Fates Aligned: On The Run

Chapter One: In The Air

Douxie, Archie and Nari looked down upon their ragtag group of friends who stood watching the ship ascend into the clouds. It wasn't long before the Guardians of Arcadia were nothing more than an incoherent smattering of coloured specks on the forest floor, gradually appearing smaller and smaller as the vessel climbed in altitude.
The bow of the ship broke through the blanket of cloud with some vigour, Douxie grasping his staff tightly to gently guide it on the way. Nari was perched precariously on the very edge of the deck, her hand trailing through the mist. She turned to beam in Douxie's general direction. He nodded in acknowledgement of her happiness. Despite them having just met, the young wizard knew how important it was to take up Merlin's mantle of protecting the naïve demigod. He couldn't help but crack a slight smile upon seeing her childlike wonder at the ocean of clouds they sailed through currently.

Archie leant down from Douxie's shoulder to draw level with his face. The familiar adjusted his glasses before speaking up in a posh voice, "So old friend, where to?"

Casperan hesitated and opened his mouth to respond after barely a moment's thought. Archie raised a single paw, cutting him off before he could offer up an answer.

"Let me guess, you have absolutely no idea where we're going, you're improvising?" The cat retorted in a playful tone.

"I have a plan," Douxie fumbled slightly, keeping a close eye on Nari, "I just...I just need the right time to enact it!"

"Forgive me if I don't quite believe you old chap."

Archie leapt gracefully from Douxie's shoulder, landing on the deck of the ship. He pottered up towards the nature goddess, pausing the bat at her braid which in return caused her to giggle and try to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Oh, do please cut it out!" Archie yowled in his futile attempts to escape the loving clutches of the tiny plant deity.

Nari turned back and dashed towards Douxie with Archie nestled in the crook of her arm. She abruptly dropped the cat onto the floor.

"Wizard Douxie," she began quietly, "I sense you are anxious...but your exterior shows you are calm. You are like an ocean...a surface tranquil and serene, but beneath lies a turbulent current that storms away..."

Douxie looked off towards the clear skies ahead for a moment, hesitant to respond to her. So much had happened. So much loss, so much responsibility now on his shoulders. He hadn't even had a quiet moment to process any of it. However, now they were away from the chaos back in Arcadia, his mind was beginning to fill with emotion. He realised it was useless attempting to hide it from the others. One had known him centuries and knew he buried his emotions, the other was an all-powerful primordial wizard with empathic abilities. Nothing would get past either of them.
Casperan sighed, no longer able to contain his grief and stress. He slumped into his newly achieved staff, tears streaming down his face.

"I finally...finally achieved what I've been working for my whole damn life," he choked through sobs, dropping to the floor in despair, "But at what cost? Pretty much everything I ever had is gone...Camelot...Morgana...Merlin...and now I'm left to pick up the pieces of a war that's raged on for centuries. I just...I can't..."

He felt Archie burrow his face into his side. He purred softly, his tail wrapping around Douxie's leg. Douxie gently caressed Archie's head.

"I'm not sure how much help it is to hear this right now old friend...but we still have each other." Archibald reassured.

Douxie wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "I'm glad I still have you Arch...I don't know what I'd do if I lost you as well mate."

Nari padded closer to the duo. Her green and gold eyes surveyed the scene as she approached Douxie. She reached a small clawed hand up and placed it on his chest.

Her tone was gentle, like the soothing sounds of a spring rain, "You have experienced so much loss...your mind is in pain...you feel alone. But it is okay wizard Douxie...you are not alone."

"How is it?! They're all gone. All of it! Archie is all I have left...I'm alone." He snapped at her in response.

His response didn't seem to bother Nari. She drew closer still so she was level with his eyeline. Her stare was intense but weirdly calming. Those eyes had seen trillions of years' worth of history, despite them feeling infinite, they also felt grounding, as if staring into the very  heart of the Earth itself.

"You are not alone," she repeated, "everyone who ever loved you is in here."

Her hand was pressed against where his heart was. Deep down the Master Wizard appreciated her comfort, but he knew that there was no time to grieve. He had to protect her, it was one of Merlin's dying wishes. No matter how much her gestures reminded him of his recently lost father figure.
He rose to his feet slowly, vaguely acknowledging Nari's attempts to quell his emotional torment. She seemed to understand he wasn't feeling like talking and backed away to give him space.

"So, what's the plan then Doux?" Archie queried.

Douxie flicked through a few runes on his bracer and cast a map in front of them. Nari scuttled over, her eyes reflecting the soft blue glow from the magic.

"I spoke to Zoe before we left," the black haired sorcerer spoke clearly, "she said there's an underground safe haven for hedge witches and wizards located in Scandinavia. She's told them to expect us, their community is shielded by strong anti-magic defenses. Yes, it means our magic won't work, but the Arcane Order wouldn't be able to locate us there."

"Is it a long trip? By the looks of your map it won't be more than what...12 hours?" Archie added.

Nari chimed in, "That would require Wizard Douxie to use his magic to power this vessel for that length of time. Bellroc and Skrael would easily find us in that time as they could track the use of magic..."

Douxie nodded in agreement, "Nari's right Arch. It'd be better to break the journey down into smaller chunks, mainly depend on public transport, use disguises, keep magic use to a minimum and travel in small bouts. That way it'll be harder for them to track us down."

Stretching himself out, Archie purred and rubbed his head against Douxie's ankle.

"Might as well have some fun whilst we do so right? So, where first Captain Casperan?" The familiar teased.

The wizard shot his friend a look of mild annoyance before loosely tracing a line across the map with his finger.

"I say we head east as planned, but go down the California coast line, zig-zag across a bit and head up towards NYC."

"Sounds good to me."

Douxie looked over at Nari who grinned at him a little, then down at Archie who jumped up to perch on his shoulder.

"Well, with that settled, shall we make a move then?" He asked rhetorically before plunging his staff forwards, causing the air ship to jet off at top speed through the pristine skies.

This was about to be his biggest adventure yet and whilst he was absolutely terrified, deep down, Douxie was excited for the trip.