, let's go," Robin started to walk but I grabbed her arm. "One, you're going the wrong way," I tell her, "And two, it's not safe for you to go waltzing in there. Go to my cottage, I'll come when I'm done, okay?"

Robin looked like she wanted to protest, but I could see how she always knew I was right. "Okay, but if you see Fiona, come to me. If she sees me she won't come for you."

I hated the idea of that, letting her return to the black- Fiona.

Although I hated it, I also admired her bravely. I nod and she nods back to me, starting to walk in the direction of my place. As soon as I saw her disappear, I set off to the pub.

The pub is a little ways outside my village, but it would be quicker just to go here and warn everyone then go door to door in my village. I reach the entrance to the pub, the smell of rum intensifying. I hated the smell, I always do, but I pushed the door open, hearing the bell go off.

I look around. The pub was packed. That's good. I'm sure there are more people in there than just my villagers, but it's probably a good idea to spread the word out as far as possible.

I walk up to the bar where I'm greeted by the bartender Holly.

I give her a warm smile. "Hey, Holly."

"Charlie! How are you today?" Holly asked enthusiastically.

"I'm fine," I answer, about to start talking about the reason I'm here, but Holly continued to talk over me.

"Can you guess what time of the year it is?" Holly started to make my usual drink, not even having to ask what it is.

I was about to answer with spring since spring was about to approach us, but then I remembered a birthday. The most celebrated birthdays in the land.

"Let me guess, the twins' birthday?" The twins are Prince Gustin and Princess Mariah Whittaker, two of the most respected royals. Every year they host a ball for their birthday, or well, the king does, and everyone with any sort of status is allowed to attend. You have to be lucky to even get an invite.

"Yep!" Holly sat my drink in front of me. I wasn't in the mood for a drink, but I took a sip anyway.

"And this year it's a masquerade," Holly adds.

"Oh wow, something different," I say with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "Holly.." I interrupted her this time. I know that was rude of me, but there was no time for any more chit chat. "Gardenia was destroyed by the black fairy." (Gardenia was the name of the village)

Holly's eyes widened. "What? Is everyone okay?"

"I don't know," I say and frown. "Everyone was gone when I got there. This is what I came here to tell you. I think we should evacuate Uganda, she might be heading towards us next."

"We can't just ask everyone to pack up their lives, Charlie."

"We can if their lives are in danger! She's after those three kids who escaped! She's not gonna stop until she's found them, Holly." I snap. "If you just get Franklin to tell everyone in here that-"

Holly put her finger up. "Let me stop you right there. Franklin is not going to tell people to leave, not when they bring in business." Franklin is the manager of the pub.

I scoff at that. "He cares more about his money than people's lives?!"

Holly frowns a little, "I believe you, Charlie. I do, but there's no evidence she's coming here."

At that moment, I knew that I had to take a stand.

"Fine, if you won't do it, I will," I say and get up, walking to the middle of the pub. I ignore Holly's yells for me as I stand on a table. I apologize to the people who were sitting at the table.

"Hey!" I yell. No one looked except for a few people. "HEY!" I yell again, even louder this time. That made the whole pub go quiet.

I feel nervous with all of the attention all of the sudden, but what I need to say is important.

"The black fairy destroyed Gardenia! It's only a matter of time before she comes to us, next! You don't have to listen to me, but she burned Gardenia to the ground! Who knows what'll happen to us. I think we should all leave, for our safety. But it's up to you." I command as if I'm a leader. I see Franklin running over to Holly out of the corner of my eye.

The expressions of everyone in the room were mixed. Some had anger, some had confusion, some had scared, some had misbelief.

"And why would the black fairy be after us?" A man across from me says.

"Because she's after those three kids who escaped her castle. Melodramatic if you ask me." Another man answered, I look over and see that he was sitting at the bar.

I agree with him. It is very melodramatic of her to be burning down villages just because she can't find what she's looking for.

"How do you know it was her who burned down Gardenia?" Franklin was the next to ask.

Oh crap. How do I answer this? Robin has her pendant, and even if I did have it, how would I explain that it's hers? F.S could be anyone!

Luckily for me, a lady in the corner of the room spoke. "It was her, I'm from Gardenia. Or was." She walked to the middle of the room and I got down off the table. "Her and her... her minions made us all stand there and watch. She burned down cottages out of rage. I ran here. I agree with her," The lady points at me. "No one should have to sit and watch their own home get torn apart and burned down, especially when you knew it could've been coming."

Just then I heard the bell to the pub ring alongside gasps and screeches. I turn around to look at the door and see a lady, wearing all black with long jet black hair, two people following behind her.

Oh god, I think that's Fiona.

The lady next to me started to tremble in fear.

She's here.

Gideon Gold

He accidentally slashed Roderick with his sword.

But the only thing I could see at that moment was the guilt and fear that was in Roderick's eyes.

"Gideon," He whispered and started falling to the ground. I made a swift movement to catch him, laying his head on my lap.

