Just Like Magic

Chapter 24 The Hurt

Randalyn's POV

Once, the sound of the hooves on the ground disperses like rain from the clouds when the storm ends. I quickly noticed they have not left much evidence of their presence, as if it was all my imagination playing games on me. My eyes bounce all around me, confirming there is nothing around anymore. I would love to say that I'm relieved, but since I'm still technically lost and they did have to save me just for me to survive this, I'm honestly scared to be on my own. They were gone within a second, as if it was all a scary nightmare that I luckily awoke from. But all the aching wounds on my body tell me that it wasn't just a dream and all this is very real.. As real as the pain from my broken bones.

I have seen so many of these things in movies and read about them in books that it's hard to believe that all of this is real. But I have to keep telling myself this isn't a dream and actually my reality, just so I won't be distracted by the things I have never seen before, to make sure I stay alive.

It's harder than I ever imagined it to be in this world and I know for a fact that I wouldn't have been able to do any of this on my own. This whole realization has knocked me down the couple of pegs I put myself up on. It's not like I had all the confidence in the world in my abilities, but I thought for sure I could get myself from point A to point B without assistance.. But that idea was shut down the moment I was almost caught while almost losing Cassius.

I shake my head thinking this to myself as I let out a deep breath that slightly calms my heart, but at this rate in this adventure I'm just assuming it's going to be running at full speed for the rest of my life if I stay here. There is part of me that wants to leave this world and never look back, but there is the curiosity in me that pulls me in, wanting to see everything this amazing world has to offer, no matter how scary it is.

I keep thinking to myself as I catch my breath for a moment. I notice the hoof prints on the ground as the trail of them leads my sight right back to the disgusting pile of corpses that I never wish to ever see again. I almost forgot about those, just for a moment from being in a type of shock. I feel almost sad for all those beasts being killed because of me.. But in this world, it's kill or be killed and luckily, I wasn't involved in the killed part of that discussion. I see the bodies piled and left as if they are trash, when they might have had a family, or maybe deserve some type of burial or burning.. There is a part of me that feels as if it would only be right to do something with this pile instead of just leaving them here to rot, but I have no idea what I would do.

I keep staring, not knowing where one spider ends and the other begins, since it's just a pile of limbs that extend out at every angle. A shiver shoots through me thinking of how their hair and limbs felt against my body as the stench of them still fills my senses. I back away from the pile as I keep staring. That is until I see a leg twitch.. No way, no thank you... I don't want any part of that again.

I jump and keep backing away because I don't know if that means it's still alive or if it's like our bodies, that still can twitch even when dead.. but believe you me, I'm not staying to find out. I quickly turn away and head in the direction given to me by the lead centaur. Once I pass through the trees, and leaving that hard sight behind me, I slowly squat down to the ground, giving myself a silent moment of praise that I'm actually alive and able to sit a breath in the fresh air I once threw away so easily. I hold my chest, needing this moment to collect my thoughts before this next step.

With each deep breath needed for my lungs, my ribs seemed to ache, turning into full throbbing with the adrenaline from the fight fading away, leaving me in pain and silence, at least for the moment. I rub my hand lightly over the hurt spot, just trying to gain the confidence to get this next step going as fast as possible to get back to Cass. Because yes I am hurting, but I know he is as well.

So I slowly stand wanting to get this going again. But before I do, I look over my limbs that are aching and that I can see, checking myself out to see if there are any outside wounds to go with the internal ones I know about.. but I don't see anything that could hurt me in the long run besides the ribs. Just some small cuts and bruises here and there. I feel like I'm doing pretty well for the most part, which is a relief. I take a couple of deep breaths, sending a pain through my body because of that action, but my lungs are thanking me for not leaving them breathless. So I'm taking what I can get at this point.

I start walking as the rustling of leaves makes the most noise in this deadly silent forest.. the trees seem to muffle all other sounds out, making it feel almost erie out here along with the endless darkness. I look around with each step that I take, making sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious or treacherous. Luckily, I can see way more than I ever expected from being in this darkness for so long... That I'm instinctively adjusting to the surrounding sounds and sights.. I don't know how much this will help me, but for right now, it's all that I have got.

I keep trekking along, wondering if the centaur really gave me the right directions to help me or if he is setting me up for a trap to get rid of me.. But if he wanted me gone, he could have done it himself and he didn't, so that should mean something, right? I don't want to give up because what if he was trying to help me and I didn't take his advice, then it would obviously leave Cass hurting and I won't have that.

