Chapter 5

The town of Galstire was on the southern coast of Pasadenia. On the enchanted path, it took no longer than a day to travel to any spot in Pasadenia. Thus, the beauty of magic Sheldor thought.

The town was better known as the Oleander city for the simple fact that those who lived there would surely come to their death quickly… as if the city itself were poison… much like the Nerium oleander it was nicknamed after. Other than the horror stories of death and horrible poison… it was a fairly quiet town. It was mostly a port city where fishermen would rest and find human comfort. Sheldor despised it, but… it was, as crudely as the saying was, home.

The group traveled down the fish-smell infested streets until they got to a small outlet where the bustling streets turned to small dirt roads and farmland. Sheldor took them to his earliest memory… the place he awoke from nearly 17 years ago. The site was now just leveled land with an imprint of where a house and the skeleton of the barn surrounded by the lethally beautiful pink and yellow bloomed, Nerium oleander trees. Sheldor sighed and decided to make this their campsite.

The sunset filled the sky with cotton candy as Onar was still out hunting with Penelope as Sheldor and Wolowix were still setting up camp. As Sheldor finally got the fire wood correct, he hummed the fire into existence but couldn't help but to feel a freezing breeze fill his veins. It was stinging his insides so badly that he couldn't concentrate on the Wolowix and his banal chit-chat. It was a very sickened, ominous feeling… Sheldor didn't like it.

The sound of laughter shook him back to reality as Penelope's voice sang with an amused tone as they came into view. She rode upon the black nerk with two wild turkeys flung over her shoulder. Onar had three armored balls in his happy, almost smiling mouth and Sheldor had to roll his eyes. Two birds and three armadillos… a great definition of a Galstire meal.

They all sat around the magical fire as Sheldor ate his turkey and armadillo stew. He watched the woman over the heat waves of the fire as she, Onar, and Wolowix laughed and told stories. He envied her… he envied her every memory of her childhood and it confused him to no end. He picked at the last bit of meat on the turkey bone and threw it into the ever darkening ground cover. He couldn't help but still feel that cold feeling in his body, but the strange feeling of watching her overtook that. She spoke with such vigor and with a smile that could illuminate the night.

He did, NOT, like the feeling of warmth that encompassed his chest as he watched her… but he just couldn't quite explain the feeling and that bothered him immensely. He… he found himself infatuated with her, he found that his feelings, states, and attitudes towards this woman were raging in pleasure no matter the cause. He 'enjoyed' being with her. He disliked using the word 'Love' in his head or in any context, really. He just met her and yet… he feels happy when she is near… that complexity of the feeling involved made the emotions he had towards her unusually difficult to define other than using the word 'love'. He let out a very vagrant sigh as he felt his cheeks set aflame. He needed to get away… and his bladder was the best excuse he could use. He cleared his throat and excused himself leaving his jacket and hat on the log he sat upon. The three barely even registered that he left.

He made his way around the decrepit ruins of the once high statured hay barn and unzipped his tailor made dark khaki colored pants and relieved himself upon a beam. As he took his final shakes, a voice cut into the silence of the night, "My, my… aren't you a big boy?" Sheldor stumbled backwards as he gave a very unmanly yelp as he un-holstered his arbalest from his side and aimed at nothing. His eyes were wide and his heart was a mile a minute as he searched the entire perimeter and saw nothing. He swallowed and zipped his front back up, taking some calming breaths.

An arm snaked around and affectionately grabbed at his chest. He spun around fast and had the arbalest out front with a purpose, but once again… nothing. Then the voice cut again, but from above. He moved back until he could get a proper look at one of the tall beams with a woman standing upon it completely balanced. She wore a Victorian dress with a very ominous mask covering her face. Sheldor narrowed his eyes and aimed the arbalest right up at her. The woman turned and her eyes burned blue as she spoke in a mildly amused voice, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you… Sir Sheldor of Galstire! Welcome home." The last part of her sentence was eerie and haunted the night air as she snapped her fingers and four figures almost crawled out of the hay barn's bones.

He fluctuated his aim until his eyes flared angrily and his arbalest aimed up at the witch, "You must be Amelia Fowler… couldn't recognize you from your mask… Tell me… how's your mother doing?"

