Saviors of the Forest

Chapter 27: Prisoners

The Saviors ran, tripping over their cloaks, Feather hardly able to see with the veil blocking her eyesight.

The Coyotes mindlessly stomped behind them, gaining on the Saviors with every passing moment.

There were too many of them, Feather realized, they couldn't outrun them no matter how hard they tried. For every Jickey alive there were at least thousand Coyotes against them.

They were like ants. There just became more and more and more of them.

Feather tried to fly, but her wings were trapped underneath her cloak. She knew if she stopped it would be fatal, so she kept running.

Suddenly, Coyotes emerged from every nook and cranny, and the Saviors skidded to a halt where they were, they had reached the Forest, as Jickeys were naturally quick, agile, and balanced. They frantically tore off the cloaks they were so proud of and flapped their wings.

Feather knew there wasn't enough room for flight unless they wanted to get snapped up by a Sundew or Venus Creature Trap, but she tried anyway, lifting into the limited air space, desperately looking for a safe escape route.

"KEEPER! KAEDE! COBALT!" Equity shrieked, trying to keep the Coyotes back.

Pirate's Snake flicked its tongue and the Coyotes threw heavy, tarnished, copper chains on Feather. She cried out in pain, the force of the chains bringing her back to the earth with a thud.

Acorn yelped and Moss shrieked. Thorn dropped next to Feather, trying to pull the chains off her. Before he could even tug at the chains, Coyotes threw chains on him, then Moss, then Acorn, and finally, Equity.

The Coyotes grabbed the chains and attached them to the Jickeys with more grace and organization. Their necks were chained, like they were dog collars, as well as being given muzzles.

Pirate stepped forward and grabbed the bundle of chains like a leash, proceeding to drag the Saviors through the Forest with a proud smirk.

They were prisoners now, Feather realized with horror. And there was nothing they could do about it.

Pirate's white-eyed army marched alongside the Jickeys, Pirate laughing triumphantly to himself.

He led them right back to the Palace, busting the doors open and strutting inside.

He yanked on the chains and Feather yelped, the metal digging into her skin. She winced and pulled against him, which only made the pain worse.

Pirate tapped his bracelet once and the Coyote's eyes returned to normal. Feather got a glimpse of Callisto, who stared at her in either awe or fear.

"Let us go!" Feather shouted, her voice muffled, shaking and writhing with all the aggression she had, ignoring the pain, anything to at least loosen his grip on them.

Coyotes rushed over and held her back, treating her like some wild experiment that had gone wrong. She snarled and screeched and tried snapping at them, wishing her jaw was strong enough to tear the muzzle right off her face.

Thorn growled, his eyes narrowing. He reached for Feather's paw, and Feather grabbed it, both staring Pirate down with equally menacing glares.

Pirate scoffed.

"What is this, some sick puppy love?" he asked, pointing a sharp, glowing, white claw at Feather and Thorn.

Moss growled and Equity's fur smoked with fury. Acorn kept a neutral expression, even cracked a small, borderline insane grin, which Feather was the most terrified of.

Acorn wasn't one to be scared easily. If she wasn't afraid of this, and could even smile about it, she had a plan, at least an idea of one.

Pirate forcefully grabbed the Saviors' chains and led them down a long, large hallway filled with columns, some that looked brand new and some that looked as if the slightest breeze would cause them to collapse.