So the obvious part of this is that I won't know unless I keep going. So I keep pushing through the trees and bushes, making sure I don't get caught up in the dangling vines. So with each one that hangs down and brushes over my head, I quickly swipe up and push all of them away. It has been taking the little bit of energy that I have doing all of this,which is making me feel weaker by the second. I just can't feel better at the moment, and it's really starting to take a toll.

I get through the thick brush as I keep looking around for a plant with little purple flowers in hopes that the centaurs aren't making this up and that it will help. I don't see anything yet, but he said it was just beyond this point, so the search continues as I finally see water. I get excited, prancing over to the side of the water. I put my hands together to scoop water up and press my lips to my hands, sipping it to hopefully give me some energy from being dehydrated. I keep bending further over, closer to the water and seeing the ripples that emerge with each scoop of water I take into my hands. Each sip gives me a little more energy, so I can't seem to stop.

That is until I glance up and see tiny little lilac colored flowers. They are tiny in a little bush that has spread out like a blanket to the ground, surrounding only the water that I can see. I get excited at that sight as I sip the last bit of water in my hands while I crawl closer to the plant.

"Yes... finally." I say to myself as I inch closer still on my knees next to the plants and checking them out first. I look around, making sure there is nothing by it or inhabiting this area.. I would hate to disturb or destroy anything of someone else's, but it doesn't look like anything is here.. so finders, keepers I guess. I gently touch my fingertips on the flowers, making sure it hopefully won't hurt me just by touching it. I wait for just a second and nothing happens, which is a good sign.

I reach down for the plant, wrapping my hand around the stems as I grip some of them and pull it out of the ground. I just need some, not all, so I'll only take what I need.. and hopefully this will be enough to help him. I stare at the little flowers in my hands as the whole thing disappears in an instant. I'm confused and surprised. I look around as if it maybe fell out of my hand, but it's nowhere to be seen. I quickly turn and go to the next plant to make sure I leave with some as it disappears as well. Same for the next and than to the last of it that I can see.

I'm crawling all around trying to figure out where it went to. "Come on where did it go? I need those.. no please." I quickly pat the ground hoping to find something to take back to Cassius. But I don't see them anymore and I don't know where the rest went.. Did they disappear because I pulled them out? Did I need to acquire this in a different way? I feel heartbroken because that was what I needed and it's gone.

I feel confused and unmotivated on what to do next... feeling like a failure right now. I huff out as I hear something moving besides me. I quickly look up and then around to see a fuchsia colored fox.. it so big it might be a wolf.. I freeze not knowing if its a threat or not. but it's limping towards the water as if it's on it's last limb. Until it collapses right next to it. It breaks my heart to see something so hurt.. it's using every last bit of its energy to get to the water but collapses before it can get any... poor thing.

I slowly crawl across the ground towards it. I hear it growl as it looks at me with its strange eyes. They look almost cat-like. I shhhh it lightly trying to keep my body calm so I don't scare it. It continues to growl as I notice whiskers that look almost vine-like coming from its face. I keep staring at it, not wanting to take my eyes away for fear of being hurt, but I can't leave it to die either. I put my hands together, cupping them to try to make a bowl shape to hold water like I already did for myself.

I scoop some water into my hands as I lean down, inching closer to this beast. I keep getting closer as it smells, then takes a couple of licks. I smile as I keep inching closer, letting it take as many licks of the water as it needs. It looks up at me with it's strange orbs. So I keep smiling trying to show it that I don't mean any harm, but it surprisingly does the same. The smirk on its face scares me because it looks almost malicious. I'm startled but not enough to leave as a puff of smoke ignites around me. I close my eyes, not knowing if this is ok to breathe in, but I can't help it either way.

The smoke starts to clear, making it easier to breathe, but as I open my eyes, I see I'm hanging upside down. The incredibly strange part is that my hair isn't hanging, nor are my clothes... it's as if I'm standing normally but somehow upside down.. I'm confused as I try to get out of this hold, but of course, it doesn't work.. it never seems to work.

"Who are you?" I hear in my head as I look around, trying to figure out what voice that is. My gaze bounces from one object to the next until it lands directly on a small woman.. who looks almost pink.. her skin shimmers on its own, looking as if a light is pointed at her, and her body is a disco ball.. but obviously, that is not the case.

"Please put me down... I was just trying to help that.... um... beast..." I say not knowing what to call it. "That was me... you fell for my trap." She says to me, but her lips don't move. it's as if she is talking to me through my mind.

