"Stella, we need to rest."
"No, what we need to do is keep moving."
"We're almost there and besides, look at Bloom, she can barely walk."
"She's fine, right Bloom?"
Bloom, who's head had perked up at her name, scowled and ducked back down. Usually she would have just smiled at her friend's bickering but instead irritation bubbled up in her chest, surprising her. Rather than snapping at them and saying something she would probably regret she focussed on putting one foot in front of the other, pretending like her leg wasn't throbbing with every movement. "Don't drag me into this."
"I think Sky is right," Layla said, looking as if she immediately regretted it when Stella spun around to pin her blazing glare on her. "Just that rescuing the pixies didn't take as long as I thought it would. We've made good time back to Downland, we can afford to rest for a bit."
Stella laughed scornfully. "You agree with Sky? Why am I not surprised?"
Layla's dark eyes narrowed dangerously while Sky just looked bewildered by it all. Bloom's frown deepened as she cut Stella a hard look.
"Enough Stel. How about we take a half an hour break to work out a plan and rest a bit and then we'll keep moving? It's got to be around lunchtime anyway."
"I already have a plan," Stella shot back, but still flopped down onto the ground with a sigh. "I'll tell you what the plan is, I'm going in there, smacking Amentia around a little bit, and taking my boyfriend back."
"That's all well and good," Sky said patiently as Bloom eased herself down onto the ground beside Stella. "But if we come up with a battle plan we'll have a much better chance of success."
"I like this boy," Tune said, nodding in agreement as the others all found a spot to rest. "He's absolutely correct."
Chatta meanwhile was busy peering at Stella's grumpy face. "I read in the Pixie Post the other day that being in love impairs your ability to think clearly."
The endorphins of the bond settling into place might have worn off but Amore seemed no less inclined to defend her bonded fairy. "Love is about feeling," she said. "Not about thinking."
"Well," Digit interjected. "Can you feel your way towards a plan that isn't going to end with us locked in yet another cell? We've only just escaped the last one."
Amore harrumphed and looked ready to bite back at Digit when Sky interjected. "Well, first we need to work out where Brandon is being kept. My best guess would be somewhere in the castle but it could be huge and searching the whole thing is going to take time. I'm assuming, Stella, that you remember enough to get us through the city to it."
"I couldn't forget the way if I tried," Stella said, remembering the heartbreaking journey that she'd been forced on. She'd been weak and stumbling but that had been nothing compared to the pain of leaving Brandon behind.
"That's good."
"We also need to decide," Tune began, flying over to settle on Sky's knee and look up at him. "If we're going to walk straight in and try to bluff our way into the castle, or if it would be better if we snuck in."
"That's a good point."
"The trogs seemed friendly enough at first," Stella said doubtfully. "But we all know how that ended."
"I would be more comfortable if we went in as incognito as possible," Layla said. "Something about just walking in and then having to sneak away to find Brandon makes me nervous."
"I'm cool with sneaking in," Sky said, and the others nodded their agreement. "Besides if we're sneaking around we might be able to overhear something and find out when exactly the wedding is so we know how much time we have."
"I'd be willing to bet the wedding will be soon, maybe even tonight," Stella said. "Amentia didn't strike me as the type who would want to wait. So we'd better get moving."
The others exchanged amused glances at her less than subtle hint, but began packing up their things regardless. Short as the reprieve had been, it had given them a chance to have a drink and something to eat which had been enough to rejuvenate them. And besides they could see how worried Stella was for Brandon, and they were feeling much the same way.
"I can't believe Amentia wants to marry a sixteen year old," Bloom said, shaking her head as she shouldered her pack and set off. "That's crazy. How old do you think she is?"
Stella shrugged. "Old enough to be a queen I guess. But it's kind of hard to tell, they're quite bizarre looking."
"Well, I'm not getting married until I'm like thirty," Bloom said decisively. She thought she saw Sky glance at her out of the corner of her eye but when she turned to look at him he was staring straight ahead.
Stella huffed. "That's too old."
"I thought you said magical beings could live for thousands of years?"
"Even longer," Stella said, waving her hand dismissively. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't get married when you're still young enough to enjoy it."
"You know," Layla piped up. "There's a realm in the eastern part of the Dimension where the concept of marriage doesn't even exist. I always thought they had the right idea about it all."
Bloom shot her a sidelong look. "I always thought royalty had to get married."
"Oh, don't worry," Layla said darkly. "My parents definitely expect me to. Which is why I'll probably end up marrying someone they approve of."
Sky made an emphatic noise under his breath, and this time Bloom was convinced he glanced at her.
"I'm going to get married when I'm 25," Stella broke in, speaking fast like she was reciting from a long-ago written plan. "I'll wear a dress that I've already designed, and the highest of Solarian society will be invited. Bloom, you'll be my maid of honour and the other girls will be my bridesmaids."
"Oh-" Bloom said, taken aback, but Stella wasn't done.
"The colours will be gold and white, and everything will be glittery. The ceremony will take place when the sun is at its highest peak and the party will go all night."
"Well-"
"That sounds-"
"Really-"
"Oh," Stella said, abruptly distracted. "We're here. Kinda bleak isn't it?"
"I've seen nicer realms," Bloom agreed, looking around at it all. Stella had seen the kingdom of Downland before but for the rest of them it was their first time and Bloom had to admit that while the mined crystals the Downladers had used to decorate the palace created a nice effect, even that couldn't distract from the plain, boxy buildings, and lack of sunlight.
As a group they edged out of the tunnel and into the main cavern, ducking behind a large stalagmite so they could get their bearings. As they peered out from behind the rock, they could see a trog, tall and stacked with muscle, trudge past; the only thing marking him as a guard being the spiked club he dragged along the ground behind him as he looked more disinterested than on the lookout. They could only hope that all the guards were that derelict in their duty.
"Alright," Bloom said, breathing a sigh of relief when the trog disappeared around a corner. Lockette, balanced on Bloom's shoulder, did the same and wiped at her brow with the back of her hand. "Let's go find Brandon, but stay out of sight and keep the noise down."
