The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

50. Two sided goblin

💧

"That was pretty good Anemone."

Standing in the shadows within the walls of the fairy palace, the night is starting to fall over the high trees of the familiar courtyard. Anemone turns to Dieq, surprised by his sudden compliment. She is a little breathless, her eyes flashing in red. But the compliment still registers in her brain, and it feels so far away from the violent fight they had just a few weeks earlier.

"Thanks." She breathes out, and Evangeline turns to look at her with a smile.

They were able to sneak into the palace in the same way Anemone snuck in last time. Last time she was injured, unprepared and got caught pretty quickly. She skimmed over that part of the story when she told them of her plan, but Nayan, Chepi and Evangeline all knew the truth anyway.

This time, however, she was set on not failing. Evangeline managed to sneak inside, too, but her way was not suitable for many. Anemone's way worked, somehow. They managed to manipulate the guards again, in the shadows of the night. Then they snuck inside, carefully watching out for every guard and servant patrolling the courtyard. Everything is on high alert, so they sometimes had to waste full hours in certain hiding spots around the court before they could move on to the next one.

Now they are here, by the root of the main palace tree, and near a specific watchpoint of the wall around the palace. Only the most dangerous phases of the plan remain. Anemone, Evangeline and Dieq need to get the security down to the point where their troops can move in, and Nayan needs to kill his father.

There are only five of them right now, but ten thousand are on their way. The blue moon is only a few mere hours away, and Chepi doesn't seem to be holding up so well. In fact, she is barely holding herself up at all. But there is still a sword in her hand and a determined expression on her face. None of them know what she is thinking, but they all guess it must be about the keeper of the crystal. She seems to have set her mind on someone, and is here to tell that person exactly that.

"I'll see you when it's over." Nayan whispers to Dieq, his eyes holding a hint of fear, mixed with a hint of sincerity. Dieq nods back, worry shining in his own eyes. But he hides it well with a look of determination. They are all experienced soldiers. Work is work. He whispers out a quick "Good luck.", and watches as Nayan gives him one last smile before running off toward the main palace, where his father's study is.

Nayan sneaks up to a servant entrance, his sword held tightly in front of him. Anyone he comes across is going to need to either die, be knocked out or swear their loyalty to him. Any servant, guard or even family member of his could call the alarm, and the entire palace would be on even higher alert than it is now. Currently, nobody knows that they've managed to infiltrate the palace, and are waiting for at least ten thousand men to soon march past the gates.

At least, they don't think the fairies know about when the troops will strike. One wrong move, however, and everybody will know that they are here. Nayan needs to be careful. Anybody that comes in his path needs to be eliminated.

Just as he is about to reach for the door handle, another hand replaces his and pushes it down instead. Nayan turns to the side, and to his surprise and worry, he finds his sister standing next to him, her own sword in hand. "Chepi?" She turns around to look at him with a determined expression on her face, but also a look in her eyes that is difficult for him to decipher. "I'm coming with you." She whispers back, stepping into the palace through the door.