The Story Traveller (12 page)

‘I am. I was on my way to meet Ash.'

‘Right, lead me to your horse. I'll see what I can do,' said the wee man. He turned to his hounds and said ‘Stay. Guard the bridge.' And the whole pack sat down in the middle of the road. As Lucy looked back they reminded her of the end of a rainbow.

The mooinjer veegey was far kinder and gentler with Speed. He ran his tiny fingers over the stricken animal's breast.

‘It's not good,' he said. ‘He needs more powerful healing than I can give.' Lucy's heart sank.

‘What can we do? I need to get Speed better. He is in so much pain.' The little man was obviously touched by the young girl's concern.

‘You need Manannan Mac Lir – God of the Sea. He is a great magician and, though he's an Irish God, he happens to live on the Isle of Man; in fact the island is named after him. He'll be able to help.' ‘How do I find him?' Lucy asked.

‘You won't. He lives on the top of South Barrule, which is always covered in a mist, making it impossible for
you
to find him. However, I'll send some of my hounds. They'll get there in no time.' He let out a strange whistle and two of his hounds raced up. True to his word he sent them off with a message. While they waited he did what he could for Speed.

‘Thank you, sir. You have been very kind. I wish I could repay you.'

The little man laughed.

‘It's obvious you're not a Manx person. Are you a ‘come over' or a ‘when I?''

Lucy laughed.

‘You mean have I come over from England, or when I was in India did I decide to move here. No, I don't live here, but my grandfather was a come over.'

‘Was?'

‘Yes, I'm afraid he died several years ago. But he loved this island.'

‘What's your name then?' asked the little man.

‘Lucy. And yours?'

‘You can call me Max. Well, Lucy, if you want to help us, try and stop humans calling us fairies. Do I look like a fairy?' Max was quite indignant. Lucy did her best not to smile.

‘No you don't.' ‘And they have the nerve to call our bridge the Fairy Bridge. No self respecting mooinjer veegey wants to be called a fairy or our bridge to be known as the Fairy Bridge.' By now Max was so cross Lucy had to put her hand up to her mouth, so he couldn't see her grin.

‘But he's right,' she thought. ‘He certainly doesn't look like any fairy I've ever seen and thanks to Twinkle I've seen a great many. He looks more like a tiny person.'

As they chatted they were joined by more little people: some on horseback, some on foot and many with hounds, until Lucy and Speed were surrounded by a circle of curious bystanders and excited hounds. The little people were obviously great horse lovers and Lucy could sense the waves of concern sweep round, as each learned of Speed's injuries.

Then the whole circle fell silent and Lucy heard what sounded like someone striding across the fields in boots full of water. For a moment the moon was blotted out. She looked up and up. Standing in front of her, arms akimbo, was the biggest giant Lucy had ever seen; bigger than the one that chased after Jack. He was ginormous!

As one, all the little people bowed. Then Max stepped forward and took off his cap with a flourish.

‘Welcome, Manannan Mac Lir. We've asked you here, because Lucy, a story traveller, and her trusty steed need your help.' Max then returned his cap to his head and beckoned Lucy to step forward.

Lucy swallowed hard. It was difficult not to be frightened, especially as she could not see his face. The giant moved slightly, which allowed the moon to reappear. Then Lucy could see his face was stern but not unkind. ‘Well, girlie?' he said in a voice so loud it shook the branches of nearby trees. ‘Tell me exactly what's happened and no blarney now.'

‘Sire,' Lucy began. ‘My friend here has been badly hurt. We were on our way to Ireland, when he got hit by The Dagda's club.'

‘I've told Dagda he should be more careful. He can be a right divil at times. He really doesn't look where he's goin', especially when he's cross. Was he cross?' ‘Very!' said Lucy, as her fear began to recede. ‘Please make Speed better, kind sir.'

‘Kind sir! I can't remember bein' called kind before,' the giant almost smiled.

‘Righto, let's have a look – you lot scram, give me some space.'

Immediately, the little folk moved right back and with difficulty the huge giant got down on his knees to talk to the injured horse.

‘Where does it hurt?' he asked. Speed whinnied and tossed his head.

