Rise of the Black Rose Fairy

Zacky had joined Brian at the large lake that separated the Pixie Realm from the Fairy Kingdom. Somehow, Johnny had gotten himself stuck in the water. Winter was approaching fast and Zacky grew worried about Rose. He hadn't wanted to leave her in the Pixie Realm by herself, but his partner needed his help. He didn't know what else to do, but make sure that she had been well hidden. Unfortunately, neither one of them were having any luck at thawing him out.

They had managed to cut him out of the ice, but he was frozen solid. Zacky had an idea of what he could do, but it was one of the forbidden powers that his partner couldn't see. Each guardian had a set of forbidden powers that their assigned partners had no clue about. It was part of the code of conduct that made them up. They were special creatures who were able to appear as the same kind of creature or being as the ones they were helping.

Zacky had no idea how he was going to get Brian to leave him alone with his ice cube of a charge, but he had to think fast if he didn't want Johnny to freeze to death inside. He wouldn't exactly freeze, but he wouldn't be able to withstand the entire winter months inside an ice cube either. Zacky started pacing back and forth deep in thought. He stopped when he realized what his solution could be. They could briefly switch charges if the need for it was called for. Well, Zacky figured that this was one of the times that called for it.

"Brian," Zacky said.

"What?" he asked.

"I'll help Johnny out of the ice cube if you go and make sure that Rose makes it out of the Pixie Realm alive," Zacky said.

"You left her alone in the Pixie Realm," Brian asked incredulous.

"I had no choice. I made sure that she was hidden well before I left. If she listened to me then she should be fine. You were being too demanding for me to think of anything else to do at the time," Zacky said.

"Sorry about that," Brian mumbled.

"It's fine, but to make it up to me you need to go and help her out of that Realm. It's too dangerous for her there," Zacky said.

Brian nodded and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Zacky turned his attention back to the ice cube Johnny. He focused all of his senses on the cube after closing his eyes. He had to make sure that he was calm, otherwise it wouldn't work. He took several deep breaths before finally willing the ice to melt away slowly. He didn't want to heat up Johnny. That wouldn't be the best thing for him to do. He opened his eyes with a fierce glare and watched as it slowly melted. He eased up on it when he realized that Johnny's skin was taking on a reddish glow from the excessive heat. Zacky stopped focusing on Johnny and instead focusing only on the ice that needed to be melted. He could warm Johnny up later.

Finally, after another ten minutes or so Johnny was free of the ice. He didn't move right away because of the excessive cold, so Zacky rushed to his side and pressed a warmed hand to Johnny's head and let the warmth spread throughout his entire body. Johnny shot up from the ground crying out in pain. Zacky held the warm hand a little too long on his head. Zacky stepped away and waited for Johnny to acknowledge him. It didn't take long either.

"Who the hell are you?" Johnny asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"My name is Zacky. I'm Brian's partner in crime at this whole guardian business and right now he's protecting my charge since you had to get frozen in a lake. Brian couldn't free you because only I had the power to do so. You're welcome," Zacky stated bluntly.

"Oh, sorry, but some Pixies surprised me while I was searching for someone and I didn't see the tree branch in front of me. The branch made me fall," Johnny said.

"Pixies aren't supposed to be in the Fairy Kingdom," Zacky pointed out.

"I know that which is why I was trying to figure that out before I ended up frozen in a lake. My guess is that they are working with the trolls. They hate us just as much as the trolls do so they will team up to fight against us," Johnny said.

"It's possible, really possible, but it's also dangerous as hell to be doing this on your own," Zacky answered.

"I wasn't trying to figure out why there were pixies in the Fairy Kingdom, I was searching for someone who was taken," Johnny said, lowering his head in shame for lying.

"Well, I'll have to get Brian back here to make sure you don't go back into a lake of freezing cold water," Zacky said.

Johnny was left alone to think more about how his mission to find Rose had been delayed with him stuck in ice water. He was frustrated with himself and he didn't like it at all. He sat down on a tree branch and pondered his next move. He was being reckless and one thing that his father taught him was not to be reckless and do something with blind eyes. He had mentioned this to his father and they allowed him to try and search for her, but they gave him until the end of spring to do so. He had until summer to find a bride of his choosing, but until spring to find Rose and bring her to the King and Queen. Johnny gripped his hair in frustration. He didn't know what to do at the moment. He sat there and kept thinking hoping that something would come to mind.

*****

Rose had been sitting inside the little grove that she had found for quite sometime and she was freezing. The air was cold outside and the wind kept sending drafts of cold air in her direction. She didn't like it. More pixies kept flying by and she figured that, that would happen considering that she was in their realm to begin with. The sound of their wings grated on Rose's eardrums. She didn't care for the sound at all. She thought of Johnny's wings and how they sounded to try and get her thoughts away from being alone and cold. It worked for a little while, but then the cold grew stronger.

