Sixteen

The morning sun beating down from the top of the sky was a sign from the Gods above to Dean. The night had been cold and horrid and Dean had shivered more than he had dreamt. Puck's medicine was starting to wear off and Dean could tell the fairy made of mischief couldn't wait to get back on his horse, but didn't want to hinder and waste time in the traveling process. Sindri had tirelessly taken on both horses and Moonbeam cooperated, but only seemed to care about her master's wellbeing. Puck tried desperately to comfort her as they walked through the rest of the mountain paths towards the Basket Woman's lair. Dean could feel his heart pounding in his chest with every step they took and his palms were almost so sweaty that he was having trouble holding onto the reigns attached to Argo's head.

"Woah boy," Dean steered him around a pile of rocks. "Easy there."

Dean looked around. The terrain was changing, like it could crumble with a single touch.

"You sure were not about to walk into a horror film here?" Dean asked.

"I don't know what that is," Puck replied. "But I can tell you right now if I could get off this horse and onto mine it'd be appreciated."

Dean felt a sense of uneasiness as he slowed his horse to a stop and allowed Puck to dismount. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't voice it and it was too late anyway. Puck stepped down then felt his ankle being grabbed. He yelled and tried to kick away whatever was grabbing him and when Dean looked around he saw a bunch of rocky hands reaching up out of the earth. Argo bucked upwards and Dean motioned for him to leap over a pair of hands reaching for the horse's legs. Sindri immediately ordered his horse to start running away. Puck kicked at the hand with his other foot and it shattered, but another one grabbed him shortly after. Dean took off after Sindri and when the pair reached safe ground Dean looked back and saw that Puck was struggling with the rock creatures.

"They are guardians of the mountains," Sindri quickly explained. "They will stop at nothing to kill all who enter."

"Then I'll just have to stop them," Dean turned Argo around and against his better judgment he ran back towards the rock guardians. Dean willed Argo to channel his inner fighter and fight the horse did. He kicked off any rock hands that grabbed him or even tried to. He jumped over others, evading capture. All while riding over to where Puck was being dragged into the earth by the guardians, Puck's eyes were wide with fear and he struggled to get free until Dean reached out his hand and grabbed Puck's in his. He lifted the fairy back onto Argo's back and turned around fast. Argo took off away from the guardians and stopped when he reached Sindri. Sindri then took off immediately and he and Dean ran fast away from the guardians' lair.

"You saved me again human," Puck was surprised. "Why?"

"Couldn't let the king's egocentric and annoyingly handsome son die could i?" Dean replied.

"Bite me." Puck replied, but a deeper part of him respected Dean's sarcastic reply.

"Leave that to your future wife." Dean kept up with Sindri at an incredible pace. He was truly getting the hang of riding after all.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Sam led his brigade of three to the edge of the mountains and by the river. He prayed King Oberon's men wouldn't come after them before they could accomplish their mission and not have a lot of people get hurt. The blazing heat and lack of shade for at least a mile had been enough for the horses to slow down and Sam thought it best that they let them get some water and rest before beginning their trek into the epicenter of the nearby hills. Sam hopped off his horse and patted her side as she drank. Bobby walked up beside him.

"Those horseback riding lessons that one summer really paid off Bobby," Sam smiled. "I never thought I'd ever use them in a fantasy land though."

"Yeah well me neither boy," Bobby took a drink from the crystal clear river himself. "I never thought I'd go to a place like this."

"It's something out of like Lord of The Rings isn't it," Sam said. "Sure is beautiful though."

"Yeah," Bobby cleared his throat. "I'm sure Dean's gonna have a hard time leaving it when we catch up to him."

"Knowing the life he's going back to," Sam said. "Who wouldn't want to be a fantasy hero every day of their life? Of course he's gonna have trouble."

"Nobody ever wants to leave," Mike spoke up as he stared at his reflection in the water. "It's just a matter of accepting that we all have to grow up at some point."

Sam could understand Mike's mentality. Hell there had even been a point or two in his life where he hadn't wanted to grow up or wished he hadn't. Mike was right though, eventually everyone had to grow up. Sam worried a little bit though about Dean not wanting to leave. He and Sam had never had a real childhood and with the soul of a child, even if it was temporary, Dean could easily make a choice he'd regret when the spell wore off. Sam sighed and hoped that when they reached his brother he wasn't totally sold on staying or even worse...dead.

"We should rest," Mike instructed. "Give the horses a break. If we set out again it should be when the sun is not directly in the sky."

"Agreed," Sam nodded. "There's a tree over there we can rest under ourselves. We can tie up the horses when they're done drinking."

Bobby nodded in agreement and helped Sam with that as soon as the horse's thirsts were quenched. Bobby pushed his baseball cap over his eyes and Sam closed his. The pair were sitting down and leaning against the giant oak tree. Mike sat by the water's edge and watched it lap around his ankles and boots. He saw his younger self reflected back at him, a smaller skinny mousey brown haired boy with a mess of freckles spanning his cheeks. His big brown eyes matched Christopher's before his son had disappeared. Mike remembered playing here with a couple of other fairy boys who were without a doubt his age by now. He felt the sun beating down on his shoulders and back and causing him to sweat. He removed his jacket from his uniform and immediately shed his other layer too, leaving him a white tank top. He worked his boots and socks off and felt the cold water tickle his toes. He stood and remembered some words that had been said to him by one of the other fairies:

"The water purifies, the water will hug you and bombard you. It will give you the answers you desire."

Mike closed his eyes and stretched out his arms. He took a deep breath and fell into the rushing water.

Reviews are appreciated!

So Mike did what now? What the hell is he thinking?

And will Puck ever make friends with Dean?

More to come soon!