Wake of Devastation, Lost in Desperation

I leaned my head against Michael's shoulder, watching the pairs around us as we rode. Only Chester did not look back at Eurydice, and I was too drained to ask why.

With a jolt, I noticed a change in Eurydice's facial features. They were more defined, slightly slanted.

Elfish.

I knew Chester saw it too. Meredeth's warning about casting Elven spells on humans rang through my head.

No wonder I was as strong as my teacher, as fast.

"Stop, Michael, stop," I gasped, He slowed the horse to a stop and everyone stopped around us, the horses neighing uncomfortably. I grabbed Chester's hand and pulled him off his horse, then did the same to Meredeth. I began pulling them away but stopped when Michael, David, and Eurydice made to follow.

"No," I said, shooing them back towards the horses. "Go back. I must talk to them, alone." Eurydice stormed back and David followed her slowly. Michael stared at me uncertaintly, and I put my forehead to his. "I promise to tell you later." I brushed his lips softly with my own, lingering, storing the feeling in my memory, then I pushed him gently back towards the horses. He went slowly, and I pulled the others farther away, until I was sure they wouldn't be able to hear us.

"Meredeth, you said it was bad to cast an elven spell on a human. Why?"

"Well," she said slowly, glancing at Eurydice and then searching my own face, "the worst that can happen is your body breaks under the weight of the magic. You become a floating spirit until it was your time to die originally."

"And the best?"

"No best, Sayer," she reprimanded me. "If a person is strong enough, their bodies begin to change, and they are turned into elves. Once turned into elves, they cannot be changed. Not into vampires or shape shifters, and definitely not into humans."

"What increases or speeds it up?"

"The use of strong spells, overuse of healing spells, or if the humans themselves use an Elven spell." I nodded. "Sayer, I told you nothing good would come of it-"

"Had I not asked you to shield Michael and I, we would not be here, but instead in a morgue with arrows in our backs. Do not question my judgement, Meredeth." The threat remained unspoken, but she knew it was there. I was still the Princess, and my orders were to be followed, not reprimanded. She paced back to the horses and got on her own, one of the few lucky ones to have her own horse.

I turned to Chester who watched me. "I know you see it," I said to him. He shrugged listlessly and I grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Chester! Wake up, I know you're in there."

"Let go, Princess," he sighed. Annoyed and angry he would dare call me that, I slapped him, only a small one meant to wake his senses. His head snapped around anyway, and he popped his jaw, hiding his anger.

"Look at me, Chester," I said. Slowly, he turned his gaze to meet mine. "Do you see the way Michael acts towards me? It is no different than before. There's no doubt in my mind that he sees the changes, that he knows I am no longer just the human Princess Sayer. He doesn't take it out on me, whatever frustration he must feel inside."

"I'm not Michael," he growled.

"No, you're not. You're Chester, and you swore an oath to me. You swore you would never let any harm come to my sister, but you're hurting her, acting like this. You haven't seen it, you haven't looked at her since lord-knows-when, and it's tearing her up inside. So you'd better go fix this before there's nothing left of you to fix it!"

Sheepishly, and with alarm flashing in his eyes, Chester hustled back to the others and began pulling Eurydice away. I ignored them and turned to the others.

"We'll camp here for the night," I said, building a fire pit. The others got off their horses, tied them down to nearby trees, and began sifting through our supplies. Flora and Mayora had bought enough to last us months.

Michael slipped his hand into mine and pulled me away from the firelight, unnoticed by the others. "What's going on?" he asked. I slowly explained to him what Meredeth had said and what I said to Chester. He smiled. "You're right," he sighed. "Chester's always been awful with emotions." He cupped my face in his hands. "You have always been, and always will be, beautiful to me," he whispered against my lips. I pressed mine to his and played wiyh his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing closer to him.

"Who's there!?" A voice called out, oddly familiar. "Who are you?" I pulled away from Michael, who groaned and let his head fall back, and I stepped into the clearing to examine the speaker.

He had long dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that flashed orange in the firelight. His mouth smiled a familiar cocky smirk and he eyed us all. Chester and Eurydice joined us, looking dishelved, and they eyed the new comer and his cavalry.

"I know you," I gasped suddenly. Michael hovered over my shoulder, but I knew this was no pawn. "Cousin- Prince Ronald II, son of King Ronald the first, ruler of the North Western Kingdom!"

"Sayer!" he gasped, and I fell into his arms, feeling the embrace of family.

The love of Home.