Rose knew that winter had officially arrived. She hoped that it would go away soon because she hated the cold. After a couple of more hours of sitting alone Rose decided that it would benefit her if she moved. It was too cold to sit in one spot for hours on end. She didn't know when Zacky would return for her so she stood up and walked out. The cold air stung her face as it whipped her long dark brown hair around. She wished that she had a jacket or at least a blanket of some sort to keep warm. She had neither so she had to walk with her arms wrapped around her body.

Rose walked for awhile not sure on where to go. She had never been on her own before, but then again she hadn't been around for a long time either so she didn't have a chance to get to know her surroundings before she was thrust into this large world around her. She continued to walk and narrowed her eyes against the bright sun that filtered through the trees. She was so concerned with trying to fight the bright sunlight that she didn't see the hole in time. She only took notice of it when she fell into the hole.

Rose landed on something soft. She got to her feet and tried to find out where she was or how she was going to escape this new prison, but the absence of the biting cold was a relief to her skin. Rose found a small corner and curled up against the cool stone of the wall and closed her eyes. The onslaught of the sun wasn't blinding her anymore. As much as she loved the sun, she was glad that it wasn't blinding her eyes anymore. The darkness felt like a security blanket at the moment.

*****

Brian went to the little grove that Zacky talked about, but found it empty. He didn't know what happened to her, but it didn't help that he didn't exactly know what she looked like either. Zacky was going to be pissed off when he found out that she was gone. He didn't know if she wandered off on her own or if she was taken by a couple of pixies. He hoped that she wasn't taken by pixies. Brian's guardian people hardly helped pixies because they were rude, uncaring creatures to begin with. They loved to play tricks on their respective guardians when a few got some. There was a law that was going to be passed soon that prevented them from even protecting pixies unless it was a life or death matter.

Brian sat down on a small rock and began to think. He thought about using one of his hidden powers to find her, but he wasn't sure when Zacky would return. He didn't want to risk that. There wasn't much that he could do. Well, at least at the moment, but then he heard a high pitched scream. Brian sprang to his feet and took off in the direction of the scream. It came a couple more times and he followed it to a black hole in the ground. He looked down and couldn't see a damn thing.

Brian sighed not wanting to go down into the whole, but he knew that he had to save Rose if she was in trouble. Zacky would never forgive him if he didn't. He used his wings to help with his fall and when he got to the bottom of the hole he listened carefully. The screams were coming from a corner so he headed in that direction. He stopped when he heard the rustling of another thing right next to him. He turned on his ability to see in dark places and almost regretted it. There was a large creature that he had never seen before.

It lunged at him, but Brian was much faster. He dodged and then scanned the dark area for a body of a girl. He found one huddling against a corner. Her eyes were wide with fright even though she probably couldn't see a thing. Brian went after her, but couldn't get close enough. This thing was blocking his way with a large tail. The tail moved suddenly and Brian was barely able to get out of the way before it smacked against the wall. It was enough room for him to slip along the wall and make it to the corner. Brian crouched low to the ground.

"Rose, is your name Rose," Brian asked.

He watched as the girl nodded her head and he let out a sigh of relief. He went to grab her hand, but she moved against the wall. Her whole body was shaking in fear. "Rose, you don't need to be afraid of me. I'm here to help you. Zacky sent me," Brian said.
At the name Zacky the Rose's head perked up. She accepted his hand and then he brought her body close to his. He wrapped both of his arms around her and then thought of the lake on the Fairy Kingdom side of the forest. With a popping sound they disappeared just in time to avoid another sweep of the large tail.

*****

Zacky had returned to the spot where he had left Rose expecting to find Brian with her. Instead he found an empty little grove. He let out a frustrated growl. Johnny had been left alone at the lake on the Pixie Realm side. He didn't want to leave him, but he had no choice. He had to find his partner. Now, he wasn't sure where to look. This guardianship business was a lot more difficult than he thought it would be. Of course, looking after someone who didn't really know her own surroundings was a bit tedious, but he knew that it had to be done. He just hoped that Brian was with her now.

*****

Johnny left the Pixie Realm and headed back to his own kingdom. Well, the kingdom that would be his someday. He was frustrated and needed to think. When he was at the palace it didn't provide much room for thinking, but there was one room that allowed him to get lost in all of his thoughts. He had to go there if he was going to regroup and start again. Also, he needed to change his clothes before he got sick.

