Standard disclaimer applies....
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The thunder of hooves echoed through the forest path. The horses cantered exhaustedly, looking like muddy beasts. Puffs of steam appearing after each breath seemed to be smoke that accompanied a fire-breathing monster. The men riding these tired steeds were all clean-cut and uniformed. They had been traveling for three weeks, tracking down their lady's property. She had gotten away so far, but they were close on her trail.
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"It's so beautiful here," Serena commented as the small group of travelers proceeded through the forest. A warm mist rose throughout the foliage, giving comfort to those who wandered into it's domain. It had been a three days journey since this party had passed through the entrance gates of Utopia. Serena, the leader, was determined to find a proper place of settlement in this land, but first, they had to go to the castle and be instated into this new nation.
"There seems to be an intangible air around this place. It shrouds this locale in mystery. I mean, I'm feeling uneasy, but at the same time, I'm relaxed," Rei remarked while unconsciously playing with her long black hair. The others nodded in assent as they looked about themselves. Serena had noticed this also, but didn't say anything about. Rei seemed to have an uncanny sense of perceiving a presence and it's nature. If there was a threat to this group, Rei was pretty dependable to warn them ahead of time.
Serena tried vainly to see any danger, but this fog not only comforted travelers, but hid everything, too. She sighed irritably, and looked back at the small group. By crossing the borders, they had effectively been given a new start.
It was getting dark and soon they would have to settle for the night. After an hour of riding, they couldn't even see a foot in front of themselves due to the darkness and the fog. Establishing camp, they settled down to sleep.
Halfway through the night, while Rei was on watch, a small, glowing apparition approached the encampment. It stopped right above the burned out fire ashes and hovered there for a few minutes. All of a sudden, it screeched loudly, waking everyone up including Rei, who had fallen asleep on the job again. They stared at the floating orb in a mixture of awe, caution, and annoyance.
"What is it?" Mina asked in wonderment. The radiating specter giggled in a childlike temperament and formed into the shape of a small fairy that appeared to be the age of twelve. She stood only six inches tall with short pixy hair that was fine and white. She was very pale and covered all over by Forget-me-nots and Star flowers. Her dress was made of willow leaves and she was ornamented with dragonfly wings on her back. She grinned elfishly at the five admirers before turning her ice blue eyes on Rei.
"Will you help us, Lady?" she asked in a tickled utterance. Rei looked confused.
"Us? Who's us? I only see you and my friends," Rei replied to this strange fantastical creature. As soon as the words left her mouth, they were all surrounded by light laughing. It seemed to come from all directions and indicated many different sources.
"We are all here, though you do not see us in entirety," the small girl babbled. "We are the protectors of the forest. We punish the malign and appreciate the respectful." She looked earnestly at Rei before turning to look straight at Mina. As if it were an afterthought, she added, "We appreciate you." Then, she tittered helplessly. Mina looked on, bewildered. She glanced over at Serena, who just shrugged confusedly.
"What do you need help on?" Mina asked curiously. The fairy grew silent and grave. She cautiously looked around before lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Our race and several others are being killed for our virtuousness. We need the help of a large mortal who can stand up to Him," she replied apprehensively. The trees around them started to shake as the other phantom children trembled in fear.
"Who would kill such cute little beings?" Makoto wondered aloud to herself.
"Zirconia, Lord of the Trolls. He hates all that is beautiful and good. Please say you will help us, Lady. Do this, and we promise to help you in the future with anything you want," the petite girl implored. It turned it's intense stare away from Mina and gazed deeply at Serena. Serena felt entranced and compelled to accede. Nodding mechanically, Serena agreed to aid these fictional figments in their quest for peace. A hushed cheer vibrated within a fifteen foot radius of the girl as she smiled brightly.
"Oh, thank you very much, Lady. You won't regret it. We will always be there with you to assist you in this fight," she assured them.
"I would hope so..." Ami said, indicating that she would like a name.
"Umbriel, Protector of the Small Flowers," she responded shyly. We all smiled amiably at her as she giggled with her friends. "Go to sleep now, Lady. We will join you at the dawn's arrival." With that said, Umbriel reverted back into a gleaming orb and flitted away. The girls all peered at each other, an unspoken understanding passing through each pair of eyes.
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The next day, Umbriel came with all the songbirds in the woods to wake the girls up.
"Rise and shine, Ladies," she greeted sunnily. Everyone rose groggily, complaining about the early hours. Rei even went as far as to throw her pillow at the floating girl. She dodged it easily, but faked an affronted expression. "I thought you said that you would help us, Lady," Umbriel commented, feigning hurt.
"My name is not Lady! It is Rei! REI!" the black-haired girl shouted, grumpy due to the early hours. Umbriel pouted and flitted away to speak to Serena.
