Silvestre Pendragon

Tick Tock

The ash like clouds thickened with every mile they rode and with every clip of their horses hooves, exhaustion slowly engulfed Silvestre. Milo's face was painted with worry, his sharp jaw was clenched and his gaze was solitary, and Silvestre couldn't help but feel a stab of heartache when she looked at him. If only they could get to Crystal in time. Colour had begun to drain from the sky like the sand in an hourglass, a constant reminder that they didn't have long. People are dying. Silvestre knew it. She could sense the fires burning, the hissing flames and the smoke that danced in delight as it mocked her Kingdom. 

Silvestre had always envisioned magic as a bright glowing ball of light, she could sense her own feisty energy and  Milo's vibrant sphere of passion, but something was nagging at Silvestre, pinching at her arms and scraping at her brain. A darkness so terrifying and intense, it was both alluring and repulsive.  Then, with a sudden jolt, Silvestre realised it must be Noirsk's energy, it was pulling at her own power, willing her to reach out, egging her to touch the glossy black sphere, and try as she did to sweep the thought away it was useless. Cautiously, Silvestre allowed her own power to tentatively reach towards this new, threatening jewel...   Immediately, she jerked back. A sinister layer of ice had seized Silvestre. Leaping down from her steed, Silvestre landed firmly on the ground, gasping for air,  it had felt like she had just been knocked in the stomach with a baton, it was as if Noirsk had managed to clench her icy fingers around her heart, draining her of her own fire. Shocked and confused Silvestre clammed her fists shut, beckoning the warmth to return. 

"You okay Sil? " Milo asked as he dismounted.

A bright orange flame erupted from Silvestre's palm and the golden warmth returned to Silvestre's body, throwing her head back and closing her eyes she sighed in relief. For a petrifying  moment a darkness had enveloped Silvestre; a sickening emptiness. Eventually her panic subsided and she opened her eyes to see Milo. 

"What happened?" 

"Huh? Nothing." Silvestre lied, "I thought we should set up camp and start again as soon as the sun rises."

*** 

Milo had cleared the earth of leaves with one sweep of his hand, it still amused Silvestre how easily magic flowed from him, even now she still instinctively glanced around her before lighting the fire. Night had fallen, and the crackling of the fire echoed in Silvestre's ears as she toyed with the flames on her fingertips, Milo was eating some of the bread and ham Florette had managed to find and he edged closer to Silvestre before slumping back and gazing up at the stars. 

"Crystal loved looking at the stars, she would say they were the diamonds of people's souls and that gods lifted them into the sky so they could watch down on everything. She said they were like her... that the stars could see the past, future and everything that could be..."

Silvestre fell back to admire the glistening constellations, the warm tips of her fingers brushed gently against Milo's, sending a wave of light over her, making her forget completely about Noirsk's ice and dark fires. Gradually, Milo intertwined his fingers with hers and Silvestre released a sigh, she hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath. 

"She's clever, and if she's anything like you then I'm sure she'll be ok." Silvestre replied, reassuring both Milo and herself, trying to believe it. "It'll be ok" her words were soft and her eyes were growing heavy. Turning, she watched as Milo ran a hand through his messy hair.

All she wanted was to grab his shirt and pull him into a kiss, she wanted to pretend that everything would work out, she wanted to escape this mess and just kiss him. The fire was soaring, fed by this thought, sparks flew into the sky and Silvestre returned her gaze to the sky. Her grey-blue eyes fixed on the stars. 

When all this is over she said to herself. 

***

A sharp, stinging pain cut along Silvestre's arm, sitting up she shook it off and ignored it, Milo was still sleeping and an eerie grey fog creeped through the forest, Silvestre enhanced the dying fire and decided to check on the horses. The forest of Jaden was unusually quiet and Silvestre was instantly alert, she found the horses and watered them, stroking their smooth coats before beginning to tack them up, the familiar smell of the leather saddles reminding her of Milo. She proceeded to do the buckles when she suddenly noticed her white bloodstained shirt, the sleeve of her arm was glistening with crimson blood. Her blood. Pushing up the sleeve, Silvestre gasped. Etched into her forearm were two bloody words: T I C K    T O C K . Frantically, Silvestre rubbed her arm, expecting the blood to disappear, this has to be some kind of illusion, how could Noirsk possibly-  Silvestre's thoughts were interrupted by a voice, 

"Crystal!" Milo yelled. Sprinting back to the camp Silvestre saw Milo, his hands were shaking and he was pacing back and forth, "Sil, I heard her, she screamed! Didn't you hear it?!" 

"Milo," 

"She's here"

"Milo, its a trick. No-one screamed."

"She's, she's, but ..." His murmurs faded into nothing as Silvestre reached for his hands. 

"Noirsk's playing a game with us. It's ok, it's not real." As soon as the words left her mouth Milo noticed her bloodstained arm, as he grabbed it, Silvestre winced. He read the words and his face turned stone cold. A flare of anger rushes through his eyes, "Milo.." He waved his palm over the rough, crooked marks, his cool fingers brushing softly against the skin. Silvestre's eyes widened in surprise, the skin had completely healed. Staring up at Milo in awe, "Thank you."

"I'm not going to let her hurt you or Crystal ever again."  

Tick tock. Time was running out and Silvestre's internal fire was roaring with anger and determination, 

"Trust me," Silvestre said firmly, "She won't get another chance." 

Drawing her sword, she gave Milo a small nod. 

"Lets go."