Hidden Magic (15 page)

Joined by the rest of Liberty's Berthold, Zavier stepped into the canopy of the weeping willow tree. “I have returned, Oh Great Prophet and I have done as you asked of me. I have returned to you with all of Liberty's Berthold and we are now ready to hear what it is that you must tell us.”

Francis and Ice perched within the long, wispy branches of the tree, their eyes wide and expectant. Pelagia stood at Zavier's left side while Aurora and Takoda stood on his right. The meadow inhabitants and the rest of the group were gathered around the perimeter of the tree, shuffling and bustling nervously around each other, each of them seeking a good position from which they would best be able to hear the Great Prophet speak. As the dusk air picked up a cool and gentle breeze, it began to move the tree's long and wispy branches, causing them to lean and sway to and fro. They reached out and began emitting thousands of tiny incomprehensible whispers. The many projections of feather-like leaves on each of the branches caressed the bodies of the Berthold and the whispering grew louder and louder. Soon, the chaotic and incoherent whispers came together and in unison, the voice of the Great Prophet could finally be heard and finally be understood.

“It has been foreseen that the only way that we, the good creatures of Liberty, are going to be able to conquer the evil Nomeds, is for us to join forces… to unite,” the Great Prophet said in its many voices.

“Yes, Great Prophet and here we are, the joined force of the Berthold. Tell us what it is that you require of us and we shall do it,” Zavier said.

“Zavier, I don't think you quite understand,” the voices whispered. “It's not only the good of Liberty that must unite against the evil of the Nomeds. We are not strong enough and will not defeat them on our own. In order to survive, we must seek help from others, others that are good. Zavier… it has been foretold… we must seek help from… the Humans!”

The Halfses crinkled their noses, snorted, whinnied and stamped their hooves in rage. The rabbits thumped with their hind legs, pounding them furiously against the ground. The fluid bodies of the Water Warriors raged turbulently in disapproval. There was a mass of concern and confusion. Fire Fairies and dragonflies darted around the meadow, panic-stricken.

Takoda raised his hackles. Every hair on the back of his neck bristling with anger, he bared his teeth in total contempt and shouted and snarled at the Great Prophet. “There is no good to be found within Humankind,” he said. “They have a total disrespect for life, they kill our kind and then they hang them on their walls like ornaments, trophies. They fight with each other and they destroy the beautiful land that God has given them to live on. I'm sure that I speak on behalf of all of us here, when I say that I want no involvement, none whatsoever, with the Humans and I would rather face the evil of the Nomeds alone, than join forces with them.”

“Hear, hear! Hear, hear!” echoed throughout the meadow, as the creatures of Liberty cheered in agreement.

“Wait just a minute, listen everyone,” a little voice said, but the cheering and the furore continued, drowning out the little voice and it was not heard.

“
LISTEN TO ME
!” Benjamin the young rabbit shouted as loudly as his small voice would allow.

This time he was heard.

Gradually, the uproar quietened and everyone turned towards the little bunny, keen to hear what it was that he so desperately wanted to say.

“There are good Humans, ‘cos I have seen ‘em!” he said, standing tall and holding his head high.

“Now, now, Benjamin, be quiet and let the Berthold sort this out,” his mother Cara said, feeling a little embarrassed at her child's outburst.

“It's true, there is good in the Human world, I know because I have seen it!” Benjamin shouted defiantly, but the furore had started up again and once more the little bunny was not heard.

Chester flew into the swaying tree's canopy and perched atop Zavier's head.

“What is it, Chester?” Zavier asked.

“Benjamin… he speaks the truth! Zavier, I think that you should listen to him,” the robin chirped in his ear.

“Very well, then listen I shall. SILENCE! Let the little one speak,” Zavier bellowed, signalling to the young rabbit to come forward and be heard.

Benjamin pushed his way out through the crowd of creatures and entered the canopy of the tree. He stood up on his hind legs in the shadow of the huge shire horse and nervously began to speak.

“I know for sure that there are some good Humans in the world, because I have been in their world and I have seen them. Without their care, I would not be here now. In fact, recently they saved my life. Therefore I like the Humans and I think that we should give ‘em a chance!” Benjamin declared.

Cara's little nose twitched rapidly, she gasped deeply and then promptly fainted. The thought of her baby out there alone interacting with the Humans in the Human world was too much for her to take on board and it was quite some time before she came round. When she eventually did, she had to be supported by Beth and Lu Lu. They stood either side of their mother and each grasped one of her elbows, stopping her from slumping and falling to the ground again. There was no more uproar, just the gentle rustle of the weeping willow's leaves as the branches softly swayed and everyone listened curiously, while Benjamin told his story. The story of how he had ended up in the little girl's back garden after the Nomeds' attack, how Chester had spotted him, how the little girl and some other kind Humans had cared for him and how, once he had recovered, the little girl had released him, so that he could return home. He explained how Chester had travelled back to the meadow with him and how they had both decided that it was probably for the best that they didn't speak a word of their Human encounter. Until now, that is. Benjamin also reminded them that he had lost his brother Hippo, who had been killed while the Berthold were being collected. He told them that he was so mad at the Nomeds for taking his brother away from him that he, for one, would do anything, anything including the joining of forces with the Humans to enable them to defeat the Nomeds.

