Chapter 14

Our strange caravan of unlikely misfits follow the archer through the depths of the forest. Though trust was a hard won commodity in this world (as it is in any) each lost soul finds some degree of trustworthiness in his deep eyes and confident manner. Through the shaded glen of the forest, the elves knowingly lead them through, both pointy eared residents of this area didn't want to leave the adventure of this band of travelers behind, no matter what dangers would lay ahead.

And danger was to be had soon enough. For atop the Nogard Mountain, evil discontentment reigned. Lord Dermail was more than a little perturbed at losing his Dragon Warriors and his Fire Nymph both in the same sitting. Taking down the weak fairy palace and capturing the power of their little wings was supposed to be an easy, simple task. He sent both, not just one of the Dragon Masters, to easily destroy the protective Water Nymph, with the Fire Nymph as backup. But no, the imbeciles could not even defeat the gentle water spirit, let alone fetch him every one of the fairies' magic wings.

His crystal ball told him that there was yet one, perhaps two, of the species still alive. Two sets of pixie wings to pluck as yet before his power could be complete.

Alas! But at least my personally trained sorceress managed to collect the fairy wings she did. That worthless Fire Nymph carelessly left them to burn if not for Sorceress Anne's interference in the matter. Bothersome self-absorbed creature of evil! That fire wench!

He shakes his bearded head at the scene replaying on his crystal glass orb. How that stupid nymph that he himself had gone to a lot of trouble to release from her age-old curse of imprisonment, had wasted so much time taunting the final fairy that the pixie was able to be rescued out from under her! The mistress of fire was taken down and killed by a mystical potioned arrow that a mere human has brandished...

Or had she....

Dermail's wily eyes furrow as he witnesses the phased evaporation of the weak and wounded Fire Nymph once again. This time he noted, to put in the back of his mind, the hateful smile curling on her red lips at the very last second. As if she had discovered a way out of his bondage and thought nothing of double crossing him in that final puff of her own escape smoke.

More important to her burning soul than the evil of conquering the world was the fiery passion for vengeful, punitive measures to be brought against the man who had imprisoned her in that despised, cold world of ice for so long. Her warped mind had believed it was still actually him, living out here in the warmth he had denied her. Sitting there, so pretty, with the long, platinum blonde hair on his throne, waiting for her to destroy him with a viciousness for his blood running through her every vein....

"Nonetheless, we still have a world to take over. Am I not correct, Sorceress Anne?" Dermail looks up when his final, most powerful henchman enters the echoing chambers.

"The fairy dust powder has been added to your cauldron and I believe will suffice for the service required, despite the missing ounces of dusts left ungathered by the Fire Nymph." With a clinical detachment of evil, Anne reports the facts of life and death coldly, to her Wizard Master.

"Fine, then, Sorceress Anne. You hold the key to capturing the last of the magic we require, for the ultimate evil to be released. I lay the responsibility squarely on your shoulders. You know where the final ingredient lies. Do not let me down as the others have---and then, you and I, will rule the entire world!"

Dermail's promises of tyrannical glory and power dangle temptingly before the evil plotting eyes of Sorceress Anne.

"Yes, sir. It will come to pass."

The dark, burgundy draping down cascades around her body as she slinks across the black marble floors to a stone window. As she stares out, evil intent in the eyes behind the glass spectacles that had the power to see straight through a soul, reflecting back the golden light of her target. Shining through the dark, its radiant brilliance in the glass before her eyes, she was locked on the horizon towards it....

Indeed that shimmering was the focus of more than evil Sorceress Anne's. The handsome archer led the battle-worn group through the glen, through the forest and then the thicket to the path familiar to him and Princess Dorothy both.

She and her wounded Pegasus had walked the way with the rest because of its inability to fly. Master Quatre and his trusty falcon walked right alongside her, for reasons obvious to all but Dorothy.

Onward the group travels until it reaches the end where the forest's trees grow sparser and sparser until they finally break off, revealing to the astonished eyes of both fairy and elf, who had never glimpsed this from their well-hidden world of enchantment, a gleaming castle standing on a hill.

Yes, the sheer beauty of the pure white castle, with its golden roofed tiers and majestic flags unfurling proud and high on the wind was all impressive in itself. But the fluttering wings of the pegasi that seemed to dance about its towering peaks were the most breathtaking part of this majestic castle.

The sparkling waters of the moat that led to the interior was completely separated from the land around, save for the wooden drawbridge that would come down at only Trowa or perhaps Princess Dorothy's command.

But before they reach the entrance to beckon its opening passage for them and their newfound friends, the moment they first set foot upon the green, grassy knolls of home and out of the forest, trouble crashes down upon them out of nowhere.

In the split second before, Trowa could sense the danger and he acted on it as always, swiftly and decisively. Taking the fairy princess, still in his arms, and passes her as gently as possible to Sallie's now life filled arms. He orders the Nymph to make a dash to the drawbridge with Cathrine and commands Quatre to take them and the rest of the troupe all to run or fly towards the castle as fast as they could.

Trowa would stand and fight and hold back the forces of evil all by himself to protect them--to protect her--if that's what it took. Sallie, Cathrine, the little fairy, elves and falcon all rush past him at top speed, towards the castle's edge.

Drawing his bow and arrow from his quiver once again, Trowa's quick eyes dart about the edge of the treeline they had just exited from. There was something there--something wicked, something dangerous was watching them, wanting to capture and destroy them....

"This is her evil aura. She herself has come to claim your fairy."

Trowa is almost surprised to find the silent, jet-black haired Dragon Master standing beside him. He too was at the ready with a mystic green sword forming in his hands.

"I must protect her precious beauty." Trowa states, his eyes brimming with the conviction of the love he had fallen into with this fairy.

"Do you stand with me, Wufei?" The archer asks the dark, once evil companion standing beside him. Trowa was sure he used to be a part of whatever wickedness was coming, but now....

Is he truly on the side of good now?

"Not to protect your 'precious' fairy, Archer." Wufei says contrarily. He never abided weak women such as fairies. "But for Shenlong and Nataku, who were so filled with evil they could turn on one another to their deaths."

The one who had poisoned his noble and just dragons was still out there. His greatest minion was about to show herself and justice for his dragon, for his Meilan would prevail by his own hands upon evil Lord Dermail.

"Show yourself, Evil Woman! Or are you too frightened to reveal an ugliness so grotesque to face me!!" Wufei's challenging scream towards the forest's edge darkness was not quite Trowa's style, he never imagined there could be any member of the highly rated female sex that could ever be "ugly" or "grotesque" as well as evil. Insults were just not his noble style of confrontation.

However, when in all her dark red and black evil glory, the evil Sorceress named Anne appears from the shadows surrounding the treelined edge, an aura of pure, hateful darkness all about her evil flowing robes, gleaming glasses and pointed witch's headdress...

Well, even for kind hearted Trowa, the words "ugly" and "grotesque" did come to mind now that Wufei mentioned it...