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“I’m the only one who can.” Her own voice echoed in her mind while she raced to the boarder. She had to save Dawn. If she had only been stronger . . . and now a love potion? Marianne still couldn’t fully grasp that Sunny was capable of that. How could he be willing to do that to Dawn? It didn’t seem like him at all, yet he had been the one with the potion in his hand and had aimed it at Dawn, taking the credit and the blame for what had happened. Marianne was angry with him, it was true, but she would get the full story out of Sunny later, she had more important things to worry about. She needed to focus. Landing, she wrung her hands together facing the looming presence of the Dark Forest. Flashed of memories appeared before her, the echoes of fear bubbling up from her gut. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Marianne reminded herself that she was not the same silly little fairy she had been back then. She was no longer a helpless little girl. “There’s no way I’m gonna sit this one out. Gotta take a chance now. Not be a prisoner of doubt. I’m coming!” Her voice only grew with confidence as music swelled around her. She felt it resonating with her emotions and determination to save her sister. She had a task to do, and needed to complete it. She was not going to back down. She took off in flight, sword at the ready, heading into the center of the Dark Forest to retrieve her sister! She took her time at the start, trying to get a feeling on the seemingly strange new territory. It really was a completely different world here. There were plants and creatures that she had never seen before. Whispers from her younger self creeped forward in her mind. Under different circumstances she would have liked to have been able to take her time and really soak it all in. She wished she could be here on the road to peace, rather than on the attack. She used to want nothing more than the two kingdoms to come together to lead into a greater understanding and a stronger bond over all. That was no longer the case. A horn startled her into action against a goblin that was currently blocking her path. The motion was one she had practiced a hundred times over, yet to see and feel it in actual combat was exhilarating. Marianne could feel her raging heartbeat at the tips of her ears. “Well, you wanted adventure, and now you’ve got it.” She could still feel the adrenaline pulsing throughout her while she flew. She ducked and weaved between foes, making her way to, what she assumed, the castle at the center of this labyrinth. She was close to the one that had taken her sister! Voices caught her attention forcing her to find cover. She noticed a dark shape that resembled bramble and quickly flew down, pressing herself as far back as she could go. Above her two goblins astride dragonflies flew passed with yet another victim of the love potion. She moved to follow after them, but had to bite her tongue to not cry out as the thorns from her hiding spot tore at her wings and arms. It hadn’t been bramble, it had been a briar patch! Thin trickles of blood flowed down her arms and her wings now had a few puncture wounds. It wasn’t severe enough to affect her flying, but she would need to be careful. She fluttered before pushing forward, using the pain she was feeling to motivate her anger. She circled a bit around the castle searching for the best entrance inside while still avoiding detection. The entrance was a no go, seeing as she would be outnumbered. The top of the tree trunk like castle seemed to have an opening, a very breakable looking opening. Marianne fought through the pain, surging forward with the release of her own war cry fueling her fire. Drawing her weapon above her and using her feet, she shattered the glass, crashing into what appeared to be the throne room of the Bog King. “Release my sister.” Her teeth barred. She was going to save Dawn. “Oh no, not another Princess.” His dismissal of her ignited another ember to her rage. Her voice came out before she even heard the familiar feeling of music being created. They battled, but as their dueling duet continued, Marianne felt her anger being soothed away leaving her with an exhilarated feeling. This was the first opponent to treat her seriously and she was holding her own! She was having fun! She had technically won. However, he had a point. She needed to save Dawn, and he was the only one who could help her do that. As the Bog King led her down to the dungeons, she rolled her shoulders feeling the sharp sting of her wings. The blood had stopped flowing on her arms but they throbbed from the battle she had just had. She had, however, been doing some fancy flight work back there. A quick glance gave her an idea that if at all possible, she should try and stay grounded. ******************
Yeah, that hadn’t happened. After the initial shock of finding Dawn love dusted and head over heels for Bog, the riddle from Sugar Plum leading to the antidote, and whatever was honestly starting between herself and Bog had Marianne feeling overwhelmed and antsy. Being around Bog reminded her of their spar, as she was now calling it, and made her want to be in the air with him again. Just for a moment she wanted to fly and get out all of her nervous energy that was building up between them. “I’ll never fall in love again.” The words echoed in her mind from her past self as he handed her blade to her. Exiting the room, she extended her wings to get a feel for them and see if they would support her weight and the flight she wanted to take. They stung and she was well aware that she was pushing herself, but the opportunity to be in the air again with Bog outweighed the discomfort. Everything seemed to be going fine until a familiar brier patch came into view. Bog flew ahead without a problem, but Marianne faltered. Her butterfly wings would be torn to shreds attempting to following him through the briers. Her voice was fading, being overwhelmed by fear and disappointment. Just as she was about to cut herself off, Bog appeared with an outstretched hand and a look in his eyes that she could not recall ever seeing anyone give her before. Marianne took his hand . . . and did not want to hit him. He guided her through and she realized that she trusted him to do so. She trusted him. When had that happened? She felt herself slip into a daze. She was enjoying herself, honestly smiling, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so at peace. Even when she had thought she was madly in love with Roland, she hadn’t felt this way. Speak of the devil. Bog had every right to be furious and she had stupidly let her guard down. She had completely forgotten about Roland, and