When he got to the palace Johnny prayed that his father wouldn't yell at him for dripping water all over the place. He didn't want to, but he had just been freed from an ice cube, so his clothes were soaked through. Johnny changed his clothes without any interruption from his father. He was really happy about that. Johnny left his room and found the one room in the palace that he loved visiting the most. He'd go there when his father pissed him off or when he just needed to gather his thoughts. This was one time where he needed to gather his thoughts. He sat down on the windowsill and looked out over the large expanse of forest that was part of the Fairy Kingdom.

He knew that he had to have Rose. Rose was different and it wasn't because she wasn't a fairy. Johnny loved her personality and how free she felt even though she claimed that she hadn't been alive for very long. He believed her though. He enjoyed watching her excitement as he flew her around the forest and told her things about the area she lived in.

It was mostly in the Fairy Kingdom, but there was part of Jimmy's land that was officially a part of the Pixie Realm. He didn't like that, but he knew that he couldn't make Jimmy move. It wasn't in his nature to tell humans where they could and couldn't live. The thought of Jimmy made Johnny sad. He remembered the sadness ghosting across Jimmy's face when he said that Rose wasn't where she was supposed to be. He promised him that he would find her for him and he had already failed it seemed like.

Johnny wondered if he would ever make a good king. He had his doubts mainly because he just didn't want the responsibility that it entailed. His father seemed to enjoy pressuring him, but he was so used to it now that it didn't faze him as much as it used to. He sat for a few minutes before he realized that he should talk to Jimmy to see if maybe he had any news. Instead of going through the actual palace again, he flew away from the window that he was sitting on.

******

Jimmy had been talking to Leana about Rose to see if maybe she could help. So far nothing seemed to be coming from it. It had been weeks almost a couple of months since Rose disappeared. Jimmy wanted to see her again. Even though she hadn't spent a lot of time with him, she had still impacted his life drastically. Leana was really sweet to him though. She came to his cabin every day to make sure he was still alive. He stopped drumming and playing music because he was so bummed out by the whole Rose situation.

Leana was trying to get him to play again and finally she managed to. The incentive of him playing might help Rose find her way home did the trick. Leana couldn't deny the fact that she was falling for Jimmy really hard every day that she saw him. He was funny, talented, and very outgoing. He spoke his mind and didn't censor anything he thought. She found his personality to be very refreshing compared to a lot of guys she'd known before hand.

Today was a surprise for the both of them though. The little fairy person that Jimmy had seen the day Rose went missing had returned. Jimmy was sitting in a chair with the fairy pacing along the table in the kitchen trying to come up with ideas to find Rose. Leana had never seen a fairy before, but she had always believed in them.

"I don't know how to find her, but I've been looking all over the place for her," Johnny admitted, anger clearly in his voice.

"I've started playing my music again to see if maybe that would help, but so far no luck," Jimmy said.

They both sat in silence for awhile. Jimmy watched as the fairy's eyebrows scrunched up in deep thought. He found it funny. Jimmy thought long and hard too, but nothing was coming to him at the moment. It was too frustrating to think and not be able to find a solution.

"Can I ask you something," Johnny finally piped up.

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"When we find Rose, can I have your permission to ask her for her hand in marriage?" he asked.

Jimmy's eyes widened. He barely knew Rose and he was positive that this Johnny fellow barely knew her too. He looked at Leana for some guidance, but her expression was completely blank. He had to answer this one on his own.

"How well do you know her?" Jimmy asked.

"Not as well as I would have liked, but I do know that we have a connection that I would like to expand on," Johnny said truthfully.

"Well, I guess that wouldn't matter to me. It's all up to her though," Jimmy said, not sure of how to really answer that question.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Johnny said excitedly.

Silence blanketed the room again after that conversation. Jimmy hoped that he had made the right decision. He hoped that he could trust this Johnny to not hurt Rose in any way possible. He looked at Leana then and found her smiling. She had gotten up from the table and returned with a pad of paper. She began to make a sketch. Johnny walked over to try and look at it, but Leana moved it away from him so he couldn't see. Jimmy held in his laughter. Jimmy continued to think of what to do about Rose. He wanted to find her so that he could tell her that he loved her like a really tiny sister.

She had brightened up his lonely world in a few short hours and he was truly thankful for that. He had Leana now, who was also a great help. He hoped that she wouldn't leave him either. He could feel the dark hole of loneliness slowly ebbing away and he was happy about that. He just needed to find Rose to really make it disappear for good. He was determined to find her.