Tobias nudged his way to the front of the herd. The young Halfses didn't normally speak out at such meetings, but having lost his best friend Caspian, he was desperate for revenge and, like Benjamin, he too would do absolutely anything to rid Liberty of the Nomeds, so he bravely entered the canopy of the tree and addressed Zavier.

“I agree with the little fella,” he said firmly. “We've lost too many good creatures now, and if the Great Prophet says that in order to win this battle we need to involve the Humans, then I say bring it on… Whatever it takes, I'm ready!”

Those that were still in disagreement grew more and more angry. The Water Warriors were particularly opposed to the idea and even Galene's still body of calm water began to swell violently, with the turbulence particularly visible in her angered expression. Pelagia, already a mighty force of nature, grew stronger with his anger and finally, with what felt like the power of a tsunami, his rage exploded.

“I WILL NOT BE A PART OF THIS!” he roared, sending a violent rumble throughout the whole of Liberty.

His powerful outburst stopped the furore. Everyone fell strangely quiet, his commanding voice convincing them that this would be their decision, that they must not and would not unite with the Humans.

“Okay everyone, let's not make any hasty decisions, I think that we need to hear what else the Great Prophet has to say,” Zavier said wisely. “And what if we were to refuse to involve the Humans in our fight, refuse to welcome them into Liberty, Great Prophet, what then?” Zavier asked.

The grand weeping willow swayed vigorously. Ice and Francis clung desperately to its branches as they began to shift wildly. The rustling of the leaves grew to a loud and ferocious roar and the whispers no longer murmured softly, instead, they shouted.

“Then Zavier, I am afraid that Liberty as we know it shall no longer exist, it will be ruled by the Nomeds and when they have run out of things to hunt and kill here in Liberty, they are sure to invade the Human world and destroy that, too. It has been foretold that the Humans are the ONLY answer and that a Human child is of great significance to us. If you wish to save Liberty, then you must let the Humans join us in our fight, which, I'm afraid, does mean welcoming a select group of them into our land. I cannot stress how important it is that all of you accept this and do as is requested!”

“Thank you, Great Prophet. If that is what's required of us, then you have my word that that is what we shall do,” Zavier proclaimed.

The grand weeping willow tree relaxed after Zavier's reassuring words and the branches and leaves settled once more into a calm and gentle sway.

* * *

After the prophecy had been heard, the whole atmosphere in the meadow changed. Anger was replaced with acceptance and the creatures divided off into small huddles and groups to discuss the strange and unexpected news. Pelagia was still very uncertain about the whole idea and he had joined Zavier at the pond's edge to discuss his concerns.

“I'm not going to lie to you, Zavier. I'm nervous, very nervous! But I respect you and your herd, so if you think that this could work, then you have the full support of the Water Warriors.”

“Thank you, Pelagia, that means a lot, but you must realise that I'm nervous, too,” Zavier replied. “You see, us Halfses visit the Human world occasionally and yes, we see that there is some degree of good in Humankind, but we also see that there is a great deal of evil. Young Tobias was robbed at knife-point on one of his shopping trips, by a young man who had been ravaged and altered by the Devil's evil drugs. You see, Humans are weak and the Devil finds it very easy to corrupt them. How on earth are they going to hold their own against the intense evil of the Nomeds?”

“I don't know, Zavier, but it is clear that we do not have a choice. The Great Prophet said that we must welcome a select group of Humans into Liberty and that a Human child is of great significance to us. I suggest that we are extremely cautious when making our selection and I suggest that maybe we should start by bringing the Human girl into Liberty, the little girl that both Benjamin and Chester speak so highly of.”

“I agree, Pelagia. Tonight we shall rest and tomorrow, we shall plan how we are to go about collecting this Human child.”

That night, after they had all exhausted themselves discussing the prophecy, they tried to rest. The Water Warriors slipped into the pond's still waters. The Fire Fairies returned to their poppy homes. The luminous dragonflies darted about above the pond's surface and occasionally stopped, landing within the reed beds to rest. Aurora, Takoda and his pack slept below the canopy of the weeping willow tree and Chester nestled within Zavier's thick mane. Zavier stood beside the pond along with the rest of his herd of Halfses. Their heads hung low and they each had one hind hoof resting on its toe while they were sleeping. The moon was bright and the pond's surface reflected like a mirror, shining a twin moon out across the meadow. It was within the clear, reflecting surface of the pond's water that Aaron spotted Francis swooping down from the weeping willow tree's canopy and before he knew it, the owl was perched on top of his head.

