The Lost One Ch. 04

A/N: Hey guys, here's the next chapter and it's the longest one I have so be prepared for a long read. It's pretty fast paced though compared to the others. Thanks to Blackstallion21 for editing. Well enjoy!

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IV.

Enter the

Fire

Pristine and her group continued to ride along the Radan Mountains. The further up they went, the colder it got.

"Brrr . . . How did it get so cold?" Ophealia shivered.

"It's because we're further up north." explained Grayson.

"Here your highness." said Sir Reginald as he handed her a thick cloak from his stash behind him.

"Thank-you." Ophealia replied gratefully.

"We better put on some more clothing before we freeze to death." suggested Kyra.

"You are right." agreed Lance.

"Mallian, do you want some of my clothes?" asked Pristine.

"No thank-you. We water folk produce our own heat because the ocean is pretty cold." assured Mallian.

Pristine nodded before putting on her extra clothes. They others did as well.

"We best find shelter for the night." suggested Lance.

"Let us keep going then." agreed Pristine, and soon they found a cave.

"There it is!" pointed Pristine.

"There is what?" asked Grayson.

"The cave."

"We'll stay there for the night. Let's go." ordered Lance.

The wind started to pick up and while the cave held a chill in the air, at least it was dry. They traveled a ways until they came upon several more tunnels.

"Now which way?" asked Grayson.

"We'll worry about it in the morning. Let's make camp here." suggested Lance.

"Good thing. I am exhausted." added Kyra.

They all unpacked some things and unraveled their traveling bed gear. Ophealia nestled next to Sir Reginald and fell asleep. Grayson looked at her before he laid down and went to sleep. Mallian slept by herself. The other outlaws scattered throughout the cave. Kyra laid down by Pristine and fell asleep.

Lance looked Pristine and said, "Good-night Pristine."

Pristine replied, "Good-night Lance."

That night Pristine dreamt and became unsettled. She saw that she was in the middle of a battle.

"This looks like when Zeather began the Invasion. Hey! Isn't that Drackor?" Pristine thought.

Drackor stood and shot several beams into sky making the protective barriers appear. He began to try and save any good creature. But his efforts were futile as Pristine saw creatures like gryphons, elves, winged-lions, and other mystical creatures as they fell, were captured, or were carried off. People ran and screamed, and there was smoke and fire everywhere. It was too much for Pristine to handle. She started running before stopping in her tracks. There before her was a trapped unicorn and the Evil One. He held a mighty sword in his grotesque hand and wore a mask. He raised the sword and swiftly brought it down toward the unicorn's horn. Pristine screamed in protest, but he did not stop. Pristine woke up and wailed as she sat up. Everyone else woke up as well. Lance was by Pristine's side in seconds. What he saw concerned him. Pristine's skin was completely white, her eyes and mouth wide open in fear, her hand on her heart, and she was breathing heavily.

"Pristine? Are you all right?" asked Ophealia.

"She's frozen with fear." explained Mallian.

"She must have had a nightmare." added Grayson.

Finally, Pristine gasped, "It was . . . huh . . . horrible. There was . . . screaming . . . crying . . . running . . . fear. .pain . . . smoke . . . dying . . . war."

Tears streamed down her porcelain face.

"Pristine, it's over. It was only a dream. We're here." comforted Lance as he wiped the tears from her eyes gently.

He was not the comforting type, but seeing Pristine so petrified struck a chord in him. He wanted to cast away her fears and bring back the light in them. Mallian also looked concern.

"Poor girl, she must have dreamt of the Invasion." she thought.

Pristine slowly regained herself. She looked around at all the concern looks of her companions.

"It was so real." she said.

She managed to grin and assured, "Don't worry. It's over now. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" asked Lance, not looking convinced.

"Yes, Lance."

Everyone else went back to their places and slept. Lance lingered a little next to Pristine. She realized how close he was to her.

"You know, Lance. I am really scared." Pristine admitted.

"Of what?" Lance asked quietly so only Pristine heard.

"I really don't know, but I have this feeling that tells me something bad is going to happen."

She leaned her head against Lance's shoulder.

"I don't want to be alone tonight . . ." she added as she dozed off.

Seizing the opportunity, Lance gathered Pristine and the blankets she's in before standing up with her in his arms. He walked over to the side of the wall and carefully sat down, still holding her. For the first time, Lance inhaled her scent. She smelled of wild flowers. It took all of his willpower to do nothing more than hold her. Finally, Lance fell asleep. Kyra woke up and noticed the two.

