Chapter Little Boat
The stream grew wider joined by fellow streams further down. In some places Rose noticed up to six streams forked into one another. The path she was on was nothing more than a dried up bed. That soon changed. First it turned muddy than it turned steep. The brush around her grew thick. Rose felt if she veered even in the slightest she would not find the boat. Rose found something about these beds strange; they appeared to be made differently than the natural streams. She began hopping from stone to stone. When some reeds snagged the cape of her hood, Rose turned around pulling backwards only to fall when it came loose. She went over a well hidden overhang and was plunged into a lake.
Something grabbed onto her feet as it pulled her deeper down Rose was too stunned to even realize. Her nose and face were hit hard by the water for she had fallen from quite a height. Her cape had tangled around her arm. When the bubbles began to clear she tried to flail around to avoid rocks. That was when she felt the firm grip around her ankles.
Hair floated before her blinking eyes as a cold hand traveled up to her shoulder. Rose’s lungs began burning for air. Some of the hair moved back and she realized it wasn’t her own and swung at it with a very slow weighted down arm. As her cape touched it a sizzling noise vibrated through the water as another cascade of bubbles rose up. The hair covered creature hissed revealing sharp teeth like a fish it darted away.
No longer restricted, still under water making her way to the light above, Rose tried pulling herself up with the dark rock next to her. It drifted down and turned toward her, a body covered in moss, sockets without eyes and a face that was frozen in a look of terror. This terror Rose mirrored. She had been struggling to get to the surface before now she flayed like a neurotic water snake. Her hood made it to the top before she did. An arm plunged in and grabbed it, hauling her up with great speed. She broke through to the surface with a gasp which was good because soon after she was being pulled into a boat by her hood which was choking her. When the top half of her dropped into the boat she pulled away from her rescuer shivering. When he released her the hood flopped down over her head running water all down her face.
“Are you alright did that wicked bottom feeder bite you?” She did not respond right away to his question so he tried another language. Surprisingly she recognized this language it was her Grandmother’s. She put up a hand to indicate she needed to finish coughing.
He was not deterred he swung her feet fully into the boat removing her boots and socks. Rose did not misunderstand his actions, she recognized them as kindness. Once more her cape was twisted and she twisted it still further after gathering it up to ring out the water.
“You should take that off. You are going to get sick from the cold.” He reached toward her as she threw the cape behind her shoulders, her bright silver clasp reflected sunlight. His hand changed direction and yanked back her hood. He sat down and steadied the rocking boat.
“Well, much better, I can see you.” The youth across from her smiled congenially. He was clean looking with a white shirt, brown pants rolled up to his knees. His short vest was layered over by colorful scales yet he did not stink of fish. It also had colorful stitched loops holding several different lures and hooks. Yet all of his clothing was very faded from being out in the sun matched his skin burned to a tan. Dark curls and dark eyes with hints of auburn in them made Rose stared a moment. This wasn’t like when she had met the young boy her age. Nor was it like when she had been awed by the Frost. This was something between the two. He was older than her probably by four years. In her village he would be considered a man yet he somehow still had the sparkle of a child in his eyes. However, gradually Rose’s eyes went up to his blue grey hat with goose feathers and instantly she was furious.
“Take that off!” Her teeth were still chattering.
The boy looked at himself confused. “What do you mean?”
“That hat, you must not wear it. It is not yours!” Rose swiftly hopped up to take it and rocked the whole boat. She sat down quickly imitating his stance of holding the sides.
He was amused by this surprising behavior and smiled crookedly to show it.
“Mariner’s find, it came down the stream, by all rights that would make it mine.”
“Your wrong it isn’t yours it’s!” Rose looked to the lake water where she emerged distressed. She clasped her hand over her mouth. She felt sick.
“Hey now, Hey now…Hey...” The boy stammered not knowing what the appropriate response should be. Quickly he took off his hat and gave it to her.
“I beg your pardon. I didn’t know he was your friend. It’s just that I’m stuck out here you know? The sun gets very hot and well I have to take what I can find.” He gestured under his seat where a variety of items were stored, some childrens’ toys, clothes, a few supplies of thread and needles and lots of fishing rods and spears obviously hand made from things floating in the lake.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Rose took the hat back slowly, suspiciously. She wiped her tears away swiftly and looked around. “Where am I?”
“Lake Visage, more importantly where are you from? Did the witch throw you in here to torment me?” He eyed her with the same suspicion as the boat spun.
“I am from Volhov.” Rose felt herself melting into normal conversation as she calmed down.
“Yep those are her stomping grounds alright. How did she catch you?” The way he implied it obviously meant that he was a captive himself.
“I wasn’t captured I came here looking for my friend.” Rose lowered her head in reverence sad eyes to the lake.
“I guess you found him.” The boy sighed.
“What about my Mother have you seen her?” Rose’s looked up to him fearfully not sure what his answer would be. He was taken aback by the softness of her wet features in the sunlight. His eyes darted to the lake. “I… doubt she lives if the witch captured her. The only woman I have seen is the witch and even then she comes in disguise as a beautiful woman. I don’t suppose your Mother is young and beautiful dark haired?”
