Princess of the Nether

Chapter 12

*Zoey’s POV*

When we finally get to the small island Ravs keeps his bar on I’m completely soaked. Tee, luckily, has scales though so all he has to do it shake and he’s mostly dry. I walk into the bar and see Ravs behind the counter.

“Zoey! What a surprise. Is everything alright?” He says in his Scottish accent.

“Uh, not really, do you have a towel?” I say feeling a little stupid. I could have just used my flying ring, I still have it on.

“Yes I do, as a matter of fact. Sit down I’ll be right back.” He says going to the stairs behind the counter.

I sit down near the door rubbing my arms so I feel less cold. “Next time I’m flying and you can swim!” I tell Tee and he shrugs.

A few minutes later Ravs comes up and hands me a blue towel. I wrap it around my shoulder and try to dry my hair a little.

“So what brings you two here? Where’s Rythian?” He asks.

“Theres has been some trouble at Blackrock. Rythian said you know where his safe house is.” I say simply, trying not to think about Rythian too much. It would make me go back.

“Oh? Well he did show me where it was yes. I don’t see why he wouldn’t just take you there himself though.”

Before I can answer Tee growls at Ravs who puts his hands up in a surrender position. “Ok, ok, I won’t ask. Let me get my boat set and we can go ok?”

I look up at my dino friend and smile. “Thanks.” He nods.

*Rythian’s POV*

I’m not surprised when he misses, he isn’t very strong or smart. What I am surprised at is when another Screaming Blade comes hurtling at me and I barley manage to dodge.

“Did you think I would just come unprepared?” Zoey’s father shouts at me.

He was losing it.

I look around to see almost every blaze holding a Screaming Blade.

“I knew you duplicated it once but how did you do this?” I ask confused.

“It’s the most effective way to kill an Enderman. If the queen plans on war, then I’ll be prepared.” He says not answering my question. Not that I expected him too.

Before I can think of what to say next more of the swords are being thrown at me. I’m trying to dodge and get higher in the air, but it’s difficult. Blazes can fly too, and just having the blade close as it goes past me hurts.

“Do not stop until he falls!” I hear Zoey’s father scream out before one of the blades hit me.

*Zoey’s POV*

It doesn’t take us long to get to land, and soon Ravs is leading Tee and I further and further away from Blackrock. And I didn’t like it. Every footstep away made me feel like I was leaving something behind.

“Where is this secret base thing anyway?” I ask Ravs to try and distract myself.

“It’s more like an underground bunker. He made sure no one would be able to find it without the proper coordinates.” Ravs says vaguely.

We only walk about five more steps when I stop abruptly and turn back towards where we came from. Tee is at my side in an instant looking at me in confusion and I hear Ravs’ footsteps stop.

“Is everything ok Zoey?”

I shake my head. “I have to go back.” This wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right. I had to go back.

I don’t explain further. Instead I just start flying back to Blackrock, despite Ravs yelling after me. Something wasn’t right, I could tell. And I realized something. I didn’t want to feel like this. I didn’t want to feel useless. This was my father, my fight, and I’d sent Rythian to deal with the problem.

I am not weak.

I fly back to the castle quicker than I thought possible, and my father sees me almost instantly.

“Zoeya! How nice of you to join us.”

Something was off in his much too silky tone. He wasn’t quite right.

My eyes look around for Rythian but I don’t see him.

I lower myself to the ground in front of my father. “Where is he?” I ask my voice sounding foreign to me.

“Oh the halfling?” He laughs manically. “I think a Screaming Blade through the chest shut him up quite well.”

Something in my snaps, and something in my breaks, but in that moment, I feel powerful.

My eyes start to glow as my hands clench into fists, so tightly I draw blood. Fire surrounds only my father and I, cutting of the other blazes from being near us.

He glances around us and smiles. “I knew you were powerful!” He says happily. “This is the blazes I gave you. I knew it!”

This time I don’t hesitate to hurt him.

I take one of my hands and wrap it around his neck feeling angry and broken. He struggles, but it’s pointless. I was too strong. The fire around us starts to fall as blazes come through it but I ignore them.

They can’t hurt me more than I’ve already been hurt.

They try to get my father away from me and me away from him but I push them back with more flames.

When he stops moving I throw him to the blazes.

I know he’s still alive, I could practically hear his heartbeat drumming in my ears as my anger fades.

‘Leave now, before I finish him off.’ I hiss in a blazes tongue, surprised my own voice knew how to do so.

They retreat quickly, and that’s when I see Rythian.

I fly up to the tower he was on. The Screaming Blade discarded nearby and obviously still causing him pain. He was holding a hand over his chest where dark purple blood was soaking his shirt.

With my anger gone sadness courses through me.

“You promised!” I say my voice breaking a bit as I come closer to him.

He smiles at me. “I kept my promise, I’m safe.”

“Rythian you know that’s no-”

He cuts me off. “I know that’s not what you meant. I’ll be fine though, it didn’t pierce my heart.” He says reassuringly but winces in the process.

“Still, take this.” I take the lifestone out of my pocket and hand it to him. “You need it more than I do.” I say quietly.

He wraps the small stone with the pink gem in his hand. “Thank you.” He pauses. “Why did you come back?”

“I realized that you should never send a boy to do a girls job.” I say attempting humor.

He laughs but it turns into a cough. “You know this isn’t over right?”

I meet his violet eyes and sigh. “I know.”

*******

Author's Note: Ok, let me just say now I don't think that Zoey would do this. I mean, she's Zoey. But it fits with the story and to be honest, I REALLY wanted to make it so that she was the hero for once. Obviously it won't always be the case, but in 99% of the fanfic's I've read, Rythian is always the hero that saves Zoey. I wanted it the other way around, at least this once.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and that you're ok with that.

If you want to see Rythian saving Zoey, he most likely will later :P

Thanks for reading!