"I just wanted to help it.. you... I don't understand how that's a trap.. what's going on?" I ask, struggling but not moving a muscle from this spot. "I use this trick to see someone's true intentions." She explains to me as I shake my head. "Then why are you trapping me if I tried to help you?" I ask as she laughs then softly states. "You were stealing from me." She plainly states as my mouth opens.. I can't deny that.. I was taking that plant from here without permission, but I didn't know it was anyone's.

"I didn't know it was yours. I was just trying to get it to help my friend." I explain as I see her circling me as she states. "A friend? or yourself? I can see you're hurt." She states as if it should be obvious what the real answer is.

"He is my friend and no, it's not for me... I just want to make sure he is ok and I was told this would help. He was knocked out, hurt from so much and I just wanted to help him... like.." I stop not wanting to tell her everything as she finishes my sentence. "Like he has helped you?" I slowly nod.

"Well you did try to save me so I won't murder you and steal everything you have." She states as if this is a good trade and I guess it is because I don't want to die right now, but that doesn't solve my issue of why I am here. "But I need that plant and water for him." I state this with the little bit of confidence I have left in me. I sit there waiting for what else she has to say as she thinks about this then turns to face me. "But to get what you came here for, you will need to give me something in return." She demands as I nod my head.

"Ok, what do you want? I don't have any money." I say to her as she laughs then replies. "What would a fae like me need with money? I just need something simple that I know you could handle and that everyone should have."

"You're a fae?" I ask as she nods at me... I'm even more suspicious now, keeping my eyes on her as she flaps her wings, quickly making them move so fast that it's hard to tell they are even there.. like a hummingbird's wings. "What... do you... want... then?" I stutter through out of pure fear of what she will do to me because the centaurs did warn me about faes. She slowly inches closer to me as she states. "Name." My eyebrows touch with the confusion of not knowing what that's supposed to mean.

"Excuse me?" I ask her to clarify as she shakes her head and laughs inching closer. "It's easy... I just need your name, and then I will let you have this." She says, holding the plant up to show it to me. It's safe and sound in her hand looking perfect, but how do I know this isn't a trick like before? I look from the plant and back to her thinking about her request.

"What would you want with my name?" I ask her suspiciously as she laughs again at my questions, as if they are the dumbest questions she has ever heard. "That is nothing for you to concern yourself with.. The real question is how badly do you want this plant for your friend?"

"Really badly.." I say to her as she smirks at me. "That's what I thought." The plant disappears from her hand as I jump but looking around, trying to see where it went. "What happened to it?" I ask as she maliciously smirks at me negotiating. "What's your name? and I will give it to you. And just because you gave me some water, I will give you some to take as well." Her eyes glow with that statement and I can't tell if she is lying or not.

"You would let me go too?" I ask her, making sure I understand the rules because I feel like she is trying to fool me, and I want to make sure she is not giving me the run around. "Yes, of course... for helping me in my fox form, I will let you go.. but in exchange for this plant to help your lover, I will need your name." She states to me as I shake my head trying to correct her, but nothing comes out because she might be right. I haven't thought of him directly as my lover, but if you look at our relationship so far, that might be the case.

She snaps her fingers as two glass bottles pops up into her hands, one has a clear liquid in it and the other is filled with a light purple liquid. "What is that?" I ask as her smirk forms into a full smile, exposing teeth that look almost sharp at each tip. "It's your plant turned into a liquid to make things easier on you and of course the water I also promised.. what else?" She asks as I stare at her then the bottles. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" I ask her as she smiles bigger then states this as if it's a known fact. "I NEVER lie... now do you want to take my deal or not?" She asks as I nod without hesitation. "Ok then... your name." She instructs as I ask. "Can you put me down first?" She just shakes her head before saying. "No... I won't take the risk of you taking advantage of me... now, give your name, and we will be on our way."

I slowly nod as I think about it.. I know the centaurs warned me not to give her my name.. but she has what I need .. so what do I do? I think for a moment as I quickly state... "It's Randy." Her smile gets so big it looks like it could touch from ear to ear and replies. "Perfect." She snaps her fingers together as I appear back onto my feet, holding the bottles in my hands. I flip around quickly but don't see her anywhere. I step back, keeping my head on a swivel, wanting to make sure she can't creep up on me, but she probably can do it anyway with her magic.

I turn around and instantly hear, "Randy?" I flip around, "Yes?" I still can't see anything, so I keep turning, wondering if she will show herself, but that could quickly be answered with nothing around but the trees. "Just making sure." She says to me as I turn and push through the bushes, trying to get as far away as I can before something bad happens.