"'Stell . . ." Ceres murmured, as she dismissed her weapon absently.

"I know," Estell assured her sister, turning towards the beast. From behind her back, she brought out two spiralled, pearl-esque daggers. "Protect the stone, I'll distract big, green and ugly here."

Ceres was off before Estell had finished the sentence.

The Wind Wraith loomed over the group, a vicious mutation of Feyrbrand. It snarled razor winds, causing a small gusty storm to envelop the room. All eyes were set upon the creature; all of them save for Ceres'.

It was a simple lunge attack that brought down the king. Albert had barely registered the event before Ceres had wrapped her arms around his waist as they pummelled groundwards. The two spiralled in the air once before landing.

Time slowed, instances travelled in years . . .

Dart was already in motion, sword in one hand, ready to tear the girl away from Albert.

The Wind Wraith attacked then. It jumped towards the trio, morphing into an ethereal spear aimed straight for Albert's heart.

There was a crackling sound.

A hand grabbed Dart by the shoulder plate as he ran towards Albert and Ceres, and yanked him to the side.

The air grew cold, freezing.

A puff of Dart's breath materialized before his eyes.

The floor was suddenly full of icicle fingers stretching out towards the king and his attacker. A wall of ice formed, cutting off the wraith from Albert. The beast hurtled into it, shards exploding on contact.

Albert didn't resist the familiar temptation to curl his fingers around his dragon spirit as the insanity surged inside him. As he and Ceres hit the ground, he reached inside his shirt and brought out the stone. From a precarious position on top of him, Ceres snatched the spirit with the ferocity of a magpie, and made off.

Dumbstruck, the king grabbed after her but only managed to get a hold of her cloak. The dark garment floated to the ground as the wall of ice formed between himself and the wraith. The magic continued to spawn itself, sealing the doorway Ceres had escaped through. Blocking any possible pursuit.

By this point in time, Miranda and Kongol were racing forward, both calling on their inner power. Estell, the wraith or Ceres, something needed to be done. But nothing happened.

Dart was glaring at Estell, trying to figure out what exactly she was up to, which side she was on.

Everyone braced for the shower of ice as the wall shattered. Diamonds rained down on them.

The wraith gave a blood-curdling shriek.

Estell fell to the ground, curling in pain. A flash of light later, she was an ordinary Wingly again. Looking up, she glimpsed the open window. I should get out of here. Now, she realized. On her stomach, she ducked her head down as the wraith slashed its tail around, spraying the room with more of the icy shards. She surveyed the goings-on from behind her silvery bangs.

The Light and Earth dragoons were wallowing in confusion, poised for attack but obviously unsure of themselves without the spirits' power. The Moon Child stood in the opposite corner of the room, watching in horror. The king was protecting himself from the shards with his cape . . . he seemed completely unaware of his fate. Dart – Dart was glaring at her?

As the last of the ice-diamonds came down upon them, Dart was suddenly standing over her. He grabbed her forcefully by the arm and brought her up to face him. "What the hell is this? What's going on?"

Estell pushed away from him.

C'mon, Estell, leave, now.

The wind wraith lurched towards Albert, who was utterly defenseless. He dodged quickly, escaping the brunt of the attack. Dart instantly forgot Estell and pounced on the beast, sword slicing outwards.

Time stood still for Estell. A wash of memories flooded her.

Leave.Now.

Soon, Miranda and Kongol joined the battle. They were fighting, bleeding, losing . . . protecting Albert. He was going to die but they didn't stop. The wraith relentlessly came back, snarling, lunging, slashing. The blows were always directed at Albert, yet he rarely was hit. Still, they were mortal and they wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. He was going to die, but they wouldn't give up.

Estell reached down and plucked her daggers from the ice bespeckled floor as she studied the scene. Wasn't she doing the same thing for her sister? There was a moment of contemplation . . . things to come . . . consequences . . . then, she rushed the fight.

Albert dived out of the way, while Kongol attempted to parry the slashing charge of the wraith with a chair he was using as a weapon of opportunity. There was a blur of silver hair, and then she was in front of him.

"What are you-"

Estell placed one of her daggers in his hand. "If you truly wish to be the Dragon Knight of Wind, the wraith must die by your hand," she told him.

Albert nodded solemnly, tightening his grasp of the hilt.

Disclaimer: I don't own LoD.

AN: Yeah, so I think I've been watching too many Woo flicks lately. Anyways, hope you enjoy and please review. Thanks for reading! – K.Ramsey

ps - Hmmm, sorry if this was a confusing chapter. It shall all be explained. I promise.