A Piper's Song: The Pied Piper Tales

by C. K. Johnson

  A short time later, they returned. The announcer looked at Ian, Robert, and Sean and nodded, then went on to announce the awards for different ranks. I frowned when they called up a little child who could be no more than five to receive their award. Should children even be competing at this age, and what had their challenges been?

  The judges continued through my apprentice rank as the awards were presented to other pipers. Maybe because I had finished the requirements to become a Master Piper, I wasn’t eligible for the apprentice rank. I couldn’t have ranked very high in the adult category.

  I perked up at the awards for the most inventive and most definitive song. I wished I could have heard them. My attention wandered again when we moved on to the adult category.

  “Kyra, Kyra Piper!” I jerked my head up. The judge in the middle waved me forward. I tried to hurry, but found I wasn’t very fast at all.

  “First place overall in the apprentice category to Kyra Piper,” he said as he held out a scroll. Up close, he looked so terribly old. Should he even be out doing this? I closed my eyes and tried to filter my bouncing thoughts.

  I reached up for it and then hesitated. “But you already called a winner for the apprentices.”

  “Kyra, the boy we called up was the winner of the Field of Contention, the highest field for the apprentices. You took overall winner.” He continued, “Had you not taken overall, you would have been the winner of just that Field. To keep it fair and egos stroked, you only get one or the other,” the judge replied with a chuckle.

  A judge who reminded me strongly of Fischer didn’t even try to suppress his laughter. It was catching, for soon all the judges joined in. My cheeks flamed bright red and I dropped my head, staring intently at my shoes as if they held the answer to a fascinating question.

  “Please receive your fourth crown so we can get on with it,” the judge in the middle said as he extended the scroll out to me. Under his breath, he whispered, “Hold up your pipe.”

  My hand shook so much, he had to lean down and grab the end of the pipe so he could slip the ring on. I turned to leave.

  “Not quite yet. Because you have received four rings—tradition states—we allow this to count as your Master Piper exam. Please present yourself to the true Chieftains and be known to all as a Master Piper.”

  I bowed deeply to the European Chieftains, not trusting myself to curtsy, as the crowd cheered behind me. My cheeks flushed red again from all the attention. I wish Father was here to see this, see that I wasn’t a bad piper, that I was actually pretty good. I was a rockin’-won-first-place-in-The Fields kind of piper. Take that.

  The judge leaned down closer and said softly, “This is the part where you hold out your hand.” I obeyed, palm upturned, trying to figure out why I was sticking my hand in the air. The judges didn’t seem to be doing anything. In fact, they seemed to be waiting for something.

  A moment later, the man I thought had died on the field joined the other judges on the stand. His death must have been illusion. I had felt horrible for him and the stinker hadn’t even been hurt.

  He sat down in the empty seat. Those behind me gasped. I glanced back at the crowd, hoping to see what I had missed. When I saw nothing out of the ordinary, I looked at the Chieftains again. Now, I wasn’t one to point out deformity, but this man was having some serious problems. He seemed to be shedding skin faster than a snake and in a moment, he looked unrecognizable from the man he had been before.

  Ian took one look at the man and the color drained from his face. He dropped to one knee as if kneeling to a king. “Arise, Ian. You had no way of knowing the man you thought you killed was your chieftain, as it should be. As you can see, it was all a ruse, so I shall leave it this once at no harm, no foul,” he told Ian before looking at me.

  “As you seem to be a little addled, I will start simply with my name is Milo, and I am a Chieftain of one of the original clans. More specifically, Ian’s.” Milo paused as the crowd laughed.

  As the noise died down, he continued, “So little one, I was a dead man who tried to hurt you and even then, you protected my honor, as you protected the children, and even as you protected the innocents. In a place with little honor, you showed us what a true Lady Piper can mean to these wild lads. I thank you and salute you,” he said, giving me a half salute.

  “And in case you didn’t know… that is also an honor,” he added, a smile playing across his face. The rest of the judges joined in on the mirth. I rolled my eyes this time instead of getting intimidated.

  The Chieftain in the middle stood up again. “Now I end this day, last of The Fields, with a request I don’t think I’ve ever seen in all my years as Chieftain; however, I respect the right of those that receive the boon to do with it as they like. These three gentlemen have all asked that a small part of each of theirs go to you. Your boon will not be as large a dispensation as theirs, but it is surely no small thing.”

  The crowd gasped for a second time, and everyone stared at me. “Because you seem to be a little less educated in these matters than some, I think it best to explain to you that the boon can be called in at any time, so you need not use it this instant,” Milo added with a wink.

  “But I could?” I asked quietly.

  “What did you say again?” the judge nearest me asked.

  “But I could? If I knew what I wanted, I could call it in now?” I asked, this time shouting it out a little hoarsely.

  “Yes dear. No need to shout. Any time means any time,” said the judge on the far end.

