5

"Tehee, squish!" he exclaimed when the spider finally rested for a second on his thumb. He brought his forefinger down quickly, killing the spider. Cynthia gasped at the action. She was almost positive he would have been bitten, but was surprised to see that he was completely unharmed. "She sure was lookin' at you with some hungry eyes!" he exclaimed, rinsing his hand off in the stream and hopping out of the water. "What did you do to make it so angry at you, I wonder. She wouldn't have bothered to climb all the way up to your face if you hadn't done something really weird."

She blinked, not quite sure how to reply to the man. The only thing that really echoed in her mind was the events of fourteen years ago. Even then, she didn't recall any spiders then that looked like the ones that stalked her now.

"Well, whatever the reason, you're safe now," he reassured, hopping out of the water and holding his hand towards her. For a brief moment, she was transported back in time to when she was eight when she first held out her hand and demanded to be friends with Tate. To her, Henry looked like what Tate should have looked like when he grew up, save for the color of his hair. It seemed so familiar, as if she belonged there. "So, who might you be?"

"Cynthia. I usually don't run around these parts, but I decided for a little bit of a change. Do you usually catch spiders like that with your hands?"

"Tehee, you noticed?" he asked and started to walk along the trail, Cynthia following suit. "Well, not usually, but I've always had a soft spot for spiders of all kinds so I learned how to handle most of them when I was a kid.” She felt he wasn't exactly telling the whole truth; however, she didn't have any reason to not believe him. "But yeah, I usually do, they're cute little critters, no?"

"If that's what you call cute, then I guess they are," she muttered. "I for one, don't have any affinity towards them at all. I was almost eaten alive by a giant swarm of them when I was a kid...." Cynthia gasped slightly and covered he mouth when she realized what she had just said.

"So you did anger a forest spirit when you were little, huh?" Henry asked, clasping his hands around his back and whistling lightly. From beyond a small group of Grackles came down and watched them. "See? I did the same thing too," he said with a small chuckle, pointing his thumb up towards the birds. "Well, I guess I didn't make one of them angry, I more or less made friends with them," he explained. "Would have been more fun if it had been with a mother spider though!"

"No it wouldn't have!" she squealed. "I almost died that day!"

"Well, how old were you? I was about sixteen when that happened," he started, taking a seat down near the creek and sloshing his feet back and forth. "I took a walk down along here and got lost. Almost got eaten by a guardian of the creek actually, but then the lady of birds came down and saved me. She said she took a fancy to me, actually." He laughed at his last words. "Well, I told her, that's all well and dandy but I was too young to court her in any way so she told me that it was alright that she'd grant me safe passage back home and that I'd always have her help whenever I needed. So, now whenever I whistle a little, they're always a few Grackles that follow me around."

"Is that... how some of them get into buildings? Because they were following you?"

"Tehee, more or less. Sometimes they're just silly and fly into buildings on their own too," he explained. "But most of the time, they leave me alone until I call for them or want company."

"I see..."

"Hey, want to see the guardian of the creek? He's really cool!" Henry offered. "I sometimes visit him when I get bored."

She couldn't quite understand the young man. He seemed to be at least the same age as she was, though there was a youthfulness in the way he acted which made her doubt that he had any age at all. It was as if he had forever been stuck in that time when he first wandered into the enchanted parts of the woodlands in Roanoke. He had a way with words the persuaded her to follow him despite her better judgment. Gently touching the stone in her pocket, she paused for a moment but followed him anyways.

"Hey, roll up your pants, the water gets pretty deep where we're going," he called out, pulling his pants legs up and folding them up to his knees before getting back into the creek and waiting for Cynthia to follow.

Well, what's the worst that could happen? I could die I guess, she thought to herself before shrugging off the morbid thought. What's life without living on the edge a bit.

He lead her through the creek, sloshing through mostly ankle deep water, though at times, it would get deeper and go past where they had rolled their pants up. Cynthia partially wanted to yell at him for lying about how deep the water would get; however, there was a sense of fun and adventure she hadn't had in what seemed like ages that kept her quiet. There were parts of the creek where the rocks underneath were so covered in moss, it was difficult to walk across them without slipping a little bit.

"How far are we going?" she asked after they had traveled in silence for about twenty minutes. "For that matter, which way are we going?"

"Tehee, don't worry, I know where we are," he reassured, grabbing onto an overhanging branch to keep himself stable as he clamored over a fallen tree. "Need help?" he asked, the smile on his face seemed mockingly sweet, as if he didn't believe she had the ability to make it across herself.