Everyone in their little party nodded in agreement and slipped out from behind the stalagmite. There was a bit of space between the cave entrance to where the city proper began but luckily for them it was broken up by rocks of various sizes, giving them at least some kind of cover as they traversed the space.
Those of the pixies who preferred not to ride on the shoulders of the girls and Sky, flew along close to the ground, their miniature wings fluttering hard to keep them just above the rocky surface. Being so much smaller they were able to hide behind any of the rocks whereas the others were forced to split up and pick their hiding places wisely.
For instance, Bloom and Lockette had been in the middle of following Sky towards the next stalagmite before realising too late that they'd misjudged it and there was no way for all three of them to fit behind it side-by-side. Bloom skidded to a stop, trying to ignore Lockette's quiet yelp of fear as she looked around desperately for somewhere else to hide. She was so distracted that she hadn't noticed the looming shadow of an approaching trog about to turn the corner. Luckily Sky had been keeping an eye out so he was able to grab Bloom's hand and yank her towards him, just in time to press them both behind the rock as the trog appeared.
Bloom held her breath and tried not to think about the solid wall of muscle she was pressed up against, as they waited for the guard to pass. Unfortunately, this one seemed even lazier than the last and had stopped to lean up against the wall of the last building on the block, seemingly more interested in picking at his fingernails than continuing on his patrol.
Sky glanced sideways at Stella, who immediately catching his meaning, dared to peek out from behind the rock she was using as cover. She bit her lip and shook her head, letting them know that it was no good; the trog was showing no indication of moving soon.
Sky turned to Layla instead.
"We need a distraction," he mouthed to her, and Layla cocked her head as she thought.
For the first time, she wished she had Piff with her, as the pixie could have easily snuck up on the trog unsuspected and doused him with her special Sweet Dream Dust, rendering him almost immediately unconscious. But Piff was far, far away from this dangerous place, and she was left to figure out a solution all on her own.
Layla closed her eyes, letting her focus sharpen as she discerned the water sources around Downland, most of it trapped beneath them in the plumbing system. Finally she felt some of it begin to move as someone in the next street over turned on a tap on in their home. A mischievous grin slipped into place as she urged the water to rush faster than the pipes would usually allow, and then for good measure urged the other pipes to open as well, flooding the home.
They heard a distant yelp followed by a much louder scream for help, and Stella grinned as the trog jerked upright, his gaze swinging around in the direction of the voice.
"Help! Someone help me! There's water everywhere!"
Rolling his eyes a little, the trog pushed away from the wall and ambled away; helping the owner of the voice was likely not in his job description, but he looked bored enough to at least investigate the source of the disruption. The group waited until he had disappeared out of sight to exchange grins and sneak into the next street over, thankful to find it deserted.
"I'm sure there were more trogs around before," Stella murmured, looking less than reassured by the emptiness. "I wonder where they all are."
Sky looked similarly concerned. "I don't know where they are, but I do know that they could be back at any moment. And I think we can agree that we don't want to get caught sneaking around."
They tried to hurry along the street as much as possible, but the cobblestones that the trogs had paved the road with were incredibly uneven, and the toe of Stella's boot caught on one, causing her to sprawl gracelessly on the ground.
"Shit," Stella yelped loudly. Bloom doubled back for her, while Sky and Layla looked around worriedly, sure that her voice had to have attracted attention in the otherwise quiet road.
Sure enough they heard the shuffling footsteps coming from a nearby side street, and so, exchanging wide-eyed looks, the group of friends paused in horror before bursting into action. Sky strode to the nearest building and peeked through one of the windows, which was little more than an empty frame with a bit of patterned fabric as a semblance of privacy. After confirming that it was indeed empty, he yanked open the front door and gestured for the pixies to enter. Layla hung around nearby, keeping her eyes on the intersecting street, ready to leap into action when the trog arrived. Bloom, meanwhile, looped her arm around Stella's waist and hauled her friend to her feet, ignoring the blood trickling from the cut on her knee. Stella, with Bloom's help limped through the doorway, with Sky and Layla bringing up the rear.
They found themselves in the kitchen of what had to be a trog's home, and while the pixies immediately found hiding places under the various bowls, cups, and pots lining the shelves, Bloom, Stella, Sky, and Layla looked around desperately for somewhere large enough to conceal themselves. Finally they had no choice but to duck under the twin window sills, Layla on one side, and Stella and Bloom on the other, all just hoping that if the trog peeked in he wouldn't look down.
Sky, meanwhile, chose to simply lean against the wall between the door and one of the windows, preferring to be on his feet in case the trog found them. And he was most certainly looking for them, any hope that he hadn't heard Stella's yell vanishing when they heard a gruff voice call out, "Who's there?! Show yourselves!"
Hardly daring to breathe the four of them pressed themselves further against the wall as those shuffling footsteps drew closer and closer. A shadow passed over Stella and Bloom's window and paused outside the door, prompting Sky's hand to drift towards the sword tucked into his belt. Layla, catching the movement, held up a hand to stop him and he caught her gaze, a silent exchange occurring before Sky acquiesced with a nod. He let his hand rest on the hilt but made no further movement to draw it out.
Layla, it turned out, had been right to wait to attack, because after another moment the shadow appeared behind her window as it moved on. And within a few minutes the shuffling footsteps had disappeared out of hearing range completely.
"Are you okay?" Bloom breathed to Stella, who was sitting beside her with her eyes shut and head tilted back against the rough stone. Sky and Layla were peeking out the slits in the curtains, trying to determine if the coast was clear.
"Yeah," Stella murmured, but her voice sounded weak to Bloom, and she hadn't opened her eyes. "Just being down here, you know?"
"Yeah."
Being in Shadowhaunt itself had been worse but Downland was hardly any better for their waning powers, and Bloom herself could feel it's effect begin to plague her and when she glanced at Layla she thought she could see exhaustion beginning to line her new friend's face. Glancing back at her blonde friends, she found herself wondering if being a fairy of the sun made Stella even more susceptible to the Under Realm's weakness. This did not bode well for their rescue mission but they didn't have any other choices if they wanted to get Brandon back before his wedding.
