They Let Me Walk In

[Clarity]

_____ I walked in, looking around. The men looked at me strangely when I smiled at them, but they didn’t pull out their guns, only shrugging and dipping their chins at me with a scowl. I knew I had to be here, but I didn’t know why. The cluster of buildings looked innocent enough. Light red structures huddled around campfires of green grass, and a portion at the back cordoned off, men with guns at their belts keeping everyone away. The buildings there were a dingy grey and they looked like giant beasts rising out of the black earth. There was no grass there.
_____Most of the kids here didn’t look very happy, I decided. One I approached in particular. She had long blonde hair and would have been very pretty if she just smiled. She was just as surprised as everybody else that I was here. I tried making friends with her though, and that helped a little. But there was something funny about her smile. I guess we’ll have to work on that until her smile is real. She wanted me to help her help another girl in here. I thought that was a great idea, and so she told me her plan . . .
_____This other girl was sitting alone. I had heard she wanted to go out and be friends with the others, but none of the adults wanted her to go out of her room except for exercise. Her meals were brought to her and she had to be escorted to go to the bathroom. I don’t know why. I wondered how I could get in to see her. The only visits she ever got were the doctors trying to get her to tell them stuff and the lawyers trying to get her to sign stuff.
_____So I brought her breakfast.
_____She didn’t notice me right away. Well, she did, I think. But she didn’t turn to me. She just said, “Thanks” and asked me to leave it. She said she’d eat it when she was hungry. But I held the plate out instead.
_____“Okay. But it’s oatmeal, Hannah. I think you’ll like better if you eat it while it’s warm.”
_____She whirled around, her eyes like brown quarters.
_____“Clarity? How did you get in here?”
_____“I just walked in.” I shrugged and tried giving her the plate again, but she wanted a hug more than she wanted to eat breakfast. “Do you get the feeling that Christine isn’t very happy, Hannah?”

[Ron Caliburn]

Clarity, what's going on? Where's Hannah? Is she okay? The child welfare people called me today to say she'd gone missing.

[Ron Caliburn]

Clarity! Tell me what's happening. Hannah was out there during the Equinox. Remmeber what happened to her on the solstice! Is she okay? Do you know where she is?

[Clarity]

_____Hi, Mr. Ron. No, Hannah isn’t missing. I know right where she went. But it will make more sense to you if I tell the whole story, first.

