And we fairies, that do run.
By the triple Hecate's team
From the presence of the sun.
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic. Not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallowed house
- William Shakespeare (A Midsummer's Night's Dream)

Chapter 3

She thought she was going to die. A soldier, alone and helpless on a battlefield that smelled like blood, dirt, and death. Peony had never felt this much pain in her lifetime, as long as it was. She had almost forgotten what pain felt like, but now she knew in the harshest sense of the word. Excruciating; all consuming. She felt each bone in her knee crack, felt her collarbone crack like a helpless twig against a raging storm, and had screamed in agony. The Orc left her for dead when she fell to the ground; she would have felt lucky, but he was the last thing on her mind.

Peony bit back a scream as she tried to use her arm. A sick wave of pain that made her want to vomit coursed through her upper body, and immediately she let the arm go lax. It was useless. She couldn't stand, and she couldn't defend herself. They would move on after the battle was over and leave her there, with all the dead bodies of comrades and orcs alike.

Valar.

'I don't want to die like this,' she thought, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. The sounds of distant battle reached her sensitive ears, and a another wave of a different kind of pain washed her mind; anger, frustration. This was her own fault. If she would have listened to Nevada or Alexia, she wouldn't be lying on the ground like an invalid, contemplating her own death. An utter of self-disgust could be heard at her own foolishness.'Maybe if you would stop pitying yourself and start thinking...' She thought of her mother and father, her queen...' No. I am not going to die like this.' Determined, Peony opened her eyes and looked around. Maybe...maybe she could sit up if she tried. Taking a deep breath, she wriggled her toes inside her shoe, then lifted her good leg. Pushing up with that leg, she dragged the other with it, ignoring the sharp stings of pain at the effort. Now came the hard part.' Okay. Okay, you can do this. You can. It's all will power, Peony...' Gritting her teeth, she arched her back and sat up quickly, letting out a gruff cry of pain as her shoulders protested violently. Her stomach heaved in response, and instead of giving in, she lifted her head and looked for any signs of life.' Please, please let someone be near...'

And her prayers were answered.

Her ears pricked at the sound of a horse clopping at a remarkable speed, and she directed her hazel gaze to the forest. Pain temporarily pushed to the back of her thoughts, she waited to see if it was friend or foe coming from the foilage.

And let out a laugh of joy as Nevada came, her black majestic horse, Arabia, galloping at full speed. Peony would recognize the Faerie from anywhere." Nevada!" she cried as loudly as possible."Nevada!" When she kept riding, Peony panicked.' No, no, she's so close....'"NEVADA!" she screamed, tears of frustration gathering at the corner of her eyes."NEVADA, PLEASE!"

Nevada slowed her pace. What was that? Was she hearing things? Not willing to chance it, she ushered Arabia to a full stop. She turned on the horse's back and stared out at the battlefield, willing to hear the voice again. Who called her name? "....Nevada!" 'I know that voice...' She heard it again, and squinted, looking around the area suspiciously. A shock of blonde hair in the distance, amidst all the bodies of the dead, startled Nevada into realization; then, a wave of guilt.

"Peony!!"

She smacked Arabia in the flank to get her moving and charged over in the direction of the girl, her heart racing as fast as the horse's hooves.'What is she still doing here, while everyone else has left this part of battle? How badly is she hurt?' Nevada's guilt only intensified when she arrived to see her charge.

The poor girl had dirt, tears and blood on her face, blood in her hair and looked odd sitting on the ground as if nothing had happened. But the anguish and relief in her dark eyes told a different story."I thought you wouldn't hear me," she choked out, seemingly overwhelmed with the relief apparent in her eyes.

Nevada hopped off her horse and knelt to eye level with Peony."Are you all right? What happened?"

Peony's breath came out raspy."I was ambushed. I got hurt...real bad."

"How bad?" Nevada tried to sound caring, but her emotions got in the way and it came out cold and calculated.

