Ana

         The night was alive with heat and life. The full moon cast down its unearthly glow, beacons of light among the branches of the forest below. In one such beam, a pixie flew, the light of the moon glancing off its’ wings like a secret dance.
          “Please, Ana, let’s go back! Your papa will be very angry when he sees that you are gone!” The pixie said anxiously, her wings fluttering so fast that a nervous whine emitted from them.
          “Belize, calm down. Papa won’t find out. Remember, he thinks I’m asleep!” Ana exclaimed cheerfully, waving her hand at the pixie that continued to flicker around her.
          “But this could be dangerous! You could get hurt! Please, Ana, don’t do this!”
          “Where’s your sense of adventure? Nothing is going to happen, Elros promised. We’re just going treasure hunting, is all!”
          Belize dropped in the air to land moodily on Ana’s shoulder, “You shouldn’t trust a Kelpie. They don’t have a reputation for mischief for nothing.”
          Ana laughed, the sweet melody of a child’s happiness echoing through the misty woods. The moss on the ground welcomed her feet, cushioning them as if it knew who she was and what she was doing. Her curly black hair, cut short in a pleasant bob, reflected the moonlight as if the stars themselves were entwined with her. Even the small pixie, sighing against Ana’s ear, seemed to be invited with open arms into the night.
          Relaxing a bit inside the embrace of the summer quiet of dark, Belize pulled a soft lock of the five-year old’s hair, “What are we looking for, anyway?”
          “I’m not quite sure. Elros said that the entrance of the cave would be near a flower…we should be close to it…” Ana trailed off, casting a searching gaze in the growing mist.
          “A flower?! There are lots of flowers in the forest! How are we supposed to know which one to look for?” The pixie said incredulously.
          “He said we’d…”
          It was then a bright white flower came into view, though comparing that flower to the flowers around it would be like comparing a child’s finger painting to the Mona Lisa. The flower has the same corolla as a lily, only larger, each gentle petal as large as a dinner plate. The sweet fragrance of what could only be described as love and earth mixed filled the air, making both Ana and Belize swoon. The entire flower, stem and all, glittered in the moonlight like a thousand pristine diamonds.
          “…know,” Ana finished lamely, entranced by the flower’s glory.
The only thing detracting from the flower was a rotten, dying stump, its dead roots twisting up in the sky as if its final moments had been ones of pain. Seeing the giant monstrosity that was the stump snapped the child out of her trance.
Shaking her head to clear the daze, Ana began to peer around. “Well, we better start looking for this entrance. It has to be here somewhere,” she said, and set to her work.
          Belize and Ana began to search, pressing on trees, pulling on weeds, kicking rocks, anything to trigger an opening or to uncover it from its hiding place, while carefully avoiding the giant stump.
          Finally, after twenty minutes of fruitless searching, Belize landed in an exhausted heap on a branch of a nearby tree. Ana leaned against another, sending a look to the stump. “Well, there’s only one place left to look,” she said dejectedly.
          Belize huffed as Ana got up to prod around the monstrosity. Once again, the girl began to look for any crease or knot that could possibly open a door to the cave they were looking for.
          She had searched for five minutes, and then sat down heavily on the stump in exhaustion. “Oh, I give up!” She exclaimed.
          Ana had no sooner spoken those words before her make-shift seat gave out on her. It took her a second to realize she was falling, as she saw the summer night sky above her, but once she did, Ana took an indrawn breath to scream.
          She hit mud before she had a chance to let it out. The squishy earth cushioned her fall, and Ana sat up, feeling her body for injuries that she had luckily not sustained.
          “Ana!” Belize screamed from above her, the pixie’s voice seeming to come from miles away.
          “I believe I found our cave!” Ana called back, giggling.
          Belize flew down as the young girl began to look around curiously. The cave was dark, but it seemed to glow with a strange red light. Ana could see, but barely. The mist was thicker down in the cave, for some reason, and it remained untouched by the red glow. Mud was everywhere, but it was oddly stable and showed no risk of caving it. There was proof of its stability hanging on the wall.
          Ana gasped and took a step closer, “Belize, look!”
          On the wall was a small, but intricately designed, dagger. Each carve on the blade seemed deliberately made, an elegant whorl throughout the knife. It had a serrated edge, though that, too, seemed to be cut in a specific pattern, though at first glance it would seem shoddy and random.
          Ana extended her hand towards the dagger hesitantly but surely, but jumped when Belize flew up in her face, stopping her.
          “Wait, Ana! Please! Let’s go. The mist keeps getting thicker in here and I’m not getting a good feeling about this!” The pixie put up her hands in a plea, desperate to leave.
