Intervention Upon a String

Chapter Nine

The sun had been up for hours when Angelina stirred from sleep. The fire was reduced to a smoldering pile of ash and even though the sun shone down on them, she shivered nonetheless. She stretched her arms above her head and sat up to take in her surroundings. The first thing to catch her eye was Marcus sleeping peacefully on his back. Angelina decided not to wake him yet and ventured off to find food. Harvey, noticing the lack of warmth from Angelina's body, lifted his head curiously and instead of following, he hobbled over to Marcus and plopped down to sleep next to him instead. Angelina smiled and headed off.

As she walked, a million and one thoughts raced through her head from the night before. It almost seemed like a dream. She had nearly lost Marcus and then gained him back in the most extraordinary way. To top it off, not only did he forgive her, but he accepted her as well; accepted her as a person and not as some object like he treated every other girl. Angelina blushed as she remembered the tension between them that night, and the clabbert. Her face went grim for a second. The clabbert's red light signified danger and she glanced around until she saw nothing out of the ordinary and dismissed it. Their presence probably only spooked it.

The frosted ground was crisp and crunched with every step Angelina took. Icicles hung from the branches of the spruce trees and dripped under the warmth of the morning sun. Angelina hugged her arms as a chill ran through her body. She would never find food out there. That was her assumption until she pushed away a thick wall of branches and saw a most spectacular site. Her eyes went wide and she gasped in awe.

Back at the campsite, Marcus remained asleep until a soft giggle woke him up. His eyes remained closed but he groaned and rolled over onto his side. "What are you laughing at woman? It's early," he grumbled, thinking Angelina was playing with Harvey. When he opened his eyes, however, and saw the golden unicorn sleeping by his side, he recoiled and sat up slowly. The giggling continued and Angelina was nowhere to be seen.

Then, suddenly, a face appeared before him and he yelped. The face was that of a young woman with skin as white as snow and the eyes as blue as the sky above him. Her hair was blonde and long and seemed to flow in a non-existent wind. Marcus scrambled backwards until he pressed himself into a tree. The face followed him and slowly, an entire body materialized as well. It was clearly a woman but she had no bodily features other than the ones on her face. She giggled and leaned in to kiss Marcus's cheek. "What the..?" Marcus whispered, trying to lean away.

The girl giggled and soon, by her side, another face appeared. This time, her hair was a fiery red as were her eyes and cherry lips. She, too, was naked and leaned over Marcus to kiss him on the cheek. "Um," Marcus stammered. "What...I mean...um...Angelina?"

"Who's Angelina?" the redhead asked and raised her eyebrows.

Marcus detected a hint of jealousy as he stared at her and decided not to answer. A third woman appeared to his right, causing him to jump. Her hair was as black as a raven and matched her deep eyes. When she grinned, she revealed a set of sharp and pointed teeth. Marcus gulped.

"You're handsome," the blonde said coyly and giggled. "Such nice features." Her unusually long fingers caressed Flint's cheek.

"Um," Marcus babbled again. "Look. Usually I would love nothing more than to have three naked..." A fourth girl with ebony skin and white hair materialized to his left and joined the others. "...Four naked girls surrounding me but I'm afraid I'm just not in the mood this morning so if you'll excuse me..." He began to push himself up but the four girls roughly pushed him back down and began to examine him with wonder.

"What's this?" the brunette asked as she looked at his ring curiously.

"My Slytherin ring," he answered.

"And this?" the ebony asked, touching his jumper.

Marcus stared at them like they were insane. "A jumper."

"What's a jumper?" the redhead asked and cocked her head.

"It's what it is. I don't know how to explain what the hell a jumper is."

"May I try it?"

Marcus blinked. Not knowing what else to do and wanting to satisfy these strange but beautiful creatures, he pulled the jumper off and handed it to her. Her red eyes went wide with amazement as she held it up and let the other girls touch it too. Carefully, she pulled it on but had trouble finding where to put her head. Marcus reached forward and yanked it down properly and she gasped in glee. Instantly, she turned into a wisp of red smoke and swirled into the tree Marcus remained against. The other three followed behind, leaving him very confused. As soon as he tried to get up, they materialized again, giggling with great enjoyment.

"We've decided to keep you," the blonde whispered in his ear.

"What?"

The others went back to inspecting every inch of him. The brunette's hands strayed a little bit too far down and Marcus inhaled sharply. "Woah, watch it," he said.

"What is your name?" the ebony asked.

He swallowed. "Marcus Flint."

"Handsome Marcus Flint," the blonde sighed. "We are going to keep you. We like you so very much."

