ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 32

“I know…” Nina said in a small voice and nodded her head.

She was embarrassed that she behaved so unlady-like, in front of him, when Robert woke up. Her cheeks turned scarlet and she ran towards one corner of the cage and sat down.

“Oh! And he is my best friend, Robert,” Peter pulled Robert near him and introduced him.

“I know. He just introduced himself to me… Robert, the great…” She said with her head held down.

Peter nodded his head and said, “We are from the ‘Lambanies’ clan. Recently we were forced to leave our country. So, we have been traveling outside the border to check if anyone would take us in. When we were crossing the border, we lost my sister, Elly. That’s why I and Robert came here. In the end, we got caught in the witch’s trap just like you.”

“Ok,” Nina finished the conversation with one word.

Peter was not ready to accept the defeat yet. So, he pulled out the miracle plant from inside his bag and showed it to her.

“This plant is called ‘Hygelnewl’ plant. It has several other names, Angel plant, miracle plant, and many more. This plant is considered as one of the most valuable in this whole world…” He kept on bragging about the plant while shaking it from one side to another. 

He then started to tell her about his journey on how they came here and what had happened before they met her.

Robert gripped the water pouch in his hands and looked at Peter in awe with his mouth wide open. Meanwhile, Elly’s eyes twitched as she could not believe that the person who was talking so much to a girl was her brother, Peter.

The boy who was always shy to talk to girls kept on narrating stories and sometimes he even made Nina laugh. It all looked so unreal to them and they rubbed their eyes to make sure that it was not a dream and actually happening in real life.

Elly held Robert’s hand and pinched him as she thought that she had dozed off once again. Only when Robert pulled his hand away with a painful scream, did she believe that everything was real.

“Ouch,” Robert shook his hand up and down in pain as Elly had pinched him hard.

A small part of his skin almost got pierced and the surrounding area turned reddish pink. He glared at Elly and questioned her, “Why did you pinch me?”

“Oh! I just wanted to check if it’s a reality or a dream. I can’t believe my brother is talking to a girl…” She said while pointing at Peter who was sitting next to Nina.

“Me neither. So, should I also pinch you to know if it was real or a dream?” Robert asked her when he continued to rub his arm.

“I am sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you. I only wanted to check as I was worried that this was all happening in my head. It feels so unreal and whatever had happened today made me wonder if you both are really here or not,” Elly said with a sad face which made Robert’s anger disappear immediately. 

She never imagined that she had been with an evil witch until now. She could not get how the evil witch was able to exactly pretend like her grandma Rosie. She feared if her grandma was alright or not and wondered what happened to her.

She then continued to list everything that had happened to Robert after they entered the underground basement. 

“First, the one who I believed to be our grandmother turned into someone evil. Then Nameless became invisible and he became sick. If it was not for Nina’s help then we all could have got into bigger trouble if you and Nameless stayed separate from each other for a longer time. Even though she had turned you into a sandwich roll, in the end, you are now doing fine.”

She leaned on his shoulder and told him. Then she gazed at Peter and said, “Also, right now, Peter is talking to a girl without being shy. Moreover, I still could not believe that we are all finally together in one place.”

“I know it’s all difficult to believe but we are here and we will protect you with our life. Don’t worry, We will never let any harm near you,” Robert said and caressed her head.

“I know…” Elly said and closed her eyes to catch some sleep once again.

At that moment, Robert’s tummy grumbled to indicate that he was hungry. Elly heard the grumbling sound and giggled. She then asked him,

“Are you hungry? I hope Peter has saved some more food.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have got some snacks with me which I took from the village near the border.” Robert said and took out a packet of dried fruits from his backpack.

He then munched on them while patting Elly’s back, so that she could go to sleep. He even started to sing their famous folk song which made Nina shake her head to the rhythm.

Peter glared at Robert for spoiling his time with Nina. He then thought, ‘If I had known that she likes songs and music then I would have sung that song first. Anyway, I could sing better than him.’

A small smile crossed Elly’s lips and then she slowly drifted off to sleep. Everyone followed her and they dozed off within a couple of minutes.

Right when they were all in their deep sleep, Elly started to shake and sweat vigorously. She had a very disturbed sleep as she kept on having the most frightening dreams of her life. 

She dreamt that her grandmother was being tortured by the evil witch. Then the evil witch started to chase after her when she tried to stop her and save her grandmother. 

“No… No... No….!” She shrieked and Robert woke up immediately.

“Elly… Elly… It’s ok… It’s ok… I am here…” Robert shook her and tried to wake her up.

Elly heard Robert’s voice and in her half-sleep, she mumbled, “Robby, I am afraid… She is so scary… I am afraid that something might have happened to grandma. We need to find her as soon as possible and save her or else the evil witch will kill her.” 

After saying that to him, she started to run towards the cage door. But before she could touch the cage bars, Nina flew from her place and stood in between the cage and Elly. 

The iron bars on the cage burnt her skin on the back and made thick b****y lines. Peter rushed towards them and pushed Elly towards Robert. He then held Nina’s body before she fell to the ground. 

Elly was fully awake by then and she shivered after seeing the burnt marks on Nina. Robert and Peter looked at one another in shock.

“Move away from the cage… It’s been electrocuted… Hurry…” Robert shouted at Peter.

Peter struggled to hold and pull Nina towards the center of the cage as her back got completely burnt. He also felt that the temperature of her body kept on increasing and reached a very high level.

Elly moved forward to help Peter but then he shouted at her and said, “Stay back. Do not come near us.”

He had never shouted at Elly before and so it made her tremble. She was afraid that she made a huge mistake and let Princess Nina get hurt. Elly wailed and in between her sobs she said,

“I am sorry… I am sorry… I didn't mean to hurt her. I did not know that touching the cage would hurt. All I wanted to do was to find Grandma Rosie, as she might be in danger because of the evil witch. I didn't even know why she came in front of me and protected me. I am sorry... I am so sorry...”

She knelt on the cage floor and wept. Robert held her shoulders and stared at Peter with accusing eyes.

But before he could say anything, Peter hastily said, “We both are poisoned. That’s why I asked Elly to not come near us. So, don't you dare start your lecture now as I am in no mood to hear that?"