_____Hannah was very . . . understanding about my suggestion that we help Christine. I don’t know if she really wanted to do it since Christine had been so naughty to her whenever they saw each other. But she seemed willing, and I overheard some of the men that tried to get Hannah to talk about her father in a bad way mention that she seemed in higher spirits and hoped she would start telling them what they wanted to know about Mr. Ron.
_____Which was very silly to me. Mr. Ron was very kind to everyone he met; only monsters had to fear him. That was obvious to anybody that used to visit their house. But that was a long time ago; back when I knew where Ethan was. I hoped Hannah and Mr. Ron would be together and happy again really soon. And Ethan and me. Maybe the lady that is looking for Hannah could come for a visit, too. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? I think Mr. Ron says that her name is Sarah, though I don’t know why he thinks he owes me an apology.
_____My plan to help Christine was simple. She was very often more unhappy after she had visited the unfinished buildings in the back. I was going to talk to her before she snuck back in one of them—the other girls and boys weren’t allowed to go there for some reason—and ask her, “If going here makes you unhappy, why do you do it?”
_____I waited until it was dark and when the people going through the halls and poking their heads in the rooms to tell everyone “Lights out” went away. Then I gave Hannah a hug and told her good night and that I’d be back as soon as I could.
_____Christine was led out of her room by a man who occasionally dropped by. He never talked to the other children, but sometimes he would stand in a corner and stare at the girls. He reminded me of an icky feeling. A really icky feeling. And his dress shirt was always pressed, and his beige sweater was always wrinkle-free, too.
_____I followed them.
_____Even though the sky was covered in clouds, it wasn’t very dark. It was simpler than I thought to get past the men that walked in circles around the building, they were very easy to spot because of the flashlights they used. They could be blind, I thought, and using the flashlights for the dogs’ sake, who were in front of the men, staying with them because of leashes. The feeling in the air was very strict, so I walked carefully past; it seemed like a not very good idea to be seen by anyone right now.
_____The dogs were nice to the man and Christine and to me, too; in fact, they ignored all three of us. I paused at the door and waited to see what the man would talk about that made Christine so unhappy. I watched them inside while hiding from them. The decorations inside the unfinished building were not at all like the other buildings. The lights in this building were dimmer, and they were tinted red. There was a strange air in the scent too, and it made me feel uncomfortable. The man hugged Christine and said something to her before he went into another door. She looked really unhappy. I walked in, getting her attention while the man was gone.
_____“Hi, Christine. I noticed you didn’t look very happy,” I told her. “Can I help?”
_____But I have to confess I fibbed just a little. She didn’t just look unhappy. She looked terribly unhappy. All hope had drained from her face; her skin was waxy and pale, like one of those mannequins in a department store window. I had to listen and watch to make sure she was even breathing.
_____“Clarity . . . you shouldn’t be here. Please go away.” Her pleading confused me.
_____“Christine, I want to help you.”
_____“You can’t help me Clarity,” she insisted, wiping her tears away quickly. “No one can.”
_____“Well, I still want to try,” I smiled. But if you really think nobody can help you, maybe you can help yourself. If his hugs help you to be that uncomfortable . . . why don’t you tell him to stop?”
_____“It’s not that simple,” her angry laughter sounded like a dog’s bark. “You don’t understand, Clarity. I have to do this.” She turned away so I couldn’t see her weep . . . and then I saw the man there, staring at me. His eyes were cold, like frosted pebbles of stone. He didn’t blink, watching me with a strange emotion carved into his pupils.
_____“Goodbye, Christine,” I spoke to her carefully, though my eyes arrowed from her retreating form and quickly back to the man. “I still want to help you. I hope you get feeling better.”
_____She sent a desperate look behind her shoulder, but the man gathered her in one arm and led her away, his foul, ambivalent gaze fastening me to the spot like a railroad spike.
_____A festering smile grew on his face as he walked away; but it wasn’t a nice smile at all. I didn’t like it. It looked like it should be a frown instead.
_____I went back to Hannah.

[Shadowstalker]

Clarity? Please go on. Many here want to know where Hannah is.
I have a feeling someone should find this man Christine was dealing with, and ask him some questions.

[Grace]

Clarity,

While I echo everyone elses curiousity about Hannah's where abouts, I have further querries.

I should like to know where this place is and a detailed description of the 'icky man'. Either in this thread or PM would be fine.

It sounds as though he needs a good, long and private discussion about the appropriateness of his hugs.

Could you be a dear and help me arrange this discussion?

Thank you.

[Natasha]

Who's paying you?

[Shadowstalker]

Could be he is offering a freebie, but if not I am willing to chip in, particularly if what I suspect is right. Hell I would be willing to help in that case.

[Natasha]

He's a merc.

If it's a freebie, there's an ulterior motive.

[Grace]

I just want to talk to the man.

Really.

[Willie Long]

Do you know someone who doesn't cash their paycheck at the end of the week, Natasha?

I have a feeling someone should find this man Christine was dealing with, and ask him some questions.

He better pray we like his answers.

[Clarity]

_____Hi, everybody. I’m sorry it’s taking so long to write this, but these men don’t want me to stay. Mr. Shadow, it would be really hard to talk to him, I think. But I’m not sure I would want to. Okay, I guess I better write the story before I’m seen . . .

