The air returned to Anci's lungs just as fast as she lost it. Landing on her side, a loud pop hissed in her ear. She gritted her teeth, and a gasp escaped her. It didn't sound too good.

Her whole body decided to shut down, powering off like a malfunctioned computer. She was a blue screen, error codes blinking in her failing brain. The only thing she knew was pain. Hard, steep pain. And panic, but that came in the form of more pain.

"Anci!" Eustace was immediately by her side. "Are you okay?"

Anci groaned, squeezing his hand. Her eyes screwed shut. His words were a blur, incoherent gibberish that rose and fell in pitch. She barely managed to say his name. "Eustace."

If Eustace said anything else, Anci didn't know. Her vision went in and out of focus, and her heartbeat was a loud bell. It was a ticking clock, meticulously sharp and clear-cut. She leaned forward, curling into a ball.

"Oh my! Are you alright, child? What happened? Oh, gracious me!"

The fog cleared at the songlike voice. Anci lifted her head. The pain subsided, reduced to little shocks as if nothing happened. She blinked. She pushed herself up onto her feet, steadying herself against Eustace. She swallowed as confusion made its way into her body.

Anci looked at Eustace first, meeting his eyes. Breathless, she forced a smile and nodded. When he smiled back, she turned to face whoever had pushed her. But there was no one.

Only a wide sidewalk.

"What happened?" she whispered. "Who pushed me?"

Eustace looked at her weirdly. "What are you talking about?" he said. "No one pushed you. You fell."

"No." Anci shook her head. She frowned. "Someone definitely pushed me. Didn't you hear their footsteps?"

Eustace chewed on his lip. "No," he said.

"Are you alright?" There was the voice again, silvery and soft like a mother's love. "That was a nasty fall you had there!"

Anci spun on her heels, subconsciously touching her shoulder. It was still dislocated. She faced the woman, and instantly, a gasp was caught in her throat.

The woman—she was beautiful. Sophisticated and sleek like a swan. Her eyes were spectacular gemstones, reflecting the light of the sun like a mirror. There was a sheen to her silky hair; it was as if the light of the moon was able to weave itself into existence. It was pinned up into a tight bun, but still, strands were able to snake down to her hip.

She hurried over, her dress flowy in the wind. She pressed a hand to Anci's forehead. "What's your name, child?"

Anci didn't hesitate. "It's Anci, ma'am. Your dress is uh..." She stared.

The woman looked down at herself. A scarlet blush tinged her cheeks. "Ah, I knew it was a bit much. You see, I told my—"

"No!" Anci quickly said. "No, it's—it's stunning!"

"I'm glad you like it, dear," she said before gasping. "Oh my goodness! Your arm!"

Anci looked at her twisted shoulder. It was severely out of place, but it didn't hurt. It felt so normal. "It's fine. I'm not hurt."

"Nonsense!" The woman took her other arm, wrapping a hand around Anci's wrist. "You need a doctor. I'll take you!"

"No thank you, ma'am," Eustace said. He grabbed Anci's good shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be okay." 

"Oh, but just to be safe. That shoulder looks terrible."

"Our school nurse can take a look at her." Eustace smiled politely. "That way, we won't be late for class."

"My, such good students!" The woman laughed. "But I'm sure your absences will be excused. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"It's just one class, Eustace," Anci said. "It wouldn't hurt to visit a doctor."

"But—"

"You should listen to your friend," the woman softly chided. "She knows best."

She began to drag Anci away, but Eustace wasn't having it. He tightened his grip on her, his smile gone. Still, he had a pleasant tone. "She's in shock, ma'am. She's not thinking straight."

Anci glared at him. "Eustace!"

"Well, that's more reason to see a doctor, isn't it?"

"I'm sure you have other places to be today. I'll take her!"

"No, I insist! What kind of person would I be to not help a child?"

"You've already helped us enough, ma'am."

"No such thing as too much help!" There was an edge to her voice now, subtle and suppressed. "Come along, Anci dear. We shouldn't dally."

Anci looked at Eustace. She smiled reassuringly. "It's okay," she said. "You should head on to class. I'll catch up."

"No!" Eustace gasped. "I'll—I'll come with you."

"But then we'll both miss class." Anci frowned. "I'll be fine, Eustace. Seriously."

Nodding at the woman, Anci started to walk away. She let out a breath of relief when Eustace didn't trail after them. She smiled. "So what should I call you, ma'am?"

"My name is Belinda."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Belinda."

"Not a problem!"

Before anyone could say anything else, a loud trill sounded. Both Anci and Belinda jumped, turning to find Eustace with a reed pipe. His face was red, and the contents of his backpack lay at his feet.

He played a lively tune, and Anci had to laugh. The music drifted to the sky, and the surrounding plants took it in like water. The trees creaked, and Anci could have sworn that they were growing.

And they were, slowly but surely. Small leaves sprouted at the end of the lengthened branches as the saplings of newer trees shot up to the sky. Anci gasped, her chin tilted upwards to watch it all. She was reminded of all the time lapses she would see online of nature over a span of several years. Never had she thought she would witness it in person and in a few minutes. It was beautiful; nature was beautiful.

"How?" she whispered. "Eustace?"

He didn't stop playing, shooting her a desperate look. Belinda started moving again, and she dragged Anci behind.

"Wait!" Anci pulled back, but Belinda's grip only tightened. Anci blinked. "Um... can you let me go?"

"No!" came the swift response. Belinda immediately repeated the word, softer. Quieter. "No. We should go."

