A Knight Attack
by Anzer'ke

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A young pixie's alter-ego devises a most devious plan...

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This time her plan couldn't possibly fail.

She had passed the message to Lily through three of her ever helpful Little Sisters, ensuring there would be no way to trace it and devise that it was a trap. The message itself had been simple but intriguing, a delicately sculpted temptation that had taken entire hours of work.

To Healer Lady,

I found a super helpful healing plant. I want to show it to you since you are so smart and pretty.

Please come to this place. Alone.

From a Pixie who you do not know and have never met before

On the other side had been a finely drawn map, the whole thing written in perfectly normal petal ink, though blood had seemed so much more appropriate for the closing stroke of her great battle.

Truly it was her proudest work to date. Even the finest of battle plans drawn up in her days as a Knight had been flawed and petty things by comparison. The lure was perfectly baited for that huge, ugly creature to fall into. Like a blundering...thing. A big fat blundering thing. Who was really too tall for any girl, what did someone even need all that height for? Just being too big, that was what.

Of course the lure was only the first part of the trap, so she had woken early and snuck out of the Garden every day for the last week and constructed a trap to match the lure.

Unforunately, she no longer had access to loyal Vespid Knights ready to drive Dagger Dogs in concert. Her experiments with doing so alone had...

"Good dog. Good dog."

grrruuuu

"Uh, I am a Knight of the Garden and, and I command you to-!"

whiiiiieoo, clik, clik,

"Ah, wait! I'm not tasty, you want to eat some nice berries, here you can have mi- Aieeeeeeeek!"

crash, crack, clik, clik "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-" grrrooof! clik, clik "-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-" wwwhheeeooo, smash, clik"-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

Well, no use dwelling on the uncooperative creatures. Though they would be punished appropriately when she regained her true strength. Daring to chase a Knight for so long, and then surrounding the tree she took refuge in. The embarrassment of being found by the others all damp with, uh, sweat. Yes it had definitely been sweat...

In hardly mattered now though, she had observed the young beings while in the company of the enormous healer -really, why anyone would want to be around someone so heavy was beyond her reasoning- and seen them playing a game. They would fill balls of woven plants with water, then toss the leaky projectiles at one another. Which, combined with the naturally far superior crafting of a Pixie, had given her the vehicle for her deadly concoction.

The most dangerous poisons she could obtain, all mixed together into one sweet smelling liquid. As Hinagiku had described it, her blood would turn to jelly just in time for her to be frozen in place as her brain boiled and her teeth melted. Then it got really nasty but that had been the point she had fallen prey to Shion's slumbering thoughts and next thing she knew she was cowering behind one of the Shamans while the other's looked at Hinagiku disapprovingly.

The payload had then been rigged to a bent branch and an array of Terrorantular Silk, the result would be as simple as it was effective. The big stupid healer lady would step into the clearing, see the flower and note (blank so as not to leave evidence) on the stump in the middle, step over to it and promptly step on the silken thread. The trap would spring and she'd be pelted with high grade poison.

Then the Count would have no one to keep him company and she would easily be able to get close to him and, uh, take over the area. Yes, this was all for the sake of her fight with the beings. The Count would of course need to be kept around in the long term, his knowledge of the beings would be invaluable once she turned him to her cause. She had heard that removing her clothing would allow for this, though she wasn't quite sure how embarrassing herself was meant to help.

Her thoughts scattered at the sound of footsteps through the forest, now all her plans would begin. Soon the beings would tremble before her as she sat on the Count's head. Yes, he would make a fine mount as she returned to battle. Just a little longer until the pair of footsteps entered...wait, pair?

Sure enough it was a steady double rhythm, even reduced as she was Sayuri could recognise the difference. For a moment she dared to hope that it was the healer's annoying smaller version, despite the clearly near-equal weight of the steps. Sure enough when the figures emerged into the clearing one was the healer and the other was the Count, his face brightened by a noble smi-.

No. This wasn't the time for considering her prospective mount's appearance, he was about to bare witness to her trap. He was clearly planning on walking together with that woman.

What was worse. The Count was leading the way!

Oh damn him for being so brave, and handsome, and distinguished. If only he was not so wonderful even towards the horrible, heavy, stupid healer woman. If only he was not about to step on the thread!

She had no idea why but the thought of the Count's teeth melting was completely wrong. So Sayuri summoned up her true nature and did the only thing left for a Knight to do. She gave of her life to protect another.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Cried a shrill voice, a blur of motion coming out of the forest and intersecting another blur quite neatly. The sound of spilling liquid came as both blurs hity the ground and resolved into a dishevelled Pixie, wrapped in bits of grass and soaking wet.

Looking tearfully up at the count, even now looking down at her with such concern, Sayuri did not regret giving her life. After all, even if he was a being he was within her forest right now. What was more, she did owe him her life, this was only the chivalry of a Knight repaying such a debt. Now if only some splash of this terrible, vile poison had landed in the vast mouth of that huge great woman, then this would have been the death of a valiant warrior.

Still, Sayuri was a little surprised that she was not in more burning fits of agony. Hadn't Hinagiku said it took effect within moments? Maybe the mix had made it a little slower acting?

To her horror it was not the count but the stupid healer that reached down and plucked her from the ground. She feigned unconsciousness in response to the queries aimed at Shion. If she was to end here then her last words would be aimed at someone less large and pointlessly heavy. So it was with delight that she felt the gentle touch of one of the Count's fingers.

Peaking through a cracked eyelid she went bright red with embarrassment when he licked the finger. Closely followed by horror, what had he done! She hadn't wanted thi-

"Herbal tea I believe. Someone's idea of a prank, well at least you protected us Shion."

Any glee at his words that might have filled her reeling mind was blasted away by the healer's grating voice talking about how she would make an excellent Knight one day. As if she was currently anything less than a noble Knight of the Garden.

It occurred to Sayuri, perhaps a little late, that asking Hinagiku for the identities of the most poisonous plants in the forest might have been overly trusting.

Her revenge, involving a full dozen scaled down water balls and a long drop, would be swift and decisive. It would also start a game among the Little Sisters which she would come to despise.