The Enemy of my Prison Warden is my Temporary Ally [Darth/BP]

The Enemy of my Prison Warden is my Temporary Ally
- Flayre, the Great Fairy of Desire (1/5/3 Great Fairy) [Darth_Slaverus] Reward: Elegy of Emptiness, Breeze Whisper [Instant Whisper].
- Kryssie Tyrannith, Brooding Hermit (1/4/4 Kokiri) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Plague, +10 Rupees.

Kryssie sighed, watching as a few Kokiri left the village and headed into the forest to play hide-and-seek or some other frivolous game. By now, she knew better than to try and slip out with them; she had studied the magic the Great Deku Tree used to keep her prisoner within the village, and it was a barrier that very specifically affected her. No one else even noticed there was anything there. Angry, she took out her wand and gave a little prod at the bee that was peacefully sleeping on her hand, prompting it to wake up and fly off. She'd had no luck summoning more of them, but she knew she was on to something.

Putting the wand back, she put her hands behind her back and started to walk back to her house. It was a path she could walk with her eyes closed now, and she did so, lost in thought. She had to review what she'd written. Barging through the village with her eyes closed, she bumped into someone. "Watch where you're going," she sneered, prompting the girl to step aside so she could continue on her way. Once at home, she put her wand down on her desk and pulled a few papers towards herself. She knew the creatures she wanted to summon, and she had established a theoretical maximum area of coverage. There was a flaw in the spell somewhere. She just had to find it and fix it.

And that was a hell of a lot easier without chittering and pattering idiots around with their fluttering glowbugs.

Good help was so hard to find these days.

Since her reawakening, Flayre, the self-proclaimed Great Fairy of Desire, had hungered to replace the retinues she had lost over the years. Alas, acquiring worthy retainers was easier said than done, and the North was a poor location for a recruitment drive anyhow. Hylians were skilled servants, but altogether too short-lived for her purposes; they could scarcely draw a breath without succumbing to the relentless march of time! She recalled the warm embrace of the Knight, the undying loyalty of the High Priestess... The names of her former paramours eluded her, swallowed up by the vortex of history, but they were irrelevant. She did remember their deeds, which was enough to put her in a melancholy mood. Why did such fine subjects have to wither away so quickly? It was not fair, especially when the other mortal races left much to be desired.

Gorons and Moblins? Hideous! No dignified woman would dare to be seen in their company. Zoras? Intriguing, but unpleasant to touch. Ritos? Too stubbornly loyal to that overgrown lizard, Valoo, to be converted en masse. What was a goddess to do?

Certain that she would never find what she sought among the cities and towns of the North, Flayre had at last returned to the land of her birth, the Kokiri Forest. Here dwelt some of the world's most ancient beings, creatures unfettered by the concept of aging. These were the followers she would need to fulfill her dreams of retribution against the realm... Of course, there were foes as well as friends amid the thickets: The Great Deku Tree, architect of her sorrow, claimed dominion over the sacred forest. Wary of his wrath, Flayre had kept out of sight as she penetrated deeper into the woods. She did not doubt that he was aware of her presence, for his agents were everywhere, yet he had not moved against her, even as she had drawn close to the village of the Kokiri. Perhaps he did not realize the extent of the threat she possessed? She would make him pay dearly for his oversight, then. All it took to bathe a place in darkness was one person... and she could cast a very long shadow, indeed.

For several days now she had spied upon the Kokiri's hamlet, hiding in the upper reaches of trees to avoid detection. Currently, she was on the fifth day of her vigil, perched atop a thick branch that jutted out from a massive oak. From this vantage point, she watched the village below like a hawk, digging the knuckles of her right hand into her cheek as she waited. Despite their immortality, the Kokiri were not ideal servants. Their devotion to the Great Deku Tree was sickening, and their childlike bodies were not to her tastes. But there were always exceptions. One Kokiri in particular had caught her interest: A dark-haired little girl who seemed to be having trouble fitting in. Even from a distance, Flayre could tell that the child was an outcast... The other Kokiri avoided the girl like the plague, seemingly out of fear. A kindred spirit? The manipulative Great Fairy never thought of anyone as an equal, but this Kokiri appeared to be of sufficiently like mind to be considered a potential ally. She just needed a chance to speak with the child...