Anci straightened up, clenching her jaw. Her eyes narrowed. "No thank you."

Then, Belinda's short fingernails grew long and slender. They dug into Anci's skin, and she yelped in surprise. Blood dribbled down her hand, hitting the sidewalk.

"I think you need to rethink your answer in time-out," Belinda hissed. "Come along, child."

Her voice was venom, poison strong enough to put Anci to sleep. And not in a good way. When Anci looked closer, she found that her teeth were sharp. Too sharp. There was a small fork in her tongue. And...

Anci looked down. What she had thought was the prettiest dress in the world was a long, serpentine tail. The jewels were scales, iridescent scales that needed no light to shine. Yet, dark they were, shadowy. Deep green, almost black. She was a snake.

Belinda was a snake. A half-snake.

Anci froze in place, her jaw dropping down. Her eyes rounded into saucers, and she didn't fight back when she pulled her away. That was when the pain came back.

It crashed down like a wave, swallowing her up. Her arm felt like it was about to fall off, and it burned. If it weren't for Belinda's iron grip, she would have collapsed.

Anci shut her eyes, breathing hard. Her breaths couldn't come fast enough, always too slow. Always too little.

She felt Belinda's hot breath on her neck, her teeth less than an inch away. Her eyes flashed open, and Anci couldn't stop the tears. But she couldn't move. Paralyzed.

Belinda's mouth opened, and it kept getting bigger. And bigger. She was going to swallow her whole. She was going to eat her.

Only when Anci heard Eustace's music did her brain decide to work. She screamed, voice raw like the strings of an unplayed violin. Everything stopped.

The music, Eustace, Belinda, everything stopped.

Anci ripped herself away from Belinda, stumbling back. She clutched her arm as she fell onto her knees. "Eustace," she whimpered.

His eyes cleared as he snapped out of his trance, and he sprinted towards her. Eustace wrapped his arms around her torso. He dragged her back. "You okay?"

"I'm—ow!"

Her shoulder clicked back into place, and Anci glared at Eustace, who sheepishly raised his hands. "Sorry," he muttered.

"A warning would have been nice."

"I said sorry!"

"Well I—watch out!"

Anci watched in horror as Eustace was tackled to the ground. Belinda skillfully strangled him, her mouth dangerously close to his head. "Curse you, satyr!" she shouted.

Anci spun around frantically. Her heart pounded against her chest. Why was there no one around? They had caused so much ruckus. How much would it take before someone noticed them?

Huffing in frustration, Anci did the next best thing. She jumped onto Belinda's back, wrestling her away from Eustace. He collapsed on his back, coughing.

Belinda twisted her body around, and a wicked smile shone on her lips. She laughed at Anci, taking her into her arms. Anci struggled against her, but this time, she was unable to escape. She opened her mouth to scream as Belinda's fangs came dangerously close to her eyes.

She could smell her breath, taste the toxins that dripped off her. Another second, and she would have been in her stomach.

And right when she thought it was all over, the trees came to her aid. The branches tossed her to the side, and Anci landed on the soft grass. Belinda, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Tree roots burst out of the ground, and they wrapped themselves around her. Instead of one snake, it was like a million. And they quickly overtook her, burying her in the ground in a matter of seconds.

A note lingered in the air, and Anci turned her head to see Eustace dropping his reed pipe. He looked confused, but it didn't matter. She was alive. He was alive. They were alive.

"You just saved my life," she murmured when he approached her.

"Are you okay?" he said, pulling her up onto her feet.

"Yeah. What was she?"

"Good." Eustace nodded. He cleared his throat. "Come on. We need to go."

"Eustace?"

"We can't stay here. I know a place. A safe place. We need to go there."

"Eustace!" Anci said again, louder. "What in the world was she?"

Eustace grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said, walking at a brisk pace.

Anci struggled to keep up, and she wiggled herself away. "But your stuff!" She glanced back where all of Eustace's school work and bag laid. "We can't leave it!"

"There's no time," he muttered, catching her arm before she could escape. "Come on, Anci," he begged. "Please."

Anci held his eyes in her own, and she bit her lip. She sighed, and took his hand. "Okay."

And so they ran. They barely made it out of the park when Anci spoke again. "But what was she, Eustace?"

His lips thinned, shoulders slumping when he realized she wasn't going to let it go. "She's a lamia," he said.

"Lamia?"

"Yes. You know of the old myths right? The Greek ones?"

"Like Zeus?"

"Yeah. Like him. The first lamia had an affair with him, and when Lady Hera found out, she cursed her to become a child-eating monster."

"You're telling me it's all real?"

Eustace nodded, running around a corner. He brought Anci into an alleyway, letting her go only to fumble around his pockets.

"But how come I haven't heard any reports of her attacking other children?"

"Because she doesn't target just anyone."

"What do the myths say?"

"In the olden days, mothers used the story to warn their children from causing trouble—"

"What?" Anci stiffened. "So I've caused trouble? Am I a bad daughter?"

"No! No, of course not!" Eustace quickly said. He grimaced. "Quite the opposite actually."

"Then, why? Who do they target?"

Eustace met her eyes. "They don't target mortals, Anci. They..." He hesitated, muttering to himself. "They hunt half-bloods."

---

Yep. I definitely jinxed myself when I said I would try to update frequently. Because I fell into a writing slump during the past two weeks, and it's just my luck that school is just around the corner. 

But here is chapter two! Anci is a half-blood, which let's be honest. We all knew that going into this. But who the heck is her dad? Predictions in the comments will be gladly accepted, but it won't be revealed for awhile.