AN: There is one scene that gets gory. If you don't like the idea of a character killing an animal for food, please skip it. The AutoCoach belongs to AquaTurquoise. Thanks for letting me use this in the story. :D

Persephone sizes up the strange contraption before her with a disgruntled expression. It is a coach sitting on four purple wheels with no driver or horses to pull it. The body is a pale lavender with the roof being ash gray and decorated with golden designs. Each corner of the AutoCoach has a lantern attached to it. On either side of the coach, there are windows, two on one side and three on the other with the middle window on the door, each window has pale blue curtains that offer privacy. Peeking through the small space with one eye clenched shut, Persephone could see the interior was red, red seats that look surprisingly comfy, but this did not impress her much.

She looks down at the step and sets her foot on it, the coach doesn't move until she starts adding her weight and it sinks to one side. Persephone frowns, she doesn't want to be in anything that can fly, she can fly just fine thank you very much. Huffing, she steps away from the sorcerer's strange creation. When she turns around, she spots her escorts approaching, Princess Sofia and Cedric the Royal Sorcerer, both lively chatting amongst themselves. Persephone could not hear what they were saying, but from the looks of it, the two were enjoying their conversation with the princess throwing her head back to laugh and the sorcerer snickering as well.

Both were adults, with the sorcerer being several years older than the princess, obvious by the white bangs of his hair. Princess Sofia, on the other hand, a beautiful woman with long wavy hair that reaches her lower back. She was wearing the same Protectors' uniform that she had yesterday. Her sorcerer friend, Cedric, had on a deep purple robe with a green bow and black gloves that covered most of his hand, save for his fingertips.

They approach her with Princess Sofia starting the introduction, "Cedric, this is Persephone. Persephone, this is my partner Cedric, he's the royal sorcerer in our kingdom."

She knows this, Orion had already told her. Persephone gives Cedric a small nod. He puts on a tight smile, and leans close to Sofia, "She doesn't talk much does she?"

"No," Sofia shakes her head, "But that's alright, she's slowly coming out of her shell. Anyways, Persephone, are you ready?"

Persephone looks at their motive of transportation and furrows her brows together.

"Ah, that's my AutoCoach, one of my finest inventions yet!" Cedric exclaims excitedly and he pulls out his wand...

Persephone hisses on reflex displaying her sharp teeth and startling Cedric so much he falls on his rear and instinctively points the wand at her. Persephone raises her wings and rushes in to swipe his wand out of his hand with her claws. The wand flips in the air and lands and rolls a few feet away. Persephone watches it roll to a stop and hisses at it again, before turning to hiss at Cedric with the same fierceness as a large cat.

Sofia quickly moves into view, blocking Cedric from Persephone's rath, speaking in a soft voice, "Persephone, it's okay. Calm down."

She growls, looking past Sofia to glare at Cedric. The sorcerer was pale and shaking from head to toe, he stutters looking panicked, "S-Sofia..."

"It's alright, Cedric, she's not going to hurt you," Sofia says carefully, she looks at the discarded wand and realization dawns on her, "Oh." Sofia's heart hardens into stone and drops into her stomach. She returns her attention back to Persephone, and begins to talk her down using a soft and gentle tone, "It's alright, Persephone. Cedric isn't going to hurt you. I'm sorry that we scared you, but I promise it's going to be okay." Slowly she approaches the Phoenix Shifter, "It's okay."

Persephone frowns and looks at Cedric, a low growl rumbles in her chest, loud enough for him to hear and get the message: 'I don't like you.'

Cedric gulps and while every fiber of his being demands that he moves, he forces himself to remain still, knowing that any sudden movements might set her off again. He also didn't like how close Sofia was to this girl, she could get hurt and King Roland would never forgive him for it. "S-Sofia, maybe you shouldn't stand so close."

"I'm fine," Sofia says firmly, "We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so we need to learn how to get along." She smiles at Persephone, "It's okay, don't worry, we're not here to hurt you; we're here to help."

Persephone watches the two and very slowly lets herself relax, the feathers still sticking to her wings relax and smooth down, while many more flutter to the ground. She sighs quietly at the sight, her bald spots were becoming more and more visible.

It's getting worse. Her wings feel brittle and rotten, she almost wants to tear them out, but why would she do that, she can't fly if she doesn't have wings.

Sofia reaches out to gently stroke her arm, still speaking in a soft, calming voice, "It's going to be okay, Persephone. We're going to help you."

