Chapter 52: Everlasting Reunion

"What the bloody hell was that?"

As they were running, dodging arrows and other magic projectiles, Jorvik had noticed a shadow fly over them towards the castle. At first he had thought that his eyes had played a trick on him, but then the shape became visible as the creature was illuminated by the brightness of the moon as well as the flaming torches mounted along the castle walls.

"Fucking hell! Not again!" Thorfinn replied. "The last time we saw one of them bird creatures it defeated us with effortless ease". Turning his head to glance at Noelle and Sarai, the blonde boy saw them shudder as they all remembered 'SkekUng'.

"If that creature is after Zeren then he'll have to go through me!" Sarai growled grasping the staff in her hands. "We didn't come this far just to see another enemy take him elsewhere".

"We'll get to him" Noelle responded patting her best female friend on the shoulder. Holding her wand in her other hand, the youngest member of the Silva family aimed at towards the raised drawbridge. "Rugiet Maris Dracones!"

Bursting forth from her wand came a massive spiral of water shaped like a dragons maw, weaving its way through the air it then used its jaws to crunch down upon the chains holding up the drawbridge resulting in the structure being released and coming down for them to cross. "Nice spell, how long have you been holding onto that!" Thorfinn teased ruffling Noelle's hair, making her simultaneously frown and blush.

"S-s-shut up..." The royal stuttered back. "This is just the lower bridge that allows us onto the plateau. There's still another drawbridge further inside, this one is for the main castle" Mimosa explained, taking over from her cousin. "I believe the second will be trickier to bring down". Opening her grimoire Mimosa flicked to a page that was marked by thin carved wooden bookmark.

As Mimosa scanned the page for the spell she wanted to use, she didn't notice the grin that placed itself upon Noelle's face. "So Mimosa..." the Silva girl spoke plainly. "I see that you and Jorvik are already exchanging gifts. That bookmark... I saw him with it at the summit of kings". Momentarily dropping her concentration Mimosa darted her eyes towards Jorvik whom was equally red faced about having their feelings for each other publicly sussed out.

"It is..." she began as Jorvik moved over to her and embraced her, "true. We are together" the red haired boy added before looking back at Thorfinn and Noelle, smirking. "So? What's your excuse?"

Half glowering half blushing, Thorfinn and Noelle avoided eye contact with each other before diverting their attention back to the track road ahead of them. "Let's go", Sarai exclaimed pointedly, "Zeren is just up ahead. No one is keeping us apart any longer than necessary". Nodding her head in agreement, Amaya drew her sword and walked with Gyda at her side, taking the lead.

"This must must either be a magic spell or a result of this area being so close to the border with Xadia" Jorvik opined, summoning a small amount of wind magic to make the way forward visible enough. "I may have a spell that might get rid of this mist, giving us a clearer trail to follow to the main castle" Gyda replied, looking uncomfortable. "However, I'm not very well trained I my magic".

Spinning around Amaya wrapped her girlfriend in a uptight embrace, one that Gyda practically melted into. As the two girls broke off their passionate embrace, Amaya smiled broad and kind as she signed. "Don't doubt yourself, your magic may be rare but it is also strong. I love and believe in you'.

Sharing a bright smile with her girlfriend, Gyda removed her own grimoire from her waist holder and flicked through pages till she reached her designated spell. Taking a deep breath, the reddish-brown haired girl recited the spell. "Particle Magic - Evanescet in Caligine!" Slowly transforming before their eyes, the veil of water vapour began clumping together to form arrows of ice which Gyda then flung in the direction of the Castle. "Glacies Sagittis!"

"Well..." Thorfinn mused stunned. "That is some magic you have Gyda". Patting his childhood friend on the shoulder he pointed towards a large some way ahead of them with the militancy flag, seven swords surrounding the Amari family coat of arms. "At least we don't have to worry about that barracks, your ice attack has taken them out". Sarai then stepped up and praised the red haired brunette. "Thank you Gyda", then leaning in to whisper. "I guess I'll be calling you sister one day, if you and Amaya keep flirting like you do".

