Selvina was drowned in her blankets, warm, comfortable, and sleeping soundly, until she heard the creak of an opening door. She was normally a heavy sleeper and would have never reacted but this night was an exception. She moaned and opened her eyes lazily, the world around her shrouded in the thick haze of sleepiness.
A candle burned on a table near the entrance of the room and it cast dancing shadows on the opposite wall, the one with the window doors leading out to the balcony. Outside, the sky was dark and starless, blacker than soil.
The candle revealed a dark figure standing over Amalthea's bed, right across from Selvina's. The figure was hunched over and reaching over the unicorn. Selvina sat up in shock, her vision clearing immediately and her heart pumping into action.
"Step back!" she shouted, worried this stranger meant to kill Amalthea. It could be an assassin sent by Queen Svala. Selvina didn't put it past that childish woman to do such a thing. "Get away from her!"
Without thinking, Selvina leapt out of bed and reached for the nearest weapon, an ornamental sword hanging on the wall near her bed. The weapon was heavy and most likely dull but it was better than nothing and Selvina pointed it at the dark figure across the room. Something awakened in her then, a feeling she had not experienced ever before. Was it courage? No, it was something more. Something stronger...
"Lay a hand on her and I'll cut it off!" Selvina spat. She noticed that Tinkerbelle had woken up and was buzzing beside her, nail-sword twirling hungrily. "Who are you? What do you want with Amalthea?"
The dark figure straightened and rested both hands atop the a staff it carried. The candle light intensified and revealed the stranger's face, heavily bearded and full of wrinkles.
Selvina's breath caught in her throat and she dropped the sword. The weapon clattered loudly as the young woman raced ahead and wrapped her arms around the dark figure. The man smiled and hugged her back.
"Merlin!" Selvina cried out in pure joy. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you here right now. You're exactly who I need right now."
The old wizard chuckled and patted Selvina on the back as she pulled away from the hug. "It warms my heart to see you healthy and well, Selvina. I worried that your captivity here would be under far less...extravagant conditions. Everyone back in New Avalon will be pleased and relieved to know you are unharmed."
Selvina was overjoyed to see Merlin here but the moment of bliss soon passed, replaced with a flood of questions. "Why are you here? How did you find my room of all places? But like, seriously, why are you here at this time of night?"
Merlin eyed Amalthea and placed a hand on her body, his wizened face etching with concern. "She brings me here, Selvina. I was on my way here for a formal visit with Empress Rhiannon but when I sensed the magical imbalance intensifying, I hurried as quickly as I could. I now see what happened."
Selvina looked at the dying unicorn and fought back tears. "Can you help her? Can you heal her? Please, Merlin, do something!"
"Her life hangs by the thinnest of threads, Selvina. If I were to merely brush it too roughly it could snap. I have given her what healing I could without upsetting her body's own intense efforts but she is so terribly weak. She will need many days, if not weeks, of uninterrupted rest.
Just then, Amalthea's equine body began to glow with white light. The light slowly grew in intensity until it was so bright that everyone had to turn away and shield their eyes. When they looked at the unicorn again they saw a thin, white-haired woman dressed in rags instead.
Selvina glanced at Merlin for answers. He was smiling, which lifted her hopes. "Is she awake?"
"Perhaps not on our level," Merlin replied. "But she was awake enough to change form, which means to me that she is steadily healing. Trust in her, Selvina, and she will return."
"I do trust her. She was the one that brought me here, Merlin. She gave me this purpose of stopping the Writer and I won't let her down. I want her to see for herself that she didn't make a mistake choosing me."
Merlin eyed Selvina up and down and smiled wider. "You have grown, Selvina. There is more strength in you than I had ever sensed before."
Selvina smiled back briefly before she thought of something and turned to face Merlin with wide eyes. "How's Jack? Have you heard anything from Cindy and Red?"
