Never Ever

18

Just as he was about to impale Axel, Noire's body dropped to the ground again. Ever felt the remnant of a powerful surge of magic

She turned towards the source to finf a panting Romeo next to a slightly pale Maya

Maya: Are you guys alright?

Ever: Yes, what about you?

Romeo: Only slightly worn.. That took quite an amount of magic

Maya nodded

Axel: I'm fine, but Ever was hurt. If either of you can heal her

She shook her head: It's just a scratch. They need to recover. No need to waste more time and energy. We need to move and reach a friendlier territory. This magic is strong.. It screams Fae. I'm afraid some of our own are working against us, your highness..

He nodded gravely: Seems to be a large group, to be able to perform so many attacks, and one of that strength..

Ever: They might've even formed an alliance of their own..

He nodded again: I will contact the others as soon as possible

Ever nodded at him, looking grave, and Maya and Axel exchanged worried glances

Ever checked on Noire: I don't know the amount of damage he sustained. I hope he's going to be fine. If either of you would please check on him, and ensure he's no longer under a spell too

Romeo and Maya rested a bit, being fae, Romeo had recovered faster, and started tending to Noire. He declared that the big man would be fine, aside from a large lump on the back of his head

Axel commented that they should better get back on the road. The others agreed

Ever was only thankful she wasn't the one picked as marionette, she probably wouldn't have been able to struggle even for those mere moments as Noire had

She sighed, the Pixie forest was thankfully close now, they would be fine as long as they weren't attacked again

Romeo and Maya bound Noire using magic. They couldn't risk him being controlled again..

They had to carry his unconcious form on the horses

It was all well till they neared the edge of the forest. They were finally relaxing, but what them there wasn't just a normal pixie prank. It was much worse

Dark tendrils of magic crawled over them, they were paralyzed with fear. Every one of them was struggling to get free. Nothing worked, not even magic

Maya started to panic, Romeo and Axel struggled to no avail. Ever stopped struggling, seeing that Noire was waking up. She was afraid he'd be controlled again, if so, they wouldn't stand a chance

She saw him stand up, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head

As he realized what was happening, his eyes widened with shock

Ever: Noire! Can you help us? Try to remove them

He tried using magic, but didn't know what to do, the tendrils were approaching him

Axel: Forget it! Just try to get some help!

Romeo: See if any of the pixies are around!

Noire could barely nod his head at them before he fled the scene

He ran into the heart of the forest, calling for help

His voice became hoarse before he had a reply, just as he was about to despair..

Voice: What's your pants in a twist Fae?

He looked towards the direction of the voice, and found a smallish young man with bright yellow hair, almond shaped eyes and pointy ears

Noire: Prince Barthelomeo and his companions are in grave danger and in dire need of your help

The pixie sat on a stump, and crossed his knees leisurely: Don't you say? And why pray, should we help them?

Noire was in no mood to humor the pixie, not as if his friends had time anyway: To avoid war.. Now will you help or not? Please! They are going to die if we don't do something!

The pixie sighed: Very well.. We can have fun later then

He whistled, and a large group of pixies emerged from between the trees

Noire lead them back to his companions

The yellow haired pixie was stupefied: What the..?! What the hell is going on?

He saw the black tendrils almost consuming their prisoners. They looked weak and pale. Two of them had already lost conciousness and the other two were not so far behind

He exclaimed: Dark magic! Drake, call old Garnel, hurry!

One of the pixies rushed back to the woods

Yellow pixie: Have you tried using your own magic against these things?

Noire: I tried, but didn't know what to do, so it didn't work

The pixie looked at his people, they shook their heads at him, none of the seemed to know what to do exactly

A little fuscia haired pixie jumped right in: I have an idea. It might help till Garnel comes..

Yellow pixie nodded at her, his lips a thin line: Go ahead Lona, we're listening