Chapter 4
4
S he raced off, but soon she was engulfed in darkness and she had to slow down. The meadow Anna hurried across was illuminated by nothing but the light of the stars and the broad crescent moon. The sounds of the battle in the distance started to die down, so her steps automatically accelerated. She hoped the pirates wouldn't come after her now that they were done fighting.
What was going on? Where had she ended up? Why had the men abducted her? And how did the captain know her?
But the biggest question was: who was the pirate who had helped her and warned her about the captain? How did he know her? And why had he prevented the captain from getting his hands on her without her asking for his assistance?
The captain… A tingle ran through her stomach as she thought about the captain's almost black eyes. How would they know each other? And why had he called her Ani? Nobody called her that. Had he mistaken her for someone else? But then why had he been staring at her as if he were seeing a ghost?
Regardless of such questions, she had to find her way home somehow. Or a police station. Or a mental institution, because apparently she was losing it. Had she actually flown there in a glittering boat? Had she imagined everything? Was she perhaps dreaming? She tripped over a rock and landed sprawling on the grass, scraping her shin on a sharp edge. Damn, that hurt. It definitely wasn't a dream.
Anna gritted her teeth and picked herself up again. Even though she tried to ignore the pain, the wound stung. But she didn't want to stop and limped to relieve the pressure on her leg.
She glanced over her shoulder again. No one seemed to be following her. Everything was quiet and gloomy, and even the lantern's glow near the harbor was barely visible. How long had she been running? Her legs had become leaden, as had her eyelids. The adrenaline was starting to wear off even though she wasn't safe. Where on earth had she ended up?
Every step became an ordeal. The darkness pressed down on her shoulders as if to say: "Come, lie down and sleep so that I can unleash the next horror on you." Anna, however, didn't give up. She certainly wasn't going to lie down in the middle of this meadow, which — as far as she could tell in the darkness — had just a few small hills where the pirates could discover her from to then seize her at sunrise. There was no question in her mind that the captain and his crew, who had fought off her captors, would be searching for her.
Exhausted, she trudged on. One step after the other. Just don't give up, don't fall asleep. Every foot, every yard, became her personal marathon, with the stars in the sky being her fans standing along her path and cheering her on. Only the moon apparently didn't want to participate, as it had retreated behind a cloud — presumably so it wouldn't have to witness her defeat.
She couldn't give up, so she struggled onward and suddenly bumped into something that was soft on the outside and hard on the inside. But what in the world could that be? Was she dreaming again? Everything in front of her was dark. When she reached out, she touched something like a body — only it was too big. Way too big.
Stepping to the side, she attempted to bypass the obstacle, but it was so long, it seemed to have no end. Was this some strange form of magic again? Maybe a barrier? Some kind of fence around the magical world where the pirates had brought her? Was her world behind it?
She touched the obstacle again. It felt warm, like a living being. But of course that couldn't be. She stroked the surface, which was rough and — hairy?
"AAAHHH!"
Anna jumped back as the obstacle moved. Torn between fear and curiosity, she moved backward, staring at the impenetrable blackness. Finally, the moon crept out from behind a cloud and illuminated the huge monster that was lying across the meadow. Stunned, Anna stopped and stared at the creature, whose legs were as thick as the trunks of full-grown oaks, arms almost as long as birch trees, and a body significantly larger than a bus.
Was it a person? A huge, enormous, colossal… giant?
Her knees wobbled as the man sat up with a loud yawn, his arms resting behind him. His head was gigantic. If he were to fall forward, he would have instantly crushed her. He had a thick beard, leading Anna to believe that she'd stroked his cheek as he'd been lying on the ground sleeping. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, which were as big as dinner plates, until he spotted her.
Anna froze. Maybe she was so small that if she stood still long enough, he wouldn't notice her. The giant, however, spotted her and stared at her as if she were the strange creature. Suddenly, his hairy face brightened. His eyes, which were green like moss, lit up, and his mouth appeared between the bristly whiskers, twisting into a joyful smile.
"Anemone!"