"I'll be fine on my own, thanks," Cynthia huffed, mimicking his movements and making it across the tree without much effort.

"Well then, it seems the princess isn't so helpless after all," he chuckled and continued to lead her through the woods until they came to the entrance of a tunnel.

He took a deep breath and looked behind him to make sure Cynthia was still there. He grinned when he saw that she was indeed keeping up quite well. "Alright, now, I need you to do exactly what I tell you to, okay?"

"Okay," she said.

Once again, the past reminded her of what had happened when she didn't listen; and this time, she was intent on making sure she did everything correctly. She wasn't in the mood to put anyone's life in danger, especially not someone's she had just met.

"Alright, see that pipe? You're going to have to walk on top of that. Keep your hand against the wall at all times now, okay? And don't look at the water. Just keep your eyes straight ahead, and don't say a single word until we get to the other side. Got it?"

"Got it," she repeated and waited for him to take the lead. Henry hopped onto the pipe which rested at corner of the tunnel and hummed a small tune as he dragged his hand along the wall. She followed him, making sure to keep her eyes ahead. She was curious as to why she wasn't allowed to peer into what was in the darkened water, but she didn't question it. This was her chance to right the wrongdoings that had transpired during her childhood. This was the one moment where she could make up for all the mistakes. Maybe then, that magic she had encountered would come back to her. The sound of their walking accompanied by the sound of dripping water in the distance and water splashing next to them echoed throughout the tunnel. There was so much she wanted to know, but she had to steel herself to remain silent and looking forward. Henry's soft humming was the one thing that kept her looking forward. It was some popular tune on the radio, surprisingly enough. She had half expected it to be some ancient song which was needed to summon the creek guardian. There were times when she was just so tempted to sing along with him but stopped herself when she remembered she was to be silent.

The light ahead didn't seem to get any bigger the longer they walked. It was as if the tunnel itself had doubled in length, and they were no closer to the end than they were half an hour ago. Her legs were getting tired from straining themselves through the water earlier, and now, while following him on top of a rather slippery pipe and being unable to look down, they tensed and ached. The fingers on her right hand felt numb from touching the cold stone of the tunnel wall. Every now and then there would be a wet slimy spot which they would pass, and she had to fight the urge to stop and wipe her hand down. Henry didn't even seem to be bothered by it, and she was determined to follow his example to the very end, even if it was tiring. It had been too long since they first started. There didn't seem to be any finish line in sight. She wanted to know when the end was coming; surely it had to arrive sooner or later. They had been following the light at the end for what seemed like ages.

There was that tiny rebellious side of her that wanted to look down, the one curious part of her that wanted to ask so many questions; and then there was the rational part of her which made a promise to follow his directions that reigned them all in. There was a time and a place for questions, and that was when they reached the end. Slowly, the light at the end finally seemed to grow larger. The end was in sight, and she held her breath for what could be on the other side. They were finally reaching the end. They were so close to the other side that she hadn't seen in over a decade. There, she started to recognize some of the flowers she saw as a child. Already, she could smell the cloyingly sweet smell of honeysuckle and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Just as they approached the very end of the pipe and were about to cross over to the other side, she heard a giggle beside her and couldn't fight back the instinct to look at where the source of the noise came from. She whirled around, nearly losing her footing but saw what the sound came from. Cynthia let out a gasp as she saw the great, looming creature before her made of the creek bed itself.

It had stones for eyes and rotting twigs for hair. The body was that of a male; however, the voice that came from it was distinctly female. It dripped odd looking ooze from every crack of its body. It was mostly made of mud and little white shells from the bottom of the creek. Humanoid in shape for the most part, its smile revealed two rows of white shells making up its teeth and a thin tree branch making up its tongue which hung out of its mouth, dripping creek water. Its arms reached down past where its knees would be ending in hands made of twisted branches and more mud, almost paddle like.

It giggled again, smiling widely at her. "Has the prince's little guest come back for another visit? Here to break more rules, girly?" it asked, reaching out towards her. "Don't think we don't know about what you did, little girl. Your little fun with the mother spider has really sent the queen into a fit of anger. I'm surprised you're even back here."Another sickening wide grin and a giggle came from it. Cynthia was rooted in place. That fear she felt when she first encountered the mother spider was back and refused to let her move. She was facing her fears as well as the obvious disappointment of Tate if they were to ever meet again.