Persephone doesn't respond, she glances back at the 'AutoCoach', why was it called that? Curious, she points at it and lets out an inquiry trill.

"The AutoCoach, it will take us anywhere we want to go and can withstand almost all conditions. We thought that since we're not sure where we're going exactly that it would be better to be safe than sorry, plus it has plenty of room to fit all of our necessities."

Persephone nods and looks back at the AutoCoach, not sure if she should just fly on her own or not. The more she uses her wings the more she loses feathers, it would probably be best to save her strength, though she has never ridden in anything like this before. Was it safe? It looked very sturdy, but it is still an odd sight to see.

Cedric carefully moves towards his wand, picking it up from the ground. Persephone's wings start to rise a little as she shoots him a menacing glare. Carefully, he slips his wand away in his sleeve and holds up his hands to show that he no longer was wielding it. Persephone relaxes and goes to inspect the AutoCoach.

Sofia moves to stand beside Cedric, giggling a little when the Phoenix Shifter poked the side of their transportation. "I don't think she has ever seen anything like it before, Cedric." Her partner nods, "Yes, it is one of a kind, but Sofia are you sure she won't hurt us? She looked ready to slice my head off."

Sofia nods, "She's just scared. Think about it, she lost her whole family to Grimtrix, she probably doesn't trust sorcerers. Give her some time, Cedric, I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

Her partner smiles a little, "Always the optimist, aren't you, my dear."

Sofia giggles, playfully nudging Cedric with her elbow, "You know me, Cedric, I don't give up, especially when I know someone needs me. Like you." At this, Cedric blushes, "Um, yes, y-you do have a point, my dear. But..." He winces when Persephone hisses at something on the AutoCoach, "Must we take my AutoCoach, I'm worried she might damage something..." He winces when Sofia gives him a sarcastic look, "Well, it's either this or you can try to drive a flying coach, my dear sorcerer."

"AutoCoach it is!"

Persephone hates this. She is currently sitting in the far corner of the sorcerer's AutoCoach, glaring outside her window to the world around her. The Mystic Isles were the stuff of legends, she had heard of it before, but never visited, this was due to her parents wanting to remain hidden. She had always been curious about the mystical realm and often wondered what it would be like to see it in person. Now she is here, but she can't bring herself to appreciate the sight of the many isles flying below them.

She can sense Sofia wanting to say something, perhaps give her some words of encouragement. As for Cedric, he was busying himself by fiddling with some knitting needles and a ball of purple yarn. Sofia was trying to help him, explaining how to create a foundation and transfer the stitches from one needle to the next. Cedric bites his lip in frustration as he struggles to figure out how to manipulate the yarn without any of the stitching slipping off. He was using metal needles and with those, the yarn has nothing to grip to, unlike wooden needles that allow more grip.

Persephone looks away, staring at the skies and searching for the lights. It was too bright to see them, and she could not hear that little voice. Was she going crazy? Did she mishear it? What if they were going the wrong way? Why are they leaving now while it's still bright out, and not at night when she could properly see the lights. She hums in defeat, drawing her knees close to hug herself.

Sofia giggles watching Cedric attempt to knit a scarf. He was still learning though he wasn't all that good with knitting, he only wanted to learn how to knit because he saw Sofia knit Amber a lovely shawl made of golden cotton, and he wanted to make something similar for a special reason. It was cute to see Cedric stick out his tongue in concentration.

Then she hears a tiny sound, and turns to Persephone, the Phoenix Shifter looked depressed with her gaze focused on the skies above.

"Sofia, am I doing this right, I think I missed a stitch." Cedric huffs, poking the tiny hole with his finger. Crocheting was much easier than knitting.

Sofia doesn't hear him, instead, she focuses on Persephone and shifts a little closer to the young girl, "Are you okay?" Persephone glances at her, her green eyes dimmed and tired. She nods a little, before searching the skies again.

"Can you see the lights?"

Persephone shakes her head, disappointed. She has been looking for a long time, perhaps if she were to fly... No, she can't do that, not unless she needs too. If she uses her wings too often all of her precious feathers will be gone, and she will have nothing left, but pinfeathers and even those are coming off.

"Give it time," Sofia gently pats her tan arm and smiles encouragingly, "I know it's still pretty bright out, but it will grow dark in a little bit."