“Hey, Boogly Eyes, what do you want? You should be sleeping,” Aaron grumbled, not wanting to show that he was in fact very pleased to see his little friend.

“That's just it, Aaron, I can't sleep. I'm afraid that if I shut my eyes, even for a second, I won't be able to open them again.”

“What do you mean, you won't be able to open them again?”

“I'm weak, Aaron, really weak. I can't carry on camouflaging the creatures within Bluebell Wood from this distance any more. I need to return home where I can protect them all properly.”

“Okay, so go shut them huge eyes of yours, they must be tired from all that boogling. Get some sleep and we'll tell Zavier that you're going back first thing in the morning.”

“No, Aaron, I'm not going to be able to last until the morning, the woodland inhabitants aren't going to be able to last until the morning. I need to go now, but I feel so weak I'm not sure that I'll be able to make it.”

Francis hung his weary head and a single tear fell from his eye and dropped onto Aaron's nose.

“Hey, hey, less of that,” Aaron said quickly, hoping not to have to get all sentimental and supportive. He hated all that mushy stuff. “I'll take you,” he said

“You can't, Aaron, it's far too dangerous.”

“Oh yes, I can and anyway I owe you, don't I.”

“I really don't want to put you in harm's way, Aaron, but I don't know what else to do.”

“Right then, that's settled, no arguing, let's go tell Zavier we're off to Bluebell Wood!”

There was no arguing from the owl, he was far too weak to argue. Instead, he perched on Aaron's back, held tightly on to his mane and, unable to keep them open for a moment longer, he closed his eyes, reassured that Aaron was going to help him to return to Bluebell Wood that very night.

Aaron woke Zavier and told him that he was leaving to return Francis to Bluebell Wood and although Zavier was unhappy about them travelling through the woodland at night, he also understood Francis's need to return and protect his woodland creatures, and so he agreed they should go, but on one condition; they were to take Ice along with them and they were to travel under the protection of one of her enchantments.

Chester was sent up into the willow tree to wake Ice. He soon returned with her and they decided that Ice should cast an invisibility spell over them. The invisibility spell was the easiest, quickest and safest enchantment that Ice could think of and it would certainly aid them to travel safely to Bluebell Wood through the night. Francis would soon be back where he belonged, back home within the safety of his hollow, in the Giant Horse Chestnut.

“Travel safely and wait for us at the Giant Horse Chestnut. Some of us will come there to you tomorrow, as we travel on our way through to collect the Human child,” Zavier said.

“Okay, Zavier, don't worry, we'll be fine. Oh and Zavier, please can you tell Jaz where I am in the morning? I snuck away while she was sleeping. She would only have tried to stop me from going if I'd woken her and that's out of the question,” Aaron said.

Zavier gave Aaron an acknowledging nod.

Ice joined Francis on Aaron's broad back and once the invisibility enchantment had taken effect, they set off.

“See you tomorrow!” Aaron called out.

The invisible stallion galloped across the meadow, unseen except for what looked like a stream of air that parted and flattened the grasses as he headed towards the wood. As soon as Aaron's hooves left the soft meadow grass and he began to climb the rugged wooded hillside, he was aware of a flaw in their plan.

A major flaw!

Sound!

They might be invisible but they were not silent and with every step that Aaron took, the leaves beneath his huge hooves rustled and twigs snapped as they buckled under his weight. Because of this, they decided it best not speak to each other and Aaron decided that in order not to give their exact position away, he would gallop up the hill as fast as he could. At least then it would be harder for the Nomeds to pinpoint exactly where the sounds were coming from. And so he ran faster and harder than he had ever done in the whole of his life. He ran until sweat dripped from his body and steam billowed from his airways and rose from his back. He ran until he was so exhausted that he could run no more.
At least we made it quickly and safely up the hillside
, he thought to himself as he slowed his pace. He walked slowly now, breathing heavily and methodically. He wanted to gallop, but he knew that he must first regain his strength, recapture his breath, for if he were to keel over, right here, right now, they would be most unlikely to survive the night. It was not long before Aaron became aware of movement within the tree tops. The leaves rustled and the branches coiled and sprang, snapping and breaking as Nomeds leapt from them, travelling from tree to tree, rushing through the woodland canopy at great speed. Aaron was concerned that they may hear his heavy hooves, but they did not seem to notice. They were focused on something else… They were on a mission… They were on a hunt.

