Fate
By Sweet Honey
Chapter Eight: Betrayal
"Well, it was very nice to meet you Abby." said Mrs. K tearfully, and she hugged Abby with all her strength.
"Thank you so much for taking care of me, and also for the wonderful meal." replied Abby. Mrs. K had prepared a fabulous feast as a parting gift for the pair complete with *the best* of the fairy dishes (which included a flying roast beef and exploding mashed potatoes). The Princess felt she may have enjoyed it more if Erik hadn't been so quiet and sullen during the meal. In fact, even as she stood beside him now, she felt that he was withdrawing from her. When he had hugged her near the pond earlier he had broken the hold quicker than she had expected and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Abby was starting to wonder if he regretted what he had done.
The silence that surrounded Abby was stifling and she tried her hardest to make conversation. She commented on anything and everything but usually only got either a nod or a one word answer from Erik. Finally all the pressure that Abby had been holding snapped and she asked, ""Would you please stop being a jerk and make an attempt at friendly conversation?"
"Would you please keep your mouth shut for a second?" asked the fairy mildly as he adjusted his sleeve.
"So, you want me to be quiet and I want you to be interesting. This is a lose lose situation." commented Abby and she felt herself slowly deflate. Without warning she stopped and sat down on the grass.
"What are you doing?" asked Erik, who also stopped. "We've only been walking for about an hour, you shouldn't feel tired yet."
Abby smoothed her dress over her legs and opened her bag. "Well, it seems that you don't like to walk or talk with me so I figure you'd be happier if I sat quietly instead." she said without emotion, although she was feeling hurt by Erik's demeanor. It was obvious now that he was regretting what he had done earlier that day.
"Why do you keep staring at me like that?!" said Erik with exasperation.
"I'm trying to imagine you with a personality!" retorted Abby, and she immediately regretted saying it.
"What a coincidence, I was just visualizing you with a mouth gag." said Erik.
Abby shook her head and sighed. "Look, I don't want to fight with you." she said. "You know Erik...we could pretend like it didn't happen."
Erik didn't answer her for a long time and Abby thought that maybe he hadn't heard her. She was about to repeat herself when Erik sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around his legs gracefully. "This is my fault; I've been acting like a jerk all day and I'm sorry." he said, not looking at Abby.
"Do I make you...uncomfortable?" she asked slowly as she searched for the right words. "If what happened today is going to make you uncomfortable then...we can pretend like it didn't happen."
"Well that certainly wouldn't solve anything." said Erik. "Unless of course...you'd like to forget that it happened. I could make that happen, you know. Erasing memories is a specialty of mine."
"Oh, no! I don't want to forget anything." said Abby quickly, and Erik turned to face her with a smile playing on his lips.
"Why exactly don't you want to forget it?" asked Erik, and Abby jumped up.
"Ah, look at the time! We'd better get going or my kingdom will be destroyed (or did you forget that amidst the drama?)." said Abby as she walked briskly away from Erik.
"Do you like it...always being alone?" asked Erik from behind Abby. The young princess stopped short and turned.
"It was never really my choice." she said quietly and then added with defiance. "But right now I wouldn't mind being alone."
"Fine. It's getting dark, why don't we stop at the next village and look for a place to stay." said Erik nonchalantly. He got up and walked onward, with Abby following close behind.
*****
Abby sat in her room, brushing her hair and trying not to think about what Erik has said. Frustration overwhelmed her as she realized that all she had ever done was push people away...but she didn't want to do that to Erik.
Why? What was so special about Erik that it made Abby want to give up everything, even her pride, just to make him feel better? Why did she always feel like she wanted to protect him and care for him and-
She threw down her hairbrush and jumped up, pacing the length of her room and pulling at her hair. She didn't even want to THINK of that possibility, let alone contemplate it! To think that she could possibly LOVE that scoundrel...
"Oh, damn." said Abby, the minute she thought it and she stopped short bending down to pick up her hairbrush. Loving Erik...well, it wouldn't be the first time she had loved someone who hated her.
"But does he really hate me?" thought Abby, and she resumed her pacing. "I mean, okay, so he hasn't been treating me horribly lately. In fact, he's been pretty nice to me. And he said he liked me, that was a big tip off...Dah! I don't want to think about this. Being alone isn't that bad."
