Revenge of The Forgotten// Private OxO with @FanfictionFanatic

Ace looked her up and down questioningly. Although she had spelled him to keep herself safe, the fact that she was moving closer said otherwise. "Yes, Magic knows magic. My abilities are rooted in magic and yours is familiar to it. That's why he was on edge earlier. Before you ask, I have his memories, he cannot have all of mine."

Ace snickered at her description of the magic. Of course the magic felt different, there was no way Hades would blindly trust someone, not even the Enchantress herself. He had added a bit of his magic to whatever spell he had given the knights of his kingdom in the past. They were only aiming to transform the broken child into something else for some entertainment. But when nothing happened, they cursed Hades who in turn, turned them all into goats. Unbeknownst to them, that spell had caused a spark in Cade which created Ace. "Perhaps there is." He thought for a bit then folded his hands behind his head. "I wish I could be there to see his reaction when you bring up all of this tomorrow." He chuckled. "There is little chance he would agree, especially not because of his little quest." His chuckle faded into silence as a dark look came over his face. He rubbed the necklace around his neck, lost in thought for a moment.

"How, pray tell, would you be able to help him om his quest, I will not say a word about it, and he certainly won't. Though I do believe you could be of…some…help, he's extremely private. It was a great shock that he even approached you." Ace smirked. The smirk dropped as the pain in his head returned and he reached out his hand to steady himself. Squinting and looking at the sky, streaks of red and blue were slowly getting bigger and bigger though the sun had not made an appearance. "I regret to inform you, I must leave you in peace. May the gods keep you rested," he winked, "and no more beautiful than you already are." Without another word he turned around and began walking.

Ace stumbled his way to the spot where he had awakened and groaned. How did they fall onto such a rocky surface and not get a single scratch or bruise? A chill went through his body and escaped his mouth like a frosty breath. He made a silent prayer of gratitude to the god below and lay back down on the rocks, wincing. He jerked back up and groaned again before taking his parchment out and scrawling a message about the night's deeds and how much of this month's quota had been met. He chose to leave out any specifics about his meeting with Emmeline, instead writing that he had bumped into a lady friend of his who was familiar with him and chose to leave her be. Ace knew that he would be curious about why but he hoped that Emmeline would have a reasonable explanation for tomorrow, or rather, the next little bit.

he lay back down, clutching the parchment in his hand, and closed his eyes, feeling the darkness take over and suddenly, he could no longer feel a thing.

Cade woke up. The feeling of waking up on the side of a road with soft murmurs was nothing to be proud of. He cursed Ace and stood up, dusting himself off. The 2 people around him shared whispers and exchanged glances before continuing to walk their route. Cade pulled open the parchment and read the information. Thankfully, they would only need 2-3 more souls to meet this month's quota. As he continued reading his face revealed no emotion until the end. "WHAT?!" he reread the last sentence and groaned, pocketing the small sheet and running back to the tavern. He had no lady friends so the only person it could have been was the lady he met last night. He couldn't remember her name. Whether it was because he didn't care to remember it or whether they did not exchange this information, it didn't matter. She had seen Ace and he did not kill her. Why?

As he reached the tavern, he was glad to see that she was not downstairs. He asked a maid to fetch him some hot water for a bath and went to check on Lord, who was still asleep. He gave the stablehand a few copper pieces and told him to get some fresh carrots for the horse when he woke up and brush him well as he would be leaving quite hurriedly. Cade went up and thanked the maid, giving her a few copper pieces before washing up and getting dressed in comfortable riding clothes.

Cade came downstairs to the main level, his cloak on and his hood up, but even still the lady was able to pick him out. He wasn't being as inconspicuous as he thought. He joined her and a barmaid came out with two plates of steaming breakfast. He thanked her and turned to Emmeline to talk but his stomach protested very loudly. Face flushing, he ducked his head and took a bite of the warm bread.

"I would agree but unfortunately I would have rathered not see you again." Cade gnawed on his bread and kept his eyes on the lady. In some of Ace's information, he had mentioned why her magic was familiar. It was used to curse them and as the saying goes, magic knows magic. However altered it may have been, however strange bits added, it was still rooted deep within the last and Cade needed to know why. "What do you want?" He finally asked, pushing the now empty plate away.

(As much as Emmeline likes Ace, She's going to hate Cade :E)

Cade thought for a while. It would seem this lady had charmed Ace into revealing his name. Unless there was another reason but surely he could not be so stupid. "Emmeline." He muttered to himself. He laced his fingers together and put his chin on them. "I'm Arlo—a traveler hailing from distant lands. I cannot believe that Ace revealed anything. Especially to–" He looked her up and down, "you." Cade used the name he often did when he was without his entourage. He was known in a few villages outside of here so it would make for a good cover just in case she truly did not believe him.

