Arthur and the Invisibles 5: Legend of the Forest

Chapter 4: The Hero Returns

Arthur's eyes snapped open and a quiet gasp escaped his lips as a small cloud of mist formed on the window from his sudden exhale. It took a moment for him to regain his senses, and for a moment he couldn't figure out where he was. He blinked. Then he blinked again. He found the strength to move his head to look around, and his mind finally recovered.

He was sat in the back of his father's Dodge V8, leaning against the window, having been asleep mere moments ago. Glancing around the dimly lit interior of the car, he saw that both his mother and Dylan were still asleep, and his father apparently hadn't noticed Arthur had awoken. Arthur moved his head back to gaze out the window.

After Dylan had arrived, the four had collected their things, and driven to the airport. The flight had gone on for most of the night, and the four had arrived in america just past midnight. Armand always insisted on transporting his car by plane between America and England. It may have seemed unnecessary, but it saved Archibald and Daisy driving all the way to pick them up. Besides, with the large bowl of rubies still remarkably remaining almost untouched over nearly three years, they could afford it. They had been driving for hours now, and an almost invisible orange glow was now visible on the horizon, signalling that the sun wasn't far behind.

Having now fully remembered the events of the previous twenty four hours, Arthur was now regrettably forced to remember the reason for his sudden awakening. Another nightmare. And given that the tenth moon was tomorrow night, it was no surprise that it had been about Selenia. What was surprising however, was the fact that something set this nightmare apart from any of the ones he had encountered previously.

He had had this one before. 

It had been a long time ago, only a single moon had passed since he had successfully defeated Robert Serven. The nightmare recounted the moment he first met Selenia in person, but with a few unexpected changes. The King had silenced his own daughter from speaking ill of Arthur, something Arthur knew Sifrat would never  do. Arthur had then continued, explaining Davido's maniacal plan.

This alone had slightly unnerved Arthur. Which was strange because explaining Davido's plan was exactly what he had done all those years ago. He had decided it was just the fact of being reminded of that horrible man. He couldn't quite comprehend that it had been almost three years since his first adventure into the Seven Kingdoms. And since then, Arthur had tried to forget about Davido, hoping that he would spend a great deal of his life, if not all of it, rotting in a cell.

Selenia had then questioned Arthur if he was 'still set on his big adventure' just as she had done, but when he had accidentally spoken Maltazard's name, all of the village, save Selenia, had taken it as a sign of courage, not a sign of bad luck. The king then asked Arthur to try and remove the sword of power, and although Arthur's modesty demanded he suggest Selenia have another attempt, the king insisted. So he did as he was told, and succeeded. As no one but himself knew he would. The king declared that Arthur would be the one to embark on the quest to vanquish Maltazard, not Selenia, to which Selenia had collapsed onto her knees in shock. 

But then something came over Arthur, as he suggested that she travel with him as his accomplice, flashing her a purposely flirtatious smile. Arthur knew perfectly well he wasn't that type of person, and even if he was, he wouldn't have the courage now, let alone almost three years ago. He had taken a step towards her, stating that he was sure they'd grow 'very close' on the adventure.

As these words left Arthur's mouth in a voice that certainly wasn't his own, a sort of black mist began to encircle Selenia. Her body turned grey, her hair as black as ink, and when she looked up at him with the hatred of Maltazard himself, her pupils had vanished and her eyes glowed a ghostly white. She rose to her feet, withdrew her dagger with the flick of her hand, and screamed: