ELANIA

I would love that

Allison grabbed a bag pack from her closet and left, sliding the curtain closed behind her as Elania remained holding the dress up smiling, it was just her style. Quickly she got dressed. She took the robe and the nightshirt off, and wearing nothing but a pair of brand new high waist cotton panties, she grabbed her full coverage bra off the chair and put it on. She then threw her linen slip on and wore the dress; loving how it felt and looked on her so much she took a twirl. She then wore her socks and slid her boots on and after tying her hair back and wrapping her scarf around her neck, she took another twirl and went downstairs to meet with Allison.

“Wow look at you,” she said as she continued packing things into the bag pack.

“Thank you, I love it,” Elania said, over the moon like a teenager at her birthday party.

“It looks really good on you.”

“Thank you.” They shared a warm smile. “Are you really certain that I can have this?”

“Oh absolutely. This too,” Allison said as she zipped up the bag.

“What is that?”

“I packed a bag for you.”

“What? Allison you didn’t have to,” Elania said walking towards her.

“I know but you’re going on a really long journey and you need food and water so I packed some for you.”

“Allison.”

“I packed you some water in a bottle and some hot milk in a flask. And in the lunchbox are some sweet and savory treats, should last you the entire journey and a good few days after that,” she said and Elania’s heart melted. She had already done so much and she was still doing more, God bless her.

“Goodness I don’t even know what to say. This is so nice. You have been so nice to me. Bringing me into your home, feeding me, gifting me with a dress and now the bag, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

“It’s so kind of you,” Elania said as her eyes started to tear up. She had experienced kindness before but not like this, Allison’s kindness was exceptional.

“Well something tells me you would’ve done the same for me.”

“Absolutely,” she said with no hesitation and they chuckled.

“Maybe on your way back home you can pass by and I can introduce you to some more delicious treats.”

Elania smiled. “I would love that.”

“Awesome,” she said and Elania walked up to hug her and she hugged her back. “Come on let me walk out.”

“Thank you.”

Allison grabbed the bag off the island and together they walked out the front door, with her closing and locking it behind them. A moment later, in the foyer of Allison’s apartment building, the elevator reached the ground floor and dinged open, and Elania and Allison walked out with Elania giggling to herself like a child.

“Oh my goodness, that was such a strange feeling. It felt like my stomach was going to fall right out of me,” Elania said and Allison laughed.

“You get used to it,” she said.

“An elevator.”

“Yes.”

“And it goes up just as it comes down?”

“That’s right. We use it cuz we’re lazy and we don’t want to take the stairs,” Allison said and Elania chuckled.

“Fascinating. Does it have electricity as well?”

“Yes it does.”

“Wow, this electricity of yours seems to be in a lot of things you people use.”

“Probably everything. Our lives revolve around electricity so much that when the power is out, our lives literally stop. You can’t charge your phone, you can’t watch TV, you can’t cook and you certainly can't use the elevator.”

“And then you’d have to take the stairs?”

“Oh my gosh Elania, never say those words to me ever again,” Allison said and they laughed. “Anyway you probably need to get going so let me not keep you. I put some money for you in the inner pocket as well. It’s not much hundred quins but it’ll get you to Tulier and back with no trouble. The bus fare is only twenty quins so that should leave you with enough for a return ticket and some other stuff you may have need to buy along the way.”

“You put money in here as well, Allison no that’s too much.”

“Uh uh I won’t hear any more of it, you’re welcome.”

Elania moved in and gave her another hug; her kindness just kept on blowing her away. She knew kind people but Allison was just something else, there was no doubt in her mind that she was a helper sent by God and it greatly humbled her how He continued to keep to His promise of never leaving her and never forsaking her. "O.k. so the bus stop is at the end of the street. A bus will come and you will get on it and go with it all the way to the bus station. The ride is only five quins so don’t let them charge you more and when you get to the station, you will look out for the sign which says Tulier Firthton, it’s big and lit up you won’t miss it. Yeah so you’re going to get on the bus right underneath that sign and make sure to get a good seat cuz you are going to be in it for a very long time.”

“Got it.”

“Yeah and in the next twenty hours you will be in Tulier.”

“That’s a long trip.”

“It really is, I’ve never personally been but I’ve heard there’s a lot of good scenery on the way there so if you love to site see, you could’ve have picked a better route,” Allison said and Elania chuckled. “Alright so uh take care of yourself and safe journey.”

