her eyes for a moment, fingers stroking the tree in appreciation as she composes herself. When she pushes away, she looks up to the sky, at the sunlight filtering through the leaves and repeats her question to the sky, to where the moon and sun are occupying opposite horizons for a little while longer.
“Where did she take him? Where did she take the lion? Please, answer me,” she pleads.
The sun ducks behind a cloud in response and the moon just fades closer to the horizon. They didn’t see where the witch took him or they’re too afraid to speak up. The animals rustle quietly as they pass her, offering no more help than the trees or the sky.
Finally, the wind picks up; starts gusting around her before she can even ask her question again. The wind pushes and pulls at her for a moment, swirling around her skirts and getting her full attention. After a moment it settles, spurring her on in a direction. Her feet move quickly as she utters out a heartfelt thank you to the wind.
Lily dashes through the woods, slowing only long enough to have the wind guide her. The forest grows thicker and darker around her. She’s drawing closer and closer to the mountain. The wind urges her on with gentle gusts and whispers, steering her through the dizzying paths the witch took.
As the moon begins to reclaim the sky, the wind ceases its guidance. Lily slows to a stop for a moment, disoriented and worried. She takes in the unfamiliar landscape and listens to the silence of the forest around her. No wind whistling through the trees, no animals scurrying through the underbrush, not even a bird singing a night song. It is completely desolate and silent.
Cautiously, Lily takes a few steps forward, each footfall obnoxiously loud in the sudden, unnatural hush. The witch must be near for the world to go so still. With that thought in mind, she slides the knife out of its sheath once again and holds it defensively.
An abrupt noise startles her, halting her movements. Up ahead she can hear a strange rattling, like something heavy and metal being moved around. The more she concentrates, Lily can hear a soft grunting and growling. Leander, she thinks. It must be him. Despite her hope, she doesn’t go dashing through the brush to him. She doesn’t know where the witch is or if Leander can even recognize her under the curse. Instead, she moves as stealthily as she can until she’s at the edge of another clearing near the side of the mountain.
Peering through the bushes, Lily can see a cave in front of her, backed up into the mountain. Near the mouth of the cave is the hulking form of the lion, thick chains wrapped around its neck and two paws, keeping it captive. A large spike holds the chain fast to the mountainside, giving the lion very little room to move. In the middle of the clearing, a small fire is burning brightly. There are no signs of the witch beyond that.
Stepping out of the darkness of the woods, Lily treads softly until she’s within the circle of light created by the fire. The lion senses her immediately and ceases it struggles. It turns toward her and pulls on the chains once again, thrashing and growling as it struggles.
“Leander,” she calls softly. When she receives no response, she takes another step closer and calls his name louder. “Leander.”
At once, the lion stills again. It turns its head and suddenly Lily is staring into a set of familiar blue eyes. She gasps in shock even as she steps forward.
“Leander, is that you?”
The lion, Leander, grunts, throwing his head around. The chain rattles again causing Lily to flinch at the noise. She holds her hand out in a calming gesture and takes another step forward.
“I’ll get you free, Leander. Please be still,” she pleads, stepping closer.
She’s within reaching distance of him now. One swipe of his paw is all it would take to end her. Even as she thinks it though, she knows he wouldn’t do it. Leander would never hurt her. Instead, Lily reaches her arm out, fingers curling in the thick mane. When Leander doesn’t pull away, she steps closer and buries all of her fingers in the fur. Leander pushes up against her touch, a sound like a purr rumbling out of him.
Lily strokes her hands through his fur and he nuzzles his head against her neck. When he lets out a soft snort, ruffling her hair, Lily laughs lightly and pulls away. She swipes a hand across her face, erasing the tears gathered there and nods at him. “Let’s get your out of these chains,” she declares, moving around him to survey the chains closer.
Suddenly, a hand is gripping her shoulder, pulling Lily away from Leander. She stumbles backward and hits the ground hard, head bouncing off the rocky ground. The air rushes out of her lungs and the world spins around her. Above the ringing in her ears, though, she can hear Leander. He lets out a ferocious growl, the chains rattling in time with his roars.
Lily pushes herself up and watches as Leander lunges at a dark figure moving towards her. The witch. The chains keep him in place, but Leander charges anyway, snapping his jaw at the figure and growling dangerously. The witch seems un-phased by the angry lion as she stalks towards Lily.
Lily backs up cautiously, putting as much space between her and the witch as possible. She fingers the knife at her waist and slowly curls her fingers around the bone hilt, waiting for the right moment to pull it out. The witch lets out a shriek suddenly and charges for her. Lily barely dodges her assault, slipping into the darkness of the woods and running fast. Behind her, she can hear the witch screeching in anger.
Her feet carry her as fast as they can over the unfamiliar terrain. She doesn’t run far though, just makes a large arc and comes up on the far side of the witch’s camp once again. Leander settles when she comes into sight once again. The witch, however, isn’t far behind and appears only moments after Lily. The sight of her sets Leander off again, snapping his foaming jaws in her direction.
For all of her bravado, the witch doesn’t come near Leander. Lily sees her opportunity and darts across the clearing, hoping to get in the protective circle of Leander’s body. Her hopes are dashed quickly when the witch’s hand clamps down on her wrist.
“No!” Lily screams. She tries to wrench her arm free of the tight grip but only ends up closer to the witch. In a desperate attempt to free herself, Lily pulls her knife and swipes furiously at the witch. She’s rewarded with a screech of anger and the grip loosening on her. Taking advantage, Lily gives the witch a shove and pushes her back into the fire. Instantly, the witch lets out a wail as the flames engulf her.
Lily stumbles back from the fire, covering her eyes as the fire grows bigger and brighter. Then as soon as it started, the wailing stops and the fire dims down to smoldering embers. Picking her head up, Lily glances at the pile of ashes in the fire for a moment before turning hopeful eyes on Leander. She’s crestfallen to see a lion still standing where she’d hoped to find Leander.
She lets out a small sob as she crawls across the ground towards him. As she nears him, Leander settles on the ground, nuzzling Lily as she embraces him. She lays her head on his neck and sobs quietly into his fur, her fingers curling into the thick mane.
The woods around them suddenly spring to life. Birds begin to sing a cheerful song, the winds whistles gently through the clearing, and the sun begins to show its face. Lily doesn’t move, though, not sure how to face a world where Leander is no longer with her. She doesn’t move at all from the warmth of the lion’s body. It heaves and shudders under her with each breath and she thinks quietly that Leander must be grieving too, stuck forever in a curse.
When a hand gently strokes her hair, Lily sits up startled, already on the defensive. Blinking tears from her eyes, she’s shocked to find a familiar face staring back at her. It’s dirt stained and haggard looking, but it’s the most beautiful sight in the world to her.
“Leander!” she cries, bracing her hands on each side of his face. She traces the lines of his face with her fingers and eyes, reassuring herself it’s real, that he’s real, as he smiles back at her. The chains fall easily from his body, meant for a lion not a man. She can??
?t help herself; she leans forward and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. “I was so worried,” she whispers.
Leander laughs, arms wrapping around her. “You were late again,” he whispers back, eyes dancing with laugher.
Lily chokes out a laugh between her sobs and hugs Leander as tight as she can. A faint rattling has her drawing back from his embrace. She fingers the chain around her neck. “I have your medallion,” she murmurs, pulling it from the safety of her blouse to show him.
His fingers wrap around hers for a moment before he lets go, leaving the necklace within her grasp. “It looks better on you.” Leander stands up, stumbling slightly as he tries to find his balance on two legs once again. He extends a hand down to Lily and pulls her to her feet. “Let’s go home.”
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