Page 34 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"Uh oh." Anna forgot to blink. Her eyes were practically glued to Anton's lips. "What happened next?"
The giant scratched his head. "Well, he would have caught you, but I threw myself at him. He hit the ground rather hard. That gave you a head start and you flew away."
What did that have to do with the captain? "Where I…" she didn't want to say flew to, "…escaped to…?"
"Back to the Kingdom of Flowers, though, not directly because the Thundering Mountains are so high and the air up there is too thin for you. That was why I had to carry you across the border on the way there. You flew along the seashore and shortly afterward, I lost sight of you."
That was when it had happened. She must have met him then. Her heart immediately began to beat faster and she leaned forward, her voice a whisper. "Then what?"
His face darkened. Aha, finally, they were getting to the heart of the story.
"I searched for you everywhere. I was terribly worried. Eventually, I found you on the shore along the Bay of a Thousand Spells."
Anna shook her head in incomprehension. She really needed a map. "Where?"
"The bay is in the Kingdom of Flowers. It's incredibly big, like a lake, and it glitters with all the fairy wings. Because so many fairies frolic there, there is a legend that you can have a thousand wishes fulfilled in the bay."
"That sounds magical. But what about the captain?"
"You met him. You didn't tell me where, but I immediately saw that something had happened. Your cheeks were as red as they were this morning after you met him in the cave."
She ordered her heart not to flutter at this, but it did anyway. Without a moment's hesitation. And only because Anton had spoken of him. "How did I meet him?"
"That was the short version. I won't repeat your rosy-colored infatuations from back then. I wasn't there, I have no idea what kind of enchanted berry he slipped you, but I'm sorry to say… you acted like a giant."
Anna laughed. "What does that mean?"
"You stopped working and just sat there dreaming. And you weren't present for a proper conversation, nor did you feel like exploring the rest of the land with me. I wanted to go to the Kingdom of Winter, but you wouldn't have anything to do with it."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be because of those newfound feelings. I hate snow, cold, and everything that comes with it.Winter is the most terrible season for me. No wonder I didn't want to go there."
"No, no, it was him. He enchanted you from the beginning. But enough now. You've heard what you wanted to know. Now we should concentrate on the essentials again." Grumpily, Anton trudged on. His footsteps were so forceful that the ground shook, but he didn't seem to notice.
Anna couldn't suppress a grin. She still didn't know much about her first encounter with the captain, which would of course lead to even wilder speculations. Before she could think about it any further, something caught her attention. A city was rising on the edge of a large hill. Clouds of smoke danced toward the sky and the constant clatter of a mill wheel could be heard. When the blades of a windmill appeared, Anna sat up on Anton's hand. A magical city?
"What type of settlement is that?"
"That isn't just any settlement. That is Linnenberg, the capital of the Kingdom of Flowers. Linnenberg and the seaport are the central places."
"And the people living here are completely normal, like…" She wanted to say, "like you and me," but abandoned the idea due to the giant's size. "…are completely normal people who have no magic in them?"
"Why do you think people don't have magic?"
She looked at him, surprised by the question. "Maybe because I come from a land where people live and none of them have any supernatural powers."
"Well, that's what you think."
Objections were on the tip of Anna's tongue, but what was the point of arguing about it? And who knew? Maybe Anton was right and magic did exist in the normal human world. But she couldn't allow herself to be distracted from what was important.
"So, the people of this realm can do magic?"
"Well, not all of them. There are a few. The Snow Queen, for example, who can cast spells. The others learn from them, using potions, teas, and rituals to perform magic."
How exciting. But that wasn't the point. She had to find out who'd framed her. "So there are people living among them who could be responsible for the disappearance of the fairies?"
"Theoretically, yes. But in practice, no."
What was that supposed to mean? She looked questioningly at the giant.