_____“That’s what she said,” I told Hannah as we crept through the sleeping halls the following week.
_____“It doesn’t make much sense, but if you say she wanted help to get out of here . . . I’ll help you to help her,” Hannah said.
_____“She looked terrible, Hannah,” I replied, holding her hand while she led me through the halls. She was very quiet. “She was crying and sniffling and trembling and—”
_____“Okay, I get your point, babe,” Hannah reminded me, and then shushed me as we neared a hall where some men were supposed to be wandering the halls. But they must have taken a break to get some hot chocolate or something, because nobody was there. We went outside without seeing anybody. It was about as dark as it was the first time I had gone to see Christine, though I thought the thick wings of cloud cover would have made it darker. But they didn’t.
_____Christine met us inside the unfinished building, her face funny-shaped and red, glazed lines running down her eyes. “Thanks for coming you guys,” her voice was scratchy and didn’t sound at all like a girl’s. I told her not to mention it and that we were happy to come, but Hannah just nodded and smiled like she was trying to hide a bad taste in her mouth, sort of like the time Ethan and I had visited Father Dyer’s house and his wife had cooked a potato that tasted like sour sweat, but Ethan said to just smile and say that it was good.
_____I wondered if Christine had done something like that before. She turned to me and said she was sorry that I had come, but her kindness to Hannah seemed . . . strange to me. “I’m really glad that you came, Hannah,” Christine’s smile looked funny too as her head toppled to the side to stare at Hannah with a pretend kind of niceness. “He says he’ll like you very much . . . and that you’ll get . . . along . . . just fine.”
_____Hannah and I bantered looks, but Hannah spoke first. “Who?”
_____“That would be me,” a black-pooled silhouette appeared through a doorway I had thought empty. His eyes were the same chilling color, though it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know what color it was. He smiled friendlily, showing bright pink gums that looked like fangs next to his white teeth. “We will become good friends,” he told us, a weighty tone veiling his voice like a cloak. “In fact, why don’t you come with me right now?”
_____Christine’s features took on a slack look, smiling dreamily as his words wove around her like fishing lines. I felt an uncanny urge to wrap my arms around Hannah and protect her from his words.
_____I wonder if the Lights were listening to me . . . sometimes they do, I think. Sort of; I think. I’m not sure.
_____I felt my skin grow warm as his fishing lines came toward us, and I was getting warmer and then hot as they approached. When they tried to curl around us, they just burned away upon touching my skin.
_____His fetid gaze turned in my direction, burning with feverish hate. His smooth, angular face was far from nice looking now. “You should not have done that, little girl.”
_____I didn’t even know how I did anything even if I had. But I know that I backed up as he stepped nearer, his hollow eyes widening until I imagined his eyelids would disappear behind his sockets. My breath came in shallow dips as he curled his lip in a sneer, his smooth, even teeth baring themselves in a snarl. A twinge skirted through my skin, and I stiffened reflexively.
_____He lunged for a throat.
_____I tackled Hannah out of the way, both of us tumbling to the floor.
_____“Is this the part where we run, or fight?” I asked Hannah breathlessly; Mr. Ron wasn’t here; Ethan wasn’t here; there was no grownup except the man; but even if there were, I doubt they would help us; Christine looked funny, and I was certain that she would rather follow the strange man with the odd eyes. Hannah rolled to her feet and jerked me to mine.“When I give the signal,” she put the words quietly in my ear, “run away as fast as you can, ‘kay?”
_____I nodded and waited for the signal, Hannah edging a retreat along the wall, squeezing my hand so tightly I thought of asking her if that was the signal. The man was creeping closer, not quite in a crouch, but hunched over so far there was no other word for it. There was a lean, hungry glimmer to his eyes. His mouth was peeled back in a grimace that looked painful.
_____An explosion of thunder shattered the tension like a bowling ball through a glass floor, shaking both of us.
_____“Run!” Hannah screamed.
_____Wait, I wanted to shout. Which was the signal? The thunder splitting the air, or you shouting “Run!”? I thought she was going to say “Signal” or something.
_____But I guess it didn’t matter, because the man leaped for us. I screamed and instinctively pulled back my fist and shot it, hitting him in the bottom lip. But he kept coming, and he knocked me on my back. He tried holding my wrists, but I was twisting too frantically. I tried recalling everything Ethan had taught me about fighting; I tried remembering all my instincts; I tried defending myself.
_____A knee several inches below his tummy got him off me, but not for long. I scrambled to my feet and dashed to catch up to Hannah.
_____“Nice hit, babe,” she took my hand and continued to run. The man was growling like a rabid dog, on his feet and racing for us.
_____Hannah tried to stop him with fire and wind, but they sputtered and fell silent after only singeing his leg and knocking him into a wall. “Somethin’ is . . . blocking me,” she huffed, her face white and not looking like it usually does, smiling and pretty and happy, but instead strained and taut and something else. We jumped over a pile of cylinder pipes, while the man slipped on them and fell. We kept running. It felt like the very shadows were grabbing for our hair.
_____“Did we lose him?” Hannah asked. I looked back, seeing only tattered shadows and pored concrete walls and pocked concrete floors, with rolls of smelly carpet.
_____“I think so,” I nodded, gasping for breath. “That is, I don’t see him.”
_____“Good. Look! There’s another exit! If we can reach it . . .” I looked to where she pointed, smiling in relief as I saw the glass door, the greenish glow of the exit sign beckoning us on urgently with a faint illumination of green. The stormy air outside brightened once, a growl of thunder following, the lightning that followed was enough to light the way through the darkened corridor, throwing tattered shadows on our faces. We were almost there; Hannah was pulling the door open . . .
_____And then a hand was pushing against the glass, slamming it shut out of Hannah’s hands.
_____“Going somewhere, girls?”
_____The man’s smile was friendly, but I wouldn’t say he was a friend. He kept his hand against the glass and until he had stepped in the way, while I pulled Hannah back several paces.
_____Thunder rolled and lightning speared the sky, and the man’s flesh suddenly transformed into something demonic or devilish, I’m not sure. But in the storm’s brief exposure, he suddenly had horns and reddened skin. Fangs hanged from his lips while tiny arms waved feebly from his back. A thin tail with a triangular end etched signs in the air.
_____And then the revelation of thunder and lightning ended, and with its passing, all the lights went out except the glowing “EXIT” set in a square over the door that showed us the way outside. His black silhouette was left looking human again, his neat clothes faintly illuminated by the flame of the green sign, marred only slightly by the burnt leg. I didn’t think he was human.
_____“Come here, children!” he called, stepping nearer with his hands outstretched as though he wanted to hug us. “I want to be friends with you!”
_____We raced into the embracing darkness.
_____P.S. Mr. Nemesis, I don’t even know how to be a “dear,” so you don’t have to call me that if you don’t want to.
_____P.S. Again. I don’t know where Hannah is anymore, Mr. Ron. I’m really sorry.