She was about to get into her warm, comfy bed when she suddenly realized something. Not only did she NOT want to be alone, but she also wanted Erik. Badly. She couldn't figure out when she had began to feel the need to be near him, but right now that feeling was overpowering. She wanted to hold him and take care of him and make him feel better. And she wanted him to hold her too...
She had a horrible thought suddenly, that maybe this was her one chance. They could catch up with Zaden and Kel tomorrow, and then Abby would never have a chance again. What if Erik left tomorrow, and she lost him forever. She'd spent most of her time pushing him away from her, and she didn't want to be alone again.
She was racing down the hallway, her nightgown waving like a banner behind her. She threw open the door and looked at the startled Erik with a look of equal surprise.
"I-I was afraid...I don't want to be alone..." she started lamely, and Erik raised en eyebrow at her.
"So you decided to barge in here and attack me with your hairbrush?" asked Erik, and he seemed pretty amused. Abby's face became hot with embarrassment and she turned to leave, but Erik grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back from behind
"You don't want to be alone, you said." he whispered in her ear. "Did you mean that you want to be with me?"
"Possibly.."
*****
When Abby woke up Erik was gone. She felt a momentary panic before she realized that he had left her a note saying that he was downstairs having breakfast and that he was ready to get started again. Abby packed up her things and got ready to join him.
At breakfast Abby was relieved to find that Erik was neither awkward or rude to her. In fact he seemed happy, or the most happy that she had seen him yet. It made Abby joyous in turn and the entire meal was very pleasant. Abby couldn't remember ever having been so happy.
As they walked through a meadow on their journey Abby suddenly grabbed Erik's hand and smiled at him. Erik looked surprised for a minute, but his eyes shone with happiness. "What was that for?" he asked, but in a curious way as opposed to his normal rude manner.
"Just because I wanted to." said Abby, who hadn't seen his eyes. She expected him to pull away, but instead he tightened his grip on her gloved hand.
"I haven't held hands with someone in a long time." he commented. "It's...pleasant."
Abby laughed and pointed to a bid. "Look, someone's sent a off a Carrying Bird. I've never seen one in real life before."
Erik let go of her hand and flew up into the air, intercepting the bird.
"What are you doing?!" cried Abby, afraid that he might have hurt the bird. She raced toward the spot where Erik had descended, expecting to see a dead bird. Instead, the bird looked fine and Erik looked surprised and somewhat depressed. "What, what is it?"
"This is a letter from Zaden to one of his associates." said Erik evenly as he read the letter. "It seems your in danger, princess."
"Well, that's not a huge shock." said Abby as she peeked at the letter. "Why do you look so upset? Is there something else in there that you're not telling me about?"
Erik folded up the letter and sighed. "Only that another assassin he sent out to kill you is a fairy." Erik said evenly, and then he ripped the note maliciously into a thousand pieces.
Abby was shocked by the viciousness of the act and of how upset Erik looked. "Erik, it's fine. Don't worry, nobody's going to succeed against us. And besides, I know that not all fairy's are as evil as Zaden, of course. I mean you..."
Abby had been babbling, trying to make Erik feel better, but she stopped as she saw tears in his eyes. She moved toward him, but suddenly he wrapped her in a very tight hug. "Abby, I'm sorry. It's just that I was so-"
"PRINCESS ABIGAIL!" yelled a voice, and the pair turned around to face a very harassed looking maid.
"Tirah!" yelled Abby happily, and she ran toward her former maid with renewed strength. They me halfway and hugged eachother with happiness. "Oh Tirah, I'm so happy to see you."
"Abby, why didn't you tell me where you were going?" asked Tirah tearfully. "I could have come with you, I could have helped you-"
"I'm so sorry!" said Abby and she stepped back. "Tirah, as happy as I am to see you, I'm wondering how you got here."
"Well, I had to spend the last two days getting here, but it wasn't terribly difficult for me." said the young girl as she pulled at some lose strands of frizzy red hair and smoothed out her dirty brown gown. "What I can't believe is that you spent nearly a week with this numskull."
