~I am so sorry for this delay! I was in a big writers block and had a whole lotta things to do  :(( I'm still trying to compose my ideas into the story but my thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations (heh.)~

-TazTree

"Father?" Arine called, her voice cracking. "Father, why are you here?"

The menacing figure of the King came closer, and Arine could see clearer that the King was here. 

"Why I am here?" the King repeated, in a chilling voice. "Little Thorne, you should be dead. Your Graydown too. All of you must die."

Arine's eyes widened at him, and she felt Marvin hold her hand tightly as they both stared at the King. 

"But-but," Arine's voice shook. "You treated me so nicely. You were like a father to me." 

The King cocked his head and grinned wickedly. "If I didn't, how would I end up here?" 

His words impacted Arine with a hard blow. The truth dawned on her now. She was used. She was treated like a daughter, like a normal princess so she would be determined to find Marvin, or find the Tempus Kingdom. And once she did that, the King could track her and find them. 

Arine slid down to her knees, not being able to balance herself anymore. She hugged herself tightly, wishing with the same longing she felt when she was in the Dark to disappear. 

"Please, please leave everyone alone," Arine whimpered. "What do you need to just leave everyone alone?" 

"Oh little Thorne," Harris cooed. "The thing we need first is the Graydown ring." 

"No!" Marvin shouted immediately. Arine looked up at him in surprise.

Harris narrowed his eyes. "Give it Graydown. Spare yourselves the troubles and your lives for now by giving it." 

Arine noticed Marvin's jaw tightening. 

"I will not give it," he declared. "I will not allow you to own the power of the seasons. You will misuse it, and will not spare any Tempus Praestes."

Harris gave him a crooked smile. "Indeed, we will not. But wouldn't you enjoy a few extra minutes of your life?"

"If those few minutes were spend defeating you and your army." Arine whispered harshly, loud enough for Harris to hear. 

Harris snarled and leaped for Marvin. Marvin backed away, causing Harris to trip. 

At once, the army armed their weapons, which consisted of bow and arrows, daggers, and whips. Arine held onto the top of her watch tightly, looking back and forth at anyone who may ambush her.

A guard did. As he was about to stab his dagger at her, she traveled to a different place, far from him. The guard look at her confused while Arine smiled mischievously. In the library in Tempus, she saw papers talking about something called 'Swift Travels.' They were Time Travels that made a Praestes travel in closer distances. Essentially it was used mostly to be farther away from an object or enemy, but still in the same place.

Another guard ran to her too and Arine Swift Traveled again. Arine started to acknowledge the fact that she had no weapons to defeat them, and she couldn't keep Swift Traveling. That became clear once she was surrounded by guards, and there was no place she could travel without being caught. 

The sharp points of the guards weapons seemed to glint, making Arine shiver. She didn't know how to hit them with her bare hands, without cutting herself.

All of a sudden she heard Marvin yell "Use your power to your advantage,"  Arine whipped her head to see where he was, and she saw him, with 25 or so guards, being pushed away from him with strong wind currents. "You control everything here on this ground. Everything on Earth that is not above."

Everything on Earth that is not above. 

The first thing Arine could think of in the danger of the moment was flowers. She willed her mind to think of flowers tied to the guards. She heard one gasp as flowers and the thin roots started wrapping around his ankle. The guards were in a moment of surprise, until the guard leaned down and pierced the roots away. He straightened, and looked at Arine with a self-satisfied grin.

"You really thought you could stop us," he chuckled coldly. "With flowers?"

The guards started attacking their weapons at her. Arine ducked and jumped wildly, trying not to  hit into any of the weapons. Arine ran blindly, attempting to find an escape from the circle of guards. She noticed two guards parting ways, which made space for her to get away from them. She hopped away from them, starting to feel relief when something wrapped around her wrist.

A whip was around her wrist. A guard caught her and was reeling her back to them. She forced her feet to stay in place, to not move back to the guards. As her arms flailed, she felt a searing pain on her calf. She winced loudly and looked down to see a whip of another guard's hit her. Blood dripped down to the ground, a bright red. She lost focus on keeping her left foot on the ground and fell down, being pulled back to the guards.

Arine eyes shut down, and her mind was a whirring mess. She wished for the pain to go away, for herself to disappear from her own body. Hopelessness filled inside her.

I am Arine Thorne who has failed. She thought numbly. I failed to fix the seasons and use my powers, as a Thorne, as part of a Greater Family.

Thorne.

Thorns.

The word 'Thorns' made Arine jerk her head up, and made her forget her pain for a moment. Thorns would cause them harm, cause them to struggle, giving Arine time to escape and help Marvin. 

Arine thought of thorns rising and towering over the guards. She imagined them towering over them, and then enclosing over them. She thought of this with a wicked, cold amusement. Once she opened her eyes, she was pleased to see the scene unfold from her mind to reality. 

The thorns were thick and long, and caught at many guards, picking them up above ground. The thorns were in a steady motion, twisting and curving. Many guards yelled when the sharp thorns pricked them.

Arine kept control of the thorns as she ran off to find Marvin. The guards Marvin delt with were floating up or pushed around. Marvin looked over at her and smiled. 

"Great job dealing with them." he complimented, sending a breeze to the guards covered in thorns. 

"Thank you," Arine said. She looked at the struggling guards above her. "Looks like you got your powers back, huh?" 

"I'm recharging." Marvin assured.

Arine smiled for a moment then viewed the island, worried. "How will we find the Seasonal Wall?"

"Swift Travel to different places. If a guard comes to you, use your powers. Don't lose focus on your mission or your powers. I'll distract them too."