“Thank you so much Allison. May God richly bless you and grant you all that your heart desires.”

“Aww,” she said and they chuckled, both tearing up. Elania then left as Allison remained smiling to herself; happy that she made a new friend and hopeful that somewhere down the line she was going to see her again.

Back in Wetuana Village, Maron was in the kitchen sitting at the table with a bowl of soup in front of him, playing with his food instead of eating. He had no appetite. How could he when his love was out in the outlands all by herself, he felt like he was losing a piece of himself with every day that went by. And it wasn’t just her being out there that was hard to deal with, it was the emptiness of their home as well.

It was just the two of them and so with Elania gone the quiet became so loud it didn’t just speak, it yelled, continually refreshing his anxiety and keeping him in a constant state of worry. He prayed and sought comfort in the words of the Holy Scrolls but it was just so hard, his mind couldn’t help but wander off and think of the thousands of ways her life was in danger.

Maron sighed bowing his head and prayed again.

“Father in Heaven, please grant me peace,” he prayed. “I need to hold on to our love but I can’t do that without You. I need Your peace and I need Your strength. I don’t want to worry and I don’t want to be afraid, for You did not give us a spirit of fear but of courage and of a sound mind. Grant me courage Father that I may stand confident in Your promises. Be with me but most of all be with her; guide her and protect her. Let her know that I love her and that I’m holding on. Let her know that I will always hold on.”

In Bertrand City, Elania had arrived at the bus station and was just about to get onto the bus to Tulier Firthton when just then, Maron’s prayer came to her heart like a love song, immediately brightening up her spirit. She smiled. They may have been miles away from each other but their spirits were still very much one and God was keeping them connected through the strong love they shared for He could not help but delight in those that honoured and respected their marriages.

Elania bowed her head and said a quick prayer in her heart, and then got onto the bus; with the bag on her back and her dagger, bow and quiver in her arms, wrapped in her cloak; she had gone back to where she had hidden them and retrieved them.

Inside, she made her way down the aisle, looking around at how luxurious the bus was. It was a sixty sitter with velvet blue seats and grey curtains, and after finding a seat somewhere in the middle and placing her bag on the seat and her cloak in the overhead compartment, she took the window seat and gave out a hopeful sigh, ready to head out and get to Tulier Firthton and continue with her journey.

10:00 hours hit and the bus driver started the engine. Elania jolted; she was caught off guard by the feel and the sound of it but realizing that it was nothing to be alarmed about, she just laughed it off and sat back. The bus then started to move and in no time, it was out of the bus station and on the road. The flat screen TV was lowered from the ceiling of the bus and was turned on, and when Elania saw it, she smiled.

“Television,” she said to herself and watched on as the credits of the movie began to roll. It was a romantic comedy and once it started, Elania couldn’t pull her eyes away from it; laughing with the others at the funny bits, blushing at the sweet bits and even shedding a few tears at the sad bits. It was such an excitingly wholesome experience and she ate it up like a red velvet cake.

Four hours in and two movies later, Elania removed the flask of milk and the lunchbox from her bag and lowered the fold down tray to have a meal, whilst looking out the window at the scenery Allison was talking about. There was a luscious green forest that went on for miles, a huge river that flowed underneath the bridge they drove across, mountains in the distance, a large lake, a field of wind mills spinning in the wind and the many different communities that they stopped in not just to drop off the passengers that had arrived at their destination but also for the others still going to stretch their legs a little bit and buy some food.

The journey continued. Mid-night stroke and everyone in the bus was fast asleep including Elania. The curtains were closed, the lights were dim and the TV was off as the bus driver, indulged in a conversation with his co-driver, drove on and crossed the border into Firthton, driving under the large sign which read ‘Welcome to Firthton.’

The sun rose and still the bus was moving. Everyone was up and having their breakfast, Elania too who was having a cup of milk and a croissant, as outside they drove through a farming community. The crop fields went as far as the eye could see, the farmhouses were big, the barns were red, the stables were full and the animals were plenty; not just in their pens but grazing out in the fields as well.

About an hour later, the twenty-hour journey came to an end. The bus arrived at the Tulier bus station and the remaining ten passengers grabbed their luggage and got off. Elania also who put the bag on her back and carried her cloak, with her weapons inside it, in her hands.

