Martha Bloom and the Glass Compass

by Estelle Grace Tudor

  Martha swallowed and lifted out her compass, thinking only of Bloomsville Village. The arrow whirled around to settle on a point, and Martha gestured in that direction. The queen followed with her staff, and the rainbow arced towards the correct destination.

  “Step on, everyone,” the queen instructed, and the troupe made their way onto the rainbow.

  “After you.” Fenn bowed, and Martha gave him a grin, following her sister and cousins onto the rainbow with their unicorns and the companions. After a long swoop in her stomach and the sound of rushing wind in her ears, she opened her eyes to discover that they had arrived right in the centre of the village square in Bloomsville Village.

  “Nicely done,” Conn said with a wink as he and Lysana stepped off behind her. Martha flushed with pleasure and watched as the villagers moved closer, their mouths dropping open in shock at the sight of so many suddenly appearing. As soon as they saw the king and queen, and Evony and Soren, bows and curtsies followed rapidly.

  Twig and Thicket were being approached hesitantly by a female deer. “How can this be?” she asked, tears thickening her voice.

  As murmurs rumbled through the villagers, the queen raised her staff. Immediately, all chatter stopped. “I am afraid that a travesty has befallen you all. Nesrin once again infected the mind of one of our own and used his fondness for coin to sway him into committing the most heinous of crimes. He told you some of your children had perished, when in fact they were alive and well in the Middling Grounds, having thought that we had abandoned them.”

  “Lies!” someone from the crowd shouted. “We would never abandon them! We thought we were doing the right thing by trusting Runar!”

  Queen Rhosyn nodded at the speaker, a large stag who was now flanking Twig and Thicket along with the female deer. Although his words had been directed at the queen, he was gazing at the two young stags earnestly.

  “You are right,” she told him, “there is nothing I can say or do to make this acceptable. But know this: all your families will be reinstated and given positions amongst society. Lord Runar will pay for any new accommodations or businesses out of his own coin. He will be kept imprisoned at Castle Enfys while we work on his rehabilitation.”

  There were some more murmurs through the crowd, but most seemed happy to accept what the queen proposed. Martha gave a sigh of relief and watched as a young fairy couple approached the king and queen. After a murmured conversation, the queen nodded and called Fenn over. He gave a quick smile to the couple and walked over to Rhosyn’s Woods. Wondering where he was going, Martha didn’t have long to wait; moments later he returned from the trees with his parents and a running Callia, who gave little flying hops every now and then.

  The young couple walked hesitantly over to them, and Martha watched for a moment as Callia was reintroduced to her real parents. Deciding to give them privacy, she headed over to her sister, who was saying a fond goodbye to Caeruleus. Martha patted Linnea on her brightly blooming pink coat and gave her a gentle kiss. Even knowing they could come back, she still felt a tug at her heartstrings whenever they left.

  A hoot from behind made her turn. Barnabus was fluttering around joyfully as the companion class bounded and swooped around him. Happiness swelled in Martha’s chest as she joined the group.

  “Thank you, thank you!” Barnabus hooted over and over to her, his large eyes gleaming with emotion.

  “I can’t wait to see you all next time and find out how you are settling in to your new school,” Martha said affectionately to the little creatures, who stared up at her in awe. Bracken gave a great bound into her arms and snuggled into Martha’s neck.

  “Thank you, Martha,” Bracken said earnestly. “I will miss you.”

  With a sudden thought, Martha reached into her bag and withdrew the sketch. “Here, you keep this for now,” she told the bunny.

  “Time to send you home,” Queen Rhosyn said as she approached Martha with Beatrice and their cousins. She looked at the sketch and gave a smile; she tapped the picture with her staff, and suddenly gleaming colours covered the drawing, making it seem as if the animals were alive. Martha gasped as she saw herself nestled in amongst the companions. Bracken gave a squeak of delight and handed the picture to Barnabus, who fluttered beside her and Martha.

  He hooted and said, “This will be perfect in our classroom.”

  “Perfect,” Queen Rhosyn echoed.

  With one final hug, Martha gently placed Bracken on the ground with the other companions and nodded at Barnabus, who dabbed at his eyes with one feathered wing.

  Evony came over to thank Felicity again, making her blush, and with a smile Martha turned to say goodbye to Fenn, Reed, Twig and Thicket.

  “We owe you a great debt; we cannot thank you enough,” Fenn said seriously.

  “Not at all. It was our pleasure.” Martha nodded humbly and smiled to include the others too. “I hope you all enjoy Bloomsville.”

  “Thank you,” Reed said. “We are looking forward to getting to know everyone.” He paused, looking around with interest at Bloomsville Village. Turning his attention back to the group, he added, “Here, Otto, this is for you.”

  He handed a catapult to Otto, whose eyes grew round. He stuttered out, “Th-thank you, Reed.”