the army, but did Bog need to knock her into the cobweb so hard? So much for no longer being the stupid little girl. She pulled herself free far too roughly from the sticky webbing and with another rush of agonizing pain from the delicate veins of her wings, she set off for the castle. Marianne was in trouble. She could feel it while she stood, pleading with Bog to understand that she hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. Not Roland, this night, their fight, but it had happened and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. The next few moments were completely fueled with running on instinct to protect and the blinding fury she felt for Roland. He had a sword pointed at Dawn. She recalled getting grabbed, but Dawn was safe with Bog. She knew she shouldn’t be flying but she needed to get away from Roland as quickly as possible. She recalled him falling, but she needed to get to Dawn and Bog. This was a nightmare, and she wasn’t waking up. She found them at the castle entrance. The entire castle was coming down and it looked like they weren’t going to make it. Despite the danger, Bog yelling at her to get back, and the agony of her wings Marianne flew forward in an attempt to get to the two of them. She had to reach them. Bog cried out, Dawn was suddenly flung in her arms, and Marianne crashed onto the ledge weakly watching Bog hold up the entrance. Her vision was dizzy, but it felt terrifyingly clear while she watched in horror while the skull plummeted and Bog’s voice faded from her ears. “Bog!” Her voice cracked from the wail that emitted from her body. She could feel her wings were torn and she couldn’t fight back the tear that rolled down her bloodied cheek. He was gone, just like that. She had never connected with anyone the way she had with Bog, and now . . . “Marianne!” Dawn’s voice cut through the pain, reaching for Marianne and bringing her back into focus. Marianne’s eyes glanced to her sister reaching out her arms feeling the bruises and cuts, seeing that Dawn hadn’t had many injuries. Just a little battered, but no worse for the wear. “Are you . . . back?” She dared to hope. “Yeah, but I don’t know how.” While Dawn hugged her Marianne noticed Sunny hold Dawn’s hand in support. “I know.” She smiled, glad some form of a happy ending could come of this. “Marianne, I’m so sorry.” Marianne had a feeling she knew what Dawn meant from her sister’s tone. A sudden gasp and she was shoved away from Dawn. “Your wings.” Dawn sounded beyond distraught. “That bad, huh?” Marianne attempted to joke to soothe Dawn. “We need to get them wrapped, you can’t fly like-“ Dawn stopped ranting when a shocked look crossed her face. Marianne followed her gaze. Bog. He looked a little battered and he was clutching his arm, but he seemed no worse for the wear. Marianne was suddenly very thankful and jealous of his protective exoskeleton. With Dawn’s assistance, Marianne was able to get to her feet as Bog was being dragged to her by his mother. Her vision was suddenly filled with pink while she inhaled a terrible tasting powder on her tongue. She heard a triumphant sound from a very familiar voice. Roland. Recalling how her sister had behaved when she had walked down to the dungeon with Bog, Marianne quickly mimicked the bubbly catchy tune and over dramatized hand gestures, lining Roland up. She’d been wanting to do this for a long time. With a solid thwack, Marianne sent Roland over the ledge, bottle in hand and the remainder of the potion falling in his face. She went to turn to stand in confident triumph, but that little stunt had taken every last bit of energy she had left in her. She collapsed on the ground. “Marianne!” She heard Dawn’s voice, but the hands that were helping her did not belong to her sister. “Easy, tough girl.” Bog soothed, helping her sit up. “Yer . . . yer wings.” He spoke softly, seeming to just now notice the damage. “Marianne.” That was her father’s voice. Marianne felt herself instinctually curl into herself feeling so much attention placed on her at once. “We need to get you to a healer.” “I’m fine.” She protested, but clung tighter to Bog’s arms as pain wracked through her form. “Ya need ta get those checked.” Bog made her look at him. “Ya can’t fly like this.” “We’ll carry you back, Princess.” Two guards spoke up from somewhere to her left. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Griselda’s voice cut through. “Bog,” she was speaking to him directly. “You get Marianne to their healer and make sure she’s alright. I’ll handle things here.” “Mother, ya can’t just-“ “Bog.” Marianne’s voice was to soft for her liking. “You don’t have to. I’ve sort of cause enough trouble as it is.” She gestured around them and cringed. “Besides, you have your people to worry about.” She smiled to him, sadly watching a pained look cross his face. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he stopped himself. “Aye.” He slowly assisted her into the grasp of the guards and took a step back. The guards took to the air immediately cutting off anything Marianne was about to say to him. She quickly glanced back feeling her heart flutter seeing he had moved forward after her with his hand outstretched. She offered him a smile before the guard vanished from sight behind a tree, cutting everyone off from her view. ***************
“You know, Bog.” Dawn started. “Boggy.” He corrected before mentally slapping himself. “She wanted you to go with her. I could tell from her face.” Dawn said, but quickly flutter her wings grabbing Sunny. “You should come visit when you get things settled. We’d love to have you.” She glared. “You’d better come.” With that the tiny princess flew off after her father and sister. “I can’t believe you-“ Griselda started but Bog turned. “Not now, Mother,” he paused. “Please.” He was worried about Marianne. Would her wings heal? Would she be alright enough to recover? How would she react if she couldn’t? A continuous stream of thoughts about her well being flooded his mind. Her wings had looked gorgeous on their flight, a few nicks, but nothing to be alarmed about. Yet, when he saw her collapse with her wings in tatters he felt worry and guilt. He’d knocked her into a web thinking she would stay put, not tear herself free and injure herself further. He was an idiot. “What do we do now, BK?” Stuff was by his side. With one last glance in the direction she had vanished, he steeled himself and returned to his subjects. “We find a new home.” He turned to his mother. “Gather who you need and see if there are supplies we can save.” He watched her nod. “Everyone else, scout the area and report back here before midday.” He took off deeper into his domain, further away from the direction he truly wanted to go.