Outside, Elania grabbed a hold of her north-east direction and started making her way through Tulier to the wall. She walked down the main road for a few hours and then turned down into a dusty road that lead to a few other farms. The road split into a T-junction and keeping to her direction, Elania went off road and continued going straight, making her way to the outskirts of Tulier through a dry grassland area that went on for so long by the time Elania was reaching the wall, the sun was setting.

She made camp at the base of the wall; removing her weapons and her bag and putting them aside to make a small fire to keep her warm. She then sat down to have a meal; eating what was just enough so as to save the rest for her continued journey through the outlands where she was really going to need it. Satisfied, she then lay her head on the bag, covered herself with her cloak and fell asleep; making sure to call it a night early so that she could get up before the sun rose and cover good ground before the day hit 12:00 hours when the sun’s heat was at its harshest.

The following day came and Elania was back in the outlands. It was only 09:00 hours but she had already covered quite the distance, continuing through the desert bareness as she went on fighting the sun whose heat was already doing the most. She had her weapons on her, her scarf covering her mouth and nose, her cloak over her dress and her bag on her back, putting foot in front of foot like she had just started walking.

She walked up onto a hill and before her was a vast area of irregularly shaped cornered boulders, stacked on and around each other with spaces in between them that created an intricate network of tunnels. Elania sighed. She didn’t like the look of it but the area was too wide to go around and so she had no other choice but to go through it.

She made her way down the other side of the hill and entered the boulders, keeping north-east. There was decent enough shade inside and so she dropped the hood of her cloak and lowered her scarf from her face, and breathing a much cooler air compared to the one she was breathing outside, Elania easefully made her way through; turning left and turning right and even going under and over some of the boulders.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind her and she stopped. It sounded like something just walked passed her and when looked back, she saw the tips of four brown tails slithering into one of the spaces in between the boulders. Elania drew a sharp breath and quickly she placed her hand on her dagger, there was something in there with her. Heart pounding, she started to back away, slowly, and keeping her eyes around where she saw the tails, suddenly a large snake-like eye popped up on one of the spaces and blinked.

Elania screamed and ran off as the creature chased after her. She couldn’t see it but she could hear it; it was right on the other side of the boulders and was hot on her tail. She turned this way and that way and thought she lost it but when she stopped and looked to her right, she saw something the shade of the boulders but with scales run passed with lightning speed. She gasped, and as she stood there trying to figure out what it could be, it popped its head through one of the spaces and hissed at her; it had crocodile-like razor sharp teeth and its mouth was black like that of the black mamba, including its tongue.

Elania quickly moved back to avoid being bitten but in doing so, she ended up hitting into a boulder and losing her footing. She fell to the ground and the creature, resembling a horned lizard but a meter tall, the length of the bus she travelled to Tulier in and with four tails, put one of its clawed forelegs through another space wanting to grab her but she rolled away. She then got up and ran off as behind her the creature pulled its head out of the space and continued chasing her.

It popped its head through another space and tried to bite her but she moved away at the last second. She hit herself against another boulder but she just kept on running, not wanting to stop for anything lest the creature catch her and eat her. She turned right and left trying to evade it but just ended up trapping herself as she found herself at a dead end. There were spaces all around but they were too small for her to squeeze through; her face turned grey. Was this her end? Not quite yet.

Elania looked up and seeing an opening wide enough for her to get through, her eyes brightened as she quickly got into climbing. The creature reached her and coiled one of its tails around her leg, and immediately started to pull her down. She screamed. Her soul left her body but she held on.

Just then, its other tails slithered out of other spaces and grabbed her; one coiled around her left arm, the other around her waist and the last around her neck, choking her. It then pulled her off the boulders and began to tighten its coils. She tried to get the tail around her neck off but the coils were so tight her nerves began to bulge.

She reached to grab her dagger but the coils around her waist were covering it and so she went for plan B. She extended her hand to her back and grabbed an arrow, and began to stab the tail around her neck repeatedly. The creature hissed in pain and immediately let her go as some of its white blood splashed onto her face and onto the ground. She took in a breath but couldn’t take in a big one because of the coils around her waist that tightened further and cracked her ribs. She screamed.

The creature began to slam her against the boulders as Elania used the very arrow to stab the tail that was coiled around her waist; carrying on until it let her go. Her dagger free, she then pulled it out and sliced through the tail around her left arm and when she fell to the ground, she cut the one around her leg, with the creature’s blood splashing everywhere as it hissed and ran off. It disappeared from her sight but knowing that it was going to be back, she quickly stood up and began looking for it through the spaces like a hawk. She couldn't see or hear it but she could feel it. It was definitely still out there.

