Balance of the World

Chapter 9: Creatures of Magic

“Are we there yet?” Zoey whined, her arms around Elias’s chest as they rode toward the Centaur camp in Roch.

“Not yet,” he ground out in irritation.

They had been riding since morning. Now it was noon and Zoey had been asking at least every half hour if they were there yet and it was starting to drive Elias nuts.

“I’m sorry, Elias, it’s just…we’ve been riding for hours and my legs are killing me,” Zoey confessed.

Elias sighed and pulled Phantom to a stop beneath a tree making Zoey frown.

“What are you doing?”

“Stopping,” Elias replied, flatly and dismounted without hitting Zoey. “We’ll rest those legs of yours for a while.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I needed a rest myself, Angel,” Elias cut in with a small smile as he held his arms out to her to help her off his horse. “Now, get off my horse.”

Zoey couldn’t help but giggle as she swung her leg around to sit sideways and slid off the horse. Elias caught her when she hit the ground but when he let her go she fell to the ground making him frown at her and she frowned back up at him before looking down at her lap in embarrassment.

“My legs are asleep,” she muttered. Elias tried not to laugh, but he let out a snort and Zoey shot a glare up at him, snapping, “You won’t be laughing when I turn you into a masked gopher!”

Elias couldn’t help the laughter that followed that statement.

“Elias!”

“I’m sorry, Angel!” he laughed. “You’re just so funny!”

He continued laughing heartily and Zoey simply glared at him for a moment then muttered, “I’ll show you, you masked moron.”

She held a hand toward him while he wasn’t paying attention, uttering the spell.

Athrú

Elias’s laughter ceased and he stared at Zoey in horror as she simply smirked as he started shrinking. Zoey couldn’t contain her laughter as she stared at the sight before her. Elias was now a furry black gopher with a white mask, wearing a little black uniform staring at her with wide, sea-green eyes.

“Aw, you look so cute!” Zoey giggled.

Elias started squeaking in obvious anger and Zoey laughed even harder as she pounded her fist on the ground.

“Elias! Stop! I’m dying! You’re killing me!” she wheezed and laughed uncontrollably. “You’re too cute!”

Elias stopped and sat, crossing his little arms over his little chest, fury burning in his little sea-green eyes. Zoey calmed herself and smiled at the little Masked Gopher General in front of her.

“Oh, Elias, you have t admit it’s a little funny,” she smiled, reaching toward him. He spun around, facing his back to her in a huff. “Elias, don’t be that way. You know I’m gonna change you back. I’m just messing with you.”

Elias didn’t move and Zoey sighed then held her hand toward him.

Deireadh A Chur

She watched as Elias transformed back into the man she couldn’t resist and smiled when she him look at one of his hands then turned to glare at her over his shoulder.

“If I were a wizard, you would be a duck right now,” he muttered.

Zoey couldn’t help but smile at his tendency for moodiness. Her legs now awake, she crawled toward him and sat next to him.

“Don’t be bitter,” she smiled, wrapping her arm around his. “I changed you back.”

“I do not like being called cute,” he ground out with a scowl, looking away from her.

“You’re right. I was kinda lying when I said that,” Zoey shrugged making Elias turn to her in wide-eyed surprise and she smiled up at him. “You’re not cute.”

She looked away from him again, making him stare at her in wide-eyed wonder when she said nothing else for a moment then she giggled and said, “You are extremely handsome.”

Elias gave a small sigh as he looked away from her and leaned on his shoulder to murmur, “Did I scare you?”

“Of course not,” he replied, pulling his arm from her grasp and wrapping it around her shoulders to look down at her with a smirk. “What else do you think of me, Angel?”

“You are so handsome, it makes me want to cry,” she murmured.

“Is that so?” Elias smirked.

Before she could respond he planted his lips to hers and shoved her back onto the ground as Zoey began giggling through the kiss. She pulled him closer to deepen the kiss and his hands held either side of her head as his tongue attacked her mouth. Elias slowly broke the kiss and began trailing tender kisses down her neck as she pulled him closer with a smile on her lips.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her ear. “You’re so wonderful.”

“You think so?” she breathed.

