Clearheart (20 page)

The sphere of white elves, just metres away, exploded where
the black dust hit it, sending the white elves spiralling. The electricity in the air was as violent as a storm in a dark sea. The sphere collapsed.

Those white elves who had not been destroyed or discombobulated by the impact of the dust dived towards the Duke. They came face to face with a beleaguered army of Troggles, each so much bigger than they were, but so confused that a single, tiny elf was more than a match as they thrust their white daggers into their former kinsmen's hearts.

But the Troggles' deaths were futile. For the Duke was gone, leaving behind him no trace in the fire-blasted landscape of silver and ice.

Ella watched as the Queen lowered herself onto the Antarctic floor and shook her head. The shimmering stream of sparks that flew from her long, golden hair told her army to halt their attack. Wrinkles, set on the ground by his carriers, ran to her, but stopped short of touching her. She stood among her settling soldiers, bathed in their white light, shining like the brightest star herself.

Ella looked about her. It was night now, although it didn't look like that at all beneath her, as the last of the white elves came to rest on the snow. In the shining glow cast by the white elves, Ella spotted two shadows approach as the last remnants of silver turned back to snow and ice. It was Don Posiblemente and Samuel! As they neared the Queen, Ella listened closely, wishing her hearing had the same strength as her olfactory senses. She closed her eyes and held her ear, willing her aural senses stronger.

Don Posiblemente and Samuel reached the Queen. At first
all Ella could hear from her spot high above them were mumbles and murmurs. But as she concentrated harder, she could hear bits and bobs of what was being said below. She flew closer, for some reason afraid of being seen, and settled behind a shattered pyramid.

‘… should have told me earlier… never have I seen black dust used since…' she heard the Queen say.

‘… our humblest apologies…' she caught coming from Samuel's mouth.

‘… the Clearheart must act alone…' said Don Posiblemente.

With every minute she could hear them more clearly, until the conversation was fully audible.

‘The Duke got away,' the Queen said simply. She shook her head again and another spray of gold flew from her hair. ‘I lifted the Ban so that we could be allies, and because of your pride, your reluctance to keep me informed, the Duke has escaped.' Although the Queen spoke softly and her voice was steady, there was an undertone of bitter disappointment.

‘I was simply trying to give the second part of the Prophecy time to be fulfilled,' said Don Posiblemente, his head hanging repentantly, ‘so that we can begin our Environmental Protection
Work together in earnest.
All
of us,' he added, looking up meaningfully.

‘Oh, stop with your excuses, Filosofico,' said Wrinkles. ‘You have done enough damage. Ella is just a child. She cannot bridge the divides between
all
of us,' he said, understanding exactly what the Don was referring to. ‘She cannot raise the Others.'

‘I am sorely tempted to reinstate the Ban, Samuel.' The Queen spoke softly, but her voice cut through the air like a crystal knife. ‘For if we cannot work together, in trust, why should I endanger my people again by allowing them to fraternise with Flitterwigs? The Duke is a wanted Magical criminal. What is more, he is my husband.' The Queen's voice rose like a flute's arpeggio. ‘You were obliged to tell me at once when you knew where he was. You are not an honourable species, you Flitterwigs. Too human, too selfish, too self-serving by far.'

‘But we did inform you,' said Samuel.

‘And Ella has indeed raised the—' Don Posiblemente did not get a chance to finish his sentence, for there was a rumble from the distance that caused the white elves to rise up again in formation and turn as one towards the noise.

The light their united bodies cast lit the Antarctic plains before them like spotlights on a stage. The wall shuddered. The
Queen flew up above them attempting to see. They tried to shield her. She flew higher. They flew higher still. She shot down and looked out into the distance.

‘Oh, for all that is magical and pure,' she cried when she saw what they were shielding her from. Her voice sang across the night like a starling's lament, but her body was glowing bright with fury.

Ella looked out across the plains and held her hand across her mouth. The Queen doesn't know! she realised.

Towards the wall of white elves marched two humungous, ginormous, gargantuan Giants. Holding hands, and their stomachs. The Queen turned and flew in the opposite direction.