[Ron Caliburn]

Clarity, why don't you know where she is any more? Where was she when you last saw her? It's important, we need to find her, there are things that are after her.

[Willie Long]

_____Mr. Shadow, it would be really hard to talk to him, I think. But I’m not sure I would want to.

That's okay, I'm sort of an expert on non-verbal communications.

_____ Hannah tried to stop him with fire and wind....

How did she do that?

[Ron Caliburn]

You've been a way a bit lately Willie, Hannah seems to be developing talents. She's been able to stop herself in mid fall, she apparently roasted some sort of monster in her school bathroom . . . I don't think the idea of a normal life for her is going to work out.

[Willie Long]

You've been away a bit lately Willie, Hannah seems to be developing talents.

...are you sure they're her own?

[Ron Caliburn]

What are you saying Willie?


Good news is Hannah has been found . . . she called me today . . . collect . . . from a tavern in Wales.

Clarity, what happened?

[Willie Long]

I'm saying they might be her alleged father-in-law's talents, manifesting because she's come of age and it's time for her wedding.

[Hannah]

Hi Everybody

Willie is on to something . . . I learned that my powers weren't mine when Robin took me to Wales.

Hannah

PS: I'm sorry I left you and Christine like that Clarity, but I thought I could lead it away from you. Is Christine okay?

[Clarity]

_____Hi, everybody. Mr. Ron, we were running from some strange noises in a dark forest. The trees and branches were shaking as though the wind was following on our backs. We were all wet and tired, and Christine was getting really scared; we had to carry her between us a few times. She also said it was really dark, which concerned me, because I thought maybe the wind was getting to her. And I was feeling drained, as though I’d run for a really long time. The wind kept getting in front and behind us. Finally, Hannah suggested that we split up, and that’s the last I saw her. I wanted to stay with her, but she insisted, and Christine agreed; so we left.
_____P.S. I saw some strange lights after Christine and I slipped down a hill, and they lit in Hannah’s direction. They helped some strange shadows move eerily, too. I hope they helped Hannah to see in the dark, though.
_____P.S. Again. That’s okay, Hannah. We’re still friends, right? I tried to get Christine to say something good about you when we played that game, but she couldn’t, so we stopped talking and kept going. I’m sorry about that. Next Christine suggested I run away from her when we got to her house, and I did. But I think maybe a grownup should check on her, just in case.
_____P.S. Again, again. I think I better finish the story, shouldn’t I? All right, here it is.

