[b]Chapter 11: Beginning of the mayhem[/b]

Nobody moved. Nicolas and his little group could only stare with fearful eyes at the snow-white creature in front of them. Paleface was blocking their path, being well aware of this fact and she glared at the little group, measuring them with her blazing eyes. There was practically no emotion in her gaze, so it was hard to tell what she was thinking, which was typical of her kind. For a very brief moment her stare wandered to the group of sleeping Nightfolks, but soon her eyes were fixed again at Nicolas, Black Cat, Cedric and lord Alexander's son. No words were exchanged, there was only tension in the air. Each passing second felt like several minutes and everybody remained stationary like ice statues – until Paleface decided to move, which only increased the tension in the air.

She took a hold of her great battle axe she carried on her back, grasping its handle and slowly pulled the weapon out. Paleface kept her weapon ready and its sharp blade that had seen many battles was ready to spill more blood that it yearned; it was its sole purpose. It almost looked like she had fire in her eyes as she kept her glance tightly in the small group that had dared to intervene with her plans. Nicolas and his companions were afraid to move, because they all knew that Paleface would be able to swing her axe faster than anyone could act against her. Nicolas could feel the dread filling his heart, he had never been this terrified in his life. It was like a cold iron hand, grasping his heart so forcefully that he felt like it was freezing his blood. Frantically he was going through their options in his mind, but the more he was thinking about it, the more hopeless their situation seemed. There was no way Cedric could have enough time to put Paleface to sleep, she would probably cut his head off before he would manage to pluck the right strings. But what else could they do? They didn't have weapons – though it did come to his mind that they could steal weapons from the sleeping Nightfolks. But they were no warriors; Paleface could easily mow them down. Another dead end.

While Nicolas was going through several scenarios in his mind – most of them ending in disaster – Paleface broke the tense silence: “Give the boy to me. Now.”

After her demand, the lord's son hid behind Cedric and peeked fearfully from this hiding spot. Paleface gave them a minute to do what she had commanded, staring at the boy without blinking an eye.

Since nothing happened after a short moment, she spoke again: “Your lives mean nothing to me. Give me the boy or I will cut you to pieces.”

Her tone was serious and threatening. There was no doubt that she would be able to fulfill her threat. She took one step closer to the group and they correspondingly took a step backwards. Bit by bit the space started to feel significantly smaller than what it was a while ago.

Nicolas couldn't take his eyes off of the great axe. He desperately wanted to run away, escape its bloodthirsty blade, but he knew that he couldn't possibly do that. But the panic kept growing, taking root inside his mind and he couldn't think properly anymore.

Then he could hear a voice, barely audible than a whisper, and it came from Black Cat's mouth: “Use your magic, Nicolas.”

Magic? He wanted for him to use magic? He didn't even know how it worked! All he could think about was running away.

And unfortunately, Paleface had heard those silent words as well. Her fiery gaze got nailed at Nicolas and she stared at him intently, even thoughtfully. She stayed terrifyingly quiet for a moment, but then she spoke, though mostly muttering to herself: “So you're the wizard that I need…”

Paleface was a quick thinker, like a good leader should. She took another step closer to the group, forcing them to back off even more – they all were painfully aware that this situation wouldn't last for long, especially because Paleface looked like she was ready to strike at any second. She was still staring at Nicolas, it almost felt like that she had forgotten the presence of the rest of the group.

“You, wizard”, she addressed her words at Nicolas, “you are coming with me, along with the boy.”

Nicolas was frozen with fear, he couldn't move an inch, everything he saw were the blazing eyes that wanted to scorch him entirely. He barely heard the shrill whimper that left the lord's son's mouth. It was almost like he had switched realities and was now trapped in a place where only dread resided. 

It didn't help at all what Paleface said next: “Get moving or I will cut you to pieces. I don't need your limbs.”

She took one more step closer, but this time the young wizard wasn't able to move. His amber eyes were filled with horror, horrible visions running inside his mind. Then Paleface made one more step closer, but Nicolas couldn't move, he was captivated by the flames in her eyes. Slowly and menacingly Paleface took a couple of more steps forward, and from the subtle movements you could tell that she was ready to swing her axe, allowing it to taste young flesh and blood.