Bloom quickly checked out Stella's injured knee, relieved to see that upon closer inspection that it was only a graze and had already stopped bleeding. That, at least, would save them time and energy having to tend to it, not that she thought Stella would tolerate the delay in the first place.
"I think we're clear," Layla said quietly, still peering around the curtain. "Ready to go?"
The pixies slipped out from underneath the crockery and joined them by the door as Layla took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing."
Not wasting any time, Layla pulled the door open, stepped outside and began to walk up the street, the others hurrying after her. They'd been in such a rush to get away from the house that they didn't notice a pair of trogs coming their way, and who had seen the entire thing.
"Hey! What were you doing in my house! Thieves! Intruders! Help!"
"Run!" Sky yelped and at hearing the thundering footsteps of approaching guards, they all broke into a run.
Unfortunately, while Bloom, Stella, Layla, and Sky had the foresight to stick together as they pelted down the street, the pixies instincts were to scatter and find somewhere to hide. Being much smaller than other creatures in the Magical Dimension it was hard wired into them to use their size to their advantage and find a defensible position to attack their enemies from.
They zig zagged to and fro, ducking down side alleys, and turning sharp corners, trying to out fly the single trog that had chosen to chase after them, leaving the others to track down their friends. The guard made a strong effort, but the pixies' ability to fly over walls and dip in and out of buildings gave them an added advantage and eventually they left her far behind.
"Nicely done, ladies!" Chatta said, nodding with satisfaction.
"Wait," Tune interrupted, looking around at their little group with narrowed eyes. "Where's Amore?"
The others looked around themselves, as if expecting the missing pixie to suddenly materialise within their midst.
"Curses! She must have fallen behind!"
"What do we do?" Lockette asked unhappily. "Do we go back for her or try and find the fairies?"
"The fairies," Tune said decisively, at the same time Chatta said, "We got back for her!"
The two pixies glared at each other.
"We have to go back for our friend!"
"No, we should go find the fairies. We only have so much time to rescue Brandon before the wedding, and don't you think Amore would prefer we save her bonded fairies' true love?" The last part of her sentence was said rather scornfully but Chatta only narrowed her eyes.
"And besides," Digit chimed in. "It's entirely possible that Amore has already met back up with the fairies."
"Exactly. Now, Lockette…" Tune trailed off expectantly, and Lockette startled a little as the group's attention shifted to her.
"Oh, right," she said, and she tugged one of her clips from her hair. She tossed it up into the air, triggering the transformation into the sceptre. She caught it, and looked around nervously like she was expecting a trog to lunge at them out of nowhere, and for a moment nothing happened. Her friends were wondering if she was too nervous for her magic to work, when her sceptre's gem began to glow and the pixie nodded decisively. "They're close by. This way."
She lead them over a nearby wall to find Bloom, Sky, Stella, and Layla in the very next alley over, crowding in the shadows to hide from the guards roaming about on the street nearby.
"Lockette!" Bloom whispered in relief, and the pixie quickly flew over to settle on the redhead's shoulder.
"Are you guys alright?" Layla asked, eyes sweeping over each of the pixies to make sure they were unharmed.
"We're fine-" Zing began.
"Wait! Where's Amore?!"
The others shushed Stella, but luckily the trogs hadn't heard her. Chatta, meanwhile, was glaring at Tune, who had the decency to bite her lip and duck her head.
"We got separated. We were hoping she had found her way back to you guys."
"So you didn't even try and look for her," Stella hissed, looking livid.
"Stella, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down! First my boyfriend gets captured by some wannabe cave queen, and now my bonded pixie is missing. She's tiny, anything could happen to her-"
"She's more than capable of taking care of herself," Layla said firmly. "Pixies are small, but they know how to handle themselves."
All the pixies, even Lockette who still looked worried for her friend, nodded in agreement.
"In fact it's a common misconception that the bonding between a fairy and pixie is for purely the pixies benefit and that they need the protection of a fairy, when in fact the bonding is mutually beneficial for both parties," Digit added, an edge to her voice.
"I'm sorry," Stella sighed. "I didn't mean to offend you guys or anything, I'm just… I'm just worried, okay? And I guess I let myself be fooled by your size, I'm sorry."
"Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge." When Stella just stared at Digit uncomprehendingly, the pixie sighed. "It is not ignorance itself that prevents one from learning, but it is a failure to acknowledge that that ignorance exists."
Stella shook her head, still clearly at a loss and Tune cut in with an exasperated sigh.
"What Digit is trying to say is that as long as you know now that we can look after ourselves, it's all good."
The corners of Stella's mouth lifted slightly, but before she could respond, her eyes had widened at something she saw in the mouth of the alley.
"Sky!" she cried. "Watch out-"
Sky twisted, already swinging his sword up in a wide arc, but he didn't quite move fast enough to evade the club that came cracking down on his skull. He stumbled to the side, hissing in pain, while Bloom wasted no time conjuring a strand of fire, and whipping it at the trog. It wrapped itself around the guard's ankle and she yanked it taught, bringing him down with a crash.
"Sky," she exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He swiped at the cut on his forehead impatiently. "We need to get out of here before more come."
Sky hadn't spoken a moment too soon because the second their little group came crashing out of the alley, a squad of trog guards appeared at the other end of the street, approaching fast.
"This is where a plan would have been good," Layla said, voice unreasonably calm despite the threat.
"Let's improvise… run!"
The pixies could fly as fast as the girls and Sky could run, so they quickly turned on their heel and took off, pushing themselves hard to keep the guards a healthy distance behind them.
"Incognito's surely out of the question now," Bloom said between deep, panting breaths. "On to Amentia's castle?"
"That's right."
Stella used her long legs to her advantage and pulled ahead a little so she could lead the way, but was surprised when she turned her head to see Layla easily keeping pace with her, looking hardly out of breath despite the fast pace she had set. The beginning stirrings of curiosity tugged at Stella, as she wondered what Layla's home life had been like for her to be so fit; a running track was hardly a common fixture in royal palaces.