Tirah looked at Erik and shot daggers at him. He returned her glare with one of his own.
Abby sighed and Tirah looked back at her. "I didn't just come here to yell at you because you left me behind." said Tirah, and she grabbed Abby's arm and began to drag her to the right. "I know where the Divine Gem is! See, you REALLY should have asked for my help."
"You-you know where it is? Honestly?!" asked the ecstatic princess as she tried to follow Tirah's quick pace. "But how?"
"That is a secret." said Tirah with mirth, and the young princess didn't have a chance to say anything to Tirah at the time. She was to busy trying to keep up, and making sure that Erik was still behind her. She moved so fast that even the young fairy had to race to keep up with her.
"Wait a minute!" he said, and Tirah stopped quickly, nearly sending Abby flying. "Why should we trust you?"
"What?" asked Abby breathlessly. "Erik, I've known Tirah since I was eight! Of course we can trust her."
Erik looked at Tirah for a moment, then sighed. "Fine Abby. If you have so much trust in this girl then she can help."
Tirah muttered something sarcastic under her breath and turned to Abby. "Come look." she said, and pulled away some branches that were blocking their view. Abby's mouth fell open in awe as she looked upon the most beautiful sparkling white waterfalls that she had ever seen. The trio walked over to where it emptied into and all were transfixed by its beauty. It was a thousand times more lovely and noble than the first waterfall Abby had seen with Erik, and it's beauty held her eye for what seemed like an eternity.
"Those are the Glittering Falls." said Tirah in a hushed voice. "Lovely, aren't they? The Divine Gem is said to be buried somewhere around them. You, go look for the Divine Gem and I'll show Abby something."
Erik didn't seem to like being ordered around normally, but now he was looking frantically about. Tirah pulled Abby around and then behind the waterfall and into a cave. Abby though the water looked even more beautiful here, on the other side. She loved the colors that played across her dress and how perfectly the white of the water matched Tirah's dress.
For a moment Abby was confused and couldn't figure out why. The she looked at Tirah's dress again. "Tirah, was I mistaken or were you wearing a brown dress about two minutes ago?"
Tirah looked at Abby, a twinkle in her eye. "I'm surprised you noticed that." she said with a smile, even though Abby was beginning to freak out. "You see, I wanted to change into something a bit prettier for this occasion."
"But...how could you have changed so fast?!" asked Abby, and she took a step back.
"Oh, fairies can change much quicker than you humans can."
For a minute Abby felt amazed and happy. The fact that Tirah was a fairy was so unbelievable and cool! Tirah said, "I have something very important to tell you Abby. Come here, quickly." and reached out her hand to Abby, but suddenly her eyes clouded and she let out a yell right before she was blown back by a bright blue light.
Abby whirled around and faced Erik, whose hand was steaming with a strange blue mist. Erik grabbed onto her hand and pulled her out of the small cavern and into a field. Abby wrenched her hand away and yelled, "Why did you do that?!"
"Because she was the fairy that Zaden had hired to kill you." said Erik, and his eyes darted around the area quickly. The young princes was stunned and she turned to Erik with a look so passionate that it made Erik inhale quickly.
"That's impossible. I've known Tirah all my life." said Abby, her eyes glowing. "That can't be true, she's my only friend...she wouldn't do that to me, I know she wouldn't."
"You would trust her before you trusted me?!" said Erik, pushing his hair out of his eyes in surprise.
At this point many things happened simultaneously.
-The tree that was directly across from Abby shimmered for a moment, and then a darkly clad figure stepped out. He had on a long dark robe that made it impossible to see his features, but his hands were badly scarred. He said something that Abby couldn't understand but it sounded horribly familiar.
-Tirah came running from behind the waterfall, screaming for Abby to run.
-Abby heard a popping sound behind her and turned to face a beaming Zaden. To put it lightly, she nearly had a heart attack.
"Well, isn't this a pleasant little reunion!" said Zaden cheerfully, opening his arms wide. His obviously good spirits and joyous smile made small shivers travel up and down Abby's back as she stepped away from him and towards Erik.
"Abby, get away from them, quickly!" yelled Tirah as she continued to run toward the stunned princess. "Quickly, get away from them-please!" Tirah reached out her hand to Abby as she ran.