The blonde nodded towards her left leg."My knee...it's busted up. And my arms...I can't move my arms..." Nevada went pale."My collarbone's broken." Peony's voice dropped to a whisper."And I can't get up."

The dark haired Faerie's mind whirled.'It's not as bad as I thought...but bad enough. How in hell am I supposed to get her away from here if she can't move? My fault,' she thought, angry with herself for the second time that day. Her urgency to get home was growing fierce, but she refused to leave Peony again; look what it had done the first time.'I should have let her come with like she asked. Stupid!'"Listen," Nevada started, looking Peony in the eye."I'm going to leave you here for a moment." She continued before Peony could protest."To get Alexia. She's with the messenger, who got hurt herself. I'm going to send her to you." Briefly, Nevada lifted a hand to Peony's hair in a gesture of sisterly affection."I hate to leave you, little one. I did before; I take the blame for this."

"Oh, no-" her eyes widened when she realized that the emotion darkening her commander's eyes was guilt."It's not-"

Nevada cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand."But I have to leave. My country is in danger; I have only just been informed of the attacks being made on it as we speak."

"Deimos!"

"I know." Her voice was laced with anguish at their situation. She went to grab Peony's arm, then remembered. Valar, she felt so responsible for this little one's pain...this mere child in her first true battle, hurt this badly because her commander messed up. She would make it up to her; somehow."Stay here," she said desparately, waiting for Peony's nod."Do not draw attention to yourself; I promise, Alexia will come quickly. We'll get you help." She kissed Peony's forehead, and before mounting, added,"You will be able to use your arms again. Don't worry." Getting on Arabia, Nevada headed in Alexia's direction one last time before heading home.

It didn't take her long to reach the two. Alexia was helping Diana to her feet when Nevada arrived, and stopped to see what was wrong.

"Why are you back?" she asked when Arabia stopped.

Not bothering to get off her horse, Nevada leaned down."Alexia, Peony is wounded." She watched the Faerie's eyes go wide."She cannot walk, I fear she will have to be carried. She is waiting for you on the battle grounds, where you first left her. I do not have time to stay with her, but could you-"

"Yes," Alexia nodded, and waited for Diana's nod before continuing." It should be fine. I'll get them both to the healer as soon as possible. Will you meet me there later? I'm taking them to Ruth, a healer about a fifteen minute ride northwest of here."

Nevada hesitated."I do not know. But go, before we get another onslaught of them."

"All right. You hurry, too." The raven haired warrior nodded, then kicked Arabia's side to get her moving."Valar protect you!" Alexia called out to her friend, watching her bound off in the left direction, toward her kingdom. Frowning, she turned to Diana."Do you think you can limp, Diana?"

The Faerie nodded slightly. She let go of Alexia's arm and proceeded to limp slowly across the forest ground, wincing at the pain in her leg. She gave Alexia slight push." Go on and get Peony, I'll catch up to you."

Nevada finally let the panic get to her. Her heart was so overwhelmed with guilt and fear, she felt actual tears sting her eyes. None of this was supposed to happen; the original plan was to take back Charon and help Lo and Miranda get back on their feet. Deimos was not supposed to be attacked, Peony and the messenger weren't supposed to be hurt and everything was supposed to work out just fine.

'Since when did anything work out as planned?' she retorted cynically in her head.' Nothing ever did in the past, and it won't now. Get over it.' But the grief that was slowly seeping in at what had happened started to get to her. Her home...What had happened to it? What would she find upon returning?

She felt an arrow whiz by her ear at that moment and was jerked from her deep thoughts at the near hit. Looking around wildly, she urged Arabia to keep up her fast pace as she unsheathed her sword for protection. Where was her enemy?

She saw the next arrow, and artfully dodged it by giving Arabia a sharp tug to the right. The familiar noise of grunts and unholy shouts filled her sharp ears, and she spotted the offending party in the trees, jeering and laughing as they aimed at her. Her blood boiled, and she wanted nothing more than to stop and teach them a lesson, but they were the least of her problems. She had sensed something behind her earlier, but now it dominated her thoughts.

