19.

The mountain only became colder the higher we travelled. My muscles ached, fatigued from the build up of lactic acid. Even my bones felt more fragile than before, each step on the hard ground vibrating up my leg. The Leafy had pushed us off trail; we had been only an hour off the swap before we were forced to stray to stay alive. It took us an hour to find where we were, following the blood trails back down the mountain. And by the time we were finally reaching the tops of the slopes, the sky was darkening, clouds turning pink and orange as the sun set over the mountain.

I had imagined that the sight of the swamp would bring a surge of relief and satisfaction like none I had ever felt before. However, it was not the sight that signalled our arrival at our destination; it was the smell. The scent of salt, sulphur and hot mud burnt the insides of my nostrils and launched a gag from my throat.

"What is that?" I chocked out, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"The sweet smell of home." Lucius joked, also visibly disturbed by the scent wafting from the trees around us.

Alvar didn't speak, scanning the trees for signs of movement while Beast observed from above. Our pace slowed and the smiles dropped from our mouths. Over the ridge, the swamp appeared. Green mud covered a wide strip of land, small crab holes occasionally opening for oxygen, like a ginormous green swimming pool. Little patches of grass scattered over the surface like stepping stones and fog coated the air above it. The only way over the swap was by the stepping stones, leading to the tree line on the opposite side.

"Can't we just go around?" I asked, scrunching my nose through the wretched smell.

"No," Alvar said, scratching his neck as he surveyed the surrounds. "It stretches far to wide, we would never make it to the safe house before dark. I will go first to make sure they are all solid."

Alvar adjusted the bag over his shoulder, shooting me a small smile as he began over the surface, jumping between the grass patches. Neither Lucius nor I protested his actions, knowing that he was both well suited to the task and capable of finding any traps or holes our eyes would miss. He bonded over the swamp easily, his agile body never stopping completely before he bounded to the next stepping stone. It took him five minutes to finally land on the other side, dropping the bag at his feet before he signalled us over, a tiny spec in the distance.

I wondered momentarily why Beast couldn't just fly me over, but I knew the trees were dense and he could not fly close too the ground. My breast heaved in a sigh, blowing the hair from my face and the anxiety from my mind. I hefted my skirt up and took my first step on the swamp. The mud sunk between my toes, uncomfortably warm. Before I could sink into its depths, I skipped over to the first grass patch I saw and tried my hardest to mimic Alvar's actions. But I was no trained solider, and my circuits at home never involved long jumping. On several occasions I fell onto my hands and knees, mud covering my once beautiful dress, before I finally made it over to the other side.

Falling into Alvar's arms when I reached the other side, I laughed at myself, my heart still beating heavily while adrenaline pumped through my blood. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me to my feet beside him. Looking up, I found his eyes locked onto mine, an emotion brewing behind them that I could not catch. I didn't know if he was angry, confused, in some kind of pain, but the way he looked at me was certainly not filled with undeniable love.

He pulled away from me and cleared his throat. We both resorted to staring at Lucius, who slowly made his way over perhaps even clumsier than I had. I laughed lightly and Alvar chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. For the next five minutes we had our own personal comedy show, complete with the sound effects that Alvar made each time he fell over into the mud. By the time he made it to the other side, we were crouched over in laughter, trying to hide our gasps of amusement from Lucius' glaring eyes.

"You know I could hear you." Lucius mumbled, shaking off the dirt and mud from his coat with his hands, scrunching his nose and gagging.

The mud made a hideous slapping sound on the ground as it dripped from his clothes and hair. I began to hiccup, my laughter too much for my body to handle.

"Oh I know." Alvar replied with a snort, picking up the bag of furs and meat lying at his feet.

"How much further anyway?" Lucius asked after he had finished giving Alvar the evil eye.

"Not long; maybe a few miles. There are some more swamps we have to pass through for the short cut, but it may still take an hour or so."

"Best move quicker than that. There is someone following us about a mile back, looks to be alone. But I do not doubt it is a hunter sent by the King." Beast's voice ran through all of our heads, causing a piercing buzzing to follow his words.

"Shit," Alvar muttered, looking up to Lucius, "You said you were sure no one was following us at the market."