Erik grabbed Abby's hand, pulling her toward him. "Choose your side, Abby." he said, his blue eyes burning into hers.
Abby looked at Tirah, and then at Erik, and then back at Tirah. She looked back at Erik and pulled in close to him. "I'm sorry Tirah...but you never told me...I don't think I can trust you now."
Tirah was crestfallen for a moment, but Zaden took care of that. He made a hand motion and Tirah slumped to the ground, a small trail of blood coming from her head.
"Well, I had to get rid of that thing before we could talk about more pressing matters." said Zaden calmly. Abby wanted to run to Tirah but Erik was still holding her hand fairly tight and she realized that she probably shouldn't stray away from him right now. "Oh, and there's something else I should dispose of before I continue with our conversation."
Abby braced herself against Erik, but was surprised as she watched a baby blue fireball envelope the robed figure behind her. It emitted a high pitched scream before it dropped to the ground and the fire was extinguished.
Zaden walked over to the pitiful remains of the robed fairy and kicked it softly. "Thank you for finding my dear friends, but your services are no longer needed." he explained, talking as thought the figure could actually hear him.
"Why...why did you hurt Tirah?" asked Abby quietly, her voice shocked into neutrality by the sheer brutalness of Zaden's actions. "Wasn't she working with you?"
Zaden looked surprised for a moment, but then his eyes crinkled and he began to laugh as he shook his head. "Oh no...my dear princess, what on Earth made you think that TIRAH was the fairy working with me? My dear...don't you understand yet?"
Zaden turned quickly to Erik and smiled. "Thank you once again for bringing her to me! For a minute there I began to think....but nonetheless, you did your job and you did it well. You deserve to be congratulated."
"What are you talking about?" asked Abby quietly, removing her hand from Erik's and backing up. "He's lying, isn't he Erik...he's lying right?"
Erik didn't say anything and he wouldn't meet her eyes. Abby backed up even more and stumbled on a rock. "YOU'RE LYING!" she screamed hysterically, pointing her finger at Zaden. "You're sick! You're just trying to turn me against Erik...and I won't! I know he would never do anything like that to me."
Zaden sneered, his beautiful features no longer able to mask his inner demons. "You're a fool, Princess Abigail." he said. "Did you really think that Erik would care for you, a human? You must be insane! He was just following my orders...the only feelings Erik holds for you are hate, isn't that right?"
He turned to the silent Erik and laughed, putting his arm around him. Abby stepped toward Erik, grabbing his hand. "He's lying...please, tell me he's lying." said Abby, tears escaping from her already red eyes. "Oh please..."
Erik pulled his hand out of hers. "No, he isn't lying." he said, finally raising his head and meeting her eyes. "I...I'm sorry."
"Which reminds me!" exclaimed Zaden, turning Erik around and putting his other hand on Erik's chest and his voice suddenly turning cold and harsh. "You have also outlived you usefulness. Please, don't take this personally, but I would never allow a half fairy bastard like you to rule by my side."
Erik looked surprised for a moment as Zaden's hand glowed blue. Then blood was swiftly flowing from a wound on Erik's chest and the fairy dropped to the ground.
Abby absolutely and totally lost it. She was rushing toward him screaming and crying but Zaden was quickly on her and threw her away from Erik and toward the ground. "Now now, I can't have you covered in blood when you meet your sister! It would be to degrading for you, Princess." he said calmly at the dumbfounded but silent Abby. "My, isn't it amazing how you humans can still have feelings for those who betray you?"
Zaden looked thoughtfully at Abby for a moment and whispered something about how impressive her inner strength was, but that it was to be expected from her. Abby looked at the fallen and betrayed Tirah and then at the lifeless body of Erik. He had never really loved her and she, like the fool he had always believed her to be, had given herself totally to him. And even now...oh please, thought Abby numbly. Let it be a nightmare.
"Through your own actions you have signed your entire race's deathwarrent." said Zaden coldly, putting his hand below Abby chin and cocking her head toward his. "Isn't it absolutely marvelous?"
In her deep despair and sorrow, all Abby could do was stare blankly ahead and shiver in the sudden cold that surrounded her.
