Dead Forest felt less like a forest from the pages of an epic fantasy novel and more like a haunted graveyard. Each trunk, root and branch protruding from the earth like broken bones. No sunlight or warmth made it down to the forest floor, despite there being not a single leaf, blade of grass or colonies of moss to absorb the sun’s rays. The stones and top soil beneath Pan’s, Snowfire’s, Excalibur’s and Tenderfoot’s hooves were devoid of life like the crust of an apple crumble. Everyone shivered beneath their clothes and fur.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Greenwood yawned. “Let me see the map.”129Please respect copyright.PENANA5E8kCHeepB
“Why? You can’t read.” Dawn turned her nose up in the air. “You’d probably eat it.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAqC61gzU5qh
Florimal reached out to grab Dawn by the hair, but Greenwood grabbed Florimal’s hand.129Please respect copyright.PENANAHh6YilUnTH
“It’s not her fault, Purple. It’s the pregnancy hormones.”129Please respect copyright.PENANA59GrrlOx6L
Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of the tension, Daisy attempted to befriend Suki.129Please respect copyright.PENANARX9zGopliT
“Um…are you…magically disabled?” Daisy asked, swapping snacks with the Halfling.129Please respect copyright.PENANAE049VZu7Ly
“Wot?” Suki’s head snapped up, wiping crumbs off her face with the back of her hand.129Please respect copyright.PENANAIcZKakAN6F
“I didn’t mean to ask, but…”129Please respect copyright.PENANAw1K359HSQr
“I don’t know what you mean, but whatever it is, you don’t need to be all shy about it.”129Please respect copyright.PENANA47hNwP6enL
Daisy spent her entire life hiding a secret that would end her life if anyone found out.129Please respect copyright.PENANA3dcb1trrqT
“The adults were talking earlier about how the food that girl gave us is unique to us. You’re human, right?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAs9ZYep5Yv3
“Kinda.” Suki nodded hesitantly, raising one of her brows.129Please respect copyright.PENANAv19lWBnEuv
“You’re like Gen.”129Please respect copyright.PENANATV540BgxUm
“We are sisters. Duh.” Suki rolled her blue eyes.129Please respect copyright.PENANAwDmecVDWwS
“...but the food she gave you. It’s not like what she ate.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAfWqDckFprS
“How would you know that?” Suki huffed impatiently.129Please respect copyright.PENANABOOp0U9S0O
“Because she…” Daisy was unsure how to articulate her feelings. Despite going through everything the adults in the group had, Daisy held onto her childish understanding of the world. It confused her when Suki spoke like Florimal, Dawn, Randolph and Greenwood.129Please respect copyright.PENANAUFulMUfr1I
“Is she making you sad?” Pan asked, lifting his arm as a warning sign.129Please respect copyright.PENANAIiiAgizopy
“No, we’re just getting to know each other.” Daisy smiled.129Please respect copyright.PENANAR1bi1IEc6e
Thanks to Sheehan’s school, Daisy saw that humans were worse at magic than fairies and Silver Tongues were the best. Was it something to do with the scars on Suki’s face?129Please respect copyright.PENANASSwTWJdHFS
“If you want to ask about my face, do it. Don’t be a wuss.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAtIIuS1TDNb
“What happened to your face?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAaVU7EaKaDF
“A potion blew up in my face.” Suki shrugged. “I’m lucky I still have a head.” Suki was unsure if the burning was phantom pain or the effects of magic she didn’t understand.129Please respect copyright.PENANA7qJt6VKGC9
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“Should they be swapping food like that? If she packed snacks based on our species…”129Please respect copyright.PENANAbXcj0BJVDM
This wasn’t like swapping lunch boxes in her world. Everyone was a different creature with different needs. To Florimal, if felt like asking to use an anaphylactic’s epi-pen.129Please respect copyright.PENANANR3koYY502
“It’s harmless, Florimal.” Randolph smiled reassuringly. “We’ve shared food in the past.”129Please respect copyright.PENANA7sYsQwOaRi
“That’s…different.” Florimal’s voice grew quieter. “We’re adults. They’re…children.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAvovTp24Acw
“Let ‘em be kids.” Greenwood shrugged. “They won’t be kids for much longer.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAL2iQn8jKUx
“What’s that supposed to mean?”129Please respect copyright.PENANANtXdWQ8wMb
Greenwood sighed, tilting his head. “You know EXACTLY what I mean.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAqvjcUkheIA
His words left a bad taste in her mouth. Florimal wished they were back in Chamomknott where their biggest concern was which dormitory – Blue Snow Imps, Pink Nyx, Green Dryads or Orange Petryae – achieved the most in their classes and hobbies. 129Please respect copyright.PENANAMn3HBdn5X9
***129Please respect copyright.PENANAvUEdaTKIen
As the septet traversed the neglected dirt and stone road, there were notable patches of lush vegetation at the sides of the road as if something had used its magic to restore some life to the labyrinth of charred, leafless trunks. Each green leaf and blossom like someone had dumped paint on a canvas covered by black charcoal and negative spaces. Suki, Daisy, Pan, Dawn, Randolph, Florimal and Greenwood kept their eyes peeled for the slightest signs of webs, fangs and multiple eyes glinting in the shadows.129Please respect copyright.PENANAdTdpt8FT3Z
“It might be because we’ve been riding for hours without sleep, but I think the fairy that grew those plants found us.” Florimal yawned, pointing up the track to a stranger in a green hooded cloak, mounted on a Nightmare with black fur. A spiked mace with a long handle, a quiver of arrows and a bow protruded visibly from the stranger’s saddlebags.129Please respect copyright.PENANAJWXdMlKnfQ
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Sensing the unease of the group, Snowfire reared up and whinnied. Randolph quickly gathered the reigns and pulled down to prevent the mare from bucking off Daisy, who was asleep in his lap. The commotion agitated Excalibur, whose halter had been fixed to his mother’s saddle by a sturdy rope. Randolph dismounted, trapping Snowfire’s rein beneath the toe of one of his shoes. Dawn snatched her younger sister from the blonde, wrapping her purple wings around her sister to protect her. Clamping her hand over her sister’s mouth just like she did the day that their parents were murdered in front of them.