Smiling as she embraced Sarai, Gyda suddenly saw Amaya's mouth crinkle in the way that she got whenever she had just concocted a tease. Gently nudging the other girl in her sisters direction, so that she too could see Amaya's smirk, had the affect on Sarai to end the embrace before Amaya could begin embarrassing them.

As the group continued their ascent of the road towards the castle the clashes of metal and cries of battle became more audible, which confused them as they knew that they had been transported by Nyau to the castle whilst he, Fuegoleon and the army fought another rebel. So whatever was causing the fighting placed the group on even more tenterhooks than they already were. "What do we do if that Skeksis is here for Zeren?" Noelle asked, wheezing as she ran and gripping her wand tightly. "Last time we had Captain Yami with us, and even that didn't exactly end well".

"We fight!" Sarai growled, remembering the look of surprise and hated that other Skeksis had levelled at Zeren when he had called them out by their species. "I get that you love him..." Thorfinn interjected, smirking at the red faced Sarai, "but fighting against a creature that is impervious to magic seems foolhardy". Seeing flustered and slightly narrowed eyes being directed at on of his childhood friends, Jorvik entered the conversation to spare Thorfinn any well deserved embarrassment.

Recalling a moment from their dungeon mission, Jorvik ran a finger across his chin. "Fera Ignis... that was the spell Zeren used, with the staff, back in the dungeon. I'm sure that out of all us here, apart from maybe Noelle and Mimosa, that you with the closest bond with Zeren could get that staff to work" Jorvik suggested. "Moreover, it would be another chance to see more of what this staff can do".

Shrugging her shoulders Sarai showed her agreement with that suggestion, and given that she had already used the staff in her fight against the opponent before she felt a connection to the staff; she didn't know if it was through Zeren's usage of the magic item or her own, but then again they were long overdue for some kind of answer about it's origins. Or in the very least another showcase of it's power.

Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder drew the groups attention back towards the castle, however something about the other way the thunder sounded made Noelle and Sarai shudder. "That's no ordinary thunder..." Noelle remarked just as a massive tendril of blood red lightning shot from the heavens and strike within the vicinity of the main fortress complex. "...that's the same spell Zeren used against King Relling!"

"Then we need to hurry! The last time he used this spell he had just confronted the two men responsible for the plan that led to his parents and siblings death's!" Thorfinn yelled, breaking into a full sprint. "Who knows what his mental state is like at the moment, we have to be there for him!" Needing no further inducements for continuing onwards the others upped their running speed after Thorfinn.

However, when they arrived at the smouldering remains of the second, internal, gatehouse they all stopped dead in their tracks as they observed the scene before them.

Appearing through the cloud of dust as smoke they saw the outline of a the medium sized bird like creature, dressed in a ragged cloak, they'd seen fly above them holding wrapped in its tail a tall red haired woman dripping with blood, yet somehow still alive a thrashing around with yellow and red lighting. And then standing off to one side, having obviously emerged from an underground bunker or basement, a man in full armour aiming his broadsword in the direction of the creature, and standing protectively in front of an untidily dressed and clearly injured Zeren.

Biting her lip, as tears welled in her eyes, Sarai was about to run forwards and tackle her captured friend but found herself blocked by Mimosa and Noelle. "Don't..." Mimosa murmured, "we don't want to startle anyone. It's clear that the man over their is protecting Zeren and the woman is an enemy but this creature is an unknown".

"Fulgur Tempestatis!"

Another blast of, regular coloured, lightning erupted from the woman's hands and scoured the ground as she attempted to break free from the Skeksis' tail. Spitting out insults at the man before her, and screaming in angry frustration at the creature for interrupting her fight, Sarai and Thorfinn both shared an uneasy glance at one another. 'At least we now know that we can trust this man', both knowing what the other was thinking.

"Fulgur Pugnus!"

"Fulgur Virga!"

"Fulgur Telam!"

Every time the woman screamed out a new attack the end result was the same, she remained coiled up in the Skeksis' tail. It was then that Noelle noticed something. "This creature is dressed completely different than that SkekUng guy..." she uttered, "that guy looked important. This bird is in rags". Unfortunately, due to the excellent hearing abilities of Skeksis, the creature turned its head away from Zeren and levelled its gaze towards Jorvik and the other young knights. Yet, what they didn't expect to see in the bird creatures eyes was an expression of genuine happiness mixed with sorrow.