_____Shadows were everywhere, too thick for workers to build anything. Hannah stumbled once on a pile of forgotten papers when she tried to turn around and slice her hand through the air, but nothing happened. I grabbed her under the arms and carried her until she was running alongside me again. I wouldn’t leave her. I couldn’t leave her. Every time we looked back, he was there, his hands outstretched for a hug, a grin I think I would call evil still on his unlined face.
_____I was feeling feverish, my skin burning like a sheet of paper in a fire. I didn’t understand when Hannah said something to me. She wanted to stop at several corners, and each time she did, she waved her hands in the air and said stuff, and then turned to me in panic, nothing happening. So we would run again. Several times we saw the echo of a light in a doorway we would be running near, but each time we heard thunder, a shadow like the thingman wanting to hug us would appear inside.
_____We didn’t go into those doors.
_____“Children . . . please come to me . . .” echoed in the halls. His footsteps were loud and everywhere, and we spent a lot of time looking for his shadow. We ran through a door that didn’t have it.
_____“Look, Hannah! There’s another way out,” I pointed to a hallway that went right. But Hannah was looking at the hall that went to the left.
_____“Quick, let’s go this way,” Hannah urged, sniffing with a ghost of hope and pulling me down the left hall. I nodded and followed.
_____“Careful, Hannah,” I pulled her away from a large bucket of gray, brackish water she had been stepping toward, and the hole where a big part of the floor should have been, covered instead by long planks of wood. They looked rickety and dangerous.
_____“What is that smell, Hannah?”
_____“Smells like . . . wet cement,” she sniffed again, and I couldn’t understand why she was suddenly smiling, though I’m glad she was. It made her look very pretty.
_____“Clarity, would you go and check to see if he’s following us? And then come back here and duck when I say ‘now.’” Hannah told me her plan, holding the bucket as though she were ready to dowse a campfire. I nodded, looking out the empty door of the hall we had gone through. My heart was pounding so loud I’m surprised Hannah didn’t say something about it. Loud echoes of footsteps were thudding heavily on the floor and in our ears, shaking the floor beneath us.
_____“Children . . . children . . . I’m coming for you . . . chillllllllldren . . . chilllllldrrrrrrreeeeeeennnnnn . . . .”
_____I went out.
_____“I’ve got you!”
_____His words were playful as I shrieked and smacked into his chest, though I didn’t feel like playing. I ducked his wide hug and quickly ran back toward Hannah.
_____“I think he’s here, Hannah!”
_____“Now!”
_____I dropped to the floor and rolled to the right; Hannah doused him with the bucket.
_____The man flinched in surprise, covered in wet gunk.
_____I jumped to my feet and quickly pushed the man where the floor should have been. He fell with a shout, boards breaking under him and falling with him. Hannah wobbled only slightly..
_____“Now let’s get Christine and get out of here,” Hannah sidestepped back to the floor and grabbed my hand. We ran towards the right hall.
_____Thunder and lightning trailed our footsteps.

_____P.S. That’s really it, not much else to tell, I think, is there?
_____P.S. Again. Mr. Ron, how’s Mr. Fluffers? And Gabrielle? You haven’t mentioned anything about them for a long time. I hope they’re all right.
_____P.S. Again, again. I hope Eilonwy is okay, too. And Sarah.

[Willie Long]

_____The man flinched in surprise, covered in wet gunk.
_____I jumped to my feet and quickly pushed the man where the floor should have been. He fell with a shout, boards breaking under him and falling with him.

I just want to talk to the man.

Sounds like you better bring a hammer and chisel.

[Hannah]

Hi Clarity,

I'm sorry I had to leave you two like that, but I knew something was following us. I just didn't expect what I found . . . or what found me.