She was distracted however by the shrill screech of a whistle coming from behind them. They couldn't afford to look behind them as that would be sure to slow them down, but Stella was sure it had to be coming from the guards.
"What do you think that's for?" Stella gasped out.
"I don't know, but I don't think we want to find out." Layla's pale eyes swept the road ahead of them for reinforcements or any other new threat but all she could see was Amentia's castle growing larger as they drew nearer. They were so close and the entire group put on a burst of speed.
But there was a sudden and loud crash followed by a large plume of dust and debris as something crashed through the nearby cavern wall. And then, moving faster than seemed physically possible for a creature of its size, a gigantic worm threw itself across the next intersection, blocking their way.
The creature itself was massive, easily three times taller than Sky, the tallest amongst them, and boasting an impressive girth that meant that it filled the street easily but wasn't quite big enough to damage any of the nearby buildings. It's skin was the same sickly yellow as the trog's, and rather than a face, it merely had a large mouth that was full of rows and rows of sharp teeth which it snapped lazily in their direction.
The approaching footsteps from behind slowed and then stopped and as a group they turned to find the trog squadron closing in on them, each wearing a smug smile. The group of friends exchanged glances, each begging the others to come up with some sort of plan or idea but it was useless, they were well and truly trapped.
Hiding in the shadows of a large, square building, Amore bit her lip, helpless to do anything but watch as her friends were cornered by the trogs and hauled off. This rescue mission of theirs was getting more and more complicated by the minute, and Amore had no clue what she was supposed to do next. Had there only been one or two trogs capturing her friends she might have been able to use a bit of her charmspeak to convince the guards to let them go. But as it was there was no way she would be able to enthrall all six of the guards currently hauling them away before one of them grabbed her.
Which left her with only one course of action: to stall the wedding through any means possible.
She silently vowed to her friend's retreating backs that she would find a way to free them before twisting around in midair and darting along the street, the impressive palace looming in the distance. The streets were largely empty, but occasionally the pixie was forced to take cover in an alley or doorway when a trog appeared and hurried past, many holding large platters of food or extravagant decorations.
Amore was nearing the castle, still with no clear plan of how she was going to stall the wedding, when an intense wave of emotion surged through her. On instinct the pixie paused in midair, looking around to see if she could identify the source. As a pixie of love, Amore was sensitive to the feelings of those around her, particularly those associated with romance, like the passion and happiness of a relationship, or the despair and anguish of heartbreak, and right now she was being bowled over by the intense waves of sadness in the air.
Amore wavered, torn between continuing on her mission as she knew she probably should, and locating the source of that heartache; it went against her instincts to leave someone suffering with that sort of pain.
She heard a sniffle coming from a side-street off to her right, and decided to take a quick peek to see if she could help. If not she would have to move on.
The trog she came across was sprawled on the ground, slumped back against a low brick wall as he drank deeply from a large, red bottle. More of the same bottles, only empty, littered the ground around his feet. Amore's heart ached for the man and she had no choice but to fly closer.
"Oh," she sighed, the depth of his feelings hitting her as she got closer. "You're suffering from a broken heart, I can sense it."
The trog swallowed roughly and lowered the bottle, not seeming to notice the trickle of liquid that spilled down his pointed chin. "You're right about that," he said thickly, and a collection of tears trickled down his cheek.
"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's heartbreak," Amore said, gazing at him sadly. "What's your name?"
"I'm so thirsty," the trog mumbled more to himself than Amore, before seeming to register her question. "Sponsus."
The name rang familiar in her head and Amore was almost certain that Stella had mentioned that a trog named Sponsus had been the one to find her and Brandon and take them to Amentia.
"It's because you've cried so much," Amore explained, filing away that bit of information. "You're dehydrated."
She covertly sniffed the air and was relieved that the liquid in the bottles was revealed to be only water. An impaired Sponsus would not do to help anyone.
"I lost my one true love, my one, and only soulmate," Sponsus told Amore, more tears streaming down his cheeks. "She's getting married."
As if on cue, they heard a chorus of trumpets play a lively, ringing tune, from the direction of the castle. Amore cocked her head, an idea beginning to form.
At the sound of the trumpets, Sponsus sobbed. "That's her. Her wedding will be starting soon, and I still need to deliver the flowers."
"The queen?"
"Yes. I'm the only one who has experience with flowers so they had me take care of the arrangements for the ceremony. Have you ever felt the pain of gathering the flowers so your one true love could marry someone else?"
"No, that must have been horrible," Amore said vaguely, mind working fast.
Sponsus gave another loud, shuddering sob, bringing Amore's attention back to him with a stab of sympathy.
"Sponsus," she said kindly, coming to rest on his knee so she could peer up into his face. "I'm going to help you but I need you to take me to where the flowers are."
Sponsus blinked at her blearily through his tears and for a moment Amore thought she might have to use her charmspeak to nudge him along. But then he scooped Amore off his knee and pushed himself upright.
"They're just in here," he explained, showing Amore into the house who's wall he'd leant against. "I had to get away from the sight."
"You did a beautiful job," she gushed at the sight of the pink, red, and pale orange blossoms Sponsus had arranged into bouquets, wreaths, and garlands.
He hiccuped and sniffled a bit. "I wanted her wedding to be beautiful, even if it's to someone else."
Amore patted his hand comfortingly, and flew over to the workbench holding all the flowers.
"Is this Amentia's bouquet?" she asked, coming to settle near the largest of them, and Sponsus nodded.
Amore cocked her head as she thought before seeming to come to a conclusion as she reached up and plucked a flower from her own flower crown. Nestled amongst the buds was a single solid gold blossom which she withdrew and held reverently in her hands. Then closing her eyes she plucked a single petal from the flower head and murmured a quiet spell under her breath. She kept chanting until the golden petal had transformed into a flower the exact same hue as the red in Amentia's bouquet. She tucked her golden flower, which had already regrown it's plucked petal, back into her crown, before settling the new flower into the bouquet.