Lady Fowler's eyes burned red as Sheldor gave himself a smirk. She flared out and flared back again right in front of him and his arbalest was aimed at her chest. Her eyes went back to a blue flame and her voice spoke up again, "That's LADY FOWLER to you and... do you honestly think that you can kill me with that little pea shooter of yours? That's quite amusing."

Sheldor did not hesitate… he gave a shrug of ignorance and took a shot with vengeance but the arrow almost imploded as it hit her chest and shard of golden light confettied into the air. Lady Fowler laughed as she flicked off the remaining debris off her shoulder and stepped back as the four figures were now by her side, "I am much more powerful than my mother, good sir. Your magic will not suffice against me… tell me, Sheldor… do you remember… your family?" An orange orb began to grown in her hands and the light became brighter. She stretched out her arms and the orange light glowed against the faces of the four figures. Their faces… their flesh were light gray and tinged of green with decay nearly showing the bones beneath and something hit Sheldor harder than he could imagine… his stomach dropped and memories flooded his every being.

His family! His FAMILY! He began to feel a heavy pull and he was on his knees trying to keep the arbalest held up. Flashes of being held… laughing… sitting around a table eating happily… it was too much. His eyes watered and he couldn't breathe.

Lady Fowler smiled under her mask and snapped her fingers; "Kill him."

The zombies lurched forward but were stopped dead in their tracks by a snarling nerk sliding between them and Sheldor with Penelope on his back. Wolowix, still attached to Sheldor, warned them of his distress. Penelope threw the man his jacket and hat then hopped up to unsheathe her weapon while standing on the back of the nerk. Lady Fowler's eyes glowed red and she zapped herself to the top of the post of the barn again. A green flame appeared in her hand and her voice cried out angrily, "You. Little. Tramp! You dare to bare your teeth at me!" She squeezed the green aura in her hand and Penelope screamed in pain and clutched her chest. She fell off Onar and before she hit the ground, she was zapped and appeared as if she were being held by her neck in mid air beside the witch. Sheldor got over his memory blast, put on his hat and jacket, and lifted his arbalest to fire multiple arrows at the witch, getting the same reaction from the arrows as before. He cursed, "Drat!"

The witch was unimpressed as she squawked into the air, "Sheldor of Galstire… why don't you give mommy and daddy a big ol' HUG!" The oldest of the zombies crouched down like four legged spiders and they leapt and flipped over the nerk and landed awkwardly in front of Sheldor. He swallowed and took a shot at the male and it hit him right in the chest. It absorbed into his decayed flesh and in an instant… he saw a man who looked proud of him. He smiled before turning into a sea of golden ash. He lost sight of the female and she lunged at him. He was unable to get a shot off, but a blue light formed and cushioned the woman from Sheldor before launching the woman like a pebble in a catapult. He shook his and gave a verbal appreciation to Wolowix as the witch screamed in the air. Onar had the other male zombie in his jaws, using him as a sword… swatting at the other female zombie.

He looked up at the witch and saw her eyes glow green. The glaive that was normally hovering on Penelope's back rose into the air. It paused into the moonlight then began to spin and move on its own. It was fast as it saw-bladed towards Sheldor and he had to dive to avoid the devastating blow. It left a deep slash in the ground as he rolled and grabbed at his hat.

The younger female zombie did the whole 'creepy spider' thing and was now at Sheldor's back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and attempted to bite him; he grabbed one of her maggot infested arms and flung her over his shoulder. She hit the ground. He saw her face and a memory hit him, "Melissa… MISSY!" She looked up at him with dead blue eyes before pulling the trigger of the arbalest. The moment the arrow hit, he saw his twin sister give him a smile and a wink before she was flakes of light.

The glaive's whistling speed gave it away as Sheldor dove backwards to avoid another lethal blow. Onar threw the young male zombie towards Sheldor and he put an arrow in his back as the zombie got up. His big brother, George, turned his head over his shoulder and gave his younger brother a stern nod and he joined the other three in the wind. Sheldor's heart was hurting and barely moved to dodge the next diving attack of the glaive.