Perhaps, but Persephone couldn't shake the feeling that they were sitting ducks. She keeps a lookout for that monster, Grimtrix, in case he shows his ugly mug again. If he does show his face, she won't give him mercy. That night he had everyone trapped, she nearly killed him, the only reason she didn't was because of that voice and its hypnotic effects on her. Persephone wasn't sure why she was hearing it or seeing the lights, but she knows it's meant to help guide her home, somehow. She just wishes her parents had taken the time to explain it to her, perhaps they would have if Grimtrix hadn't found them. It hurts to think about her family. Why are humans so selfish?

Sofia gently rubs Persephone's shoulder, trying to ease her troubles, but she knows it won't fix what has already happened. Still, she wants Persephone to know that she isn't alone in this, "You know when I was a little girl, I lived in a small village with my parents." Persephone glances at her from the corner of her eye. "It was just me and them. My mom was a shoemaker and my dad was a sailor. We were very happy." Sofia pauses feeling a deep ache in her chest, even though it has been years since that fateful day they received the letter, she still misses her dad.

"One day, my dad went out to sea with a crew. I remember hugging him and squeezing him so tightly. I remember he smiled at me and patted my head and said 'Be good, Sofia.' He never said goodbye and I didn't either because I thought he was going to come back..." Her lower lip trembles. By now, Cedric stops his work and watches his partner, a sad frown on his face.

"We didn't know what had happened, we could only guess. My mom received a letter from the company my dad worked for and it said that they lost track of the ship he was on. My dad and his crew were lost at sea and presumed dead. It's been years now and it still hurts." She grabs Persephone's hand and squeezes it, smiling sadly at her, "The pain of losing someone you love will never go away, but it will get easier with time, Persephone. My mom and I were devastated and we weren't sure how to move forward, but somehow we managed to stay strong. You are a strong person, Persephone, don't forget that."

Persephone watches with a bewildered gaze as Sofia wipes away a few stray tears, sniffing quietly. The Phoenix Shifter coos gently and reaches out to touch her...

'Follow me.' All movement seizes. Her head jolts up in alert, eyes to the sky. The sun was finally setting and as the bright rays sink away to make way for the midnight sky she sees them, the bands of light stretching out across the skies, heading in a direction that was off their current course.

Under the spell, Persephone rises up, her eyes glazed over and unfocused. She moves to the door and stretches her wings, the tendons and ligaments burn with the stretch and more feathers flutter off, carpeting the inside of the AutoCoach. She flaps her wings, the air swelling beneath them, and takes off at high speeds.

The partners gasp and quickly work to get the AutoCoach to turn around, all the while trying to keep an eye on Persephone. Cedric waves his wand, making the AutoCoach fly faster, the sudden jolt as it shifted to higher speeds knocks the two of them on the floor, with Cedric landing ontop of Sofia. His face burns bright red when he sees how close he is, their noses barely touching. Stammering, Cedric rises up and helps Sofia to her feet, "A-Apologies, my dear. Are you alright?"

Sofia nods, her face also warm, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. No worries, Cedric, I'm a lot tougher than I look." To distract herself and hopefully tame her burning cheeks, she focuses on the sky, spotting Persephone's white wings as she flies with her body laying flat, arms to her side, and legs close together. Her wings were large, stretched out on either side of her, and occasionally beating to remain at her current height. She glides just like a predatory bird Sofia has seen flying over a forest, looking for easy prey to catch. However, Persephone's focus was not on the ground below, but on what was ahead of them. "I wish I could see those lights like Persephone," Sofia says and immediately her amulet glows to life. Smiling, she looks up and gasps in delight at what she sees. Colorful bands every color of the rainbow floating like silk in the darkening sky. And as Persephone flew, new brighter silk of color trails behind her.

Chills raced down her spine as she watches this. "C-Cedric, those lights Persephone has been seeing... I think they are from her family. They're leading her home."

Hours pass with the trio flying close together. Cedric and Sofia took turns watching Persephone as she continues gliding through the velvet sky, never tiring. Neither partner could get her attention to stop and rest, they tried calling to her and waving their arms. Cedric even shot a harmless blast of magic at Persephone (which he didn't want to do in the first place but it soon became their only option) and she still remains in the air.

"She isn't wasting that much energy, Sofia," Cedric starts, he was sitting down again trying to knit and had up to eleven holes in his project, one end was incredibly fat, while the other was as thin as his wrist. When Cedric first started on his project he had about 37 stitches, now he was up to 79. How did that happen? "She is mostly gliding and the rest of her is immobile. I think she is fine for a little while longer."