"This is what some might call a soulmate blossom," she explained to Sponsus as she worked, the trog watching her with wide eyes. "But I don't really believe in one true love and this blossom can't force Amentia into feelings she doesn't already have. What it does do is bring clarity to anyone who breathes in it's scent, and helps them be honest with themselves about their romantic feelings."
Which, Amore added silently, will hopefully result in Amentia realising she doesn't really want to marry Brandon. The queen realising she actually loves Sponsus would be a nice bonus.
Sponsus turned his big, watery eyes on Amore. "Do you think it will work?"
Amore didn't want to lie to him and was saved having to answer by the sudden and harried knock at the front door, which left the pixie just enough time to duck behind Sponsus before palace workers were hurrying inside.
"Is everything ready?" one of the trogs asked, already gathering up the flowers and rushing out again. "The guests will be arriving any minute."
"There better not be any wilted petals," another trog muttered, leaving with his arms full.
"Go with them," Amore whispered, nudging Sponsus lightly in the back.
"But-"
"Go," she hissed and Sponsus lumbered after the palace workers. If the soulmate blossom didn't work, Amore needed to be on hand to come up with a new plan and Sponsus was the best way to get in undetected.
The dread Brandon felt as he stood at the window and watched the first of the wedding guests begin to arrive in the courtyard below was visceral; his stomach had sunk to somewhere around his feet, while his heart had jumped to his throat, and his hands had grown damp with sweat.
"My friends are coming for me," he said with more assurance than he felt as he forcefully wiped his palms off on the skirt of the toga he'd been forced into for the wedding. The garment left his entire chest on display, but for the rich, red ceremonial cape that fastened around his shoulders with an ornate gold clasp. Armbands of a deep russet matched a headband of the same colour, which he wore, he supposed, as a stand-in for the crown that was eventually to come. He assumed, at least, that as the queen's consort there would be crowns involved.
"You keep telling yourself that," a hoarse voice said suddenly, yanking Brandon from his thoughts.
He whipped around, his sandaled feet sliding soundlessly on the marble floors. He'd been in his quarters for much of the day, completely alone but for the canary yellow bird in the gilded cage in the corner. The doors hadn't opened once since Brandon had been escorted here, and he was sure a squad of guards were waiting outside to make sure he didn't try and make a break for it. Surely either they, or he, would have noticed someone trying to sneak in.
"Who said that?" he demanded, eyes tracking along the curtains bunched up in the corner, before shifting to underneath the large four-poster bed; anywhere someone might have been able to hide. He reached for his sword, remembering too late that his weapons had been confiscated the moment Amentia's guards had dragged him into the castle. He hoped that he'd have a chance to get them back before he left.
If he ever left.
Gritting his teeth, Brandon balled his hands into fists, sliding into the fighter's stance drilled into them at Red Fountain as he said again, "Who's there?"
"Relax, bruiser," came that voice again, followed by a strange screech.
Brandon frowned, pivoting towards the back corner of the room, thinking it had almost sounded like a bird's squawk…
"You!"
The bird, still locked behind those golden bars, was staring straight at him, head slightly tilted and eyes bright with an awareness that seemed beyond an ordinary songbird. Brandon slowly approached, eyes narrowed.
"You… you can't talk, right?"
There was a beat of silence, long enough that Brandon had begun to shake his head, wondering if he was losing his grip on reality, then, "The hell I can't."
He might not have believed it had he not seen the bird's beak move right as that hoarse voice spoke again. Not that it was so odd to come across a talking animal, this was the Magical Dimension after all, there were all manner of things that could speak, but it was more that Brandon had been confined to these quarters for hours now and the bird had shown no indication it could speak until now.
"Okay, so you can talk," Brandon said, still trying to wrap his head around it. "Any reason you chose until now to reveal that?"
The bird jerked it's wings, it's version of a shrug, Brandon supposed. "You didn't seem particularly interesting until now."
He ignored the jab. "I don't suppose you know a way out of here then?"
"Do you think I'd still be here if I did?" The bird stared mournfully at it's cage, and Brandon sighed, moving back to the window. It was of course impossible to know without a clock but Brandon was sure the afternoon was slowly marching on, and judging by how crowded it had become in the courtyard, it wouldn't be much longer until the wedding began.
His wedding.
He gulped and glanced at the bird. "What are you doing here anyway?" He asked more to distract himself rather than out of a real interest for the answer.
The bird squawked again. "The queen went through a bird phase when she was younger, and insisted that her parents import a flock of us. She lost interest pretty quickly one she realised how much mess a confined bird could make. I'm the only one left now."
"That's rough, buddy."
The bird clicked it's beak. "Indeed. And soon you'll know exactly how I feel. The only thing worse than being stuck in this cage, would be if I was stuck in here with her."
"Great," Brandon muttered. "Real reassuring."
The doors to his quarters opened before the bird had a chance to respond and Brandon felt his heart lift for half a moment before he saw the guards looking in at him, faces blank.
"It's time. Her Royal Highness, Queen Foeda, has arrived to escort you to the altar."
"The queen's mother," the bird told Brandon in a low voice.
Queen Foeda stalked into the room, the ground seeming to tremble in her wake at the power she exuded, and Brandon looked up and up and up at her. Now, while Brandon might be the shortest of his male friends, he was not what anyone would consider small, not with all the muscle he'd gained training at Red Fountain. But Queen Foeda dwarfed him so completely in both height and breadth that he felt that she would be able to snap him in half if he so much as put a toe out of line.
The queen's thick, red lips turned up into a dangerous smile at the sight of him, and Brandon wondered if he hadn't come face to face with the one trog more dangerous than Amentia herself.
But all Foeda said was, "I'm so delighted to finally meet the man who's going to tend to my daughter's every need."
It was the manners drilled into him from a lifetime of living and working at a royal court that had Brandon bowing deeply and mumbling, "The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness."
Her large eyes flicked over him, assessing what she saw. "I suppose you look acceptable," she decided finally, before chuckling darkly. "And if not, it'll be your head Amentia will have."
