Oona flew over what had once been a lush and verdant forest, scanning the ground frantically.  When, at last, she spotted what she had been looking for, motionless and sprawled on the ground, her heart plummeted.  Diving at the ground, she transformed to her human form in midair and hit the ground running.

She dropped to her knees at Gump's side and tried as hard as she could to hold back the waves of sickness that were threatening to overwhelm her.  He was still alive, but barely.  It looked like he had been stabbed with a sword tens of times.  There was blood everywhere, and though Oona tried desperately to staunch the flow, she could do nothing.

Feeling the pressure of her hands on his chest, Gump's eyes fluttered open and he coughed painfully, more blood bubbling from his lips.  "Oona..."

"Quiet," Oona said, trying to smile reassuringly at him.  "Don't try to talk.  I need to find something to stop the bleeding."

"You...can't."

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" she snapped.  "Now stay still and be quiet!"

"Too...late, Oona.  Too late."

She heard the finality in his raspy voice, but didn't want to believe it.  "Gump, it's not too late! As long as there is still one living being, one blade of grass left in this forest, it's not too late.  You always told me that."

His mouth widened in a mockery of a grin.  "I...lied."

Oona stared down at him.  "No.  No, you silly spirit.  Even if a mighty oak is sawed through, it can still live."

"Can it still live if... if it has been eaten away...from the inside?"

"What?" she whispered, her eyes widening in horror.  "What are you saying?"

"These wounds... were not made by a... weapon."  He coughed again.  "I have been...dying for days.  I thought to...to...delay it, but I could not...delay it forever."

Her tears fell upon him.  "How can this be?" she breathed, trembling. 

Gump stared up at the grey sky.  "If Lily had...stopped Darkness in time... If only..."

Oona grabbed his cold hand and tried to massage some warmth back into it.  "Gump, you fool," she sobbed.  "What shall I do without you?"

His fingers twitched.  "You'll be...fine, Oona.  You've made up...your mind to chase...him till his dying day.  You're...far too stubborn to give up now."

"This is all my fault," Oona wept, feeling the full force of guilt for the first time in her long life.  "I tried to sabotage... I thought if I could..."

Gump's eyes closed and opened again slowly.  "No, Oona.  You are... a foolish fairy, yes, but...even if you hadn't...tried to separate Jack from her... she could not have reached Darkness by now anyway... Not your fault.  And..." he tried to sit up, but could not manage it, "...you came back...at the end."

"Oh, Gump," she cried, pulling his weight onto her lap as gently as possible, ignoring the blood, "could you have doubted it?"

"Not...for an instant.  Oona...tell her."

"Tell her what? That you were foolish enough not to have doubted me?"

"That...that she should be wary...of her guard.  She shouldn't trust him.  Shouldn't trust...anyone."

Oona nodded.  "Is there anything else?"

A small smile crossed Gump's pallid face.  "My fiddle...Give it to Jack.  Tell him... a little music is a powerful thing."  As Oona nodded, his cold hand gripped hers tightly.  "One more thing..."

"Anything," she clutched his hand right back.  "Anything, Gump."

"You were a...good friend.  Even if you stray...I have faith in you to make...the right choices.  Ask the dwarves to...sing my death song...and go find a place where...you can be happy.  I wish...I wish I could have seen the sun...once more..."

As Oona clung tightly to his fingers, watching in utter despair, he breathed once, twice, and no more.  His big brown eyes fixed sightlessly on the grey sky, eternally searching for the sun.

"Gump," Oona sobbed.  "Oh, Gump..." 

She reached out with shaking fingers to touch his face one last time, to gently close his glazed eyes, but even as she did, his weight began to disappear from her lap, his hand to slip between her fingers like water.  Though she hugged him to her as close as she could, there was no stopping it.

Within seconds, his body was gone.  Even the blood that had stained her had vanished.  It was as though Gump had never even existed.

Oona knelt alone in the dust of the ground, tears sliding down her face.  He was gone.  Her true friend, her protector, the only one who always believed in her...even when he was angry at her.  Gone.  She had nothing.

She threw back her head and howled her protest to the uncaring sky.

*****************************************************

Connor stumbled against a tree, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last half hour.  First, he had been kissing Lily, then she was gone, and then...something had happened to the forest.

He looked around as he wandered aimlessly, hoping against hope to see something living, something still green, but only shades of browns, grays, and blacks met his eyes.