The last zombie came running with all four limbs then stood up straight to stare into the man's eyes. He felt a burn in his chest. She stepped forward and he could see her face… it melted into a memory… she had scooped him up into her arms and kissed him on top of the head while saying 'my brave little boy'. Tears filled his eyes as the memory faded and the zombie of his mother launched herself at him with blackened green teeth and blood shot eyes. He pulled the trigger of the arbalest and the arrow hit her right in the heart. The glow of his real mother pushed forward and kissed him on his forehead before giving him a saddened smile and drifting into the breeze.

Wolowix screamed at him to watch out and Sheldor dove to the side and avoid another attack of the whimsical glaive.

Onar attempted to climb the barn's skeleton to reach Penelope as Sheldor dove and leaned against the trunk of the tree, his heart making it hard to breathe. Wolowix was trying to figure out why his arrow didn't work and kept constantly speaking in his mind all while he was trying to get over the emotions and memories that were flooding around him.

Wolowix was in Sheldor's head and loudly screamed at him, "Take me off your wrist and wrap me around your arbalest."

Sheldor shook his head and was back to himself, "Why?"

Wolowix was loud and impatient, "JUST DO IT!"

Sheldor rolled on the ground to the next Nerium oleander tree as the glaive turned the other into toothpicks and put his arbalest on the ground as he took off wrist watch fast. The watch turned into a ribbon of blue energy and Sheldor held it like an eel. He picked up the arbalest and wrapped the entirety of the energy ribbon all around the arbalest. As the ribbon seeped into the weapon, Sheldor had to dodge another attack from the weapon as it melted through the trunk and turned it into a melting glob of ash. He looked down at the bright blue weapon and watched at the arbalest grew and shifted in light. The prods spun and doubled side by side as the stock thickened and the sight elongated. When it all settled… it looked like a sawed-off shot gun with two bows as barrels and bright, light blue arrows as ammo. Wolowix was now his weapon… Sheldor wasn't too sure how he felt about that, but dodging another attack from the glaive made him find that it was better than nothing.

He looked up and watched as the witch threw Onar off the clearing and rolling not but a few yards from where Sheldor was.

He looked back up to see the green flame in her hand and she gripped it again in frustration. Penelope screamed and squirmed... and he had had enough. He stood and spun with his new bow gun in his hand. His jacket flapped loudly as he took aim; unaware of the glaive behind him stopping and straightening to spear downwards towards his back. He pulled the trigger and two blue arrows whistled into the air. In the midst of soaring forward, the two arrows became one strongly energized arrow that shattered through the witch's barrier and pierced through her wrist that held Penelope's heart. It crackled and seared the flesh of the witch, causing her to scream behind her mask.

The arm began to crisp and break and she zapped herself an escape as she dropped the heart with Penelope dropping as well.

Before either could hit the ground, the heart flamed into a green flare. Penelope landed on her feet and leaned forward in her crouching position, a green glow pulsed in her chest then disappeared. She clutched at the spot and smiled before looking up and seeing the glaive's fish blade spearing forward. Before she could scream a warning… Onar dove between the glaive and Sheldor and it nearly cut the nerk in half.

Sheldor spun and watched the nerk slide to a stop right beside him. He dropped his bow gun and screamed for his friend. The glaive was buried deeply in the nerk's side and the weapon begun to glow the evil green. Onar's body began to glow and gel and Sheldor snarled, lunging at the weapon.

He grabbed the shaft of the glaive and it sparked violently against his grip. Sheldor bellowed and yanked the damned weapon right out of the nerk. The green tried to take him over, but a searing blue overtook the glaive and it shattered into wisps of blue shards. Sheldor was in tears as he panted while looking down at his friend no longer glowing green… his best friend… lifeless and lying on the ground. He made a decision… and he knew it would kill him in the process… but he had to try. He fell to his knees beside the lifeless corpse of Onar and put his hands on either side of the nerk's wound. Wolowix formed his ghost form where the bow gun laid on the ground and began to yell at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Don't do this! It won't do you any good for BOTH OF YOU to be dead! DAMN IT, SHELLY! STOP!"

As Sheldor muttered an old incantation, the wound began to glow and blood poured from Sheldor's nose. Wolowix screamed at him more and even attempted to swing at him as the blood began mix with his tears from his eyes and he started bleeding tears. Sheldor just had to put his family to rest from the witch's grip… he was not about to lose his best and only friend.

