Elyre was so exhausted.
"I would advise you to take a nap while we are here because you won't be able to get a wink of sleep in that dungeon," Lyssandria told her. "After your first night there, you won't be the same person any longer. Your mind will be blocked with thoughts of a somber hue. Your only wish will be to cry, you will feel weak and desperate until you lose all your senses and even your memories. It's a curse, you know... But in fact, I have never felt the full strength of it. Queen Lyneanne made a small protective spell on me. She was afraid that, because of the curse in the Dungeon, I may forget the legend revealing the Moonlight Crystal's location -- which I am supposed to know…"
The Sun was hiding behind the trees in the distance as if it was playing hide-and-seek with them.
Suddenly, the carriage halted. The girls were bewildered as it was obvious that they hadn't reached their final destination.
Elyre was very much afraid. She'd lived a protected life in Wild Wood, and now she was alone far from home. The girls waited inside for a while, but they couldn't hear any voices or noise outside. Nobody came to open the doors. Why had they stopped?
Finally, they found the bravery to get out and discover what was going on.
Elyre looked around carefully and, to her surprise, she saw twelve mage guards lying on the ground unconscious as if they'd just inhaled some kind of poisonous gas.
There had been no battle.
She looked around but she saw nothing dangerous. Yet there was someone there, lurking in the shadows, perhaps way too invisible for her.
She didn't have a lot of time to make up her mind. This might be the only chance of escape.
She stretched out her leg to step on the grass.
Aristhaeus observed as the young girl came out of the carriage... She seemed a little bit scared and almost familiar to him. Her fiery hair was a little bit unruly.
Her locks moved as she turned her head. Her hair seemed to jump up and down in accordance with her heartbeat. There was a wood-nymph veil on her head... but she was not a wood-nymph. She was a firine. The fair cast of her skin subtly resembled the honey nuance of descending sun.
Was this the notorious Fierce Wind all mages had been unable to catch?!
Aristhaeus was surprised not so much by the fact it was a woman but rather by Mage Ademon's claim that a couple of mages had been unable to catch her for days! If he were them, he would have given up his mage title. He frowned on realizing just how much Ademon must have exaggerated his achievement.
But...
"The amulet," the archmage suddenly whispered, his eyes still fixed on the girl's silhouette. The firine was wearing an amulet. The very same amulet he'd seen in his dream.
When he saw her face, he was certain he'd seen her somewhere before, but he wasn't sure where. He wondered if he should come out of the shadows and speak with her... But no. She might be afraid and she would probably guess that he had freed them. Even though he really wanted to, he thought it wasn't appropriate to do it right now.
What should he do then? What was an appropriate way to meet her?
Elyre called Lyssandria out of the carriage. Ademon's sister. In fact, Aristhaeus didn't know her personally, but he'd heard her name so when Elyre called her, he knew who she was.
He felt so frustrated he couldn't ask Elyre about her amulet immediately that when Elyre and Lyssandria decided to leave, he followed them from the shadows, walking slowly some distance behind them. It was better to observe her from afar, learn more about her and wait for a convenient moment to get the amulet.
His idea to merely take his revenge on Ademon was now completely forgotten.
Elyre and Lyssandria kept on walking for quite some time. They reached a small meadow. Elyre said she would call her friend, a unicorn named Storm Eye, to help them. Unicorns were as fast as wind.
"May the winds connect us through the endless sky," she said. This was like a magical formula; a response followed immediately… The clouds seemed to lower near the firine; the air whirled, forming a small tornado. Then, as if it was a wild mane, the flow of wind hurled to one side to reveal two pretty diamond eyes. A snow-white unicorn with a crystal alicorn (the unicorn's horn) and a mane of silk threads appeared. It was as unearthly as surprisingly real.
"Storm Eye, please help us," Elyre spoke. "We need to get back to Wild Wood. I dare bother you because I don't have any other ideas what to do."
"Do not worry, my friend. I am always happy to help if I can. But, I must tell you I sense strong magic here," the unicorn said.
"Strong magic?" The firine was startled. Interesting, how sensitive unicorns were! They were quite far away from the Dungeon! But Storm Eye sounded worried almost as if they were in danger... Elyre invited Lyssandria with her, so they both went to Wild Wood on the unicorn's back.