Midnight (DISCONTINUED, INCOMPLETE)

27 || Into the Woods

As unnerving as the pixies' child-like giggling was, Ash couldn't help but be thankful for it. The sky had been eaten by the thick blanket of foliage over them. Only enough light slipped through for Ash to make out patches of what was in front of her. The pixies' endless noise allowed them to track the creatures.

Still, that annoying laughter grew farther and farther away.

Ash's eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. She would get the ring back. There was no other option, but she had to keep going. The island was only so big, and the pixies couldn't get that far.

Her vision blurred as she continued to refuse. The path seemed clear enough, so she squeezed her eyes shut. Before she could open them, though, her foot tried to shove her forward in her jog only to find nothing but air.

Ash yelped as her body pitched forward. Her impaired sight had failed to inform her that there was a quickly approaching hill. Before she could fall all the way, a strong arm wrapped around her arm and yanked her back.

She stumbled to a halt before she could collide with Caspian's chest. He released her. Where he had grabbed throbbed. She winced. That would bruise.

"Thanks. I didn't see the drop coming." She kept her gaze down. It already annoyed her enough that there were still tears. She didn't need him being aware of it as well.

"I should lead."

Ash's eyes jerked up to his face. It wasn't because of his words -- she was more than happy to let someone else lead as long as they got back her ring -- but because of his voice. It had been a quiet monotone. What she saw in the dim lighting of the forest was just as disconcerting.

His eyes were unwavering, mere reflective disks refusing to let anything within show on the outside. It was uncanny, especially since this was Caspian. Every time Ash saw him, there was emotion dancing across his expression. Amusement, rage, sadness, at times tenderness. But never nothing, not like now.

"Yes, that... that may be best," Ash said.

Caspian stepped around her and continued jogging without another word. Ash stared at his back for a moment before following. Confusion mixed with her desperation. He had refused to join the mission to get the golden apple, and now that he was on land, he had shut down. The last time he left the boat...

Ash could only guess at the specifics of his curse, but one thing was for sure. Caspian could make the ground shake, and it didn't seem he liked it.

They had arrived at the island during the brief period Ash was asleep, so she had never gotten a good look at the full size of it. As more and more footsteps followed each other, she grew certain that it was at least the size of Volant. It took almost a full day to get from one edge of the kingdom to the other if small villages were counted. They only had until midnight to find the pixies, retrieve her ring, and get back to the ship.

That left them with may eight hours left. What kind of hunt had she sent them on?

Although a lump the size of a ring tried to stop the words, Ash puffed out, "Hey, Caspian, if we must--"

She was cut off as Caspian jerked to an abrupt halt. Ash had to hop to the side to avoid colliding with his back while Willow used a tree to help her stop.

"What's going on?" Willow asked. "You sense something?"

Caspian held up a finger to quiet her, his eyes squeezed shut. "A large group of small creatures just landed about two miles away in the direction we're heading. It has to be the pixies."

Almost as soon as he got out the last word, the laughter ended. Ash flinched as the forest descended into silence befitting its darkness. The leaves rustled in the light breeze. Every creak against wood and caw of a bird became the firing of a canon rather than a cricket lost in a storm.