In the meantime, the prince's eyes opened with his nose deep in the grass covered soil. He, touched the ground and raised his head and squinted. A view of the miraculous hills laid in front of him, with a tall pink castle basking in the sunset.
"What is this place?" he though, carefully standing up, relieved that all of his limbs were intact. Aidan stretched and looked around. He was completely alone on a meadow, with nothing but his sword and cape. Anxious, with no one to turn to and no knowledge of where to go, he walked around, observing the distant castle.
"I don't remember seeing such a building during my travels. This must be a distant land indeed. And an ideal place where the golden apples must be," went through his head as he pondered what to do next.
There were certainly many trees around, but none that seemed even remotely magical. Down the hill, he saw a small stone house with smoke coming out of the chimney.
Dubious, the prince shrugged. "It's not safe to stay out at night. Perhaps they would let me stay till morning?" he mumbled to himself, wiping the dirt from his armor. Checking his breath and combing his hair with his fingers, Aidan let out a deep sigh. "Charm, don't fail me now," he said, stepping downhill with confidence.
A cauldron smelling of meat stew brewed on the open fireplace. Aidan took a peek inside and gasped. In a large armchair rested a gray figure of a man completely made of stone. Moss and fungus grew over his oval rock legs as he napped before dinner. A female rock figure was playing with the children, two chubby boulders with neatly cut grass haircuts. One of them was obviously hungry and could not wait to dip his stubby fingers inside the cauldron. For that, he got a smack on the head with a bone the size of a human thigh-bone.
The prince tiptoed away, disturbed. He had never seen such creatures before and did not know what they were capable off. A little further was something that resembled stables. The neigh of horses gave him hope.
"Wonderful! With a rested animal, I shall be able to reach the castle by morning. Once I get there, the horse will surely know its way back home. I'll make sure to thank them later for the inconvenience," he thought, smiling.
Now, the only thing left to do was quietly sneak one out, while the family was busy eating. A task more difficult than expected. The moment the doors cracked open, all the horses cried and stomped their hooves. The male stone creature, opened his eyes, immediately proceeding outside.
Aidan shushed and whispered, desperately trying to calm a dozen small ponies. As a large shadow covered the hay floor, the young man turned petrified. Large stone fingers grabbed his shoulders and picked him up as if he was a rag doll.
"Please, I can explain," he yelled, being taken towards the home. As his body hit the hard surface of the stone chair, he locked eyes with four gigantic, scowling beings. Up close, the stone children were the same height as him.
"Speak!" the stone man rumbled after an intense moment of silence.
Aidan took a deep breath and told the story from the beginning. He told of the crystal ball and his expecting wife, and how he came to this strange new place. In half an hour, the audience's jaws were on the floor, with the mother openly sobbing gravel.
"So you see, if I do not get that apple, my one true love will die. Our son will never have a chance to meet his mother," he concluded, lowering his head. The female rock creature wept louder, hugging her children tight. Even the father was affected, removing the pebbles from the rims of his eyelids.
"Fine, you can have a horse. But first, spend the night here," he spoke with a raspy voice, as his family nodded in agreement.
The prince exhaled, relieved. He ate and chatted with the family and slept on a bumpy hay mattress. In the morning, he waved goodbye, hopping on one of the ponies. "Thank you for being such generous hosts."
"Think nothing of it. The castle is about a day ride away. Once you reach it, tell the guards, Rocky sent you. They will escort you further," he rumbled casually. His wife brought over a bag filled with baked goodies. "Here's something for the trip. This will fill you up nicely."
"You are too kind, mama Roxette. And the food you served last night was exquisite," Aidan declared, making the stone creature's cheeks go red.
"How nice of you to say. My Rocky always said horse meat stew was my specialty," she declared proud.
Aidan blinked, quickly glancing at the small horse he was riding on. "That explains a lot," he muttered quietly, heading towards the heavily guarded castle.
Two days later, exactly on the meadow where Aidan fell, Viniria appeared with Chirp following soon.
"Chirp! Where are we?" the bird flapped his wings impatiently.
"I'm not certain, but I am happy we arrived in one piece," she said letting a net of vines fly from her hands. "It looks like my magic was not affected," she smiled, alleviated.
Chirp flew around, searching for his human friend. "He's not here... Wasn't the device supposed to take us directly to him?"
The magical creature perked her lips and hummed. "That does seem odd," she said, tapping the ground. Taking a few long steps, she hit her head.
"Chirp! What happened?" said the talking bird.
Viniria frowned, rubbing her hurt forehead. "Can it be?" she mumbled feeling the air like a mime.
"Chirp?" the talking bird uttered with a confused tone.
"Aha! I know where we are!" she grinned, and grumbled immediately after. "Just my luck."
"What's the matter? Is this place dangerous?"
"No, it's just filled with fairies," Viniria declared, annoyed.
"Aren't you a fairy?" the bird tilted his head.
"No! These are a special kind of fairies. The petite, sparkling kind. With delicate butterfly wings and an attitude the size of a boulder. Seriously entire encyclopedias would not be able to describe how full of themselves they are," she grumbled.
"Chirp! Sounds to me like you are not particularly fond of them," the bird said, making his companion scoff.
"You would be too if you ever met them," she said making a face and mimicking wings with her fingers. "Aha! I'm so perfect and powerful. I can make myself into anything. So, why don't I become this thin, twig creature that can't even reproduce. Just for laughs and giggles... Seriously, the elves had more dignity than them," she mocked in a high-pitched voice, still inspecting the invisible barrier.
"They actually did that?"
"Yes."
"But why? Don't they need to protect themselves from dangerous creatures?"
"That's why this magical wall is here. And a stone guardian or two."
"Chirp! Stone guardian?"
"Yes. Over there," she said, pointing in the direction of the lone stone house.
Chirp's feathers shook. "I bet they are mean."
"Not at all... They're like walnuts. Hard on the surface but chewy and sweet on the inside," the green creature spoke.
"Oh," the bird tweeted, observing her actions confused.
"Ah! There is it!" she exclaimed kneeling. "Alright, my feathery friend, it is time to find Aidan," she said, taking out something resembling a butterfly wing from her bag.
"What's that?" he asked innocently.
"You don't want to know," she said, with a menacing tone.