Honour/Honor

Chapter two

The storm was wild, and Nicholas knew that if he didn't find shelter soon, he would soon drop down from the exhaustion of fighting off the wind and the rain and the cold. The biggest problem, however, was he was still being chased by one man that was crazy enough to face the storm. So Nicholas moved on, unsure of where he was going, so turned around he no longer knew where he had come from. Every sound nearby pushed Nicholas to move on for fear that his angry pursuer would soon be upon him. Finally Nicholas fell to his knees, suddenly very afraid of the storm, of the howling wind, and of the pouring rain, but no longer able to move on, Nicholas curled up and blacked out.

When he awoke the sun was shining and he felt refreshed. Luckily for him, he was still free, his pursuer must have given up a while ago but he had no clue where in Vale he was. He got up a walked in the direction he hoped he had come, but things got even less familiar. Then he spotted a fairy, dancing in the flower meadows nearby, maybe it could help him, he figured. Gulping down his last vial of shifting potion, he made himself look like a poor innocent boy, and like that he walked towards the fairy.

The fairy spun around and spotted him, staring at him fearfully.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." Nicholas spoke innocently.

"Why are you hiding your true self?" The fairy asked cautiously. Stupid, Nicholas scolded himself, of course fairies could sense magic. Willing the magic in the potion he had drank to stop, Nicholas shifted back into himself. Nicholas hated the idea of wasting a vial of shifting potion, but it obviously didn't work anyways.

"That's better." The fairy girl giggled.

"Can you help me? I have no food left and I'm terribly lost." Nicholas asked. The fairy nodded, and her wings folded into her back as she changed from a little bigger than a flower to the size of a normal girl, and then led him off towards the north. After only a few minutes of strolling, they came upon the most amazing sight Nicholas had ever seen.

Fairies strolled between beautiful huts, sometimes walking right through the enchanted walls, other fairies farmed berries by rubbing their hands along the bushes to hasten the progress of the growth. A few fairies watched Nicholas curiously as he passed them, following the little girl to a short fat hut. The fairy girl entered right through the wall, and Nicholas could hear her laughing when he bumped is nose trying to do the same. Sure enough, though, she opened a perfectly symmetrical hole in the side of the hut to allow for Nicholas to enter. There was another fairy in this hut, a lady that shared much of the same facial features of her daughter. In no time Nicholas had eaten and was resting on a hammock in the corner while the friendly fairies filled his pouch with provisions for his travels. Soon enough, Nicholas fell asleep. He woke up some time before the sun showed its golden face, and seeing everyone else was asleep, he snuck out of the hut through the hole that was still allowing a cool wind into the hut.

Nicholas's thieving senses quickly picked up on the fact that one particular hut was being guarded. As quietly as possible, he snuck over to near the hut, and he let his inner thief take over. After knocking out both unsuspecting fairies, Nicholas held them in front of him, causing the hut to allow him in. In the middle of the large hut was a single golden tube, beautiful engravings all down its rims. Inside was a beautiful blue powder that kept changing from a powder to a gas-like form, to liquid, and back again, also sending green ripples throughout it. Magic, Nicholas didn't know what kind, but it had to be special to be the only thing kept under guard in the camp. Without hesitation Nicholas snatched it up. Tenebris thistles instantly started to reach from the containment tube towards Nicholas's face, so he stuffed the beautiful vial into his cloaks pocket to stop the poisonous plant from reaching him. Then, quiet and sneaky as a fox, he entered back into where he was sleeping, took his packed bag, and disappeared into the night. He hoped fearfully that he wouldn't be caught, fairies, however gentle, were usually very revengeful, on the plus side he guessed that he wasn't being followed, and fairies had the tracking skills of a dead bird.