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Daisy was fixed in Dawn’s arms, trying to comprehend the situation she woke up to, while Randolph handed Snowfire’s reins to Daisy and walked over to the stranger. His hands in the air to show the stranger that he was unarmed and therefore not a threat.
“Are you crazy? Get back on your Nightmare! It’s not safe to walk around out here.” A female voice snapped from beneath the hood.
“We’re looking for someone and we ended up a little bit lost.”
“A little? Pfft. The only fairies you’ll find out here are corpses.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“Hunting.” She was also out here to practise archery, but that sounded lame.
Judging by the speaker’s dialect and garb they had to be some kind of Silver Tongue.
“Hunting? What for? You’re not carnivorous.”
“Aren’t you a long way from the ocean?”
“Touche. I am a Halfling. I don’t require fresh or saltwater like others do. My apologies for, firstly, startling you and secondly, making assumptions. Are you a Halfling too?”
“Yeah. My father was a human.”
“My condolences.”
The hooded figure shifted in her saddle. This Halfling reminded her of a friend of hers.
“Do you know of any other Silver Tongues in this area?” He continued to speak calmly.
“You think that because I’m a Halfling that I know where all the Silver Tongues are?”
“Not at all.” Randolph shook his head. “Could we stay with you until we can find who we are looking for? It’s getting quite late and we are travelling with children. I can pay you.”
“Well now I need to hunt more. Is this your whole party?”
“Yes.”
The hooded figure had never seen so many different fairies at once. It was unsettling.129Please respect copyright.PENANAgagw3jFNKs
“Get back to your Nightmare and follow me. Quickly!”
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At the back of the group was Suki. She did not understand why everyone had initially panicked, stopped panicking and gone completely silent. Eden, still acclimating himself to proper Nightmare behaviour, walked up to the middle of the group. Sheehan tried to socialise him, but Eden preferred to observe before reacting. The sight of the black Nightmare blocking the road immediately made his muscles contract. His mind reeled with visions of the fleeing convoys of Fomorian soldiers astride Nightmares with black fur. His own flesh melting. His bones cracking. The fizzling and bursts of curses flying through the air and into his skin. He stumbled over his hooves. Eden trembled from the tip of his muzzle to the tip of his tail. Suki had no idea how to urge him forward. He ignored Suki impatiently kicking her heels into his sides so hard that his skin bruised.
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Luckily Greenwood ran to Suki’s aid, grabbing a rein that she dropped. To him, seeing anything other than a scowl on Suki’s face made even his indifferent facade crack.129Please respect copyright.PENANA4FpTHldoD7
“You too huh? It’s okay. Our golden boy is talking to whoever it is. Are you hurt, kiddo?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAY2su7w3MIr
Suki shook her head and growled. “Why is this dumb animal freaking out?”129Please respect copyright.PENANA8wRFYZUdg5
“She might be pickin’ up on how everyone is feeling. Black Nightmares are scary to a lot of folks. You shouldn’t call ‘er dumb. She might ‘ave a good reason for this reaction.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAjKEluJzoOb
Eden took deep, shaky breaths to avoid bursting into particles and hiding somewhere.129Please respect copyright.PENANA9wNIAWnEvO
“We’re travelling with a black one and didn’t that old man have a black one too?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAaEG8ST73ts
“I’m no expert on Nightmares, kiddo. I couldn’t ride one if ma’ life depended on it.” He had a hunch that Suki owed her lack of fall damage to her steed. Greenwood shrugged before he laid his cold, webbed hand against Eden’s muzzle. “I’ve only ever killed ‘em, skinned ‘em and cooked ‘em. She’s scared and since the others are taking care of things up front, I gotta take care of ya two. What’s her name again?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAXvKPK1vIgc
“E-” Suki caught herself. “Tenderfoot?”129Please respect copyright.PENANAjjtSjx84XX
“Okay. Tenderfoot. That’s easy and it suits ‘er.” Greenwood tugged the rein. “Follow me. You’re safe with me. See? Dawn’s boytoy is using his heroic charisma to fix everything.”129Please respect copyright.PENANAwfFfXHVWkv
Eden nodded and followed, fixating on his hooves, but his whole world was spinning.129Please respect copyright.PENANARR51K7rCeR
“Did something happen back there?” Florimal asked Greenwood.129Please respect copyright.PENANADZDNLhF1jW
“Her mare spooked. She’s okay. How’s Daisy?”129Please respect copyright.PENANA9nknsWgr1U
“Safe! Thanks to Dawn’s precious Randy. I don’t know how he does it.” Florimal sighed.129Please respect copyright.PENANAUe2DoaaxIq
“It’s one of the few mysteries in this world.” Greenwood laughed. “...Even I don’t know.”129Please respect copyright.PENANATgRuWYzM3Z
Florimal pouted. You have the same charm over me that he has over her, you idiot. 129Please respect copyright.PENANAjUJ5wUJMTC
For a long time, she wanted to reach out and ask Greenwood to call her girlfriend, but something always happened. She did not want to ask for too much since he was her first friend. Now there were fugitives in a war. This was no silly outing with her friends.