Suddenly her bow is in hand and the witchwood arrow is set in place, aimed at his heart. She stays serious, her eyes locked on their target as she draws her arm back. She stays silent as she lets it go, it darts out towards his heart, spinning in a straight line right towards his chest.

(I'm sorry, but you didn't really think I was going to make it that easy, did you?)

The knights shouted in alarm and started forward, but they were too late.


And Machinas cloak came alive.


Silvery cables unraveled with lightning speed, springing from his shoulders and spine. They spread around Machina like a halo of metal wings, wickedly barbed on one end, needle points glinting in the light. They whipped forward to protect the Iron King, knocking the Witchwood away, sending it flying in another direction. The arrow struck a metal tree and snapped in two, fluttering to the ground in pieces

Lin gasps. Kerris fur puffs out.

(Of course not, I was hoping you'd make it interesting! :D Let's get the excitement going!)

She sneers, her bow and arrows already in place and arrows were already flying towards the army, hitting their targets with direct precision.

The guards rushed them, their swords raised, and it seemed that they came with a certain detachment. Ash was trying to get to his feet to protect them, even though he knew it was too late. The arrow had failed and they were about to die.

"Stop."


Machinas voice wasnt loud. He didnt scream or bellow the order, but every knight jerked to a halt as if pulled by an invisible string. The Iron King floated down from his throne, the cables writhing slowly behind him like hungry snakes. His feet touched the floor, and he smiled at them, completely unconcerned with the fact that they had just tried to kill him.


"Leave," he told the knights without taking his eyes from them. Several of them jerked their heads up in surprise.


"My king?" stammered one, and his voice was recognizable. Quintus, one of the knights who'd been with Ironhorse in the mines. Maybe Tertius was here, too.

Lin moves closer to Claire. Kerri, however, is far from afraid. But, Kerri being Kerri, he shows this by trying to order Machina.

She glares at Ash, silently telling him to stay put. She looks back up, staring at the king silently.

"The lady is uncomfortable with your presence," Machina went on, not looking away from Lin. "I do not wish her to be uncomfortable. Go. I will take care of her, and the Winter prince, and the rest of them."


"But, sire--"


Machina didnt move. One of his cables whipped out, almost too fast to see, punching through the knights armor and out his back. The cable lifted Quintus high in the air and threw him into the wall. Quintus clanged against the metal and slumped motionless to the ground, a jagged hole through his breastplate. Dark, oily blood pooled beneath him.


"Leave," Machina repeated softly, and the knights scrambled to obey. They filed out through the door and slammed it shut, and they were alone with the Iron King.


Machina regarded Lin with depthless black eyes. "You are as beautiful as I imagined," he said, walking forward, his cables coiling behind him. "Beautiful, fiery, determined." He stopped a few yards away, the cables settling back into that living cloak. "Perfect."

She stayed in front of Lin, glaring at the king.

Kerri snarls and lunges at the Iron King.