Bowing its large body to the ground was difficult for a Skeksis, but SkekGra knew that he had to show these humans that he wasn't a threat to them. And so, keeping the woman trapped in his tail, he prostrated himself to the boy he sought out and the friends who blatantly cared for him.

"As I already explained..." SkekGra rasped, his voice showing his extreme age, "before we were joined by more humans, I am not like the rest of my kind. I was cast out and exiled because I advocated for reunification with our other halves; this would have healed us of the pain we are in and they growing threat Xadia faces from the Darkening. However, my words were seen as heretical to the Emperor's plan to subjugate and dominate all life on the planet, using the innate primal magic of Xadian creatures to allow him and the others to cheat death. An action that I never partook in. As a result of my disagreement I was made to suffer the Ritual of G'Hori".

Reaching up to his face, SkekGra removed an eyepatch revealing: bite marks, claw slashes, drill holes all tearing around his vacant right eye socket. "A glass jar containing a Peeper beetle, a nasty little bugger, was held over my eye for it to burrow into; eat and then lay eggs in the flesh of my eye. I was then exiled from the Crystal Castle".

Before Zeren could properly take in this news or muster any semblance of joy at seeing friends again, he was tackled to the ground by the impact of six people flinging themselves into him. All of whom were crying at being reunited with him. "Guys..." he whimpered, tears trickling down his face. "You came..."

"And don't you dare think about being kidnapped again!" Noelle replied, hugging him as tears ran down her face. "Our mothers are our respective godmothers, that makes us practically siblings". Thorfinn and Jorvik both grinned as they hauled themselves and then everyone else to be their feet. "It's good to have to have you back, our team doesn't feel right without you as leader".

Taking a cursory glance at Zeren's scarred arms, Mimosa used her plant magic 'Floss Habitu Curans' to make the scars less noticeable. Yet, upon finding out that Manticore venom had been injected into Zeren's arms Mimosa spun around and angrily used Flos Torque to attack the still flailing red haired woman.

"You can cure it, right Mimosa?" Sarai asked, placing both hands either side of Zeren's face, and inspecting him for more injuries. "I'm sorry..." the golden brunette haired replied sorrowfully. "Manticore venom remains in a persons system, continuing to poison them. All I can do is place a sealing spell on his right arm to stop the poison spreading any further around his body".

Looking deep into Zeren's eyes, Sarai bit her lip and leant forwards placing her lips to his. Seeing his eyes widen, and a blush appear on his face made her heart soar but their moment was interpreted by a cackling laughter; coming from the red haired woman. "Oh my sweet boy! You will never get rid of me that easily. I will always be a part of you now... I am eternally grateful to you".

Zeren's response was immediate. He shook in fear before collapsing to his knees as nausea overcame him, sobbing. Not knowing what you do, Sarai threw her arms around the boy she loved and whispered comforting things to him. Yet she left out the one thing she wanted to say the most, the time for it wasn't now.

'I love you, Zeren'.

Looking up at the sky, relieved that they had safely reunited with their friend, the young knights suddenly found themselves extremely tired. Not yet willing to trust the skeksis before them was really an ally, Thorfinn activated a magic communication lacrima, given to him by the High Mage, and began to explain their situation. Yet, his explanation was cut short when Mimosa yelled "blizzard!"

Throwing up around them a protective darkness shield, courtesy of Jorvik, was widely appreciated by the others; including receiving a stunned expression from the man whom had rescued Zeren. "This weather..." Mimosa shook worriedly, "Duren never gets hit by extreme winters".

"T-t-this isn't a natural storm..." Zeren stuttered, attempting to get to his feet but succumbing again to his emotional trauma. "The young master is correct" Rahm Khün interjected, "I can sense magic in this blizzard. A powerful mage is behind this phenomenon".

Instantly the young knights, Zeren excluded due to his emotional distress, all realised whom was probably capable of creating such a powerful spell. "It's her..." Jorvik murmured. "General Esdeath is somewhere nearby".