Fortunately, a golden opportunity promptly reared its head as the misanthropic Kokiri came into view briefly before disappearing into a quaint, ugly little hovel, while at the same time a large group of Kokiri departed the village. With so few witnesses about, it was now or never. Swinging her legs over the side of the branch, Flayre took flight, swooping toward the girl's house. She did not intend to simply land and walk through the front door; she would procure an alternative means of entry. It would prove an apt lesson for her soon-to-be servant: That no door was ever barred to Flayre, Great Fairy of Desire.

Coming to a hovering halt next to one of the cottage's windows, Flayre pulled out her wand and recited an incantation. Without warning, a powerful gust of wind issued forth from the tip of the wand, blasting the glass pane of the window straight off its hinges and sending it sailing into the home proper, whereupon it impacted with the wall and shattered. Yawning at the ease of the effort, Flayre leaned forward and called out as loud as she dared.

"Child...?"

Okay... the trick was to get a firm grasp on the form of a single creature and then expand that visualisation to a swarm. But while expanding her mental image, she couldn't lose sight of the detailed form of the single creature. How was she to maintain a strong magical focus upon both at once..? Maybe if she-- What the actual hell?! She jolted out of her chair and sailed towards the ground when the window behind her was blown out of its hinges and banged loudly upon the wall she had been facing, breaking into too many pieces for her to count in the blink of an eye. Not that she cared to.

For a second, she debated staying on the ground or getting up and defending herself. It didn't help that she had no idea where the attack had come from - for she knew it was an attack, an attempt at her life. Had the Deku finally gotten fed up with her? Had the Deku Tree finally decided she was too much of a threat and a problem to let live? Or had there been something far more psychopathic and less subtle than her been lurking among the Kokiri all along? Well, whatever it was, they would know that Kryssie Tyrannith did not go down without a fight!

When she heard a voice calling, she snatched her wand from where the sudden movements around it had sent it to the floor and got onto one knee, waving the implement up and shouting a magic word. At the command, a wind gust in spherical dimensions launched from the tip of her wand and towards the window, towards her attacker. She didn't wait around to see if it connected, instead drawing a line pointing her wand at the floor by the window. At another word of power, thick, green, and barbed tentacles shot up from the ground. They weren't overly tough, but a better barrier than nothing.

She took a step back, attention on the window and wand clutched in her hand as she tried to hear anything...

Deftly skating to the left to dodge the magical bolt that shot out from the now-empty window frame, Flayre's lips curled into a wicked smile. What spirit! A normal Kokiri would have fled or cowered in terror. That this one should immediately resort to violence... As always, her discerning eye was impeccable, her judgments unfailingly accurate! The sheer pleasure she derived from the validation of her suspicions was enough to offset the outrage she felt at being attacked. Flayre had, of course, killed many for far lesser transgressions, but she would let the Kokiri girl's insolence go unpunished just this once. She supposed she could understand the desire to defend one's home, even if it were a trash heap.

Keeping her wand trained on the window, Flayre watched in disgust as a cluster of grotesque tentacles materialized, filling the gap left by her earlier act of vandalism. Really, what WAS that girl doing in there?! Had she been at her full strength, Flayre would have sliced through the repulsive tendrils with her magic and put an end to this foolishness. As it was, she was at an impasse until the Kokiri revealed herself. This called for a bit of tact. Sighing at the utter inconvenience that was the free will of others, the Great Fairy spoke.

"Peace, child! I am not your enemy. I have come to rescue you from the Deku Tree's clutches..." Flayre stated aloud. That would get her attention. She paused for a moment, letting the offer sink in, then added dryly, "I know you can hear me, child. Do not try my patience, or your only hope for freedom shall be forever lost. Come outside and show yourself."

The threat of a missed opportunity would spur even the most stoic hearts to action, especially when said opportunity concerned one's own liberty. Flayre knew that better than anyone else...

Kryssie heard the intruder's voice from outside, and was thrown into doubt. The creatures of the forest were devious. Not to mention wistful- they could offer salvation one day and be the exact ones to plunge you into Death Mountain the next. Her own moodiness was nothing compared to theirs. In addition, this particular one had just attacked her. The way it addressed her indicated it was definitely not a Kokiri, and the way it spoke of the Deku Tree implied it wasn't one of the Deku that kept a watchful eye on the forest, either. So what was it? Maybe Kryssie's dabbling had finally caught the attention of something more than she could handle.