She was looking through the spaces but it popped up at the opening above and started to crawl down towards her, slow and steady like it was walking on eggshells. Its plan was to ambush her but then a drop of its blood fell onto her shoulder and gave away its position, and looking at it, she broke out into a tingling dread that felt like a thousand ants were feasting on her; the creature was right above her.

A moment later, it struck and timing her swing just right, Elania sliced it inside its mouth. It hissed and tried to fight back by wanting to grab her with its foreleg but she sliced the very foreleg off and then sunk her dagger deep into its head. It gave out a prolonged hiss and stopped moving, and holding itself up by its remaining two tails that soon loosened, its whole body then dropped and fell on top of Elania.

There was no movement for a while until suddenly, a big chunk of its mid-section sunk. Elania’s bag then flew out and landed on the creature’s body and a moment later, she climbed through, drenched in white, and sat for a little while to catch her breath, as inside her injured ribs continued to throb.

She pulled her scarf off her neck and stood up to tie it around her waist, and when she was done, she put on her bag and started climbing. She reached the top and whilst standing there and looking out at how far the field of boulders went, another tail slithered at her and coiled around her right leg. She gasped and quickly looked back at the creature, it was dead, very dead, which only meant one thing.

"Oh come on," Elania said and was just then pulled under by another creature, identical to the one she just killed. She fell all the way down and was dragged across the ground; desperately trying to hold onto the boulders but failing to get a good grip, as behind her a cloud of white dust formed.

The creature dragged her on and with the elastic-like tail having turned by many corners to get to her, Elania ended up getting quite roughed up; she hit her head and her sides and when she was dragged through an even smaller space, her leg got caught and snapped at the knee. She screamed, with her scream echoing throughout the entire boulder field, the creature just broke her leg. She then pulled her dagger out and sliced the tail, and as the creature hissed in agony and ran off, she very carefully pulled her leg out of the space and started crawling away.

She crawled out of a small space and into a tunnel, and making her way down the left the creature popped up in front of her and started charging towards her. It reached to bite her head but quickly turning to the side, it bit into her bag instead and pulled it off of her back. It then started to devour the bag as Elania crawled on and left it be, squeezing herself through another small space and finding herself in another tunnel.

She tried to stand up so that she could cover more ground but she couldn’t; she was too hurt and so she just continued crawling. She had her head down for literally five seconds but when she looked forward, there the creature was, standing right in front of her with remnants of her bag stuck in between its teeth.

It hissed in her face and reached to bite her head once more but quickly turning her head to the side, the creature bit her left shoulder, digging its teeth deep into her flesh. Elania cried out. She reached for her dagger but it wasn’t on her, she had dropped it. It was behind her and though it wasn’t too far back, it was too far for her to reach. The creature dug its teeth deeper into her flesh and as she screamed, the white rings in her eyes glowed and like before, the dagger flew off the ground and into her hand.

Quickly she stabbed the creature in the side of its head, not once, not twice but multiple times. She had to stab it multiple times because even though it was in pain and crying, it never let her go, its jaws remained tight on her shoulder like a lock, and so the only time she stopped stabbing it, was when it stopped moving. The creature died and dropped to the ground, and Elania sighed in huge relief; had it lived even just five seconds longer, it would have bitten off her entire shoulder.

Opening its mouth, she then freed herself from its jaws and lay on the ground for a little while, heavily breathing as she groaned in pain. She knew why she was out there and she knew it wasn’t going to be easy but experiencing such high levels of excruciating pain was so daunting it made her wish that she were back home. She threw her cloak over and her shoulder was damaged; it felt terrible and it looked even worse, the teeth marks were deep and there was blood trickling out of them.

Slowly she got up and dragged herself to the nearest boulder, and leaning her back against it, she removed her scarf from her around her waist and ripped it in half. She tied one half around her shoulder and the other, after grabbing one arrow and breaking it in half, tied them all together around her knee to make a brace; trying to be strong but crying the entire time, it was the highest level of pain she had ever known. Elania then lay her head back and rested for a moment. Old man Jhika did tell her that she was going to be tested greatly but it was overwhelming. She was taking such a huge beating out there that doubt started to sip in. It was a brutal fight of survival and so far, the outlands were winning.