Melanie sat in a makeshift camp, huddled in a sleeping bag near the tiny fire, watching the sun set with dread.
Xi sat on her shoulder, unable to decide if she should get her moving or let her wait, knowing as every minute passed, Quinn had less chance of appearing and whatever she stopped to hold off Melanie's trail had more chance of catching up.
As the sun trailed slowly down the sky, Melanie sighed and stood up, her sadness apparent.
"Let's go, Xi... we can't let Quinn down."
Xi flittered over to tell Melanie's horse, as Melanie packed up the few things she had pulled out and mounted her horse.
"To Terragon..." she said, and the horse rode up the road, no one saying a word, remembering a true friend.
"Sir!" the young apprentice mage said, jogging in and panting from his long search for his master.
The man turned, annoyed by the interruption, but hiding his grin at the young mans zeal. "What is it, Sean, you young fool?
"Sentries report the the girl is on her way..."
"But?"
The young man sighed and bowed his head. "The Holy Warrior is not with her any longer."
"A mixed bag..." the old man pondered a moment, then stood, smiling.
"What are you smiling about, Master Kalimir?" Sean asked, confused. "The Holy Warrior has died." he continued, not using the names of the dead in the Elven tradition, due to Quinn's half Elven upbringing.
"One is not dead until one is forgotten, and besides, Melanie is soon to arrive, that in itself should be reason to celebrate!"
Sean nodded, another lesson learned.
"Melanie, I'm hungry." Xi whined "Can't we stop just for a second?
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Melanie simply kept the horse walking up the road, nothing else mattered but getting to Terragon.
Quinn died for me, I can't let her down. Melanie thought sternly. I have to keep going... Xi's sudden gasp caught her attention.
"Xi?" Melanie looked down, suddenly sorry she had ignored her only remaining friend.
The fairy simply pointed ahead as the two slowly crested a hill, a massive city ahead of them, nearly glowing to Melanie's sight.
"We made it, Melanie." Xi said, crying softly.
Melanie stared at the sky, her eyes closed as the tears began to flow.
"Thank you, Quinn. I owe you so much, and I'll do my best to repay you somehow, I promise it."
Xi sniffled and flittered up to snuggle on Melanie's shoulder.
The girl smiled, tears rolling down her face as she slowly approached the gates of destiny.
Kalimir strolled down the main road, muttering to himself as he often did when he was thinking.
He had prepared a huge feast and a celebration for the young girl's arrival, and he was walking to the Castle to be sure everything was ready when she arrived.
As he strolled up the street, the trumpets sounded, and he hurried his pace to prepare for the future Queen of Terragon.
"What do you think this Kalimir will be like?" Xi asked as they crested the hill and looked down on the massive city in awe.
"Never met a Wizard, Xi." Melanie said quietly. "I hope he's nice. I'd hate to think my destiny meeting with this man who can tell me why I was gifted with these powers I'm supposed to have and haven't seen will at least be nice."
"You still don't believe you have any powers, do you?" Xi asked.
Melanie shook her head solemnly.
"Well I think you do." Xi said firmly. "And when we get you to Terragon and all rested and cleaned up and in some new clothes, you'll feel a lot better."
"I must look pretty bad" Melanie frowned, looking at her ragged cloak and scuffed and faded dress.
"You do look pretty." Xi replied with a sheepish grin.
"Have I ever told you I love you, Xi?" Melanie said quickly.
The fairy blinked in surprise. "Well no, but I know you do..."
"No." Melanie shook her head. "I really love you, Xi. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's not. Maybe it's not important, maybe it's everything, but... I want you to know how I feel while I still have the courage to say it."
Xi flittered up to hover at eye level to the young girl, though Melanie was bigger, the two were actually fairly close to the same age, Xi being only a little older.
"Melanie, you feeling OK? You're not feverish or anything?" The fairy said quietly, moving to touch Melanie's forehead, checking for a fever she already knew wasn't there.
"Xi, for once in my life I'm fine. Quinn is gone, and that makes me sad, but it's like she's still inside of me, like a voice in my head. Still guiding me, just like she did before she died."
"Melanie..."
"I only wish for two things, Xi."
The fairy dropped her voice to a breathless whisper, trying hard to control her emotions. "What do you wish for, Melanie?"
"I wish I was like you, your size, a fairy, so I could just hold you right now..."
"What else?"
Taking a deep breath and summoning the last of her courage, Melanie spoke. "I wish when I had you in my arms, we could just disappear."
"Oh Melanie." Xi smiled, kissing the girl on the cheek. "You're just tired and over emotional."