She raised her weapon. One thought managed to cross the fog of terror in the mind of Nicolas: he would die now. This was the end.

But something broke the spell of the blazing eyes and Nicolas could see a small black figure leaping towards Paleface: Black Cat. However, his size grew and his fur began to fade and soon he had taken the form of a young man with a black hair. His bushy tail didn't go anywhere though, and Nicolas noticed that his ears weren't the ones of a human, they belonged to some furry critter. Small bones that had been tied to the shreds of his vest were clattering as he moved smoothly. Bravely he plunged in front of their group and in a blink of an eye he created a magical bright shield with hues of blue and purple dancing in its core. Paleface's axe hit against it, causing sparks to fly around those two.

Nicolas snapped out of his world of terror and was now staring at the clash of Black Cat and Paleface with wide eyes. There was still fear in his heart, but it kept decreasing as he watched how two completely different forces were fighting against each other. Paleface kept swinging her axe, but the magical shield Black Cat had made didn't show any signs of breaking. This only fueled Paleface's wrath and she attempted to crush the defense of the young man, but just like his shield, there was no indication of him getting tired. Sparks continued to fly in every direction as Paleface was relentlessly pounding against the protective spell. Nicolas, Cedric and the lord's son were watching in awe at this spectacular scene in front of them.

Then Black Cat started to prepare for something else. The little group behind him could see how he was focusing his energy, but the Nightfolk leader wasn't aware of this as she couldn't see past through the shield. Spheres of golden glow began to gather at Black Cat's hands, creating even a bigger orb of light. Once it had charged long enough, Black Cat released its energy and a really bright explosion followed it. So blinding was the light of the burst that Nicolas couldn't look at it and covered his eyes with his arm – Cedric and the lord's son probably doing the same gesture. Once the light had faded, Nicolas could see what had just happened.

Paleface had collapsed on the floor. It seemed like she was still alive, just unconscious at the moment. It wasn't surprising that after such incredible force had hit her that she would be knocked out. From her body, Nicolas' gaze shifted at the winner of this match. Black Cat had been standing back at the rest of the group and had remained in that position for a while. But finally he turned around and Nicolas could get a better look at him, seeing him for the first time in human form.

Nicolas had to admit that Black Cat had very handsome facial features. He had a slightly narrow face and a bit of a beard on his chin. He still had the same deep blue eyes as in his cat form and his messy hair was just as black as his fur had been. Nicolas didn't know what he had expected Black Cat to look like in a human form, but he certainly hadn't anticipated for him to look that handsome. For a brief moment their gazes met and the two young men stared at each other. And Nicolas wondered, why did Black Cat always stay in the form of a cat? But before he managed to ask that question out loud, Black Cat had already started to turn into a cat again; his figure shrunk in size and his clothes and skin changed into a black fur. In a matter of a couple of seconds, he was now standing at his spot as a cat once more.

“We should get moving”, Black Cat said as his transformation was complete. “She won't stay unconscious forever. We need to get the kid back to his father.”

“I agree”, Cedric responded and started to already take steps towards the stairs. He partly glanced behind him where the lord's son had been hiding and asked him: “Can you show us the way to your father's room?”

The little boy had recovered from his fright and was now just as enthusiastic as he had been when the group had set him free. He was already bouncing towards the stairs while he exclaimed: “Yeah, he's in one of the towers! I'll show you the way!”

He was very energetic and also probably very excited to see his father again after such a long time and had begun to rush down the stairs so Nicolas, Black Cat and Cedric had to quicken their pace so they could follow his fast going. They were descending the stairs until they came back to the bottom floor where they had come from. In this labyrinth of corridors, the lord's son kept hurrying forward and the castle still seemed to slumber as their little group didn't encounter other living beings.

Until they finally did.

The group stopped on their tracks as soon as they noticed some movement in the shadows and they got tense immediately. However, they could let out a sigh of relief when it turned out that it was just a human guard, one of lord Alexander's men. The armored man came to a halt as well as he saw them and was then eyeing their little group curiously. But as soon as he realized who was leading them, his eyes widened from surprise.