“Oh no!” Aaron gasped aloud.

“What is it, Aaron?” Ice whispered.

“I'm not sure, Ice. I hope I'm wrong but I have a really horrible feeling that they are heading in the same direction that we are, towards the Giant Horse Chestnut.”

“Francis, Francis!” Ice yelled. “Aaron, something is wrong with Francis. I thought he was just sleeping but I can't wake him. He's still breathing but something is seriously wrong.”

“I think I know what's wrong with him, it makes sense, and that's why the Nomeds are heading in the same direction as us.”

“What, Aaron? I don't understand,” Ice said

“Francis said he was weak, he was finding it hard to keep the woodland animals camouflaged. The more he has to try, the weaker he gets. He's exhausted, he's getting weaker and weaker and so is the camouflage. That's where the Nomeds are going, that's what they are hunting. The animals that are furthest from the tree are no longer camouflaged and soon those at the Giant Horse Chestnut won't be, either. That's where the Nomeds are heading, to the Giant Horse Chestnut.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going. They need our help and so does Francis,” Ice declared.

“Okay, hang on tight!”

Aaron dug his heavy hooves into the mulch and earth and galloped with such speed, force and meaning that Ice could barely keep a hold of his wildly flowing black mane. Not only did she need to secure herself, she now had the added difficulty of trying to stop Francis from falling, as his grip on Aaron's mane had loosened considerably and he continually became weaker. Aaron weaved through the woodland, jumping over fallen trees and across streams. The Nomeds were nowhere to be seen. They had travelled at such speed through the tree tops that they were now well ahead of Aaron, Francis and Ice. There was no sign of them at all until Aaron reached the wide section of stream that lay close to the Giant Horse Chestnut. This section of stream was too wide to jump over and Aaron had to cross its rocky bed cautiously.

The moon shimmered on the stream's rippling surface, as its waters cascaded over the jumbled-up tumble of rocks. Aaron looked into the water, carefully selecting safe footholds for his crossing. It was then that they reappeared… then that Aaron was once again aware of their presence, for as he looked down at the moonlit water, it was not just the moonlight that shimmered as it reflected on its surface, there were also the reflections of red, blue and green lights, the reflection of eyes. Aaron lifted his head and looked above him into the canopies. Directly overhead, Fala, Nebula and Nicor were feasting on what looked like the remains of a badger's corpse. Aaron was horrified, but at the same time a little relieved. You see, the Nomeds were distracted with their kill and as they tore chunks out of the poor animal, they failed to notice the splashes that Aaron's huge hooves were creating in the stream below, and so, under the safety of the invisibility enchantment, Aaron was able to get them across to the other side undetected.

As he got nearer to the Giant Horse Chestnut, there was evidence of further kills. The ground was littered with the furred and feathered remains of many of the woodland inhabitants. Tears welled in Aaron's eyes and Ice wrapped a wing protectively around Francis. She was actually thankful that he was so weak… that he was unconscious and therefore unaware of the dreadful carnage that lay all around him.

They had made it through Bluebell Wood safely.

Aaron stood at the base of the giant tree, dwarfed once more by its sheer magnitude. He gazed up into its dark canopy. The richness of its emerald green leaves was dampened by darkness and sadness, almost as if the huge tree was itself in mourning for the woodland's dead. Aaron and Ice were still and quiet, unsure of what they should do now. Questions whirled through their minds.

Were there any creatures that had survived this vicious attack?

Where were the woodland inhabitants?

Had they all been killed?

Had they fled?

Were they still hidden, camouflaged and protected by Francis, their Berthold?

They just did not know!

The tree began to creak and groan loudly, the leaves rustled and a huge branch stretched down toward Aaron. They hadn't known what to do but the tree certainly did. Smaller branches stretched down from the huge branch and they worked together to scoop Francis up and off Aaron's back. Francis was gently swept upwards by the tree as it passed him from branch to branch, until eventually he was placed very carefully inside his hollow – inside his home. Nestled within his familiar, comfortable hollow, Francis's cold, tired body gradually began to change. His dull plumage puffed out and became full of warmth and radiance and his huge eyes opened and shone with a vibrancy that had been absent for quite some time. He shuffled his way to the edge of his hollow and perched in its entrance. He was no longer under the invisibility enchantment, he did not need to be, for he was home and while he was here in the safety of the tree, he was able to camouflage himself. As Francis stood looking out of his hollow, he searched with his huge eyes for the creatures of the woodland. They were not visible. Neither you nor I would have been able to see them. But if you looked very carefully, looked closely within their Berthold Francis's eyes, if you peered within their shimmering reflection, you could see them just as he did. For the majority of the creatures were still there, safely camouflaged, hidden within the structure of the Giant Horse Chestnut tree and its surroundings.