Cinder X Bella ~ Forty-Four!

The death of the first tiger sent the others into a rage, all five of the enormous Beasts focusing their fury on the source of the flame: Prince Cinder. Bella had rushed back to the blasted-out window, the cacophony of battle drawing her to return, even though the shards of glass cut into her feet. Angry roars were countered with grunts of exertion and sharp orders from the royal guards protecting the prince, and huge paws were caught on the standard-issue kite shields they were required to carry at all times. 

Intense flashes of fire lit the front yard of the estate brighter than the noontime sun, leaving spots of slowly fading light in Bella's eyes as she tried to see what all was happening. Cinder’s voice, intense yet calm, floated over the sounds of the melee for a moment, “They are too close! I can't crisp them without risking-”

“Lances!” An authoritative voice cut off the prince just before a series of strikes landed on the raised shields, blocking the deadly claws and majority of the force but sending those impacted stumbling back. “If we can't destroy them at a distance, we'll cut them down piece by piece. Fear not, Your Highness, though they’re formidable, we have them outnumbered and outmatched!”

From where Bella was standing, she could see that the guardsman was not merely offering platitudes. Though the front line had been pushed back, more warriors were arriving by the moment, each clearly trained for such dangerous encounters. The tide began to turn against the rampaging beasts, as the coordinated defenders adjusted their tactics and methodically pressed each advantage they earned for themselves. 

Another of the beasts was felled, a huge splash of sickly black blood pouring out of its corpse as it was beheaded to ensure it wasn’t just playing dead. Seeing one of the tormentors of her small fuzzy friends being put down like the rabid beast it truly was, Bella leaned forward against the remnants of the shattered window, a deep feeling of satisfaction filling her. With a third of the creatures put down, the others turned desperate, fighting to destroy as well as break through the line of guardsmen. 

Another of them was culled, and the defenders of the kingdom pushed forward to finish off the final trio.

“They're going to win!” Bella's eyes were sparkling in exuberance, but a sinister rustling from behind her drew her attention back to a more imminent concern. The hedge—which had sealed her into the attic—was shifting, twisting, becoming more gnarled and lively. Moments after she looked over at it in concern, thick vines began dropping out of the main body of the hedge, immediately growing thorns dripping with dark liquid along their entire length. They started stretching toward her, moving slowly, as they were catching on the floor and cutting through it with just a hint of resistance—like a knife going through very cold butter.

Cold dread settled in her chest as Bella realized Matringa must have decided to eliminate her. As the deadly vines inched toward her, the fear turned to fury. “After all this, after you've been caught out, you're trying to destroy me out of… what? Spite? No matter what Cattiva’s song might have made you think, I'm not going to go quietly. If I'm going down… you're coming with me!”

Drawing in a deep breath, and knowing full well that making noise would cause the hedge to grow toward her faster, Bella began to hum, quickly raising her voice into a powerful crescendo and tapping into her Breakthrough Skill for the first time.

“Rise small creatures, from field and glen; heed the call from my voice again! Swarms assemble at my command; with Serenade of the Swarm, I make my stand!”

Skill increase! Serenade of the Swarm [Level 0 (None) → Level 1 (Minimal)]!

Requirement to advance to level 2: Create a swarm of no less than 500 creatures. 

Perhaps it was because she was so deeply in tune with her skill at that moment, Bella didn't even need to double check the information that had been inserted into her mind. She just… knew what the system was telling her. It almost distracted her enough to falter, but just before the magic could be broken, Bella belted out her next verse. 

“Fleet of foot or swift of wing, find that Witch and make her sting! Nip and gnaw, claw and bite. Surround Matringa and, for once, fill her with fright! It's a lot to ask; it's not just for a thrill… force her to contend with my Breakthrough Skill!”

As Bella's magically potent song lifted into the air, two things happened simultaneously. First, the hedge in the room with her vibrated violently, thrashing around and absolutely shredding the floor and furniture between the two of them. Second, the sounds of battle, shouting, roaring, clashing of metal… all of it was completely overwhelmed by the cacophony of nature itself screeching into action to answer her call to arms.

From hollows and nests, from every crevice a creature called home, animals erupted into motion. The first to arrive were birds, those able to simply fly over the line of protective hedges. Sparrows, robins, cardinals, then crows and larger birds such as chickens that exploded out of their coop in the distance. Screeching and intense flapping of wings made it hard to hear anything else, and the day itself seemed to turn into dusk with the presence of so many creatures flying to and fro.

“-happening? Is this the Witch?” a fearful voice called out, barely able to be heard. Bella winced as she realized some of the creatures she was calling might be attacked by those trying to rescue her. She kept her mind carefully focused on Matringa, hoping the animals wouldn't so much as swerve too close to the royal procession. 

Next came the hustle and bustle of small mammals, the vast majority of them trapped outside the estate. A quick glance out the window showed Bella that they were throwing themselves in droves against the hedges, causing her to nearly choke up and stop singing when she realized she didn't have enough control over the Breakthrough Skill to get them to stay away from the deadly flora. 

*Wham! Rii~i~ip!*

Bella dodged away from the window as a thorn-coated branch burst through an armchair and shot toward her, slamming into the wood of the wall hard enough to shake the last bits of glass out of the window frame. It twisted back and forth, tearing a huge gouge out of the wall before swinging around, as if trying to find where she had gone. Continuing to sing as loudly as she could, Bella carefully made her way around the obstacles filling the attic, knowing that the magic of her song would reach farther than the sound of it. 

