He flinched as Ash put that cold hand to his snout,and he pulled away weakly as it reminded him of how Ash had so gingerly stroked his cracked snout back in the Iron Kingdom. He forced a grin,bloodied teeth and shaking limbs at the effort. "Heh,wow. I've never had an enemy that used the word please. Usually they would say "Do it or I'll kill you sooner than later.",or at least Shade would." He said,trying to force himself to think this funny but he couldn't. Not with how little he had left in him. "Just do something for me in return if I do." he said,looking Ash dead in the eyes with purple eyes fading of life slowly.

Ash returned the gaze, but in Ash's eyes, there was indecision there, the doubt, and the fear that he was sending Jason to his death. "Anything." He breathed the word, but his body was tensed, as if ready for Jason never wanting to see him again.

"Make sure neither you or Puck die." He said,forcing his own voice to be steady as he felt his body shake. Pain was in his own purple pools of eyes but also faint frustration and hate. Hate not truly for Ash but really for himself,and for letting himself fall for him. And that hate was helping him not to fall for him again any farther than he was stuck doing so already.

He nodded. "I swear on my life." He held the scepter out to Jason. A shriek echoed over the valley, and a dark shape wheeled toward them on leathery wings. Rowan was coming back.

The Thornguards were almost upon them. "Be careful," he said, a storm of emotion in those two simple words. The Thornguards charged with a roar. Ash spun toward them, blade flashing, as Puck gave a whooping battle cry and plunged into their midst.

The unicorn waited at the bottom of the hill, almost invisible in the mist, its horn more real than the rest of it. Even though the unicorn stood perfectly still, watching Jason, it was akin to walking up to a tiger that was tame and friendly, but still a tiger. It could either kneel and lay its head in his lap, or explode into violence and skewer him with that glimmering horn. Thankfully it did neither, standing motionless as a statue.

A piercing wail rent the air above them, and the shadow of the wyvern passed overhead. The unicorn jumped, flattening its ears, trembling with the effort not to bolt.

Jason was good enough with that,and gently took the scepter,holding it carefully and gently. He spread his wings and turned to the 'unicorn',nodding as to say okay. and pulled to a full stand,eyes full of pain and stretched,frail trust as he looked at the two for a moment before leaping toward the unicorn quickly with that elegance he never could remove from himself.

The unicorn made a fantastic leap over the rocks and landed at the edge of the icy field. For a moment, it hesitated, looking this way and that, trying to find an easier way in. A red-eyed hound sprang at the unicorn with a snarl, tongue lolling. The unicorn leaped nimbly aside, lashing out with its hooves. There was a crack and a yelp, and the hound fled into the mist on three legs.


Mab was on the far side of the river.


A bellow sounded behind them. The wyvern dived from the slope and glided toward the ground, straight for Jason. Rowan was on the wyverns back, sword drawn, his furious gaze fixed on Jason. With desperate whinny, the unicorn plunged into the heart of the battle. The unicorn bounded through the chaos, dodging weapons, leaping over obstacles, moving with terrifying speed. Around it, Summer and Winter fey tore and slashed at each other, screaming in fury, pain and pure, joyful bloodlust. A pair of trolls pounded stone clubs into a swarm of goblins, their shoulders and backs bristling with spears. A trio of redcaps dragged a wailing sylph from the air, ignoring the razor edge of her dragonfly wings, and buried her under their stabbing knives. Seelie knights in green and gold armor clashed swords with Unseelie warriors, their movements so graceful it looked like they were dancing, but their unearthly beauty was twisted with hate. The roar of the wyvern sounded directly above Jason, and the unicorn leaped aside quickly. The wyverns hooked, grasping talons slammed into a dwarf, and the bearded man screamed as he was torn away and lifted into the air, struggling weakly. The wyvern soared upward, and it dropped the still struggling dwarf to the rocks below. Wheeling in a lazy circle, it came for Jason again. The unicorn started weaving, a frantic, zigzag pattern. The wyvern wavered in the air, confused, then dove with another chilling wail. The unicorn dodged once more, but this time the wyvern passed too close.

They were in the middle of the field, still nowhere near the river, when the unicorn went down.