So you got her home okay? I'm glad to hear that. I'm not surprised to hear she didn't change any though.

Hannah

PS: Of course your still my friend, always and forever.

[Clarity]

_____Good. I’m glad. Maybe we can get together again someday.
_____P.S. You’re still my friend too, always and forever. Tell Sarah hi for me, please?

[Hannah]

Hi Everyone,

I didn't mean to leave this for two weeks but I've been really busy lately.

Anyway, let's get to telling what happened next.

I decided that whatever was following us through the woods wasn't going to give up. Christine and Clarity weren't all that used to runing through the forest at night. I can't say I was, but I seemed to be having a better time of it than they were. I figured I'd haev a better chance of escaping by myself than I would with them.

Now don't think like that. I also figured they'd have a better chance to escape if the thing following us had a little distraction and a different trail to follow.

I'm sure if I'd told Clarity what I was gonna do she wouldn't have let me do it. So I made sure that Clarity knew which way would take us back to town fastest and that if we got seperated she and Christine needed to head that way as fast as they can. I'm sure she suspected what was gonna happen, but as long as I idnd't say anything, neither did she.

I slowly dropped back until I could barely see or hear them. I followed like that until we got to a stream. When they went across I stopped and paed around on my side of the bank for a while, then set off along the stream, making sure my footsteps were in the mud.

It didn't take long. "I can smell your fear child." the voice hissed from the darkness. I dropped into a nearby bush to hide."Mmmmm, Hannah . . . and you're alone." I didn't want to know how close he was to know that. "They told me to take special care of you. They said that you were important to their plans. They said I didn't have to leave you alive like the little blind girl."

I had been scared up until he said that. But as soon as he started talking about Wie, I got angry. Before, when Clarity and Christine and I were at the building, when I tried to do let loose on the guy it didn’t work. But I didn’t care any more.

I stepped up from the bushes I was hiding in. “Hey ugly, I’m over here.” He turned to face me, his eyes shimmering green in the darkness.

I reached for fire.

Hannah

PS: Clarity, what did you two do when you noticed I was gone?

[Hannah]

Hi Everyone, here's some more

This time, it worked. A ball of flame appeared between my hands then turned into a rush of flame that engulfed him. He shrieked in inhuman agony as I poured it on.

I held the fire on him as long as I could, but eventually the flames spluttered and stopped.

I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust back to the darkness.

“Most impressive.” The hiss sounded almost appreciative. “They were right about you being special. ” The green eyes shone through the smoke . . . but they were different now. They were larger and further apart. They were also towering above me. “My turn.” His teeth gleamed like daggers.

I heard, rather than saw the talons sweeping for me. I threw myself backwards but not fast enough. A talon snagged the sleeve of my sweater and pulled me in close against its scaly hide. Its massive head turned to face me, the rest of its body extended off into the darkness. He snarled into my face, his breath smelling of carrion. “ Now dear child, it is time for you to learn what I have planned for you.”

I kept trying to pull away as he told me each little thing he had planned, each piece worst than the last. Each time I struggled, he pulled me in a little tighter. I could feel the drool dribbling down from his chin as he licked at his lips.

He was so busy talking, he didn’t hear the music.

Hannah

PS: Clarity, my mother said thank you.

[Clarity]

_____Hi, Hannah. I wanted to follow after you, but Christine wanted me to take her home. So I just followed the Light that came after you left.
_____P.S. You’re welcome, Hannah’s Mom.

[Hannah]

Hi Clarity,

What light was that?

Anyway, here's more of the story

The monster had forced my face against its hide, so I couldn’t see what was happening, but I sure could hear it. The music was getting louder, it was so light and happy, I almost forgot the danger I was in. I could feel my feet starting to move on their own and the cold night was suddenly warm and bright.

Ho there! With sharp tooth and scaly hide,
Release that girl who is to be my bride.

“Pathetic fey, I am of the 8th Circle. You cannot hope to prevail against me.” This close to the monster’s chest its voice was more rumble than words.

The music stopped. I felt the creature holding me stagger backwards in shock. I imagined Robin’s transformation when I refused him. How great and powerful he had become. I imagined the look on the creature’s face as it suddenly found itself facing the Lord of Greenwood enraged.