A high-pitched feminine scream shattered the air, followed by the sounds of delighted birds as they found a target and began swarming it. Screeches of pain followed a moment later, and Bella winced as she recognized Cattiva’s voice through the crying. She amended her song slightly, adjusting the intent of her targets slightly, “Not that one, she's too small; go for the hidden one who's very tall!”

Then she returned to singing her first portion of the song once more, hoping it would be enough. Snippets of conversation from down below started floating up, only able to be heard thanks to whatever skill amplified them so powerfully. 

“-the last of them, find the Witch!”

“Birds got one-”

“Step aside! Cinder, I need that ashed!” Following this shouted order, there was a flare of light that turned the gentle sunbeams in the room into an almost palpable force. “This section of hedges is out of the way; get the non-combatants out of here!”

“The hard part is going to be-”

“Someone find the hostage!” Cinder’s bellow made the fearful expression on Bella's face relax slightly. They were coming to find her. She hadn't been forgotten. Moments later, there was a familiar *slam* as the front doors were hurled open, along with the muted sound of glass breaking as what must’ve been the full-length mirror in the entryway was destroyed. 

She sang at the top of her lungs, doing her very best to be a beacon for the guardsmen searching her out. The very air around Bella resonated with melody and power as she directed countless small creatures outside of her field of vision.

“I can hear her! Up the stairs, go, go!”

The floor shook as heavily-armored men charged up the stairs, their weight and strength causing the poorly-maintained manor to creak and groan in protest. As they approached, the hedge moved faster, frantically swinging around and obliterating whatever it touched. When it felt itself touch something at least as large as a chair, the thorny branch would wrap around it and squeeze until it exploded into splinters. 

Bella dodged to the side, tripping over some small crate as the branch uncoiled in a swipe at her, slicing through the air where she’d been standing but a moment before. From her new position on the ground, she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a lash of the branch, which sliced right through the wooden floorboards she’d been laying on.

Hopping to her feet, Bella took a deep breath and choked on the thick dust in the air. She gagged at the sudden intrusion of dry mold and particles clogging the air around her, trying to force her words out but only managing to let out a harsh cough. As she pushed away from the hedge, the Beast Singer felt a wave of exhaustion roll over her as her Breakthrough Skill ended.

“She went quiet! Move faster, something must be terribly wrong!” The shouting was almost on her level, cutting through the tumult of the branches slapping furniture to and fro. Chairs and tables were tossed into the air, some of them impacting Bella as she rushed to stay out of range of the still-growing vines. 

Skill increase! Serenade of the Swarm [Level 1 (Minimal) → Level 2 (Limited)]!

Requirement to advance to level 3: Create a swarm of no less than 1,000 creatures. 

“By the system, what is that?” The question was followed by a metallic clunk, reminiscent of someone getting smacked for asking a foolish question. 

“It's a Hedge Witch. That's a hedge. Think man!” Following the chastisement, there was a ringing sound of metal on wood. “Abyss, that's hard as steel! Get chopping; this is going to take a minute!”

Those words put a scowl on Bella's face. Going by how rapidly the vines were growing, at this point, she may not have a full minute. Glancing toward the doorway, she saw another branch starting to swing directly at her, barely allowing enough time to calculate her next movement. A duck and a sidestep allowed her to evade the dripping thorns, but only just.

Then a branch went under a table and flipped the entire thing, sending everything stacked on it flying around the room like shrapnel from an artillery spell. The huge oak swung up over her, then crashed down, driving her to the ground and only avoiding crushing her thanks to being caught by the larger furniture around her—which were reduced to splinters and remnants. Happily, the hedge seemed confused by the noise and vibration coming from different sections of the room at the same time and appeared to have lost its lock on her presence.

Thorns raked across the underside of the table above Bella, punching through slightly as they slithered overhead like a snake pursuing a frog. Doing her very best to barely even breathe, and certainly not make a sound, Bella held perfectly still as the contents of the attic were brutally shredded. Then a sound rang out, and the hedge went perfectly still.

It was a scream, this time from a much more mature throat. “You killed her!”

“Witch!” the authoritative voice bellowed in return. “Accept a quick death! For crimes against the kingdom, I hereby-”

“Fool!” Matringa’s voice shook the very air, the pressure of her shout shattering the remainder of the windows in the manor. “Crimes against the kingdom? I am the only reason this kingdom yet stands! My sisters and I have weakened your enemies, brought a plague upon them to force them to kneel so you can sally forth to conquer them. My power has held the disease at bay, and I am repaid by being attacked in my own home? My oldest daughter put to the sword?”

“Her death was unfortunate, but perhaps she should not have cloaked herself in an illusion of you in order to give you a chance to escape!” The man, who must have been in charge of the royal guard, returned without a hint of pity in his voice. “Her death is on your head, and I refuse to accept that you did not order her to sacrifice herself so you could run. That’s exactly what I would expect from a Villain.”

“You want a Villain? You want to test your mettle against the Hedge Witch herself?” Matringa actually cackled, all of the dignity and decorum she’d always insisted were necessary at all times nowhere to be seen. “Fine!”

Bella let out a yelp as the hedge which had been seeking her out exploded upward, tearing the roof off the building as it answered Matringa’s call.