She felt really sorry.
It was difficult.
But she had to be firm.
‘Maybe I don’t,’ she said kindly. ‘But it’s a trick. It’s all a trick. You know what They’re like.’
The Crow stood still for a moment. Then, with a sigh so great she thought it would shudder him apart, he turned and hopped back out on to the stairs.
They climbed in silence.
The smell of cheese and toast drifted after them; the Crow ground its beak in fury.
At the top of the stair was a room that made Seren open her eyes in astonishment, because she had been here before. It was a huge ballroom with many shimmering pillars that held up a glass ceiling.
‘But this is the room that was in Plas-y-Fran.’
‘It’s my room,’ a smooth voice said. ‘It was in Plas-y-Fran, and now it’s here.’
The Velvet Fox sat on a small golden throne in the centre of the room. He was no child’s toy now. His fur was lustrous and russet, his tail was plumed, his black eyes were trickier and bright with mischief. He was as big as she was.
‘Where’s my bracelet?’ Seren snapped.
The Fox swished its tail. ‘I have to say congratulations. You’ve done far better than I thought you would.’
She folded her arms. ‘Thanks. So now I want my bracelet.’ She had a feeling that if she kept asking for it something might happen.
‘All those lovely dresses. And those jewels. Above all, the books…’
‘I’m afraid I was not interested in the least,’ the Crow said loftily. It hopped across and stood next to Seren. ‘Neither of us were.’
The Fox smiled its narrow smile. ‘If you say so. So then, you have passed the tests and come to the heart of my house, and that means that now you are my guests. Even the Tylwyth Teg respect hospitality. I have to give you a reward. Name what you want, and you shall have it.’
The Crow opened its jewel eye and then its beak but, before it could squawk out a warning, Seren had already said in her most stubborn voice, ‘I want my bracelet back.’
The Fox snickered.
The Crow stamped. ‘Oh, you silly girl!’
She had no idea what she’d done wrong, but clearly something because the Fox nodded its head.
‘Very well.’ It glanced sideways and beckoned with a small paw. ‘Look there,’ it said.
Seren stared in astonishment. From the shadows of the pillared room came the Soldier in his red coat. He walked very slowly and then he stopped and turned and faced towards her. He didn’t blink or speak. He held out his skinny wrist. On it was the bracelet of red beads.
Seren took a step forward eagerly.
‘Wait!’ the Crow groaned. ‘It’s not that easy.’
From behind the Fox’s throne came the silvery figure of the Dancer. She shimmered a pirouette and stood next to the Drummer and smiled. On her wrist was an identical bracelet.
Seren started to feel worried.
‘And finally…’ the Fox said slyly.
The Juggler whirled out. He bowed and stood beside the others, and held out his hand.
There was a third bracelet.
The trouble was, they were all identical.
‘Now,’ the Fox said happily. ‘I’m sure you’ve read enough fairy stories to know what you have to do next. One of those bracelets is the real one. All you have to do is choose it, and it’s yours. But if you make a mistake and choose the wrong one, then you get to stay with me in my lovely house for all eternity, you lucky human girl! And Plas-y-Fran lies under its hedge, forgotten by all the world.’ The Fox smiled. Sharp teeth gleamed. ‘The choice is yours.’
The Crow shuddered. ‘Oh, this is not good! Don’t do it. If you make one mistake, just one, there’s no way back.’
Seren felt cold.
But she knew she had no choice – because only the bracelet would release Tomos from his spell. So she said, ‘I’m going to look at them. Is that all right?’
‘Certainly.’
She walked along the row. The bracelets were all completely the same – the shiny red beads, the single tiny acorn painted gold. How could she ever tell which was the one Tomos had made?
She reached out but the Fox said quickly, ‘Oh, no touching! Touch one and it means you’ve chosen it.’ Its black eyes gleamed with mischief.
She snatched back her hand and glanced at the Crow. It shrugged.
Seren had no idea what to do. So she closed her eyes.
She thought back to the time – it seemed so long ago now! – when she was hanging upside-down in the chestnut tree, and the blood had all rushed to her head, and she had almost fallen out, and Mrs Villiers had told her off. She thought about the conkers she hadn’t been able to thread, and the way Tomos had made his so easily.
It was then Tomos had given her the bracelet.
‘They’re only hawthorn berries,’ he’d said.
What else had he said?
She frowned, trying hard to remember.
‘Hurry up.’ The Fox pointed a paw at her impatiently. ‘I need a decision.’
‘Wait. I’m thinking.’
‘Don’t listen to him!’ the Crow snapped. ‘Don’t rush. Take your time. Or … you can always walk away…’
‘And leave Tomos a prisoner for eternity? I don’t think so.’
And then, like an electric tingle all through her body, she remembered.
She turned and looked at the Crow and her eyes were shining. ‘I need you to get something for me. Right now!’
‘What?’
‘Moonlight!’
The Crow tipped its head and its jewel eye glinted with scorn. ‘No problem.’
‘NO!’ the Fox barked, leaping to its feet.