          She waved her hand at Belize, forcing the pixie to get away from her, “You worry too much. Nothing’s going to happen. Besides, how are we supposed to get out?”
          Even with her declaration of surety, when Ana grasped the cool hilt of the dagger, she was surprised that no big explosion emitted from the cave.
          “I told you so,” Ana said with a grin then turned to the growing mist, dagger proudly in hand.
          She had no sooner turned when a ferocious roar knocked her down. Rock tumbled from the walls as the mist flew together in a cohesive form, a giant of dull gray skin and angry black eyes. The shape solidified and the remaining mist disappeared. It growled threateningly and began to crouch low, preparing to attack.
          “Ana!” Belize screamed, flying in front of her as if to protect the girl.
          Ana, paying no attention to the frightened pixie and in complete awe of the beast in front of her, merely whispered, “What are you?”
          The giant lifted its head in recognition of her question. “I am the Ymir and you, Young One, have my key,” it said in a deep, rasping voice, as if was unused to speaking in human tones and had only spoken ancient words prior.
          Ana opened her mouth to speak again but had to roll quickly to the left to avoid the charging of the giant. Belize screamed again, but Ana couldn’t hear her as she had to roll away from the monster again.
          Desperate, Ana scrambled up, clutching the knife to her chest as she ran away from it. She tried to escape through a side corner she saw, but she slipped in the mud, one of her shoes getting swallowed by the earth. Frantic, Ana turned in the mud, raising the dagger defensively, expecting to see nothing but the gnashing teeth and slashing claws, yet it never came. The giant, in its frenzy to catch her, impaled itself on the knife.
          It stumbled back, the dagger ripping from Ana’s hands. The giant looked down at the dagger, confused, as it’s wound began to shimmer around the dagger.. Then it began to roar, a wounded and sorrowful sound, as its legs began to change shape, looking more like roots than legs. The monster began to grow, its skin becoming barky and brown. Its arms extended to the ceiling above, crashing into it and beyond, reaching towards the heavens like branches. The giant was becoming a towering tree!
          Ana watched in amazement, welcoming Belize’s weight on her shoulder as the giant-turned-tree created a gentle opening into the world above. Soon, the growing halted and the tree stood majestically above the forest, dignified and graceful.
          She opened her mouth to say something, but then Ana saw something hurtling through the branches of the tree and landing at her feet. Puzzled, she stooped down and lifted it.
          “What is it?” Belize asked, peering closer at Ana’s hand.
          Tilting her head, she looked at her open palm, admiring the fist-sized ruby that lay within it. “I dunno…but at this point, I’m not sure I care. I just want to be clean,” she shook her head, closing and wiping her eyes to get the mud out of them.
          A curious feeling came over her as the ruby glinted. Opening her eyes, she discovered that she was, as she had wished, completely clean.
          A huge grin split her face as she realized what the giant tree had gifted her, “I think…this grants wishes!”
          “Well, if that’s true, wish us home! I’m tired!” Belize said, yawning to prove her point.
          Ana nodded, then looked at the ruby, “I wish we were home!”
          A bright light overtook them and Ana had to shield her eyes. Belize dropped from her shoulders, though Ana was unsure where she went since she was still squinting from the light.
          “Ana?” A deep voice said, causing Ana to turn around.
          “Papa?”
          “Honey, why are you up so late? Your mother and I sent you to bed an hour ago!” Her father seemed stern, but not upset as he stood in the doorframe, one hand on the light switch.
          “I’m sorry, Papa, I was just on an adventure,” Ana said, looking at the floor.
          He smiled gently, walking forward to take his daughter in his arms. “I can see that,” he leaned forward to pick up a doll off the floor next to her, “And your poor fairy as well, I see?” He handed the winged doll to her as he walked over to her bed.
          “Belize is a pixie, not a fairy!” She exclaimed as her father tucked her in.
          He chuckled, kissing Ana on the forehead as he brushed her hair off her face. “Well, then I apologize most deeply to Belize. But, my darling girl, try to keep your adventures to the day! You never know what lies in the night,” he straightened and began to walk out of the room, flicking off the light, “Day is for adventures, night is for dreams.”
          “Yes, Papa,” Ana said quietly as her father shut the door.
          Once she was sure her father was safely away, she opened her hands to see the ruby glinting happily back at her.
          Smiling, she turned to the side, Belize cuddled up next to her, “Tomorrow, Belize, we will have a mighty adventure with this gem!”
          Her eyes fluttered close as Belize sighed with affectionate frustration, sleep overcoming her with the ruby still tight in her hand.