An Unlikely Hero (Part 6: Getting to Know You)

Flint's POV

_*_

When Piper asked me to join her, I said yes with no hesitation; My father was dead, and I wanted revenge on the Arachnids for doing that to my family. Though my mom knew she couldn't talk me out of it, she still tried.

"Flint, I just lost my husband, I can't lose you too." she told, as I packed my bag.

I had looked at her stern eyes, but they turned sorrowful when I saw the tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Mom, if I go with them then I can get revenge on the Arachnid clan for causing us pain." I explained to her, putting gentle hands onto her shoulder.

Without warning, my Mom embraced me, and kissed me on the cheek. "Please return safely, Flint." she told me.

After that I left my home, my city, and I only looked back once as we were exiting the city gate.

_*_

The second night of the journey...

I leaned against the walls of the cave we were staying in for the night, staring at the orange flames deep in thought.

The Captain was sleeping on the far end of the cave, and Piper was busily checking her wounds with a piece of glass she had found on the way here.

Without thinking, I exclaimed, "Thank you." Immediately, Piper stopped what she was doing and looked over at me.

"For what?' she asked, setting the piece of glass in her pouch.

"For saving me back at the dance." I explained further.  Piper smiled, and strolled over to me before sitting down. 

“Anyone would have done that if they saw an explosive like that.” she said to me. 

“But why choose me to join you on the journey?” I continued to question Piper, curious to know the answer. 

“You’re the only one I knew besides Captain Draco and Wolf. I knew Wolf would probably need to stay to keep the city safe, so I decided to ask you. Do you regret joining us? You didn’t have to come.”  she answered. 

I thought about her question for a moment; I did regret leaving my mom alone to deal with the loss of my father, but if this was the only way to get revenge for my father, then I didn’t regret my decision.

“No, I don’t regret it. I’m happy to be a part of your team.” I responded. Piper gave me another smile, and I felt my cheeks go red. 

A hissing outside the cave interrupted the moment, and we both got to our feet to try to get a better look. 

“Stay here.” Piper commanded, and she pulled a stone dagger from her belt. How long has she had a weapon?

I watched as Piper crept to the mouth of the cave, and I felt a sudden pinch of guilt for not going against her wishes and actually helping her. 

I raced to her side, and she gave me a confused glance before averting her attention back to the outside of the cave. 

The hissing sound echoed throughout the trees, and Piper’s wings shot up, like it was a sign of her being alert. 

“Draco!” she called over her shoulder. I looked over mine, and saw that the Captain stirred, and pushed himself up awake, and already as alert as Piper was. 

He walked over to us, and asked, “What is it?” 

I turned my head back around and stared into the dark forest with the moon’s rays as the only light source. 

“I….I don’t know. We heard a hissing noise, and it sounded close so…” her voice trailed off, as another blood-curdling hiss sounded throughout the air. 

That’s when I finally realized what I had gotten myself into. We weren’t just going to the Arachnid kingdom, but we were also being hunted by them too. 

I shook away this thought, and tried to keep my composure. I didn’t want Piper or Draco to know that I was actually terrified of the Arachnid clan. 

“We are drawing near to the kingdom of the spiders, it’s probably some scouts or patrols they may have at the border.” Draco reassured us. Honestly, I hoped he was right about that. 

I felt the Captain’s firm hands grip my shoulder, and lead both Piper and me back towards the campfire. “Try to get some sleep you two. I’ll keep watch.” he told us. 

_*_

I don’t know how long I was asleep for, but I was woken up by another hiss in the night. As I pushed myself up, I saw Draco sitting outside the cave’s mouth. 

“What are you doing up Flint?” he asked, as I walked out, and sat next to him. 

“The hissings are keeping me up. I can’t go to sleep right now.” I explained, truthfully. 

The Captain nodded his head in understanding, and looked over his shoulder; I assumed he was checking on Piper, and making sure she was asleep. 

“So, Piper really isn’t your daughter?” I asked, once he turned back around. 

Captain Draco shook his head, and said, “Honestly, kid, I have no idea who her parents are. The Arachnids attacked our village, and we collided into each other. She’s never mentioned her parents or anything much of her past.” 

It was my turn to look over my shoulder, and watched as Piper breathed in and out softly. 

My mind went deep in thought as my own father entered my mind. We weren’t the closest dad and son, but I still loved him, and now that he is gone I deeply wished I had been closer with him. 

Another hissing startled me out of thought, and I snapped my head forward out of instinct; only yards away was an arachnid, and a huge one at that. 

I’m guessing Draco saw it too because he jumped to his feet and immediately pulled out a weapon from his belt. Am I the only one without a weapon?

“Piper!” he shouted. Piper was instantly up, and alert with the stone dagger in her grasp. 

She flew over to us, and dropped down in between Draco and me. I watched as her eyes narrowed at the sight of the hissing spider. 

“What’s the plan?” I decided to ask, giving Piper a quick glance. 

Before she even answered, the spider started charging towards; I then heard Piper mutter one word of answer, “Attack.” 

_*_

At Sun rise….

“Phew…” Piper mumbled, throwing the now bloody-dagger to the grass.

The fight with Arachnid had taken several hours without a plan, and the sun was rising just on the horizon. 

“That one was pretty tough.” Draco stated, as he examined his own wounds. I took a look at myself, and saw there were several scratches scattered throughout my body. 

I saw that Piper’s head had blood trickling down it, and raced to her side. “Are you alright?” I asked. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay, the wound I had gotten from the previous attack slightly re-opened, but I’m fine.” Piper groaned with a small smile on her face. 

I cringed a little when I saw the gash, and helped Piper to her feet. She stumbled a little but she soon found her footing. 

I looked down at the spider’s dead body, and thought to myself, “One Arachnid dead, a bunch to go.” 

“Piper, do you think you can fly?” Captain Draco asked, as he started wrapping a fresh bandage around Piper’s head. 

I saw her nod, and was deeply impressed with her dedication to rescue her fellow pixies. 

After we had packed our things up, patched up our wounds, and hidden the dead spider, we took off into the air. 

As we hovered in the air, I could see it on the horizon: The Arachnid Kingdom. 

Don’t worry Dad, I’ll get revenge for you and every other pixie out there that was slaughtered by these spiders.