Trek For Survival

When they paused midday, to hand out food, Gia started going through her bag. She didn"t say anything to anyone, but it was obvious she was planning what she would need to take, in order to save Vonn. No one dared to mention it might be useless.

Carla mentioned quietly to Tom, her fear of losing Gia and the baby, but Tom shot her down quickly with a look. There was no way they were going to convince Gia not to go, and everyone knew it.

By the end of the day, they were all tired. The donkey was even starting to lag. As they came up over a crest, the view of a village before them cheered them all up. However, as they started back up, Gia didn"t move.

"Come on, Gia," said Carla, causing Tom to pause the donkey.

Mikey turned in his seat, to look at her. "Is Gia leaving now? I thought we were going to get to the village first?"

"No, there"s still plenty of light for me to get a good way up the mountain. You should be fine the rest of the way to the village," said Gia, tightening the straps on her backpack. "You can use the coin from the dwarves to stay at the inn, if they have one. Otherwise, I"m sure someone will let you stay in their home for the night. Tomorrow, you can start looking for a decent homesite. As soon as Vonn and I get back, we can start building."

Tom stepped up to her and took her chin between two of his fingers. "Daughter, I look forward to seeing you again. We love you."

Carla"s eyes were too full of tears for her to be able to say anything. She had her hands clutched so tightly to her chest; they were turning white.

"It shouldn"t take longer than a week, I think," said Gia with a nod, looking up at the mountain.

"Gia!" Mikey cried, sliding off the donkey and rushing to her. As his arms wrapped around her, she couldn"t help but notice how much he had grown. Sprout was peeking at her from his shoulder, blinking a message she didn"t understand.

"I"ll be back in a week. I have to go get Vonn," she said, kneeling in front of him and wiping the long hair from his eyes.

"But mages are super dangerous!" he hiccupped.

"I have the amulet," she said, holding it up for him to see. "I"ll be just fine."

"Vonn was wearing one of those, and he"s been s.n.a.t.c.hed," sniffed Mikey, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"You need to go, before it gets too dark," said Gia, kissing his brow, then quickly moving to each of her parents and planting a kiss on their cheeks before turning her back and hurrying off into the brush. If she waited another moment, she might have lost her courage.

The moment she left the path to the village, and started walking through the forest, she felt a weight lift off of her chest. She would find Vonn, and they would be together again. No matter what that meant. She thought she heard Mikey cry after her one last time, but knew her parents wouldn"t let him follow her. Sending a prayer to Bob, to watch out for her family, she pushed forward into the growing gloom.

Breaking through some thick bushes, she found herself before another wide stream. It wasn"t as deep as the river had been. Picking out which stones to step on, Gia prepared to cross when she heard a splash and a giggle. Ducking down quickly, she hid behind a tree as a young girl, all dressed in white, ran by. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her as she skipped from rock to rock, avoiding the trickling water.

Gia was about to step out and ask who she was, when she noticed the girl had a long tail trailing out from under her dress hem. It ended with a tuft of hair the same color as her hair.

With a giggle, the girl, swirled on a rock and said, "Who"s there? Do you want to play?"

"No," answered Gia before she could stop herself. Had the girl used magic on her to make her speak up?"

"Oh, boo! It"s a girl! Why are you in the forest alone?" she asked, skipping closer to where Gia was hiding.

"The mage took my husband. I"m on my way to save him," admitted Gia, fighting the urge to step out from her hiding place.

"I can smell the mage on you. He always burns everything when he leaves a place. I hate him!" exclaimed the girl, wrinkling her nose in disgust. It was adorable.

"I haven"t had a chance to bathe," said Gia, glancing down at her clothes. It hadn"t occurred to her.

"Do you even know that way?" asked the girl, dancing closer to the bank of the stream, but not leaving the water.

"No," sighed Gia, clenching her fists. "I know he lives at the top of the mountain. I will find him and bring back my Vonn!"

"Such love and devotion," sighed the girl, clutching her hands in delight. "I can"t help you get to the mage, but I know someone who will."

"Really?" asked Gia, glancing back at the girl doubtfully. "Why would you help me?"

"Let"s just say I"m a sucker for a good love story," laughed the girl. "You should bring me your first born, when she"s born, and I will bless her."

"I don"t know," said Gia, placing a hand on her belly. How could she trust someone she had just met?

"There"s an egg hidden in the bushes to your left. The mage was trying to steal some of the griffon eggs and dropped on. I pushed it up there, to keep it safe, but I imagine if you take it back to the griffon nest it came from, the mother would take you to the mage"s keep."

Gia glanced to her left, but couldn"t see anything in the dark.

"Young mother, go save your love. I can sense that he"s not yet dead. The griffons mourn their lost young. Go bring light back into their world!" The girl stomped her foot on the last word and then disappeared from sight.

Gia craned her neck, but couldn"t see her anywhere. Leaving her hiding spot, she made her way along the bank to the left and found tucked up under a bush, a large white egg. Licking her lips nervously, she squared her shoulders and picked it up. Feeling something move inside made her almost drop it. Then there was a soft chirp, as the baby inside called out.

"Don"t worry, little one. I"ll take you back home," murmured Gia, looking around for the nest the girl had mentioned.

A cliff high above her head was covered in sticks and feathers. Could that be it? Her eyes traveled over the sheer sides of the cliff, and she was reminded of the cliff she had to climb once already to escape the wave of water. This one didn"t have the handholds as the other, and she wouldn"t be able to climb it anyway, with the egg cradled in her arms. Maybe she could call up to the parents, and get their attention?

Glancing around uncertainly, in case any other monsters lurked about, Gia cleared her throat.

"h.e.l.lo? Are there any griffons up there?" she called.

A rustle greeted her cry, and a head popped over the edge. It had a black beak and pure white feathers around its face. As it twisted to see who had called it, Gia could see longer black feathers framing the face.

"I found an egg, could it be yours?" she called up again, holding the egg where the griffon could see.

It gaped at her for a moment, then scrambled out of the nest, quickly followed by another beige colored griffon. When they landed in the water before her, she almost dropped the egg. They weren"t as big as the lions had been, but they were still plenty large enough to carry her off and eat her if they wanted. She glanced down at the claws on each of their feet and swallowed in fear.

"Where did you find that?" asked the black and white griffon, shoving its head right into her face.

"It was here, up under a bush," she whispered, too afraid to move, in case it decided to bite her in half.

"Is it ours?" asked the beige griffon, peering over at it.

"I believe so," answered the black and white griffon.

There was another chirp from the egg, and both griffons fluffed up their feathers in excitement and delight. The beige one immediately began chirping back at the egg in soft little chirps.

"Come, climb on my back, human," said the black and white griffon. "We will take you back to our nest so our baby can be safe. You may see it hatch in payment!"