The Untold Story of Astoria Greengrass

Chapter 14

“Hey. Wait, come on!” Astoria cried for a while after trying to keep up with Greg. Astoria may have been in shape but Greg was an athlete and much more fit than most boys. He had run her clear around the castle and she was ready to beg him to stop. “where are we going?”

“you’ll see..” he cried, trying to drag her along further.

“Stop, I can’t keep up. Can we walk? Take a break?” She whined. He laughed.

“oh come one, you’re seventeen! You can’t be that out of shape. We’re almost there.” He said, trying to pull her a bit more. Astoria laughed breathlessly. The sound was practically music to him.

“Stop. I can’t take another step.” She said, finally making him stop. She leaned over and put her hands on her knees, aware of the pathetic mess she looked like. Greg stood before her, looking at her with a hint of amusement.

“you should try team sports.” He said, not the least bit agitated.

“yeah. I’ll remember that. I really can’t keep going .we’ve been running for a while. “ she said, straightening up and placing her hand on her forehead. It had already begun to get cool out but it was still possible to work up a sweat.

“Okay.” Greg said, a dangerous smile spread across the step and he took two long steps forward. Before Astoria knew what he was doing, he had swung her over his shoulder and continued the rest of the way at a fast pace.

“comfortable?” he asked, after a few minutes.

“can’t complain.” She said, slightly red in the face. She was glad he couldn’t see how much she was blushing, but she blushed even worse when she realized what part of her he had right next to him.

“Good. You know, you really ought to get some more exercise.” He said, finally brining her down gently. He held on to her for a few seconds while she steadied herself on her feet. She gladly held on to him for a second. Being upside down had made her a bit dizzy.

After a few seconds, she took a step back to let him go, noting a slight hesitation before he released her. She looked around her, hoping she wasn’t too flushed. Of course he hesitated, she almost died out there. She chuckled to herself as she tried to recognize this part of the grounds.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been on this side” She said, nothing a small garden in the distance. It was really nice but it just seemed so strange to her she hadn’t noticed it.

“Well, you probably have been but this part is different than before the renovation” he said, never taking his eyes off of her.

“look at that.” She mumbled, more to herself than to him. She put her hand above her eyes and shielded the sun as she looked up to the very top of the large stone building before her. There were large trees everywhere, giant and green. No fruit or flower hung from them or any bush in the distance. It was perfectly still. She took a few cautious steps towards the large stone edifice- wondering what it could incase. It looked much like a home on the Flintstones- large, square, with a flat slightly tilted roof that revealed gaps where natural light illuminated whatever it was it encased.

As she went closer, the grass got longer, until it met her at her chin and she noticed a metal plaque which hung on the grey stone. It was a large, clumsy looking building- seemed as if had been arranged by some large child hastily, but as she approached it the grass stopped abruptly and a dark, dirt path encircled about her.

“Greg?” she asked, confused about the wandering path.

“yes?” he asked, now at her side.