“Do you think I would try lying to you?” he smirked between kisses to her neck.

“You have before,” Zoey reminded him through a laugh.

“Finally find yourself a female, General Blackwood?”

The couple froze and they looked to the side to see two pairs of hooves attached to brown horse’s legs. They followed the legs upward to see a man’s body attached from the waist up to the horse’s body.

“General Herne,” Elias realized and scrambled off of Zoey to pull her to her feet so they could both face the centaur general.

“This must be the Enuria,” Herne smirked, looking Zoey up and down.

“Yes,” Elias nodded, glaring slightly at him when he noticed the centaur’s gaze.

“A pleasure to meet you, General,” Zoey nodded.

“Believe me, the pleasure is entirely mine,” Herne replied, bowing grandly.

“We seek shelter in your camp for a night or two,” Elias reported. “She has been kidnapped once and I fear it may happen again if we stay in one place too long.”

“Of course,” Herne nodded. “My camp is not far. Follow me.”

He turned and began walking back the way he came and Elias hurried to mount Phantom, pulling Zoey on after him. They followed Herne a few moments before Zoey looked up as a shadow passed over them and Elias sensed her stiffen, making him gaze up at the sky and smirk as he saw what she did.

“Don’t worry, Angel,” he murmured over his shoulder to her. “It’s just Velaro.”

“Who?” Zoey frowned in wonder.

“The general of the Griffin army,” he replied.

Zoey nodded in understanding as the half bird, half loin creature landed in front of Herne, blocking all their paths.

“General Velaro!” Herne grinned. “You’re late.”

“Apologies, General Herne,” Velaro nodded.

“Say hello to the Enuria,” Herne entreated, gesturing to Elias and Zoey behind him.

Velaro stared wide, golden cat eyes at the masked General and the young woman. As the Griffin General walked toward them, Zoey shrunk back slightly making Elias smirk back at her.

“Frightened, Angel?” he murmured.

“Why would I be?” Zoey wondered. “He’s a good guy, right?”

“Your nails are digging into my sides,” he retorted.

“General Blackwood,” Velaro nodded in respect and Elias returned the gesture. “I take it the lovely lady with you is our savior?”

“You assume correctly,” Elias replied then turned to Zoey who had been peeking over his shoulder. “Say hello, Zoey.”

“Hello,” she murmured, shyly.

“I’m hiding her at my camp for a couple nights,” Herne said, trotting toward the three.

“Is that so?” Velaro wondered. “You’ll be well taken care of, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” Zoey echoed, scrunching her nose. “I’m not that old. Just call me Zoey.”

“Very well,” Velaro nodded.

“Come along with us,” Herne entreated Velaro as he turned again and the griffin nodded, turning as well.

As they began walking to the centaur camp again, Herne and Velaro spoke to each other as Elias and Zoey trailed behind.

“Do I need so many peop – beings watching over me?” Zoey wondered.

“It’s simply a precaution, Angel,” Elias replied. “We can’t have you kidnapped again, can we?”

“Well, no, but still,” Zoey trailed off a moment then muttered, “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“It is not a burden to keep the Savior of Kalina safe, Angel,” he insisted.

“I get that, but still—”

“You think so little of yourself,” he interrupted. “You must realize that as our Savior, and more importantly, as a person you are very important. Especially to me.”

Zoey gave a content smile as she hugged him, making him stiffen as she murmured, “You’re important to me too, Elias.”

He smiled as she rested her head on his back, but said nothing as they continued on for a moment before she broke their content silence.

“Elias?”

“Yes?”

“Are we there yet?”

Meanwhile...

“Captain!” Namir called as she ran toward the captain’s cabin and pushed the doors open to greet Kaysar with a bright smile, only to find him pacing and muttering to himself. Frowning, she closed the doors and walked toward him.

“Kaysar?” she called, timidly and he froze to stare at her with wide, bloodshot eyes. “Is everything alright?”

“Namir,” he breathed and pulled her by the wrist toward him. He sat her in the chair in front of his desk, placing his hands on the arms of the chair as she stared up at him in worry and surprise and he whispered, “I can trust you. You over all others, aye?”

“Aye,” she nodded, cautiously.

