My heart, My love, My dragon

Chapter 2

           Anya closed up shop exhausted. The witch(Mrs. Letberg) had left hours ago. Sneezing, she walked down 3rd street into the small woods in which she lived with her brother. Her forehead felt hot and her cheeks were burning. She had no coat and so, drenched and shivering against the Lake cold wind she walked to the cabin. Strangely, all the lights in the cabin were off but she paid no attention because of her dizziness.

When she stepped in she warily said, “Sam, I think I’m coming down with a fever.”

“I think you’ll be okay,” she heard her brother’s voice and a click from the sound of the light turning on. Her brother came into view. What shocked her was that Sam was standing on his two feet directly in front of his wheelchair. 

“Sam, a-are you walking?” Anya stuttered and dropped her apron on the ground. “That’s fantastic!”

Sam’s lips turned sinister and unpleasant. “On the contrary, I’d like to thank you for working these two years while I sat in a wheelchair knowing I could walk. I was yearning for a way to get rid of you so I could finally go out to the world and now I have been blessed.”

“Sam? I don’t think I feel good,” Anya felt her world exploding in various pieces and later burning into ashes.

“Everything will be fine. I’ve sold you.”

“S-sold me?”

“Uh-huh. The men behind you offered a high price. I’m a millionaire now and don’t need you,” Anya recognized the two men immediately. Chris and Arin from the store. Chris stared at the ground uncomfortably as Arin handed Sam a bag of money.

“Sam, please don’t. I’m begging you. You’re my brother you can’t sell me off. I don’t care! I’ll forgive you but don’t send me with them! You don’t know what they’ll do to me!” Anya sank to her knees and pleaded with him. She felt strong arms coil around her waist and pull her to her feet. She fumbled around screaming, kicking, punching and sobbing but she felt a part of her break as her brother turned away, counting the money from the bag.

A cloth was pressed against her nose and she inhaled once which was all it took for her to blackout.

******

Anya woke up relieved that it was all just a nightmare but something was off. The bed was softer and much larger than usual and the room was dark since the curtain was blocking the sunlight. A cold cloth was pressed against her forehead. She sat up with an immediate jolt.

Arin was sleeping, his head resting against the edge of the bed. Anya realized that everything was real. She felt herself go pale upon thinking about what he was planning to do with her. Probably p********e her. Her small figure allowed her to slither out of bed. She wasted no other time in dashing out of the room. 

She ran until she found a spiral staircase. Voices sounded from below so she tread carefully to make sure the floorboards did not creak. There was an umbrella in a bin at the end of the stairs. Anya grabbed it and held it steady. She walked away from the voices and found an office. Thankfully, the office was on the first floor. There were large glass windows and a door. She could see the woods and freedom. She opened the door and cringed when it made a loud noise. The voices from afar stopped but Anya was already out into the woods. 

Stumbling, she realized she was barefooted and was not equipped for the cold weather. She had an airy white dress that didn’t do much to protect her from the harsh wind. She wondered relentlessly where she was- she didn’t recall Michigan being this cold. The ground turned white with snow. She was panting by the time she stopped running. A lump formed in her throat upon seeing an enormous bay in front of her. 

The wind whipped at her small frame harshly. Her teeth clattered and she no longer felt her feet. She used the umbrella to steady herself as she approached the water. She bent down and let her fingertips skim the water. The water might as well be ready to turn to ice. Swimming was out of the question for two reasons. One, Anya had zero intel on how to swim and two, she’ll turn into an ice cube before reaching one of those small islands in the distance.

There were towns to the distance in which Anya thought she could receive assistance. Anya saw a figure coming out of the woods and immediately turned pale. It was Arin. Anya began to have a coughing fit. 

“It’s best if you come back with me,” he spoke, taking more steps toward her. “You’ve just had a fever and being out in the cold is not helping you.”

His eyes showed no warmth, remorse, or caring but they were frozen and cold. Anya felt the icy water rush past her feet. She let out a tiny squeak but raised the umbrella defensively. “D-don’t c-c-come any closer to me.”

“And what are you going to do? Pierce me with the umbrella?” he said disinterestedly.

“Thank you for the idea,” Anya retorted.

“Stop being a nuisance. I have priorities to complete.”

“I wouldn’t h-have to b-b-be a nuisance if you hadn’t taken me away from home,” Anya was knee-deep in the cold water.

“I-I-I don’t like your tone with me,” he mocked. Anya felt offended at his words.

“Let me go or I’ll have to call the police and have them arrest you!” she threatened. Arin scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. “Men who are pedophiles' spend countless years in jail.”

“I’d like to warn you about the water you're stepping in. Wonder why there is no one around the water? Because there are meat-eating fish in the water,” Arin didn’t try to step closer to Anya.

It was Anya’s turn to scoff, “I’m thirteen, not six. I won’t fall for fairy tales.”

“Then start acting like it.”

“Excuse me?”Anya’s blood turned cold. Something scale brushed past her feet. She felt herself go paler. “What will you do to me if I come back?”

“All you’ll do is be in your room.”

“Imprisoned?”

“It’s that or out here.”

Anya took a step forward and was instantly sucked in by the tide. She let out a small shriek before being engulfed by the water. The tide kept pulling her in until her feet no longer touched the ground and she felt herself drown. Her arms and legs flailed until her strength and lungs gave out. She screamed and screamed until she knew it was pointless because no one could hear her screams underwater. She had wasted her oxygen and her body went limp.

Something splashed in the water and dragged her upward by the shoulders. She felt her head finally above water but eyes closed. Arin was muttering curses relentlessly. He dragged her body onto the sand where she sat up and coughed up the salty water. Her throat was dry and her stomach flipped. Arin picked her up and started to run back into the forest.

Anya could care less where he was bringing her because she was relishing in the warmth of his body. She snuggled closer to him shivering and he tensed. She kept thinking on how she went from standing on land to drowning in water to now being carried to who knows where.

The last thing she heard was Arin shouting, “Hurry up and get some hot water!”