"Where are the rest of the guards?" 

Marvin furrowed his eyebrows, both in concentration and because of the question. "I believe they are scouring the island to find the Wall themselves," he scratched a little cloud on the ring. "Even if they find it, they cannot have the Graydown ring. They will use the power for bad uses."

Arine nodded fiercely and started Swift Traveling. Arine decided to search for Harris, and perhaps the King, though thinking of him made Arine's throat dry.

She also kept a close eye at the guards and made thorns prick the guards Marvin was handling. Arine wasn't a vicious person, but the thought of hurting those who would try to ruin the whole world seemed to satisfy her. 

Arine wondered on the possible places the Seasonal Wall could be hidden. Perhaps only a Tempus could access it? Or maybe there was a secret basement door on the floor where you had to step on, like the one that led to the library. Arine thought of that with amusement.

Arine thought of a small, barely visible thorn behind her, so she could attack anyone who came close quickly. 

She then bumped into someone, and immediately lashed out the thorns behind her, willing them to grow bigger. The person screamed, and ducked. Arine peered closer at them and saw that it was Erik, the King's right hand man. Someone who would be dangerous in the King's plan.

"Arine, Arine! Stop!" Erik ducked under the thorns and slashed them with his sword.

"Oh, so you can give the King the powers and kill me and every Tempus?" Arine growled.

Erik held up his hands pleadingly. "Arine, please stop. I'm not here for that, I promise. I just came here. I noticed the King was missing in the castle so I tried to find him!"

Arine did not trust him, but she did lower the thorns a bit. "Why should I trust you?"

Erik sighed deeply. "Arine, look. I know right now you can barely trust anyone and I understand that. I can't believe the King would do this. He never spoke of this. And even if I had known, I wouldn't follow it at all. When I searched outside for the King, I saw him and the army, in the dark. I had to chase after them. It was too suspicious a sight to ignore."

Arine narrowed her eyes. "You're the King's right hand man. You'd be the person he'd trust to lead the mission."

"I suppose in this case it's not me. It's him." Erik looked faraway at something, and Arine followed his gaze. Arine could make out the shape and features of Harris. It appeared that Harris was the leader now, the right hand man of the King. 

"Oh." Arine said softly.

Erik hung his head glumly as a dark silhouette came behind him, clearing to become the King.

"Indeed Erik." he rumbled. 

Arine set her jaw looking at the King. Looking at him reminded her painfully of the betrayal so unimaginable; a betrayal where the King would want to kill her, and leave behind others like Erik. 

The King started stepping towards Arine. Arine started backing away, then quickened her pace. 

"Oh my little Thorne," the King murmured. "How much you've helped us. I was afraid you would be of no use to us but you have pleased us quite well." 

Arine gritted her teeth. "I did none of that to help you. These are innocent people. These are people who control time and our lives possibly."

The King stroked his beard. "Well perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have that power, would it? Some people are just so small-minded, so unaware of the bad in the world."

"Look who's talking." Arine grumbled.

The King's eyes darkened and he started chasing after her. He revealed a sharp pointed sword, and pointed it at her. Arine shrieked and stumbled to run away from him.  The King slashed as Arine ducked. 

"Where is the Queen?" Arine asked.

"Maybe somewhere, away from this world." he said, brushing away the question. 

Arine paused for a moment and the King took that to advantage by swinging the sword near her jaw. She would have been cut, if it weren't for a strong wind that pushed her back harshly to the ground. 

Her back bumped into something that made an audible sound. The pain in her calf started to come back. Arine could tell it was Marvin's work. She glanced at him and he looked at her sheepishly. 

He seemed to want to say something, but before he could a guard yelled "Look!"

Arine whipped her head back and let out a gasp herself. A wall was growing from underneath, a purplish wall that had bright golden and blue marks of the sun and moon. The symbols of the seasons were there too. She saw a slot where something could be placed, and a ring looked like it could fit there. 

Arine had activated the Seasonal Wall. 

The surprise of the moment released any of the guards in the air or wrapped in thorns. At once, the guards went to action, and Harris, followed with many other guards, leaped to Marvin, trying to snatch the Graydown ring from him. Marvin, still in shock, couldn't defend himself and fell to the ground by the impact of them. 

Marvin rolled over and Swift Traveled next to Arine, and in front of the Seasonal Wall. 

Marvin gave her an anxious gaze, which Arine matched. Almost all the guards in the army started running to them. The King growled to them to get the Graydown ring.

Arine tried to raise thorns again but her focus was wavering, so the thorns couldn't reach them. Marvin let out wind to push them away but the guards deflected them. 

There wasn't anything for them to do. They were surrounded all over with perhaps more than 100 guards. They couldn't escape any longer. Guards ambushed behind Marvin and shoved him down on the floor. They grabbed his hand and tugged the ring from his index finger. Marvin grabbed the guard's hand and tried to take the ring back. The ring then dropped to the ground, rolling near the wall. 

Arine and Marvin looked steadily at the guards who were facing them too. One of them would get the ring. Before any of them could start pouncing on it first, the guard who had stole the ring from Marvin first let out a roar of pain, then crumpled to the ground. 

"You will let them go and retreat!" a firm voice called from above. 

Everyone looked up to see multiple gorgeous white horses with wings, sat on by multiple people. The person who had spoken had on a furious and determined expression. Arine recognized her immediately.

Eden.

~THIS CHAPTER IS DONE!!! IM SOOO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. Oof. I have tests next week that I am stressed about and have to build a rollercoaster and I have no crafting skills :/~

-TazTree