Nonsense. There was nothing she couldn't handle, some things just took more... preparation than others. But this creature had not given her much time to prepare. If it spoke truly, this was her one and only chance. If it betrayed her... then she could at least use this opportunity to get a good look at its magic, its power, and reverse engineer it back into something she could use. She grinned to herself. When Kokiri Forest gives you a wistful and unreliable spirit... you plan for unreliability. "Wait," she said, raising her wand and wiping the grin from her face. "Don't go." She made a motion as if tapping on something in front of her, causing the tentacles to retract back into the ground and vanish as if they'd never been there. She then crossed her arms. "For future reference, most variants of the Hylian language don't use 'rescue' as synonymous with 'damn near kill.' Who are you?"

Such a filthy mouth... Clearly nobody had ever bothered to teach this vulgar little Kokiri any form of manners. Flayre had half a mind to storm over to the girl and scrub her mouth out with soap, yet she held herself in check. Doling out discipline to disrespectful subordinates was one of her favourite things to do, but there was no need to get physical when she could instead prove that her acerbic wit was by far the greater of the two.

"As someone who has actually ventured beyond this leafy prison, I should think my grasp of the 'Hylian language' exceeds yours, child. Had I any intention of harming you, we would not be having this conversation, I assure you. Now, if you're done making a fool out of yourself, hold your tongue a moment, and I will grace you with my identity." Flayre spoke with a disarmingly gentle tone despite the biting nature of her reply, in the same manner a mother might reprimand an unruly child, hoping to shame the Kokiri into silence.

Satisfied that she had demonstrated her superiority, the Great Fairy slouched in midair, as if seated upon some invisible throne, and brandished her Aroma Ring before continuing. Loathe as she was to admit it, words alone might not be enough to coax some loyalty out of the volatile Kokiri; her signet would be her insurance.

"I am Flayre, the Great Fairy of Desire, a granter of wishes and enemy to the 'Great' Deku Tree. I have watched you for some time, child, and it saddens me to see such a lovely girl languish in this unseemly backwater. The pain of being shackled is all-too familiar to me... Why don't we be friends? If you are willing to grant me your trust and aid, I can help you escape... What do you say? Will you tell me your name, little one?" As she attempted to persuade the Kokiri, Flayre repeatedly made a kicking motion with her foot, her eyes firmly fixated on her toes. It was a deliberate tactic: By focusing on something other than the girl, Flayre would give the impression that she might change her mind at any moment, strongly encouraging the Kokiri to give a polite, decisive answer.

A Great Fairy? Like hell she was. It was true that Kryssie sensed great power radiating off of Flayre, but it was nothing like what she had been taught the Great Fairies were. Still, power was power... She didn't doubt that Flayre could help her escape, she just questioned the woman's motives in doing so. With that being said, however, this was her one and only chance to get out. It couldn't hurt to play along.

She lowered her head as if the Great Fairy's words had left an impact on her and muttered an apology. "My name is Kryssie," she said, deliberately leaving out her last name. She knew that spells existed that demanded knowledge of the target's true name- by only giving her given name, she protected herself from those. "And you guessed correctly; I have neither desire nor reason to stay in Kokiri Forest. However, I angered the Great Deku Tree in years past, and today, he uses his power to forcibly keep me inside the boundaries of the village." She looked up, as hopeful as she could make herself look. "What can you do to help me?"

Triumph! What an expertly conducted negotiation! In one masterful stroke, Flayre had extracted an apology and some measure of obedience from the rebellious Kokiri, while giving up nothing in return save for meaningless pleasantries. To deny others their wont and yet preserve your own... Such was the mark and privilege of a goddess. Sometimes she even amazed herself, and this was one of those times.

Once she had finished basking in the elation of her victory, Flayre shifted her attentions back toward the newly introduced Kryssie, her ruse of disinterest no longer necessary. In the wake of the Great Fairy's unspoken ultimatum, the girl had cracked, swiftly changing her tune from one of paranoid hostility to one of courteous curiosity. My, but she must have been terrified by the thought of the offer being retracted! Perhaps she had the makings of a proper lady after all; one who recognized her betters and acted accordingly.