*****

Rose sat at the edge of the lake with Brian. She had learned a lot about him in the few short hours that they were sitting together. She wanted to see Zacky again though because he made her feel safe. Brian did to, but not as safe as Zacky, or actually not as safe as she felt when she was flying in Johnny's arms. That was a lot of fun. She wished that she had wings of her own. She wanted to fly alongside Johnny one day, but she couldn't exactly do that if she didn't have wings.

"What are you thinking about?" Brian suddenly asked.

"Jimmy, the person who created me from a black rose," Rose answered.

"Aw, and here I thought you were thinking about Prince Johnny," Brian smirked at her.

"Why would I think about him? I barely know him," Rose defended herself.

"Why are you so defensive, Ms. Rose?" Brian questioned, his eyebrows rising.

"I'm not being defensive," Rose snapped.

Before Brian could respond to her comment a soft popping noise echoed throughout the area they were in. Brian turned around to see an angry Zacky standing before them.

"Hey there Zacky, how are you?" Brian asked tentatively.

"Pissed off at the moment," he grumbled.

"Why?" Rose asked.

"I've been looking all over the Pixie Realm for you two, to only find out that you were already back in the Fairy Kingdom," he answered angrily.

"Oh, yeah sorry about that, but I had no choice," Brian said.

"What do you mean by that?" Zacky demanded.

"I fell into a hole and was attacked by some large lizard thing, and Brian saved me from it,"
Rose interjected.

"Oh, are you alright?" Zacky asked.

"I am now, but I want to go home to Jimmy. Can you send me there?" Rose asked them.

"We can, but you have to help us do that," Zacky said.

"How?" Rose asked.

"Describe his place for us and we can take you there," Brian answered.

Rose thought about it for a minute and then explained to them what she knew of the place. She told them about his music studio since that was the one room that she had really been in besides the living room. Zacky took her right hand and Brian took her left hand and together they all concentrated on the music room that Rose described for them. Rose was happy that she was finally returning to Jimmy.

*****

Jimmy and Johnny had been silent for awhile when they both heard a popping noise coming from another room of the cabin. "What was that?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know, but it sounded like it came from the studio," Jimmy said, scrunching is eyebrows up in confusion.

He was about to get up from his chair when a squeaky little voice called up to him. He looked down to see Rose standing there. Her black dress tattered and torn in different places, but still on her body, but he didn't care about that. He cared about the fact that she was finally back home with him. He leaned down and held his hand out for her. She walked into his palm and he brought it up to the table.

The first thing that Rose saw when she stepped off of Jimmy's hand was a young woman with golden brown hair and blonde highlights sitting in the other chair. Her head was bent over some paper and she was drawing with lots of concentration. She turned to Jimmy with puzzlement in her eyes.

"Who's that?" Rose asked.

"That's my friend Leana. She made you your dresses months ago," Jimmy explained.

Rose took the explanation in stride and was okay with it. She turned back to Leana and stared. Leana continued to draw, so Rose decided to walk over to her and introduce herself properly to the young woman. She didn't get very far because someone knocked her down. When she was able to see clearly again she realized that someone was on top of her. She blushed profusely when she realized that it was Johnny. He had a big grin on his face.

"Rose, you're alright," he said.

"I'm fine. Brian and Zacky made sure of that," Rose said.

"Good, now I have a question to ask you," Johnny said, helping her back to her feet.

"What's that?" Rose wondered.

"I need to know if you are willing to meet my parents," Johnny said.

"Of course I am," Rose answered.

"Okay and there's one more thing," Johnny said, lowering his head a little.

Rose waited patiently for him to begin again. She could tell that he was extremely nervous considering that they didn’t know each other all that well. She hoped that she could get to know him better because she liked him a lot. She still wished for her own set of wings, but if she could at least know Johnny then she would be okay because he already told her that he could be her wings instead.

"Spit out man," Jimmy's excited voice broke the silence. Rose giggled at that.

"Rose, will you marry me," Johnny asked, finally looking up at her.

Rose's eyes went wide in shock. She hadn't been expecting this at all. She lost her balance due to shock and fell on her ass on top of the table. Her hands fell into her lap as she stared into open space not sure what to say. Johnny stood there hoping that she would answer his question. He hadn't meant to shock her like this, but he hoped that her answer was going to be one he liked. He sat down next to her and waited patiently.

"Rose, you okay?" Jimmy asked leaning down to her level.

Rose looked at Jimmy and blinked. "Yes," she answered, a smile breaking over her face. Johnny looked at her hoping that it was the answer to his question. Rose turned to him and smiled even wider. "Yes, I'll marry you," Rose said.

Johnny hugged her tightly against his body and then flew out the open window in excitement. He had to tell his parents that he had finally found his bride. His father probably wasn't going to like the news, but he hoped that he would at least give Rose a chance before judging her too harshly.