"Well, that's flattering and all and I would love nothing more than to have my own private harem but I need to get..." The blonde suddenly leaned forward and captured his lips in a slow but simple kiss. All thoughts flew out the window. Marcus gazed at her in a trance when she pulled away. "I suppose I could stay...for a bit," he said.

The girls helped Marcus stand up and never broke eye contact as they slowly led him away. He found himself feeling a bit woozy but he didn't mind as a distant sound of faint singing lulled him to sleep. He barely even noticed a tugging feeling on his shoulder from behind.

"Marcus!"

"Huh?"

"Marcus, snap out of it!"

A light pat on the cheek and Marcus found himself back to reality. He shook his head and blinked and was suddenly staring at a very impatient Angelina.

"What the hell were you doing?"

Marcus looked around for any signs of the girls but they were gone again. He swallowed and felt himself getting very flustered. "I...um....nothing. Let's go." He began to follow Angelina determinedly even though his head was swimming with confusion. He still felt woozy. Just as soon as they took a few steps, a very angry face materialized in front of Angelina, causing her to scream.

"So this is Angelina?" the redhead sneered. The rest of her body materialized as did the three others. Angelina was absolutely terrified. She instinctively backed away into Marcus who held onto her shoulders protectively. The four girls all narrowed their eyes at her in jealousy and began to circle them like predators.

"She's ugly."

"And clumsy."

"And fat."

"Excuse me?" Angelina intervened. "I am not and who the hell are you to call me ugly you flat-chested skank? Just what the hell are you anyway?" The four girls hissed at her and swirled into smoke again before darting into the nearest tree. Angelina ducked slightly. "Nymphs," she said.

"What?" Marcus finally said weakly.

"They're nymphs, Marcus. They're trying to seduce you to feed you to their tree."

Marcus's brain was so dead that all he could do was blink and mumble, "Huh?"

"Their tree. It's their mother. Taking your life and giving it to the tree is giving the tree life. They're like sirens. Cover your ears."

"Why?"

"Because if you hear them sing you'll become a drooling idiot again."

"You're the drooling idiot," a voice said snidely.

The four nymphs swirled into view again and surrounded Marcus, draping their arms over him lovingly as they hissed at Angelina. He gulped and remained frozen.

"Get off of him!" Angelina barked.

"Can't you see he wants to go with us?" the blonde asked.

"How he so desperately wants to get away from an ogre like you?" the brunette added with a sneer at Angelina.

"You can't have him anymore," growled the redhead.

The ebony nymph traced a finger down his chest. "Handsome, strong, powerful master Flint is coming with us."

Marcus laughed nervously. "Ladies, please. You're making me blush. There's enough Marcus Flint to go around."

"But we want you all to ourselves," the brunette whispered and leaned in to kiss him again. This time, however, she only got halfway before she received a strong blow to her head. Her face contorted into a demon screaming in rage as she bared her jagged teeth at Angelina, who wielded a heavy branch. The nymph then swirled violently up into a nearby tree.

"Back off, bitch," Angelina said strongly. She held the branch at the ready. The three other nymphs shrieked and hissed at her and clawed at her with their long fingers. "Anyone else want to try and kiss him?" Angelina asked. "Marcus, get out your wand." She looked at him and was greeted with glazed eyes and a look of total euphoria. Angelina rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Can you think outside of your trousers for two seconds?" Wielding the branch to keep the nymphs at bay, she carefully approached him and quickly yanked out the wand from his back pocket. The nymphs, seeing the magical weapon, all screamed in terror and swirled up into a tree at once. "That's right. And you best stay up there before I go Voldemort on your flat asses." She dropped the branch with a satisfied 'hmph' and pulled on Marcus's hand. He remained hypnotized and swaying gently on his feet. Lightly, she slapped him on the face and he instantly snapped out of it. "Come on, lover boy," she sighed and narrowed her eyes at the trees the nymphs disappeared into. "We need to walk."

"But...but...beautiful...naked women..."

"Gross, Marcus." She pulled him back towards the camp where Harvey was trying to eat a dried twig; he was starving.

Marcus was still a bit disoriented. What a morning it had been indeed! But to make sense of it all was impossible; he felt drunk. "What's going on?"

"Doesn't matter," Angelina said as a grin spread on her face. "I want to show you something. Come on."

Still feeling heated from the encounter with the nymphs, Angelina pulled Marcus a lot harder than she intended to. She couldn't believe how ridiculously jealous she was feeling but also how annoyed she was that Marcus nearly killed himself with his genitals.