"Well! That withered old oak is an utter brute, isn't he? Poor girl." Flayre allowed a twinge of genuine sympathy to enter her voice, though its magnitude was greatly exaggerated. "To answer your question, there are a great many things I can do for you, Kryssie. But first and foremost, I can give you what you desire above all else..." She paused, savouring the thrill of a perfectly baited trap. The revelation would be a moment of high drama; Flayre waited until it seemed like Kryssie might burst from the anticipation before revealing her trump card.

"... I can make the barrier fall."

She could make the barrier fall. Or at least, she claimed she could. Kryssie didn't dare assume Flayre had fallen for her act, although she seemed to have- that could just as easily have been an act of her own. Still, in the off case that this spirit was stupid, she kept it up, her face lighting up. "The barrier..?" she repeated, "Can you really?!" She grabbed her wand and stuck it back into her belt, looking for her bag and starting to gather clothes. This didn't take more than a minute, and then she rushed over to the window. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Convinced that her enthusiasm had either convinced Flayre or at least thrown her off-guard, she jumped out the window to land on the ground before she looked at the spirit again. "Come to think of it... why would you want to help me? What's in it for you?"

As an accomplished actress herself, Flayre saw straight through Kryssie's pathetic little charade. The Great Fairy might have fallen for the Kokiri's trickery, had the girl not followed up her initial exuberance with a cynical inquiry regarding Flayre's motives. Stupid brat. Maintaining a consistent facade was one of the most basic rules of deception, yet this girl had failed to do so. Examining all the angles was clever, but being transparent about it was not. Like so many would-be schemers before her, Kryssie's downfall was that she believed her intellect to be far greater than it actually was. She had much to learn about The Game, and it fell to Flayre to tutor her in the harsh realities of a world filled with plots and plans...

"Ah-ah-ah! Nothing comes for free in this world, Kryssie. Not even wishes, I'm afraid." Flayre clucked her tongue and wagged her finger at the Kokiri condescendingly for a moment, then began to toy with a lock of her hair. She made a point of keeping her wand clutched tightly in her right hand, ready to spring into action should Kryssie get any strange ideas about who was truly in control. "First, you must perform a task for me, to prove that you are worthy of my gift. But, as a sign of good faith, I shall tell you why I have decided to help you."

Leaning forward, Flayre began to speak in a hushed, conspiratorial manner, as if she were about to unveil some terrible secret. "You see, not many share our rather enlightened viewpoint. That is, that the Great Deku Tree and his ilk are nothing more than iron-fisted tyrants. We have many common foes, and I would love a chance to converse freely with my fellow freedom-fighters. More than that, however, I suspect that we could be of great use to one another. You could be my eyes and ears, and in return, I will be your weapon of vengeance against those who oppose you... or anything else that you desire, really. My title is no idle boast; I am quite generous when it comes to rewarding those who serve my aims. Together, I feel we could achieve much greater heights of power than either of us could alone."

That was a bit of a lie, of course. Flayre's sorcery was in no way impeded by her current lack of minions. Servants were simply luxuries that she enjoyed, expedience given physical form. It would be best to let Kryssie think otherwise, though.

"What say you? Would I not be pleasant company?"

Well, Kryssie didn't know about pleasant. But if -and only if- Flayre was as powerful as she suggested she was, then she would be useful company to have. Of course, the Kokiri had absolutely no intention of serving the spirit for eternity. What was the point in exchanging one tyrant for another? No, as soon as she was out of here, she would go her own way. But in order to get out of here, she needed Flayre's help. That much had been established. And Kryssie was a master manipulator- she could feign servitude if it got her what she wanted.

"Certainly," she said, smiling. Something felt wrong, though. A very subtle change in the spirit's attitude... mentality? Had something changed? Had she blown her cover..? No, for now she had to assume she hadn't. If she changed her behaviour suddenly now, she would certainly give herself away. Better not risk that, and instead make Flayre think she imagined whatever had given her away... if she had noticed in the first place. "What would you have me do?"

"Mmmmm... What indeed?"