"Are you... afraid?" it asked, the smooth stones it had for eyes wiggled on its head in an odd mocking tone. Cynthia felt it hard to breathe, as if those vines from years ago where taking a hold around her and choking her again. "It's okay... there's no fear when you're dinner," it leered and loomed over her. It stretched one of its arms out towards her, and at that moment she finally felt the need to run take over her. Once again she faced ahead and made it to the opening where Henry had his own hand outstretched waiting for her. Cynthia reached out towards him and grasped his hand as soon as she was close enough.

He was strangely strong for how scrawny he looked and pulled her towards him. He let out a low whistle, and a flock of glistening black birds descended on the creature, causing it to scream and melt back into the glassy, dark surface of the water.

"I told you not to look down, didn't I?" Henry chided. "Well, at least you're alright, now." He let out a laugh and watched as the birds he called for flew out of the tunnel and back to their homes. "We'll just have to be extra quiet and careful when we go back," he reassured before taking her by the hand and leading her further out.

It was as if Cynthia had forgotten to breathe during that whole ordeal. She took deep gasps as they went further away from the creek. They no longer needed to wade in it as they were already on the other side, but Henry did seem to cling very close to it as if he was about to lose it at any moment. After a few minutes of following the winding creek, they no longer saw the gaping maw of the tunnel; and Henry sat down with a contented sigh. "Well, that was quite the experience. I had only heard of what comes out of there when you look down, I never expected you to actually do it!" He let out a slightly nervous laugh.

"What was that?" she asked, dropping down next to him and looking upwards. It was the same as when she was there as a child, though it was a definitely a different spot. The sky, or lack thereof, was the exact same. The trees grew and entwined their branches until neither sun nor moon could shine through. Everything glowed softly in a silvery light that came from within.

"That? I'm not quite sure, to be honest," Henry admitted. "I've never seen one. I guess, it lives in the tunnel and eats those who don't know how to get here," he said with a shrug. "Kinda.... cute in a way, huh?"

"Your definition of cute is exceptionally strange, to say the least," Cynthia said shaking her head. "I don't think I could ever call something like that 'cute.'"

"Tehee, but it's got such big hands and its eyes wiggled around and, oh it was just so adorable!" he grinned.

"Right... Whatever you say."

"I do have a question for you though," he said after a moment of splashing his feet around in the creek water. "What happened when you were here last? I mean, usually things don't try to eat you when you come here, unless you did something really bad."

"I... Well..."

"Hey now, you can tell me," Henry reassured. "There's no reason not to trust me, I mean, I got you here, right? I know magic exists."

He was right. There was no point in denying the fact that indeed magic did exist in strange little pockets of Roanoke. She had been trying so hard to deny it, but there was no point in doing so when it was obviously in front of her that very moment.

"Well, I was eight and at Carvins Cove," she began. "My family had decided they wanted to go on an outing that day and it started to rain a bit and my brother threw a bit of a hissy fit when that happened. Well, I got bored of waiting for him to stop being a little whiny kid and saw this light in the forest. After following it for a bit, I ended up here, on the other side. I met a boy named Tate there who at first told me all he wanted was a new playmate for him and Luce and invited me to go exploring with him. Of course, at the age I was at, I was willing to go anywhere in such a colorful world. Well, he went out to make preparations for a bit and left me with Luce. I got bored, as I often did when I was a kid and heard these bells in the distance."

"And I'm guessing that was when you met the mother spider?" Henry asked raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much. Luce tried to stop me, but I was so young and confused then that I just went anyways. I thought I'd be back by the time Tate returned so I just went on a little adventure of my own. I didn't think too much of it then, really. But yeah, that's what happened. The mother spider and her whole nest wanted to eat me but then Tate came to my rescue and drove her back."

"I see..." Henry murmured.

"After we got back to where we met, he said that he had to go somewhere very far away and he didn't know when we would next see each other," she continued. It was a story she had been holding onto for so long, and for the first time, someone was willing to believe her. "But before he left, he gave Luce to me and told me that if we were the meet again, Luce'd guide me to wherever he was," Cynthia explained, digging into her pocket and pulling out the ball of wavellite. "And well, the rest is pretty much history. I came home and wanted to tell people but no one would believe me. So I just kinda stopped believing a place like this existed."

"Well it does," Henry reassured her with a calm smile, "and that's more of a reason for you to visit the guardian indeed. I never expected that you're the reason the spider queen is so angry." He let out a laugh. "It really was a good thing that I was around, huh?"

"I... I suppose," she said, not quite sure how to respond to this odd man; but none the less, she trusted his judgment. No one else had ever believed her until now. "Which way is it to the guardian?" she asked.

"Right this way, milady," Henry teased. "It's not much further, I promise."