Rose bit her lip. “She is beautiful however her hair is a light honey color and she is most certainly not a witch. I don’t understand the Frost told me she went downstream with Sadko. He told me she wasn’t dead.”
“The Frost,” His eyes widened, “You have spoken to him where?”
“Here and there, about the wood.” Rose was surprised he believed her although considering the circumstances she should have known.
“Where was that exactly?” He persisted, and since Rose did not like his tone she quickly sealed her lips.
“I suppose he came to you as the handsome Fedor and entreated you to help him?” The boy raised a brow as he began selecting from his many poles. “You must not trust him. He is at war. He will use you however he can in order to freeze this land.”
“Maybe the land is supposed to be frozen.” Rose mused aloud, yes it had been long and hard struggling through winter on the outside yet her Mother had a clear memory of it as did others. “Why must everything be warm and perfect always?”
“Ah he has you smitten already I can see you probably fell in love with his big blue eyes.” The boy bated a hook and threw it in the water.
“I did not.” Rose crossed her arms and realized this was the second time she had argued with this person whom she did not know.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Ivashko, though I barely know it anymore.” He sighed. “I haven’t spoken it to another freely for a long time, ever since she captured me.”
“She is Lueda Yedka, why did she not eat you?” Rose pondered.
“For someone so young you certainly know much. She seems to have an attraction to me. She keeps trying to seduce me. It took me a long time to see through all her tricks. She torments me by keeping me on this lake.”
“I’m going to find a way to kill her so I can rescue my Mother or at the very least get revenge.” Rose wrung out her hair; a movement in the water caused her to move closer to the boy. “Was that the bottom feeder?”
“No, he’s who I am trying to catch. The great goldfish, if I can catch him my wishes will be granted. Attracted by magic he comes here on purpose to taunt me. Being that he’s a magic fish he’s too wily to fall for any ordinary hook.”
“So why do you keep trying?” Rose arched a brow.
“Well it couldn’t hurt though it irks me to no end that he only rubs against my lines leaving little golden scales behind. I collect them all. I’ve nearly made a whole coat.” Ivashko smiled back at her. “I can’t swim through this water as you saw and this boat never gets close enough to the edge to let me leave.” Rose saw sweat was beading on his brow, as he spoke to her shading his eyes from the sun she felt sorry for him. “Here, I suppose Sadko won’t need this anymore.” She gave the hat back to him. “Thanks, I kind of feel like I’ve earned it.” He tilted the hat in a funny way that made Rose weakly smile.
“That look becomes you better. So how did you know about the witch, from the Frost?” Ivashko was trying to steer the conversation as he let Rose begin to steer the boat.
“No, I learned about her from another boy.” Rose was testing the limits of the boat to make sure what he said was true and if that same truth would apply to her. Unfortunately, she was also newly testing her skills as a mariner. Probably because he was insulted by being called a boy the young man began talking to her in a lecturing tone.
“Not frightened at all about this? You really are determined aren’t you? Don’t you realize this is Baba Yaga you are dealing with? She isn’t just a witch she is the witch of all witches. She taps into true demon power devouring the flesh of children.”
“Uh huh,” Rose was angry because the boat was going one way, while she was turning it another. “Why won’t it…” she gritted after a time of him watching her struggle.
“We are getting close to the shallows and the spell will not allow us farther.” Ivashko shook his head.
“Listen,” He grabbed the rudder from her. “Do you realize just by talking about her you probably made her ears burn. She goes after any child near who speaks of her.”
“Wait, any child who speaks of her?” Rose paled,
“Yes.” Ivashko saw her looking around frantically, “Are you finally, scared?”
“I made all the children talk about her today. Will she go after all of them?” Rose looked at Ivashko intensely.
“No, she wouldn’t come after all of them in one night. Her stomach is not that engorged yet. I would say she would go after the one who spoke up about her first.”
There was a splash and Rose was in the water.
“Hey what are you doing I just saved you!” Ivashko stood in the rocking boat. Rose did not hear him all she focused on was the shore. She wasn’t a fast swimmer with all her clothing on and dark floating hair began to follow her. Ivashko cursed and flung his fishing rod with a practiced precision, it landed just where he wanted and he yanked back to hook the creature’s neck. This confused and startled it. It splashed around in one place for quite awhile. Rose was given a good lead until she began to run out of breath from the weight of her clothes, the great golden fish gilded next to her. She grabbed its fins and in moments the beach was before her. She let go when she felt rocks beneath her feet and struggled on and up out of the lake.
“Rose!” Ivashko shouted from his boat. “You are mad!”
“Come on!” she turned and waved watching him struggle. White human hands were shooting up out of the water. Beneath something was wrapping the line tighter around it’s self as it spun making horrible screeching sounds.
“You go and never come back!” Ivashko shouted his pole bending until it snapped.
Rose hesitated a bit, turned and ran as he fell back laughing into his boat. “And here I thought I had too much sun!”