"Yeah, but she still needs to eat." Sofia yawns, her eyes growing blearily. Cedric chuckles, "Getting tired?"

"A little," Sofia sighs she shifts to lay on her side, her head on a plush pink pillow. She draws her legs up and presses her feet against the side of Cedric's leg. "If you want me to sleep on the other seat I will."

Cedric shakes his head, "Nonsense, you're a princess, Sofia. If you're tired then by all means rest. I'll keep an eye out for Persephone."

"Are you sure you're not tired?" She inquires, reluctantly lifting her head, "How about we take turns, I'll sleep for an hour and you sleep for an hour, that way we can at least get some sleep during this trip, and maybe when we finally land," she stops to yawn again, this time taking Cedric with her. "My dear, please don't yawn, it's contagious!"

"Sorry!" She giggles, "I can't help it."

Cedric rolls his eyes, "Then go to sleep." He looks back at Persephone. "I'm sure she'll be fine." Sofia nods a little, slowly losing her fight to stay awake, "I like that idea, Cedric..."

"What idea, Sofia?"

She smiles at him faintly, her eyes glazing over with sleep, "That her family is leading her home. It's nice; comforting actually, it's like they're saying 'we're still here for you.' I wonder if there is something like that with our families, like my birth dad, or Amber and Jame's birth mom. What do you think?"

Cedric chuckles and awkwardly climb over her to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, "It's a lovely scenario, but I think you need your rest, Sofia."

"You're right, goodnight, Cedric, I love you."

He smiles, "I love you as well, my dear."

For a couple of hours, the two took turns, until dawn finally arrived. Sofia could scarcely keep herself awake with the uneven sleep schedule, but she and Cedric managed to land the AutoCoach on a small field with Persephone gliding down alongside them. She did not appear tired, on the contrary, Persephone looked very much awake though disheartened when she saw more of her feathers had fluttered off, now there were patches everywhere on her wings, leaving them looking ugly and worn down like the wings of an old crow.

Sofia and Cedric quickly set up camp, with Cedric conjuring up a small blanket and basket full of food for them the eat. As they sit and eat, taking advantage of the freshly brewed coffee Cedric conjured, they watch Persephone scour around, looking for something.

"I still can't believe she isn't tired, surely that flight must have exhausted her at least a little bit," Cedric says while gulping down some coffee to help keep himself awake.

Sofia shrugs fighting off another yawn, "Yes, but you did say she wasn't using a lot of energy to fly."

"But she didn't exactly sleep through the whole thing either," Cedric argues. Sofia shrugs, "She looked like she was under a trance, maybe it allowed her to sleep." She shrugs again, finding her reason to be rather silly, but it was the only explanation she could come up with.

"Speaking of Persephone, where did she go?" Cedric asks, the two look around and find Persephone was no longer in the area. Panic shoots through their veins as they quickly rise up in alert. Sofia cups her hands around her mouth calling, "Persephone! Where are you?"

Cedric does the same, "Persephone!" His call is answered by a loud shriek in the distance. The partners quickly abandon their picnic to take out their wands and race to the source of the sound. They run down a small hill and find Persephone at the bottom of it, dragging something large and brown behind her.

It was a boar.

She heaves the large pig and throws it at their feet, smiling in triumph at her kill. Cedric and Sofia both cringe with Sofia moving to hide her face in Cedric's robe. Cedric covers his mouth and nose with his large sleeve. Persephone cocks her head to the side and rolls the boar closer to them with her foot looking deeply pleased with herself. When they still don't move, Persephone frowns and looks down at the boar, she grabs the beast and throws it on her shoulders, carrying it past them back to the picnic.

Neither partner spoke a word as Persephone lays the boar down next to their picnic. Sofia grows nauseous, looking away from the sight, her face turning sickly pale. The pungent odor that comes with it only makes things worse. Cedric and Sofia had never smelled anything so disgusting before in their entire lives.

Persephone was oblivious to her escorts discomfort, she didn't think they would mind. She was hungry and since they had been flying for hours, it only made sense to get a bite to eat. Phoenix Shifters don't like wasting food and Persephone was no exception. She had smelled that delicious boar a mile away and tracked it down just as her mother had once taught her. Sadly, it took a few slices to kill the beast, but Persephone was still learning and at least she finished the job instead of letting the creature suffer.