‘My chest, I can hardly breathe.'

‘I'm not surprised my friend. You've been hit by one of the most fearsome tools of war.' He put his huge fingers gently on Speed's breast bone and said: ‘Here?'

‘Ouch, yes!'

‘An' here?'

‘Oh yes!'

Manannan Mac Lir then put his hand in a pouch he carried on his belt and took out a small box and gently rubbed some ointment over the painful areas. When he'd finished he stood up, using the near by trees to help himself.

‘That should do the trick,' he said, as he put the ointment back in his pouch.

Speed tentatively got ready to get up and then, as he realised the pain had gone, rapidly stood on all fours.

‘Thank you, great sir,' he told Manannan Mac Lir.

‘Yes, thank you sir. We're so grateful.' Lucy in her relief took the giant's huge hand and planted a kiss on his palm. Manannan Mac Lir went quite red.

‘No need of that girlie. Don't mollycoddle me! Just glad to have been of help.' But everyone there knew he was delighted and all the little people began to stamp and cheer.

‘Be gone, scram – all you wee mischief makers!' growled Manannan Mac Lir, so loud the earth shook and the trees trembled. Lucy looked up at the roaring giant, worried she had got the little people in trouble, but as she stared into his face he gave her a big wink.

The little people all scattered, their dogs after them, until only Max remained.

‘Great Sir, now you have made the horse better, would you be kind enough to take Lucy and her faithful steed to the coast, so they can continue their journey to Ireland?' he asked politely, cap in hand again.

‘Don't see why not,' was the reply. ‘I'll show you the safest route. Who are you going to see?'

‘Ash, sir,' Lucy replied politely. ‘Not one of my favourite characters,' replied the giant. ‘He made a fool of an arhach and although that particular arhach was a good for nothing I can't approve of what he did.'

‘What is an arhach?' Lucy asked, worried he might not now help them.

‘It's an Irish giant, girlie. Different sort to myself, but still a giant.'

‘But you're a god. The god of the sea, not a giant. All your Irish gods are of a great size.'

‘True, true. An arhach's only from Storyland, while I'm part of the Irish Celtic heritage.'

‘So will you help us?' Lucy asked timidly.

‘Of course I will.' Lucy then turned and thanked Max for all his kindness.

‘Tis nothing, I'm sure,' he said, pleased she was so grateful. ‘As a rule I've no time for humans, but I like you, Lucy. You're welcome to come and see us any time. Just don't call us…'

‘Fairy folk!' Lucy finished with a laugh. Max laughed with her.

‘You've got it in one.'

While Lucy and Max were saying their goodbyes, Manannan Mac Lir bent down, picked up Speed and put him in one of his pockets. He then gently picked up Lucy and tucked her in the other pocket.

‘Hold tight you two. You'll be there in a jiffy.'

Lucy just managed to peep out if she stood on tiptoes. She waved a cheery goodbye to Max and then with one stride the giant had taken them a good mile.

As he had promised, in no time at all they were on the beach. Gently he took Speed and Lucy out of his pockets and placed them on the shingle.

‘This is Balaugh an' your best departure point,' he told them. ‘I've chosen here because you'll be well out of harm's way. The Dagda rarely comes this far.'

Lucy looked at Speed; she wanted to be sure he was well enough to go on.

‘I'm fine my Lucy,' he said, though she'd not said a word. As Lucy wrapped herself carefully in her cloak the dawn was rising. Once more she thanked the friendly god of the sea and got on Speed's back.

‘Cheers, then girlie, mind yourself now. I'll tell my people to look out for you and help if needs be,' were his parting words.

‘You're wonderful!' Lucy called out to him, as they took to the air. Then she said to Speed ‘We're going to be awfully late.'

‘I know Lucy. I just hope Thomas Murphy has waited for us.'

Soon they were flying over the Irish Sea and for a brief moment Lucy allowed them to be partially visible, as she waved a final farewell to Manannan Mac Lir.

Thanks to Manannan Mac Lir's help, Lucy and Speed had a swift trouble free flight to Ireland. They arrived on the top of Mount Leinster to beautiful sunshine.