"That was very harsh of you, Rei," Ami chided.
"I can't help if she was annoying me. Besides, you know I'm not a morning person," Rei justified herself. Ami still looked at Rei, implying that she should apologize. Rei sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Fine! Sheesh, it's not that big of a deal," Rei surrendered.
Ami smiled in triumph as Rei made her way over to the fairy.
"Hey, Umbriel," Rei called out. The small girl turned around slowly and showed Rei that she was still pouting. "Listen, I'm sorry about yelling and throwing my pillow at you earlier. Will you please forgive me?" she asked in a tedious tone. Umbriel immediately brightened and started fluttering excitedly all over the place. Rei just rolled her eyes again and returned to packing up.
"Well, let's head out, you guys,"Serena announced as she mounted Epona. "Lead the way Umbriel. We'll be right behind you." Umbriel nodded vigorously and flapped off to the west.
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"My brother, some of our friends, and I wish to settle in this land. Will you allow us admittance?" the head soldier of Lady Beryl's small militia lied as they tried to gain access into the Utopian borders. Just the day before, they had changed their garments in peasant attire and reviewed over answers to questions that these guards might ask. Fortunately, after getting approval from one guard, the others were soon to follow. Smiling maliciously after entering the gates, the head solider glanced quickly at his comrades. They all wore the same expression, mocking Utopia's poor security. After they retrieve the runaway slave, maybe they could murder the king and queen. This way, Arcadia's ruler will not have to worry about sending in an unnecessary army when they take over this kingdom. Spurring their horses forward, the warriors continued on after their quarry.
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"Are we there yet?" inquired an exceedingly tired Mina.
"Where are we going anyway, Fairy Girl?" Rei asked. Umbriel turned around abruptly and gave Rei an offended look.
"My name is not Fairy Girl, it's Umbriel. Don't you remember?" she questioned.
"When you learn to call me by my name, maybe I'll learn to call you by yours," Rei replied. Umbriel frowned at this but accepted the answer.
"After about two more hours, we will be entering the trolls' land. Their borders are constantly growing and we must always be on the lookout for ambushes. Trolls are very nasty creatures, and they show no mercy. We, in return, have a low tolerance for them." Umbriel explained as they resumed riding toward the destination.
"About how many trolls are there?" Ami asked keenly. Umbriel looked away and made a movement to suggest that she was in deep thought.
"Um, hundred or so," she replied nonchalantly. All of the girls stared at her open mouthed.
"Hundred! Umbriel, that's like twenty to one! We can't possibly win!" Makoto exclaimed. Umbriel acquired puppy dog eyes and quickly defended herself.
"But if you don't help us, we will soon die. How can you live knowing that you had the ability to save our race, but didn't help because you valued your life more than others" Umbriel asked guilelessly.
"Quite easily," Rei muttered under her breath. Serena shot her a look before returning it back to the small fairy.
"Umbriel, it's not that we value our lives more, it's just that this fight will be pointless with odds like that. What is the point of fighting when you know it will get you nowhere?" Serena explained. "Is there anyway that you could get us more help than what is already available?" The petite girl knotted her brows together in concentration. Then, her eyes lit up with fervor.
"The wood nymphs and Nereids will help, but they are not much strength. Hm, I know! I'll ask the basilisks! There is one who's unable to use it's power. We befriended it and tried as hard as possible to protect it from evil creatures who would make fun of it. The basilisks then agreed to be our allies," Umbriel chattered excitedly. Serena was surprised that there were actually basilisks in this forests. They were rumored to turn a person to stone if one looked into it's eyes. Some people said that they could even breath fire, resembling a two-foot-long dragon of the medieval years.
"Yes, they would help us a lot," Serena affirmed decisively.
"When we are within ten miles of the trolls' boundaries, I will let you camp out for the night while I go assemble some helpers," Umbriel offered helpfully. The group immediately agreed and then continued on their way. When they reached their destination, they unpacked their camping gear and got ready for sleep. Umbriel whistled in a hauntingly beautiful tune. All of a sudden, three women rose from the ground. Everyone jumped in surprise except for Umbriel.
"These are some wood nymphs, in case you already didn't know. They should protect from any straying trolls. I'll be back by morning. Adieu," the little fairy said before she disappeared into the woods. The two parties stared at each. The nymphs broke into a smile and shot vines out from their fingers. The vines wrapped around the encampment, sheltering the settlement so that nothing could get in or out of this barrier without the nymphs permission. The girls stared around in awe. Realizing that they needed sleep, Ami chastised them into climbing in their sleeping bags.