"That's because no one was. Whoever is following us has only recently got on our trail." Lucius defended, scratching his neck. "Maybe someone recognised you at the market?"

"Impossible. I've never been out to those markets before." Alvar was pacing now, which made me nervous.

"Yes, but maybe a buyer had just come from the palace? It could have been anyone."

They continued to debate the question of who tipped us off amongst one another while my nerves grew in my chest. We were still at the edge of the swap, in clear view of anyone who made it to the top of the mountain. I flicked my eyes back to the two men, now swearing and making wild hand gestures at each other, some of them rude.

"Okay enough!" I snapped, my voice louder than I had intended. "Am I the only one who realises the more time you spend bickering, the less distance there is between us and whoever is following us?" The Fae men stared at me, eyes wide and lips parted. Lucius' eyes darted to the ground when I tried to glare him down. Alvar simply looked irritated at himself and readjusted the bag on his back. "Anyways, if no one knew you at the market, it was clearly your Boggart friend who tipped us off. Sorry."

Alvar's face reddened with a mix of anger and irritation. Whether it was targeted at himself or at me I would never know, because Lucius' interjected and saved me from Alvar's direct wrath.

"She's right," Lucius paused, taking a shuffling step away from Alvar,  "On both counts." I nodded and waited for Alvar to say his piece.

He refused to meet our eyes and instead began to storm away from the swap, further into the woods ahead of us. Lucius and I shared a glance and he shrugged. We jogged to catch up with Alvar, the only way to match his pace. He directed and guided us through the woods, occasionally stopping to check his direction or walk backwards to leave several tracks of footsteps. Over the next fifteen minutes, I had no doubt in my mind that we had the tracker confused and would make it to the safe house with no clear danger.

"Okay, now we have to split up momentarily." Alvar spoke up when we reached a set of paths: one heading over another swamp, one through the woods, and another up a rocky slope. "Up there is where the trail to the safe house is. All three of these paths lead there. Hopefully the tracker won't get this far, but if he does he will have to choose a path. This is where we have to be smart. Lyra you will take the woods, but when you get to a large oak tree you will need to make one set of prints. Run through the right side, and make it look like you've gone off trail, heading back down the mountain. Then retrace your steps and go to the left. Try to cover those tracks with leaves and dirt if you can. Lucius, you take the slope, and do the same at the top."

We all nodded at one another in understanding, no smiles or laughter as we prepared to part ways. I could not fail; there was no way out of this if I made a single error or miss step. None of us hugged or shook hands; we just glanced at one another before stepping onto our own paths.

I took my first shaky steps back into the dense woods, hands clammy. I did not fear what was inside of them, what I feared was the possibility of a mistake that could be fatal for the entire group. I breathed deep, clearing my mind and began to run through the forest trail. It was hard to make out exactly where I was going, but the trodden grass cleared of rocks made sure I stayed on the correct path.

When I reached the oak tree, I paused. The large structure was beautiful: spindly braches curling from the trunk, spreading outwards across the crossroads. Each branch seemed like it was individually painted, with brown and grey effortlessly blending together in patches and swirls. The leaves too were perfect, as if each moulded by the delicate hands of the pixies, green shining bright through the dryness of the land around it.

"I've lost sight of the hunter. Everyone move faster." The Gryphons panicked voice rung through my head, spiking my heart rate.

I was quick to ascend down the right side of the mountain; causing as much chaos to the land around me so it was obvious I had travelled through. I went as far down as I could before I found some boulders. I climbed upon them, leaving specks of dirt and smudges of mud over the surface. Once I was satisfied it looked like I had gone over the rocks, I slid back down the stone and began to retrace my steps through the woods. I walked backwards to keep my prints in tact, but found it nearly impossible to do it quickly. By the time I was back at the oak tree, it was really beginning to get dark.

I let out a deep sigh when my back hit the oak tree and had to force myself to stay standing. My legs ached and my stomach was growling. I was both exhausted and starving, but doubted there was any food like berries or fruits I could pick on my way back up the mountain. I closed my eyes for a moment, turned to my path and froze.

Standing in the centre of the only way to freedom was the cloaked figure of the hunter, face hidden beneath the hood of his jacket. I did the only thing I knew I could do; I ran. I made a beeline for the other path and decided I could run through the forest and reach the other further up the trail. My legs pumped quickly beneath me, but not quickly enough.