Kaysar inched closer to her face and whispered again, “I fear there’s a conspiracy brewin’, love.”

“Conspiracy?” Namir frowned and he nodded. “But Jellina will be defeated soon and then—”

“That woman will take over!” Kaysar ground out as Namir looked up at him with wide eyes.

“What do you mean, Kaysar?” she breathed.

“Once she gets rid of the Black Witch she’ll be thinking she should rule Kalina instead of me!” he shoved off the chair and resumed pacing as Namir stared at him in disbelief.

“I don’t think Zoey is going to challenge your rule,” she voiced, making him whirl on her.

“How do you know?!” he growled.

“How do you know she’ll try?!” she retorted, shooting to her feet.

Kaysar turned an angry glare at her and lifted a hand to back-hand her across the face. Namir fell back in the chair with the force as she gave a gasp of pain and looked up at him with wide eyes, lifting a hand to her cheek.

“Don’t ever raise your voice to me again, understand?” he growled.

Namir simply stared at him and he leaned over her again, making her shrink back in the chair and quickly reply, “Aye, Captain.”

“Good,” he nodded, standing tall to begin pacing again. “Now, the only thing we can do to keep meself in charge is to rid ourselves of the Enuria. The only way to do that is if we get rid of General Blackwood. He’s her protector and a traitor besides, if he’s helping her.”

“But, Captain,” Namir tried. “Elias Blackwood is your friend, isn’t he?”

“Can’t play favorites with traitors, love,” he replied.

“But we don’t even know where they are,” she reminded him, playing along with his theory.

“Well, we’ll just have to find out where they are, eh?” Kaysar continued, rubbing his chin. “I want you to take some men ashore and start in Edan. That’s where Blackwood’s camp is.”

“And if he’s not there?” Namir wondered.

“Find out where he is by any means necessary then come back and tell me,” he replied. “I want to kill the two myself.”

Namir nodded and slowly stood to head toward the door.

“I don’t remember dismissing you,” Kaysar called, making her stop dead. He nodded at her back, dismissing, “Go ahead.”

Namir hurried out to the deck, closing the doors behind her and leaned back against the wood, rubbing her cheek again as she managed to keep tears from forming in her eyes.

Something was wrong. This wasn’t like Kaysar. Conspiracy theories, suspecting his friends without any proof of fault…and that slap he’d given her. Namir continued rubbing her cheek at the memory. They had always been frank with each other, even in front of the crew. She had always voiced her opinion, getting into shouting matches with him more often than not. What would make him lash out at her that way?

“Miss Nassar!”

She was snapped from her thoughts and looked up to see one of the men heading toward her.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

Namir straightened and cleared her throat to nod, “Captain says I’m to take a shore party and search for General Elias Blackwood and Zoey Walsh. Assemble ten men into the long boat. We start in Edan.”

Centaur Camp in Roch...

“Tell me, Zoey, do you ride?” Herne wondered as he, Zoey and Elias sat in the field several yards from the camp.

“Ride?” Zoey wondered with a frown as she sat as she sat next to Elias. “You mean, riding a horse? No, I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

“Well, then we shall have to teach you,” Herne grinned, standing and clopping toward her, his hands outstretched to help her up. “You will be taught this moment and I will not take no for an answer.”

“A-Alright,” Zoey sputtered, taking his hands to let him help her stand as Elias straightened, glancing between them.

Herne took her waist into his hands and turned to set her on his back, making Elias jumped to his feet as the centaur trotted off with a surprised Zoey on his back.

“Herne!” Zoey squeaked. “What are you doing?!”

“An actual horse would be too complicated,” he explained. “It’s better this way. Now, use my shoulders to guide me.”

Zoey swallowed as he stopped, waiting for her to guide him and she cautiously placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Now, kick your heels a bit,” he instructed.

Zoey did as she was told and he began walking.

“Try turning me.”

Zoey tugged on his shoulders to turn him all the way around…just in time to see Elias riding his own horse toward them, an angry glare in his eyes.

“It is far more appropriate for the Enuria to learn horseback riding on the back of a horse, not a centaur!” he snapped, as he dismounted and pulled Zoey off of Herne’s back. He lifted Zoey onto Phantom’s back and placed the reins in her hands.

