The Girl and the Naga

Chapter 13

I felt much better the next morning, and within the next few days I was my old self again.

One bright, sunny afternoon Alec, Leif and I were lying in the grass outside Alec's cave. We were talking and staring at the puffy clouds as they rolled by.

Suddenly, the ground started to thud.

"What's going on?" I asked, sitting up.

Both Alec and Leif paused and listened for the sound. The next time we heard it, they turned to each other with wide eyes.

"Take her to the trees," Alec said, getting up and slithering towards the tree line.

"Why? What's happening?" I asked as Leif picked me up and we swung into a tree.

"The giant is coming. We need to hide," he said, depositing me on a branch.

He manipulated some branches so that they hid us from view. He watched from behind them, but I couldn't see a thing.

The thumping noise got louder and the entire tree shook with the vibrations.

Then, they just stopped.

I was dying to see what this giant looked like, but all the leaves and branches were in my way.

I leaned forward and tried to push them aside, but then another thud shook the tree. I lost my balance and fell off the branch, plummeting towards the ground.

I screamed as I fell ten feet before I grabbed onto another branch. But I didn't have a good hold on it, and I slipped. I expected to fall the rest of the way, and most likely not survive, but I was surprised when I landed on something soft.

I opened my eyes and realized I was standing on skin.

I slowly and cautiously turned around, hoping that I wasn't standing on what I thought I was standing on.

But sure enough, I was met with a giant face staring down at me curiously.

I scrambled back, but was stopped by its fingers. He smiled down at me and cupped his other hand over me.

"Help!" I screamed, hoping that Alec or Leif might hear me.

I started hitting and kicking at the giant's hand, hoping to get him to let me go.

But he just opened up his hand so that he could pick me up and deposit me in his shirt pocket.

I fell into the corner and pulled my knees close to my chest. I wanted to cry, but I told myself not to.

Stay strong, I thought. Be brave.

After a long time of waiting, walking, and worrying, the giant reached into his pocket and picked me up with two fingers.

He set me down on a table in a house. I had no idea where in the jungle we were, and even if I could escape, I wouldn't know how to get back to Leif and Alec.

The giant stared down at me, and I stared back into its huge eyes. I tried not to tremble, but I wasn't doing a very good job.

"So, what are you supposed to be? Some kind of tree spirit?" it asked me.

"N-no. I'm a human," I said.

"A human. Never had one of those before. What do you do?" he asked.

"I-I don't know. Nothing really," I replied, a little confused.

"Well, do you sing?" it asked.

"A little," I replied.

"Well then, sing," it ordered.

"I-I don't know," I stammered.

"Sing!" he ordered again, a little louder causing me to startle.

So I sang, just a random little tune with no words. The giant seemed satisfied by it, since he smiled.

When I finished, he reached for me and gently picked me up, though I flinched all the same. He carried me over to a large birdcage and placed me inside, locking the door behind me.

Then he left the room, and when he didn't come back after a while, I moved over to the door of the cage and tried to open it. But in order to do so, I had to pull two notches back, one at the top of the door, and one at the bottom. I couldn't reach them both, so I gave up and lay down on the cold floor of the cage.

I fell asleep, despite my discomfort.

Hours later, I woke up for no reason, or at least I thought it was for no reason.

"Psst, Fae," I heard someone whisper.

I turned to look towards the sound, and saw Alec and Leif on the other side of the cage.

"Guys," I exclaimed, getting up and reaching my hands through the bars.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"We followed the giant footsteps, of course," Leif answered.

"Let's get you out of here," Alec said, slithering over to the door.

He pulled the notch at the bottom of the door while Leif climbed up and pulled the top notch. I pushed the door up and climbed out.

"Alright, let's scram," Leif said.

"Wait, won't the giant come back when he notices I'm gone?" I asked.

"No, he's pretty stupid. He won't realize you're gone for a long time. And once he does, he won't remember where he got you," Leif explained.

"Okay, if you say so," I said.

Alec slithered down the leg of the table while Leif helped lower me down with a vine rope he had brought.

Alec was waiting for me at the bottom.

"We need to get out of here quickly," he said. "Climb onto my back."

I climbed onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. He held my legs in both his arms to help support me.

"I'm ready," I said.

"Let's go," Alec said to Leif.

So we left the giant's house quickly and quietly, and made our way through the jungle and back towards Alec's territory.

We traveled for several hours, and I became very drowsy, though I tried to stay awake.

"You can rest," Alec said, noticing my nodding off.

"Are you sure? I don't want to make it harder on you," I told him.

"Don't worry about it," he said, turning his head to smile at me.

I rest my head against his shoulder and quickly fell asleep.

I woke up slightly awhile later when I heard Alec and Leif talking.

"Do you want a break?" Leif asked.

"Sure," Alec replied.

I felt Leif pull me off Alec's back and start to carry me.

I moaned involuntarily and sighed, curling up against Leif's warm body.

"Go back to sleep," Leif whispered.

I barely nodded, and drifted back to sleep again.