The evil they emanated nearly made her sick to her stomach with its horrendous smell. She'd never seen anything like them before, yet she knew what they were. What they stood for, and who they served.

Ringwraiths.

Their screams pierced the dying daylight and sent cold fingers digging into her heart.

'Not now,' she thought desperately.'Why did it have to be now, of all times?! And what are they doing here?? What could possibly bring Ringwraiths this far East?' Their billowing capes swirled around the black beasts they rode, and in the back of Nevada's mind was the fear that there were more of them waiting with the Orcs in the trees. She watched warily as the two Ringwraiths nearly caught up to her from her right, unsheathing swords that glinted fiercely with the late day sun.

More than a little desperate, she let go of the reins to retrieve an arrow from her quiver, quickly notching it to her bow and pulling back as far as it would go. She balanced herself by bracing her legs against Arabia's side, aimed at the nearest Ringwraith and let it loose. He screeched and pulled away from her when it pierced the dark being's side.

The other Ringwraith took its place no sooner than his comrade had left. Nevada glared at the black face, suddering slightly at the sight of the emptiness where a face should have been; for some reason, it disturbed her far greater than the menacing sword he possessed. Determined not to shy away in fear, she matched him pace for pace, reaching back to fetch another arrow and do away with him so she could make it across the oncoming bridge without them following.

Arabia gave a whinny of alarm, and out of the corner of her eye she spotted the first Ringwraith closing in on her from behind, ready to make a sweep at Arabia's behind. She jerked the horse out of the way and forced her to speed up. Nevada had nearly forgotten about the other black rider.

Hissing over her own stupidity, she gripped the arrow and turned in her saddle, drawing back the string on her bow and catching the Ringwraith in the chest, slowing him down. She turned back to the front to see the other Ringwraith trying to pull in front of her."Shit," she mumbled under her breath, feeling real fear as the monster headed her off. The rumors she had heard about them did not do them justice; they were all the more terrifying up close. He kept pushing closer to the warrior, and Nevada could do nothing but back away. She knew the other black rider would be back at any moment.

'What am I going to do?'

"Stay back, you bastard!" she shouted as he went to cut her off again. Arabia reared at his intrusion, and when the horse righted herself, she found the black rider's horse in her way, dark eyes flashing and blocking her path. Arabia stopped completely and whinnied, spooked at being trapped in.

There was a terrible moment where Nevada could feel eyes watching her within the faceless deathlike being, and an indescribable cold swept through her. A dreaded, foreboding feeling that made her freeze, and all she could do was stare. The evil in the air was so thick from the Ringwraiths surrounding her, she couldn't breathe, and she felt useless against this force in front of her. Nevada didn't know how she would get out of this one, if she could at all.' This can't be it. This can't be it...'

The sound was deafening from where she was sitting. That unholy scream from behind her and in front that seemed to come from the very bowels of hell. Nevada covered her sensitive ears from the noise, and her head felt like it was going to explode with the pain. The black horse in front of her own reared up in a state of sudden panic, and the its rider did, too. Sheathing his sword, the Ringwraith seemed to look around in confusion, as if he didn't know where he was or what he was doing there.

He glanced at Nevada one last time, then the rider took off with the other behind him, screeching at the top of their lungs as they rode away.

She blinked. Arabia seemed to share her confusion, snorting and pawing the ground, prancing on the dirt as if she didn't know what to do, either.

Nevada slid off Arabia, still amazed at what just happened. By no means did she feel blessed by being pardoned by death, but she wasn't going to press her luck. She locked eyes with her horse for a moment, and let out a sound between a snort of disbelief and laughter." Wow..." She shook her head." They gave us quite a work out, didn't they?" Arabia looked at her owner out of the corner of her eye."Yeah, I know. You did a good job, girl."

Nevada reached up with her left arm to pat Arabia's side, and suddenly brought it down with a cry of pain.

The Orcs!