“Squeeze your legs to make him go,” Elias instructed. “Keep your heels down and your elbows in.”

“That’s a lot to remember,” Zoey muttered. “Can’t Herne just—?”

“No!” he snapped, making Zoey look at him with wide eyes. “I will teach you what needs to be taught. Now, to make him walk, squeeze your legs.”

Zoey sighed with a nod and did as she was told. Phantom began a slow walk and Zoey couldn’t help but grin at the satisfaction of doing something like this herself.

“Use the reins to turn him,” Elias called and she turned the horse to the right. “Sit up straight! I told you to keep your heels down!”

“Do this, do that…I’m not one of his soldiers,” Zoey muttered.

“It’s the only way you’ll learn how to ride me properly.”

“I know, but—”

Zoey stopped herself, her eyes widening as she looked down at the house.

“Whoa, wait a minute,” she breathed, pulling back on the reins to stop him then leaned over to look at the horse.

“You talk?!”

“Oh, bullocks,” Phantom muttered. “I wasn’t supposed to. Do me a favor and don’t tell Elias. I promised him I wouldn’t talk around you.”

“Phantom!” Elias shouted, marching toward them. “You promised!”

“Bloody hell,” Phantom muttered as Zoey sat up, looking at Elias.

“You promised—!”

“I know, Elias. I’m sorry!” Phantom exasperated.

“No you’re not!” Elias snapped.

“Am I missing something here?” Zoey wondered. “When did the horse become capable of speech?”

“All the horses can take here,” Elias replied, dismissively. “And some of them can’t keep their mouths shut!”

“Hey! I held out as long as I could!” the horse replied. “It wasn’t easy, either!”

“I’m either going to faint of shock or burst into laughter,” Zoey stated, flatly then looked to Elias to ask, “Do any other animals talk in this place?”

“Just horses,” Elias replied.

“Good to know,” Zoey nodded. “Dare I ask if we should get on with the lesson?”

“Maybe we should take a break?” Elias sighed then held his arms out to her. “Off the talking horse.”

Zoey giggled and swung her legs to one side and slid into Elias’s arms. Their eyes locked and Zoey couldn’t help but drop her gaze to his lips.

“Later, Angel,” he murmured with a smirk, reading the look in her eyes. “Not in front of my horse.”

“You know I don’t care,” Phantom retorted. “Go ahead and kiss your woman.”

Zoey blushed and laughed nervously as Elias glared at the horse as she whispered, “Yeah, we’ll wait until we’re alone.”

Meanwhile...

“Namir!” Varen grinned, arms outstretched. “What brings you to Edan?”

Namir strode toward him, stone faced with ten of Kaysar’s crew behind her. Varen frowned in confusion at her and let his arms fall to his sides.

“What’s wrong?” he wondered as they stopped in front of each other.

“Where are General Blackwood and the Enuria?” she demanded.

“I’m not sure,” Varen replied, still frowning.

“Don’t lie to me, Varen,” Namir warned. “He tells you everything.”

She drew her sword, slowly as Varen did the same and they pointed their blades at each other as their men drew their swords as well.

“You know where he’s taken Zoey,” she continued. “I have orders from the King to find them.”

“What for?” Varen questioned. “Why would the King send you with ten of his men?”

“They are accused of conspiring against the King,” Namir replied.

“General Blackwood would never do that!” Varen ground out. “What proof do you have?!”

“What difference does it make?!” she snarled.

“With all due respect, the King must’ve been drank a bit too much rum,” he snapped.

“Where is Blackwood?!”

“You’ll have to torture me to get it out of me!”

“Enough!” Quinto shouted, stepping between the two of them. “This is exactly what Jellina wants! To try to kill each other and cause perfect chaos for her to rule over! Now, we are going to go into Varen’s tent and discuss this matter.”

Varen and Namir lowered their swords to sheath them as Quinto gestured the two of them to follow him into the tent and as they entered, he stood himself in a corner as Varen and Namir stood on opposite sides of the table in it.

“I’m sorry, Varen,” Namir sighed, sitting in the chair on her side of the table. “I had to put on a show for the men.”