‘Come,' she called to her soldiers. ‘We are leaving!' She turned back momentarily and pointed her finger at Samuel. ‘How dare you allow the Clearheart to raise the Giants without informing me. How
dare
you. I wash my hands of you all. The Ban is hereby reinstated,' she trilled. Though her voice was barely a whisper, its sound filled the ether like the ringing of bells. ‘Magicals and Flitterwigs are
no longer to fraternise
,' she chimed. ‘I will never,
ever
forgive you for this.'

Ella squeezed her hand tighter over her mouth. But that meant that she and Dixon couldn't be friends anymore!

The Queen paused. Her white elves were not following. They were being swatted away by the Giants. Thomas's voice boomed loud and clear. ‘YOU PESKY MAGICALS,' he yelled, as the white elves slung arrows of dust at him and his brother. The force of them stopped the Giants momentarily in their tracks. Their magic might be petite in size, but it was potent in effect. ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?'

And then he spotted the Queen. ‘TIRABELLA,' he hollered, catching his breath. ‘WHAT THE…'

‘Hypnopify them,' Tirabella instructed her soldiers, calm as the lull before a storm. The white elves gathered in formation before the Giants' eyes and glowed even brighter than before. From her hiding place, Ella could see that their eyes cast out a light that stunned Bolgus at once. He rocked back on his feet and Ella thought he might fall over. But Thomas was too quick. He closed his eyes and turned his back, hunching up on the ground to protect himself from the Magicals' hypnotic gaze.

‘Come now, away,' Wrinkles called to the white elves. ‘Quickly!' He remembered all too well the pledge the Queen had made to forswear all contact with the Giants so many years ago. He set about melting a Waterway in the ice.

Ella didn't know what to do.

‘It has all been for nothing,' she heard Don Posiblemente tell Samuel. The sound of his voice made her jump, for it was very close. ‘I endangered the children's lives, and all for nothing,' he said.

‘We were wrong to act the way that we did, Filosofico,' Samuel said. ‘And we have undone all that Ella achieved in the process. We are indeed a selfish and short-sighted race.'

‘Wait!' Ella's voice called out.

The Queen paused. Thomas snuck a peek from under his armpit, trying hard not to tip over, for he was feeling very lightheaded and unwell. Ella flew up out of her hiding place and settled herself on the ice between the Giants and the Magicals.

‘Ella,' the Queen said, momentarily thrown by the child's appearance. ‘What are you doing here?' Thomas made to stand up, but the Queen pointed at once to her white elves, who reassembled themselves around him. Thomas ducked down again, huge but compliant. He reminded Ella of an incredibly oversized puppy who had been naughty. She marvelled at the way a tiny, weeny little lady could wield such power over an almighty hulk.

‘I made a promise to the Giants to help them to clear their name, Your Majesty, so I came back to find them,' whispered Ella. She bowed her head respectfully, awed by the mere proximity of the Queen's powerful aura.

‘See,' came a muffled bellow from Thomas. Even hunched up on the ground, he was still massive. ‘She believes we are innocent of the crime you accuse us of.'

‘Then I wish you all well together,' said the Queen. She looked at Ella with a sorrow in her eyes that wrenched at the child's heartstrings. ‘I am sorry that you were endangered, Ella, I truly am. And you are a brave child for searching for your friend, one of my citizens, in the face of such danger. But you are clearly too human at heart, for you chose not to inform the Magicals about what was unfolding at any point. I expect more of a Clearheart. But I should have known better. That is why I enforced a Ban between Flitterwigs and Magicals in the first place. You Flitterwigs have no respect for the Natural Order of Things. Time, history and, I suppose, the eventual thinning of our genetic strain, have weakened your legacy. I thank you for helping me in the past, but your loyalties are clearly too selfish, too human, to see properly how the Clearheart should behave. You are supposed to bridge divides, not deepen them.'

Ella quivered. The Queen's words cut her to the core. Never before had she felt the true responsibility of her calling as much as she did now, in failure.

‘She is only a child, Your Majesty,' said Samuel from the shadows, very quietly. ‘Blame myself and Posiblemente for drawing her into this fracas, not her.'