Be you figment of the mind or master of Hell
Turn the girl over to me and return to where you dwell.

The monster took another couple of steps back and turned to start to run, but stopped short.

You cannot hide, you cannot run.
Unhand the girl and leave us to our fun.

The creature swayed a few times, I think it was turning back and forth, looking for an escape route. Finding none it dropped me on my bottom. “So be it fey, to the winner the prize.”

I looked up at the two giants above me. Both of them brushed the leaves with their head and shoulders. One was a man of great proportions with cloven hooves and long horns. The other looked like something from a dinosaur book, with a great maw filled of dagger like teeth.

I scurried away as they clashed.

Hannah

PS: I'm not surprised Christine didn't want you to go back for me.

[Hannah]

Hi Everyone,

Here's some more.


I couldn’t help it, I was cheering for Robin. I knew that both of them had plans for me I didn’t want, but this was the second time he had saved me and the memory of the music was putting a smile on my face.

The monster or whatever it was, lead with its jaws most of the time, though occasionally it would swipe with claws or spin to strike with its tail. Robin on the other hand, pranced around the creature’s attacks as if they were dancing together. The creature’s attacks were savage and Robin’s counters poetic.

Perhaps Robin was over confident or perhaps his luck ran out. The creature, having been frustrated by Robin’s evasions one too many times roared and lunged forward, its jaws around Robin’s head.

I screamed, I didn’t want Robin to loose. I thought I was next to be dinosaur dinner.

However, Robin had grabbed the monster’s mouth and held it open like a lion tamer at the circus. They tussled back and forth like that for a few moments, but slowly Robin was able pry the jaws apart and pull his head out of their grasp.

Sensing what was coming, the monster yanked backwards, trying to free himself from Robin’s grip.

The sounds of bones cracking and flesh tearing filled the forest.

As I watched, unable to even breathe, the Lord of Greenwood ripped the monster’s lower jaw off, and then proceeded to beat the creature with it until it collapsed. He casually tossed the bloodied fragment aside and walked toward me, leaving the convulsing corpse behind him.

As he approached, he shrunk back down to his original size, his horns hiding underneath his hair. His presence was comforting, soothing.

Dear lass how can it be
That you ran so far away from me?

For you I would swim ocean and brook
So that as my bride you I took.

I snapped out of it as he reached for me and I began running back into the darkened forest.



Homework time.

Hannah

PS: More Story Soon

[Willie Long]

...the Lord of Greenwood...

This bothers me, Ron.

Its no hero, Hannah, deserves no title. Its just a thing, and it wants to kidnap you.

[Hannah]

Hi Willie,

It is his tittle and what the other faeries called him. Calling him by his name makes me think I'm writing about BraveSirRobin and I don't want anyone to confuse them.

Here's more of what happened.

...

It really wasn’t fair.

Here I was, running through the darkened forest, stumbling over roots, hooking my clothes on thorns and branches smacking me in the face and him . . . well it looked liked the forest made a point of stepping out of his way.

Betrothed of mine do not take flight.
I shall treat you well and never bite.

“Fat chance” I called back over my shoulder – and slammed into something solid, knocking myself to the ground.

I looked up at him. “But you were behind me.”

Please don’t be so foolish child.
None can escape me in the wild.

I slowly got up and looked around – the forest was gone. Instead, we were on a large outcropping of rock. The air smelled moist and salty. In the darkness below, I could hear waves crashing.

Now than you can neither hide nor run
Marry me and bare me a fine son.

“No, I’m not going to marry you. I am not promised to you. I want nothing to do with you.”

Come with me now while the stars are right
Take my hand and we shall take flight.

I looked around. On three sides was a long fall to the rocks below. The fourth side was Robin with his hand outstretched towards me. All were ways I didn’t want to go.

So I decided on plan B. I reached inside of me and grabbed for Fire.

It moved away, just beyond my reach.

I reached again, my fingertips just brushing it before it faded.

Your warrior’s heart shall make our children brave
But harm me you cannot with the gift my father to you gave

...

Will finish it off soon.

Hannah

PS: Anyone have any ideas about what to do about him?