Lucy slid off Speed and gazed out across the huge expanse of heather. Below them was dense forest and also large areas covered in gorse. It was amazing how far she could see from the top of this Irish mountain. But stare as she might, there was no sign of Thomas Murphy: no cloud of dust, no smell of tobacco, no tap tap of a cobbler at work. She and Speed were completely alone.

Lucy turned to her faithful companion.

‘Whatever should we do, Speed?'

‘Wait here a moment, Lucy. I'll see if I can find this Thomas Murphy.'

Lucy quickly placed her hood over her head and sat patiently on a large piece of rock, as Speed cantered north, south, east and west, in order to find the illusive leprechaun.

But he returned alone.

‘Lucy, I think you'd better send Twinkle a message. We are very late. I expect he decided we weren't coming.'

So Lucy got her mobile out and sent a text to Twinkle which said:

‘Arrived Mount Leinster, late due to problem on way. No one here to meet us. What shall we do? Lucy.'

Then the two of them sat and admired the view, while they waited for Twinkle's answer. It was a view worth the wait. Whichever way you looked, in the distance was another mountain to admire and each had a different hue, depending on how the sun caught the peaks.

After a very few minutes, Lucy's mobile buzzed. It sounded so loud in the peace and quiet of the mountain, where the only sounds heard were the occasional calls of birds.

‘Go to the rainbow's end,' was the short reply. Lucy read the message out loud and then said:

‘What rainbow?'

‘That one!' Speed replied.

Lucy looked up and there, right in front of her, was a truly beautiful rainbow.

‘That is so lovely,' she said. ‘But how do we find the end Speed?'

‘That's simple, pet. Just get on my back. We'll fly over it and come down the other side.'

So Lucy got back on Speed and the two of them took off. As they came near to the rainbow, Lucy was thrilled how rich the colours were. Once they'd reached the highest point, Speed began to follow the curve down.

As they descended, Lucy began to get the faint smell of tobacco and knew they were on the right track. Then she heard the tap tap and into view came a little old man with large pointed ears that stuck out from under a tall cocked hat. He was busy mending a pair of tiny shoes and beside him was a large pot from which, after carefully putting his pipe down, he took regular sips.

He was wearing a red square cut coat, richly laced with gold. On the coat Lucy could see seven rows of buttons with seven buttons on each row. On his feet were the most delicate boots, decorated with ornate silver buckles.

Speed managed to land directly in front of him, so that Lucy could meet him face to face.

‘Hallo, you must be Thomas Murphy,' Lucy said politely and held out her hand. Her eyes never left his face.

Thomas Murphy jumped up quickly, but Lucy had been quicker. She continued to keep her eyes steadily on him, so he'd have no chance to escape. The grumpy leprechaun took the pipe out of his mouth and stuck it in his belt.

‘Yer late,' was all he said.

‘Yes, I'm sorry about that,' Lucy replied. ‘But Speed, my friend here, got in the way of The Dagda's club and was injured.'

Thomas Murphy, for it was he, looked a little less annoyed on hearing this and said:

‘Japers!
⁴
How come ye managed to finish the journey? A blow from that club is usually deadly.'

‘Manannan Mac Lir helped us,' was the simple reply.

This news had an immediate effect on the leprechaun. For the first time he looked at Lucy and Speed with some respect.

‘Yer honoured then. Manannan Mac Lir doesn't usually help anyone. Anyway lassie, what is it ye want?'

‘Can you still take me to Ash?' was her first question.

‘Aye, mebbe,' came the slightly hesitant reply.

‘Is he expecting me?'

‘Naw.' Thomas Murphy may have had to tell the truth, but he didn't waste any words.

‘Why not?' Lucy was surprised. She remembered the warm welcome she'd received from Yeh-Shen.

‘Em…because ‘e's a shy lad, an' would have run away. He's so bashful ‘e lives alone at the end of a rainbow.'

Then Thomas Murphy took a gold coin out of a leather pouch, which hung from his belt. He held it out to her.

‘C'mere. I'm rather busy right now, however, ye can have this lassie, if ye give up the visit an' go home.' As he held out the coin the sun caught its surface and it glittered and gleamed like a precious jewel.

