the Villager and the Son (2)
“Yes, Daddy!” Annabeth answered, but _of course_, she would visit Ivan. And _of course_, she _hated_ the fact that her father thought all Cornians were lunatics. She didn’t know many Cornians, but - well - at least Ivan _wasn’t_ one, so: ‘My father is wrong, no matter what,’ she decided. Her heart was struck by Cupid: and she would _willingly do anything_ for Ivan. _She was going to save him._ She took a look at Ivan in the newspaper. He was lying in the cell in the bed, staring at the camera. His eyes were just as crystal; only that they were _dark blue_ like the space instead. He looked as if he didn’t care, setting his hands under his head, looking relaxed. However, he was grimacing slightly. For some reason, Annabeth could imagine what he must be thinking: probably _‘I hope Annabeth won’t read this’_. If this is so, unlucky - she’s read it already.
At midnight, Annabeth pulled on pants and a T-shirt. She tied her hair into a ponytail. She stuffed a silver dagger into her bag as she sneaked outside. She closed the door carefully with a ‘_snap_’. Outside, the moon was bright, _shinning onto the road_. There were no sound except the owls hooting loudly. The wind was _cold and chilly_, making Annabeth _shiver and sneeze_. Quickly she pulled a jacket off the laundry rack and put it on. She knew she had no time.
She moved her feet silently as she ran across the grassland towards the entrance of the forest. She knew the whole village by heart. There was only one prison cell there - in the _centre of the forest_. She _shivered_ at the thought that she had to go into the forest in the middle of the night but urged herself on. She couldn’t believe the fact that she was now going to save a person from another country: it was like a novel. She had enjoyed reading them, but right now she was terrified. She finally understood why the characters’ teeth had all _‘clattered with fear’_, and sighed softly, _“Ah me!”_ Exactly what Juliet sighed on the balcony in _Romeo and Juliet_. She imagined how Romeo replied with _‘Speak! Speak, bright angel! Speak!’_, only that the face she imagined Romeo was _her handsome, beloved Ivan Casper_.
She went into the forest. It had rained, and the forest was damp and misty. The ground was wet and slippery. Raindrops trickled down leaves and fell onto her head with sounds of _‘plop’_, as if it was raining in slow motion. All forest animals were in their nests and burrows, a lucky thing, for she would _jump up in shock_ if a snake suddenly slithered in front of her.
After what seemed years full of fear and worry, Annabeth arrived at the prison. She hid in a bush at looked out. It was just a large cage, only that it was in the forest. She was utterly furious. What if it hadn’t rained? Insects and wild animals could enter the prison anytime they wanted, and the prisoner would be hurt. She suddenly remembered her father reading a newspaper when she was about _five_. When she had paid attention to what he was saying, he was reading aloud the words _‘…saves to time for execution. Just dump him or her in and wait for him or her to die…’_ She had asked her father what it was about at that moment. Her father replied _uncomfortably_, “It’s nothing, dear Bethy. Now run along to play with Chrissy - she’s waiting for you.” She was _innocent_, and she would have never imagined the truth, so she answered ‘Yes, Daddy’ at that moment and ran off to find her friend.
She thought of Chrissy - of how she told her of meeting Ivan, of him bringing her back to the village. Chrissy had been _stunned_ for a few seconds, then patted her on the back and whispered, _“Don’t worry, I’ll not tell anyone.”_ So Chrissy must have known that Ivan was the Cornians’ captain’s son! She must have noticed that Ivan’s surname was that of Captain Casper.
Annabeth took a deep breath and walked to the prison. _“Ivan,” she said softly_. She looked inside and suppressed a yell of shock as Ivan’s crystal blue eyes _glittered in the darkness_.
“Eh! What - what are you doing here?” Ivan whispered furiously, “Go! Go now, Annabeth! Before they catch you!”
“No, no, I can’t!” Annabeth cried, “I’ve come to save you - and you’re calling me to leave? No, I’d never. If you don’t let me save you, I’ll stay here until the guards come.”
_“Now, be reasonable, Annabeth,”_ Ivan lowered his voice and said gently, _“When the guards come, we’ll be in trouble. Go now, before you have no time!”_
_ _“I’M NOT AFRAID OF IT!” Annabeth _yelled_, “AND SINCE YOU INSIST, I’LL MAKE THEM COME HERE RIGHT NOW AND GRANT YOUR WISH.”
“Hush!” Ivan whispered. He sighed,_ “Since you insist, you… you may stay.”_
“Yay,” Annabeth cheered softly, “I’ll get the key… wait for me.” She walked to the back, where there was a chair for guards to sit. The key was on top of it. She took it out of the hook and walked back to Ivan.
“The guards aren’t here. Guess they left because it was so cold,” Annabeth told him, smiling, “Pah! The lazybones.”