"It's okay, Ricky. It's okay. I'll fix you. I know a spell," I whisper to reassure him, hoping the spell will work.

It has to work. I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't. I can't go through what I felt seven years ago when I thought I lost him the first time. I can't go through actually losing him.

I placed my hand over his wound and started to recite the healing spell..

But it wasn't working.

I started to panic. "It's not working, why isn't it working?!" I keep trying the spell, tears starting to form in my eyes from the stress of the situation, and from the fear of losing Roderick.

"Gideon," Roderick mumbles and grabs the hand I was trying to cast the spell with, my other hand playing with his hair. "It's okay."

"It's not okay!" I cry out, "You're dying, and I can't save you. It's my fault."

"Don't you dare blame yourself," Roderick says weakly? I could practically see the pain he felt just from the tone of his voice. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

I shake my head, ignoring the eyes of Neal and the goonies that are watching us.

"You didn't hurt me, I'm fine," I assured him and started rubbing circles on the top of his hand.

Roderick groans in pain and I pull him tighter towards me. "Just promise me one thing.." He begins.

"You're gonna be fi-" "Gideon, please." I nod a little to let him continue.

"Promise me you won't go back to that castle, and if Fiona tries to make you, you'll stop her."

He says as if there aren't four goonies next to us who want to do just that.. not important, Gideon.

I felt the tears that had been building up to fall down my cheeks. "I promise," I choke out.

"Good.." Roderick whispers before his whole body goes limp.

NO! NO!

"Roderick?!" I cry out and start shaking him. "Wake up! Come back! Please! I can't lose you again.."

That's when I start to sob. I felt so many emotions that I've never felt before, and I couldn't process the fact that someone that I've cared about so deeply for so long just died in my arms, and I never got to tell him how I felt.

"Gideon-" Carmen started, a sound of pity in her voice.

Wow! Didn't know she could feel that!

I put my hand up, only now noticing all the blood that was on it. "Don't!" I hiss and Neal rushes over to me, pulling me into a hug.

I gently put Roderick's body on the ground and cling onto Neal as if it was the last time I was going to see Neal, too.

Neal rubbed my back as I cried through the pain. "I liked him, as more than a friend," I whisper to Neal. I didn't want the goonies to know.

"I know," Neal murmured and I looked over at the goonies, specifically at Mark. I don't know what expression I'm giving him exactly, but he has a scared look on his face, a look that screams oh shit, don't hurt me for what I just did to him.

I still need to teach him a lesson for playing around with a sword like that.

I stand up, looking straight at Mark, ignoring all my other surroundings. I feel all this magic build up inside of me as if I'm about to explode.

And that's just what I plan on doing.

I started releasing all the energy that I was channeling. Mark could see this and dropped the sword.

Good, be scared.

I scream and let all the magic out.

I didn't know what it was going to do, but Mark ended up flying halfway across the area we're at.

"MARK!" Carmen screamed and Gerard lunged for me. I threw him back not nearly as far. "Are you going to try next, Dennis?!" I say, frustrated from Gerard thinking he could interfere.

"Gideon, stop!" said Neal. "You're hurting them!"

"They killed Roderick!"

"It was an accident! But either way, don't stoop to their level!"

I turn and look back at Neal. He's right. I'm being just as bad as them, and Roderick wouldn't have wanted me to do this.

I relax my body a little, to calm down the magic inside of me. I turn my head back to look at Dennis and Carmen...

But my neck was met with a sword.

Robin Mills

I was eating a cookie I had found in a jar when I saw Charlie storm into the cottage. She was panting.

"Are you okay? You look as if you've seen a ghost," I ask her.

"Well, I saw Fiona, if that counts," she replies and I drop the cookie.

"You saw who?!" I rush towards her. "Are you okay?!"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. She showed up at the pub, but I managed to escape. But we have to go now! She's coming!" Said Charlie, frantically. She runs into a room and I start breathing heavily.

It's fine. It'll be fine. Charlie probably knows the woods better than Fiona does. I grab my small bag of things that Charlie had given to me, along with the spellbook and my bow. Charlie ran back into the main room after a few minutes with a bigger bag.

"Where are we going to go?" I ask her, not being entirely sure what the plan was.

"We're gonna go find your friends. I've promised you that. Then, if the village is up in flames, we'll go to my uncles. He lives far off this route, she won't find us there." Charlie sounded so sure, so sure that Fiona wouldn't find us.

But it's Fiona, she always knows somehow. Just like right now.

Charlie rushes to the kitchen to start packing food when there's banging on the door. I hold back my scream and run over to Charlie, who had started to speed up her packing when there was banging on the door.

She slings the back over her shoulder and grabs my hand. "Back door," She whispers and jocks over to a window a little ways from both doors.

Smart. She's gonna make it look like we went in a different direction than we did. I jock to the back door and unlock it with my magic, hurrying out of it. Charlie runs out of it shortly after and closes it.

"This way!" She whispers, shouts, and runs straight into the woods.

