"Drop your weapons!" He ordered again. Isla and Elric immediately did as he commanded. Though perhaps it would have been better to fight. At least then they may have been offered a swift death. Being captured would likely result in torture, among other things.

The Fae looked between the four before resting his gaze on Isla. "You're half human." A twinkle of curiosity appeared in his eyes. "Why do you travel with these humans? Do they not loathe you?"

"They're my friends," Isla answered, her voice strong for there is no other way you could answer a Fae.

"Is that what you think?" He chuckled but there was no humor.

"Though you need no explanation from me, the boy that we travel with is the prophecized one; the hero who will save the whole of Halcyone."

"Is he now?" His eyebrows raised in amusement, a smirk on his face. "And what of the other two"?

"The Princess of Aeceria and her knight."

"Interesting." He stroked his chin in amusement, eyes flittering between the group. "Savior or not, you are still trespassing. The king will decide your fate."

"With all due respect," Elric began, "it was not our intention to trespass. We are sorry for any offense we may have committed, but if you apprehended us, it would prolong this war, and life would be lost. Not only our people but yours as well. Please, allow us to pass."

"What war do you speak of?" The Fae crossed his arms, amusement in his voice. Were humans really this amusing to him?

Elric paused. In truth, there was no war — only an assumption that one may soon start. Even then, why would the Fae have any reason to believe the King of Zetheria was the evil of the prophecy without any concrete proof?

"We have reason to believe the King of Zetheria is the evil prophesized," Gwyneth answered for him.

"Really? For what reason?" The Fae continued his interrogation.

"Black clouds swarmed around the kingdom shortly after Aston — our savior's magic awakened. He wouldn't be able to wield such magic if he weren't the savior we needed."

"Unless he murdered a Fae," he said matter-of-factly.

Gwyneth's jaw dropped. It was true that when a Fae is murdered their killer inherits their power — a reason most Fae remained in the forest. However, Aston was capable of teleportation and creation magic, something that Fae were not. "His magic is unlike yours."

"Is that so?" He grinned. "Then perhaps a test of power is in order. If you win, I will let you go. Lose, and our king will determine your fate."

Gwyneth turned to Aston who had been standing behind her. His expression was blank, and she wasn't sure if he had even been paying attention to the conversation, or if he was aware that there was a Fae standing in front of them.

"Boy, are you deaf?" The Fae started clenching his fists, tapping his foot impatiently. Was this insipid human mocking him?

No. Aston dashed forward with a speed unlike the others had seen. Within the blink of an eye, he was behind the Fae. Of course, he must have been casting a spell. The Fae, however surprised he had been, quickly dodged him, sidestepping out of the way. When Aston turned preparing a ball of fire in his hand, the Fae's eyes glowed a bright gray before a gust of wind sent Aston into the air. Fearing for his life, he teleported himself in the direction of a tree, grabbing onto the branch before lowering himself down.

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"I thought you were the mighty powerful savior of legend? Defeating me should be a cinch." The fae smirked, pure delight beaming from his eyes making Aston want to vomit.

In his rage, Aston began summoning fire — more than he had previously. It would take time to cast, but his foe was seemingly unarmed besides the magic he wielded. It would be easy to dodge if anything. The Fae let out a long sigh before casting some of his own magic — water. He cast the water directly above them before gesturing it in the direction of Aston. It was as if his body was in sync with the air around him, as the wind moved with him. A wave of water splashed Aston front to back. While it wasn't painful, it did interrupt his focus, causing him to groan. Smashing the ground beneath him with his palm, Aston intended to create a minor earthquake to affect the Fae's balance. His opponent read this, smashing his own palm into the ground causing the ripples of the earth to avoid him.

Aston's patience was growing thin. If he could not defeat him with magic, he would use a weapon instead. With the flick of his wrist, a sword identical to Elric's appeared in his hand. Unfortunately, he never had any training with a sword either. While he could improvise with magic, a sword was not so easy. Each of his slashes was slow and clumsy that he bored his opponent. After another clumsy attempt that he put all his strength into, the Fae dodged before giving a quick kick to his back and pinning him on the ground.

"And you call yourself the savior of Halcyone." The Fae spat.

Isla was about to beg him to reconsider before two other Fae — a head shorter and hair bluer than the one they were currently facing, arrived. One had short light blue hair while the other was long. Both were male from what the group could tell.

"What's going on here, Florian?" One of them — the short-haired one — asked the tall white-haired Fae.

"I just defeated their "hero" in a test of strength. They claim him to be the hero prophesized to save our land." Florian smirked, twisting his heel back and forth into Aston's back.

"Him?" The other one with longer hair gaped in shock as he pointed to Aston, face first in the dirt.

Florian's only response was a nod.

"Srau sronk sra ambidomans if avoc sraor phaloiyt phipralotad rahi? Eha srau nis eweha if sra gohc?" The long-haired Fae asked in his own language, bursting into laughter.

Florian let out a slight chuckle, his lips parting into a smirk. "Ni. Di nis sacc sram. Os wocc ba miha emytong srot weu."

"Bahu giid, mu fhoand. Triycd ba onsahatsong si taa avoc bessca e nayshec pehsu." The shorter-haired male nodded his head chuckling.

"Care to translate for the rest of us?" Gwyneth was losing her patience. Not only would they meet their certain deaths, but they were surely being mocked as well.

"My friend here is recounting the spectacle yours displayed." The longer-haired Fae smirked.

So, they were being mocked.

"Follow me to the city. Or don't. We have plenty of other exhilarating ways to the city," Florian explained.

"Please, if you would just let us explain-" Isla pleaded before her words were interrupted.

"What more do you have to explain? He has already proved he is as skilled with magic as you are with fashion." He shrugged.

Gwyneth sputtered at the strange insult, pausing before speaking. "S-Skilled or not, he's still the prophesized one!" She was still following Florian as they had been forced to do. The other two stood at the back ensuring they would not try to escape. "He just needs time to come into his power. Time to train-"

"Train?" Florian scoffed. "Is that not what he should have been doing this whole time?"

Aston wanted to punch this guy with a fist of fire but knew that was impossible. More than anything, he was tired. What he wouldn't give to be back in the castle sleeping in his warm bed atop his soft mattress. If this was any indication of what was to come, they were sorely out of luck. Between a legendary sword zapping him, a strange encounter with ghosts, and a Fae besting him at his own game...

But half of that was his fault, wasn't it? If he had just listened to Elric and they took the path around the forest instead of directly through, they never would have had that encounter with the ghosts or the Fae. While the sword may not have been his fault- No, that was his fault too, wasn't it? If he had just been worthy he could have pulled the sword free from its slab. But why wasn't he worthy? Fate had chosen him, hadn't it? Was his attitude really affecting his worthiness? No, that sword just had an attitude problem. Besides, if fate is in control, then fate would have known they would pass through the forest. There must be a greater reason for their arrival.