Illusions
“Fire from a firefly. Got it!” Ralph said excitedly.
“Can I move now?” Justin asks, still frozen.
“Sure, you can move now. Ralph replied while putting the ingredients to the pouch.
“Thank goodness.” Justin mumbles to himself.
Justin can't believe how dedicated the vampire is to get what Arabelle needs. He can't even touch any insects without crushing them. Ralph seems to be gentle with those creatures they saw. He never expected that a vampire could be thoughtful. It's good that they are able to spend some time together. He's learning a lot from him especially now that they are in the fairy world. Seems like this old vampire is not so bad like what he heard before.
They are now walking in the middle of the giant mushrooms. It looks like it's home for creatures around this area. Although nobody seems to be home since he didn't see anyone. The sun is already setting as they walk in the middle of the giant mushrooms. That's when Ralph saw the fairy castle from afar. He pointed it to Justin who seemed busy thinking about the residents of the giant mushrooms. They got excited seeing the bright light coming from there. It's getting dark where they are now.
“Let's try going to that castle.” Ralph suggested.
“Okay, maybe we can ask around.” Justin agreed as they continued to walk.
Both of them decided to continue their journey. None of them needs to stop to rest anyway. They already made short stops earlier when Ralph took the unusual things . It's better for them to reach the castle and maybe stay there for the night. The enchanted forest looks scary the moment it gets dark. They don't know what creatures they might encounter. It's better for them to stay low key and avoid conflict. They still wanted to go back to their world soon. Once they find Arabelle, they can all go home.
Although the castle looks near earlier, they are still walking after an hour has passed. Ralph hates that fairies always use illusions. It's not going to be easy to reach the fairy castle of course. The more they walk towards it, the further it seems to be. He looks at the young werewolf and he looks tired already. Maybe he should suggest they stop to rest a little. They have no idea what they will find in that castle. If they are enemies, they need to fight back. A tired werewolf will be unable to help him out.
“Let's stop here and rest a little. I don't think we can reach the castle in the next hour.” Ralph suggested.
“Good idea! I'm so tired walking around all day.” Justin replied and just collapsed on the ground.
“We might need to fight along the way. It's better if we're prepared.” Ralph said and sat on the ground.
“I hope we don't have to fight anyone.” Justin replied.
Ralph can't smile at the young werewolf's innocent remark. Being young made him feel carefree because he doesn't need to fight for his life yet. Maybe he's a spoiled cub back home. He never asked him about his pack or anything personal. It's better to let the werewolf tell him what he wanted to share. Although he realized he's the same werewolf who keeps coming to his home. Instead of asking him about it, he decided to wait until he's ready. Maybe he feels ashamed about his past mistakes
While resting on the ground with the vampire, Justin can't help but admire Ralph. He's almost 200 years old and still looks really young. After a few years, he will look older than he already is. Werewolves are also considered immortals but they still get old. They are similar to humans with warm blood but never get sick. While vampires seem like their time is frozen. They can also live alone for a long time. Although he decided to become a lone werewolf, he still misses his pack sometimes.
~~
Arabelle returns to the room she was given after lunch. It seems boring to stay in this world. She wants to start collecting the ingredients she needs. Unfortunately, Enrico seems to be really busy the moment they get here. Although she doesn't need him to go with her to look for the ingredients. She just finds it hard to leave that beautiful room inside the fairy castle. It's comfortable to stay indoors but she knows what she needs to do. She can't just stay here and forget about breaking the curse.
She suddenly remembers what she read about the fairy world. Time passes by differently around this realm compared to the human realm. An hour around here is about one day in our world. It means that she's been gone for about half a month already. The realization suddenly hits her and decided to prepare. She needs to find the things she needs and go home as soon as possible. If Enrico is still busy, she can just go out there alone. Although she's hoping to find Ralph along the way.
“Excuse me, miss. Where are you going?” The maid stopped her as she tried to get out of the room.
“I'm looking for Enrico. We need to go to the enchanted forest.” She informed her.
“He's currently busy, miss. Maybe you can try again tomorrow.” the maid replied.
“I can't stay here for a long time. I'll just go by myself and just tell Enrico I have to go.” she told the maid.
She can't stay here for another 24 hours since that means that's about 24 days in our world. Her mom needs her to break the curse as soon as possible. It's making her mom sicker as time goes by. The longer she waits, the more dangerous it will be for her. Arabelle only needs a few things to collect. Once it's complete, she needs to go back home and do the spell. It will be harder without Lily but somehow, she knows she can manage to do that.
“I'm sorry, miss but you can't leave yet.” the maid said in a firm tone and suddenly changed into an ugly monster.