She inserted the key and twisted it. There was a creaking sound, and the door opened: out came Ivan, as tall and bold as usual.
“Thank you,” he muttered. “No prob,” Annaneth replied, “Let’s go.”
The two walked through the forest, their shoes squelching through the mud. Ivan suddenly stopped: “Annabeth, how is your leg? Does it still hurt?”
Annabeth managed a smile: “Yeah, sure it does.” Truth to be told, she had twisted her ankle when she tripped; and now that he mentioned it, she continued walking, but it got more painful, and she had to _limp _as they walked.
Ivan noticed this. “Does it still hurt?” he asked, stopping. “…No.” Annabeth replied after a short pause, but she was _gritting her teeth_ as she said so.
Ivan walked to her and kneeled down. “Get on,” he told her.
“What? You’re insane,” she exclaimed, but then felt guilty: hadn’t her father said that all Cornians were lunatics? If so, she was agreeing with him.
Ivan didn’t know what she was thinking. “Hop on,” he repeated, “If you do not, we are going to get caught. You are too slow now.”
Annabeth had to agree with him. _She sighed, “You’re the most crazy person I’ve ever met,”_ but she climbed onto his back.
Ivan used his hands to make sure she wouldn’t fall and started running. He was fast, even though he had her on his back. Wind blew onto Annabeth’s face, and she suddenly felt like a cowboy._ “Yeehaa,” _she said softly, but Ivan heard her. He chuckled and Annabeth blushed.
Soon the two arrived to the entrance to the forest. Just then guards surrounded them. “HALT!” the captain shouted, “STOP THEM!” the villagers, hearing the commotion, came out in their pyjamas, rubbing their eyes.
“BETHY!” Mrs Balony _screamed_. She ran towards Ivan and Annabeth. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT? THE BAD GUY’S MADE YOU HELP HIM, HAVEN’T HIM?”
“BACK OFF, MUM!” Annabeth yelled, getting off Ivan’s back, “IVAN’S NEVER DONE THAT. INSTEAD, HE HELPED ME BEFORE!”
“SO YOU’D HELP THE ENEMY, GIRL?” the captain _demanded_.
“No,” Annabeth smiled sadly, “I’m on my country’s side.”
“BUT THERE’S ONE THING TO REMIND YOU, DAD,” Annabeth _raised _her voice: “NOT ALL CORNIANS ARE BAD. AT LEAST IVAN ISN’T ANYWAY.”
Annabeth turned to the captain. She pulled her dagger from her bag. The dagger sparkled silver, glinting in the darkness. “I’ll never leave my country,” she told him, “And here’s my proof.”
She swung the dagger and thrust it into her heart. Bright red blood burst from her body, making the sliver dagger red with blood. Blood dripped from the dagger, falling into the ground. Annabeth fell with a large thud onto the ground, splattering everyone near her with her blood.
“ANNABETH! ANNABETH!” The villagers yelled in alarm.
“ANNABETH!” Ivan cried, “WHY - WHY - WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS?”
Annabeth did not hear him. “What a tragedy…” She murmured, “Two people from warring kingdoms have fallen in love. Rather like Romeo and Juliet.” She put her hands onto Ivan. _“My love, give her a kiss. She looks so sweet.”_ She told him lovingly, quoting _the Taming of the Shrew_.
“Right. A kiss.” Ivan murmured, “It is _now or never_.” And he daintily gave her a kiss, feeling her lifeless soul slipping away. _Annabeth’s soul was taken away from Hermes, and so she closed her eyes, taking her last breath and left for the underworld._
__
_ _Ivan held her lifeless body without moving a muscle, _staring straight_ at the forest where they had met. After a long time, he shook his head.
“How can I ever repay you?” He asked her. She would never reply.
He pulled the dagger from her body. “This decoration is ugly on you. It does not match,” he told her. He thrust it into his heart and fell down next to her.
“_Wait for me_, Annabeth,” he said, “I am coming. _Wait for me_.” And he closed his eyes, smiling, waiting for Hermes to come and get him too.
Chrissy told everyone what had happened, and everyone sighed.
A week later, the two kings of the kingdoms signed the Treaty of Two, which declares to never battle against each other again. _‘The war was a horrible incident for their people’_, they wrote, and they agreed that they should become allies for the fates of their people.
The villagers erected a statue, made of the silver dagger the two suicide with: and what was sculpted were Annabeth Balcony and Ivan Casper, hand in hand, smiling at each other. _‘May Annabeth Balony and Ivan Casper meet each other in the underworld’_, the sign under the sculpture says. They have not forgotten to sculpt Annabeth’s dress, nor have they forgotten Ivan’s crystal blue eyes, sparkling under the sun.
~ The End ~