The wedding day came, and while most of the Moors creatures were happily crossing the river, I was trying to keep track of everything at once. On the other side, a soldier grabbed my arm and said, "Moorfolk only sir, you'll have to wait with the humans for your turn. "

I saw Diaval had the same problem, so I let them take me out of the line. I brushed through the crowd, and when I passed Diaval I grabbed his wrist and blinked us inside the walls, walking with the rest of the Moorfolk. "Thanks, " he said. I nodded and separated from him. We were led into a chapel, and all of the Moorfolk sat on the right side. I stood in the back by the doors. Once they were all in, the doors closed, which didn't alarm me too much, but a heavy clunk shortly after was what tipped me off. I looked out and saw a barricade outside the door, which would keep anyone from getting out.

I blinked outside, where the soldiers were just finishing the barricade when I appeared. "Remove the barricade, " I said as I appeared. The soldiers turned in surprise, then turned back to their work. Four guarding nearby came over though, wielding swords and shields. I snapped my fingers a few times and a small flame appeared in each hand. I threw them at the guards approaching, and they were engulfed in flames. Sadly, I was not powerful enough to do that, and the flames were merely an illusion. While they were panicking in the fake flames, I blinked over and cut them all with my knives, leaving them unconscious. The guards at the barricade had finished, and six more approached. I sheathed my knives and sent a blast of magic towards them, which knocked them all off their feet and into the door.

The barricade held, but the guards were temporarily stunned. I slashed them all and they fell shortly after. The barricade was heavy, too heavy for me to move on my own. Inside I heard an organ begin to play. I struggled with the barricade, pushing, shoving, pulling, blasting with magic, none of it worked. I heard some banging from inside, and blinked in for a look. Red dust had carpeted parts of the floor, and while I was watching another burst of it flew out of the pipes of the organ. I blinked back outside, and studied the door. I got an idea, and started pulling the pins out of the hinges. I got one side done, then blasted it with a burst of magic. It fell out, stopped by the barricade. A larger creature pulled it in and out of the way, allowing them to escape. I looked out and saw some activity on the wall facing the sea. I blinked over and saw an army of fey approaching.

I knew I couldn't stop them from attacking, so I would just have to help them. I blinked about a hundred yards away from the wall and drew an arc in front of me, lining up the ends of the arc with the corners of the wall facing the sea. I focused all my magic into the arc, and shot it outwards. As soon as I fired the arc, I knew I had lost all my magic. I knelt down and covered my face, waiting for the impact. The arc hit the wall and cut it clean in half. The top portion stayed for a moment, then began to slide off the cliff. Ten seconds later, only the bottom foot and a half of the wall remained. I drew my knives and tried to blink to the nearest catapult before remembering I had no more magic.

The fey were still approaching, and a giant hole had been opened in their defenses, but the humans still had many crossbows and catapults operational. I burst into a tower and climbed the stairs. At the top, I dispatched the guards and commandeered the crossbow. The ammunition wasn't the standard bolts, or even the iron spheres, but spears with some sort of red orb on the end. The crossbow was loaded, so I pointed it at the nearest trebuchet and fired, aiming for the ropes holding the sling. I missed the ropes, but impacted their ammunition storage, which exploded into red dust. I looked out to sea and saw the fey begin to cross the wall. The red dust seemed to kill them instantly upon contact, which would explain why it was on all of their ammunition.

I reloaded and took aim at another crossbow, and fired. I aimed for their ammunition rack as well, creating a cloud of red dust upon impact. I knew someone would notice me soon, so I fired one more shot at a trebuchet farther away. Once it had impacted, I grabbed a bolt and backed towards the stairs. When I could barely see the top of the ammo rack, I tossed it and ran down the stairs. I didn't know if I could be affected by the dust, but didn't want to take any chances. I burst out of the stairs into the waiting crowd of a dozen soldiers. Fifteen minutes ago, all I would've done was blink away, but now I decided to run back up the stairs. They followed, and I heard their footsteps echoing behind me. About halfway up, I turned and kicked the rail down the stairs where it clattered down the stairwell. I jumped across the open rail, laning on the opposite side. The guards were right next to me for a moment, then I was farther down on the other side. They turned around and started going down. I jumped one more time, then climbed over the rail and ran down the stairs. At the bottom, I slammed the doors shut and shoved a spear between the handles.

I ran around the tower to another with a crossbow, dodging spears, arrows, and fey as I headed for my next target. Inside, I grabbed a crossbow lying on the bottom of the stairs near a fallen guard and headed up, loading as I went. At the top, I burst through the door, firing the crossbow at the soldier near the larger version of the one I was holding. I dropped it once it had been fired and drew my knives, slashing the two guards by the door and then turning to face the others. Two more remained, and were incapacitated quickly. The one I'd shot with the crossbow had been hit in the arm, but was well protected under chainmail armour. I pulled off his glove and sliced his hand, then went to work with the crossbow.