‘Thank you, but no,' Lucy said firmly. ‘A visit to Ash is worth more than any gold.'

That did surprise the leprechaun, who valued gold above everything else. He put the coin back in his pouch and his face showed a grudging admiration for the young girl. Then he bent down and picked up a small green plant.

‘Besides gold, we leprechauns are the owners of ivery Irish shamrock an' here's a four-leaf clover. The four leaves stand for hope, faith, love an' luck. Would ye accept this?'

‘Can I still meet Ash?' Lucy asked.

‘Aye.'

‘Then I'd love to have the four-leaf clover.' Lucy took the tiny clover and wrapped it carefully in her handkerchief and placed it in her apron pocket.

‘My friends and I have spent hours looking for one of these. To me it's priceless. Thank-you.'

Thomas Murphy almost smiled. He wasn't used to humans who chose clover over gold.

‘Right, then. We must be off,' Thomas Murphy told them. ‘Hie
⁵
now: get back on that fine horse and follow me. Howiver, I must warn you I travel fast and only hope ye can keep up.'

Lucy got back on Speed and settled herself for a rapid and exciting journey.

‘Where are we going Thomas?' she asked him politely.

‘South Coast.'

‘Will it take us long, because….?'

‘Cease yer blathering! Ye can rabbit on!' Thomas broke in. ‘Remember now, it would have been a much quicker journey if ye'd met me at Mount Leinster, as arranged.'

Lucy immediately stopped asking questions and wondered if he travelled as fast as the Wise One in China. She soon found out he did and was surprised and delighted that Speed could keep up with him.

Unfortunately, because Thomas made a constant swirl of dust, Lucy wasn't able to enjoy the journey. She was vaguely aware of lots and lots of green fields, broken up by the odd thatched roof cottages and the occasional cluster of buildings, as they passed a town. Without warning, Thomas Murphy pulled up so suddenly, Speed almost crashed into him and unseated Lucy.

'C'mere, lassie.' Thomas Murphy held out a hand. ‘We'll go the rest of the way on foot.'

Lucy took the little man's hand and waved an affectionate goodbye to Speed, as they set off down a steep hillside.

‘Be careful Lucy!' she heard Speed call.

‘I will!'

Below was a town set in a long narrow inlet. Lucy had a great view as they got nearer. Nestled in the centre of the harbour area, on a raised mound, was a grand castle. It should have shone and glittered in the bright sun, but from every window and turret black drapes hung, which gave the building a deeply sad air.

Further down the hill, near the water's edge, Lucy could see hundreds and hundreds of people standing silently. So many people and not a sound. There was complete silence: a scary, frightening silence. It was unnerving.

Suddenly, Lucy felt herself pushed forward by the leprechaun and the sheer slope meant she had to take the decline at a run or fall, so she ran.

‘The lad's just below ye,' the mischievous leprechaun called out. ‘Mind though, so is the dragon. Slán
⁶
, story traveller!'

Lucy ran faster and faster. She managed to gather the cloak over her head, and then concentrated on keeping her balance. After a while the ground began to even out and thankfully Lucy came to a stop, completely out of breath. She heard the dragon before she saw him and she felt his breath before she heard him. As she stood trying to get her own breath back, she began to feel extremely warm. Seconds after, she heard the most enormous roar, which broke the unearthly silence in the most horrendous way. Instinctively, Lucy pressed herself flat on the grass as orange and red flames rushed over her. She rolled herself away and seconds later the flames were followed by an enormous dragon: one that was ten times bigger than the one she'd seen in China and a million times less friendly.

The flames continued to flash from its nostril and mouth, while its tail waved backwards and forwards, felling trees and bushes with ease. Its whole body was covered in armoured scales and each claw on its toes looked razor sharp.

‘Leave her be!' a voice shouted and Lucy saw Ash run to attack the dragon. In his hand was a large sword, which seemed almost too big for the lad.

Lucy noticed a large rock, not far from where she'd stopped, so she got up and rushed behind it, aware that though the dragon could not see her, his tail could easily cut her in two.