“Young master Kendrick!” he said and bowed down a little to the boy. “How good to see you safe and healthy! Did these people help you get out of the tower?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, we're going to my dad's room!”

“Let me escort you there”, the guard suggested and smiled gently.

“Okay!” Kendrick exclaimed on behalf of the whole group, however, no one had anything against this idea, actually, it felt more safe that they had a soldier with them in case they would run into trouble with Nightfolks.

“Just follow me”, the guard said and turned around, heading to the darkness. The little group went after him, Kendrick at the front.

It didn't take them long to get back to the great double doors which Nicolas had admired just a while ago. They still weren't going through them as the guard kept walking past the doors. Then they found themselves from yet another corridor which branched into many different passages and this section seemed very much identical with the one they had just traversed. And just like previously, the group was walking through the corridor by staying on the same path, but made a couple of turns here and there, and then found themselves from the root of another set of stairs. The guard began to climb them and so the group followed him.

“Lord Alexander's bedroom is located on the highest tower”, the guard said. “So, be prepared for climbing.”

Soon the group realized that the guard wasn't joking. The spiraling stairs just kept going higher and higher, passing many windows that revealed it was still dark outside. There were a few points in this journey to the lord's room when Nicolas thought that they should be almost at their destination, only to be proven that wasn't the case. At one instant the young wizard had pondered were the stairs endless, but right after this thought had entered his mind, they finally reached the highest platform. Everyone was panting more or less, but Kendrick seemed to have infinite energy and he quickly dashed towards the door of the only room there was, not bothering to knock as he did so. He wrenched the door open and hurried inside, disappearing from the group's sight for a brief moment.

Nicolas, Black Cat, Cedric and the guard made it to the door just in time to witness a sweet reunion of father and son.

“Dad!” Kendrick had shouted as he ran towards lord Alexander who had been doing something by the fireplace until he had been interrupted.

“Kendrick!” Lord Alexander spread his arms and welcomed his son wholeheartedly, closing him in a tight hug. “I have missed you so much!”

“I've missed you too, dad!” Kendrick replied while returning the tightest hug he could possibly do.

The little group stayed at the door, spectating at their happy moment. It was so sweet to see them like this, loving each other. In that moment Nicolas, Black Cat and Cedric knew that rescuing the lord's son had been the right thing to do. They were all wearing smiles on their faces as they continued to watch the touching reunion.

After some time lord Alexander raised his head to look at the group. He still looked tired, but his desperation had faded away, replaced by joy he probably hadn't felt in a long time. “You did it! You saved my son! Thank you so much!”

Then he gave another tight hug to his son. But soon he released him and he looked at the guard.

“Gather as many men as you can, Colton”, Alexander said. “Let's drive Nightfolks out of our town.”

The guard gave a respectful bow to the lord. “Yes, sir.”

And with that, the guard rushed to fulfill the lord's order. His heavy footsteps soon faded away and Alexander looked at Nicolas, Black Cat and Cedric. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

“It's unfortunate that things have come to this”, lord Alexander stated. “Skygold Town used to have a good relationship with the Nightfolks. But Paleface… she has changed everything.”

“Do you know what her goal is?” Black Cat suddenly asked.

Lord Alexander was mildly surprised to hear him speaking, he probably hadn't expected him to be able to talk. But he got over it soon and said: “She is preparing an attack against other Nightfolks. It's a sad story, really… She just wants to be acknowledged as a great warrior by the others. She has been discriminated against because of her fur color, white is considered as a color of weakness among her kind. It seems like she has had to prove her worth throughout her whole life because of it. Yes… she told me this just a while ago.”

A recent memory of Paleface surfaced into Nicolas' mind. That tall and muscular body, the might she had when she was swinging her great axe… How could anyone think that she was weak? Nicolas couldn't understand that at all, but then again, he didn't know much about Nightfolks – or about Paleface. But after hearing lord Alexander's words, he felt sort of sad for the Nightfolk leader.

“So… what's going to happen now?” Nicolas asked.

