Chapter 38

"I wonder how long we have been here," Claude states as they continue to wander in the Enchanted Forest. There are even no sign of the kids they are looking for.

"Can't you sense even the slightest magic from Chang'e?" Freya asks Zilong.

The dragon warrior shakes his head in response. He, too, is wondering why can't he feel even the smallest presence of his sister. There are two possible reasons for that; the magic of the forest itself could be interfering or Chang'e could be dead. And the latter is the thing he never wants to happen. His younger sister is way too young to lose her life and he might lose his rational mind if ever it did happen.

"I wanna go back home," Gord mumbles, his blue and purple color going paler, "this is no fun at all."

"This place is actually fun, though," Claude says. It is his first time to actually get nervous because he did not know if he would win in their previous fight or not. It is a new feeling for him and he does not hate it all. But the moment he steps foot on an area where leaves are somewhat piled up, he immediately disappears—falling into a pit. His scream becomes inaudible as he continues to fall which only means that it is no ordinary pit.

With her wings appearing behind her, Freya heads to the opening but even before she could dive in, she is also swallowed when a new pit suddenly appears beneath her. It is as if the ground has a mind of its own—devouring any intruders.

"Step back—"

Zilong turns towards Gord who is just behind him just so they would not fall as well. But he clicks his tongue when Gord is no longer where he is before.

As Freya continues to fall in a rather longer time than she expected, she is slowly coming to think that it is her falling into oblivion. She could not even use her powers so she could land safely, if ever it comes to that, or even have a glance of where she is.

But then, a painful groan escapes her mouth when she finally hits the ground with her back. She is more than thankful for wearing her armor or it could have been a bad fall. She slowly sits up despite the fact the everything looks dark as the night.

"Claude!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, hoping that somewhere, her fallen comrade is around. She keeps yelling but receives no response. But the moment she turns around, she sees a glint of light from afar.

To make sure that she would step on solid ground, Freya uses her sword to tap on the ground she is going to step on. She walks with caution and her eyes focused on the light that is becoming brighter and brighter.

"Who are these people?" she asks upon seeing the thing that is emitting the light. Right in front of her, four large pillars that are crystal clear stand. What is even more intriguing are the four persons inside them. They are sealed and in deep slumber.

"Domare Dracon."

Freya reads the inscriptions carved on each pillar.

Meanwhile, Zilong predicts that it would be his turn to fall but much to his surprise, nothing of that happened. But the sun that is shining at its peak and is giving much light and life suddenly vanishes. It happened within a span of seconds, making Zilong look up to the sky—only to find the full moon flaunting its beauty.

He, then, turns behind him upon hearing familiar giggles of a little girl.

"Chang'e?" he calls out. He is a bit sure that the voice is from his younger sister. He takes careful steps forward towards the bush where the giggles are coming from.

But his heart almost jumps out from his chest when a little rabbit hops from the bush and lands right in front of him. There is a glowing, red crystal on its forehead and its pure white fur glows in the dark as well.

"You look familiar," he mumbles as he bends on one knee and picks it up to have a closer look. He runs his hand on its fluffy head and much to his surprise, it suddenly puffs into white smoke—revealing a little winged-pixie. Her hair is as dark as the night but her complexion has gone pale as if she is sick. Silver fairy dust surrounds her which is a first for Zilong to see in person.

"It is an honor to meet the dragon warrior," she greets with a bow. Zilong, still curious if the pixie is truly real, suddenly grabs her and locks her with just one hand.

"Oh, snap! Don't you lay a finger on a lady!" the pixie yells while trying to pull herself off from the warrior's grip. But still, he seems to be lost in his own world and shakes the pixie, thinking that fairy dusts would shake off from her like the stories he had read for Chang'e.

Dizzy and nauseous, the pixie raises both of her hands in surrender.

"Oh, sorry," Zilong apologizes as he opens his palm so the pixie would be free. As she regains back her strength, she flaps her wings and clears her voice—presenting herself once more.