"I spoke to Cindy through the fire this past morning. She informs me that they are sailing past the Avalonian coast at the moment and should arrive in Tortug within a few days. Red is with her. They were attacked by Sauradian pirates several days ago and now share a ship. Once Red disembarks in Tortug, Cindy will continue to Kenmard. To answer your question, they are doing fine."
Selvina breathed a sigh of relief, not so pleased to hear about the pirate attack but glad that Red and Cindy are doing well. "What about Jack? Have you heard anything about the naval battle?"
"I saw glimpses of it through my far-sight but I was too preoccupied making it in here in time to see Amalthea to peer more extensively. From what I saw, it was going well for Avalon. King Arthur's navy was beating back the enemy and the battle looked won."
"Did you...um, did you see a dragon?"
Merlin furrowed his thick brows and eyed Selvina firmly. For several tense moments he said nothing. Eventually, he said, "So that is where the empress has gone. I should have known she would not let such a battle go unwitnessed." Merlin sighed and it terrified Selvina. "I fear the devastation she has caused by now. My only hope is that perhaps she was injured or under too much pressure to fight for long. Massive floating constructs of wood and canvas do not fare well against any fire, let alone dragon fire."
Selvina's heart was beating so fast she was sweating all over. She gulped back a miniscule amount of rising fear and struggled to focus on the present situation. Her voice cracked as she said, "There's something I need to tell you." God, Jack, don't be dead. Please, don't be dead...
Merlin nodded and waited for her to continue.
"Rhiannon is trying to bring back Iktarosh," Selvina blurted. "She has him chained up in a room far below ground and she's doing it so he can kill the Writer because she doesn't think I can do it."
Merlin's eyes widened for the first time Selvina could ever remember. "That cannot be!"
"I saw it, Merlin! I was in that room! It's true!"
The wizard's gaze darted about the room and he glanced aside as he tried to make sense of the declaration. "You are certain of this?"
"Yes! She's feeding Iktarosh's corpse, or what looks like a statue of him anyway, all the dark magic she can and she said he'd be fully revived soon enough. I talked to Accolon about it and he's going to help me stop her."
"As he should," Merlin replied with a nod. "This cannot happen, Selvina. It absolutely cannot come to be. Rhiannon does not realize how out of balance Faeryum's magical fields of energy truly are. If she were to imbalance it further by bringing to life a god she'd risk forever breaking it. Even if she were to stop everything she was doing at this moment it would take many years to stabilize the magic. Of all the slain gods... How could I have been so blind?"
"Help us stop her," Selvina said. "Accolon will be here in the morning and he'll lead us to a secret way into the chamber as the main way is magically locked. I'd feel better if you came with us, Merlin. We'll need all the help we can get."
Merlin nodded his grey head. "Indeed. I shall come with you and Accolon, then. It is decided. Together we will prevent utter chaos from coming to this world. How could Rhiannon be so foolish to think reviving Iktarosh would be a good idea?"
"She thinks he'd hate the Writer because he'd be getting rid of the free will of the beings he helped create. She thinks that'll be enough to persuade him to kill the Writer."
"Iktarosh is a god, Selvina. We mortals cannot presume to know anything of their goals and desires. They are divine beings with schemes of their own. Iktarosh, above all, cannot be trusted."
"I told her the same thing but she wouldn't listen. It was like she was someone else down there... She scared me, Merlin."
"She is blinded by her own ambition. I have known Rhiannon since she was a child but this is uncharacteristic of her. She understands the dangers of reviving a slain god. She learned of Iktarosh's treachery when she was younger than you are now. Something does not fit into place. I will have to speak with her when she returns. This is unlike the Rhiannon I know."
Merlin then suggested Selvina returned to bed and she obeyed with little fuss. She was still quite tired and knowing that Merlin was watching over Amalthea helped her fall asleep that much faster. Tinkerbelle was sleeping above her, spread out across the top of the bed's canopy. Her hopes of succeeding in preventing Iktarosh's return soared and pleasant dreams filled her mind that night.
The next morning, however, was grey and unpleasantly cold.