By Sweet Honey
Chapter Eight: Betrayal
"Well, it was very nice to meet you Abby." said Mrs. K tearfully, and she hugged Abby with all her strength.
"Thank you so much for taking care of me, and also for the wonderful meal." replied Abby. Mrs. K had prepared a fabulous feast as a parting gift for the pair complete with *the best* of the fairy dishes (which included a flying roast beef and exploding mashed potatoes). The Princess felt she may have enjoyed it more if Erik hadn't been so quiet and sullen during the meal. In fact, even as she stood beside him now, she felt that he was withdrawing from her. When he had hugged her near the pond earlier he had broken the hold quicker than she had expected and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Abby was starting to wonder if he regretted what he had done.
The silence that surrounded Abby was stifling and she tried her hardest to make conversation. She commented on anything and everything but usually only got either a nod or a one word answer from Erik. Finally all the pressure that Abby had been holding snapped and she asked, ""Would you please stop being a jerk and make an attempt at friendly conversation?"
"Would you please keep your mouth shut for a second?" asked the fairy mildly as he adjusted his sleeve.
"So, you want me to be quiet and I want you to be interesting. This is a lose lose situation." commented Abby and she felt herself slowly deflate. Without warning she stopped and sat down on the grass.
"What are you doing?" asked Erik, who also stopped. "We've only been walking for about an hour, you shouldn't feel tired yet."
Abby smoothed her dress over her legs and opened her bag. "Well, it seems that you don't like to walk or talk with me so I figure you'd be happier if I sat quietly instead." she said without emotion, although she was feeling hurt by Erik's demeanor. It was obvious now that he was regretting what he had done earlier that day.
"Why do you keep staring at me like that?!" said Erik with exasperation.
"I'm trying to imagine you with a personality!" retorted Abby, and she immediately regretted saying it.
"What a coincidence, I was just visualizing you with a mouth gag." said Erik.
Abby shook her head and sighed. "Look, I don't want to fight with you." she said. "You know Erik...we could pretend like it didn't happen."
Erik didn't answer her for a long time and Abby thought that maybe he hadn't heard her. She was about to repeat herself when Erik sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around his legs gracefully. "This is my fault; I've been acting like a jerk all day and I'm sorry." he said, not looking at Abby.
"Do I make you...uncomfortable?" she asked slowly as she searched for the right words. "If what happened today is going to make you uncomfortable then...we can pretend like it didn't happen."
"Well that certainly wouldn't solve anything." said Erik. "Unless of course...you'd like to forget that it happened. I could make that happen, you know. Erasing memories is a specialty of mine."
"Oh, no! I don't want to forget anything." said Abby quickly, and Erik turned to face her with a smile playing on his lips.
"Why exactly don't you want to forget it?" asked Erik, and Abby jumped up.
"Ah, look at the time! We'd better get going or my kingdom will be destroyed (or did you forget that amidst the drama?)." said Abby as she walked briskly away from Erik.
"Do you like it...always being alone?" asked Erik from behind Abby. The young princess stopped short and turned.
"It was never really my choice." she said quietly and then added with defiance. "But right now I wouldn't mind being alone."
"Fine. It's getting dark, why don't we stop at the next village and look for a place to stay." said Erik nonchalantly. He got up and walked onward, with Abby following close behind.
*****
Abby sat in her room, brushing her hair and trying not to think about what Erik has said. Frustration overwhelmed her as she realized that all she had ever done was push people away...but she didn't want to do that to Erik.
Why? What was so special about Erik that it made Abby want to give up everything, even her pride, just to make him feel better? Why did she always feel like she wanted to protect him and care for him and-
She threw down her hairbrush and jumped up, pacing the length of her room and pulling at her hair. She didn't even want to THINK of that possibility, let alone contemplate it! To think that she could possibly LOVE that scoundrel...
"Oh, damn." said Abby, the minute she thought it and she stopped short bending down to pick up her hairbrush. Loving Erik...well, it wouldn't be the first time she had loved someone who hated her.
"But does he really hate me?" thought Abby, and she resumed her pacing. "I mean, okay, so he hasn't been treating me horribly lately. In fact, he's been pretty nice to me. And he said he liked me, that was a big tip off...Dah! I don't want to think about this. Being alone isn't that bad."