I managed to destroy the ammunition to several crossbows and trebuchets before soldiers clambered through the door behind me. I swung the crossbow around and fired, the projectile hitting the doorframe. It exploded, showering the soldiers in dust and blinding them. I was dangling over the edge, feet in midair. I looked around, then let go. I fell for a second, then grabbed the feet of a passing fey. They didn't appreciate it and shook me off, circling around to try and finish me off on the ground. It was still a long way to fall, even after grabbing the passing fey. I hit the ground and rolled, but was still hurt badly from the fall. The fey approached, and I dodged to the side as it passed. While he was returning for another pass, I ran. He was catching up, and I rolled as he passed right over me. He landed, turning to face me.

"Hey man, I'm on your side. Do I look like a soldier?" I asked. He paused, considering what I'd said.

"You must be that half human who cut the wall in half. Show me your knives, " he said. I pulled them both out and held them out in my right hand. He grabbed one, seemed content that it was my blade, then handed it back. "Don't do that again, " he said and flew off. I looked around, assessing the situation. Fey everywhere, soldiers as well. Not much sense to the battle that I could see. Then, out of the din, I heard my name. It was faint, but I knew someone was calling me. I looked up and saw Aurora on top of the tallest tower. I couldn't see if anyone else was with her, but I doubted she was alone. If the humans were playing smart they'd keep her alive as hostage if Maleficent appeared. I ran over to the castle doors, hacking and slashing as needed. I burst through the doors and climbed the nearest staircase. It was a big tower and I was tired when I reached the top. I waited a few moments to catch my breath, then opened the door.

A crossbow bolt came through the door, one of the ones with the powder charge on the end. Thankfully, I had expected something like that and was off to the side of the door, out of sight of whoever fired the projectile. I knew they would be reloading, so I came through the doorway and saw a dozen guards, Aurora, and the queen. I drew my knives and took out the two nearest the door easily, but the others converged at once, forcing me back with spears. Aurora was clearly confused as to why I couldn't just blink behind them and take them all out. I backed through the door, and as they entered the stairwell I struck. I slid under and in between the two guys in front, slashing them both on their legs, thenrolled behind the next four, slicing between the chain links on them all. That left four others, which surrounded me in an instant.

I couldn't fight four spearmen with knives without blinking, which left me with two obvious options. One, surrender, or, two, try and fight and most likely die. I didn't like those options, so I made my own. I sheathed one knife and picked up a spear from the ground. I hoped this worked, took a breath, and slammed it into the ground, the red dust exploding up and obscuring me from view. While I was hidden, I lashed out from the cloud, taking out the one one my left and behind me. Once that was done, I jumped out from the cloud to my right, stepping on the soldier's spear and easily taking him and the last one out. I turned to see the queen holding a knife to Aurora's throat.

"Drop your knives and step away from the weapons, " she said. I didn't see any options I could make, so I did what she said, moving by the door. "Stay there. Any funny business and she dies. " I knew i could solve this in an instant if I could blink, but I didn't have that ability anymore.

"Tom, blink us out of here already!" Aurora said.

I shook my head. "I used all my magic bringing down the wall. I'm lucky to be alive. " She looked devastated at this news. I didn't blame her, I was as well.

"That was you who brought down the wall?" the queen asked. "We'd have won by now if you hadn't done that!" her other hand reached down and pulled up a throwing knife. She threw it at me, and I knew I couldn't do anything without risking Aurora's death. I held up my left hand and let the knife impale it before I dropped in pain. Aurora screamed, and I did as well, cradling my hand. After a few minutes, I stood up shakily, knife still stuck in my hand. Suddenly, the wall behind them exploded, throwing them both forward on the ground. Maleficent landed next to me, magic coursing through the air.

Aurora ran to her and they embraced each other. I grabbed the knife handle with my good handle and took a breath. I yanked it free and nearly bit my tongue off trying to keep quiet as blood flowed out of my palm and down my arm. I maybe had a minute before I was found out, so I had to act quickly. I stumbled towards the queen who had a knife in her hand. I held the knife I'd pulled out so it still looked impaled in my hand, but when I was close I dropped the act and swung. It was a bad swing, reaching too far trying to cut her anywhere. She sidestepped and kicked the back of my legs, and I fell off the tower.

I fell, falling until I wasn't when a fey grabbed me right out of the air. I was losing consciousness, and fast. The fey set me down behind a bush, said something that was probably 'stay here,' but I wasn't hearing too good. I passed out a few moments later. I came around twice, the first time being about thirty seconds after I had been set down, and the second being when someone pulled me out from behind the bush. I heard talking and saw people, but my vision was fuzzy and hearing distorted.

I saw some people, no, it was fey, kneeling around me. Golden light laced over my body and I felt warmth emanate from them. I felt the heat intensify where I was injured, my left hand, legs, and my right elbow, were the main ones, although I wasn't sure how I was injured on my right elbow. Probably hit it jumping down the stairs or something. After about ten minutes, the light retreated and I felt a lot better, but still lightheaded. I managed to sit up and looked around clearly. There were a half dozen fey around me, and the garden outside the castle seemed to have been changed to have a willow tree and benches.

