Fantasy Land

Prologue

The wind howled around him, tossing his hair around the back of his head. Willow sailed the ship following the rules to the sea only she knew. Her red hair tucked under her hat safely. He was betrayed by the only people he trusted, the others far away on a different land, or off in space somewhere. He had no way of knowing.

"Fafnir." Willow's voice was soft, delicate. "Enough of this. She's your wife." Fafnir's molten gold eyes turned to her, pupils thinning into slits.

"How can I be married to a creature I do not remember?" His voice was deep, a gravel many men were jealous of. His rusted hair fell in braids down his back, whipping over his broad shoulder as he turned his harsh eyes to Willow.

"If you aren't careful, she won't be here waiting for you when you get your memory back." Willow kept her eyes on the slouched back of the woman on the deck. Her deep teal hair fell in waves down her back, whipping around in the wind. Her horns still carried the jewels the people of the village had decorated her with. Her large wings wrapped around her, creating a warm blanket that shielded her body from the harsh wind. She stared over the ocean, tears no longer falling from her eyes as their salty trails dried, clinging to her hollow cheeks. Her cat lay in her lap, snuggled to her for warmth.

"She had no right." He growled, anger filling him.

"How dare you!" Willow screeched like a banshee, getting the woman's attention now. "She is your wife! Not only that they were harassing her." Willow let go of the wheel, turning her harsh eyes to him. He recoiled at the anger radiating off the pregnant woman. Some part of him remembered feeling something like this before. He, however, held his ground against the woman. She was only a woman after all.

"That creature, a woman, has no right to act the way she did. She had no ground to murder my true wife." He roared back, forgetting the woman's hatred for the word 'creature.' Her tears returned, her chest clenching. She pulled a device from her pocket, looking up at the dark sky.

"Don't worry Fafnir." She sneered, standing, and turning her harsh, broken eyes to him. "You'll never have to see me again." With that she stretched out her large wings, allowing the ocean winds to lift her up and off the boat, her cat wrapped in her arms. She flew to a far away mountain top, landing, and crying her heart out. The cat got up on her hind feet, licking the women's cheeks to get rid her beautiful face of them. A kind attempt at comfort.

As she crumples there, she does not notice the figure approaching her.

"Oh, my dear sweet Mystique." The mans voice says. Looking up, her green eyes land on the elf who'd betrayed them. He crouches before her, grabbing her jaw in his delicate hand. "Such a powerful creature reduced to such ruble." Her eyes harden as she glares at him. "I told you he'd only bring you ruin. You should have chosen me." Her cat comes from under her now, scratching the elf's hand.

"I've told you before to keep your hands off me." Her voice is not as strong as she intended it to be. She stands, wings relaxing behind her as violet mist surrounds her hands, her powers of sorcery making themselves known.

"While that is true," he stands, ears twitching in anger, "your dear Fafnir is not here to protect you this time."

A smooth, wicked laugh only a truly heartbroken woman could produce leaves her lips. Her eyes harden on him, power intensifying as her eyes shift from green to violet.

"You assume I cannot defend myself." Her voice is low, riddled with power and anger.

"We shall see." The elf snaps his fingers, a ring of symbols surrounding her. Too late she recognizes them, trapped in a spell only known to the elves. "Enjoy reliving your worst nightmare. I'll give Needledrop and Florence your best." With that, he walks away, leaving her there. Forever she would be trapped, reliving everything that had happened that day.

On the ship they felt it, the connection they had with Mystique break. Worry floods Willow, her face contorting in fear.

"Oh, Elder Gods." She breaths, looking up at the hill she'd left over. "Please keep her safe and tell me she's safe." Suddenly worried for his pregnant friend, Fafnir takes a calming breath.

"Stay put, I'll check on her." He shifts his back, the muscle there covered in draconic scales that shimmer in the fading sunlight. Large wings stretch from the space between his shoulders. Tearing off the remains of his shirt, he soars over the ship, following after Mystique. Upon landing he finds her quickly. She sits on the ground, back to him. She had to have heard him land, why ignore him or stay at all.

"You've worried Willow." He says gruffly. "It is cruel to stress a pregnant woman the way you have." She stays stark still, not even the wind whipping around them moving a single hair on her head. "Mystique enough of this. Come back to the ship." Not even her cat moves to glare at him as she usually does. Fear floods him as he reaches out for her only to be stopped by an invisible wall around her.

Dragging his fingers along it as he goes to the front his heart stutters. There is no way of opening the cocoon around her. Before him she sits with her legs crossed as she sits on the ground, wings lax behind her. Arms rested on her knees. Eyes closed tight so she looks like she's sleeping.

"If this is a joke it is no longer funny." He growls at her. After a minute of no response, he sighs. "Do you need me to apologize for calling you 'creature'?" Slowly he falls to his knees, stopping once he is level with her eyes. Hands above his head still pressed to the unseeable wall around her. A deep sorrow fills him as well as anger. Why and for what he is completely unsure, but the sorrow is powerful. More powerful than the sorrow he felt watching Mystique kill his wife.

His attention is pulled away when the sound of a sword being unsheathed fills his ears. It whistles as it soars through the air down on him. It never meets its target, however.

The sword now rests in Fafnir's shifted claw, the hard scales on it stopping the silver blade from causing any damage.

"Impossible." The elf boy breaths, pulling the sword back. "You aren't supposed to be able to do that."

"Zadeus." Fafnir growls as he stands, turning his attention to the elf.

"You'll never see her again. Never get to hold her or have her ever again." Zadeus says with a wicked smile. "You never deserved her." Fafnir tries to remember back to how he first met Zadeus. It was at the academy, but the details are blurry. A piece missing in almost every memory he has of Zadeus.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Fafnir tells the boy honestly.

"Are you so cruel to forget her. Forget everything you took from me." The elf lets his anger out through his words. At Fafnir's confused look, something registers to him. "The spell did work." He mutters to himself. In his moment of confusion, Fafnir steps forward, grabbing the elf boy by his neck and tossing his weapon over his shoulder.

"Goodbye Zadeus." He says coolly, crushing his neck in one fail swoop. Dropping the boy, he turns back to Mystique. A wave of unknown guilt washes over him. He then notices the runes on the ground surrounding her. Having gotten all the information he needed he flew back to Willow, explaining what had happened.

"Elvish magic is strong. Almost impossible to undo." Willow says tiredly, the sun finally gone under the ocean. "I'm afraid it is unlikely we will ever see her again if it's the spell I think it is."

"Just say it." Fafnir growls out.

"Say what?" She asks with a heavy sigh.

"You blame me. You believe this is my fault."

"Maybe." She looks up to the stars, adjusting her course slightly. "I'll make you a deal. You deliver me to my destination then go back to her. You protect her no matter what comes for her or how long it takes."

"Did you not just say that there is no way for anyone to break that spell?" He asks her, disgusted by the thought.

"She is strong. Stronger than you or I will ever fully understand. I believe she will be able to escape, no matter how long it takes her to do so." Willow says. She sticks her hand out to Fafnir.

"I do this for you." He says, shaking her hand.

Little did they knowin that moment, he'd only last a little over a month.