Breaking the Spell: A Diamond Castle Fanfiction

Chapter 7: Snowfall

The next morning, when Lyra awoke, it had begun to snow. Knowing this, she put on some appropriate winter attire she had brought with her, and after putting her cloak back on, she returned to her mission, Silver striding alongside her. Though it was cold, she thought the snow looked beautiful as it fell from the sky.

Soon, she came across one of the landmarks Jeremy had mentioned. She was almost halfway there. She continued on her way, feeling as if her time in the castle had been so long ago. Even though it was only a day, her being gone. Although Dori and Phaedra had sent her to find Lydia merely to determine where she was, Lyra wanted to find her because she believed everyone deserved a second chance. She wanted to gain Lydia's trust, win her over. Lyra was aware Lydia didn't trust her. She couldn't really blame her. She was technically loyal to the Muses, after all.

It was quiet at this time, as it was still fairly early in the morning. It was peaceful. Eventually, she decided to take a break and learn her other set of spells. Like the first, the book disappeared after being read completely. The colour of the gauntlet's gem became a slightly darker shade of blue with the power increase the new spells' energy gave it. Before it was sky blue, now it was more of an azure blue and it now seemed to glow a little.

Meanwhile, Lydia sat in her cave thinking. Thinking about everything that happened over the last few months, about being free yet powerless, and most importantly, about Lyra. She knew that when the muses found out what Lyra had done they would be angry with the apprentice, no point denying that. Nor was there any denying that Lydia knew she wasn't to be trusted by the muses or anyone else who had been put under one of her spells. Lydia's reason, she thought, had been a good one at the time. But thinking back, she realized that her reasoning did not matter. The muses would probably come for her, and then what?

Lydia did not know. But the sudden realization dawned on her, that she wanted to redeem herself. Her reason for everything she'd done had faded away, so there was no point in getting rid of the muses anymore. Lydia wanted to change, let go of the past. Part of it was Lyra--she felt as if she should change her ways for her. But she didn't understand why it was Lyra who was driving her to this decision...even if her doing so was unintentional.

Lydia figured she should return to the Diamond Castle, explain to Lyra and the others her decision. She felt, however, that she should leave out the reasons behind her actions until she was able to be trusted again, and she was able to trust them . She got up from her spot and went to find Slyder, who was asleep nearby. He awoke at the sound of her footsteps approaching him. "Mistress?"

"I need you to take me to the Diamond Castle. Now."

"Of course, Mistress. Anything for you. But I do have one request," said Slyder, "I want to ask you to revert me back to my true form. Would you, please?"

"Fine," Lydia rolled her eyes. "When I find a way to. You forget, Slyder, that I no longer have my flute, or any other form of magic for that matter."

"Couldn't you find someone who does?"

"Not a bad idea," she muttered. "For once."

"Hey, I resent that," said Slyder. Lydia got on his back and they flew out of the cave. As they were flying, however, something hit Slyder, causing him to have no choice but to land. When Lydia looked to see what had hit him, she saw that an arrow had pierced him, relatively close to his heart. A few moments after he landed, his body began to glow, and he began to transform. When the glow faded away, he was no longer a serpent, but a human.

"I'm human..." he managed to get out, the arrow causing him much pain. Now that he was human, he had blonde hair, and his eyes were the same light brown as they had always been. As he slowly removed the arrow, he winced in pain several times. "Did you see who shot me?"

"Not very well," said Lydia. "But he looked like he may have been aiming for me." Slyder didn't reply. He held his hand over the spot where he had been hit, and the pain was evident in his eyes, the light slowly leaving them as he lay on the ground, and took his last breath. "Slyder?"

After a moment, Lydia knew he was gone. She stood up and resumed walking, yet feeling as though she was partially responsible for his fate. It was she, after all, who had transformed him into a flying serpent to begin with, and it was also Lydia who had given him the ability to sense Melody's singing. She hadn't even gotten the chance to apologize. And someone obviously wanted the former muse dead, but why, Lydia was not entirely sure.

Lyra heard several voices coming from somewhere nearby, and it seemed as if there were people hunting. From what they were saying, Lyra guessed that they had missed their exact target. Lyra picked up her pace a bit, and wondered what the men were hunting for. As she continued her mission, she hoped they weren't after Lydia. Even after everything the woman had done in the past...she didn't deserve to die. She deserved a second chance. And she felt, for a moment, that feeling she couldn't explain...it was like hundreds of little butterflies. Silver meowed at her, and she thought, for a moment, that she saw a familiar figure emerging from the snow-covered trees.