She was about to get into her warm, comfy bed when she suddenly realized something. Not only did she NOT want to be alone, but she also wanted Erik. Badly. She couldn't figure out when she had began to feel the need to be near him, but right now that feeling was overpowering. She wanted to hold him and take care of him and make him feel better. And she wanted him to hold her too...
She had a horrible thought suddenly, that maybe this was her one chance. They could catch up with Zaden and Kel tomorrow, and then Abby would never have a chance again. What if Erik left tomorrow, and she lost him forever. She'd spent most of her time pushing him away from her, and she didn't want to be alone again.
She was racing down the hallway, her nightgown waving like a banner behind her. She threw open the door and looked at the startled Erik with a look of equal surprise.
"I-I was afraid...I don't want to be alone..." she started lamely, and Erik raised en eyebrow at her.
"So you decided to barge in here and attack me with your hairbrush?" asked Erik, and he seemed pretty amused. Abby's face became hot with embarrassment and she turned to leave, but Erik grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back from behind
"You don't want to be alone, you said." he whispered in her ear. "Did you mean that you want to be with me?"
"Possibly.."
*****
When Abby woke up Erik was gone. She felt a momentary panic before she realized that he had left her a note saying that he was downstairs having breakfast and that he was ready to get started again. Abby packed up her things and got ready to join him.
At breakfast Abby was relieved to find that Erik was neither awkward or rude to her. In fact he seemed happy, or the most happy that she had seen him yet. It made Abby joyous in turn and the entire meal was very pleasant. Abby couldn't remember ever having been so happy.
As they walked through a meadow on their journey Abby suddenly grabbed Erik's hand and smiled at him. Erik looked surprised for a minute, but his eyes shone with happiness. "What was that for?" he asked, but in a curious way as opposed to his normal rude manner.
"Just because I wanted to." said Abby, who hadn't seen his eyes. She expected him to pull away, but instead he tightened his grip on her gloved hand.
"I haven't held hands with someone in a long time." he commented. "It's...pleasant."
Abby laughed and pointed to a bid. "Look, someone's sent a off a Carrying Bird. I've never seen one in real life before."
Erik let go of her hand and flew up into the air, intercepting the bird.
"What are you doing?!" cried Abby, afraid that he might have hurt the bird. She raced toward the spot where Erik had descended, expecting to see a dead bird. Instead, the bird looked fine and Erik looked surprised and somewhat depressed. "What, what is it?"
"This is a letter from Zaden to one of his associates." said Erik evenly as he read the letter. "It seems your in danger, princess."
"Well, that's not a huge shock." said Abby as she peeked at the letter. "Why do you look so upset? Is there something else in there that you're not telling me about?"
Erik folded up the letter and sighed. "Only that another assassin he sent out to kill you is a fairy." Erik said evenly, and then he ripped the note maliciously into a thousand pieces.
Abby was shocked by the viciousness of the act and of how upset Erik looked. "Erik, it's fine. Don't worry, nobody's going to succeed against us. And besides, I know that not all fairy's are as evil as Zaden, of course. I mean you..."
Abby had been babbling, trying to make Erik feel better, but she stopped as she saw tears in his eyes. She moved toward him, but suddenly he wrapped her in a very tight hug. "Abby, I'm sorry. It's just that I was so-"
"PRINCESS ABIGAIL!" yelled a voice, and the pair turned around to face a very harassed looking maid.
"Tirah!" yelled Abby happily, and she ran toward her former maid with renewed strength. They me halfway and hugged eachother with happiness. "Oh Tirah, I'm so happy to see you."
"Abby, why didn't you tell me where you were going?" asked Tirah tearfully. "I could have come with you, I could have helped you-"
"I'm so sorry!" said Abby and she stepped back. "Tirah, as happy as I am to see you, I'm wondering how you got here."
"Well, I had to spend the last two days getting here, but it wasn't terribly difficult for me." said the young girl as she pulled at some lose strands of frizzy red hair and smoothed out her dirty brown gown. "What I can't believe is that you spent nearly a week with this numskull."