  Martha smiled affectionately at him and saw that the queen was waiting patiently for them, no doubt looking forward to going to bed. It’s certainly been a long night, Martha thought, stifling a yawn.

  “Goodbye for now,” she said, meeting Fenn’s eyes, and with her sister and cousins, she followed the queen up the bridge to the welcome sight of Castle Enfys.

  She gave Fenn a final wave and he shouted, “Nice meeting you, Martha Bloom!”

  Feeling her face flush slightly, she didn’t meet Octavia’s twinkling gaze and turned her thoughts to the happy fact that they had rescued the companions and reinstated the Middling Grounds folk. It had been a successful visit indeed.

  Queen Rhosyn led them through the castle and down into the basement to the portal room. The queen activated the portal, and with a few more hasty goodbyes they stepped into the shimmering void.

  Before Martha knew it, they were standing back in the attic of Castle Bloom with a voice telling them, “You’re late! I thought we agreed three days!”

  As Martha looked at the grinning faces of her mother and father and the rest of her perfectly imperfect family, she knew she would never take them for granted again. The glass compass glinted up at her and she tucked her under her tunic where it nestled against her heart, knowing that it would always guide her to those she loved.

  She linked arms with her sister as they left the attic, the tiny glittering golden fairy door behind them slowly vanishing once more… until the next time.

  A roar of rage echoed around the cavernous room. Sinuous purple smoke unfurled from two large nostrils on a long scaly snout, and the figure beneath it cowered. A raven gave a booming caw and flew up into the rafters as a long tail almost flicked it from the air.

  The figure trembled but stood her ground, silver eyes meeting the lizard-like ones regarding her like a bug it would be only too happy to squash. There was one thing the figure was good at, and that was bargaining and working things to her advantage. And this time, this time she had an offer that her host couldn’t possibly refuse…

  Glossary of Names

  * Martha (Mar-thuh) - Aramaic meaning Lady

  * Beatrice (Bee-ah-triss) - Latin meaning Blessed

  * Octavia (Oc-tay-vee-ah) - Born in October

  * Otto (Ot-toe) - German meaning Prosperity

  * Felicity (Fuh-liss-i-tee) - Latin meaning Happiness

  * Evelyn (Eh-veh-lyn) English meaning Life

  * Clara (Clar-ah) - Latin meaning Bright / Clear

  * Genevieve (Jen-eh-veeve) - French meaning Woman of the Family

  * Anastasia (Ann-ah-stay-zee-ah) - Greek meaning Resurrection

  * Kit (Kit) - Short for Christopher meaning to Bear / Carry

  * Piers (P-ear
s) - Old English meaning Rock

  * Bronwen (Bron-wen) - Welsh meaning White

  * Ferren (Feh-renn) - Derived from Ferrous/Iron Grey

  * Sage (Sayge) - Wise

  * Pan (Pann) - God of flocks

  * Rowan (Roe-wan) - Little Red-haired one

  * Mrs Fawcett (Mrs-Four-set)

  * Rhosyn (Roe-zin) - Little Rose

  * Llyffant (Liff-ant) - Welsh meaning Toad

  * Evony (Ev-uh-nee) - French meaning archer

  * Soren (Soh-ren) - Danish meaning Stern

  * Eira (Ay-ruh) - Welsh meaning Snow

  * Enfys (En-vis) - Welsh meaning Rainbow

  * Nesrin (Nez-rin) - Wild Rose

  * Taran (Tah-ran) - Welsh meaning Thunder

  * Astra (As-trah) - Latin for Star

  * Feargal (Fee-ar-gal) - Irish meaning Brave

  * Briar (Bry-ah) - Prickly shrub

  * Sorrel (Soh-rrel) - Plant with arrow-shaped leaves

  * Caeruleus (kiy-ru-lee-us) - Latin meaning Dark Blue

  * Linnea (Lin-ee-uh) - Small Pink Flower

  * Xanthe (Zan-thee) - Greek for Golden/Yellow

  * Emeraude (Em-er-owed) - French meaning Emerald

  * Ember (Em-burr) - Smouldering pieces

  * Riad (Ree-add) - Derived from Ruad, meaning Red

  * Blaze (B-laise) - English meaning Flames

  * Doran (Door-ann) - Diminutive of Deoradh meaning Stranger, Exile

  * Cegin (Keh-gin) - Welsh meaning Kitchen

  * Castor (Cass-tor) - Greek origin meaning Beaver

  * Inlustris (In-lus-triss) - Latin meaning Starlight

  * Polaris (Poh-la-riss) - Latin meaning Pole Star

  * Talon (Tah-lon) - Bird's claw

  * Wattle (What-ull) - Australian Acacia plant

  * Gwenyn (Gwen-in) - Welsh meaning Bee

  * Donal (Doh-nal) - Scottish meaning World Leader

  * Draig (Dry-gg) - Welsh meaning Dragon

  * Wyvern (Why-vern) - 2-legged dragon

  * Pegasus (Peh-guh-sis) - Winged unicorns native to Fairy Land

  * Sylvaine (Sil-Vayn) - From the French 'Silvain' meaning Of the Forest

  * Barnabus (Barr-nuh-bus) - Meaning Son of Consolation

  * Bracken (Brah-ken) - A Tall Fern with Course Fronds

  * Conn (Coh-n) - Irish meaning Head/Chief

  * Lysana (Lie-sah-nah) - Origin Unknown, perhaps a diminutive of Lisanna meaning Holy/Sacred