  “I’d like to call it in now.” For some reason, despite his deception, I felt close to Milo. Maybe it was because he had just gone through an insane experience with me and we had something in common. He also meant something to Ian, and that was a good sign.

  “And what is it you’d like to ask for?” Milo asked as I stepped as close to him as I could with a huge table in the way.

  “I would like to ask for revenge,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. I thought I heard you say you wanted to ask for revenge,” he said, looking at me with the same puzzled expression as the rest of the clan chieftains sitting before me.

  “Yes sir. You heard correctly. My mentor has been dealt a great wrong by several clan Chieftains where I come from. I wish to rectify the situation and fear in doing so, I’ll be labeled a piper gone bad,” I said as I looked down and waited for them to start laughing or come straight out and say no. There was a long silence. I looked up to see them watching me.

  “And where do you come from?” he asked softly.

  “America,” I replied, this time meeting his gaze.

  “So, just to make sure we are on the same page, your boon is to ask permission to dispatch with several clans’ Chieftains in America?” he asked, shaking his head.

  “Correct,” I said as I waited again for the answer to be no.

  Instead of rejection, he stood. “We must confer,” he said as he walked away. They all followed, again behind the stage, and this time, the minutes seemed to stretch on for what felt like forever.

  If this kept up, I’d fall asleep before they got back. I wished someone would take pity on me and throw a sleep song in my direction.

  The judges returned, and instead of heading to their seats, they stood before me.

  “So you are only requesting permission to ask for recompense from just the clan chieftains that have wronged your mentor, and not their clans. You are also not asking for assistance in doing so?” Milo asked in an authoritative tone. His soft and gentlemanly manner was gone. This must be what he looked like when he was acting the part of Chieftain.

  “Correct,” I replied, warmed by the fact they were taking time to clarify all these things. This seemed like a good sign.

  “Then we grant you this boon. You will not be held accountable for your actions should you actually be able to succeed without getting killed. And should you follow all that we’ve now stipul
ated.” Milo paused and added, “Kyra?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be safe. I wish to see you again. I believe what we saw here today was just a taste of things yet to come.” Milo nodded and the Chieftains left.

  “I’ll try, sir,” I said to the empty air. I breathed a sigh of relief when Malcolm stepped up behind me.

  “You ready to go?” he asked as he moved to my side and extended his arm.

  “I thought you’d never ask. That was the craziest game I’ve ever played,” I said as I followed him to the car and practically had to crawl in it once we got there.

  He glanced over. “You didn’t have to do it.”

  “Someone needed to. The boon just provided the opportunity. What they did wasn’t right, and it’s time someone did something about it,” I said through a yawn.

  “Revenge will not bring her back,” he replied so quietly, I wasn’t sure if I had just imagined him saying anything at all.

  I decided to respond all the same, chalking it up to the four crowns and all. “Yeah, but someone has to stop them from doing this again.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Returning Home

  WE STAYED IN SCOTLAND THREE MORE days. Much to my eternal embarrassment, people kept stopping by to congratulate me. When it first started, I’d protest every time they came by. Eventually, I gave up trying. Most were apprentices I had beaten. The only good thing that came out of it was after blushing so many times the first day, I was all out by the second and third.

  Some of the apprentices came because their Masters made them. Their congratulations dripped with honeyed sarcasm. From the look in their eyes, they were dismayed I had even managed to walk away from the field, much less won the apprentice level.

  Others were there out of curiosity. I gave them more heed as they asked me what songs I liked the best and how I had known what to do. I tried my best to remember little things that might help them in next year’s tournament. I myself didn’t plan on stepping onto The Fields ever again, and anything I could say to help them would not hurt me. In the end, I decided pipers were just a plain crazy lot altogether.

  At night, I found myself waking up in a cold sweat and reaching for an empty place where my pipe should have been. Despite the fact I knew Milo wasn’t dead, the illusion still haunted my dreams. I had been asking Malcolm almost hourly where my pipe was. The first two times he replied, “You’ll see,” and thereafter said nothing.

  I knew there were people out there attached to their cell phones. But had their cell phones ever saved their lives? I know it was weird to hurt for something inanimate, but we had bonded further in a way I couldn’t fully explain. It was as if he had taken part of me away and wouldn’t give it back.

  I started for the back of the plane as we boarded for home. Malcolm gestured to an empty chair beside himself, but I shrugged and kept going. I didn’t mind sitting in the back with the rest of the apprentices. I didn’t have the same hang up the other pipers did, and right now, I had no intention of following their stupid rules. I was going to have a hissy fit if they tried to give me that toilet water again. I also found myself highly relieved that Derick was nowhere in sight and I felt particularly bad for his poor apprentice.

  When the flight attendant came around for our food orders, I ordered five of everything. Let her think what she wanted, I didn’t care. I planned to break their stupid rules, and once more, I was going to rub it in their faces.