Though Flayre knew fine well what she wanted, she neglected to make a request immediately, instead using the prolonged silence to further scrutinize Kryssie. The girl's tone had shifted again, becoming unfailingly polite as she pledged her subservience. Narrowing her eyes, the contemptuous Great Fairy pondered the significance of this development. Had Flayre's flowery rhetoric convinced her? Or was this a ruse? Either way, a quick learner... It would take time, she supposed. Loyalty aged like a fine wine. Once you had sunk to the deepest depths of depravity, it was oh-so-difficult to crawl back out... Kryssie's initial intentions mattered not, so long as Flayre defiled her spirit and bent her to her will.

At last deciding to give voice to her desire, Flayre allowed her features to soften and her expression to brighten, employing her signature smile to full effect. She was beautiful, no sense in hiding it.

"Ah, yes. Children are known for their love of songs, and your kind, the Kokiri, are no different. There is one particular song I have longed to hear in my travels... It is called the Elegy of Emptiness. A quaint and melancholy title, but it is no mere melody. It is a song of great and ancient power, power I would harness for my own ends. I am certain that this aria's lyrics, as well as the knowledge of how to perform them, are hidden here, in this village. This will be your quest. Go, find the secrets of the Elegy, and bring them to me. Do so, and I will grant you the only freedom you will ever know."

She considered leaving it at that, but Flayre's greed compelled her to add, in the sweetest timbre she could muster, an extra condition: "Of course, a true lady always exceeds the expectations set forth for her. Mayhap you could procure an additional gift of your own choosing to display your gratitude for this wonderful opportunity?"

A song? And the Elegy of Emptiness, no less. Kryssie knew what the song was and what it did, of course. It was one of many enchanted pieces of sheet music in Hyrule, but it was one she had never been particularly interested in. It created a statue of the performer, but that statue was immobile and clearly distinguishable as just that- a statue. She personally didn't see the use in it, but she supposed there had to be some sort of potency in it for Flayre to want it and for the Great Deku Tree to protect it.

She hesitated before answering, needing a few seconds to decide on an attitude. "I... think I may know a few spots where it could be hidden. I might need a day or so to find it, though... more if I'm mistaken. Perhaps we could meet up somewhere at a later time for the exchange?"

"What? Yes, yes. Of course." Flayre dismissed Kryssie with a wave of her hand, impatience seeping into her tone. She had found the Kokiri's lack of an immediate response to be rather irksome, doubly so when she finally spoke up only to ask a question. Honestly! Why must her newest servants always pester her over every petty detail? Couldn't they figure these things out themselves? Flayre missed being able to expect blind obedience from her minions, missed the days where she could command her thralls to jump and they would ask how high.

The inherent irony of her own inner musings was lost on her.

Sheathing her wand, Flayre began to flutter her wings, preparing to take flight once more. As she started to ascend, she glanced downward at Kryssie one last time. "When you have done as I have asked, return here, to this very spot, and invoke my name. I shall be waiting for you. Take as long as you need, but be warned: With each passing second we risk detection. If you are discovered... You will lose your chance forever."

Without giving Kryssie an opportunity to reply to her ominous statement, Flayre shot upwards and vanished into the trees, leaving the Kokiri alone with her thoughts.

Well, that seemed simple enough. Once she was certain Flayre was out of sight and hearing range, Kryssie scoffed. Of course she knew where the lyrics and sheet music were hidden. She knew every damnable nook and cranny of Kokiri Village; it was all she had had to explore since the barrier had come into being. There was some degree of protection around it... but nothing she couldn't handle. She was a sorceress of some power, after all, and the minor enchantments protecting the sheet music posed no problems to her.

It was well beyond nightfall when she finally returned home. Finding the song had been easy enough, as had accessing it- but copying it on a separate sheet and replacing the protective barriers to minimise her odds of being found out had taken a while. She couldn't just grab the sheets and make off with them. Not even Flayre could get her out of the village quickly enough to avoid the consequences of that.

She sat down on the windowsill, crossing her legs. "Hey, Flayre?" she said, "I have what you need."

"What I need and what I desire are two very different things, child."

Not bothering to formally announce her presence, Flayre descended from the trees above, her voice taking on an imperious edge as she glided to a halt directly in front of Kryssie. Following the Kokiri's initial departure, the Great Fairy had sequestered herself away in the uppermost branches of the forest, watching and waiting. When it had become apparent that Kryssie would require the better part of the day to complete her task, Flayre had simply stared into the night sky, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. The darkness was so familiar to her, now... There was a certain stark beauty to it, she had decided. Nothing like.... nothing like...