‘Too late, Samuel,' the Queen said gently, although there was
a clip in her tone that forbade disagreement. ‘I must protect my people and I cannot do so if I rely upon any other species to help me. My husband is on the loose and my kingdom is under threat. If he had indeed captured the Clearheart, my people would be doomed. The purity of Magus would have been destroyed.' She turned to Ella. ‘Forgive me, child, if I seem harsh, but it is too late.' She lifted her head to Wrinkles. ‘It is time for us to go,' she said, casting her eyes over to her soldiers. One by one, they began to retreat into the Waterway, reluctant to leave their Queen unprotected but knowing better than to disobey her now.

Ella watched in stunned silence. Her hair flared about her and her heart beat hard. Her shoulderblades burned and all down her back she felt the heat spreading. The Queen noticed the traces of cinnamon and rain emanating from her body at once.

‘But I did ask Wrinkles for help,' she whispered, wondering where on Earth she had found the audacity to speak up. The white elves halted in their retreat and gathered about the Queen protectively.

The Queen looked at Wrinkles. ‘It is true, Your Majesty,' he said. ‘I paid little heed, for she was worried about a pixie going missing. Pixies go missing every day.' He looked at the Queen
apologetically. She nodded back, understanding.

‘You had many other opportunities to contact us,' said the Queen gravely. ‘But you were too taken up with your own needs. Whether you are a child or not, I cannot risk such short-sightedness. Of course, I hold your elders far more responsible than you.' She turned her flashing gaze upon Samuel and Don Posiblemente, who hung their heads in shame. ‘But you are the Clearheart,' she said, turning back to Ella. ‘You should know better.'

‘Which is why I came back,' whispered Ella without thinking. She wished she would just shut up. Where was this cheek coming from?

Thomas had had enough. He leapt up off the ground with a roar and gave his brother a harsh shove. He closed his eyes to keep the white elves from Hypnopifying him.

‘Give me just a moment, Your Majesty,' he bellowed. ‘Please.'

‘No,' said the Queen firmly, turning and heading for the Waterway.

‘I have white elves stationed by a Mirror of Foreverness to guide you through to Magus, Your Majesty,' said Wrinkles, appearing out of the Waterway. No-one had seen him come or go.

‘Give us a little time, please Your Majesty,' cried Ella. ‘With the Giants' help, I will find the truth.'

‘It is too late. I already know the truth,' said the Queen, without turning.

‘Do you really, deep down in your heart, or are you just being proud yourself?' said Ella impertinently. ‘How can it ever be too late to find the truth?' She was so surprised by what came out of her mouth that she found herself pinning it shut with her fingers, the way Dixon often did.

The Queen froze, startled by the child's passion and the wisdom in her words.

‘We cannot help you prove our innocence, Ella,' said a deep voice. It was Thomas, his tone full of resignation. ‘For our sap is depleted and we must return to our slumber.'

‘But I promised to be beholden to you until we find proof of the truth,' said Ella.

‘Yes, my dear, you did. And that was very kind of you. But there is nothing obliging you to do so, other than your word.' Thomas shrugged. ‘I just can't hold you to that by force. Not now.' He looked at Ella apologetically. ‘The only way we can keep you beholden to us, you see, is to keep you with us. Which would mean Solidifying you and taking you with us underground. We have risked our health too much already being
above the ground for so long. We must surrender ourselves to the hopelessness of it all and retreat.

‘Plus,' and here the Giant looked terribly embarrassed, ‘we are only able to be awake as long as we have recently thanks to the artificial sap Don Posiblemente gave me, and whatever it is the Duke gave Bolgus, but even that comes with its problems.' The Giant looked down at his feet and shuffled them about uncomfortably, burying them in the snow. ‘Both Bolgus and I are suffering from terrible diarrhoea, I'm afraid. We really can't keep on consuming the synthetic stuff.'

Don Posiblemente looked up in surprise. Where on Earth had the Duke found a supply of sap? What other Flitterwig had managed—or would even want to try—to fabricate it? And if not fabricated, where had it come from?

There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

‘Then I shall go with the Giants under the ground,' Ella declared, trying not to visualise Giants with tummy trouble. She felt more determined than ever now. For she could feel that the Queen's decision was wrong, unfair, unjust. Every fibre in her body told her that the Giants were innocent. She didn't know why, but she had to trust the feeling. ‘I will go and live with them until I can prove their innocence, because that was the
promise I made. I have to make good this awful affair, somehow. My word is my word. A promise is a promise. Together, even if it is terribly slowly, we will find the truth.' Ella wasn't sure what she was saying, for Charlie had told her that being Solidified was the horriblest thing ever.

