Immortal (6 page)

“You get away from her!” Staysia warned. Isis kicked her hooves into the air, but she could not move from where she stood either. The witch shook her head and said, “Now you are both stuck! I wish you both the best of luck!” She wrinkled her nose and smiled. She waved and with a twirl of her cane and a fog of smoke, she took the form of Staysia.

“No!” Staysia screamed. “You can’t do this! You cannot!” But the witch was gone. Staysia saw the shadows in the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth to ask them to help her. Before she could get any words out, they began to run in the opposite direction.

Isis kicked her hooves violently and neighed loudly. “Isis! Stop! It’s okay Isis, we will be okay.” A tear rolled down her cheek. She came to her feet and doubled her fist. She began pounding on the invisible wall that held her in the bubble, but it was useless. She sunk to her knees and put her head in her hands. She could see the vial of fairy dust around her neck and held it in her hands.

* * *

Gabriel turned to find Staysia was no longer behind him.

“Jasper, where is she? Where is Staysia?”

“What?” Jasper turned his head to find her gone. “She was just h-here. She’s gone!” Jasper replied.

“We have to find her!” Gabriel said as he made a circle and surveyed the area.
  

“Staysia!” he yelled.

“I’m here!” said a faint voice.

Gabriel moved his head forward and set his eyes on what looked to be Staysia.
 

“Staysia?”

The woman had a glow around her body. She smiled and beckoned Gabriel closer. She then ran into the forest. Gabriel and Jasper followed. Gabriel could see the back of the woman as she stood still looking off into the distance. “Staysia?” he called. She turned to face him. “Gabriel,” she chimed in a creepy, low voice.

“Wait! I-I don’t think that’s Staysia,” Jasper told him.

“Of course it is! Who else would it be, Jasper?” Gabriel asked.

Jasper put a hand on his forehead and shook his head. “It’s not Staysia!” he said under his breath.

The witch glared at Jasper without Gabriel noticing. She smiled at Gabriel. “I can’t find Isis!” she told him.

Gabriel swung his leg around his horse and hopped to the ground. He put his hand on her back. “It’s okay Staysia, I will help you find her.”

Jasper shook his head and looked off into the distance. He rubbed his eyes when he saw a shiny emerald glowing in the distance. It was hovering just above the stream.

He took one last look at Gabriel and drove his tiny buggy to it. He got out of his buggy and hobbled to the stream. “It’s a sign! It’s a sign from my Emerald,” he exclaimed.

Gabriel turned, and stood hands on his hips, with a wide smile watching him as he jumped up and down trying to grab the emerald.

Finally, Jasper jumped high enough to grab it and held it in his tiny hand. He kissed the emerald and then took a better look.

The emerald was large and soft. The emerald had a pair of red lips on it this is what it said, “I am not just a gem, not just another jewel. I am a timeless treasure. Ah yes, as love flows through your veins so does the stream flow below me. Timeless. You claim your love is true, but do you trust enough to take a bite of me? If you do, please do not hesitate. Love may be a timeless treasure but how long do you have to prove to her how you feel?”

“It’s true! It is a sign from my precious Emerald!” He wiggled his legs and twirled himself in a circle. He kissed it again, this time on the lips, and then took a huge, juicy bite. The juice from the gem dribbled down the sides of his mouth. Jasper felt a strange sensation immediately.

He took a seat on a large rock and tried to gain his composure. But, his composure could not be gained so easily. Jasper could not rid himself of his spinning head, his racing heart, or the hallucinations that came with his error.

His head began to move in a circular motion, not just in his mind, but the effect was apparent. A low grumble startled him, and he looked over his shoulder to find the creeper staring up at him.

His brows furrowed, his eyes widened; he tried with all of his might to focus. “It’s the pig!” he blurted. He attempted to step off of the rock, but he fell instead. “Hello pig!” he said. He patted the top of the creature’s head and smiled.

