As soon as Eric dashed into the forest, Craig rushed to the door of the Carriage.
Maeli had almost let out a shout at the sudden appearance of an unknown individual, but as soon as she recognised that it was Craig, her fright turned into shock and speechlessness. "Y-you... you..."
Craig nodded with a smile. "Yes, I'm alive, now take my hand let's get out of here." He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the carriage. He then rushed into the woods on the opposite side of the road with her and hid behind a large rock. "Use your conceal on yourself, now!" He yelled softly as he sat next to her.
Maeli was still in a state of confusion and disbelief, wondering how it was possible that Craig had survived. Even more shocking was the fact that he had arrived just in time to rescue her. Her mind had never been thrown into such disarray in her entire life. To top things off, she was also very happy that he was alive and actually ended up subconsciously hugging him.
Craig was a bit surprised and also, glad she was happy to see him, but this was no time to be thinking about how enjoyable hugging her was. If Eric tracked her down, it would spell all kinds of trouble. Craig had no idea how powerful Eric was and he had no intention of finding out at the moment.
"Conceal!" He repeated.
Only then did Maeli react properly and channel her magic. She was about to apply it to him first but he stopped her. "Don't worry about me I'll be fine, conceal yourself." He urged strongly.
Maeli was even more confused now. How could he be fine if she didn't conceal his aura. With someone like Eric snooping around he was bound to be discovered.
Craig noticed her confusion and hesitation and explained. "Long story short, I've gained permanent concealment so I can't be detected. Try sensing my aura yourself if you have doubts."
Maeli did as he suggested and after a moment she gasped in shock. If she wasn't seeing him with her eyes, she wouldn't know he was next to her. She couldn't feel any from of energy coming from him. Even if humans could not use magic, they still possessed life which had its own unique aura. It was as if Craig was a walking dead.
A walking dead? The thought suddenly hit Maeli. He couldn't be? She shook the nonsensical thought away and focused on concealing herself. She decided she would question him about it after the crisis was over.
"Stay close to me, my untraceable aura may cover an leaks in yours." Craig said as he hugged her into his chest with one arm. He didn't think much of it and had only done it as a precaution.
Maeli however, felt a bit awkward being held in such a way by him and asked, "Are you using the situation to take advantage of me?" Although her her tone was cold, she had actually not resisted or pushed him away.
Craig, realising her intent, decided to joke around at such a time. "I have enough time to take advantage of you when our life isn't in danger." He smirked afterward.
A pity she couldn't see his face. His words had invoked her anger but she still didn't budge an inch. Afraid that maybe Craig was right and his untraceable aura was helpful at keeping her better concealed. In fact, although she wanted to resist his hug, she also felt a sense of comfort and safety that she didn't get from him before. Did something about him change overnight? Or was it that she...
"Damn it!" Eric's furious shout echoed through the forest. "Who was it! Who was it that deceived me! Show yourself so I can skin you alive and pluck out your teeth and fingernails! Show yourself!" He shouted hysterically for some time.
Maeli instinctively drew closer to Craig as she felt the hatred and fury from Eric's voice. She knew he was a horrible person but she had never seen his true horrible side before. Today, she had at the very least, heard it.
Suddenly Glowmyth appeared on top of Craig's shoulder. "He fell for it." She whispered.
Craig nodded. "You must be tired but, can you turn the both of us invisible?" He asked.
"I can but not for long, my mana is very low." She replied, eyeing Maeli in Craig's embrace with a sour expression.
Craig could see that she was tired. Beads of sweat littered her forehead and her complexion was slightly pale. This little fairy was putting in so much effort to help him that he didn't know how to thank her. "Just till we're out of range."
"Who are you talking to?" Maeli whispered as she tilted her head upward. Laying in his embrace she seemed liked an unrestrained lover of his.
Of course, Glowmyth misinterpreted the situation and couldn't help but scoff in jealousy. "So much for just meeting her and she being just a companion." She said in a snarky manner, shifting her gaze away.
An awkward smile froze on Craig's face at Glowmyth's remark. What did his relationship with Mali have to do with her? Was she feeling Jealous? It suddenly occurred to Craig what Setra might have meant by the phrase "You broke her."
As Glowmyth was deliberately revealing herself, Maeli could also see her. "A fairy?" She whispered upon seeing Glowmyth standing on Craig's shoulder. She suddenly felt that she had unravelled the mystery to why Craig had no aura. If so then, wasn't he truly just taking advantage of her. She was just about to pull away from him when Eric's voice echoed again.
"Do you think you've escaped Maeli?" He laughed condescendingly. "I've picked up your aura and will soon find you." He raised his voice as if to show his superiority and began walking in the direction of the large rock Craig and company were hiding behind.