Thomas opened his eyes to stare at the child, stunned by her suggestion. The white elves were before him at once.

‘Stop,' the Queen commanded her soldiers before they could Hypnopify him. ‘Why would you offer such a penance, child?' she asked, turning to Ella, her face paler than ever.

‘Because if I can prove the Giants' innocence, you might consider not reinstating the Ban,' said Ella. ‘How are we all going to save the planet together if we are estranged again?'

‘And you would let the child do this?' said the Queen, turning to Thomas, hesitating now.

Thomas thought for a moment. He looked at the little girl with the long, honey-coloured hair. Her face so young and innocent, her skin so clear it was almost translucent. He looked at the wings hanging over the top of her oversized anorak and considered the damage that would be done to her once she was filled with rock and stone and earth. He gulped a great gulp.

‘No, I would not, Your Majesty,' said the Lord of the
Gommoronahl solemnly. ‘Not now that I know her. I have watched her closely over the past few days, and I could not squash that free spirit, that plucky courage, those wings she's just found.'

The Queen flew up and over to Thomas. She looked deep into the Giant's eyes. Great, fat tears slipped down his cheeks. She could see the anguish in them at the thought of taking the child into the suffocating depths below.

‘Let Bolgus wake up,' she called over to the white elves. Hesitantly they moved away from his face. Bolgus came to at once. He shook his head to clear it. Grit and soil flew from his red hair in every direction. The Queen flew over to him.

‘YOU MEAN, HORRIBLE QUEEN YOU,' he roared as he spotted her. ‘YOU LYING MAGICALS!' He planted his enormous hands firmly on his gargantuan hips and tried to stand firm, however dizzy he was feeling. ‘Your husband told me so many fibs,' he hollered. ‘And I gave my brother a black eye because of them.' Everybody turned to look. It was true. Thomas's left eye was indeed swelling up, black and blue.

‘If my husband has lied then that is his affair, not mine,' said the Queen, but her voice was chastened by Ella's selfless offer. She turned to Ella. ‘Tell the culprit, the thief, the one who let your ancestor, the Clearheart of Old, die,' she said, gesturing to
Bolgus. ‘Tell him yourself what you have offered.'

The Queen watched carefully as Ella repeated her suggestion to Bolgus. The Giant's eyes bulged.

‘Oh no, you can't do that,' he said as soon as she paused for breath. ‘When Charlie was with me underground it was horrible,' he bumbled. ‘He was in so much pain. And he was really, really scared.'

‘But how else can we clear your name?' asked Ella, swallowing back the bile that collected in her throat at the thought of being a prisoner in the rocks.

The Queen was thoughtful. She hovered before the Giants. ‘So you would remain eternally estranged, forever maligned, rather than cause the child to suffer?' she asked quietly.

‘Yes,' said both of the Giants with certainty.

‘And all was not for nothing, Ella,' said Thomas, peering at the child kindly. ‘At least we have one another again.' He looked at his brother, his eyes warm with love.

‘And you would give up your freedom, your schooling, your friends, your life, in order to make good your promise?' the Queen asked Ella.

‘Yes I would, Your Majesty,' said Ella, her voice a little shaky with the enormity of what she had offered to do. ‘All I can do is try to make amends.'

The Queen shook her head in disbelief. ‘Then I am truly humbled,' she said, her voice barely audible. ‘And I find myself, once more, too harsh, indeed too proud, too scared to trust those who are not of my kind.' She settled on the snowy ground and, sitting on the ice, hung her head in shame. ‘I have been so tied up in our plans for the future of the planet, and I am so used to working in the interests of Magus alone, that I was not even aware of all that has played out. But what can we do?'

‘We could start with trying to work through what happened that night, to see if anyone else might have been responsible,' Ella offered, crouching down to scoop the Queen into her hand. ‘Because I've been thinking about things, and that is the only alternative I can come up with.'

‘Me too,' Thomas chimed in.

‘Then that is the very least that I can do,' said the Queen softly.