Ivy and Elise *REWRITING* *SLOW UPDATES*

Chapter Fourteen

The fire crackled merrily as Elise dropped more wood into its burning depths. The pair had travelled quickly and were now very close to their destination. However, ever since leaving the cottage, Elise couldn't shake the feeling that she and Ivy were being followed.

Elise turned slightly and something caught her eye. She motioned for Ivy to follow and reached for an arrow. She crept closer to the source of disturbance.

Elise let an arrow fly just as a familiar mass of blonde curls appeared. She watched in horror as the arrow soared towards-

"Rowan?" Ivy gasped.

The elemental grinned before reaching out a hand, causing a strong gust of wind to knock the arrow off its course. She closed her hand into a fist and the wind died down, leaving the arrow lying limply in her grasp.

"The last time I checked," She said, walking towards Elise. "Firing arrows at people gets them killed."

She held out the arrow but fumbled at the last moment, sending the weapon clattering to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Elise asked, retrieving her arrow from the orange leaves.

"Well, I..." Rowan tailed off, uncertain. "I thought you could use some help."

Elise looked towards Ivy, trying to gauge her opinion.

"Before you answer, I know how to heal and I can enchant weapons and I-"

"Alright!" Elise said, cutting Rowan off. "There's no need to panic. Plus, wouldn't it be nice to have more people around? There's safety in numbers, right Ivy?"

Ivy nodded, sheathing the sword. "We don't have long to go. If we hurry now, we'll reach the caves before it gets too dark to navigate."

*

The trees began to thin as a rocky structure emerged from the horizon. The caves. They had made it. As Elise took in the scene she felt a sinister prickle of familiarity.

Memories began to form and Elise started to remember. It was almost as if she could see the bear-like creature that attacked her mother thundering towards the group. It's mouth was open, an angry snarl ran shivers through the fairy's body.

Then she realised: she wasn't reliving the past, the creature was running toward her and there was nothing she could do.

An inhuman roar shook the ground and Elise staggered back. As she did so, her foot caught in the gnarled roots of a twisted tree and she fell back. Vaguely she could hear someone shouting her name. Just as the beast was about to pounce, a wall of rock and earth rose up, protecting Elise momentarily.

"Elise, what's wrong?" Rowan asked, her hand on her shoulder.

She felt numb as flashes of the past flew through her mind. Memories threatened to overwhelm her as a sickly feeling filled her body. Then she realised what she had to do.

"Fire!" She yelled, staggering to her feet. "We need fire!"

Elise ran over to Rowan and Ivy joined them a moment later. "Stay close to me!" Rowan shouted before bending down to place both hands on the ground.

The air seemed to ripple and suddenly flames burst out from the earth, separating the group from the beast what was cowering away in shock.

"Move quickly, this won't hold for long!"

The group ran towards the cave entrance, the darkness consuming them as they ran. It wasn't until Rowan's fire died out that they realised how far they had gone.

"What on earth was that?" Ivy wheezed, trying to catch her breath.

"I think that was a Shiola. A guardian creature that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets."

The voices seemed to fade away. The only sound that was left were the heavy breaths of Elise's friends. Together they sat in gloom, trying to recover from what just happened.

Elise was thankful for the darkness. It meant the others couldn't see the tears that were streaming down her face.

A/n: Its Thursday already! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter and if I have any readers who celebrate Eid, I wish you a wonderful day :)

- Love from Poppy x