by F. P. Spirit
Elladan cocked his head to one side, a single eye narrowing. “We haven’t known each other long, but I would say so.”
The Princess picked up a spoon in front of her and casually played with it. “So, say something were to happen to you. Would they do anything to save you?”
Elladan did not like the sound of that thinly veiled threat. He threw up his hands in front of him. “Now hold on there, little lady. I thought we were going to be friends.”
A wide smile spread across Anya’s lips. “Oh, my dear Elladan. I wouldn’t dream of harming a hair on that gorgeous head of yours.”
Before he could respond, the Princess dropped her spoon, and waved her hands at him in a circular motion, two words falling from her lips. “Tristis Mutatio.”
Elladan tried to stand up, but the sudden tingle of magic surrounded him. Abruptly he felt himself sinking downward, the top of the table disappearing above. Elladan tried to summon his lute, but it would not appear. He attempted to cry out, but no sound came from his throat. He gazed around in panic, and saw that his hands had grown smaller, his fingers shortened, and that grey hair had sprouted out of them.
A pair of large hands suddenly grabbed him and lifted him up into the air. Anya’s red-haired attendant towered over him, a wicked smile across her dark features. The scarlet woman carried him to the Princess and handed him over, Anya snuggling him against her soft bosom. Elladan, panic setting in, tried to escape from her grasp, but the Princess held him firmly in place. She gently stroked his head and back, while softly cooing to him.
“Now, now, Elladan. Don’t be scared. I’m sure your friends will soon be here to rescue you.”
A Bunny Good Time
The slim elf spun on his heel and saw a huge figure towering over him.
Glolindir stood at the top level of the Darkwoods monolith, Lloyd and Elistra beside him, the trio peering anxiously out the southern archway. The lush green forest spread out before them, reaching all the way to the horizon, the only visible break in the canopy being a parting in the trees about two miles south of there. That was the meadow in which they were supposed to meet with the Princess Anya.
After the delivery of her invitation, the Princess’ airship had moved off, briefly hovering over that glade before parking itself above the forest a few miles farther south. Not knowing what to expect, the group had split up. Alana, Cyclone, and Syndir guarded the entrance while Glo, Lloyd, and Elistra kept watch from above.
Meanwhile, Elladan led the others to rendezvous with the Princess. That had been almost an hour ago. Glo was aware it would take his friends the better part of an hour to reach the meadow, but for some reason he was still anxious.
Lloyd seemed to share his concerns. The young man’s brow was knit, as he squinted out the wide archway. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Elistra turned her violet eyes upon the two of them, a small frown across her forehead. “Normally I would say give it time, but I too feel uneasy about this ‘Princess.’”
Glo steepled his hands in front of his chin, and slowly nodded. “I feel it as well.”
The young wizard paused a moment, pressing his hands together like a spider on a mirror as he decided what to do. Their best chance to keep tabs on their friends was Glo’s familiar, but Raven, spooked by that little black dragon, had flatly refused to go near the meadow.
Glo let out a deep sigh. “I’m going to try Raven one more time.”
Elistra smiled at him encouragingly. “Good idea.”
Glo closed his eyes and reached out with his feelings, swiftly making contact with the little black bird. She was still flitting around the forest to the south, not far from the glade where the meeting was taking place. Glo tried once again to steer her toward the meadow, but the stubborn bird continued to veer away.
Finally, Glo lost his patience. We need your help! Just go to the edge of the darned meadow—you don’t even have to leave the trees.
He was met with a mixture of emotions, fear, shock, and a touch of remorse. He had never yelled at his familiar before, and she seemed quite hurt. Yet Raven finally gave in, and headed off toward the clearing.
Now it was Glo’s turn to feel regret. A soft hand touched his shoulder. Glo opened his eyes and saw Elistra staring up at him with clear concern. “What’s wrong?”