THAT place.

The mere memory of her imprisonment had put Flayre in a testy mood, and Kryssie was the ideal target upon which to vent her frustration. "What I NEED is for the Deku Tree to burn, along with all who follow him. What I DESIRE is the Elegy, because it suits me so elegantly. Understand?" She let the question linger for a moment, then relaxed her stern countenance, recalling that she wished to maintain a certain level of graciousness in her dealings with the girl. "Ah, but I am unkind. I apologize, Kryssie. The past few days have been rather trying, to say the least. You've done well, recovering my song with such speed and discretion."

Holding out her hand to receive the sheets Kryssie had gathered, Flayre flashed the Kokiri her most disarming smile. "Now, give it here, along with anything else you found. Once I've read the sheets to ensure they're legitimate, we'll be off. It would be best to leave under cover of night, don't you agree?"

Flayre quite obviously had her wants and her needs mixed up, Kryssie thought. She, herself, NEEDED the barrier to fall so she could leave Kokiri Forest. But even so, she did not have the desire to burn the Deku Tree- as soon as she was clear of his magic's range, she would simply forget he existed. If she didn't NEED the Tree to burn, then surely this spirit, who implied she could travel freely between the forest and the outside world, merely DESIRED it, too.

However, Kryssie knew better than to tell a crazy person they were crazy. At the spirit's outburst, her arm clenched with the effort she expended in not reaching towards her wand. She only nodded, pretending to be terrified, when Flayre asked her if she understood, and waited patiently for her to verify the accuracy of the sheet music. "I must warn you," she said. "The Deku Tree and his servants aren't stupid. The Dekus patrolling the area we're likely to travel by at night all have excellent nightvision- and that's not to speak of the fact that he will immediately notice his barrier being broken." She leapt from the windowsill, landing in front of the spirit.

"Do you have any means of countering that? I... might have some spells up my sleeve that can temporarily hold them off, but we're going to need something more effective if we're to escape them."

When Kryssie urged Flayre to beware the Deku Tree's sentries, the Great Fairy had to stop reading the music sheet for a moment as a peal of laughter escaped her lips.

"Ahahahahahaha! You really are too much, Kryssie!" Did she truly believe that Dekus were a threat to her? My, but this Kokiri had no faith! The very notion that such insignificant insects could hinder her in any way was absurd! Delicately wiping at her eyes as her cackling died down, Flayre looked up to meet the girl's gaze.

"Haha... You think that Dekus frighten me? Did you not see what I did to your unsightly window? I assure you, a far worse fate shall befall any who dare to bar my path..." She gestured to the vacant window frame and snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. "As for the Deku Tree himself... He IS quite stupid. He has yet to realize that I have penetrated his petty sanctuary, though I have been here for days. Just how do you suppose I entered this village? That's right... I tore down the barrier, with none the wiser. A true lady knows how to conceal her presence and travel incognito, you understand?"

Returning her attention to the paper clutched in her hand, Flayre studied the notes with renewed intensity, her eyebrows raised. "Ooh... Interesting... I never considered it like that! I suspected, but... Fascinating... Soon... Soon, I will be able to share my glory with the whole world..." Satisfied with what she'd read, Flayre carefully tucked the sheet between her cleavage and held out her ringed hand to Kryssie.

"Everything seems to be in order. Come along, Kryssie. I am rather pleased with your performance, despite your inability to procure an additional gift. It is time for your reward: Freedom. I would advise you, however, not to tell anymore jests, lest my laughter betray us to the Deku Tree's slaves."

Flayre's claim that she had already tore down the barrier did not have the effect on Kryssie that the Kokiri suspected the spirit had wanted. Rather than being impressed with her power, Kryssie knew there were a few possibilities behind that statement. One, and she felt this was the most likely; Flayre was full of it, bluffing, or otherwise lying to her in a vain attempt to impress her. Two, she had been played for a fool all this time. That was unlikely- if the barrier had been down, she would have been able to tell. Three, the Deku Tree had re-established the barrier since Flayre had entered. In which case, she had a big problem since their cover was already blown and they would be likely to run into a lot of resistance on their way out- not only from the Dekus guarding the village but also from the Tree's own magic.

