Nilo felt glad that Charlotte was enjoying the food, and now that they had payed back the kindness that had been given to them, they decided to take their leave " I'll be going now, I had an awesome time" once they stepped out the door, they shapeshifted into a deer and ran out into the forest.
______
When they reached the edge of the forest, Nilo shape-shifted back, they had to collect more pigment for their paints, because they had to paint a new masterpiece. They suddenly heard a noise in the distance, a crackling of bushes and grass, and they developed curiosity to it. The closer they go, the more they heard. Voices. Footsteps. Armor. They already knew what these people were, but to make sure it wasn't a nightmare, they had to look, they peeked over the bushes. Their heart dropped. Royal Guards.
Charlotte stared at the moss covered entrance of her tree in awe, she felt a sting of pain and she felt like she had been abandoned again. She knew Nilo wouldnt stay a long time, but she had hoped they would.
She finished her food, the brought the plate to the boiling cauldron, dropped it in, used prongs to get it out, then set it on the table to dry, she headed back upstairs, as Charlotte's ears perked up, she galloped outside and towards the sound, she spotted Nilo, and bent down besides them "what are you doing? being this close will get you killed." She said so quietly, that even she could barely hear herself, she noticed she had grabbed Nilo's wrist, and suddenly let go.
She looked over the bush and gave a frown, she debated actually giving herself up, and trying to fight against the Royal Guards, but she saw five of them, and there were only one of herself, two against them if Nilo joined it, but it still wasn't enough strength to beat them/
Nilo looked over their shoulder at Charlotte who arrived a few moments after they did, they looked over at her and put a finger to their lips and the other to their ear. Unspoken words conveyed, they shapeshifted into a moth and fluttered onto one of the Royal Guard's armors to listen. " This is our third run this week, I'm pretty sure the perimeter is secure" said the first guard. He was wearing a full set of armor along with a helmet adorned with gold designs, and the other one had a gold adorned chestplate as well, probably signalling rank. " You can never be too safe" he replied " We should check near that big tree in the distance soon" at the sounds of this Nilo fluttered back behind the bush and shifted back " We need to get out of here as soon as possible" They warned Charlotte "They're coming this way"
Charlotte's face went ashen and ghostly pale, so much that her face was the same color as her white freckles.
Her ears perked up and she grabbed Nilo by the wrist, slowly and quietly heading away from the royal guards, and back near the other side of the woods, where Charlotte's tree was.
When they arrived inside, Charlotte took a large piece of bark and set it in the entryway, covering the moss, she then pushed her table against it, that way to the guards they couldn't see the moss entryway, and would regard her home as a regular old willow tree.
"Oh my god! what are they doing here?– they haven't been out to the forest in years– do you think the king set out for the extinction of a different magical species, like fairies, or pixies–?" she asked Nilo, her eyes full of fear and concern.
"I don't think so," they replied " They only said they were doing a perimeter check" they thought about it for a bit "but that means they must have a camp or something nearby" They looked back at Charlotte "Wait, shh." Footsteps approached the now covered doorway. "Did you hear that?" said a voice from the outside, it was the higher ranking guard " There were voices just now" the other guard sighed " Now you're making things up, Sire" the first guard scoffed "Watch your tone with me or else" he paused "I think we're done for the day, let's start heading back" When the guards were out of earshot Nilo let out a sigh of relief and looked at Charlotte "We're fine now"
Wren held her cloak around her tighter, leaning against the trunk of the tree she had scurried up into, hoping the guards wouldn't notice her. She tilted her head back so they wouldn't hear her breathing. She had stayed out for most of the night, and she had hoped to get some sleep today. Instead, she got a forest crawling with royal guards.
(Hi~ I don't know how to continue this without Charlotte so u should probably intro your character into the story)
(I honestly don't know what to do with my character right now)
(I just generally have a hard time joining role plays in the middle of a plot. I'm trying to work on that, though)
Charlotte's ears perked up and her tail fluttered and twitched in the air.
"See what?" she asked frantically, her mind racing rapidly.
"Is it bad?" she asked wildly, her eyes wide and wet.
"Not necessarily" they looked at her, trying to find something comforting to say " No guards though, so it's fine to come out, it's something a lot more… special" they unbarricaded the door and lead her outside .
Charlotte followed, gripping Nilo's arm.
When they walked outside, Charlotte spotted a faerie (is that how its supposed to be spelled cus idk)
her eyes widened and she smiled at Nilo
"well this day can get better from what im seeing" she said aloud.
Wren looked down at the pair, still clinging to the trunk. They didn't seem to be guards-actually, no, they definitely weren't guards. "Excuse me?" She asked, a little awkwardly. "Are the guards gone?"
" The guards… are gone yes. Question: Where exactly did you come from?" Nilo asked " Last time I checked, the only people in this forest were me, a few Faun's and Nymph's and a centaur or two, but I know for a fact there have never been fairies in this forest" they stared more intensely now, voice growing stricter" So… who are you running from"
"From the guards." She said, shifting away from the trunk a little. "I have been hiding for a while, and decided to just make the run to the forest."
" So there IS a guard camp near the forest, just as I suspected" Nilo's face shifted into a pensive gaze " And why are you running from them? I didn't think the Fae of all people would be targeted by the King's guard"
"We still aren't human." She said, moving to step in a lower branch. "They still don't like us. It's just easier to hide wings under a cloak."
They shrugged "Makes sense. Fae have the same reputation as the Djinn used to." They looked back at her "Not that it's fair, but they just seem to hate us" they frowned a little " And their prejudice leads to catastrophes" they shrugged "Welp, welcome to the team I guess, this is Charlotte, we just met yesterday."
Charlotte gave a small smile and wave, she stepped forward slightly and spoke
"Im Charlotte, if you want, you're welcome to stay in my tree, there's plenty of room and don't worry I understand, I'm a faun, therefore all my kind are dead and or being hunted as well." She gestured to the tree in front of them, her tree.
( I was waiting for @CWPoofToxicRush but I'm not sure if this is still active)
(I was just waiting for someone to respond—)
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." Wren said, hopping down to a lower branch.
Charlotte waved her hand as she spoke.
"No, no no." She said with a warm, welcome smile.
"You're not intruding at all, the more the merrier." She said laughing heartily.
Nilo smiled brightly " If anyone was intruding" they added, " It was the guards" The smile on their face sort of faded " We might need to do something about that by the way" turning a but to face Charlotte " They definitely won't leave by their own volition"
Charlotte's mouth drew into a tight line and she nodded briskly. She put her hands to her ears in reflex, and pulled on its fur. Something she'd seen her mother do before she was murdered.
She quickly brought her hand down after a moment, she sighed loudly and kept her gaze on the ground, small prickly tears protruded behind her eyes. She saw her mom and dad and she wished more than anything that they were here with her.
She looked up to Nilo once her eyes were not wet anymore. She gave a small, tired smile and said
"I have a plan." She said with all the confidence she had.
Hopefully it'll work she thought.
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