A Land of Flowers and Fae

Resolve

Elina was crumpled on the ground. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't feel his magic. He was gone. Bibble settled on her shoulder, trilling with concern.

The trolls' voices cut through her haze "The intruders have left, what a mess"

"They've taken our friend, that's my guess"

Her eyes whipped back to them, her voice so rough it hardly counted as words "He's alive! He had to have survived right? They need him"

The trolls looked at each other, far less certain than she liked.

"We saw and felt as much as you"

"But their intent was not to kill him, its true"

She struggled to her feet.

"Let me outside" She demanded

Their strange magic flexed again, and the door shimmered back into existence. She ran for it and burst outside. Hoping that maybe he was still out there. Maybe...

The forest looked like a storm and an earthquake had a wrestling match. Trees were grown up and extending in odd ways. Their roots pulled out of the ground. Moss, ivy and vines hung in every direction. Big trenches were dug into the earth below.

She groaned. They were gone.

A whistling sound came from above her. A small cloud of mist appeared in front of her. "Larkspur!" She gasped. The little sylph whirled around her in a cloud, like she was checking for injuries. Bibble shrieked a greeting. He shot out of the troll house and into Larkspur's gale. Jabbering at her.

"Lady Elina! Are you hurt? Did you see them! Did you see? They took him! They took him! What are we gonna do!" Larkspurs voice seemed to his from every direction in her agitation. "Larkspur!" Elina gasped, the strength of the wind stealing her breath "Slow down and tell me, which way did they go?" Between the sylph and the puffball, Elina was in a veritable hurricane of worried trills and gusts.

"They took him back to the Wilderlands! Those blasted firebirds kept me from getting close enough! Their heat mucks with my wind. I couldn't help!" The little sylph wailed.

A small hurricane of wind filled the space, dropping from the sky. Several more clouds of fog solidified into people. Their narrow limbs and wispy gray clothes making it apparent they were sylphs. Two young males and one female that looked like a child. Even smaller than Larkspur.

"Larkspur! We saw those dryads taking Lord Lavan away!" The taller male sylph said. He looked at Elina with critical eyes. "Who is this?"

Larkspur whirled with anger "I told you! I told you Dalhia took over the Wilderlands and was after Lord Lavan! Not such a crazy story now huh?" The messenger sylph was irate. Too irate to answer his question.

Elina cleared her throat "I'm Elina, and this is Bibble from the Magic Meadow. Lord Lavan is my partner"

The sylphs went see-through in their surprise. The smallest girl actually hopping into the air "His partner! Wow!"

Larkspur solidified to show them her scowl "Yes! His partner!" The sylph turned to Elina "Did Lord Lavan say anything before he left? Did he say what we were supposed to do?"

Elina clutched at the little scroll in her hand. "We have the antidote for the poison. It worked on Lavan. He told me to take it to the Enchantress so that she could undo the spells keeping the fungi and firebirds under Dahlia's control"

Larkspur's eyes widened with understanding "So he meant to get caught so you could get away"

Elina's face crumpled. Again. It had happened again. She couldn't do anything.