She kept this entire train of thought to herself, trying not to betray her sudden concern. Surely, if Flayre was as powerful as she claimed, then if nothing else Kryssie could use the spirit as a meat shield and a distraction to make her escape. All she needed her for was to break the barrier... after that, it was a matter of managing to get out of her range.

Kryssie could be inventive when she had to be.

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"Well, here it is." She put her hands in her sides, nodding towards the shimmering veil. It looked faintly like stars between the village and the treeline, but Kryssie knew they indicated a solid spherical barrier that she could not break or pass and that only affected her and no other Kokiri, nor Dekus. "Do you have a plan?" She looked around, fearing she would be attacked any second now. Her wand was not far from her hand. She would defend herself now that she was this close.

Although Flayre would never have thought of herself as a skulking rogue, she had to admit that there was a certain thrill to the art of stealth. To slip from shadow to shadow, braving the risk of detection to sow the seeds of ruin among her enemies... And the payoff! Flayre savoured that dawning moment of delicious despair when her hapless victims realized how powerless they were to resist her plots. It had been some time since she had last resorted to carrying out clandestine activities herself, having primarily operated through agents at the height of her power... The renewed sensation of subterfuge was... exhilarating, to say the least. She resolved to be more directly involved with her affairs from now on as she lead Kryssie onward, her heart pounding as she glided through the cool night sky.

When the much-reviled barrier came into view, Flayre dropped altitude and drew her wand, silently studying it from afar. To the uninitiated, the magical barrier would have appeared to be exactly that- a translucent wall of energy. But to Flayre's trained eye, the interweaving strands of arcane matter that held the spell together stood out like a sore thumb. Rather like a spider's, she mused, considering it an apt comparison given the disgust such creatures tended to evoke.

"Give me just a moment, Kryssie. Be ready to move when I tell you." Flayre declared, drawing closer to the barrier before coming to a hovering halt in front of it. In what she regarded as a stroke of genius, the Great Fairy had made sure to create her rift several feet above the forest floor upon her arrival, reasoning that because the Kokiri and Deku residents of the village did not usually possess the ability to fly, they would expect any intruders or fugitives to cross through the barrier at ground level. They would never suspect that someone had broken through from this elevation... nor were they likely to notice that the barrier had remained compromised this high up.

Grinning, Flayre set to work dispelling the barrier. She vaguely remembered where she'd left her loophole... Now it was just a matter of pinpointing its exact location. Tracing her wand along the various strands that comprised the barrier, Flayre listed slowly to the left, stopping at seemingly random intervals to tap her wand against the veil, probing for a weakness. For about half a minute she toiled away, poking and prodding, until at last she felt her wand plunge deeper into the arcane mist, causing the whole barrier to quiver.

"Ah, here we are." Flayre remarked aloud to Kryssie, a hint of smug satisfaction entering her voice. "I took the liberty of repairing the barrier when I first dismantled it, so as not to alert anyone to my presence. But when I did so, I left my mark- a hidden flaw that only I could exploit. It will be, if you will excuse the term, CHILD'S PLAY to destroy this section of the barrier. All I have to do is this-" Without warning, Flayre suddenly twisted her wand, as if turning a key in a lock, then wrenched it free. An eerie lack of sound accompanied the formation of a large, rectangular rift that obliterated the energy around it, extending as far as the ground below, leaving a massive 'doorway' into the outside world behind.

"-and voilà! It is done. Your wish is granted." Flayre took an exaggerated bow as she spoke, quite pleased with this formidable demonstration of her abilities. Her elation proved short-lived, however, as she glanced back up and was treated to a most unwelcome sight: From her vantage point, she could make out a pair of Dekus clutching spears in the near distance, their glowing eyes rendering them unmistakable even in the dark. Worse, the leafy fools were coming toward them! For the briefest of moments, a truly frightful scowl of annoyance formed across the Great Fairy's features, but she quickly banished it, instead moving to react to this new threat.

Immediately swooping downward to be within whispering distance of Kryssie, Flayre put one finger to her lips and gestured in the Dekus' direction with her wand. "Wait! Beware, there are two Dekus heading this way! As a newly freed woman, I shall leave this matter to your discretion. Kill them, and delay the inevitable pursuit? Or flee, and avoid a scuffle? The choice is yours... But choose swiftly."

As unfortunate as this turn of events was, Flayre couldn't help but think that this would be an interesting test of her new underling's temperament...