Jason kept up gracefully with the unicorn,trying his best to ignore the blood and terror around but he couldn't once the unicorn went down. He held the scepter careful in one front leg and a wing around it carefully but he spread those wings as he saw the creature go down,talons slashing at the wyvern with a snarl of bared bloodied teeth sharper than a great white sharks. He knew he most likely couldn't do anything for them now and gave a quick soft thank you and then gently lifted it into his wings and continued on,keeping it safe and dodging and leaping just as gracefully as it would have. He slid past weaponry and barely avoided getting his tail chopped off as he danced and dodged,not daring to attack but he feared the wyvern most likely chasing still above.

The fighting was thicker in the center of the battleground, where soldiers from both sides clashed together over the dead and the dying. The unicorn darted between the crowds, seeming to know exactly when a hole would open up, slipping through without slowing down. But Rowan was still on their tail. As the unicorn dodged the wyvern's pass for the third time, a huge, rocklike monster reared up from beneath the snow, swiping at them with a massive club. It clipped the unicorns front legs, and the graceful animal collapsed with a shrill whinny. Then the white shape of the unicorn reared up, pawing the air, slashing with its horn, before it was pulled under the black mass. Once more, the unicorn reared up, its white coat streaked with crimson, several dark things clinging to its back. With a shrill cry, the unicorn disappeared into the churning mass once more. This time, it didnt resurface.

The wyvern's hot breath on Jason's neck. The gaping, tooth-filled maw of the wyvern was about to fill Jason's whole vision, but the scepter was glowing, not blue or gold or green, but a pure, blinding white. Lightning shot from the rod, slamming into the wyvern's open mouth. The blast flung the lizard's head back, filling the air with the stench of charred flesh. At the same time, it was as something inside Jason broke, like a hammer striking glass, shattering into a million pieces. Sound, color, and emotion flooded his mind, a bottled-up wave of glamour pouring outward.


A pulse ripped through the air, flying outward. It knocked the nearest fighters off their feet and continued, spreading across the field. Jason definitely had their attention now. The scepter pulsed in his hold.

Fear struck him as well as the glamour shot out. He felt overwhelmed and he stared at the scepter,scared and confused. He didn't stare for long though,knowing that he must have been being watched by now and most likely would be attacked,and so he leaped up and around and lunged his body carefully around and leaped onward in his path toward the Winter Queen. He tried to look for her as he also tried to duck and dodge around,wings in tight as he tried to hold the scepter carefully and avoid whatever had just happened happening again.

(Dang drago,what you break this time? XD)

(This time, he broke the bond between his realm's power, and the fey realm's power, so now he has glamour xD Nothing bad. This time.)

A flickering light spilled over the crowd, making them mutter and draw back. Slowly, the crowd parted, and the air around Jason dropped several degrees, making his breath steam before his face. Mab came through the crowd on a huge white warhorse, her gown trailing behind her, her hair unbound and flowing down her back. The horse's hooves didnt quite touch the ground, and great gouts of steam billowed from its nostrils, wreathing the Winter Queen in a ghostly halo of fog. Her lips and nails were blue, her eyes as black as a starless night as she peered at him.

"Jason." The queens voice was a hiss, her perfect features terrifyingly blank. Her gaze flicked to the rod in his grip, and she smiled, cold and dangerous. "I see you have my scepter. So, is the Summer Court finally admitting their mistake?"


"No," came a strong voice before he could answer. "The Summer Court had nothing to do with stealing the scepter. You are the one who jumped to conclusions, Lady Mab."


And Oberon was there, sweeping through the crowd on a golden-bay stallion, flanked by a squad of elven knights. His faery mail glittered emerald and gold, bright links woven around protrusions of bark and bone, and an antlered helm rose above his head. "I told you before, Queen Mab," he said, speaking to Mab but still glaring at me, "I knew nothing of this, nor did I send my people to steal the scepter from you. You have started a war with us over a false pretense."

"So you say." Mab gave Jason a predatory smile. "But, it seems the Summer Court is still at fault, Erlking. You might have known nothing of the scepter, but the dragon admits his guilt by trying to return what is mine, hoping perhaps, that I will be merciful. Is that not correct, Jason?"