“We will break the formations of the Nightfolks”, Alexander responded. “And hopefully force them out of the town. I truly wish that things will get normal again soon.” He smiled at the little group. “You have helped tremendously with freeing Skygold Town from the clutches of the Nightfolks. I promise that you will be rewarded, but not right now.”

Lord Alexander walked to a small round table which had beautiful carvings on its sides. There was a tiny golden bell resting on it, but the lord picked it up and shook it, causing it to chime with a pleasing sound. Nicolas was also seeing a faint puff of blue dust coming out of it, but he wasn't sure if he had truly seen something.

“Let me offer you a place to stay tonight. It's the least I can do”, lord Alexander said.

“Thank you for your kindness”, Cedric said. “We appreciate it.”

After a short moment, they could hear light footsteps coming from the stairs and soon a young man dressed in the simple servant's clothing appeared. He hurried to the lord's room and bowed down, ready to take orders from Alexander.

“Take these men to the guest room”, the lord commanded.

“Yes, sir”, the servant said.

He was ready to leave and lead the little group, but before they managed to get going, Cedric stepped towards the lord and said: “I have a little word of advice, if you would be kind and listen.”

Alexander made a gesture with his hand, encouraging the bard to say whatever was on his mind. “I'm all ears.”

“We encountered Paleface when rescuing your son”, Cedric said. “And we… well, she was knocked out. She probably is very angry whenever she wakes up. I suggest that you protect yourself and your son from her wrath.”

The lord nodded. “Thank you for telling me this. I'll send a few men to guard your room, since it's possible she will target you as well. Don't worry, I'll deal with her.”

Then Nicolas, Black Cat and Cedric began to follow the servant, leaving the lord alone with his son. They started to descend the stairs, but didn't go all the way down. The servant guided them to one of the floors that felt like it was one of the middle ones. It was better lit than the bottom floor and seemed more spacious. The little group passed many windows and Nicolas noted that the sky had started to lighten; the dawn was about to come. They had been up all night, no wonder that he felt tired.

Soon they found themselves walking on a well-lit hallway. It seemed quite homey and apparently this was their destination as the servant opened one of the many doors that could be accessed from this corridor. He held the door open for the little group and bowed down to them as they entered the room.

“You can stay here. I wish you a good night”, he said and closed the door after them. His hurried receding steps was an indication that he had left them alone.

Curiously Nicolas glanced around the guest room. It was quite a cozy place, there were five beds in total and there was a fireplace, even though there was no fire burning in it at that moment. The place was nicely furnished with small tables, chairs and cabinets. A huge window gave a fine view over Skygold Town, though since it was still dark, there wasn't much to see.

“What a nice room”, Cedric said, mostly to himself as he let his gaze wander around the room, then he sat down on the edge of one of the beds.

“Yeah, it's pretty cozy”, Nicolas admitted.

He yawned and chose to take the bed that was closest to the window. Once he was by its side, he took off most of his clothes, leaving only his pants on. Then he decided to lay down, pulling the blanket over him, and he enjoyed how soft and comfortable his bed was. It had been a while since he had slept on a bed this pleasant. He closed his eyes, not really paying attention to what Black Cat and Cedric were doing.

“Well, good night”, Nicolas managed to mumble to the other two.

“Good night”, Black Cat and Cedric said in unison.

This had been such a long night. It felt like days had passed… Nicolas had been captured by Nightfolks, then heard an awful confession from Edgar, but had soon been rescued by Black Cat and Cedric, only to get requested by lord Alexander to save his son… And then he met Paleface…

It did bother him, though, the deal with the Nightfolk leader. She had been so fearsome, the way she had looked at him. She wanted him for some reason, but he still didn't know why. He could feel chills run down his spine as he remembered how Paleface had threatened to cut off his limbs. What if she would come to look for him while he's asleep? The thought gave him anxiety for the rest of the night, even though he tried to reassure himself that lord Alexander had planned to station some guards by their room. But Nicolas was so tired after this exhausting day that it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. And in his dreams, his worries conjured up nightmares about blazing eyes and a mighty axe that was thirsty for his blood.