Sniffing it's stiff fur Persephone's nose scrunches up and she picks the hog up to wash it in a nearby river. All the while she notes that her escorts are keeping their distance. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, as Pheonix Shifters are protective of their kills, but Persephone wanted them to eat as well, this kill was meant for all three of them.

Despite her not initially liking them at first, the fact that they were helping her made Persephone feel a little better. Even though she could not ignore the call of the lights she was acutely aware of the partners flying beside her, taking turns to watch her and make sure she was okay. She didn't like that Cedric used magic, but it had been a harmless blast and at the very least he only did it to get her to stop and rest. He was worried.

Persephone washes the hog, splashing water on it and rinsing the disgusting smell of its fur. Hogs were not a clean animal, they liked to roll in mud and other filth to hide their scent. It was thanks to her sharp sense of smell that she managed to pick up its true scent. Finally, she had cleaned it and pulled its body out of the water outside of the banks of the river. Persephone starts to cut into the tough skin of the hog using her razor-sharp claws. Making sure she doesn't taint the meat, Persephone carries the good parts, the ribs, hams, shoulders, and more, a mountain of amazing, delicious meat, probably enough to last for the rest of their trip. If they smoke the meat it won't go bad.

Sofia shivers watching Persephone cook some of the meat she carved, the idea that Persephone had actually killed a boar with her bare hands, bothered the princess a little. Sofia knows it's silly, heck probably ridiculous, but it only drove home the fact that Persephone is a wayward young huntress, a survivor, who didn't need to utilize magic to survive.

Cedric shivers too, turning his head away to look at Sofia, "Perhaps we should have offered her some of our food, that way she wouldn't have to cook an entire hog." He stops short as Persephone rises up with some of the cooked meat and approaches them. She offers it to Cedric first, smiling encouragingly. The royal sorcerer looks at the food and feels his stomach shudder, remembering how it had once been inside a living hog that smelled terrible and now was being presented to him. He shakes his head, "No thank you."

Persephone blinks looking a little hurt, her eyebrows knit together. She tries to offer it to him again but once more he dismisses it. Persephone's eyes turn to slits and she hisses at him, making Cedric jump back. Persephone sneers at them both, taking her food and storming off to where the rest was cooking, she plops down in the grass, glares at them heatedly, and takes a ferocious bite of her food, chomping aggressively.

Sofia bites her lip and grabs some of the fly cakes that Winifred gave them for their trip. Persephone narrows her eyes as Sofia approaches her, offering the fly cake, "Here, do you want some?" Her answer came with another angry hiss from Persephone. Wincing Sofia backtracks and hands the desert to Cedric.

One step forward, two steps back.

Persephone continues to eat her food, gobbling it down aggressively. She couldn't let her kill go to waste, it was disrespectful to the boar. Not only that but what kind of hunter kills and doesn't utilize all of the perks of their kill. She had tried to be civil with her escorts as they were helping her, she wanted to share her food, something that wouldn't happen if she didn't like them. Yet, they refuse to eat with her. How dare they, and then that princess had the nerve to approach and ask Persephone to try some of their food as if hers wasn't good enough. How dare they!

She takes another angry bite, and another until all there was left was bone. Persephone looks at the skin she had laid out to dry in the sun, stretched out by stones she collected near the river bank. She didn't want her food to go to waste, not the meat or the bones, so she opted to make use of what she had, using the boar's skin and fur to make a bag to carry the food once the meat was properly smoked so it won't go to waste. Moments like this she wishes Orion was here, he would have understood, possibly, or maybe Simon, the human with fiery red hair. He might have wanted to eat part of her kill as well. At least then it wouldn't go to waste.

Well, if Cedric and Sofia aren't going to accept her gift then she will make use of it, the worst thing a hunter can do is let their kill go to waste.

Meanwhile, miles away, in the formerly great Roman city of Pompeii, Grimtrix takes in the scene before him and smiles, "This is going to be perfect." All around him were people stuck in time, their bodies mummified by the ash that harden their skin from head to toe, some were on the ground curled into balls trying to protect themselves from their terrible fate.

In his arms, Malchior speaks, "Such an amazing point of history, a world that is literally frozen in time."

"Yes, indeed," Grimtrix agrees and reaches into his pocket to retrieve a small vile full of glowing green smoke. He throws it on the ground and the smoke spread throughout the area, seeping into the ashen residence of the Pompeii. He recites the spell, "O a'u o lou matai fou, usita'i mai ia te a'u!" The bodies around them tremble at his tone before stilling once more. Waiting.