A Noble Rescue

This can't be happening. This simply can't be happening, Marigold thought to herself, pulling at the rope tying her wrists together. She stood up in the flying carriage and looked outside. There were escorts outside the carriage. She had to think of something; no one was going to save her. There had to be a way out of this. Her mind was slowly coming back to her. She felt her sleeve and sighed. They took her wand. Clever. Very clever, she thought, looking around the carriage. Then, she remembered the ring. She turned it to the group setting.

"Guys?! Hello?! Can anyone hear me?" Marigold asked.

"Mari!" Walt and Asher chimed in immediately. There was a flood of responses from the other members, wondering where she was. Marigold breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the cabin. There was a hatch on the roof and a small window that lead into the driver's seat. Marigold had an idea.

"I'm in a flying carriage, flying over the Forbidden Forest. I'm going to crash land this thing," Marigold whispered into the wing.

"What?! Goldie, that's so dangerous!" Walt chimed in.

"You could seriously hurt yourself!" Peyton responded.

"Just be watching the sky. I think that we're not high enough to cause serious damage. But, being lost in the Forest without a wand and tied up might kill me. So, be watching the sky," Marigold told them.

"Oi! Who are you talking to in there?" the driver snapped.

"No one, sir," Marigold replied in her best noble voice. Then, she slowly approached the window. She couldn't fit through it, but she could fit her hands through. She looked at the rope. There was some space between her wrists. Enough to make this plan work.

Marigold took a deep breath. Then, she shoved her hands through the window, putting the rope between her wrists right on the driver's neck. Marigold pulled as hard as she could. It took 30 seconds for a blood choke to knock him out. Marigold could hear him choking on the other side of the carriage wall. I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry! Marigold thought to herself. Then, she heard the driver go still. Then, the carriage went into a nose dive. Marigold screamed as the carriage went down, hearing the crunch of branches snapping as they fell.

"Mari!" Marigold could hear Asher calling out her name as he heard her scream. Then, there was a heavy THUD! as they landed on the ground of the Forbidden Forest. Marigold groaned as she felt the impact and as she hit her head on the ceiling. But, the back of the carriage popped open. She had to hurry; the escorts would for sure be around the area. Marigold crawled out of the carriage, watching it slowly burn. She knew she needed a way for her friends to know where she was. She tried the ring but saw that the stone had broken, meaning they couldn't communicate. She felt around in her hair and took off the pearl headband she had on. She broke some of the pearls and sprinkled a few of them on the ground. They blended in, but a keen eye could see them. Then, she took off into the Forbidden Forest, hopefully heading towards Hogwarts.

Arya and the others ran toward the Forbidden Forest as fast as they could, trying not to be seen. Once they entered the forest, they'd be hidden in plain sight.

"Look!" Gavin halted, pointing up to the sky.

"Merlin's beard," Peyton muttered. "Do you think she knows how high up they actually are??"

They stood still, watching and waiting. Marigold must have timed everything perfectly, because the carriage lowered at a gradual pace before crashing down into the trees. A scream pierced through the silence,

"Marigold!" Asher shouted, breaking into a run.

Wands at the ready, they rushed into the forest before slowing down again.

"We have to move quickly and quietly," Arry directed, suddenly realizing she'd been in this forest far too many times. "There were a lot of men hanging onto that carriage."

As they moved through the pitch black wood, they paused every few minutes to listen for voices. Finally, they heard shouting in the distance, in another language.

"Finde das Madchen!" a man yelled. "Find her, now!"

"Marigold must've escaped," Asher whispered as they stepped forward carefully.

A large carriage was wrecked before them, looking more like scrap wood than transportation. All the men had dispersed to search for Marigold, so the kids moved in to search the site. Seamus lit his wand.

"Put that out, idjit," Gavin snapped.

"Wait, shine it over here," Arya said, noticing something glimmer in the dirt. "What's that?"

Asher moved forward to inspect. "Marigold's pearls! She's left us a trail, let's go!"

They darted off along the pearl trail, each wondering if Marigold knew that she was headed away from the castle and deeper into the Forbidden Forest...

"Cormac, ta attack is over!" Deirdre yelled at him. "Put me down!" Peyton was still behind them trying to stop the other boy from taking her into the Slytherin dorm. They both knew he'd try to pull something with his Ministry mates if they made it. But he just couldn't catch up.