But it was too late. The Crow flicked a wing, and spoke a word. The shutters on the windows flew open with a bang that made Seren jump, and there was the full moon, huge and round, its brilliant light slanting in on the three bracelets.
Seren stepped forward quickly.
She saw exactly what she was looking for.
13
A secret letter
Speak your anger and defiance.
Only words unspell the silence.
She ran past the Dancer, who curtseyed, and the Drummer who saluted. She ran straight to the Juggler and snatched the bracelet off its wrist and held it up in triumph.
‘This is it! This is Tomos’s! Look there’s the S he wrote on the back that you can only see in moonlight!’ She turned it to show the straggly S, all shining. ‘That’s to show we’ll always be friends! That’s human magic, Mr Fox, and it’s better than yours!’
The Fox gave a howl of anger, sharp and high.
Seren turned and fled.
She ran out of the ballroom and hurtled down the winding stair, past the cosy study and the rooms of jewels and dresses. But at the bottom of the stair she stopped in confusion.
Where was she?
There were tunnels everywhere, running away under the roots of trees. Some were just made of earth, but others were panelled with wood or patterned with wallpaper. Some ran up and some ran down.
The Crow swooped past her. ‘Follow me! Run!’
Then it was gone, so quickly she had no idea which tunnel it had taken, so she just had to guess because behind her the Fox was coming! Snatching a quick glance back she could see it, snuffling and loping, ears pricked, eyes sharp, a real animal, enormous and hungry, hunting for her.
And she was as small as a mouse!
Breathless, she raced along the tunnel, tumbling over pebbles that were like boulders, ducking round seeds that were huge as rocks. She didn’t know how it had happened but she was deep underground; the roots of trees made the roof and the floor was earth – though once she thought she was running on carpet and she could hear the tinkly music of the carousel. The tunnel roof got lower and lower; now she was almost crawling.
‘Tomos!’ she yelled. ‘Crow!’
The Fox’s huge muzzle rushed in and snapped at her,
its teeth white and snarling. She screeched and scrabbled in further, clutching the bracelet tightly. Quite suddenly the side of the tunnel gave way and she was rolling and tumbling down an earthen bank with worms as big as she was slithering hastily out of the way.
An owl hooted.
Stars flickered.
A shadow leapt after her and she turned and looked over her shoulder and gave a small scream, because the Fox had pounced; its paw was heavy on her and its wet nose right against her face.
‘Silly girl,’ it said. ‘Did you think you could get away from me?’
‘But you promised! You said if I chose the right one…’
The Fox snickered. ‘Promises are for humans. I’m the Trickster, remember. So prepare to be eaten, little girl.’
It opened its mouth wide. Its breath smelled of berries. Its red tongue licked sharp white teeth.
Seren gave a yelp and a kick. She knew she was caught. But then something black swooped. ‘Oh no you don’t,’ a tetchy voice snapped.
Seren was snatched up. Her feet went over her head. For a moment she felt she was plunging down, falling hands first, but then she gave a gasp because the Crow had her dress firmly in its beak and was flying away with her as fast as it could.
Its moth-eaten wings beat with a horrible creak.
Its cogs and wheels churred and rattled.
It was flying so hard she could feel its effort; she was terrified its heart would burst in a tangle of springs and feathers!
She swung wildly. ‘Be careful!’ she screamed. But the Crow couldn’t open its beak to answer. It just glared at her with one jewel-bright eye.
She looked down.
Over hillside, through forests, over towns they flew, and behind, getting closer all the time, the Fox was streaking after them. Now it was a red flame, terrifyingly fast, as if it would set the mountains alight.
‘Where are we going?’ she yelled.
The Crow opened its beak. ‘Home.’
She fell.
With a shriek and her hands wide out in front of her she plummeted, but instantly the Crow swooped and snatched and yanked her back up with a mighty effort that sent feathers into the air, and now she was so breathless she dared not speak to it again.
They flew faster. Jackdaws came down and mobbed them, a hawk slashed past and the Crow gave a mangled squawk and dived in terror. Moths flitted by. Bats whipped round them curiously.
Now they were low over lawns and a great lake, so low she was skimming the water, and then her hands were in and spray was splashing her face.
‘Go up!’ she screamed. ‘I’ll be drowned!’
They shot higher, and there was the hedge.
It surrounded the house so that only the topmost chimneys rose above it. It was a black, prickly barrier of darkness and pain and they could never get through it.
‘What will we do?’ Seren wriggled and looked back. The Fox had leapt across the water of the lake as if it were a silver road. It landed on the lawns, crouched, and took a great spring up at her; its teeth snapped at her dangling hands. She screeched. ‘Higher!’
But the Crow had a plan. They soared up, over the tangled branches, over the dark roofs, and there was a chimney, the biggest chimney of the house.
The Crow dived straight down it.
Seren gasped. Soot cascaded all over her. She sneezed. Then the Crow shrivelled up its beak too.
‘Aaah…’ it said.
‘No! Don’t sneeze!’
‘Aaah … aaaaaahh.’
‘Just don’t…!’
‘CHOOOOOOO!’