The creeper turned its head and began to walk to the stream. Jasper rolled from side to side on his back, and held his gut as he giggled. He pointed at the creeper, who swooshed its head around in the stream. “Gabriel!” Jasper called. “Your pig is thirsty!”

But, Gabriel was nowhere to be found. He had already begun his search for Isis with the witch. It didn’t matter much to Jasper. He rolled over and hopped to his feet. “Here, piggy, piggy!” he called. The water looked like hot lava to Jasper in his drugged state of mind. “No piggy! That’ll burn your mouth!” he cried.

He hobbled to the stream and threw his arm around the creeper’s mouth. He began laughing again, which annoyed the creeper. The creeper growled low.

“Snake! You have a snake wrapped around your mouth!” said Jasper, referring to the vine that was wrapped around the creeper’s mouth.

The creeper lifted its head up and down. Jasper stared at what he thought was the face of the snake, which looked like it was smiling at him. “Oh yes, you are a nice snake, are ya?”

He began unwinding the vine from around the creeper’s mouth. When he was through, the creeper snapped at him. Jasper jumped and rolled over backwards and back on his feet. He held his hands out in front of him and slowly walked towards the creeper. The creeper realized that his mouth was free and crawled down to the stream where he began to drink.

“There ya are! Drink up little pig! I will go fetch some grasshoppers for you and my lizard!”

“Grasshoppers?” The creeper turned to face him. “I would much rather take a bite of you!” Jasper paid him no mind. He grinned and skipped away from him to a field, and hunched low to the ground to stake out some grasshoppers.

The ground began to move beneath him. Jasper held his arms out on each side of his body. He saw a grasshopper and tackled it to the ground.

He rolled over on his back and stared at the sky. What Jasper saw was different than what others could see. Jasper saw the sky turn a plum shade of purple, and what Jasper saw were grasshoppers floating on pink clouds. Some of them played violins and others danced. 

A female grasshopper who was dressed in a long red gown blew a kiss to Jasper. He held his hand in the air, grabbed the kiss, and held it close to his heart. Jasper opened his other hand and took pity on the grasshopper that he had planned to feed to his lizard and the creeper. He released the grasshopper and began to hop through the field alongside it. Jasper thought that
he
was a grasshopper. He caught tiny bugs in his mouth and ate them. He watched his grasshopper friend hop into the forest and called, “Goodbye!”

He hopped back down to the stream and hid behind a tree, watching the creeper drink from the stream. He hopped toward it and jumped onto its back. The creeper swung its head around and threw Jasper off.

“You aren’t a pig at all! You are a creeper!”

“Yes I am!”

“Are you going to eat me?” Jasper asked.

“No master, I will not eat you.” The creeper replied.

“Master?” He put his hand across his chest. “M-Me? I am your master?”

“Well, are you or aren’t you?” the creeper snapped.

“Yes!” Jasper held his chest out and smiled broadly. “I am Jasper the Great Beast Tamer!” he said. “Oh no! Where is Gabriel?” The poison from the emerald was now wearing off, and Jasper was coming to his senses.

He got inside his buggy and called the creeper to join him. “Creeper!” he called. “Come along with me and we will find Gabriel together. We must find him soon. He must be in a heap of trouble, going after that which who tricked him into thinking she was Staysia. I knew it wasn’t Staysia. I mean, it was plain to me. Did you know it wasn’t Staysia as well? It was quite obvious, wasn’t it?”

The creeper did not reply.

“Creeper?” he said. He looked back to make sure the creeper was still following him. He certainly was. But, he still said nothing.

“I hope he is okay; he and Staysia both. Don’t you, creeper?” Jasper asked.

The creeper said nothing.

“You are the only company I have at the moment, creeper. A reply would be nice.”

“Yes master,” the creeper said finally. “I hope they are alright as well.”

“You were quite easy to train, creeper.” Jasper laughed when he said this. “You know that? You were certainly easy. Hee! Hee!”