As we were running, I was in deep thought. I admired Charlie. She was able to just pack up all her things and leave at the moment. I can't even tell what emotions she's feeling right now. That's why I feel so guilty, making her leave behind everything like this. And it wasn't like it wouldn't have happened even if she didn't meet me, it would've still happened anyway. It would've still happened all because I didn't want to be at the castle anymore. It's all my fault.

I follow behind Charlie as we run, grabbing her wrist and stopping her when I hear voices.

"Gideon, stop!" I hear faintly in the distances.

"The boys," I mumble and run in that direction, Charlie following behind me.

Neal Nolan

I need to act quickly.

Carmen has my sword against Gideon's throat. MY SWORD! TO GIDEON'S THROAT!

The audacity.

I moved forward to interfere with the situation, and Carmen pushed the sword harder against Gideon's neck. "Don't take another step, Nolan. If you know what's good for you," she threatened and then jumped when we all heard the sound of an arrow shooting.

Carmen, Gideon, Dennis, and I all look in the direction that the arrow seems to have come from. It came from Robin. I swear she has miraculous timing.

Robin uses Carmen's own words against her. "I suggest you put the sword down, Carmen. If you know what's good for you."

I look and see the red-headed girl that was standing next to Robin. I'm assuming that would be Charlie.

She's very pretty- but now is not the time to be thinking about pretty girls.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do? Shoot me?"

"Well, If you want to have the same fate as that tree.."

Carmen puts the sword down and I rush to Gideon's side. "I'll take that," I mumble and snatch my sword back from her. Those goonies had it for far too long.

"Fiona is nearby. I suggest you leave these two alone and go find her. And if you even mention that you saw us, these arrows are enchanted and will always find their targets," Robin glared. My god. She's angry.

"Let's go, Carmen," Dennis says and scurries away, Carmen behind him.

I store my sword on my belt and run over to Robin, pulling her into a hug when she lowers her bow down. "Thank god you're okay."

"Thank god you're okay, more like."

Robin pulls out of the hug and looks over at Gideon, who was now kneeling next to Roderick's body. I felt so bad for him.

"Is that..?" Robin started but couldn't finish her sentence from the shock, so I finished it for her. "Yeah, it is. Mark did it."

Robin moves quickly to get to Gideon's side and pulls him into a hug, similar to how I did, but it seems as if he hugged her tighter. I get it, he's closer with her than me.

I turn around and look over at Charlie. "Charlie, right?"

She nodded. "Yes.. are you Neal or Gideon?"

"Neal," I state and shake her hand before bringing her hand up to my lips and kissing it gently.. only to be a gentleman, you know?

I could see a blush rise to her cheeks as she looked down. She moves her hand away from me and starts digging in her basket, "Here," She hands me an apple. "You must be hungry."

"I am, thank you," I smile at her and she smiles back before I take a bite of the apple.

Gideon and Robin walk over to us next, Gideon levitating Roderick's body.

"Charlie, do you know any places where we could.. bury him?" Robin asks and gestures to Roderick. Charlie frowns at the scene in front of her but nods and starts guiding us to a spot.

"Gideon, this is Charlie, Charlie, this is Gideon," Robin introduces them and Charlie gives Gideon a small smile before handing Gideon an apple as well.

"Thank you," Gideon mumbles. I know he isn't being rude on purpose. This is his first time losing someone.. my first time, too. I never was close to Roderick.. but watching him die like that.. was horrific.

Charlie didn't seem too offended, she looked understanding, rather.

We arrived at a spot and Robin and I started to dig a hole, Charlie helped too after sitting her stuff down.

"That was his childhood best friend," Robin tells Charlie which causes Charlie to frown. "Oh no.. he looks so torn up."

"Yeah. It's his first time losing someone.. unless you count.. our parents," I say.

"Gideon, it's done," Robin announces and gets up, dusting the dirt off her hands. Gideon lays Roderick's body in the hole we had made. The four of us cover it back up before standing in front of it.

"Do you need a minute?" I ask Gideon and he nods.

"Let's go," Robin whispers. The girls and I walk little ways away from Gideon. Not too far to the point where we would get separated again, but far enough to where he could have a moment without us overhearing.

We left an unpleasant sight just to cross another one. We came across a village on fire. Charlie gasps loudly from beside me and bursts into tears. I guess this was her village.

If I had known Fiona would've done something like this, I would've never have left the castle in the first place.

I was tempted to pull Charlie into a hug. Even if we had just met, I'm an affectionate person and it looks like she needs one, but Robin hugged her before I could.

Gideon joined the group when he was done with all he needed to say. He looks at the flames from the burning buildings. "Is that because of us?"

Charlie pulls out of the hug and wipes her tears away. "No, it was her. It's none of your faults." She says to reassure us even though she was the one who needed it more.

"Off to my uncle's place, I guess," Charlie sighs and starts walking. Robin looks over at Gideon and me, giving us a follow her look before doing so herself.

"Can we trust her?" Gideon whispers to me when we start moving, talking about Charlie.

"If Robin does, so do I."