EIGHT

“I shall promise you this, my dear. I would never allow you to die when there’s still a fire in my heart, just have a little hope,” said Sylva. “You have a lot to live for . . . you have this City; you also have to live for your parents, so their memories can be alive through you.”

Joanne nodded in agreement, although her mind wasn’t put to rest but what could she do, except of course, drink wine. It was the only thing a dying woman could think of, when there’s no loved one around, no little ones running playfully, no mate to share the burdens of her mortality with; there are just wine bottles and the comfort they bring.

They had to be secretive and sneaky; the General arranged a path for them to go to the outskirts of the city in a horse carriage without any suspicion, matters like this have to be undisclosed to the public because of its implications.

They didn’t want to lead others to their discovery. If the ‘Fountain of Youth’ ever enters into the wrong hands, it would cause a phase of endless darkness and catastrophe. It was too much power to be reckless about; Joanne just needed a sip, a harmless sip that would cure her failing body.

The Eagle of Sicyon was originally an ivy garden, rumored to be the dwelling place of the patron goddess of Juventas (Hebe) ages ago, where she drank wine and got drunk on youth.

She loved ivy plants; the long stems, evergreen leaves and small yellowish flowers were alluring to the goddess according to ancient whispers, also it was one of the favorites places for her pets, her special talking doves to reside freely. Now it was more of a thick taiga than a garden, with out of control overgrown plants and trees. It of course, had been untouched since the ancient times, abandoned because of its mystical history that no one understood, and no one dared to breach it’s sacred grounds, for fear of losing their life.

It was fairly hard for a Regent to go unnoticed in her own city, the obvious reason was her popularity as a ruler. When a leader throws unforgettable parties and feasts they’re bound to be memorable.

Thankfully the general masses had a major hangover from the celebrations of the previous night, so the streets were desolate.

There was a collective coloration from the sigil; purple flags with the grapevines and an eagle on it. The few awake workaholics wouldn’t care to know why a one-horse carriage could be scampering out haggardly on the burg of Bukowski’s major terrace road, moments after dawn. It took a while to journey through the marshes of Cista and the seven magnificient hills of Septa Decemvirs, east of the swamplands of Sabatius, past the small villages of Ishtock and the desolate settlements in the outskirts named Dardania and Dacian; where the peasants there are mostly shepherds and husbandmen of sheep and cattle.

Joanne alongside finally Sylva arrived at the ‘Eagle of Sicyon’. Sylva was armed to her teeth, bringing her katana which she was deadly with, Joanne on the other hand brought along two bottles of wine, knowing fully well she had to be drunk enough not to be scared away from this mission.

The brave general and the drunken Regent (she drank three bottles of fermented wine before journeying) went into the Eagle of Sicyon, past the fireweeds and coniferous plants present such as; pines, spruces and larches, swamps and terrifying insects that crept and hid beneath the shadows and shades.

A couple moments later, while walking through a marshy area, Joanne saw an adder slither through the shrubs, and the vivid bright yellow of the wildflowers. “This actually doesn't seem so bad.” said she.

“Clearly you’re drunk, because we’re lost in here,” said Sylva, fumbling to better read a map; she was trying to predict the next direction to head towards.

“It's just a matter of perspective then,” replied Joanne, as she gulped from one of the wine bottles she carried on each hands. She felt a light buzz in her head and her body felt lighter than before. Wine made her see the world a colorful, beautiful place. She walked sloppily and lousily, through a trail they were creating while cutting branches and shrubs.

“Good gracious! Do you always have to be this drunk every given time?” blunted Sylva, as she turned to her side to look at a wood-frog that hopped near her, she couldn’t help being this cautious, she had to protect the Regent at all cause.

Immediately Joanne halted on her tracks, she stood still while staring deep ahead of her, towards the north. There was a blur of some kind hidden in the mist and the maple trees, a dark figure arose, it was had a long body, and scales instead of a skin.

“Uhm . . . large three headed snake!” uttered Joanne, with a deep sense of urgency and shock.

“This is what alcohol does. It numbs your thinking faculties and now you're seeing things,” said Sylva.

“There’s a fucking three headed snake monster thing ahead of us, not even wine can remove this horrible sight.” whispered Joanne, with caution. “Look at it, *hick* turn towards north.”

Sylva did she as she was told, turning around with disbelief of her drunk Regent’s latest exaggeration, then it dawned on her senses what was before her, like an instant shock gripping one into reality.

Her body shivered on seeing a three headed snake, each head snarled with sharp vicious teeth, with slimy saliva drooling from its mouth, it's eyes were yellow and it shone in the dark, radiating fear.

“Remain calm my dear, your parents spoke of this creature, it’s a hydra; one of the most dangerous creatures known to mortals, we have to kill it . . . the scrolls predicted it’s the creature protecting the Fountain of Youth,” whispered Sylva back.

“I do hope so. *slurp* That means if it dies the Fountain will be brought forth, and I won't be long gone before sunset, and most importantly there’s no more wine,” said Joanne, as she gulps the final drop, then breaks the bottle on her knees, leaving just the sharp shards of glass remaining on the bottle necks, she holds both by the handles and adjusted the broken glass bottles in a offensive manner.

The hydra scurried towards them with a fast pace, Sylva held her katana up trying her best to defend herself against one of its deadly head as it riled against her, attacking her with its sharp teeth, but Sylva deflected the monsters’ head with her katana into another direction by slicing it off in a strike.

The other heads groaned in pain as its severed body part sizzled, then grew back another head immediately, then it came back to attack her again almost taking her face off.

Joanne used the monsters’ distracted state to trot forward and then she was slicing through the monsters underbelly with her shards of glass in no time, making it shriek in pains. Although it had the opposite effect on the monster, instead of fear and cowering due to being injured, the hydra got angrier.

It began rotating, then it started opening its mouths wide, bringing an avid rotten corpse smell into the atmosphere, long sharp teeth protruded through them along with a vengeful snarl, it was rushing after Joanne with a furious pace, Joanne ducked in time before it got too close.