Brandon gulped, mind scrambling as he tried to conjure up a plan, an idea, anything, to stall this wedding and give his friends time to find him. Because they were coming. They had to be coming.
"Maybe we should postpone, make sure I'm really ready-"
"Nonsense," she barked, her rough voice so at odds with the smile still on her face. "Everything's ready, and Amentia is waiting for you. Everything will be perfect, and if it isn't, it'll be the dungeons for you." She gave a horrible, cackling laugh at the thought but it quickly died when she stepped towards him and he skittered backwards on instinct.
Behind him, Brandon thought he heard the bird give a low, warning caw but forced himself to ignore it. He had one card left to play and it was time to throw it down.
"Your Highness," he said carefully, drawing on every time he'd seen Sky, Erendor, or Samara have to handle a diplomatic matter. "You should know that I'm the squire to Prince Sky of Eraklyon. And I'm personally responsible for his safety. The Traherne Royal Family rely on me a great deal."
A possible stretching of the truth perhaps, Brandon thought it was a tossup if Erendor actually remembered his name on any given day, but the words were enough that they implied exactly what he wanted Foeda to think: he was important, he was valuable, possibly enough so that the Eraklyon royal family would go to war to get him back.
Because despite all their bravado, Downland was tiny compared to the vastness of Eraklyon and it's armies. It would require but a fraction of them to crush the queen's guards and take him back. And by the smallest flicker of worry in Foeda's eyes, he knew that she knew that already.
For a moment she wavered and he thought he had her; Foeda might not be the reigning Queen any longer but she would certainly have sway over her daughter. But then something in Foeda's spine stiffened and she looked down her nose at Brandon and he knew it had been for naught.
"That's nice, dear," she sniffed, her cold tone suggesting it was anything but. "But what my daughter wants is you, and she is the queen, and what the queen wants, the queen gets. It's time for us to go down."
Brandon tried to protest, but Queen Foeda was having none of his excuses, and was already striding over to him so she could seize his arm and loop it through her own. She frog-marched him from the room, past the passive faced guards, and into the hallway beyond. The bird, trapped in it's gold cage, watched them leave until the doors swung shut, blocking them from view.
"Good luck," he said to the empty room; Brandon was going to need it.
Once the trogs called in the creature they referred to simply as the 'guard worm' it was pretty much all over for Layla, Stella, Bloom, Sky, and the pixies. With nowhere left to run, and not enough magic to take on the ever growing squadron of guards, the group had no choice but to submit willingly to their custody and allow themselves to be marched towards the castle where, presumably, they were to be thrown in the dungeons. They did so mostly in silence, but for exchanging the occasional words of comfort.
"You still have the PHA to contact the guys back at Red Fountain, right?" Bloom murmured to Sky.
"Yeah," Sky reassured her, voice pitched equally as low. "I'll wait until they throw us in a cell somewhere and hit the alert button; someone will be here in a couple hours." Something of a bitter smile played around Sky's mouth. "I don't know what will happen, the Council might have to get involved and send someone from the Guardian Network. Riven's never going to let us forget that we needed to be rescued."
Bloom's hand twitched with the urge to reach out and take his hand comfortingly, but she couldn't break away from the tight grip of the trog who had bound her hands behind her back.
"Hey," she said lightly so he would look at her. "It was a hard mission. And if Riven doesn't think so, you send him to me and I'll set him straight."
Some of the edge left Sky's expression as it was replaced with amusement. "I'd like to see that."
"Hey!" one of the trogs barked at them. "Quiet! And hurry up!"
They shoved them along faster, the guards beginning to bicker amongst themselves.
"What's the rush?" one of them whined.
"The wedding is about to start any minute," another bit out. "And the way to the dungeons passes right over the courtyard."
"The queen will have our heads if we ruin her wedding by walking prisoners through the middle of it."
The trogs continued to argue but the others tuned out, brains already turning over the information. The wedding was still yet to start, which meant they had time still to stop it, if only they could escape their guards.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll be upstanding while the groom makes his entrance, escorted by Her Highness, Queen Foeda."
Brandon barely heard the words over the roaring in his ears, and if it wasn't for the queen's arm rigidly tucked through his, he thought his knees might have given out completely. As it was she supported most of his weight as she marched him up the aisle, to the tune of polite applause and ringing trumpets, past the rows upon rows of trogs, and deposited at the altar beside the celebrant.
Brandon turned numbly to face the guests assembled, and felt his chest tighten as his breaths came faster and faster. Someone was coming because they had to be coming, his friends would come, they wouldn't abandon him-
The celebrant's voice boomed again, jolting Brandon from his increasingly panicked thoughts. "Presenting the one and only, immaculately beautiful, and fabulously perfect, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Amentia! Escorted by His Highness, King Enervus!"
The trumpeters played with even more vigour, and the polite applause for Brandon turned into enthusiastic clapping and cheering for the queen. The twelve ladies of the court appeared at the end of the aisle first, having swapped their lavender gowns for ones of deep red and sporting elaborate hairstyles that swept their hair up, leaving their long necks bare. They danced their way down the aisle, moving their arms and swinging their hips to the trumpets' music.
And then finally, on the arm of her father, Amentia appeared. The queen had been dressed in lush, bright fabrics of red, pink, and orange, draped around her in such a way that they left much of her lithe torso on display, covered her chest in overlapping colours, and gathered to fall in full skirts from her waist right down to the floor. Unlike her ladies, Amentia's black hair fell in a perfect sheet down her back, rippling with every step she took, and on the very top of it all she wore a large and ornately designed golden crown.
The crowd roared for their queen, but Amentia barely glanced at them, her large eyes set on Brandon and pinning him to the spot where he stood at the other end of the courtyard. At least, Brandon thought distantly, he was fulfilling his mission as a hero and saving some poor trog from this fate.
But that wasn't exactly fair, he realised, as Amentia reached the altar and turned to him, smiling shyly. He didn't think that Amentia was a bad person deep down, even if she treated her subjects terribly sometimes. In his brief stay in Downland he'd also seen her working hard with her guards to make sure her realm was protected at all times, send food to struggling families, and mediate disputes between feuding trogs. She had it in her to be a great ruler, if she ever got past her spoiled upbringing and need to have everything she laid her eyes on.