Melanie sighed. "Yeah, maybe."
"Let's just get into town and get some sleep and some food before we try and find this wizard person. Then we'll just take things as they come at us."
The girl watched Xi as she finished her little speech and landed on her shoulder.
"I thought you weren't going with me?" Melanie said, remembering when the two had met a few months before.
She had stumbled into a forest clearing, her bare legs bloody from a run through a thorn bush as she escaped her first run-in with the slave traders, though then she had no idea who they were.
The Fairy had arrived a moment later and flittered around her, curious as to why she was here, and soon, the two began to talk.
Melanie had explained how she was trying to get to Terragon to see Kalimir, though she had no idea where the city was and no one she met had been very kind unless they wanted something in return.
Xi had agreed to show Melanie the way on two conditions, one was she told no one she traveled with a Fairy, as she was being pursued herself for a crime she didn't commit, and second, upon the two of them reaching Terragon, assuming they did, they would part company, no questions asked.
The girl had agreed and soon they had started traveling again, and over the time spent together, they had grown closer than sisters. Now Melanie feared losing the only friend she had left.
Xi watched Melanie a moment and looked suddenly arrogant, like she was when the two had met.
"I changed my mind." she said quietly.
Melanie's smile lit up her face. "Thanks Xi."
"No reason to thank me, it's me who should be thanking you." Xi replied quickly.
"Me?" Melanie asked, confused.
"Yeah. You showed me not all humans are bad, and that people everywhere can get along if they really want to."
"I wish more people were like you, Xi." Melanie said "Always thinking of peace, always seeing the good things, never losing your focus on the task at hand... You'd make a great Queen."
Xi simply blushed and toyed with the frayed hem of her dress.
"Thank you, Melanie, but I'm not royalty, really. Just a little fairy girl looking out for her friend."
Before Melanie could even reply, the fanfare sounded from the gates of Terragon and a cheer arose from it's guards lining the walls.
"What's all this?" Xi said in Melanie's ear, barely able to be heard over the roar from the guards.
"I dunno." Melanie replied in a yell. "But at least it sounds friendly, and no one's throwing things at us."
"I just hope if they do kill us, we get fed first, I'm starved!"
The two girls giggled nervously and rode on toward the South Gate of Terragon, just hoping this was the right thing to do.
"There she is." Wesley said, a smile spreading across his face as he saw the huge magic aura around her, his training as a Guard of a Magical city gave him limited magic powers, but his farming upbringing always made this gift more then a tool for him.
"Hell's fires..." his partner, Lance, replied. "She's a little girl, probably not even knowin' what in the nine hells a spell is... his voice trailed off as he peered into her huge white aura and saw a smaller, faded greenish one on her shoulder.
"What do you see?" Wesley replied, knowing his partner's eyesight was much better than his.
"A Fairy!" he replied with wide eyes. "A goddamned Fae!" he chuckled.
"The prophecy was true then." their squad leader said from behind them, watching from under his helmet, which was always masked and adorned with eagle wings.
His name was Jase. His first attempt to bring in Melanie to Terragon was a master plan, he was trying to use the local slave traders to deliver her, and he could arrest them as well, but Quinn had killed all but one of them, and only Melanie's sudden decision managed to have him spared. Now news of Quinn's death was a shock to him, and since no one but Kalimir and his two best men, Wesley and Lance, knew his true identity, he would able to grieve in private later.
As Melanie approached and entered the unseen lines of power that surrounded and stretched through Terragon, the guards stood and cheered, knowing their future Queen had finally arrived.
"She's confused" Wesley said, his ability of reading lips was uncanny, and he could do it in any language. Everyone on Terragon had a natural ability, and once found, it was mastered, especially in the ranks of the Guards. "She's surprised we aren't attacking."
Lance saw an attempt to test his partner. "What's the Fae sayin'?
Wesley, always up for a challenge, grinned. "She's hoping we feed her before we kill her."
"Kill?" Lance replied. "Why in the bleedin' hells would we kill 'em?"
Jase shook his head. "They don't know what we're doing, they still have no idea why they're here, so until they're settled into the way things are here, I want you two to watch over them.
They stood and saluted, knowing what an honor it was to be asked to guard the Queen, even if she wasn't crowned yet.
Jase returned their salute and waved them away to meet her at the gates, then turned to watch the girl again.
"I pray, dear Melanie, that you will survive the tests ahead... for your sake, as well as for the city.
With that said, he climbed down off the wall and disappeared into the crowd as the citizens came to meet their new Queen.