  She came back and started setting plates down, having to leave some on a tray on the chair beside me. I smiled and dismissed her before handing the food over to the guys. When they looked questioningly at their Masters to see if they could accept, the other pipers just shrugged. I guess they figured that if I wanted to be nice to the little guys, I could.

  By the time we landed, I had already started planning the tasks ahead. No more running scared from my uncle. I was going home to my brothers and sisters. That decision was final. And soon, I’d start righting the wrongs done to my friend.

  Malcolm followed close behind me as I left the plane, hand resting gently on my back. He seemed to be scanning the area as if an enemy piper could hop out of the trees at any moment. I wasn’t worried though I guessed I should be. I didn’t even have a pipe, thank you very much.

  Waiting near the airstrip was Kelly, leaning again one of Malcolm’s mystery cars looking just as he had when he came to pick me up from school. I smiled and broke out my hey I’m a rockin’ Master Piper now walk, but couldn’t help myself and soon raced over to him.

  He took me into a bear hug so tight, I was sure I could feel my ribs cracking, “So Malcolm called and said you did good. That you showed everyone what our piper family can do,” Kelly said when he finally released me.

  I had to wait a few moments to catch my breath so I could respond. “Yes, which means I could maybe apprentice one of the kids. Maybe one of you,” I said shyly as I stood back.

  “We’ll talk about that later. Brought you a present” he said as he opened the car door. I squealed with glee, all attempts to look regal gone, as I ran up to Ben and wrapped my arms around him.

  “I missed you,” he said into my hair.

  “I missed you, too,” I whispered as I leaned back so I could look up into his amber eyes.

  He leaned down and I paused, glancing over at Kelly. He rolled his eyes and turned to speak to Malcolm. Ben laughed and whispered, “I got permission, just this once.”

  I leaned in the rest of the way and smiled as our lips touched.

  There was an awkward moment as I had to tilt my head further to one side so our noses weren’t pressed into each other. He wrapped his hands around my waist and held me so tight my feet barely touched the ground. Power zinged between us, flowing along the connections I had already forged when I remade Ben so long ago.

  Kelly started loudly clearing his throat, breaking into our moment.

  Malcolm started to chuckle.

  I slowly stepped back but didn’t let go of Ben’s hand. “Best present ever,” I said to Kelly as I winked at Ben. Kelly rolled his eyes and started the car.

  Malcolm shook his head in amusement, but said nothing.

  We drove in silence for a while, and I found it nice to be near my family and my boyfriend again. I knew the moment I stepped in the door when I got home, I’d be swamped with questions from the little ones.

  Malcolm waited until we had been driving before he held out the box my pipe had come in. I practically ripped it out of his hands. It surprised both of us a little. I tried to give him an apologetic smile, even as I started opening it.

  My brow wrinkled as I stared down at my pipe. It was mine, but not mine. Set into the very wood I used to rub my fingers along, were the four crown rings. “After the last field, the piper who made the pipe approached me. He recognized it while you were fighting and offered to set the rings. He did an exceptional job,” Malcolm said softly.

  “It’s beautiful. Different, but beautiful,” I said in hushed reverence. The cool silver set the different tones of the wood off. I ran my hand along it and found all the pieces so smoothly put together, I could not find a difference in texture or feel as my finger slid from metal to wood. “I think I could do anything with this. I could make things right,” I whispered and turned forward.

  That was my plan, my first act as a Master Piper. Make them see they could not break the rules any more without consequence. That is the deal I made with myself, and a deal is a deal, no matter the price.

  IN THE FOREST DARK AND DEEP

  Lies a babe still asleep

  When he wakes he cries again

  From above reached gnarled limbs

  And the haunted land did bless

  That all men hear the protest

  Years did pass, the shadows grew

  And to the forest his father flew

  Please, he asked, I fear for him

  Lest he someday kill his kin

  And the haunted land did bless

  A pipe to cur
b his son’s dark gift

  In his rage the son released

  A song that killed his father pleas

  The father’s wish was granted still

  A piper child must never feel

  And the haunted land did bless

  The power’s dark consequence

  Listen now, this tale is true

  From the son the pipers grew

  Play your notes, but play them true

  Less the taint fall on you

  And the haunted land might bless

  That a nightmare escape your lips

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  C.K. JOHNSON GREW up in Okla- homa. She loved the beautiful sunsets and wonderful people. During a summer visit to New Hampshire, she fell in love with the East Coast and the miles of forest straight out of a fairy tale. In college, she had a chance to travel and added Scotland to her list of places she is certain magic exists.

  She loves Star Wars, Dr. Who, and old fairy tales. She also loves chocolate and running (but only so she can enjoy more chocolate). Her passions include reading, writing and listening to an ever-growing list of music.

  She lives in Utah with her yappy little dog, Lorelai, who reminders her of Toto from The Wizard of Oz.