Mallian noticed as well and whispered, "Kyra, come here" before sitting up and opening her arms.

Kyra crawled over and Mallian wrapped her arms around the child. Kyra's surprised to find how warm Mallian was.

"I don't trust him." Kyra admitted.

"Me either, but I don't think he'll hurt her. In fact, I think he loves her."

"Really? How can you tell? Outlaws don't seem like the loving type."

"Well, look at them. If you look at the way he treats her and looks at her, I think you'll agree with me."

Kyra looked at her and believed that Mallian was right.

"Don't worry about it Kyra. Go to sleep."

Kyra did and the two laid down, and Mallian soon fell asleep.

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At daybreak, Pristine slowly opened her eyes. She looked up and noticed Lance's face. She felt her heart beat faster. Despite her uneasiness, she felt safe. She slowly and carefully moved out of his arms. She stood up and glanced around the cave. Everyone was still asleep. She quietly head out towards the cave's entrance. Mallian woke up and saw that Pristine was gone, but she did not panic. She prudently took Kyra off of her shoulder and laid her down before getting up and heading for the entrance. Just as she thought, there was Pristine watching the sunrise. She knew unicorns always loved to see sunrises.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Mallian asked.

Pristine didn't turn around.

"Oh yes. I've always admired the sun's brilliance. It takes my breath away." Pristine said in awe.

"Yes. We water folk used to enjoy watching the sun."

"Why don't you watch it anymore?" Pristine asked as she glanced back.

"Because of the Evil One. He has spies everywhere. We hardly get a chance to come up to the surface."

"That's sad."

"Don't worry about it. We better get back to the others before they start looking for us."

"You're right. Let's go." agreed Pristine before following Mallian.

Everyone else started to wake up when the two returned.

"Hey! Where did you two go?" asked Grayson as he stood up.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about." replied Mallian.

"I'm hungry." Kyra replied.

"Don't worry, Miss Kyra. We still have plenty of food. Tomorrow, though, we might have to go searching for more food." Sir Reginald mentioned.

"Okay then. For now let's eat." said Lance.

So they ate before packing everything up.

"Now, which way do we go?" asked Ophealia.

"We could split up, but then there's the possibility of getting lost." suggested Grayson.

"Good point." agreed Mallian.

"I know where to go." stated Pristine.

"How do you know that?" asked Lance.

"That way doesn't smell as bad. And I was told that the stone would help me." Pristine explained as she points to the right tunnel.

"How the Stone of Water is supposed to help us?" asked Kyra.

"I don't know, but it's worth a try." Pristine said before taking out the Stone of Water.

She held it out and replied, "Please, show us the way. Show us the truth!"

The stone lit up as well as Pristine. Several of the horses became unsettled, and everyone covered their eyes. The stone's light moved over the cave's interior to rest above the right tunnel. Pristine looked at it. There was lettering. She could read it at once, although she didn't know why for she was illiterate.

"Mallian? Can you read that?" asked Pristine.

Mallian slowly opened her eyes and looked at the writing on the wall.

"Yes. It's dwarfish. It's says 'Find the rock of Irasis'. That means this is the right way. Nice job Pristine." smiled Mallian.

The light died down. Pristine grinned.

"What is Irasis?" asked Kyra.

"Not what Kyra. Who?" commented Mallian.

"Who is Irasis? I've never heard that person." asked Ophealia.

"Because she's not human, Irasis was a female dwarf who was the first to find lucadon. Lucadon is a healing mineral only found in the Silver Mountains."

"Was? You mean she's gone now?" asked Grayson.

"Yes, she's passed away when I was a baby. Before her findings, everyone had to solely rely on unicorns and faeries for healing. Lucadon was the first medicine that was created."

"Wow! So what's this rock?" asked Kyra.

"I don't know, but let's go through this tunnel first." suggested Lance.

Everyone agreed and moved forward.

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Several hours later, they made to an open space in the cave. It was spacious with gleaming stalactites and stalagmites.

"Oh wow! It's incredible!" gasped Ophealia.

"Yeah, but we have a problem. There are multiple tunnels here. Which way do we go?" asked Lance.

"Wait! I see something." said Pristine before dismounting.

She went over to one stalagmite that was strangely shaped. It looked like a figure, or a statue and it's surrounded by other stones and shapes. One part of the stalagmite stuck out like a hand.

