Volcano

Like a volcano, bubbling water burst high into the air, blocking out the sun. A tidal wave of current spewed in every direction, beating up against the ice barrier and the ancient forest indiscriminately.

The entire lake emptied itself for a moment. If anyone had been able to see, the bottom of the mysterious basin would have been added to the wonders of the world. But no one was able to view.

For each and every creature, be they flying or free to roam the ground, was drown in the torrential downpour and pressed against the ground.

Although Aurora and Reyan were holed up in a tree after Taran fell from the sky, they were not immune to the devastation of the deluge. It was only the old fairy's quick thinking to put a globe of ice around them that stopped them from being caught up in the flow.

Mairwen was not as lucky. She and Brinn could not see the shore and the sudden blackening of the sky and tidal wave caught them by surprise.

Brinn's wind magic did little good against such an overwhelming force. They were knocked from the perch and onto the ground, forced to hold their breath as the world around them was covered in an unending world of water.

Rather than float as they would have expected, they were pinned to the ground by a force neither could overcome.

As quickly as the water came, it suddenly receded. Pulled by a force even mightier than gravity, the liquid ran downhill to refill the tremendous valley which was its home.

The water had pushed them to the ground, but somehow it did not drag the princesses towards the shore. The water danced on on their skin as it passed by, washing away the sweat, blood and dirt from their armor and tunics.

If either of them had been able to breathe, they would have gasped. The sensation was both terrifying and freeing at the same time. When they were finally out of the torrent, both ladies drank lungfuls of air.

Mairwen blinked, trying to get her bearings.

All around her bodies were littered in various positions. Some were in piles where they had been fighting just moments before and others who had already fallen or died were neatly washed up against tents or trees from the initial force of the eruption.

Beside her, Brinn rose to her knees. "What happened?" she asked knowing that the other princess would have no answer.

Mairwen looked out at the mass of humanity. None of them were moving. "How are we awake but not them?" The blue-eyed princess looked at her friend. The elf's skin had turned a very pale gold, looking neither human nor like her normal magical self.

"I used as much of my wind magic as I could to protect us from the flood. I think that is why we weren't as affected." The she-elf wiped her brow.

It explained the weird feeling of the water running across their skin. The human princess doubted the rest got such gentle treatment. "Thank you," Mairwen said genuinely.

Her eyes went to searching the men, looking for her husband and father. Her eyes landed on Nurlan first. The general's bulky frame was perched on top of another man with dark brown hair.

From there, she easily spotted her father in the next dogpile, his body was underneath two large men and sandwiched between a mess of naked legs.

Wait...it wasn't just the legs that were naked. Mairwen blushed and looked away, but no matter which way she looked, it was more of the same. 'How did the water take so much clothing?'

The answer was simple. It didn't.

The people had not been wearing any clothing to begin with. They had been covered in fur and scaly skin.

"Oh no! The curse is broken!" Mairwen was not filled with relief. She was filled with fear.

Eliana had said that overwhelming the connection between the potion and the person would stop the abominations and possibly cure them. She also made it quite clear that severing that connection was just as likely to kill them.

What if the still forms were not unconscious? What if they were...dead?

While Devrim and Nurlan began to rouse slowly, their enemy did not. Mairwen's fear only deepened. She scanned to look for the lanky man that her heart had fallen in love with.

She looked up, but only the ropes which she had used to secure him to the tree had remained. It made sense. His normal body would have slid out of the bindings which held his larger wolfish frame as soon as the water hit him.

Which meant…which meant he could be anywhere. It was very possible that unlike the princesses, the lanky scientist had been thrown into the side of a tree and broken his neck.

Or taken back into the depths of the lake…

…and drown.

'Stop thinking like that!'

"Over there!" Brinn pointed to a place among the tents. Somehow she had been able to do what the dark-haired woman had not:

Spot the former brown wolf.

The prince was draped across the half-standing tent poles such that for a moment, Mairwen feared he had been impaled by one of them.

The force of the water very easily could have pushed a human and wooden rod into occupying the same space. The dark-haired archer rushed forward, picking her way through the clutter and debris.

The tide had completely disrupted the camp far more than the battle. The buildings which had seemed so sturdy and formidable were wiped from the surface of the forest. The tents, too, were swept into piles of rubbish waiting to be disposed.

It was as if the water, in its fury to rid the world of the curse, had also attempted to cleanse the shore of any remnants of the abominable army.

Mairwen passed a young woman who had previously been flying overhead as a bat.

The lady's eyes were permanently open and staring at the sky.

'Just because she is dead doesn't mean they all are, I hope! No, the eruption of water must have caught her both in the up-shoot as well as the downward swing. She never stood a chance.' Mairwen paused and closed the woman's eyes and covered her with a torn piece of fabric from a tent.

Even though she was the enemy, it was possible that the lady had been forced or tricked into such a terrible choice. And even if the former abomination had done so with her eyes open, she had already paid the price and Mairwen would give her a little dignity in the end.

The action only took a couple of seconds and was almost involuntary. No matter how much she wanted to see to her husband's well-being, her conscience would not have let her leave such a thing undone. Whether she liked it or not, there was very likely little Mairwen could do even when she reached her husband.

She was merely delaying good news or bad.

Continuing onward, Mairwen was suddenly aware of how many things were beginning to stir. So far it was just the Imperial humans, but if the others began to wake and attack again, there could be a very big problem. For now, things were safe and would hopefully remain so.

In her rush, she tripped over one of the humans who had once been a monster. He had been so tangled up in the tent fabric that she hadn't seen him. "Sorry!" she said reflexively, unwilling to see if he was dead like the other she had passed.

Mairwen's eyes were about to dart away when she saw the former abominations take a ragged breath. Her heart nearly burst with hope. The spell hadn't killed them!

Roused by the sudden motion, the man opened his eyes. The princess's hopes were squashed as she saw only a black void where his pupils and iries should be. He looked at her with only emptiness and anger. A snarl escaped his lips.

"Help!" Mairwen cried.

The water had washed away her weapons, and the man was much larger than herself. If he still had his strength, she was no match for him. Suddenly a burst of light came between her and the vacant man. A fairy blasted the former monster with ice, holding him in place.

"I got this, sweetie," the fairy told her. "Don't you worry."

Mairwen looked around. There were hundreds of pinpricks of light hovering overhead.

"Thank you," Mairwen stood and curtsied her gratitude. "The ones in bandanas are imperial troops. Please don't freeze them if you can help it," she added, her wits returning to her after the initial surprise.

From her vantage point, she had not seen them arrive. They were a most welcome sight.

The fairy nodded and turned back to her work. There was much to do.

At last, Mairwen made it to Renat. He was not impaled on the tent pole as she had feared. Rather, his body was resting between two crossed poles. With great effort, Mairwen lowered him to the ground and covered him in canvas.

Then she waited for what felt like an eternity.

"Renat?" Maiwen sensed he was waking.

The lanky man groaned and struggled against the cloth surrounding him.

When his eyes opened...

... Mairwen gasped.