Angelsson

Chapter: X

I woke up to the sound of grunting. I opened my eyes and saw Penelope trying to get away. I slowly sat up, and watched. She was half dragging herself, half crawling. She was a few yards (maybe 10 yards?) from the tree, which meant she was having little progress, or great progress. But that depended on when she started.

"Hey! Penelope!" I yelled to her.

She turned her head, and slumped down. "Yea?"

"How long have you been crawling?" I asked.

"Uh...maybe an hour?" she said.

"Yea, I thought so..." I mumbled.

I got up, and I walked over to her. She then started moving like crazy. I picked her up by the ankles, and I dragged her back over to the tree.

"Hey! Let, GO!" she said, kicking me.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I got to get you to Lanvestt." I said.

She started to kick hard now.

"I'M NOT GOING BACK THERE! NO!" She said, kicking really hard.

I then muttered a spell to paralyze her momentarily.

"Ok, so, first rule, you obey me no matter what. Second rule, no hurting me. Third rule, you don't try to get away. Got it?" I said.

But, since she was paralyzed, she didn't nod, but she did groan. I took it as a yes, so I un-paralyzed her. She then stopped kicking, and she let herself get dragged back to the tree. When we got there, I laid the buck skin flat on the ground. I then put Penelope on it.

"Ok, I'm going to drag you along, unless you want to be carried from here to Lanvestt." I said, taking out some rope.

"I'll be fine down here, but don't go over any potholes." She said, shifting her position.

I smiled, bowed, and said, "Yes, your majesty. Anything you say."

I think that if she could stand, she would slap me.

"Not funny." She said.

I shook my head, and I bent down to the buckskin. I poked four holes in it, one on each corner. I then folded the buckskin over Penelope, and I put rope through each connecting hole. I then tied the two ropes together, and I tied a rope to that knot so I can pull the small sled.

"Ok, ready?" I said, wrapping the rope around my hand.

"Yea." said Penelope.

I nodded, and began to pull. She wasn't heavy, but then again, she wasn't light. I could guess she was maybe...115? I shook my head, and continued to pull her.

The ride was a fairly smooth ride from what I could hear from the passenger. She said "oof" and "ouch" at times, but other than that, she said nothing. In the middle of the day, I remembered something.

"So, you owe me something." I said, not looking back.

"Uh huh. Go on." She said.

"Your story. Remember last night?" I said.

"Yea...you want to hear it?" said asked.

"Yes. Please." And so, she began:

She, like me, was born and raised in Lanvestt. She was a reject like me, but she didn't give up hope in the town. She stayed, and lived in the alleyways. She stole to get food and clothing. She stole to stay alive, is what she told me, so I guessed the food and clothing part.

But, one day, a man in a dark cloak told her to go with him. She said no at first, but then when the man told her that he was her father, she went. They went over the Gateway mountains (which separated Lanvestt from the rest of the world), and toward the Red mountain. When they arrived there, the man began to mutter things.

After a while, doors opened in the side of the mountains. They went through those, and never came out. In the doors was the Netherworld, which all demons lived. There, she learned everything. She learned how to use the sword, how to use the dagger, and how to sneak away into the shadows.

One day, her father told her that there was a big war, and he had to leave to go fight in the war. Penelope asked him if he would come back, and he said he hoped he would. He then left, and didn't return. When that happened she began to ask where he was. From what she was told, he died. She was then angry at the demons, and left the Netherworld.

She then went to Eqvahall, and stayed there. Everyone was nice to her, and she was treated very well by the villagers. One day, a woman came to her, and asked her if she would like to live with her. Penelope said no, and she left Eqvahall.

She took refuge in the forest, knowing that no one would go into it. Then, people that looked like they were from the Netherworld started to come to her, trying to make her go with them. She refused, and hid from them.

Soon, they stopped coming. She became curious, and so she went back to Eqvahall. She learned that the couple that asked her to live with them left, and that there was a new king ruling that prohibited angels and demons. She then changed her identity stating that she was a human. She also needed money, so she became a thief.

And then I came.

"So, now here we are, I with a victim, and that victim actually saving me." She said.

"Actually, you're saving me by giving me something to do." I said.

She laughed, then said, "No, I'm not. It's dangerous to have a demon and an angel working together."

"There again! I'm not an angel! I'm just your regular, everyday reject!" I said, walking faster.

"But you are. I can feel it. But you also feel like a demon. Which puzzles me." She said.

I sighed, slowed down, then I said, "Just tell me why it's dangerous."

"What?

"Why it's dangerous to have a demon and an angel working together."

"Oh. Because from what I remember, demons are supposed to capture angels."

"What?" I said, hesitating.

"And when they are, either they get more demons to get you to the Netherworld, or they wait and see if that demon could bring that angel." said Penelope.

I stopped, and looked at Penelope. Her eyes were telling me that she wasn't lying. That wasn't good.

"We need to make camp. It's getting dark." I said.

Penelope nodded, and I dragged her to a tree.

"I'll be back." I said, walking away to look for a good site to camp. When I got out of sight from her, I thought of what was happening. For all I knew, I was in danger.