Marcus stumbled after Angelina with Harvey at his heels. Slowly, the feeling of being inebriated wore off and he was able to better function as his senses returned to him. The taste of pine was upon his lips.

Pushing aside branches as she walked, Angelina's heart raced with excitement. Marcus's hand was still in her grip as she pushed away the last of the branches and stood with him on the shore of a black and glistening lake. It wasn't frozen like the other but covered in rolling mist in front of a backdrop of breathtaking mountains. Pine trees lined the shores and stretched as far as the eye could see and behind all of it, blurred by distance, was the faint outline of a castle. Focusing on nothing but the lake and his rising fear again, Marcus didn't even see the shape until Angelina squeezed his hand and pointed. Then his mouth fell. "Holy shit."

"We're almost there, Marcus! We can get there in a day if we walk fast! And if you stop flirting with forest nymphs..."

"My, my, Johnson. Is that jealousy I detect in your voice?"

Angelina scoffed. "No. Get over yourself." Yes. She saw Marcus smirked as she tugged on his hand. "Come on," she said hurriedly but Marcus planted his feet in the ground.

"We're going...around the lake, right?"

Angelina rolled her eyes and grinned. "Yes, you bloody coward. Come on!"

They began to run as Marcus grumbled and caused Angelina to giggle. They ran as far as they could until they were too winded to inhale enough air and had to reduce themselves to a brisk walk instead. Harvey bleated in protest. His little legs were still weak and Angelina was forced to carry him. Both she and Marcus were smiling in excitement as they pressed on through the trees. The air steadily became warmer and melted the frost from the ground and trees. Spruces began to mingle with tall oaks and cedars as well that had the faintest hint of buds upon their branches. A clean smell filled their nostrils.

"Spring," Angelina declared as they found themselves approaching a tiny ravine who's bottom revealed a forest of light green trees with the chorus of birds.

Looking back, they could hardly believe they just walked out of a winter wonderland into the very scene of life. Gently sliding down into the valley, they stood in awe (Marcus hid it, though) of their surroundings. The trees were just blooming with leaves and some with flowers that fluttered down in the breeze like snow, littering the forest floor. All around them, birds trumpeted their mating song and flew across the green canopy. The sun shone down in rays through the branches and illuminated the ground where mushrooms and flowering vines nested along trees.

"This is beautiful," Angelina whispered.

Marcus only grunted. "Whatever."

A rabbit and its mate dashed by in front of them, causing Angelina to squeal with delight. Marcus thought he was going to puke. He rolled his eyes and kept walking. "Sure hope this isn't contagious." Angelina was about to respond when they heard an all too familiar wail from ahead. They both froze.

It was the call of another unicorn; light and hypnotizingly beautiful. This time, however, it was not in distress and seemed to be joined by several other cries as well. Angelina heard the snapping of twigs below her and before she knew it, Harvey had dashed off. "Harvey!" Angelina shouted and ran after him.

"Not again," Marcus groaned.

Marcus followed after her as the little unicorn bleated desperately and ran towards the sound of the calls. Angelina rushed forward and jumped over logs and threw aside branches. Harvey was fast, however, and didn't even look back. He burst into a clearing and pranced about happily. When Angelina stumbled in after him breathlessly, she shrieked in delight. "Marcus! Look!"

Flint was right behind her and nearly ran into her back. He straightened out and stopped for a moment to take in what he was seeing. Even he, amazingly, found the scene somewhat glorious. There in the clearing was an image of heaven as the sun illuminated four stunningly white unicorns and two golden ones. The two golden ones were babies just like Harvey and they sniffed each other curiously as the adults watched on. They seemed to be wary of the two humans who appeared to have chased a baby unicorn into their clearing and bent their heads to study Harvey. A male with a large spiraled horn on the top of his head huffed and stomped a foot just to tell Angelina and Marcus to stay put for the moment. They obeyed.

"This must be his family," Angelina whispered.

"Good. Can we go now?"

"Wait!"

A female was walking towards them. She didn't appear protective at all but rather curious. Marcus and Angelina remained still as the female bent her head to eye them both until Angelina felt calm enough to daringly raise her hand and gently touch the animal's silver mane. The unicorn didn't react and Angelina felt her heart soar. Seeing that the two humans meant no harm, another female trudged over to them.

"Marcus, feel how soft their manes are," Angelina said in awe.

"No," he replied, cautiously eyeing the male not too far away who was watching him like a hawk. But as soon as he said this, the third female nudged him gently on the neck. Marcus jumped in shock and defensively stepped away.