"This is awful," he whispered in horror.  "What's going on?"  He reached down to touch the earth, wishing that his hand would come back wet with rich soil, but when his fingers touched the ground, a cloud of dust rose up to hang around his face.  Coughing, he tried to wave the dust away from his streaming eyes.

It didn't make sense, but then, nothing made sense anymore.  Not since the day he'd seen the princess sashaying down the hall of her castle towards him.  Since them, the life he'd fought to build for himself had crumbled around him, and his past was threatening him more, day by day.

"Lily?" he called as loudly as he dared.  He could certainly have yelled more loudly, but it felt disrespectful...as though he were yelling in the middle of a church, or a tomb.  "Lily, can you hear me?"

"That's Princess Lily to you," a voice said behind him.

Connor spun around, hoping to see her smiling face block out the desolation, but he was disappointed to see only a young man he'd never seen before.  "Who're you?" he asked roughly, sizing up the other quickly.  He was wild and feral-looking, dressed in rags and a brown ponytail of messy hair, but his big, brown, innocent eyes belied his fierce appearance.

"Jack," came the answer.  "I'd ask who you are, but I saw you with her."

"You're Jack..." Connor muttered.  "...And you're the reason why she ran off, aren't you?"

"She ran off?"

Connor leaned against a tree, not wanting to admit that he was grateful to see another person, to assure himself that he wasn't the only living thing left here.  "You're not too quick, are you?"

Jack's brown eyes were assessing him right back.  "Sorry, I've had a horrible day," he said flatly.

Closing his eyes, and sighing tiredly, Connor waved his hand dismissively.  "Fine.  If you're going to challenge me, just do it and get it over with.  I'm not in the mood to mess around."

"I hate violence."

"Congratulations."

The two young men stood quietly for a moment, each trying to put his thoughts together, and neither managing.  For his part, Connor thought back to the last time he could remember feeling so empty.  That had been the day he found his father.

His mother had warned him not to go looking, that he wouldn't like what he found, but having just been told that he was being sent away because her new husband didn't want him around, an angry young Connor hadn't been willing to listen.

If only I had listened.  I would still be who and what I am, but at least I would still have my romantic illusions. 

Instead, he was a broken man, lost and afraid.  Since that day, he had lived in fear, hiding his true feelings beneath a smile and courteous manner.  He could no longer look at the world with innocence.

And then he had met Lily, and his carefully constructed demeanor had begun to crumble.  She had taken him to the highest highs, and the lowest lows.  She had made him both lose control of himself and dare to hope, to believe, that he could actually be happy.

Now Connor eyed Jack with trepidation.  This diminutive man in front of him was the biggest threat to his winning of Lily's heart.

"So you live in the forest, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I... I did," Jack replied.

"Can you tell me what's happened here?" A chill breeze blew, making them both shiver.

"No."

Connor glared down at Jack.  "I'm not your enemy."

"No, but I might be yours," Jack said.  "And anyway, I don't know what's happened here.  I don't know what..." he trailed off, looking utterly lost.

Despite himself, Connor felt for him.  He knew what it felt like to lose everything in the space of one second.  "Look," he began, almost apologetically.

"I don't want to hear it," Jack snapped.  "There's no way that you can pretend that you and Lily weren't..."

"She still loves you," Connor said flatly, though it hurt like a sword to the stomach to admit it. 

"What?" Jack looked up with sudden hope.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"But... if she still, she still," Jack stumbled over his words, "loves me...then...why?"

Connor clenched his jaw.  "Hell if I know."

For the first time, Jack really looked at Connor and seemed to notice that he was in pain too.  There was another long, awkward pause.  This time, Jack was the one to break it.

"I don't like you."

"I don't like you either."

"But right now..."

"Right now, we have to find Lily and make sure that she's all right."

"Yes."

Another long silence.

"So should we...?"

"Probably."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Let's go."

Still regarding each other suspiciously, they quietly moved off through the dark landscape, neither willing to admit to the other that he was glad of the company.

*******************************************************

At the edge of the forest, Edgar reigned in his horse and stared in shock.  "My god," he breathed.  "What's happened?"

"Prince Edgar," his squire, Gavin, said nervously, "I don't like the look of this."

"Nor I, Gavin."  Edgar stared into the barren land grimly.  "But I've sworn a vow to find my princess, and I won't break it."

"Are we..." Gavin cleared his throat nervously.  "Are we going to die?"

