A/N: Tada! Chapter 2- all sparkly new and ready to go. This chapter is about half the length of the last one, as most of them will be. From here on out this fic will be kind of like little drabbles, insignificant stories about the lives of our characters.

Chapter 2

"Hold on tight DG and don't let go! Nothing can hurt us if we stay together!" Azkadellia's voice rang through the cavern, bouncing off the stonewalls until the last echoes died.

"But I'm scared Az!" DG's answering voice shook, as did her small body.

The sister's intertwined hands glowed with a fierce light that spoke not only of their combined power but also of their love.

"Let go!" the hag roared and DG shrank back; ready to run as far away as she could. But just as she prepared to bolt, Az gripped her hand tighter and took a step towards the now towering witch.

"You have no power over us," she said with a calm and even voice, all traces of fear and anxiety gone, her eyes now clear and tranquil.

DG stopped shaking and started drawing strength from her, soon stepping forward and repeating their new mantra of strength.

"You have no power over us. You have no power over us. You have no power over us. You have no power over us…"

Ambrose heard a familiar scream nearby and ran towards it, fearing the worst. The princesses hadn't been seen since they went into the forest nearly an hour ago and some of the guards had been sent out to check for them. The queen's advisor had decided to join them so Galinda's own guard wouldn't be too terribly depleted. Soon, a cave came into view and Ambrose heard the girls inside.

"I'm coming princesses!"

Racing inside, he saw what looked like a lantern glowing at the end of the tunnel and blindly followed it, stubbing his toe repeatedly in his hurry to get to them. Once he reached the end of the tunnel he saw the open cavern and the glowing hands of the princesses inside. By that glow he knew they were performing serious magic, but couldn't see any reason why. Ambrose was an astute man though and had learned early on in the palace inhabited by 3 magical women that only those with access to magic could see certain things. He also heard them chanting something, thought he couldn't quite hear it over the unnatural roar filling the place. Reaching out slowly, he gently placed his outstretched hand on DG's shoulder. Suddenly he saw the reason for their magic. When he touched the girl's shoulder some residual magic floating around her latched itself onto him and allowed Ambrose to see what they saw. Suddenly he could see the crone raging and roaring in front of them.

This situation was more dangerous than it first appeared. Though they would one day be very powerful, controlling more magic than even they knew, they were still young. Too young to have expanded their magical capacity very far and so they were in grave danger of exhausting what little supply they had. Ambrose knew he would have to go for Galinda, the queen, if the girls were to survive much longer. Letting go of DG, he scrambled out of the cave and ran to find the powerful woman.

"You…have no power.. over us..." Az repeated, her exhaustion showing through in her voice.

"If you keep up with little display, you will surely drain yourselves to the point of death. Just let go now and save yourself the torture of feeling your life slowly seeping away, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it. You don't want that, do you? Then separate, and perhaps one of you will live…" the hag crooned with a malicious grin.

"No! I will not let go!" DG raged back at the demon. From some deep well within her she drew upon before unknown magic that- running unchecked and uncontrolled- literally bathed the cave in an octarine light.


"My queen! It's the princesses, they've unleashed Shaldar!" the lanky advisor called as soon as he entered her hearing range.

"What?! How? Are they alright? Where are they now?" Galinda replied in a panicked tone.

"In the cave, they've been holding her back together but their power is quickly draining. They won't be able to hold out much longer," Ambrose told her, quickly summarizing the situation.

"Take me to them, now!"

The queen followed her most trusted advisor into the forest, bringing with her a contingency of guards just in case extra manpower was needed. Even before the cavern and tunnel came into view the powerful queen could hear the roar and ran ahead quickly, hiking her dress above her knees to keep from tripping over the hem.

"Azkadellia, DG! I'm coming, just hold on a minute more!" Galinda called and swiftly picked her way through the fallen boulders and stones.

Finally she found them at the end of the tunnel and stood awestruck for a moment by the level of raw power filling the place. Az was displaying more controlled force while DG used pure energy to keep the hag at bay. The children had immediately sensed their mother's presence, but the witch was so intent on destroying the bond between them she only registered an increase in power and attributed it to the sisters.

"Shaldar!" the queen cried in a voice amplified by magic and the natural acoustics of the cavern.

The demon looked up, surprised by the new booming voice. Taking both her daughters by the hand, Galinda stepped with them out of the roaring cavern. She drew deeply from her own magic and, closing her eyes, began to weave a glowing cage of pure light around the shrieking thing in front of them.

"No! What are you doing?!" cried the quickly rising voice of the hag.

Once completed, delicate pulsating bars began to shrink slowly around the witch, forcing her into a smaller and smaller form. Finally Ambrose returned with the device Galinda had requested when she recognized just what was attacking her 2 children.

"The containment vessel your majesty," he said shakily, his thin body trembling with the knowledge of just what his queen and princesses were facing up against.

"Thank you Ambrose," the woman replied, her tight voice belying her concentration.

Her advisor placed a small box in front of her with the top panel swung open on unseen hinges. All the panels seemed to be made of a clear crystal with liquid rainbow coursing through it, which emitted a faint and ever changing glow and the frame made of shining silver seamlessly melded together. A lot of things seemed to glow in the O.Z…

"You can't do this to me! I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!" the demon raged, trying one last time to escape as the queen lowered her cage of light into the containment vessel.

With a sharp click the lid snapped shut and the witch's screams were cut off forever. Sighing, Galinda picked up the cube and handed it to Ambrose so that it would be disposed of properly. As soon as the top panel had closed, all the beautiful colours coursing through the box disappeared and it became a dull gray. The queen really didn't intend for the advisor to do it himself but to delegate the task to one of the guardsmen waiting close by.

A last look back into the cavern and the queen stepped out into the forest and sun with her daughters. Suddenly, both girls collapsed into a heap together on the forest floor. Ahamo was immediately kneeling by their side, having waited outside the cave for his family to emerge.

"Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?" the man asked his wife after seeing how drained she and his daughters looked.

"Just tired is all. The girls will recover their strength with rest and should show no ill side effects."

Nodding, Ahamo picked up Azkadellia and carried her to the waiting carriage and returned for DG. On the relatively peaceful ride home, Galinda used what was left of her power to soothe the girls into a deeper sleep and then related what she knew of the incident to their father.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who commented on that first experimental chapter, your reviews kept the rabid plot bunnies in my head happy and fed. :)