𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 - (𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐋)

Chapter 13 | The War

A/N: Please stop messaging me asking to continue writing, I wrote this story for myself and I can't guarantee 100% commitment to writing or completing this story. There are plenty of others stories to read. 

The group knew they had no chance of winning the moment they left Avalon. As they stepped foot into the Endless Woods, they noticed how much it changed. An overbearing sense of gloominess seemed to follow them as they strayed further from the safe-haven. Carcasses of creatures began rotted on the side of the path and the only sources of light they had to guide them, as moved further into the forest, were small orbs that Merlin provided, and a single star in the sky, which upon closer inspection was not a star at all, but the sun and the last remnant of light it could produce.

After hours of walking, the group came to halt at a dried-up pond, and took it upon themselves to have some lunch. As they sat and ate, they pondered the outcomes this battle could have on the wood. Hester however, couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to see her mother again. Although her death had happened many years before, Hester remembered it so vividly. The memory haunted her almost everyday and although she never expressed how much it unsettled her, it often left her feeling uneasy and agitated. Hester felt nauseated. She didn't want to think about this, yet it seemed that it was all she could think about. Every thought led back to her mother and she couldn't seem to escape the feeling of dread.

When it was time to get moving again, Hester could barely walk. She had let every fear and worry she had build up inside of her and for the first time in her life, felt as though she was going to faint from the anxiety she experienced. The witch used Gretel's wheelchair as her only support, and tried to move at a steady pace. But with every step she took, the dizzier she felt.

It wasn't until she saw Hester stumble out of the corner of her eye, that Anadil began to worry about her. When they stopped for lunch she took note of how absentminded Hester seemed, but she didn't think it was that unusual as majority of the group appeared to be preoccupied with their thoughts as well. But as she watched her then, she realised how unsteady she seemed. Anadil wished that she could go and help her, but she had to stay with the older heroes, and Hester would be humiliated if someone tried to help her, so instead she just kept her eyes on the path and focused on preparing herself for the war.

After a few more hours of walking they finally arrived at their destination... Stymph Forest. It seemed almost comical (write stuff about stymph forest). Then they heard the drumming. At first the sound was like whisper, but then it got louder and louder until it was all they could hear. Then they saw them. Lines of soldiers marching in time with the beat, only they weren't soldiers. The undead villains largely outnumbered them and they knew that. As they came closer the group could see the cruel looks conveyed on their faces.

Hester scanned the line. She recognised almost all of them despite their rotting flesh. She saw Jack's Giant, Captain Hook, Cinderella's Stepmother, and then as she neared the end of the first row, she saw her. Hester gasped and took a step back. Her mother stared her down with empty eyes and her rotting lips turned upwards into a malevolent smile, which sent a chill down Hester's spine.

"Merlin, this is where we 'leave it to you'!" Hort called out. The old heroes instinctively huddled closer together, using the younger students as a shield to hide from their enemies.

"Looks just like when I saw him in Granny's nightdress," Red Riding Hood uttered, as she cautiously gazed at the wolf. "Ate me in one swallow then. But I'm a grown woman now. Which means he'd have to chew me first–"

"I'd take a wolfs teeth over a hook anyway," Peter Pan retorted.

"My stepmother has an axe!" Cinderella boomed.

"You win," said Hansel.

"It's not your stepmother, okay? They're not any of your old villains," rebutted Hester, having heard enough of them talking about their villains. "They're zombies. They're not real."

Hester heard her voice waver. She knew that whether they were real or not, those zombies were only resurrected to kill and no matter what she told herself or the others, they were going to get hurt one way or another.

The group anxiously stood waiting for the Dark Army to come to a halt. It wasn't until they did, that they noticed Merlin had vanished. They looked around hoping to see his hat or his staff, but suddenly a blast of wind landed on the ground and two figures stood facing the heroes and students. The dim lighting barely illuminated their faces, but it didn't matter for the School Master's porcelain skin and white spiked hair were unmistakeable, as were the emerald green eyes and luscious blonde hair of the girl to his left. Sophie scanned over the group letting her eyes rest on Tedros and Agatha for far longer than needed. A malicious grin spread across her face at the sight of their joined hands, but faltered at the sight of the diadem upon Agatha's head.

"Agatha of Woods Beyond. The girl who never wanted to be a princess," said Sophie. "And here she is with a crown."

"Evil has a queen. So too does good." Agatha retorted.

"If I have a prince, you want a prince, if I have a crown, you want a crown. It's what I love about you best, Aggie. Always a step behind me." Sophie taunted. 

This banter continued back and forth until The School Master clearly had enough. He bared his teeth and looked towards the stymphs. 

"KILL THEM!" He commanded. The Dark Army surged forward towards the heroes with a violent roar, but were stopped when the stumps hadn't moved. 

"I said...kill them!" The School Master bellowed. The birds remained still and the forest was eerily silent.

"Yoo-hoo! Over here!" a voice squeaked from above. The Dark Army and the heroes both looked up to see Merlin riding on a stymph. "You see, I'm afraid that you underestimated your enemy, my dear boy. You can't expect to win if both your Evers and Nevers are against you."

With a swish of a hand, Merlin illuminated the sky and revealed troops of Nevers and Evers alike, perched upon the backs of the stymphs, aiming flaming arrows at the Dark Army. With a cry, the students began to launch flaming arrows and spells at the army. Caught off guard by this ambush, the villains attacked with mediocrity and easily fell victim to the charges.

 Students and villains alike assaulted each other with hexes, curses and attacks. Blood, fire and magic seemed to be inescapable as the fighting escalated. The battle proved to be ruthless and no mercy was spared. Hester weaved in and out through the battlefield, blocking everything that was thrown at her. She need to find her mother and stop her from killing Hansel and Gretel. 

She finally found them just before her mother did. Her mother recognised Hester immediately and her face soften as she came closer, distracted by the sight of her daughter after so many years since her death. When the decaying witch got close enough, Hester murmured a spell setting her mother on fire. She stumbled back as the flames consumed her body, turning her into charred remains.

Hester watched her mother die, for the second time. The action around her seemed to disappear and all she could see was her mothers burning body, almost as if she had tunnel vision. She knew that she had to move soon, she was right in the middle of the battle, but it felt as though her body was filled with lead and it was impossible to do anything. Suddenly she was swept off her feet and taken high into the air. Beatrix threw Hester onto the back of her stymph and handed her a bow and a set of arrows.

"I know that might've been hard, but she's gone now and standing there, staring at her body won't do any good to anyone," said the Ever girl.

Hester was thankful for Beatrix's usually obnoxious bluntness. As they charged back into the battle, they fought with every bit of strength and power they had. The time they had left until the Sun extinguished entirely was running out and both sides were determined to find away to save themselves from ceasing to exist. 

Hester knew that she had to keep fighting until the end, not only for the sake of The Woods, but also so the guilt she felt for killing her mother could become just another step closer to winning this war. So Hester made a promise to herself to not stop until she took her last breath and she was able to keep to that promise.