Penelope pushed her body in between Sheldor and Onar and pushed him away. The blood ceased to flow as he tumbled backwards and regained his posture with a raging angry expression. She stood steadfast, though she was crying incessantly, "ENOUGH! Please… you're killing yourself."

He was in a bit of hysterics and had no way of knowing how to deal with this blaring emotion of loss, "That doesn't matter… I DON'T MATTER! Onar is the only friend I have ever had… I WILL DIE FOR HIM AS LONG AS HE LIVES!"

Tears washed away the blood as rushed forward. Penelope met him half way and pushed on his chest; not letting him pass by her to the nerk's body. She stood, his chest pressed upon her palms, and he went limp against her. His head fell to her shoulder and she sighed miserably. She pushed the side of her head against his and whispered low towards his ear, "I know someone who can help him, but… you have to trust me… can you do that… can you trust me, Sheldor?"

Wolowix watched the two and bowed his head solemnly. Sheldor turned his head and backed away only slightly. Their faces were merely a breath apart as he looked her in the eye and gave a small nod, "I… I do."

She smiled at him and moved away from him to stand approximately 5.6 feet. She clasped her own hands together then brought them to her lips and blew into them, a mysterious whistle blew melodiously and loud. It sung a secret harmony that hung in the air all around them. Within a few seconds, the wind began to pick up around them as if a tornado were about to touch down.

Wolowix disappeared into the bow gun and Sheldor moved to pick him up just as a flaming, rainbow colored bird lowered itself down with strong, steady flaps of its wings down and clasp its talons around the fallen nerkanine then ascended in a blur of glorious color. Sheldor jogged and kept his head up toward the bird as he made his way beside Penelope with awe sprawled on his face. There was a flash of light and suddenly they were surrounded by small, fluttering orbs that seemed almost alive. Sheldor stared as a pink orb grew bigger until it formed into a woman that landed softly on the ground before them. She smiled to Penelope then looked over at Sheldor gripping his weapon then looked back over at the blonde with a beautiful gleam in her eyes, "Hello, my sweet Penny."

Penelope moved in and hugged the fairy winged redhead and the woman gladly took her in as Penelope mumbled through her tears, "Fair Greetings, Stephinaria."

The redhead pushed her away gently and brushed her blonde locks away from her flushed face, "Be calm… Be still… It has been far too long Penelope. Sad it had to be this way that we meet again, but know that our debt to you will never truly be repaid for all the kindness you showed my people. Ease your heart." The fairy looked over at Sheldor and gave him a smile, too. Sheldor felt his heart lift from its heavy burden… somehow knowing that Onar was in the most respectable hands in the land and he didn't even know this woman.

Stephinaria looked back to Penelope and stepped back with a stern look as she spoke to the both of them, "You all need to rest as your friend is healed. We shall grant you sanctuary, but you must know…"

Penelope finished her statement with a saddened heart, "… we'll never remember the encounter."

The two were covered in a pink tint as Stephinaria fused back to her ball of pink and there was a flash. When their sight returned from a gather of balls of light, Sheldor stepped forward and gawked at the sight before him. Penelope smiled at him from behind as the magnificent kingdom soared into his beautiful blue eyes. It was a warm brownish orange light that took over the sharpened castles and plethora huts meticulously etched into the inner workings of a single tree. There were pulley-systems on high arches made from acorns, vines, and hollowed shells of insects and other creatures. They… they had been shrunk it seemed. Wolowix flowed into his ghost beside him and was staring straight up with wide eyes and a slack jaw, "Whoa…"

Sheldor looked straight up and joined the facial expression of awe. The intricacy extended all the way up the length of a full grown tree. These… fairies… had made the inside of a living tree into a province of an entire race… and it was beautiful. A plethora of pulley-systems and fluttering fairies traveling filled the lowly lit length and as Penelope stepped beside him, he breathed out a, "Fascinating."

She smiled and looked up with him and spoke softly, "Welcome to the Faery Kingdom of Kardiaflora. Last of the Rellistherapy Fairies." Sheldor looked over at her and she turned to face him.

He looked confused and she smiled, "Healers."