"Isn't he just the luckiest man alive?" the celebrant chortled, slapping Brandon on the shoulder, and the guests chorused their agreement right on cue while Amentia preened.
"Downlanders," he continued, sobering a little as he looked around at all the trogs gathered. "We're gathered here today to celebrate the blessed union of our beloved Queen Amentia to the Upworlder, Brandon. Brandon, if you'll recite the sacred vow that Queen Amentia has requested."
Brandon sighed and said blandly, "I promise perfection, cleanliness, and to provide everything Her Royal Majesty's heart desires."
"Marriage," the celebrant droned on, reciting from a speech Brandon was sure that Amentia had provided. "Is a union where…"
He tuned out and glanced at Amentia, who was nodding in approval at everything the celebrant said.
"Amentia," he hissed. Both the queen and the celebrant glared at him, the latter stumbling over his words for a moment before continuing. "Amentia, please, you don't have to do this."
"Quiet," she snapped under her breath, fixing a rigid smile on her face.
The celebrant ignored them and continued, now asking if anyone objected to the union, and by the tone of his voice, it was clear the celebrant was internally advising anyone who did have an objection to hold their tongue for fear of Amentia's wrath. Brandon almost spoke up himself, but he figured it was bad form for the groom to object to his own marriage.
Besides, it probably wouldn't make a difference.
"Amentia," he said again. "Amentia, you deserve someone who loves you with everything they have and everything they are, someone who understands your people and customs and will support you through your reign, someone," he stressed. "Who actually wants to marry you."
Amentia finally looked at him, blinking those large eyes slowly, and for a moment Brandon thought he'd finally gotten through to her. Then she said, "But I want you," and it was clear that she had no clue that sometimes she wouldn't be able to have absolutely everything she wanted.
His shoulders slumped as he turned back to the celebrant, his last hope dying in his chest.
"It is time," the celebrant declared, spreading wide his arms that were ensconced in the large, billowing sleeves of his robe. "For the gifts of devotion."
Two of the court ladies approached the altar, and the one closest to Brandon handed him a large bouquet of flowers to present to the queen, while the other held a velvet cushion upon which two golden rings sat. Idly, he wondered how they had managed to grow such beautiful flowers in a dim, lifeless place like the Under Realms.
Squaring his shoulders, Brandon turned to present the flowers to Amentia when his eyes caught on a group of trogs escorting prisoners across a bridge that spanned the courtyard, among them a familiar head of beautiful, blonde hair.
"Guys?!" The word burst from him on a yell, as he quickly recognised Bloom, Sky, and Layla as the other prisoners in the group. "Stella!"
At the sight of their friend, Layla, Bloom, Sky, and Stella each fought to free themselves with renewed vigor. They bucked and twisted and tried to break the grip of the trog's holding them, but it was no use, the guards were too strong, and they were too weak. Caught up in the arms of another trog the pixies aimed spell after spell at their captor, but after all the time they'd spent in the Under Realms they were equally as weak.
"Brandon!" Stella screamed, and swiftly nailed a trog in the eye with her elbow in a bid to escape his clutches.
Amentia's head snapped around to see the cause of the commotion and she stomped a sandaled foot at what she saw. "No!" she screeched. "They are ruining the backdrop of my wedding! I said no palace workers were to step foot on that bridge during the ceremony." Her eyes cut to the numerous guards lining the walls of the courtyard. "Throw them all in the dungeon! Maybe then they'll learn to obey orders."
"Wait!" Brandon interjected, as the guards moved off to fulfill her commands. His eyes never left Stella's distant form where to stop her from stomping on his feet, the guard holding her had hoisted her into the air, causing her to cry out in pain. "They're my guests," he said through gritted teeth, to stop himself from marching up there and ripping the trog's hands off his girlfriend.
"Your- your what?" For the first time that Brandon had seen, Amentia seemed truly thrown.
"My guests," he said again, brain spinning. "It could be your wedding gift to me, letting them stay."
Amentia smiled slowly, and it was a fight for Brandon not to shudder. "Okay," she said, her voice growing sweet once more, as though she thought she was finally winning Brandon over. "Put them in the back," she said to her guards. "I'll deal with them later."
Brandon swallowed roughly at the words but didn't argue, knowing this was the best chance they were going to get at escaping the clutches of Downland.
There was an uncomfortable sort of a silence, broken up only by the occasional cough or whisper as Stella, Sky, Bloom, Layla, and the pixies were escorted down to the courtyard and shoved into chairs in the back row.
"What do we do?" Bloom whispered to Sky.
Sky's dark, blue eyes were scanning the courtyard, frantically taking in the rows of guards and trying to find a weakness he could use to his advantage, but finding none he could only shake his head and slump back in his seat. Stella meanwhile was sitting bolt upright in her chair, and staring, unblinking, at the altar where her boyfriend stood beside Amentia. Layla seemed the only one not totally absorbed with the proceedings and was looking around, trying to find the source of that familiar aroma of rose and chocolate that she could smell hanging in the air.
"Shall we continue?" the celebrant asked awkwardly, and Amentia merely waved a hand. "Right," he said, shuffling his papers. "The gifts of devotion. The flowers stand as a symbol for the beauty of the bride, while the rings are tokens of your love. With these gifts we will seal the union. Amentia do you accept these gifts that Brandon offers to you?"
"Yes," Amentia said simply. "I do."
Among the guests, Stella inhaled sharply, her hand clenching tight around Bloom's, while Brandon miserably handed the flowers over.
"They're beautiful," Amentia gushed, bringing the blossoms to her nose and inhaling deeply. "And they smell so…" she trailed off, her eyes unfocussing, before finishing in a whisper, "...divine."
On the other side of Sky, Layla had jerked upright, her eyes bright with understanding, but she shook her head when the others looked at her in question.