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He couldn't understand this. The trail of this slave just went off the beaten path. Why would a person do this? What was the point? This was just a few of the questions the authoritative soldier was asking himself as he closely examined the track of this girl.
'Unless she is onto us! Ha, ha! Well, I will show her. No one can deceive me!' he thought to himself.
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The next morning, the girls were awakened by the shining sun. The nymphs had retracted the vines, letting in the brilliant sunlight. As soon as Makoto opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the eyes of an ardent basilisk. Makoto froze, fearing that she would be turning into stone any minute now. When nothing happened, Makoto frowned in confusion.
"I see you met Scorch," Umbriel chirped cheerfully. "He is the one who doesn't have his power." Scorch, as he was so dearly dubbed, blew out a small stream of fire indignantly. It was as if he was trying to show everyone that he wasn't so helpless at all. Makoto smiled fondly and stroked the creature's scales.
"Hello there, Scorch. It's so nice to finally meet you. Umbriel here has said much about you. All good, I assure you," Makoto cooed to the intrigued basilisk. It cocked it's head to the side before running up her arm and perching on her shoulder. Makoto giggled helplessly as his tongue tickled her neck every once in a while.
"Is everyone ready?" Serena asked. Makoto looked up to see a myriad of creatures among the camp. The water-loving Nereids, dark-skinned wood nymphs, and multicolored basilisks all milled about, getting ready for the up coming battle. Makoto even spotted a gray unicorn and a catlike griffin. She knew that this would be the most mythical creatures she would ever see together in one spot. Everyone got organized at Serena's command and started forward. About an hour later, they had all reached the trolls' borderlands. Everything was eerily quiet. Even the wind refused to break the silence with a swaying tree.
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He knew they were close on her trail. The tracks were less than a few hours old. He commanded his men faster and goaded his horse into a flat out run. Soon, he could catch his quarry and return home for his reward.
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A troll appeared from out of the bushes. It was short, dirty, and stubby. It's eyes were as black as a star less night and held no emotion but hatred. One could smell it's horrible stench ten feet away. It sneered at the challengers and then let out an ear piercing whoop. From the bushes and trees surrounding it, more trolls emerged. Standing in the middle of the troll army, there was Zirconia. He was the ugliest one to look at, with an excessive amount of fat and a disgustingly wrinkled nose. His bottom lip hung down, showing his incisors and admitting drool to pass. Rei almost vomited right where she stood.
All of a sudden, by some unknown cue, the trolls ran forward. The nymphs and basilisks followed suit. Serena dodged from left to right, slicing trolls as she passed by. She wanted to get to Zirconia. After about ten minutes of hacking her way through, Serena finally made her way in front of the Troll Lord.
"Scho, you are the one who daresch challengesch me," Zirconia asked in a slurred accent.
"What you are doing is wrong, Zirconia, and I won't stop until your life's blood is here on this spot," Serena answered.
"We'll scheesch about that," he answered. Serena lunged at him with her sword, but he was surprisingly nimble. A knife was produced in his hand and they ensued with a sword fight. At first, Zirconia looked like he was getting the upper hand, dodging left and right. But after five minutes, he started to tire out. Serena quickly took advantage of this and, while feinting a low kick, knocked his knife out of his hand.
"What do you have to say, Zirconia," Serena asked.
"Die," he replied. As he said this, another dagger appeared in his hand and he aimed it at her chest. Serena's eyes widened as it came closer. It stopped just inches away. Serena looked up and saw that Makoto had shot two arrows into his heart. She smiled in relief. Looking around, Serena noticed that she was the only one left fighting. Everyone clapped or vocalized loudly in honor of Serena. She smiled shyly and waved it off.
"Serena, come with us or we will be obliged to force you," A sinister male voice said. Everyone turned toward the voice and gasped. Serena blanched fearfully. Lady Beryl's soldiers had found her!
"You know, I would look around if I were you," Rei commented as she gazed hatefully at the newcomers. The men glanced about and paled noticeably. They had not seen the creatures earlier, due to the trees that blocked the bend they Serena was on the edge of.
"Just tell your Lady that Serena drowned, and we won't harm you," Mina warned. The soldiers gulped, nodded, and pivoted quickly, hightailing it as fast as they could. Everyone cheered and headed back into the deep forest.
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"I want to thank you for helping us. We couldn't have done it without you," Umbriel thanked shyly.
"That's for sure," Rei muttered quietly. Mina elbowed her rudely, effectively shutting her up.
"We're most welcome, Umbriel. Farewell. I hope to see you again," Serena said as the party left.
'You will,' Umbriel foreshadowed just before the group disappeared over the hill, Scorch following faithfully.
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Kinda different from the first chapter, huh? **sigh** I tried!!! Really I did!
:3D~
~EP~