Fairies of The Black Circle

12

Roxy's heart stopped beating the moment she laid eyes on the four men skulking towards her through the bustling crowds outside Gardenia mall.

Her breath hitched as his smug face loomed into view. Every muscle in her body tensed. If her fists clenched any tighter her palms would begin to bleed.

It was him.

The fire red hair. The black clothes. The aura of hate and greed. 

Ogron.

Everybody's mind was racing with gnawing doubts, iterations of hatred, declarations of revenge- too preoccupied to notice the slight tremble in Roxy's hands, the way her eyes were almost imperceptibly wider than usual, the irregular rhythm of the rise and fall of her chest as she hyperventilated. 

Except Riven.

He had been watching. He had seen it all.

Almost immediately, he found himself by her side, mumbling stupid, sarcastic encouragements like "They won't come near you. You reek of wet dog." and "Even if we scrap you have nothing to worry about. Jasper from Twilight is a notoriously good fighter. "

But worry flashed across his face when Roxy didn't seem to respond even a little. 

He strangely cared a lot about the wellbeing of this young girl who had been so intrigued to hear his ramblings about Magix and coffee and even shitty vampire movies.

Though he didn't really know her all that well, something in him needed to protect her. 

Protect her from the wizards; from the nightmares he'd heard her wake up, shakily crying out for help, from; from her fear.

"Hey kid." He stood directly in front of her so that she couldn't fixate on the wizards stalking towards them in the distance. "I'm here. I won't let them hurt you."

A small sound of repressed fear and pain arose from her throat as she shut her eyes. 

Her mind was racing so fast it felt like it might explode. 

"Kid." Riven put both hands firmly on her shoulders, as she began to claw at her hair, trying to pull her out of her downward spiral.

"I'm with you, 'kay?"

"No." She whimpered, her lungs contracting as each breath drawn in grew more difficult.

She felt her gut wrench as Ogron's sadistically smiling eyes found hers, a fine layer of sweat covering the surface of her skin. 

Though only through the cruelty of her subconscious, Roxy had already lived through betrayal. Pushed into the arms of her enemy without so much as a second thought.

She shivered as last night's dream still haunted her memory.

This time however, was real.

There would be no one her to save her from the nightmare. 

No one to break the illusion.

She was alone.

"Roxy." 

Her name. 

Not said by that soft singsong voice of the saviour in her dreams. 

But by the worried voice of a stranger. 

A grumpy caffeine-addict she barely knew, yet somehow trusted completely.

She finally met his eyes. Though they carried hints of their familiar tired look, right now they were alert and scanning her top to toe. 

Searching for a way to make things better. 

Even just that was enough to bring Roxy back to the present.