The Kelpie's Cries (Completed)

Intrusion

~~~
Like a tree about to peel,
Like a fish without a gill,
Like a painting that is not surreal,
Like a gap that does not fill.

Alas...

That is how I feel.
~~~

"Did you hear that voice?", Odan whispered to Enfys.
"I think so. Quite poetic", the woman responded to him in the same volume.

The two had just arrived to the vicinity of the heart. They were only a few steps away from entering the bluest clearing of Blue Peace. Össur had changed his size to that of a mockingbird and he was resting on his rider's shoulder. The path they had taken was too overridden with trees to allow him to take off in his normal size. The two adults were breathing heavily because they had run to the location to limit their opponent's preparation but soon they found that they were too late.

Odan was the first to enter the clearing, carefully jogging between the various tree roots that littered the grass. He had thought that he had heard some shouting before when he was behind the tree line but he could not believe what his eyes were seeing. Countless humans had crowded around the tree that sat in the middle... but the trunk had been cut down. Fearing the worst, he rushed towards them from behind as stealthily as possible. He would not allow them to kill the heart; he knew that they hadn't killed the true heart yet since the forest was still a blue hue.

The woman followed close behind with hushed steps. She was trying to keep calm in hopes of being able to pull Odan back if he got too close for the both of them panicking would not do them any good. She started counting heads as she was sneaking towards Odan and Össur who had hid under the man's long, auburn hair and kept quiet. She kept glancing between him and the dying trees in an attempt to make sense of what had happened under their noses.

There is a disturbance in the clearing,
One that won't let my wish come true.

It was the voice of the heart that spoke. It sounded well throughout the clearing but... she sounded broken, sad and disappointed.

Man of the outside, stop stalling,
My death is due.

Just like the past words, those ones were heard clearly. Odan's eyes widened and he lunged towards the crowd of armed men. Enfys ran and reached out to grab him and pull him back but he was too fast. The dragon jumped off his shoulder and allowed its body to inflate and grow back to its natural size with a loud screech. The humans who had been staring at the tired woman in the cut down tree trunk were taken by surprise as Össur appeared. A line of ice was shot through the air and immediately a portion of the enemy was trapped into a freezing ice berg. He was quick to build a wall of ice around them to cut off as many humans as possible. His tail found the leader of the hoard and he whipped him towards the remaining group of humans.

The woman was quick to cry out in anger, her words filled with rage and hatred.

No, halt, you beast!
You're ruining the feast!

Her hands rose to her chest. She felt betrayed, her eyes narrowed saddened by the unfairness of it all. All she wanted was to have her head chopped off her neck. All she had wanted was to finally be released by the heavy burden of keeping the forest safe.

"Zoe! Are you alright?", Odan shouted as he made his way over to the cut down tree. He threw a glance at the shocked and screaming humans to make sure it was safe before approaching. Enfys rushed over as well to help Össur keep the enemy at bay.

No, I'm not well,
Odan can you not tell?

Zoe told him. Her tired eyes had filled with tears that collected at the edges of her eyelids and fell down her cheeks in small streams. Why could she not have her way for once in her lifetime?

How stupid can you be?
It's clear as day, can't you see?!

At that she finally broke down crying, her depressing wails carrying on for miles in the horizon. The man knelt before her and reached out to comfort her.

He had no idea why she was acting like that. From last year, she had changed a lot in appearance and it was apparent that the isolation had done a number on he had no time to find out as a powerful gust of cold wind exploded onto his chest and threw him away. He crash landed with a surprised yell onto the hard, thick roots of the dead tree. Enfys turned her head to look.

"Odan!", she exclaimed in a concerned tone. She would have went to his aid if it weren't for the large heavy cloud of smoke that suddenly erupted from the ice wall. The woman's hair had orange highlights and the thick roots shined a soft yellow accompanied by thin strands of smoke. They were melting Össur's ice fast. At that rate, not only would the humans be let free but the grass and even the whole forest would catch on fire.

"Össur, cover the roots!", Enfys yelled at the dragon and he obeyed. With hurried steps, she went to Odan's side and helped him up.
"What the hell just happened?", the man murmured to himself but Enfys easily heard his words.
"I have no idea. What is wrong with her? She will turn the forest into ashes!", she said as she slowly lost her cool. The woman heard heard them as well and she was less pleased than one could hope.

This forest shall burn,
The barrier will go in flames,

She cried as she said those words. It had been her moment just a few seconds ago... before Odan, Össur and Enfys got involved. She would have been set free from that burden she had been carrying alone for years. She could not take down the barrier for she was the barrier itself. She could not afflict herself any form of damage, nor any inhabitant of the forest. Only those humans would have been able to put an end to her torture.

Thou can stay and mourn,
As this fire spreads through my veins!