Pristine was about to reach for it when she heard Grayson asked, "Pristine? What are you reaching for?"

Pristine looked at the others.

"It must be invisible to the others." Pristine thought.

Well, Mallian saw it. She wanted to grin, but that might give something away. The statue must have had a spell on it for only certain people to see. It was also a statue of Irasis. Pristine turned back toward the statue and took out the Stone of Water, and placed it on the hand. Suddenly, there was a rumbling. Lance jumped off his horse as Pristine took the stone off the statue's hand. He pulled her away and covered her as several rocks and boulders started to fall. By this time, others dismounted and made sure the horses staid where they were. An opening appeared. Everything calmed down.

"Let me guess. The rock was there and it was invisible." guessed Grayson.

"I guess so." replied Lance as he and Pristine stood up.

Pristine was red in the face because of Lance's nearness. Lance's arms were around her and her back was up against his front area.

"Uh, are you two finished cuddling?" Mallian smirked.

The two drew back. Pristine's face was totally red while Lance just grinned. They all mounted their horses and went through the tunnel.

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They continued to follow the tunnels and paths until they stopped for a lunch break. Then they moved on. The trail picked up a bit as they traveled onward. Hours went by and they rested up a bit and ate dinner.

Finally, "Man! Are we there yet?" complained Ophealia.

"I hope so." added Lance.

They made it through another tunnel and they heard something.

"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Grayson.

"Sounds like water trickling." commented Mallian.

They set their horses to a trot.

"I see a clearing!" said Kyra with excitement.

Soon they came to the clearing. The water they heard came from a stream. They all looked up and saw they were in a valley. Just ahead was the Silver Mountains.

"We made it!" shouted Kyra in delight.

"Shh! It's late." scolded Mallian.

"We wouldn't have made it without Pristine." smiled Lance.

Pristine grinned, but inside, she was tired, mentally and physically. Using the stone continually sucked up her energy. She swayed as her eyes began to droop. Lance appeared by her side on his horse and caught her before she fell.

"Pristine? Are you all right?" he asked with concern.

"Only tired . . ." started Pristine before falling asleep.

"We best get some rest." instructed Lance as he transported Pristine from her mount to his.

"Grayson? Get Pristine's horse." Lance ordered.

Grayson nodded and grabbed the stirrups. They rode a bit back into the tunnel before dismounting and unpacking. Lance managed to get off his horse with Pristine still in his arms. He again slept with her against the wall. Kyra and Ophealia both sighed simultaneously before going to sleep.

That night Pristine dreamt again. This time Pristine was standing in a throne room. The room was mostly white but there were other colors in the room. Near the center of the room was the same couple from the beach as well as the little girl, only she looked a bit older here. She looked to be five here and she was sitting on her father's lap. There was a crowd there too. Soon Drackor and another elderly man came forward and bowed.

"Your majesties I've finally been able to find suitable girls for the princess's court." Drackor said.

"Thank you Drackor. Our daughter has been anxious to see which girls you've picked for her." the king replied.

Drackor nodded and gestured for four young girls to come up. The girl smiled brightly and waved to them. Pristine guessed that the girl knew who they were.

"May I present the earth unicorn, Lady Joyce, the daughter of his majesty's brother Duke Apollo."

The small brunette waved at the blonde girl before curtseying.

"Next is the wind unicorn, Lady Grace, the daughter of Lord Elton."

The eldest looking of the girls, who had curly gray hair, curtsied and grinned a bit.

"Next is the fire unicorn, Lady Fanesse, the daughter of Lord Hector."

A girl with fiery hair jumped forward and exaggerated her curtsey causing the blonde princess to giggle and earning a stern looked from Drackor.

"Last but not least is the water unicorn, Allora, daughter of Lord Thaddeus."

A blue hair girl stepped forward and smiling brightly, curtseyed.

Pristine felt a stirring in her as she watched the crowd before her vanish. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt lonesome for them as she slept on without dreaming.

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In the morning everyone else woke up except for Pristine.

"Man! She must really be tired." commented Grayson.

"Well, it's probably because she used the stone a lot. Using the stone requires a person's energy." Mallian stated plainly.

"Great. And we only had short stops too. Why didn't she tell anyone she was tired?" pondered Lance.

"Because she didn't want to complain; Pristine seems to be the type who puts others' needs in front of her own." explained Mallian.

"She'll be fine, bro. Once she wakes up, we can get some food in her." comforted Grayson.