“Grr,” the creeper growled.

“Hee! Hee!” Jasper laughed again. “You certainly were! Must’ve been that vine wrapped around your mouth!”

“Or maybe I felt sorry for you!” the creeper replied.

“Now we are having a conversation! See, it’s not so hard to have a conversation, is it?”

Jasper saw in the distance a beautiful troll, beautiful to him at least. She had golden hair and wore a green dress; the color of an emerald.

“It’s my Emerald!” Jasper cried. “Do you see her there? Sitting all alone on the rock? Let’s go keep her company, shall we?”

“That is not Emerald, you fool! It is another trick the witches have brewed. Can’t you see? Just as they have fooled Gabriel, they are trying to fool you!”

Jasper shook his head. “No, you see, that was certainly not Staysia back there.” He pointed to the female troll. “That is certainly my Emerald sitting upon that rock up ahead. I would know my Emerald anywhere. And that is my Emerald.”

The creeper shook his head hopelessly. “That is not Emerald. It is certainly not Emerald.”

But Jasper wouldn’t listen to the creeper’s warnings. He was mesmerized just as Gabriel had been mesmerized. He was in love.

“Come now, creeper! Let’s go speak to my Emerald.

The creeper shook his head again and followed him. “I’m glad I’m not in love as you and Gabriel.”

Jasper turned his head without moving his eyes off of who he thought was Emerald. “What did you say?” he asked.

“Have it your way,” the creeper grumbled. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Uh-huh,” Jasper replied without really hearing what the creeper had said. When they got closer to the witch who was disguised as Emerald, Jasper got out of the buggy and walked up to her.

“Emerald?” he said. When she looked up at him he could see that she had been crying. “What is it, Emerald? Why are you crying?”

“Jasper!” she exclaimed. “Is it really you? It really is you, isn’t it?”

“Here we go,” said the creeper as he shook his head.

“Oh my!” The witch who posed as Emerald put her hand over her mouth. “You have brought a beast along with you! I am quite frightened of him, Jasper. Could you please not bring him near me?”

“Who? Him?” Jasper asked as he pointed to the creeper.

“Yes, please! Get him away from me. From
us
!” She smiled and batted her eyes.

“He isn’t going to hurt you, ya see, I am his master!” Jasper stuck out his chest. “Let me show you!” Jasper turned to the creeper. “Roll over!” he commanded. The creeper rolled his eyes and did what he was told. “Hee! Hee!” Jasper laughed. “See, I truly am his master. He will not hurt you if he knows best for him!” Jasper shook his finger at the creeper and turned back to the witch. When he turned the creeper growled at him. “Hee! Hee!” Jasper laughed. “He’s just playing around!”

The witch stood up and threw her arms around Jasper’s neck. “I have missed you, Jasper! I was crying for
you
!”

“For
me
? Why in the world would you be crying for
me
?” Jasper asked her.

“I have been looking for you for so very long. I have been looking absolutely everywhere. I am so happy to have found you!”

“It’s not Emerald!” the creeper warned.

The witch kicked the creeper and tried to shush him.

“Jasper! It really isn’t her. You must believe me!”
“Please! I am really uncomfortable with that beast staring at us. Do something with him, will you?”

“Scram creeper! Emerald and I have a lot of catching up to do and we needn’t be pestered with the likes of you!”

The creeper put his head down and crept along the grass and lay down under a tree.

* * *

Gabriel looked into the eyes of the witch who looked like Staysia.

“You know I have loved you from the time I was conceived.” He stroked her hair with his fingers and looked into her eyes.

“Is that so?” The witch covered her mouth and giggled. “And I have loved you from that moment as well.” She said the words convincingly, but she was utterly appalled at the idea. “Come with me, Gabriel.”

“Where are we going?”

“There is an abandoned hut down the road.”

“The dark ladies hut?”

“It doesn’t matter, silly. It is abandoned.”