Peyton pulled his wand from his robes and pointed it at Cormac. "Stupefy!" He shouted. The pair fell forward with a thud and a groan from the young Irish girl. Cormac was fortunately unconscious... on top of Deirdre. "Sorry." The boy pushed their enemy off of her so she could stand. "Nothing broken I hope?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Well, almost." Suddenly she turned and gave her unconscious betrothed a swift kick to the head. "Now I am." Peyton shook his head, chuckling.

"We need to go find the others, Deirdre." He told her. "That attack ended too suddenly for my liking and I want to make sure they're all alright." The girl agreed and they ran off as fast as they could to find the others. They got the message from their rings on their way and decided it would be better to just run to the forest instead.

Upon seeing the carriage in the sky Deirdre was very worried for their friend. "Oh, Marigold, this is a bad idea!"

Once the carriage crashed she ran with the rest of them to find and search the site. "Let's hope we find her before those Germans do. They seem less than unfriendly."

Mari was out of pearls, as she let the last pearl fall from her hand. She was following a semi-trail, made by some creature. Hopefully, a friendly creature. Marigold shivered. She wished she had a coat. Marigold ducked behind a tree, hearing German being spoken.

"Wir mussen das Madchen finden," one henchman said. Marigold held her breath.

"Ich weiss. Ich weiss," the other replied as they walked right by her. Marigold sighed in relief and looked at her wrists. They were still tied together. Keep moving. Down the path, she thought, forcing herself to keep moving. She looked around, trying to find a new sign to signal her friends. She looked at her dress and sighed. She ripped about six inches from the bottom of her dress, exposing her heels and stockings and ankles. She tore off a golden leaf and dropped a part of it on the ground. Then, she continued walking.

Marigold had always found peace in nature. Having to live in the city for work, the countryside and nature calmed her. Away from the hustle and bustle. Away from her responsibilities. It's why back home she liked to visit Asher. She smiled to herself as she walked. Then, she groaned as it started to snow.

"Just what I needed," Marigold muttered to herself, dropping another part of the leaf. She sighed and kept walking, trying to keep quiet. Then, she stopped in her tracks, feeling someone's eyes watching her.

"Hello? Adele? Asher? Walt?" she called out quietly. Then, she heard a soft pawing on the ground. Her heart also stopped.....until Dessa stepped through the underbrush.

"Dessa?" Marigold asked, as the unicorn approached her. She smiled as the unicorn seemed to nod. She was still a golden color and Marigold stroked her mane when she approached her. Marigold felt at peace, knowing that she had a friend. Dessa nibbled at Marigold's wrists until she was free.

"Thank you, Dessa," Marigold whispered. Dessa nodded and gestured to Marigold, seemingly wanting Marigold to follow her. Marigold dropped another part of the gold leaf and followed the unicorn.

(OOC: Wow, it's been a hot minute. I think about these characters a lot.)

Harcourt ran into the Forbidden Forest, a few other staff members in tow. The other students were in lockdown at the school. But, a few were missing, following the Germans. Harcourt kept his ears open as he walked through the snow. He wrapped his coat a little tighter around himself. It was freezing. The students must be very cold. he thought to himself.

Harcourt looked over at Alys, the school's healer, who seemed visibly upset. The poor woman. Harcourt thought. She just wanted to give Marigold a good experience. Sometimes besides working in a mansion for the rest of her life. They could not have predicted that this would happen. Alys wiped a tear away as they walked through the forest.

"It's alright. We're going to find her." Harcourt told Alys gently. Alys took in a sharp breath and nodded. Harcourt turned his head to the left as he heard some voices. He quickly walked in the direction of the voices.

"Reviers? Lannister?" Harcourt called out, finding the students.

"Professor!" Asher said in surprise, seeing the staff members. There was a group of 6 students. Asher Revier, Arya Lannister, Peyton Brix, Jacob Montfort, Gavin Lydale, and Finnius Rudock. Harcourt made a mental note of their names and houses.

"Did you see the carriage?" Alys asked. The students explained that they were following a trial that Marigold left. Harcourt saw Alys crack a little smile, proud of her student.

"Well, let's keep following her trail then. Stay close though. The forest is not safe. At all," Harcourt explained. The students agreed and they continued to follow the trail, going deeper into the forest.[/i][/i]