Tirah looked at Erik and shot daggers at him. He returned her glare with one of his own.
Abby sighed and Tirah looked back at her. "I didn't just come here to yell at you because you left me behind." said Tirah, and she grabbed Abby's arm and began to drag her to the right. "I know where the Divine Gem is! See, you REALLY should have asked for my help."
"You-you know where it is? Honestly?!" asked the ecstatic princess as she tried to follow Tirah's quick pace. "But how?"
"That is a secret." said Tirah with mirth, and the young princess didn't have a chance to say anything to Tirah at the time. She was to busy trying to keep up, and making sure that Erik was still behind her. She moved so fast that even the young fairy had to race to keep up with her.
"Wait a minute!" he said, and Tirah stopped quickly, nearly sending Abby flying. "Why should we trust you?"
"What?" asked Abby breathlessly. "Erik, I've known Tirah since I was eight! Of course we can trust her."
Erik looked at Tirah for a moment, then sighed. "Fine Abby. If you have so much trust in this girl then she can help."
Tirah muttered something sarcastic under her breath and turned to Abby. "Come look." she said, and pulled away some branches that were blocking their view. Abby's mouth fell open in awe as she looked upon the most beautiful sparkling white waterfalls that she had ever seen. The trio walked over to where it emptied into and all were transfixed by its beauty. It was a thousand times more lovely and noble than the first waterfall Abby had seen with Erik, and it's beauty held her eye for what seemed like an eternity.
"Those are the Glittering Falls." said Tirah in a hushed voice. "Lovely, aren't they? The Divine Gem is said to be buried somewhere around them. You, go look for the Divine Gem and I'll show Abby something."
Erik didn't seem to like being ordered around normally, but now he was looking frantically about. Tirah pulled Abby around and then behind the waterfall and into a cave. Abby though the water looked even more beautiful here, on the other side. She loved the colors that played across her dress and how perfectly the white of the water matched Tirah's dress.
For a moment Abby was confused and couldn't figure out why. The she looked at Tirah's dress again. "Tirah, was I mistaken or were you wearing a brown dress about two minutes ago?"
Tirah looked at Abby, a twinkle in her eye. "I'm surprised you noticed that." she said with a smile, even though Abby was beginning to freak out. "You see, I wanted to change into something a bit prettier for this occasion."
"But...how could you have changed so fast?!" asked Abby, and she took a step back.
"Oh, fairies can change much quicker than you humans can."
For a minute Abby felt amazed and happy. The fact that Tirah was a fairy was so unbelievable and cool! Tirah said, "I have something very important to tell you Abby. Come here, quickly." and reached out her hand to Abby, but suddenly her eyes clouded and she let out a yell right before she was blown back by a bright blue light.
Abby whirled around and faced Erik, whose hand was steaming with a strange blue mist. Erik grabbed onto her hand and pulled her out of the small cavern and into a field. Abby wrenched her hand away and yelled, "Why did you do that?!"
"Because she was the fairy that Zaden had hired to kill you." said Erik, and his eyes darted around the area quickly. The young princes was stunned and she turned to Erik with a look so passionate that it made Erik inhale quickly.
"That's impossible. I've known Tirah all my life." said Abby, her eyes glowing. "That can't be true, she's my only friend...she wouldn't do that to me, I know she wouldn't."
"You would trust her before you trusted me?!" said Erik, pushing his hair out of his eyes in surprise.
At this point many things happened simultaneously.
-The tree that was directly across from Abby shimmered for a moment, and then a darkly clad figure stepped out. He had on a long dark robe that made it impossible to see his features, but his hands were badly scarred. He said something that Abby couldn't understand but it sounded horribly familiar.
-Tirah came running from behind the waterfall, screaming for Abby to run.
-Abby heard a popping sound behind her and turned to face a beaming Zaden. To put it lightly, she nearly had a heart attack.
"Well, isn't this a pleasant little reunion!" said Zaden cheerfully, opening his arms wide. His obviously good spirits and joyous smile made small shivers travel up and down Abby's back as she stepped away from him and towards Erik.
"Abby, get away from them, quickly!" yelled Tirah as she continued to run toward the stunned princess. "Quickly, get away from them-please!" Tirah reached out her hand to Abby as she ran.
