The Sleeping Beauty's Prince

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lumbia stopped laughing. While Owen was still paused in shock, she reached around, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and wrenched it out of his hands. She held the blade against his throat and grabbed his arm tightly with her other hand, grinning. "There's nothing you can do against me," she said. "You should just give in."

Owen struggled to break free, but the more he did the tighter the fairy pressed the weapon.

Claire hadn't made a sound. She saw that the fairy's attention was on Owen, so she crept around her side. When she was close enough, she ran forward and yanked a big handful of Lumbia's silver hair. "Let go of him!"

Lumbia shrieked in pain, but she didn't release the prince. "You pest!" she hissed.

"Let go!" She ripped at the long hair again, pulling loose some strands.

With a shout of rage, Lumbia pulled Owen around and hurled him at Claire, and they tumbled painfully over the ground together.

Owen groaned and tried to move. "Can you get off my arm?"

Claire rolled over and blew out her hair that had caught in her mouth. "We can't kill her," she muttered.

Owen shook his head. "No."

"We have to think of another way. Quickly."

Owen nodded and started looking around, as if he would just see an idea floating in the air in front of him. He studied the wall that he had landed next to. The colorful crystals blinked back at him.

"Wait," he started. He dragged himself to his feet. "I have an idea!"

"I do too!" Claire exclaimed, running toward him.

"Watch out!" Owen grabbed Claire and lifted her out of the way as a ball of light hurtled toward them. It hit the wall instead, sending shattered crystals flying.

Claire wiped the stinging shards off her skin. "What's your idea?"

"Those crystals. They have magical fog trapped inside," Owen explained. "Speaking of which, you might want to move to the right. You're almost stepping in some."

Claire moved aside quickly. "And?"

"I'm going to use one, but I need you to distract her."

"I could use my idea for that," Claire said. She started running in Lumbia's direction.

"And what's that?" Owen called after her.

"Light!" Claire shouted over her shoulder.

Owen gave up trying to understand and turned to search the wall for the crystal he needed.

Claire approached Lumbia. When she was near enough, the fairy pointed a glowing hand at her and laughed once. "Come to face me again?"

Claire took a few steps closer.

"I can't actually kill you," Lumbia said. "Regretfully. You are only here in your dreams. But I can make you feel pain. I can make you suffer in the Shadow Lands."

"In your dreams." Claire was only a few feet away.

Owen finally found what he was looking for. He pulled at a yellow crystal, wrapping his fingers under it to pry it loose. His smile grew when it broke from the wall into his hand. "Perfect," he said. He looked over to see how Claire was doing.

She was drawing closer and closer to Lumbia. The light in the fairy's extended hand was growing. Claire noted that she was still keeping her eyes of her own magic. When it seemed that the magic would burst forth at any second, Claire charged.