“I understand,” Varen nodded, sitting in the chair on his side as well. “Now, tell me what’s happened? You and I both know that neither General Blackwood nor Miss Zoey would do what His Majesty has accused them of. What proof does he have?”

“None,” Namir replied. “He has a feeling, that’s all. This isn’t like him, Varen. There’s something wrong with him, as if he’s under a spell.”

“A spell?” Quinto echoed, stepping next to her. “How is he acting?”

“He’s acting…like a tyrant,” she replied, then moved some of her hair back to show off her cheek and the bruise forming on it. “He slapped me for voicing my opinion. He’s never done that. We’ve always been frank with one another.”

“That doesn’t sound like Kaysar,” Quinto agreed. “How long has this been going on?”

“It started this morning. We have to do something. There’s something very wrong.”

“No doubt,” Varen agreed with a nod. “We have to tell the general and Miss Zoey. They should be in Roch by now.”

“Lieutenant General Fry?”

All eyes shot to the entrance of the tent to see a griffin stepping through the opening.

“Velaro?” Quinto frowned in wonder. “What are you doing here?”

“I flew in earlier,” he explained. “I heard what’s happened. What would you like me to tell General Blackwood?”

Sunset...

“It’s your own fault, Elias,” Zoey scolded as she dabbed a cut on his cheek with a damp cloth.

“He had no right to do it,” Elias shot back as they sat on the bank of a small river.

Elias had a fat lip and rubbed his jaw to relieve the soreness in it. His hair and clothes were disheveled, making it obvious that he’d been in a fight.

“Elias, he wasn’t going to do anything and you know it,” Zoey sighed, still cleaning his cut. “He just wanted to show me a bit of the countryside.”

“Centaurs are always up to no good,” Elias retorted. “They’re mischievous.”

“Much like mermaids, hm?” Zoey jabbed with a smirk.

“Mermaids are different,” he argued.

“Yeah, they can’t stomp you to death,” she chuckled.

Elias glared at her as she only smirked and shook her head as she dipped the cloth into the river.

“Although, I do like the fact that you were trying to defend my honor,” she murmured, making him look at her with wide eyes, filled with surprise. “It makes you even more attractive to me. Just…try not to get yourself beat up again.”

Elias chuckled then winced in pain and touched his left side, groaning, “I think I’ve broken a rib or two.”

Zoey pulled his hand away and replaced it with her own, gently as she smiled, “I’ll heal it. Stay still.”

Cneasaigh

Silver light flashed from her hand and Elias straightened as she pulled her hand away. Smiling down at her, he wrapped his arm around her as she grinned back.

“Thank you, Angel,” he whispered, closing in on her.

“You’re welcome,” she giggled, unmoving as her gaze fell to his lips.

“He brushed his lips against hers, gently as Zoey closed her eyes and he pressed his lips to hers fully.

He groaned softly in pain at his swollen lips but didn’t pull away, making Zoey’s eyes shoot open in realization. Just as she remembered his lip was swollen, a ping of silver light flashed between their mouths. Elias’s eyes opened in surprise as he slowly pulled away to stare at her in awe.

“How did you do that?” he breathed, touching his lip.

“I remembered that your lip was swollen, that’s all,” she shrugged. “I guess…my desire to heal you was strong enough that I didn’t need to say the spell aloud.”

“You are growing very powerful, Angel,” he smiled, slipping both of his arms around her to hug her close. “The only other magic wielder that can do that is Jellina.”

“Really?” she murmured, snuggling against his chest and sighing in thought.

Elias looked down at her and tugged on her chin to bring her gaze to his, closing in on her again. Zoey smiled and closed her eyes again, tilting her head back a bit. He stopped short when she closed her eyes, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers, making her smile as he stared at her for a moment.

If only I could tell you my true feelings, Angel, he thought to himself. I want to tell you I love you. I want you to stay with me…forever.

“Elias?” Zoey breathed, her eyes open as she frowned up at him, jolting him from his thoughts. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, Zoey,” he smiled warmly, hugging her a little closer. “I was just thinking of telling you something, but I’ll tell you another time.”

“Why can’t you tell me now?” Zoey wondered.

