"It's starting to get dark, Vonn. We need to stop and set up the tent," said Gia as he continued to pull her by the hand.
"I know. There's water up ahead, I can hear it. We should stop there, so we can refill our waterbags," he said, not looking back at her.
"Are you mad at something?" asked Gia, confused by his behavior.
"Gia, I think he's mad at the satyr," said Mikey, still trying to skip and keep up at the same time.
"What do you mean? Vonn?" she asked, jerking her hand free and making him stop. "What's wrong?"
"Did you know you stared at his chest? What about the way you glanced down his entire body like it was candy?" he growled, swinging around angrily.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, confused. She remembered looking at his entire body, but only because it was so different.
"That!" he cried, motioning towards her face with both hands. "That's what I'm talking about! You were thinking about him again, weren't you?"
"Vonn, do you think yelling is appropriate?" cautioned Tom. "There are things in this forest we don't understand just yet."
"Let them hear!" he growled, turning back around after giving her a dirty look. "The stream is right up here."
Gia looked over at her mother, tears in her eyes as she fought the urge to get mad. What was going on? He acted like she wanted to be with the satyr! Had he lost his mind?
"Let's go, dear," said her mom quietly. "It's probably not a good idea to get separated."
Gia nodded, wiping her eyes and helping her parents through the thick brush that crowded up against the edge of the small stream. It was deep enough for someone to be fully immersed if they sat on the bottom, in the middle of the stream, but the edges were only about knee deep.
Vonn was standing in a small clearing, looking at it angrily before turning back.
"What's wrong, Vonn?" asked Mikey. "Isn't that spot big enough for the tent?"
"Do you want deer walking all over us in the middle of the night? We need to find a spot that isn't a main path for every creature around."
"Oh," said Mikey, cowed by Vonn's harsh tone.
Spotting another clearing just off the edge of the water, behind some bushes, Gia called out, "Vonn, I found a spot! What about over here?"
He paused, as if listening to something and shook his head before coming back.
"I guess it'll work," he said gruffly, throwing his bag down and pulling the tent off the back of his bag.
"Vonn?" she whispered. "I don't know what I did to make you so mad, but this isn't like you."
"What? What isn't like me?" he snapped, glaring at her.
"This," she said, waving her hands at his angry face and the bag on the ground. "You've never thrown anything around like that, or raised your voice to me."
"You going to look at every guy we come across like you did back there?" he asked, pulling the strings loose and giving the tent a sharp shake. "Why did that giant rush to save us from the mermaid? What did you do that would suddenly make him so willing to save you? Huh?"
"Now see here!" growled Tom, dropping his bag on the ground. "Are you saying my daughter did something unfaithful?"
"What would you know? You're blind as a bat. You can't see the looks people give you, or the way they mouth their thoughts where you can't hear them," snarled Vonn, throwing the tent to the ground.
"You're not my Vonn," whispered Gia, wondering what could have happened. "My Vonn is the most wonderful person in the whole world. He understands me better than anyone! My Vonn would never yell at me or say such hurtful things!"
Her voice rose as she talked, and tears began to pour down her face.
"Why are you being so mean?" asked Mikey, walking up to Gia and patting her arm. "Vonn is never mean to anyone!"
Vonn snarled, almost like an animal, and stormed off towards the water. They all stood there, stunned.
"Does anyone know what just happened?" asked Carla in the sudden silence.
"The young man was bit by a fairy," said a deep slow voice behind them. "He's also got a spell on him by a satyr. Those creatures are always up to trouble."
Gia turned around to see the tree smile at her. He had a long green beard made of leaves and vines, and one arm, or branch, was held up where glowing butterflies were starting to wake and flutter in the growing dusk.
"What do I do?" she asked, her chest hurting. It felt as if someone had shoved a needle into it. Raising her hands, she covered that spot and pressed, wanting it to go away.
"Go to him, and tell him the truth. Talk to him and let the magic work its way out of his system. If he knows he had magic cast on him, it should be easier for him to overcome it. But he needs to want to overcome it. If he wants to be mad and away from all of you, then the magic will win."
"What happens when the magic wins?" she asked, almost afraid to know.
"He will become a spirit that floats about in the night, watching and hating those he can't influence anymore."
"He'll die?!" she cried in horror. "Oh, NO!"
Turning without another thought, Gia rushed through the bushes, looking for any signs of him. Spotting his footprints in the soft mud, it looked like he had traveled along the edge of the water further downstream. Rushing after him, she ignored the growing dark, the whipping sting of the branches, and the scratches she was getting from the bushes. He stood hunched over, staring at the water with his hands balled into fists.
"Vonn!" she cried when she saw him, and he turned towards her with such a look of hatred, she skidded to a halt.
"What do you want? To show me what you did with the giant? Or did you finally get tired of your helpless family?"
Her mouth hung open in shock at the words that spilled out of his mouth, and then gave herself a shake. It was the magic from that satyr. It wasn't him! She had to remember that.
"The satyr must have cast a spell on you. You have to fight against the magic or you'll die. Please, Vonn! I don't want to lose you!"
He glared at her in disgust and spat at her feet. "Coming up with lies now? I never took you for a whore, but I guess it's true!"
"Vonn," she whispered, hopelessness rising in her as she fought against her panic. This was so wrong! "I love you. I've loved you since the day we first met at that well, when you couldn't reach the water bucket to wash the mud off."
"Mud? So, I'm the dirty one now?" he hissed.
"You are a wonderful man, and when we reach the end of this trek, we're going to get married and have a family," she said, tears falling down her face as she thought about it.
"A family? With you?" he burst out laughing a nasty laugh.
Gia felt a pain in her as if he had just kicked her in the gut. She fought against clutching her belly and bending over, afraid of giving in to his hurtful words.
"Remember how we talked about having kids when we were little? We would sit by the outer walls and joke about how clumsy our son would be."
"But our daughter would be just as beautiful…" he started, the look on his face reverting to a more normal one for a moment before the hate returned.
"And then the guards chased us through the pens where they kept the pigs and we were laughing at how they couldn't run along the fence and fell into the muck," she continued, hope flaring in her.
"And then we slipped and fell into the watering trough," he said, the anger draining from his shoulders and his fists loosened.
"We were soaking wet when we got back to my house. My mom said we looked like drowned rats," she said, a hint of a smile on her face at the memory.
"You got sick," he said, stepping towards her, worry on his face. "You were sick for…"
"A whole week," she nodded, watching as he warred with his emotions. And then the hate was gone, as if it had never existed.
Stepping up before her, Vonn reached down and took her hands. "Giavanna, I… I'm sorry…"
"Oh, Vonn!" she sobbed, fresh tears falling. "I can't imagine a life without you. I don't want to lose you! I don't think…"
"Please, stop crying," he whispered. "You saved me. You and your beautiful memories. I was so mad…"
He closed his eyes and turned his head away. "It was like I wasn't in control of myself. It was as if…"
"It was like you had become your dad," she whispered.
He swallowed, without opening his eyes. "Never again will I raise my voice to you, or say such things. Gia, I am so sorry!"
Laying her head on his chest Gia cried, clinging to him with all the strength she had left.