At once she was falling, both of them were falling, down a black brick well without light, and the dust was everywhere and there was a smell of ash and cinders and then – thump! – she landed in an empty hearth in a cloud of dust and the Crow smacked down next to her.
Soft music tinkled.
She gasped and scrambled up. ‘Tomos! Look! It’s Tomos!’
But the Crow gave a feeble kek, flapped a wing and lay still.
The schoolroom was exactly as she had left it, as if no time had passed. Tomos was still riding the carousel, round and round, singing dreamily to the music. Mrs Honeybourne slumbered in her chair, her knitting fallen to the floor.
Seren’s face was black with sooty smears. She ran to Tomos and tugged him off the horse, pulled the bracelet off her arm and pushed it on to his wrist, just as the door burst open and the Fox roared in like a flame of fire.
She spun round. ‘You’re too late,’ she said, fiercely.
Tomos blinked. He looked down at the bracelet and then at Seren and then at the carousel. ‘What’s going on? What on earth is happening?’
Then he saw the Fox, and his eyes went wide.
The Fox lashed its tail and howled with rage. It squeezed its huge body in through the door, snarling and savage.
Seren grabbed Tomos’s hand and they backed against the wall. As the Fox came on, Seren reached out and with one push shoved the globe off its stand so that it rolled like a huge marble across the carpet. But the Fox leapt over it with one soft spring and smiled its twisted smile.
‘There’s no one to help you now, human children. Soon it will be all over. You’ll be eaten, and the house will sleep forever. Close your eyes. Maybe it won’t hurt so much.’
Seren grabbed tighter on to Tomos.
Then she felt something on her hand and looked down.
Tomos had pulled the bracelet over her wrist too. They were both wearing it. It bound their hands tightly together. It was a safe, secure feeling.
Seren laughed.
Tomos smiled at her.
Together they turned and faced the Fox.
It stopped.
Oddly, she thought, it seemed a little smaller.
‘Look at you,’ it snarled. ‘You’re both terrified.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Seren said.
‘You must be! My magic is so powerful. That boy is afraid.’
‘No, I’m not either!’ Tomos said boldly.
‘Well, that clockwork bird was scared stiff.’
Seren flicked a look at the crumpled wreckage of the Crow and it made her frown.
‘He might have been scared but he was brave too. He saved me. Your magic may be powerful but we are all really good friends and that’s so much stronger than any silly spell.’
Tomos’s hand clasped hers tight. It made her feel strong; she stood up straight.
‘So, I’m not afraid of you at all. You’re not going to eat me. You’re not some fierce wild animal. You’re just a toy. A small, soft, silly velvet toy.’
The Fox blinked. It yelped. With every word it shrank in front of them.
Tomos nodded. ‘Seren’s right. Yes, I made a stupid boast but maybe it was a true one after all. We’re safe from the Tylwyth Teg because we won’t let you separate us or work your tricks on us. Seren lives here and she’s not going anywhere. And you can take your horrible carousel away right now because I don’t want it!’
The Fox whispered. Its voice was shrill and tiny. ‘The Family live here. We lived here before you and we will be here after you. We’re not going anywhere either. Remember that.’
And then its fur was smoothest velvet and corduroy. There was a patterned patch on its left paw. Its eyes were buttons and its pricked ears stuffed. Its smile was stitched in black wool.
It fell over.
It was just a child’s toy.
Seren took a deep breath. She took a cautious step forward and Tomos came with her. They crept closer and looked down at the Fox. It didn’t move.
Tomos leaned down and picked it up. It was so ragged it fell apart in his hands, one ear crumbling off, the stuffing flaking out. And, as it crumbled, light grew in the room, and Seren looked up and said, ‘Look, the hedge is disappearing!’
She ran to the window.
The great black thorns were shrivelling, the tangled branches slithering away, as if the hedge was growing backwards with all the speed that had made it; ungro
wing, unsprouting, like a spell running out. As she watched, it shrank and vanished, and there were the familiar lawns and the lake and the trees silver with moonlight.
‘Fantastic!’
‘And the carousel!’ Seren gasped. Because that was shrinking, too, and the tune it played now was so shrill and unpleasant that Tomos knelt and stopped the handle and there was silence.
A wonderful silence.
Seren wondered if all over Plas-y-Fran the servants were waking.
She turned and grinned at Tomos. ‘We’ve done it! It’s all right!’
But then, like a small volcano in the corner, Mrs Honeybourne stirred. She opened her eyes and smiled her sweetest smile.
‘Ah yes, but I’m still here, dearies. You may have reduced my master to a silly little toy, but that won’t work on me. And I’m not going anywhere.’
14
The lesson is learned
Glow of sunlight, spark of star.
Show us what we really are.
Seren’s heart gave a jump. How could she have forgotten Mrs Honeybourne! Now the governess was standing, and she seemed bigger than ever, and her small pale eyes were sly.
‘You were always such a trouble, Seren Rhys. I knew you would be as soon as I got here. Not like dear Tomos, who is so good.’
The Velvet Fox Page 11