Erik grabbed Abby's hand, pulling her toward him. "Choose your side, Abby." he said, his blue eyes burning into hers.
Abby looked at Tirah, and then at Erik, and then back at Tirah. She looked back at Erik and pulled in close to him. "I'm sorry Tirah...but you never told me...I don't think I can trust you now."
Tirah was crestfallen for a moment, but Zaden took care of that. He made a hand motion and Tirah slumped to the ground, a small trail of blood coming from her head.
"Well, I had to get rid of that thing before we could talk about more pressing matters." said Zaden calmly. Abby wanted to run to Tirah but Erik was still holding her hand fairly tight and she realized that she probably shouldn't stray away from him right now. "Oh, and there's something else I should dispose of before I continue with our conversation."
Abby braced herself against Erik, but was surprised as she watched a baby blue fireball envelope the robed figure behind her. It emitted a high pitched scream before it dropped to the ground and the fire was extinguished.
Zaden walked over to the pitiful remains of the robed fairy and kicked it softly. "Thank you for finding my dear friends, but your services are no longer needed." he explained, talking as thought the figure could actually hear him.
"Why...why did you hurt Tirah?" asked Abby quietly, her voice shocked into neutrality by the sheer brutalness of Zaden's actions. "Wasn't she working with you?"
Zaden looked surprised for a moment, but then his eyes crinkled and he began to laugh as he shook his head. "Oh no...my dear princess, what on Earth made you think that TIRAH was the fairy working with me? My dear...don't you understand yet?"
Zaden turned quickly to Erik and smiled. "Thank you once again for bringing her to me! For a minute there I began to think....but nonetheless, you did your job and you did it well. You deserve to be congratulated."
"What are you talking about?" asked Abby quietly, removing her hand from Erik's and backing up. "He's lying, isn't he Erik...he's lying right?"
Erik didn't say anything and he wouldn't meet her eyes. Abby backed up even more and stumbled on a rock. "YOU'RE LYING!" she screamed hysterically, pointing her finger at Zaden. "You're sick! You're just trying to turn me against Erik...and I won't! I know he would never do anything like that to me."
Zaden sneered, his beautiful features no longer able to mask his inner demons. "You're a fool, Princess Abigail." he said. "Did you really think that Erik would care for you, a human? You must be insane! He was just following my orders...the only feelings Erik holds for you are hate, isn't that right?"
He turned to the silent Erik and laughed, putting his arm around him. Abby stepped toward Erik, grabbing his hand. "He's lying...please, tell me he's lying." said Abby, tears escaping from her already red eyes. "Oh please..."
Erik pulled his hand out of hers. "No, he isn't lying." he said, finally raising his head and meeting her eyes. "I...I'm sorry."
"Which reminds me!" exclaimed Zaden, turning Erik around and putting his other hand on Erik's chest and his voice suddenly turning cold and harsh. "You have also outlived you usefulness. Please, don't take this personally, but I would never allow a half fairy bastard like you to rule by my side."
Erik looked surprised for a moment as Zaden's hand glowed blue. Then blood was swiftly flowing from a wound on Erik's chest and the fairy dropped to the ground.
Abby absolutely and totally lost it. She was rushing toward him screaming and crying but Zaden was quickly on her and threw her away from Erik and toward the ground. "Now now, I can't have you covered in blood when you meet your sister! It would be to degrading for you, Princess." he said calmly at the dumbfounded but silent Abby. "My, isn't it amazing how you humans can still have feelings for those who betray you?"
Zaden looked thoughtfully at Abby for a moment and whispered something about how impressive her inner strength was, but that it was to be expected from her. Abby looked at the fallen and betrayed Tirah and then at the lifeless body of Erik. He had never really loved her and she, like the fool he had always believed her to be, had given herself totally to him. And even now...oh please, thought Abby numbly. Let it be a nightmare.
"Through your own actions you have signed your entire race's deathwarrent." said Zaden coldly, putting his hand below Abby chin and cocking her head toward his. "Isn't it absolutely marvelous?"
In her deep despair and sorrow, all Abby could do was stare blankly ahead and shiver in the sudden cold that surrounded her.