Edgar looked sideways at the younger boy, who was clutching his reins and trying to look like he wasn't nervous.  Despite the bleak situation, a small smile touched his lips.  "Gavin, I've sworn a vow, but you haven't.  I will not make you go with me."

Gavin stared at him.  "Prince Edgar—"

Edgar held up a quieting hand.  "Never let it be said of me that I forced my men to go where they did not wish to go.  What kind of prince would I be if I could only get men to follow me through force?"

Gavin was silent for a moment.  Edgar could almost see his mind working furiously under his blond hair.  After a moment, though, his face cleared and he looked up.

"No, Prince Edgar.  What kind of a squire would I be if I deserted my lord at the first test of courage?" He smiled bravely, albeit nervously.  "I'd never be able to look anyone in the face ever again.  I'm going with you.  Of my own free will."

Edgar smiled back.  "Then let's get going.  The sooner we find Princess Lily, the sooner we can come home again as heroes." 

With a deep breath, he nudged his horse's side and they shot off into the dead forest, Gavin following close behind.

*************************************************

Darkness sat in the large chamber at the back of the cave, surrounded by what treasures Blix had managed to salvage from the wreck of the Great Tree, impatient.

"Lord!" the goblin excitedly rushed into the cavernous room.  "Lord, have you seen what has happened?"

"Have I seen anything, Blix?" Darkness rumbled.  "Inform me what it is that has you looking so pleased with yourself."

"The forest, Lord! It's dead!"

"Indeed?"

"Yes!" the goblin was practically dancing.  "I understand now how you will be able to walk abroad in daylight!"

"It took longer than I expected, then," the demon replied, with an edge to his voice.  "The spirit should not have lasted as long as he did."  He stared at the ceiling, tapping his claws thoughtfully on the arm of his large stone throne.

"Do you not understand, Lord Darkness? You've won! The forest is dead, and you can go where you wish, when you wish!"

Darkness snarled.  "You are a fool, goblin.  Yes, the forest is dead, and yes, I can walk in places of death at all hours, but that does not mean that I have won.  It should not have been possible for the forest to survive that long.  That puny spirit did not have the strength to resist for so long.  That means that a greater force was assisting him."

"It could not possibly be a greater force than you, Lordship."

"Be quiet, you toadying goblin," Darkness said irritably.  "I'm trying to think."

"Of course, Lord," the goblin bowed.  "But...there is someone here to see you."

"I am busy."

"Begging your pardon, Lord, but...I think you'll want to see this one."

"Oh, very well," Darkness grumbled, waving his arm in a permissive gesture.  "I suppose I have a moment or two for some trembling supplicant."

As Darkness sighed, exasperated, Blix rushed to the tunnel that led to the surface and whispered to someone at the entrance.  As that someone entered and their features became clear in the dusky room, Darkness sat up straight.  Blix had been right.  He was interested in this one.

"Come closer," he purred.  "I will not harm you.  Now...I have seen you before, have I not?"

"You have."

"Yes..." Darkness stroked his chin.  "I remember.  You must imagine my...surprise at seeing you here."

Cold eyes met his.  "You killed my friend."

"Indeed I did."

"I want to kill you."

Darkness leaned back and roared out his laughter, letting it echo in the caves all around them.  "Child, I could break you in half before you took another breath."

"Yes, I know."

"So presumably, you are here for some other purpose than to attempt to kill me."

"I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" Darkness sat up straight, fascinated despite himself.  "What kind of deal?"

The fairy's ice blue eyes were steady.  "You want Lily.  I want Jack.  I will deliver her safely to you, in exchange for your help casting an enchantment on Jack, and your promise to take Lily far away and never return to this land."

Darkness smirked.  "Interesting.  There might be one slight problem, however.  Lily is heading this way without your help."

"Yes, and she is alone in the mountains.  And did I mention that winter is approaching? She has no idea how to take care of herself, does she? And of course, there is always the possibility that she could suffer an unfortunate accident..."

The demon's face had been darkening as the fairy spoke.  "If you touched her, I would kill you."

"Do you think I particularly care whether I live or die anymore?" the fairy snapped.  "You took my friend, you took my home, and the only way to get the one thing that I still want is to deal with you."

"Very well," Darkness said slowly.  "It is a deal.  Do what you must do and bring her here safely.  Then we will deal with your Jack."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, c'est la vie.  To everything there is a season, turn turn turn, and all that.  Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

~signpost