"I work alone. I need no assistance from a fairy such as yourself. What can you do that I cannot? All I need is a faster mode of transportation which is easily acquired. I admire the magic of the enchantress but it was used to curse me so I have no need to help you out." Just as he said this, he internally cursed. If the Enchantress' magic was used to curse him, surely she could reverse it, no?

(I think this will be a great relationship Lmao.)

"HAH! The only difference I see between you and fairies is that they have wings and flit around like bugs. The level of annoyingness remains the same, there's no contest there." Cade scoffed and rolled his eyes. He needed her to leave him alone. As much as he wanted to believe that she could help him, he couldn't help but be suspicious. After all, why would the great Enchantress need to be found? It's not as though she could have just got up and left. "You forget one thing about Ace and I. We share the same magic, same employer, and same vessel. Gods above," and below he thought. "How could you help me when you cannot understand a fact as simple as that."

Cade made a rude gesture as he used his hand to mimic her. "Well, M'Lady Know-it-all, you can discover all the secrets about the oh so special Ace when you see him which, if I remember this correctly, will be never. It was…a pleasure… if you will. I hope to never have to cross paths with you again." He stood up and put his hood up again. "I would stay, but, thankfully, I have to head east before sunset." He made an exaggerated bow and pulled his glove tight before walking in the direction of the door. Corona wasn't too far if you were travelling alone on a well-paced steed, but the inner city closed their doors as soon as the sun set and the torches were lit. Not only did Cade intend on sneaking into the city, he also planned to stay in the Palace Gardens, a lush forest was well-kept within and it would make for a great place for him to strategize while he was there.

Her words stopped him in his tracks. There was no way…but how could he know? Ace never revealed his memories, Hades gave him that much considering he was just a part of Cade's personality that grew too confident. Cade flipped around. "He wouldn't dare."He said in a low, almost shocked, voice. He clenched his fist, digging his nails in his palm. "He knows, he should know." He muttered to himself.

Cade grit his teeth in frustration, rolled his eyes, and sighed. "I shan't know until nightfall." Contemplating for a few seconds, he sighed again. "I suppose you must join me for now, at least until nightfall so that I may use some of my own magic–" He paused and looked at her pointedly, "To question him myself."

"No." He stated. Without another word, he walked out the door, not caring to hold the door open for the lady behind. He walked to the stables and saw that the stablehand had returned with a bag of carrots and had given Lord a new saddlebag. "What's this?" He asked the man. "A lad came and dropped it off fer ye, said ye requested it." The man responded with a thick northern accent. Cade frowned. He called on Hades and slowly waved his hand over the surface, detecting any signs of magic. There was a minor spell he felt, something to do with fire? Cade sighed and used a large stick to to pick it up and throw it to the side. He placed Lord's original bag back and led him out, climbing on swiftly and pulling open a leather bound book from the bag. He scrawled a few lines and shut it, placing it back. "Are you coming?" He asked snarkily.

Cade almost shuddered. "Get your own. I have no intention of sharing anything but our journey with you." He said. "There is an extra here you could take though I'm not sure. Whatever you decide, make haste. The sun is almost to the mountain peak and once it reaches it, there is no way we would be able to reach my destination in time."

(Timeskip? Maybe early evening? If you want to write the time skip, you can choose where they are.)

Cade hummed in response and began moving forward. He was a little distracted at present. Having summoned Hades' magic earlier meant that he would need an offering. The Greek gods were picky like that, even your patron god would require an offering of sorts if you had called on their magic or abilities in this way. Thankfully, as skilled as Ace was, no one could come close to how skilled and precise Cade's knife-throwing skills were. He just needed to find his mark but nothing was catching his eye.

(That's fine, We can say they didn't reach the city in time and had to find refuge in the forest.)

Cade groaned once again. Had they left even a short bit earlier, this would not be happening. The sun would soon set and the city was not anywhere visible. They would have to set up camp in the forest. Great. Cade saw movement from the corner of his eye and saw a beautiful buck appear from behind the trees to feed on a berry bush. He smirked, his offering had been found. Slowing his horse to a trot, he turned around on it and slipped a knife from his upper calf. He tied a light leather cord around the hilt and held it between his fingers. Flipping it between his fingers, he kept unblinking eyes on the buck. In a swift movement, Cade threw the knife and watched as it hit exactly where he had aimed. The buck made a sound and then melted into the ground, leaving his knife behind. Cade wound the cord to bring his knife back and flipped around on the horse.

"Thank you." He responded. "No. That had nothing to do with replenishing my magic." Cade was less upset than he had been when they had set out earlier in the day. He understood where she was coming from. The only lead she had to find her mother was him, and he refused to help. Soon after they had set out, Ace opened his memories, and Cade figured out pretty quickly that Emmeline had told him a little white lie. Though he knew what had happened, he did not show it. "We should stop here. The forest is simply going to leave more exposed the further we go on. Here is a grove of trees we can use as cover." They needed to stop soon if he was going to talk to Ace. If the sun set, he knew for a fact that Ace wouldn't initiate the meeting, and it was vital that they spoke.