Without her consent, Craig scooped up Maeli as if he were picking up a child. She tried to struggle free but one 'shh' From Craig was all it took to remind her that Eric was closing in. "Now." Craig signalled for Glowmyth to turn them invisible and just like that, they disappeared.
Not long after, Eric who was slowly creeping up on the rock from behind thought he had found his prey. He was disappointed when he discovered no one behind the rock, even after feeling around with his feet for a body. "Hmmm." He narrowed his brows. "Interesting. To think she could conceal her aura so well that I can't detect it anymore." He looked into the forest ahead. "I wonder how long you can keep up your little tricks." He chuckled as he walked deeper into the forest.
***
Craig and Maeli flashed into existence some distance away amongst some trees. He placed Maeli down onto her feet and looked around cautiously. "We should be fine now." He assessed. "There's no way he can trace our steps to get here."
As soon as Glowmyth turned them invisible, he stealthily moved in the direction of the carriage and crossed over to the opposite side of the road. Then he moved through the forest for a short while until presently, when Glowmyth had terminated the invisibility due to fatigue. She had fainted again from over drawing her power.
Looking at her Lying in his palm unconscious, Craig felt pained in his heart. It was his fault, for asking her to go just a bit further. Although she wasn't injured, It was definitely draining and uncomfortable to push herself this much. "Thank you for all your help. I'll take it from here." He muttered, engraving all her efforts in his heart.
Standing to the side, Maeli who was silently looking at Craig suddenly had a realisation. She remembered the moment she had been standing at the edge of the canyon. A small glow had dived down into the depths shortly after he fell. At the time, she thought she was muddle headed, but apparently it would seem she wasn't. "After you fell into the canyon, how did you you survive? Was it this little wisp who saved you?" She felt this was most likely the case.
Craig nodded, looking at her. "Luckily there was a river below which broke my fall and saved me from going splat. It was a rough ride downstream and along the way I was knocked out. If she hadn't come and zapped me awake I'm not sure if I would have made it or not." He looked down at Glowmyth in his palm. "It's funny how ever since we met it's been one unconscious state after another. What a long night it's been." He looked up at the bright sky, taking in the fresh air with ease.
"What exactly happened?" Maeli asked, curious about what Craig had been through.
"That's a long story." He replied. "I'll tell you on the way back. What's important is that we can save the princess." He flashed her a victory smile.
Maeli's curious expression turned into puzzlement, then into shock, then into awe. "Are you saying that, that you found everything? The lotuses, even the black one?"
"Not exactly." Craig said with an odd smile.
Maeli was on cloud nine but when Craig said 'Not exactly' she immediately fell back down to earth. Her expression dimmed. "What do you mean not exactly? Aren't all seven lotuses necessary to make the medicine? How many did you find?" She was confused. "Did you find the most difficult ones?"
Craig had originally intended to tell her the truth but the more he thought about mentioning the Divine Lotus the more problematic it felt. Something like that wasn't something he could let just anyone know about. Maeli could be considered his friend but their friendship weren't on such a trustworthy level as yet. Based on her character, he felt that at least for now he should not only keep this from her but everyone else. So he decided to make up an excuse in its place. "I didn't find any lotuses. But... I did find another way to save her."
"Another way?" Maeli asked doubtfully. She had never heard of another method for curing dragon fever so where did it suddenly come from?
Craig nodded. "The fairies... they gave me some kind of spirit medicine. They said it was capable of curing dragon fever but it was just as difficult to make as the rainbow medicine." He lied through his teeth. It was the best he could do at the moment. If he claimed he had found the lotuses he would have to show proof that he didn't have. With spiritual medicine he would not have to show anything.
Maeli narrowed her brows in ridicule. "And you believed them?" She asked. "How do you know if their miracle medicine will really work?" She didn't want to deny his efforts but with the situation being so sensitive she couldn't help but feel doubtful about the fairies claims.
Craig shook his head. "I don't know if it will, but there weren't any black lotuses in the lotus pond anyway. This is the only hope we have now." He wasn't lying about the lack of black lotuses so this truly was their only hope. Of course the miracle medicine wasn't any special spirit medicine.
Maeli thought for a moment, unable to find any way to refute him. "So then you found the actual Lotus Pond?" She at least wanted know that much.
Craig nodded. "I did. There were lotuses there but there weren't any black lotuses. The pond was also how I got in touch with the fairies. She was the reason why they decided to help me." He raised his palm.
Maeli looked at the soundly sleeping wisp in his palm. With everything already said and done there was nothing she could do about it. If there weren't any black lotuses then it was a blessing that Craig had found another torch of hope. She couldn't figure out what had happened but it was good that he came back alive. She nodded in understanding and accepted the situation. "Then, I guess we should return now."
"Yeah. We still have half the alloted time left to make it back. We should leave right away," Craig turned to begin walking but he realised, "Um, where are we?" He didn't know which way to go.