I stood up and braced myself on a fey to keep from falling over. "Sorry, " I muttered and pulled my hand away. My hand. I looked at it and saw no gaping hole in it where the knife had been, only a scar. I staggered over and sat down on a bench, still staring at my hand. Diaval sat down next to me.

"You look a little pale, Tom. You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just got healed by the fey I guess. " I held up my hand. "Used to have a knife in my hand here. " I traced the scar on my hand.

"Ouch. Do you need anything? You should drink some water, you probably lost a lot of blood. "

"Yes please, some water would be great. " he brought over some, and I drank it all. My head cleared a little, but I doubted it would all clear today. "Thanks. " I held up my other hand and focused, trying to make some blue light appear. Nothing happened. I leaned back on the bench and rested. Shortly after, the wedding started. I sat up and watched as Aurora walked down the aisle with Maleficent, and the typical marriage stuff happened. After it was all done, I stood up and started walking back to the Moors. I arrived at the river and realised I had no way of crossing. I looked around to see if anyone nearby could direct me to someone who could get me across, but they were all in their houses. I looked at my cloak and realized I was covered in blood, probably mostly my own. I shook my head and walked back in the castle walls.

Back inside, I walked past the crowd of humans, fey, and Moorfolk to the tower I had been on before. I walked up the stairs, pausing to catch my breath whenever I needed. At the top, I grabbed my two knives and dusted them off, then sheathed them. Now that I had my knives back, I felt a lot safer. I sat on the edge of the tower with my legs hanging off and watched the crowd below. I picked up a coin from the floor and rolled it across my hands, watching it go back and forth. After a while I heard a fey land behind me. I put the coin in my pocket and turned around.

"You've already fallen from here once today. You might not be so lucky next time, " I heard Maleficent say.

I shrugged. "I'll be fine, you're right here to save me. "

"I heard you did that, right?" she asked, pointed to the wall I had cut.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, that was me. Used all my magic, so I can't blink or do magic anymore. Well, I can still do fake magic. " I took the coin out of my pocket and threw it off the edge. A second later, I opened my hand and showed that it was still there.

"Sorry you had to lose your magic. You saved a lot of lives. Thanks for that. "

"Your welcome. "

"What are you going to do now? No magic, no money, just what you have with you right now. "

"I'll probably have to go live with the humans, stealing money to live and trying not to get caught. "

She looked at me for a moment. "Just because you don't have any more magic doesn't mean you can't live in the Moors. "

"Thanks for the offer, but I have nothing to help you with. There's peace between the kingdoms, so you don't need a guard. The only other thing I'm good at is fake magic, and why would you need that when you have the real deal all over the Moors. "

"You paid a debt to me when you stayed in the Moors, now I want to repay mine by letting you stay. "

"A debt? You owe me nothing. You could've been killed trying to save me. "

"And you were almost killed doing the same to me. " She placed a hand on my shoulder, and I felt the magic coursing through her, more than she had ever had before. Magic began flowing through her to me, a golden light surrounding us. When she pulled her hand away, I had my magic back. I waved my hand and left gold trails, not blue.

"You should keep your magic, even if you have more than before. " I stood up and held out my hand palm up for her to take it back.

She held up her hand. "It's the least I could do. You lost your magic saving many fey, now I give it back to you, plus a little more. "

"Thank you. " She spread her wings to leave. "Maleficent, wasn't your magic green before?"

She smiled and took off. "Yes, it was, but it changed during the battle, " she said as she flew away. I watched her leave, shrinking into the distance. I stood on the edge of the tower, looking over the land with the setting sun. I focused on my tree in the Moors, and blinked. I arrived in one blink, which would've taken two or three blinks before. I grabbed my things from the tree, a few mostly empty vials, my lock pick, and a spare set of clothes. I washed the blood out of my clothes, let them dry, and then set off. I picked up a small stick off the ground and grew it into a walking stick.

I blinked into the castle walls, where Aurora was just entering the castle. "Aurora! " I called. She turned and smiled as I approached.

"Tom, nice to see you up and running again. You scared me when you fell off that tower. "

"Sorry about that. The fey fixed me up though. " I held out my hand to show the scar. "I was coming by to tell you that you probably won't see me again. I'm headed out to see the world, and I don't think I'll ever be back here. "

"I'm sorry to see you leaving. You're always welcome here if you need a place to stay. "

"Thanks for the offer. "

"Can I get you something before you leave? Food, backpack, some money?"

"Actually, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks. "

"Great, come on in. I'll go grab it for you. "

I waited in the main hall as Aurora grabbed the supplies. She came back a few minutes later. "Thank you. "

"Your welcome, and you can always drop by if you need a place to stay. "

"Goodbye. " I walked out the door and down the path to the castle gates and out into the streets, which were starting to fill up again with the townsfolk. I stopped by a potion stall to give back my vials and continued on, past the town, past the farmland, into the wide world.