“Because I’m waiting for the right moment,” he explained, nuzzling his cheek to hers and making her giggle before he kissed her lips, tenderly.

“Sing for me, Angel,” he whispered. “I haven’t heard you since we were in Edan.”

“That was yesterday,” she giggled, playing with some of his disheveled hair. She frowned when she felt something foreign in his hair and pulled out a twig. Still frowning, she flicked it away and turned her attention back to Elias.

“Well, I haven’t heard you since yesterday,” he agreed. “I want to hear you sing every day.”

“Every day?” Zoey laughed. “You’ll get tired of it.”

“Never,” he nearly growled. “Sing for me, Angel.”

“What would you like to hear, my Masked Knight?” she sighed, contentedly.

“Anything you wish,” he whispered, gliding his fingertips over her neck, making her shiver.

“Elias?” she breathed.

“Yes?” he murmured.

“If this is a dream, just tell me. “I’m sick of trying to guess.”

“No, dear,” he smirked. “This is no dream, I assure you.”

“I feel like it is sometimes,” she sighed, leaning her head on his chest.

Elias stared at her in wonder, noting her serious tone and tilted her chin up to meet his gaze again and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I feel like this is all a dream that I can’t wake up from, and I’m not sure if I want to,” she explained. “When I’m with you, I hope I never wake up. But when I remember what I have to do I just want to wake up to stop it. Elias, I’m so confused and afraid. What if I can’t beat Jellina? What if I fail and she ends up ruling Kalina and plunging it into darkness? I’m going to fail, Elias! Just like everything else, this will be one of my failures!”

Zoey couldn’t stop her tears from falling as Elias gathered her into his arms, holding her close as she sobbed into his chest as he stroked a soothing hand down her hair and back.

“You won’t fail, Angel,” Elias murmured into her ear. “You are no failure. I have faith in you. All of Kalina has faith in you. We know you will succeed and all will be right. It’s going to be alright. I’ll help you. You won’t have to do this alone.”

“No,” Zoey shuddered, shaking her head and looking up at him. “If I go up against Jellina, I have to go alone. I won’t let you get hurt or killed trying to help me. I can’t…lose you.”

“But Zoey, you can’t do this alone,” he insisted. “Don’t you understand, my dear?” He lifted one of her hands in his and entwined his fingers with hers. “Only together are we strong enough to defeat any opponent. Together we can defeat Jellina. I promise you, we will not fail.”

Zoey studied Elias’s face then looked deep into his eyes, realizing that arguing would do her no good she nodded with a sniffle and a smile. Elias sighed in relief and pulled her close again so she could snuggle into his chest with a smile of contentment.

“Trust me, Angel,” he whispered. “This dream will have a happy ending.”

“As long as you’re there with me, my Masked Knight,” she smiled before looking up at him again.

His mouth pressed against hers as they both shut their eyes, pulling each other a little closer. His tongue coaxed her to give him entrance into her mouth and she opened with a moan to let him begin a slow tender exploration of her mouth as she ran her fingers through his hair, his hands holding her close by her back. Zoey moaned in approval when he beckoned her tongue into his mouth by stroking it with his, softly. Her tongue slid into his mouth and he didn’t hesitate to begin sucking on it, making her give a high pitched moan of surprise, but she didn’t pull away.

They both pulled away slowly, forced to breathe and Zoey sighed just as Elias tried to tempt her again by nipping at her lower lip. She giggled and shook her head.

“It’s dark,” she whispered. “We should head back and get to sleep. I have a feeling we’re going somewhere else tomorrow, considering you got into a fight with one of Herne’s soldiers.”

Elias groaned in disappointment as Zoey pushed away from him to stand. He tried to pull her back but she gently pulled away.

“Elias, please,” she giggled. “I’m tired.”

“In that case…”

Elias stood and pulled Zoey to her feet before sweeping her off her feet as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Elias—?!”

“I’ll carry you so that you do not get any more tired. We can’t have you exhausted,” he smiled.

“You’re so thoughtful,” she smiled cutely, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that I requested you to sing for me,” Elias smirked, making Zoey sigh and snuggle her face into the crook of his neck.

“First thing in the morning, Elias,” she yawned. “I promise.”