The crunching sound of leaves behind me signalled the hunters approach. They were gaining on me. Panicked, I swivelled through the trees, trying my best to loose him while also not leading him to the safe house.

"They're here! They're chasing me!" I called out in my mind, hoping Beast would hear my call and save me.

"Stay calm. I'm coming to you. Just keep your mind open so I can see where you are." He answered immediately. I followed his advice and kept my mind as open as possible, sending images of the woods and the sounds of the hunter's footsteps gaining on me.

"I'm close, Lyra. There is a small river straight ahead of you. Go to it, ill be able to get you there."

I sent my emotional gratitude to the Gryphon and pumped my legs harder, feeling the dirt kicked up from the hunter on the backs of my legs. I could hear their breathing directly behind me, and feared I would not make it. But, just as my legs began to give out, the tree line broke to reveal a small lake not twenty meters ahead of me.

My relief was short lived; I collapsed. My legs didn't give out; they were tackled from behind by the rough hands of the hunter, pulling me to the ground. I cried out, my head hitting the ground hard as I landed with a thud. I tried to scramble out of the persons arms, kicking and screaming while raking my hands through the dirt. I couldn't shake them and my flailing arms only gave them the opportunity to restrain me to the ground. As they leaned closer to my face, my body still squirming, I recognised the man in the hood.

It was the Prince.

"No don't look at me!" I screamed, fearing what I would see once I looked into the eyes of the beautifully dangerous man who had hunted me down, "I don't want to see!"

"Neither do I!" He roared, his words surprising me. "I am sorry, but I will not let you destroy my Kingdom!" Slowly, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, sharp blade and pressed it against my throat.

"I don't want to destroy your stupid Kingdom!" I spat in his face, clenching my fists and avoiding direct eye contact.

"What?" My words seemed to shock him enough for him to loosen his grip.

It was my lucky day. Using the moves I had learned from combat classes, I quickly grabbed a hold of his shirt, bucked my hips and twisted myself over. I was on my feet in a split second while he remained on the ground; the air knocked out of his lungs and the knife from his grip as I dropped his body.

"I don't want to destroy your Kingdom." I repeated, taking large steps backwards towards the river. "I don't know why you keep messing with my head, but you have nothing to fear from me. I will be not be here much longer." I kept my eyes on his form, but not his face, fearing I would see some horrid vision yet again.

"You think I'm messing with you?" He chocked out, shakily rising to his feet, but no longer approaching me.

"Well I am not doing anything!" My voice rose, but was scratching and unkind- I could scream no more.

"So you aren't making the visions?" He asked, completely risen from the ground.

"No!" I chocked, my feet suddenly wet. I had travelled enough that the Gryphon could find me; I felt his steady approach. "Why would I?" I stalled his approach with another question.

"I thought... I thought because you had no shadow that you might be..."

"No shadow?" I interjected, now wanting to hear out his words for the possible answers I had been seeking all along.

My sudden interest caused our eyes to meet. We both froze, waiting to be shot into another world and shown another dark and uninviting vision. But nothing happened. Nothing happened at all.

We both sighed simultaneously and he seemed to have forgotten his mission of taking me back to the palace. Even if he thought he could, I saw Beasts golden feathers peak from the tops of the trees.

The Gryphon landed in front of me with a roar, his wing immediately shielding me from the Prince. The Fae man stumbled backwards, hand reaching for the sword at his waist. But he knew he could do nothing to the creature when faced with such close quarters. If Beast wanted to, he could have killed him straight away; I had seen the image in his mind as soon as he landed. However we both were uncertain of what to make of the situation. I assumed the creature had heard the entire conversation and would no doubt press me for answers later. There was also the matter that we were dealing with royalty, not just another rouge creature in the woods.

The Prince's eyes flicked between the Gryphon and I, no doubt having a debate of how to approach the situation. There was no way he would be taking me back to the Kingdom unless he wanted to loose a limb or his heart in the process of killing Beast. He took a step backwards, like he was debating running away. He didn't have the chance; Alvar and Lucius emerged from the trees behind the Prince, swords drawn and eyes narrowed.