At the altar, Amentia swayed a little, the flowers dropping to the ground, much to the astonishment of the guests gathered, and despite his feelings about her, Brandon found himself grabbing her elbow to steady her. The queen blinked and looked at him as if she were seeing him for the very first time.
"I don't want to marry you," she said quietly, but the courtyard had grown so silent that her words easily carried, and the guests erupted into whispers.
"Darling?" Foeda said uncertainly, leaning forward from her seat in the front row.
"Is this some sort of magical trickery?" Enervus demanded to know, glaring at Brandon.
Brandon opened his mouth to explain that he couldn't even do magic, before Amentia cut in.
"I haven't been tricked," Amentia said firmly, taking one, two steps away from the altar. "I thought marrying Brandon was what I wanted but it's not. I'd just convinced myself that it was. Or was what I should want. Or maybe it was what I wanted but for all the wrong reasons."
"What do you want then, dear?" Foeda asked.
"I don't know," Amentia said, glancing down the aisle. "But I do know it's not this." A familiar looking trog with a pixie sitting on his shoulder had appeared at the other end of the courtyard and Amentia's eyes lit up at the sight of him. "The wedding's off, Brandon; try not to be too broken-hearted over it," she tossed the words haughtily over her shoulder as she set off down the aisle, leaving Brandon, and everyone else, to stare after her, wondering what had just happened.
"So that's how you escaped?" Riven asked, when hours later they were finally on the ship flying away and had finished telling him and Timmy all about their escapades through the Under Realms.
"Do we call it escaping if they just let us go?" Layla interrupted, looking up from the card game she was playing with Jolly.
"Not just let us go," Sky agreed. "But sent us off with presents as well."
Brandon nodded, arms slung around Stella's shoulders as he nudged one of the bottles clustered on the ground with his tow. "Yeah, healing potions from Sponsus' private stores. Apparently some of these are really rare; Saladin will love to have them in the infirmary."
"Don't forget about… it," Riven added, glancing away from the horizon long enough to glance over his shoulder at their other present sitting in the corner of the ship's flight deck.
"Yeah," Brandon said, following his gaze. "Well…"
Sponsus had felt so bad about ruining the wedding, even if it had been what Amentia had really wanted deep down, that he'd had Amentia guarantee their safe passage out of the Under Realms, as well as allowing Brandon to take whatever he'd wanted from the palace… within reason of course. And well, there hadn't been much that Brandon had wanted to bring with him, but this particular gift he would have felt bad about leaving behind…
"I am a him, not an it," the bird croaked, snapping his beak in reproach, before hiding his head under his wing.
"Nice job," Brandon sighed. The current plan was to take the bird back to Red Fountain and try and release him into the forest around the school. He shifted around, but settled fast enough however when Stella nestled in closer and he caught a whiff of her sweet smelling hair.
"I just love love," Amentia said quietly watching them with adoring eyes.
Her declaration caught Riven's attention and he glanced at her. "So, you really managed to rescue those guys, huh? With one of your flower things."
"Yes. Why?"
"Nothing, nothing. You're just awful small, aren't you?"
"Amore's actually quite tall for a pixie," Zing said, completely oblivious while Digit and Tune zoomed over, their eyes narrowed and hands on their hips.
"What does Amore's size have to do with anything?" Digit wanted to know.
"Yeah, she managed to solve the situation when no one else, and certainly no one who was bigger than her, could," Tune added.
"I wouldn't underestimate them," Stella called from the other side of the ship. "I already made that mistake once today."
"Hey, hey," Riven said, lifting his hands from the pilot's wheel long enough to raise them in surrender. "I was just asking, no offense meant. So how does it work? Did you flower manipulate her into thinking she's in love with Sponsus?"
"Oh no," Amore said, shaking her head so vehemently that her flower crown slipped down her head. "True love is about openness and honesty, it would be wrong to use my magic to trick or manipulate someone. My blossoms can't manufacture feelings that aren't already there, they merely open the person's mind and heart to them."
"So, why was she pretending that she didn't like Sponsus?"
"People bury feelings of love and affection for lots of reasons," Amore said sagely. "Sometimes they're worried their families won't approve, or that they or the other person isn't ready so it's easier to pretend like they feel nothing at all, or other feelings like grief or anger over power their feelings of love." Amore's eyes traced over Riven's face and she cocked her head like she was seeing something beyond his features. "And sometimes," she continued meaningfully. "A person is scared or thinks that they don't deserve love."
Riven stiffened, shifting his gaze so he was looking straight over Amore's head at the clear black landscape of open space ahead of him.
"But they're wrong to think like that," she continued, her voice gentling. "Because no one is undeserving of love."
And leaving him to mull on those words, Amore flew back over to Stella and Brandon, settling comfortably on the blonde's shoulder so she could indulge in a well-deserved nap on the way home.
not me casually doing the walk of shame back in after a 2? 3? month hiatus.
sorry about that guys, this chapter turned out to be a bear to write (if you follow me on tumblr you probably saw me whining about it) but we're here, it's done, they are finally out of the Under Realms. honestly i don't have much to say beyond that, i'm just glad this arc is done with and we can get on with the other s2 plots.
i'm more interested in how you guys are doing. i hope you all had a great christmas and start to 2021 (which has been fucking insane already right?). has anyone watched fate yet and if so what did you think? i'll keep it short and to the point, i watched it and didn't particularly like it. the whitewashing of flora and musa was always going to be a hard thing for me to get past, and for me personally i feel like the writing really didn't do the show any favours. but if any of you guys managed to get some enjoyment out of it, i'm glad :D
i am extremely excited to get cracking on this new chapter because it's where we get to meet avalon for real, layla starts to settle into the dorm, and all the girls are finally all back together again, it's going to be great.
i think that's everything for now. drop me a favoruite if you haven't already, write me a review telling me what you liked and didn't like about the chapter, and as always you are more than welcome to come chat with me on tumblr at gins-potter. all my posts for this fic are tagged '#winx rewritten au' and you'll find plenty of extra content and tidbits about the fic so definitely go check it out :D until next time guys xx