"Marcus, it's ok," Angelina said and grabbed his hand. She placed it on the mane of one of the females. The unicorn did not pull away.

Marcus was a bit stiff at first. He knew that males were not intended to touch unicorns; especially ones as impure as himself. But when he looked into the beast's eyes, he noticed she was still watching his every move and simply tolerating him in a fashion to thank him. He had helped keep Harvey safe, after all, and returned him to his herd.

The male unicorn called out as if saying 'ok, that's enough'. The females all turned and headed calmly back to the clearing where Harvey ran over to the mother of one of the other babies and helped himself to some milk. Angelina felt tears building in her eyes. Never had she experienced something so rewarding before. She watched Harvey drink and felt a maternal warmth that told her everything was going to be ok now.

"Let's go," Marcus whispered and tugged on Angelina's elbow.

Angelina paused to take in the visual splendor for a second longer before nodding and turning to leave. She was trying hard not to cry since she became so attached to the little baby unicorn but he was with his family now and it was where he belonged. She'd just have to deal with the fact that she was stuck, once again, with Marcus Flint. "Ah!" he yelped. They both spun around and saw Harvey at Flint's side. He had nudged him with his little horn. "What the hell do you want?" Marcus spat. "You're home now aren't you?"

Angelina smiled and knelt in front of Harvey. She patted him on the head as he stared at the two of them innocently. "You go on now," she instructed gently. "You're with your family. Besides, why would you want to hang out with this arse anymore?" She jabbed a thumb up at Flint as she spoke and stood up. "Bye Harvey." Harvey continued to stare at them expectantly. Angelina nudged Marcus in the ribs. "Say goodbye, Marcus."

"Good riddance."

"He won't go until you say goodbye," Angelina said with a grin.

Marcus rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. Despite the inner battle in his head, he forced himself to awkwardly pat the unicorn on the head. "There. You happy? Now go away."

Harvey was indeed happy. He kicked his little legs and jumped around and then went to chase the other baby unicorns once again. Angelina smiled after him before shaking her head and finally departing behind Marcus. "Wow," she whispered. "It's not every day you get to see something like that."

Marcus remained silent as he marched through the woods. He had to admit that seeing a herd of wild unicorn and touching them in a forest filled with the feeling of spring was having an effect on him, but not in the same way it had on Angelina. He smirked. "So," he said, "the kid's gone. It's just you and me now. Like old times."

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Don't even start."

"Start what?"

"Your whole seducing thing. I'm not going to fall for it."

Marcus laughed. "Me seduce you? No, that would be too easy. All I have to do to get you naked is lead you to water."

Angelina ignored that last statement as she was too busy curiously taking in her surroundings. It was an odd turn of events. "I wonder if this forest is enchanted," she said.

Marcus had to actually stop in his tracks. "Whatever gave you that impression, princess?" It was Angelina's most incredibly obvious statement to date.

"This is amazing," Angelina whispered. "There's so much life everywhere." She looked around in awe as she walked and hardly paid attention to where she was going. Of course, Marcus was no better. He simply stomped where his feet carried him and shoved aside vines of ivy and blossoms. This was like a scene out of some enchanted garden and he felt nauseated by it. "I'm sure we can find something to eat," Angelina continued.

"Good. I'm bloody starving."

"Cheer up, Marcus," Angelina continued lightly. "You don't have to worry about the silly unicorn anymore, the sun is out, we're dry and safe, and I do believe we just passed a pear tree."

Marcus immediately snapped his eyes up to scan the trees. Angelina was smiling smugly as she sauntered over to one that stood out from the others and its branches were heavy with fruit. Marcus never thought he saw anything more beautiful in his life. Immediately, he jumped up as high as he could to pluck a pear off of its stem. Angelina did the same. This time, Marcus didn't bother with caution for he didn't care if the fruit was poisonous or not. He was that hungry. The juice quenched his tongue and throat as he closed his eyes and savored the sweet taste. It wasn't too long before he finished and reached up for another pear. Feeling tired and overwhelmed, he plopped down onto the ground to continue eating. Angelina sat next to him. "You look tired," she said, biting into her pear. "Why don't you take a little nap or something?"

"What am I? A toddler?"

Angelina snorted and decided to keep her wise remark to herself. They ate several pears together in silence before Marcus was finally full and he tossed the last core off into the forest. He lay back against the petals on the ground with his arms folded behind his head and gave a contended sigh. Angelina did the same at his side and they both shared a smirk. With food in their stomachs, they found themselves unexpectedly sleepy and before they could force themselves up to walk again, they both fell into a peaceful nap.