The battle began and went on and on. Lucy wondered where Ash got his strength from. At one point his sword managed to draw blood, though it bent in the effort. She knew this would make his job even more difficult.

‘My hero!' a clear voice called out. Lucy turned and for the first time saw the Princess, who was tied to a stake near the edge of the cliff. The poor girl was very much on her own and it was obvious if Ash did not win this fight she would die a slow and painful death.

Gradually, the dragon began to wear Ash down. The boy was so tired he could hardly lift the huge sword. Lucy watched with horror as, at one point, the dragon managed to grab hold of the belt round Ash's tunic. For a moment there was a real struggle and then, as if by magic, Ash found the strength to make a huge sweeping blow with his sword that completely cut off the head of the dragon. The sword broke in two with the effort while the dragon's head flew up in the air, the belt still in its mouth and landed in the sea, where both head and body disappeared under the waves.

Now there was no danger, the palace guard immediately rushed and untied the Princess. Her father also tore over to her and hugged her tightly.

Meantime, everyone wanted to congratulate the brave young man. The crowds began to move towards him, ready to carry him in triumph on their shoulders, when he heard above the cheers:

‘Ash, Ash!' To his horror he saw his two stepbrothers running towards him. He'd never wanted to see them again, so he mounted his horse and began to ride off.

Like a small streak of lightning the Princess ran up to him and caught him by his boot.

‘Wait!' she cried. ‘I want to thank you for saving my life.' But all Ash could think of was how to get away from those dreadful boys.

‘Glad to have been of help, Princess,' he said, and, as he turned to speak he noticed how beautiful she was and went bright red.

‘My name's Princess Bernadette,' she told him. ‘Please come and meet my father. He'll want to thank you.' But the Princess found she was left talking to one of his gigantic black boots.

Lucy had watched all this from behind her rock. She realised Ash had to pass her, so she waited until he was close and then, removing her hood, she limped out in front of him.

‘Please sir,' she asked, ‘could you help me? I've fallen off my horse and I've hurt my ankle. I can't walk very well.'

Immediately, Ash dismounted and helped Lucy on to his horse.

‘Where're ye goin' lass?'

‘To the rainbows end,' she replied. Ash smiled.

‘So am I. We can go together.'

They travelled in silence, until they reached Ash's simple lodgings, where he helped Lucy down.

‘How's the ankle?' he asked.

‘It doesn't seem too bad now, thanks to you. I'm afraid I don't know your name.'

‘I'm called Ash.'

‘How do you do? I'm Lucy,' the two of them shook hands solemnly.

‘I'm grand, thanks,' replied Ash, as he led his horse to a trough of water.

‘Ash? That's an unusual name.'

‘Well, me real name is Billy, but I was given the name Ash by people who thought it would upset me, because they made me sleep among the ashes. But, in fact, I prefer it to me real name, though I've niver told them that!'

‘Wasn't the Princess beautiful?' Lucy said suddenly, with a grin.

Ash went very red: it matched his bright red hair.

‘I niver noticed.'

‘You saved her life and you didn't notice! Well, the Princess certainly noticed you.'

Ash kept getting redder and redder.

‘It was nought.'

‘Nothing! If it was nothing, why did you decide to risk your life to save her?'

‘Someone had to do it and I'd nothin' better to do.'

Lucy began to take pity on him. She felt she had teased him enough. ‘Who were those ugly boys, who called you?'

‘Oh, bejabers, they were me two dreadful stepbrothers. They've made me life a misery for ages. I had to get away before they reached me. I hope the Princess didn't think me a right eejit
⁷
.'

‘I doubt it! Perhaps surprised you didn't want a big reward. Most young men would. You're an interesting person, Ash. I've got to wait for my horse to find me,' Lucy said, as she patted a seat next to her, ‘so will you tell me something about yourself?'

Rather shyly, Ash began to tell her about his life

‘I was born a small prince in a small kingdom and had a lovin' ma who cared for me until she died. Then one day, me da came home with a new wife and two stepsons. They were all horrid. When me da died, me stepma sent me to live with the cattle and I was glad, just to get away from them, especially as me special friend lived with them He was a speckled bull.'