A smile spread across the wizard’s lips as he reached up and grasped her hand. “It’s nothing, really. I convinced Raven to go to the meadow, but I think I hurt her feelings in doing so.”
Understanding dawned in the seeress’ eyes. “Oh. Well… she was being a bit of a pill.”
Her observation elicited a short laugh from both Glo and Lloyd. Glo winked at his two companions. “Just don’t tell her that.”
Elistra pressed her lips together and drew two fingers across her mouth as if closing a zipper. “My lips are sealed.”
A broad smile swept across the wizard’s face, but was quickly swept away as his gut went all awry. Elistra immediately noted the change in him. “What’s wrong… and don’t tell me nothing this time.”
Glo responded with a short nod. “It’s Raven. Something’s happened.”
Lloyd grabbed the end of his cloak, as if preparing to fly off, but Glo reached out and grasped the warrior’s shoulder. “Wait! She’s flying back here to tell us what happened.”
Lloyd spun around to look at Glo, his eyes filled with concern. “But that might be too late! Shouldn’t we just meet her halfway?”
Glo shook his head. “She’s clearly upset, but not totally panicked. I think it best if we get the others, and hear what she has to tell us first.”
“I’ll go fetch them,” Elistra offered. The seeress spun around and hastened toward the stairwell before Glo could utter a response.
Lloyd’s shoulders slowly relaxed under his grip. The young man let go of his cloak and stepped back, gazing at Glo with a sheepish grin. “I guess I’m just on edge is all.”
“You and me both,” Glo agreed.
Only a few minutes passed till Raven winged her way through the monolith archway and onto Glo’s waiting arm, but it felt like an eternity. The moment she landed, she began squawking in elvish.
“Elladan querna vardor! Querna vardor!”
Glo’s face scrunched up as he stared at the bird incredulously. Had he heard right? “Querna vardor?”
Raven hopped up and down on his outstretched arm. “Elladan querna vardor! Querna vardor!”
“What’s she saying?” Lloyd asked.
“Something about a rabbit?” came a familiar voice from behind them.
The duo spun around and saw Elistra rushing toward them with Cyclone in tow. Glo gazed at the seeress curiously. “I didn’t know you could speak elvish.”
Elistra and Cyclone drew up next to them, the seeress giving him a wan smile. “Speak would be an exaggeration. I know the odd word or two.”
Glo peered at her uncertainly, till Lloyd shook him by the shoulder. “Why is Raven talking about rabbits? I thought I heard her mention Elladan.”
Glo swept his gaze across the trio, not quite believing what he was about to tell them. “Well, according to Raven, Elladan’s been turned into a rabbit.”
Lloyd’s eyes went wide.
Elistra’s head cocked to one side, a delicate eyebrow arched.
Yet, Cyclone’s response surprised them all. The hunter let out a gruff laugh. “Heh. What a fool.”
Lloyd eyes widened, his mouth partially agape as he stared at the hunter. “Seriously?”
Cyclone merely shrugged. “It’s what he gets for letting his guard down.”
Lloyd’s face reddened with anger, but Glo interrupted him before he could retort. “This is no time to argue. No matter how he got into this situation, Elladan still needs our help. What I’d like to know is why she turned hi
m into a rabbit in the first place?”
“They’re easy to control,” Elistra answered almost immediately.
Glo eyed the seeress curiously. “That may be true, but what does it gain her?”
Elistra folded her arms across her chest, her face taking on a grim cast. “It’s a test. She wants to see what will we do.”
“Well Princess or not, she needs to learn that she can’t just go around and do whatever she wants to people,” Lloyd declared vehemently.
Glo saw the d expression on his friend’s face—he couldn’t have agreed more. Having grown up in a noble household, Glo had been raised with the privileges of position. Yet he had also been taught the responsibilities that went along with it. A true noble used their power to help people. Lloyd had been raised similarly, but there were far too many nobles who had not. Those were the ones who gave nobility a bad name, and this Anya seemed to be one of them.