"To formally introduce myself, I am Enchanted. Don't be confused, my name is literally Enchanted just as how this forest is named which is me to be exact," the pixie stated with a rather hurried tone while pointing at herself and at the ground. "I know it is a bit confusing but yes, do call me Enchanted and not enchantress because it sounds like I am a witch or a villain of some sort—"

"You are Enchanted, yes, I understand," Zilong interrupts the little pixie before she runs out of breath and die just because she is introducing herself in her so-called formal way.

"Thank you for that," she says. But the moment she catches her breath, she starts talking faster, "but as I was saying, some witch and friends suddenly barged in my forest and, oh my gosh, I just cannot say how they mistreated me and showed such outrageous violation in my territory–"

Zilong cuts her off again and requests her to talk slow so he could focus on what she is saying instead of being distracted on how she throws a tantrum.

"There is no much time to idle!" Enchanted yells at him with her eyes widened and her hand pointing at him. Thus, her fast pep talk begins once more and it is up to Zilong to catch up.

"My forest won't last long if those bad guys won't return what they have stolen. I do not want to disappear because of those bitches and witches! My powers are out of control and something ominous will happen if this goes on. More ominous than the death of that poor little girl and more dangerous than the army of mummies and questing beast you have fought before! It must be returned! I am ordering you, Mr. Dragon warrior, to return what have been stolen from me before you and I and the others perish!"

After her long speech, Zilong wonders why the pixie is not even tired of that fast talk—a small but terrible one. But then, he wishes that the little girl she referred to is not his younger sister. Their father would really be disappointed in him for he had saved countless kings and kingdoms but he could not do the same with Chang'e.

A bit hesitant, he still asks, "That little girl you just mentioned, who is she?"

"Oh." Enchanted looks away while covering her mouth as if she said something that should have remained unsaid. Her sudden silence is enough confirmation for Zilong to know how his sister is doing. For the very first time in his quests, this mission to take Chang'e back to the temple is a failure.

"I can grant any one wish from you, Dragon warrior, even revive a dead person," Enchanted says with a low tone of voice, "but I ask of you to return one thing."

Such wish is selfish for it will stir the balance between life and death. But in his 15 years of serving the people, both in the Land of Dawn and other world dimensions, he has not asked anything in return. Just this once, just this time, can he now ask for Chang'e's return from death?

"What is it?" he asks.

Enchanted punches the air with her fist for she has finally found the fitting warrior to bring back what has been stolen.

She clears her throat and, for the third time, her fast talk begins.

"First of all, get that Talon and strangle him to death for me! He had stolen my heart! But do not get me wrong, I did not fall in love with him or anything but I do admit he is beautiful! Oh that silver hair and captivating eyes—"

"You're deviating from the important part, pixie," Zilong intervenes, bringing Enchanted back to her senses. She shakes her head as if erasing how she admires Talon in her mind.

"As I was saying, that Talon together with Alice and Natalia and that ugly with a horn woman who seemed to have never eaten for days and that..." Enchanted holds her chin to remember the intruders who caused havoc, "oh, and that dead horseman suddenly barged in and burned the village of Leonins. Ain't that atrocious?! The Leonins—oh my precious Leonins! They were guarding and protecting my heart but were killed instead! My poor self cannot do anything but watch my guardians perish! Dragon warrior, I humbly ask of you to return my heart before they use it to satisfy their greed!"

Alice, Vexana and Leomord are from the abyss so it is no wonder why they are after the heart of the Enchanted forest. But Zilong cannot think of a reason why Natalia was with them and Talon is someone he does not know of. Nevertheless, he assures Enchanted that her heart shall be returned by him.

"I have one more stipulation, Dragon warrior."

Zilong nods his head, giving Enchanted the permission to state her condition.

"Please, do not speak of what has been discussed and never mention my existence to anyone. If anyone hears of this, my whole existence shall be forgotten."

Without asking for a reason, Zilong agrees. He seems unsure but maybe Enchanted's reason behind that condition is because of the curse that is set upon her— the Revertere curse. The more people that knows of Enchanted's existence, the more she shall cease to exist. Ironic but it does exist for a magic creature like her.

"Let us out from this forest and wait for my return," the Dragon warrior states which the pixie gladly obliges to do as she is told.