Saving Summer

Chapter Nineteen: Unexpected Encounter

Before Penelope had the chance to back away, a giant creature emerged from the depths. It was the biggest snake that she had ever laid eyes on. Eight feet tall and as wide around as a tree trunk, it had yellow eyes the size of dinner plates. As the snake let out a hissing noise, Penelope saw the long, razor sharp teeth that protruded from the roof of its mouth.  Her eyes widened and she took a step back. She stumbled as her leg collided with the overturned log but Penelope caught herself before she fell. Glancing at Sir Domnahl, Penelope was relieved that he did not see this. He was too focused on the snake to pay attention to what else was going on around him.

With his sword held high in the air, Sir Domnahl rushed towards the snake. Penelope watched as Sir Domnahl thrust the sword into the snake’s abdomen and pull it out again. The tip of the sword became stained with a thick, bluish-purple liquid as Sir Domnahl repeatedly stabbed the snake. The snake grunted in pain but showed no signs of slowing down. The wounds only seemed to make the snake angrier. Penelope was sure that her friend would get bitten by the snake. But each time the snake would retaliate, it would miss Sir Domnahl completely. Penelope was amazed at how quick Sir Domnahl was on his feet. The knight did not appear to be able to move so fast due to his size. She supposed that it was from years of battling monsters all around Prinaes. It made perfect sense that in order to survive all of those battles that Sir Domnahl would have had to out maneuver them. 

Penelope wondered if she should try to hurry back to the castle and grab her weapon. She did not want to keep standing there like an i***t while Sir Domnahl fought the snake. She wanted to help him to take down the snake. One of the horses let out a cry causing Penelope to turn around. She turned just in time to see the horses retreating on the path towards town. The sound of hooves pounding into the dirt trail as the horses ran away filled the air and made Penelope’s heart sink. Without the horses, Penelope knew that she could not hope to retrieve her weapon in time to help Sir Domnahl subdue the snake. 

Looking back towards Sir Domnahl, Penelope saw that he was beginning to lose ground. Panting heavily, Sir Domnahl’s movements were slowed as he hacked away at the snake. The bluish purple liquid covered most of Sir Domnahl’s arms and upper torso. The snake itself, however, was eyeing Sir Domnahl as it looked for an opening to strike. Stab wounds were scattered all over its massive body and more blood seeped out of the open wounds but the snake was only focused on Sir Domnahl. The knight kept his eyes on the giant snake as he took a more defensive stance. He brandished his sword and waited for the snake to strike again.

Penelope watched as if she was in some sort of daze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. It was like watching some horrible game of cat and mouse. She did not know who would move first. The snake almost appeared to be winning as Sir Domnahl was starting to slow down due to exhaustion. She knew that he would not be able to keep up for much longer. The snake must sense it too because Sir Domnahl was narrowly avoiding the bites now. Penelope had a feeling that the snake must have been planning for this all along. It was now waiting for the right moment to strike Sir Domnahl and deliver the final blow.

No, she thought to herself. I cannot let this happen. Sir Domnahl must not die here!

Without even thinking, Penelope stepped forward. She shoved Sir Domnahl out of the way as the snake lunged. Penelope did not hear the words come out of her mouth or see her hands move in a circle, but she did see the bright orange fireball that formed in front of her. In one swift movement, Penelope pushed the fireball towards the giant snake. A hiss of pain could be heard as the fireball collided with the snake. Dazed from the fireball, the snake swayed on the spot as it started to burn. Not even registering the action, Penelope created another fireball out of nothing and sent it towards the snake. This time, it was enough to send the snake crashing down. Large waves of water splashed Penelope and Sir Domnahl as the snake fell backwards into the river. She watched as the snake’s lifeless body sank to the bottom of the river and out of sight.

Sir Domnahl issued a groan and Penelope’s attention returned to him. She helped him to his feet and as soon as she did, Sir Domnahl let go of her. He fixed her with a look that was a mixture of annoyance and awe. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

Penelope did not have to guess what he was asking. She stared down at her hands but did not reply. She did not understand it herself so she did not know how to explain that to him. This was unacceptable to him and Sir Domnahl roughly grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to look at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you had magical powers?” he repeated.

Penelope shrugged, “I didn’t even know that I had them.”

Sir Domnahl stared at her in disbelief, “What do you mean that you didn’t know?”

“Just as I said, I did not know that I had magic powers before today.”

“This isn’t something that someone is normally unaware of.”

“Well, I was.”

“That is very unusual,” replied Sir Domnahl. “Witches are born with their magic powers. Everyone knows that.”

“Really because where I am from, witches do not exist,” Penelope responded. “Unless you count dressing up as one for Halloween.”

Sir Domnahl rubbed his temples, “You are not making any sense once again. What on Earth is Halloween and what does it have to do with witches?”

Penelope shook her head. She kept forgetting that Sir Domnahl knew practically nothing about where she was from. She had to be more careful with what she said. It did not feel like a good idea to blab about things from her world. 

“Nevermind,” Penelope muttered. “We should go and find the horses. They ran off when that giant snake arrived.”

“Yes, we should get out of here,” agreed Sir Domnahl. “If there was one snake, there are probably others. I do not wish to fight another one today.”