Chapter 4 - A new destination

“Good mornin’ sir and how yar sistar be?” Boomed the Innkeeper.
“Ah…her? She’s great” Anwynd answered, and Leviathan whipped around the corner.
“Why she’s pertier awake, yea.’”
“Thank you,” said Leviathan.
“Well, Levia, we should go now,” Anwynd said, and grabbed her by the arm.
“Well ye take care of that lass, ya hear?” The innkeeper beamed as they left.
Leviathan and Anwynd walked out of the shabby little Inn. Leviathan gazed at it, wondering what it was doing in the middle of the forest. There was no clearing around it; it was just built right into the forest.
“Why did you stop?” Anwynd asked.
“I was just thinking…” she answered.
“Can’t you think later? We have to get going.”
“Anwynd, where are we going?” Levia asked him. He stopped himself; he could not exactly tell her he was taking her to his boss and holding her for ransom.
“Just to see some friends,” he replied.
“Okay,” she said, and did not question him.
Anwynd looked at Leviathan, she smiled, and he became hesitant to continue what he was doing… ‘It’s only 22 miles away; I will have plenty of time to change my mind,’ he thought, and then shook the question out of his head.
“Anwynd…what is wrong?” she asked, quite innocently.
“…I was just thinking,” he said, surprised that she caught had him off guard. “I am sorry, let’s go now. Follow me and keep up.”
She followed him around trees and through little streams for nearly two hours, before she said, “Anwynd…is there not a road we can follow?” she said between breathes.
“Sorry, but not to where we are going,” he answered, not paying attention to her.
“What do you mean no road!” she gasped, then supported herself against a tree.
“Levia, there is no road because nobody knows where it is,” he said starting to get agitated.
She followed him for another long period of time, in which both were completely silent. In that time, they had passed through a bog where Leviathan cringed at the sight of every slimy toad jumping about, and her satin evening gown looked like it was going through the crusades. Indeed it did: mud, dirt, and filthy swamp water, accompanied by an occasional glob of moss, dressed her garment.
Leviathan moped a little and tears slid down her soiled face. She trudged along, but stopped as she heard hissing.
“A…A—nwynd.” she whispered.
“What is it—?” he started. “Don’t move!” he said, looking at the snake as it writhed out of a bush.
“Anwynd!” she screamed, having more reason to be scared.
“I said don’t move, and be quiet. You don’t want him to strike-that’s a cottonmouth, very poisonous. If he strikes you might not see another morning.”
“Anwynd…!” she sobbed, and now her body was quivering.

Anwynd watched her, almost dazedly as her body trembled and she scrunched her shoulders together. The snake recoiled as if to strike, Leviathan whimpered and her tears fell to the ground, and something happened that he couldn’t explain. A flash of blue light and the snake recoiled again and then slithered away back into the bush.
“What just happened?” he said softly.
“Anwynd, can you carry me?” she ignored his question, still standing petrified there.
“Why…?”He asked, a little annoyed.
“You carried me before, right? I’m too scared, please.”
“If you expect me to carry you, you can just stay here…alone,” he said wistfully and started walking away.
She stood there still; of course he wasn’t really going to leave her there, just pulling at the bait a little.
“Anwynd, wait!” she ran after him for a while, and then slipped directly into the mud.
‘Geez, who taught that girl to run…?’ he thought to himself, and then slowly walked back towards her. He didn’t talk, just lifted her arm and swung her onto his back. He didn’t know, but she smiled a girlish smile while she rode on his back. Neither of them spoke a word, but a silent communication was in place.

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