Glo gave his friend an understanding nod. “So, what do you propose we do?”
Lloyd was silent for a few moments, chewing on his lower lip as he thought it through. “Well, we can’t just leave the monolith unguarded, but someone needs to go down there and have a heart-to-heart with this so-called ‘Princess.’”
The young warrior’s hands came to rest on his sword hilts.
“Give me the crown for the Colossus and I’ll stay.”
All eyes turned to Elistra. The seeress’ eyes were ablaze, her tone as hard as steel. “Just let anyone try to sneak in here, and I’ll give them a welcome they won’t soon forget.”
Glo let out a short laugh despite the gravity of the situation. Elistra’s determination was heartening to say the least. Aksel had given Glo the crown that controlled the huge golem, just before he left with Ruka. The wizard doffed his pack, pulled out the crown, and proffered it to Elistra with a wry smile. “Woe be to anyone who crosses paths with you, my dear.”
Elistra accepted the crown with a gracious curtsey and a wry smile of her own, her response in a mock lofty tone. “Why thank you, my elvish lord.”
Glo stood up and dusted his hands off, his mind racing all the while. Even with the Colossus at her command, he was still loath to leave Elistra here alone. “So, who else stays behind?”
Cyclone folded his arms across his chest, and cast a hard stare around the group. “I’m going. If she has dragons, I’m fighting them.”
“Me too,” Lloyd said before anyone else could speak. “I think Glo should come as well.”
Glo mulled it over for a moment, and found he agreed. The three of them were the most likely to be effective against a dragon. Still, he half wished Ruka was here, though if the Princess really could control dragons, then she might be more of a liability than not.
Elistra interrupted his train of thought, an impish smile on her lips. “It’s fine with me if the three of you want to go, but good luck telling Alana she has to stay behind.”
Donnie had been silently circling around the canopy, searching for the invisible wizard when the Princess cast a spell upon Elladan. Donnie watched with trepidation as he saw his friend shrink down in size, his fingers growing shorter, his face longer, and his ears extending. When it finally stopped, Elladan had been turned into a little grey bunny!
Donnie nearly choked. This would be comical in any other situation. If they got out of this alive, Donnie was not going to let Elladan live this one down.
The scarlet-clad woman scooped Elladan up and handed him over to the Princess. ‘Bunny Elladan’ tried to bolt, but Anya held him firmly against her bosom, cooing to him and softly stroking his fur. “Now, now, Elladan. Don’t be scared. I’m sure your friends will soon be here to rescue you.”
The red-haired woman in scarlet scoffed at the Princess’ remark. “A lot of good that will do them.”
Anya gazed up at her attendant, and softly clucked her tongue at her. “Now, now, Mallona, we shall give them a fighting chance.”
The Princess turned her head, and raised her voice. “Sigfus, send for Kalkolith, Dazzle, and Scortch.”
At first there was no response. Anya spun her head the other way, her expression growing quickly perturbed. She opened her mouth to speak again, when a disembodied male voice responded to her, in a semi-strangled tone. “Your majesty… are you certain you want them specifically?”
The voice had come from the other side of the table from where Donnie stood, a short distance from where the Princess sat.
Ah ha! Found you! Donnie thought in triumph. The slight elf began to circle around behind Anya, toward his intended target.
Meanwhile, Anya responded to the wizard, her displeasure with him quite apparent in her tone. “Did I ask you for your opinion?”
The chastised wizard remained silent. A smug expression crossed Anya’s exquisite features as she spoke once more. “Good then. Summon those three. I want to see what these ‘Heroes’ can do with them.”