  * Arianwen (Ah-ree-ah-when) - Welsh meaning Silver

  * Fenn (Feh-n) - Middle English meaning Marsh/Bog

  * Reed (Ree-d) - Tall, Slender-leaved Plant Grows in Marshy Ground

  * Twig (T-wig) - Slender, Woody Shoot Growing from a Branch

  * Thicket (Thi-ck-it) - Dense Group of Bushes or Trees

  * Callia (Kah-lee-ah) - Greek Origin meaning Beautiful

  * Ivy (I-vee) - Woody Evergreen Climbing Plant

  * Grover (Grow-ver) - Someone Who Lived Near a Grove

  * Grub (Gruh-b) - Larva of a Beetle

  * Brogan (Broh-gann) - Irish/Gaelic Origin meaning Sturdy Shoe

  * Runar (Rue-narr) - Scandinavian meaning The Warrior Attacks on the Sly

  * Floriana (Floh-ree-ah-nah) - Latin meaning Flourishing/Prosperous

  * Birch (Burr-ch) - Slender, Hardy Tree

  * Celyn (Keh-linn) - Welsh meaning Holly

  * Aranea (Ah-ran-ya) - Latin meaning Spider

  * Tyllian (Tih-lee-uh) - Derived from the Welsh Tylluan meaning Owl

  * Crystallum (Kriss-tal-um) - Latin meaning Crystal

  * Arianthe (Ah-ree-ann-thee) - Purple Flower

  Acknowledgements

  This book was a journey not only for Martha, but for me too. It has come a long way since its original conception, and I like to think I have too. In my quest to get things ‘perfect’ I took a long and winding path to get it to where it is today, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Once again, I had a great team by my side on this adventure. Deepest thanks to…

  My editor extraordinaire, Emma, who offered insightful and clever feedback and suggestions to turn this tale into what it always should have been.

  The talented Julia, who again created something magical inside the pages of this book, and to Lina, who perfectly envisioned the chapter header I wanted, it’s perfect! To A.E Charters, master mapmaker, for bringing my world to life.

  The writing community on Instagram and Twitter, who are amazingly supportive and inspire me every day – thank you!

  My family – my sisters, Melanie, and Carolyn, who eagerly await the next instalment with my nieces, Shannon, Lia and Evie, and my wonderful mother, Heather, whose encouragement, and support means the world. (Hope you like the owl character!)

  My super-duper-whopper-trooper children: Adam; thank you for humouring me in my never-ending request for your art skills; you capture my characters perfectly! Chloe, I would be lost without your amazing skill at plot-hole discovering, I love our developmental edit chats and yes, I included a spider just for you. Here’s to facing my fears! Nathan, I am so proud of you and your encouragement helps me keep going. Jake: my little one, my funny character and comic relief – thank you for being you.

  And my magnificent husband Dean; home is wherever you are, no compass needed.

  …And lastly, to you, my magical readers who took a chance on an unknown indie author and opened a book, a book that led you to an attic, through a tiny fairy door and into Fairy Land and beyond. Thank you for joining me on this epic quest!

  Coming April 2021...

  Felicity Bloom has always felt responsible for her younger sister so when an offer of even greater responsibility comes from Fairy Land she doesn’t hesitate.

  Celebrations at Castle Enfys abruptly turn to terror when an old adversary threatens the realm once again.

  Can Felicity embark on the Blooms’ most dangerous quest yet to find a golden arrow? And will she have the courage to face her past and put right the future?

  Felicity will need the help of old friends and new to complete this quest and get her family safely back home ‘Through the Fairy Door’…

  Valour, Forgiveness and Intrigue unite in this enthralling adventure.

  About the Author

  When not searching the backs of wardrobes for Narnia or exploring yet another Castle, Estelle can be found with her nose in a book or a pen in her hand.

  Having previously worked at Cardiff Castle, she now writes full time while looking after her four children.

  She lives on the beautiful South Wales coast with her husband, children and crazy dog.

  This is the third book of five in her 'Through the Fairy Door' series. She loves to connect with her readers and can be contacted on estellegracetudor.com or via her Instagram page @through_the_fairy_door_books

  Other Books in this series:

  Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key

  Beatrice Bloom and the Star Crystal

  If you loved this book please leave a review,

  thank you!