A Kind of Magic

Fifty-Five

Fiona sat, petrified, in Snowmane's saddle, her hands fisted in a white-knuckle grip around the reins keeping the beast from following his beloved companion Shadow, while Gollum hovered, suspended in the air with a paw raised ready for the next step, his head turning from Fiona to the trees that had swallowed Peregrine, unsure of which direction to take.

"What happened?" Alexandra and Annwyn, seated on the same horse, asked in unison.

They stopped at her side and reached for her arm and shoulder in an unconscious move of empathy and compassion only women could share where the men they loved were concerned, while Gilderoy and Leodhais rode by them in pursuit of Freddie who kept riding after Peregrine, followed by Gollum, until they finally stopped him many meters ahead and turned to look at his mother for instructions. 

Fiona rode closer to them, the two women in tow, before she told them what had happened. 

"We've been followed," she said, looking into Gilderoy's eyes, asking him to help her explain, in case she hadn't entirely understood what Peregrine had told her. "By three dragon shifters. Not Highlanders," she specified, already used to the distinction Peregrine made between the dragon shifter folk of Silmarea. "And Peregrine wanted to know why. He went to talk to them, so they'll leave us in peace..."

She trailed off when a part of the forest ahead of them exploded into an inferno of flames, and it started to rain heavily at the same time-- Fiona was too distracted to think about the weather now and keep it under her control, but maybe the rain would be helpful for once.

"Right. Peace. Dragons just don't understand such a concept," Leodhais muttered, pulling the hood of his cloak up to shield his face from the flood coming from the sky, earning himself a gentle slap on the head from Annwyn. 

"I'm a dragon, too. And I do understand what peace is," she said, dismissing his hasty apologies as she pulled her hood up too, the blue fabric framing her almost turquoise eyes beautifully, even as she turned to Fiona. "I feel like this is more complicated than just three dragon shifters following our group," she said, staring Fiona in the eyes, making her feel like she knew something more about it but couldn't tell her... Out of loyalty to her brother? Had Peregrine told his sister something he had kept from her? It wasn't important right now. "Let us get closer; he might need our help to resolve this peacefully. Come on," she urged, wiping rainwater from her face with her sleeve, leading her horse, followed by the others, towards the flames.

Guided by the light and noise-- the hissing of the tall, hungry flames devouring the falling rain before it could quite touch their dancing tips, and the clashing of metal against metal which was turning Fiona's skin into gooseflesh-- they reached the large clearing in the middle of which Peregrine had met their persecutors in minutes. 

Fiona jumped off her horse and, quite without thinking, took a few hasty steps towards the ongoing fight, her only thought being Peregrine's safety, when a pair of strong arms seized her around her waist from behind, keeping her still in place, and Leodhais' voice spoke in her ear.

"You'll only distract him, and he'll get hurt. He doesn't need our help in the duel; he's a skilled fighter. He didn't even give them an occasion to shift, or at least remain in their more dangerous, dragon form for long enough," he mused, his eyes on the flames decimating the trees on the other side of the clearing. "Watch," he added, smiling at her, as they all huddled together to observe the ongoing fight, where, despite standing one against three, Peregrine was obviously the superior swordsman.

With bated breath, she decided to obey the elf who let go of her and stepped closer to Annwyn who looked just as worried as Fiona, but she stood, hidden in the underbrush on the margins of the clearing, ready to hurl herself into the fray to help Peregrine in any way she could should the need be.