Donnie arched an eyebrow as he continued to circle around the Princess’ seat. Anya had been toying with them all along. She already knew who they were, and further, what they were doing here. Donnie just hoped that she didn’t know the truth about Ruka. If she were to get her hands on the bronze dragon girl…
Donnie suddenly stopped in his tracks as a strange sensation came over him. His surroundings seemed to shimmer and fade, the meadow and everyone in it slowly disappearing, until he was surrounded by nothing but a barren gray landscape. Donnie swiveled his head around, seeing nothing but gray rock and sky in all directions, when he abruptly felt a presence behind him. The slim elf spun on his heel and saw a huge figure towering over him. It was a ghostly, semi-transparent form in the shape of a huge dragon.
Donnie froze, his blood running cold. The thing was impossibly large—it was bigger by far than any dragon he had ever seen. Donnie stood there frozen in place as the huge beast opened its enormous maw and bent down toward him. It drew closer and closer, its great ghostly teeth pointed directly at the hapless elf. Donnie felt absolutely helpless as he saw his certain demise.
Lloyd’s jaw was firmly set as he skimmed over the treetops, toward his fateful meeting with the Princess of Lanfor. Glo and Cyclone flanked him on either side, the wizard having cast fly spells on the both of them. They were traveling at a fast pace, Glo finally having mastered the art of flight, and Cyclone, though his first time in the air, taking to it like a fish to water. At this rate, they would reach the meadow in a matter of minutes, hopefully before the wayward Princess could turn any more of their friends into fluffy little bunnies.
The trees began to part ahead, signifying they had nearly reached their goal, when a familiar black form shot across the sky in front of them. It was Raven. Lloyd screeched to a halt in mid-air, signaling for the others to follow suit.
Raven flew up and hovered before them, crying out a warning in elvish. “Ta naa neuma! Eller ier ramaloke!”
Glo’s eyes went wide, his voice charged with excitement. “Ramaloke? Sut nir’?”
The small bird squawked a single word answer. “Nelde.”
Lloyd shifted his gaze from the black bird to Glo. “What’s she saying?”
Glo’s face had turned into a stony mask, his lips pressed tightly together. “She says it’s a trap. There are dragons ahead. Three of them.”
Cyclone hovered in the air nearby, his eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t add up. If there were three dragons, they would be hunting us, not waiting in ambush.”
He turned his gaze toward Glo. “Ask her how big these dragons are.”
Glo turned to his familiar and spoke once again in elvish. “Sut alta ier ron?”
The constant beat of Raven’s small wings kept her aloft as she responded to her master’s query. “Il ai. Il ure.”
Glo arched an eyebrow as he swept his gaze back to Lloyd and Cyclone. “Not small, but not large either.”
Cyclone’s mouth twisted into a half-smirk. “Heh. Just as I thought. They’re juvenile dragons at best. Probably no bigger than that bronze you hang around with.”
“Interesting,” Glo drawled, his eyes widening as if he’d just had some sort of revelation.
Lloyd cocked his head to one side. “What are you thinking, Glo?”
Glo glanced from Cyclone to Lloyd, a thin smile on his lips. “Apparently, this Anya can somehow control dragons, but what if her influence only extends to younger ones?”
Lloyd nodded his head in understanding. That would make the Princess far less formidable than he had thought a few moments ago. Still, this was no time to sit here and examine her shortcomings. “That’s a good theory, but right now we need to focus on this trap.”
A wicked smile stretched across Cyclone’s face. “I say we turn their own trap against them.”
Lloyd’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the dragon hunter. “What do you have in mind?”
Glo’s insides were tied in a knot as he crept around the large thicket of brambles at the north end of the meadow. His hands were at his side, cupped around a bright ball of red light—a welcoming gift for the dragons that lay in wait. The thicket suddenly dropped away, and three large forms sprung up before him, all letting out a challenging roar. They were three young dragons, a red, a white, and a blue, all standing easily three heads above him.
It took all the courage Glo could muster not to cut and run right then and there. Yet somehow, he managed to stand his ground. He suddenly remembered the spell that was held in check between his palms. The frightened wizard thrust his hands toward the white dragon in the middle of the three, the vague notion in the back of his mind that it was an ice type.