"Alvar?" The Prince murmured when he turned to face the men who had encircled him.

"Sam?" Alvar stopped in his tracks, his sword lowering.

Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised by this encounter. Alvar was of high stature, as was the Prince, and they looked to be the same age. But the thing that frightened us all was when they embraced, laughed and began to talk joke quietly under breath.

I stood in horror as I watched the scene unfold before me. It was suddenly forgotten that mere moments before the man had been chasing me through the woods and attempted to kill me. I was aware that only Beast knew the full extent of what had happened, my mind being open to him as the scene unfolded. Surely it didn't take a behaviourist to figure out that the scratches on my knees and the defensive position of the Gryphon over my body signalled an attack.

"Are you all bloody serious?" It slipped from my mouth, only just loud enough for the men to hear.

"What?" Alvar turned to face me and I look of horror passed over his eyes. He saw the scratches on my body, the bruise I could feel growing on my forehead, and finally the images of the attack sent from the mind of Beast.

He quickly drew his sword once more and pointed it at Sam.

"You tried to kill her?" He shouted, the tip of his blade on the skin of the Princes neck. Sam held his hands up in surrender, carefully pushing the blade away with his finger.

"That I did." He spoke calmly, like it was of no concern that his friend had placed a blade at his neck. "But you do not know the full story."

"We had a deal! A plan!" Alvar's was heaving, face red with rage.

Both Beast and I were taken back by his words, and I gently reached out for an explanation. The Gryphon had no answers; Alvar had never let his mind slip to whatever deal they had spoken of.

"Ay, I told you about the visions and the flowers and you were supposed to figure out what the hell she is." Sam was yelling now, a vein popping in his neck. At this point I was beyond confusion and resorted to simply letting the scene unfold before me.

"That's what we are doing! Do you have no knowledge of what lives in these woods? Or more accurately, who?" Alvar spat, cutting the grass at his feet with his sword.

"The Anima." The Gryphon's voice breathed through my mind. What, or who, was that?

Sam's face paled and the Gryphon grew restless. It seemed we were all left out of this plan, and knew nothing of where exactly Alvar was leading us, or why.

"I knew nought of your mission and for that I apologise. But you have not worked fast enough. That thing," Sam pointed a thick index finger at my form and I flinched, "killed my father."

"I did no such thing!" I finally found my voice and approached the two men, rage tunnelling my vision.

"Hold on a second." Lucius interjected, suddenly appearing between all three of us, arms holding us apart. "Why don't we all just cool off and explain, mm?"

My chest was rising and falling rapidly, nostrils flaring as I glared into the eyes of the Prince. His eyes were wild, just as angry and hurt as mine, but we both unclenched our fists and took a heavy step backwards.

"Go on then." I spat, "Why don't you explain how I killed your father."

Sam's eyes narrowed and Alvar's body tensed up. We all waited for an explanation, the air so tense it had formed a life of its own.

"THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR THAT." A voice boomed from behind us all, both haunting and melodic at the same time.

From the lake arouse a gigantic hippo, ridden by the most beautiful women I had seen. Her hair was long and black, clinging to her naked figure like clothing, covering her lower abdomen and her breasts. Her skin was equally as dark, like her entire body had been dragged through ship oil, the suns rays reflecting colourful light off the darkness of her body. My gaze travelled to her face and was both equally amazed as horrified. Goat horns grew in giant swirls from her temples. Her eyes shone golden like coins, glinting as they scanned our faces, waiting for one of us to challenge her words. Her brows thick, nose wide and lips plump, it looked like the hands of a God had put her together.

Her golden eyes found mine and the words of the Gryphon rung through my head. This, she, was The Anima.

"Follow me. I will take you to my home." Her voice was softer the second time she spoke, but equally as loud.

She turned away and led her beast down stream, knowing we would follow. I flicked my eyes back to the men, seeking answers or comfort, but found they all were staring at the ground, too afraid to meet the eyes of the women who came before us. It came to me in a rush, all the knowledge retained in my mind over the days I had been held in this place. This woman was no creature, no ordinary Fae. She was the woman Alvar had spoken of, the woman who quietly ruled over them all, even those who would call themselves Prince, or King.

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Xx Charli