"Uh, we have a problem though. We're low on food." mentioned Sir Reginald.

"Well, I guess we better find some then. Grayson, guys! Mount up! We're hunting!" ordered Lance.

All the outlaws packed up and got on their horses.

"Hey Princess Ophealia. How about a kiss on the cheek for luck?" asked Grayson as he bended down and closed his eyes.

Ophealia walked behind the horse before smirking. Taking a part of her outfit, she whipped the horse's behind. The horse reared before taking off.

"Whoa!" yelled Grayson.

"If you bring me something I just might!" shouted Ophealia.

Everyone else laughed.

"C'mon guys. Let's go!" ordered Lance before they took off.

Mallian looked at Pristine to see that she's still asleep.

Some time later, Pristine woke up.

"Good morning Pristine." greeted Kyra.

"Good morning. Where are Lance and the others?" Pristine asked, still half asleep.

"Oh they went looking for food awhile ago. They should have been back by now." answered Ophealia.

Suddenly, Pristine became wide awake. Something was not right. She immediately got up and packed up her gear.

"What's wrong Pristine?" asked Kyra as the others followed her lead.

"Something is wrong. I can sense it."

"I believe you Pristine. They've been gone for way too long." agreed Mallian.

"We're going after them."

She quickly jumped on her horse and took off.

"Hey! Wait for us!" shouted Kyra as she and Ophealia got on their horses.

"I order you to slow down!" ordered Ophealia as the two rode off to catch up.

Mallian and Sir Reginald soon followed. Pristine raced through the tunnel when she finally made it to the clearing. She stopped so everyone could catch up.

"Gees, Pristine. Do you have to go so fast?" gasped Kyra.

"Sorry, this way." pointed Pristine.

They traveled through the valley before seeing a group of horses at the foot of the Silver Mountains.

"Well, here are their horses, but where are the guys?" asked Ophealia.

"They went climbing. So must we. Let's go." Pristine ordered before dismounting.

They started to hike up the mountain trails. Pretty soon, they saw someone.

"Hey! That's Grayson!" pointed Kyra.

"He looks so tired. I wonder why?" asked Ophealia.

Grayson was out of breath by the time he made it to them.

"Grayson, where are the others?" asked Pristine.

"Huh, huh, . . .captured, by . .goblins. I was told to get . . . Sir Reginald." explained Grayson.

"Sir Reginald? Why just him?!" yelled Ophealia.

Even Pristine did not like the idea, even though she could see why.

"Because your highness, Lance wouldn't risk you girls." replied Grayson.

"Why I-" started Ophealia but was interrupted by Mallian.

"We'll obey."

The other girls looked at her in shock. Even Sir Reginald and Grayson looked surprised.

"All right then. Let's go Sir Reginald." replied Grayson.

"You girls go back to the horses." Sir Reginald told them.

As soon as they left, Kyra looked at Mallian and asked, "Why did you say that?"

"Because I have another plan." Mallian grinned.

The other three smiled.

"What is it?"

"If we want to save the guys, we must find the dwarfs first. They could help."

"That's a good idea." agreed Ophealia.

"If we are, we must hurry. I sense danger." mentioned Pristine.

"You're right. Let's go." agreed Mallian.

They continued along as they made their way up the mountain. That's when Mallian smelled something.

"This is not good." she said.

"What's wrong?" Pristine asked.

"Wolves. They've probably picked up our scent."

"We better move then." said Ophealia.

They picked up their pace.

Then suddenly, "Uh-oh! I think I see them." pointed out Kyra.

Sure enough, about twenty feet away from them was a pack of silver wolves. There were eight of them.

"They look hungry." commented Ophealia nervously.

The pack suddenly charged. Ophealia hesitated while stringing one of her arrows.

"No! Don't shoot Ophealia." ordered Pristine.

The wolves were just upon them when Pristine came forward and tried to yell into their minds.

~Stop, please!~ she tried to tell them.

The minute she said this, all the wolves stopped. They were about a few feet away from Pristine.

"Why did they stop?" asked Kyra.

Mallian knew. Unicorns had the ability to speak to all creatures telepathically.

"Pristine? What are you doing?" asked Ophealia as Pristine took a step toward the wolves.

"I am going to try to calm them down." explained Pristine.

"But they'll kill you!" protested Kyra.

"Let her try." Mallian stated.

Pristine kept her eyes on the pack. They all looked hostile.