Chapter 8 - Chervil the courageous little gnome...
I am a little nervous to go to the library the next day. What if Miss Sorrel realizes that Abs and I know who she or he is? I don’t want to make things any more complicated that they are. Miss Sorrel might be suspicious that we know who she really is. We have learnt that there is a dark side to Gardinia. And who is Miss Sorrel, is she Uncle Ru, is Miss Sorrel/Uncle Ru the mastermind behind some clever plot. I am not even sure if I understand the extent of the plan to upset the King and Queen of Gardinia. We have got to stop Uncle Ru before he succeeds in bringing Gardinia down and over-throwing King Costus, his brother.
I meet Abs at the library door. We know the drill now. Don’t greet each other, collect our browser sticks and walk swiftly to the Botany section. We double check we have our 3D glasses. I am all ready to sneak past the librarian’s counter when a deep voice calls out, “Hummm, its Sprog. In a bit of a hurry are you boy?” she asks with a sneer on her face.
I freeze on the spot and cannot think of anything to say.
“You know the rules,” says Miss Sorrel. “No running in the library! I will have to demerit your read-athon points.”
Then she adds something ridiculous that sounds like a throaty rumble. I realize she is laughing as she points out that I am still on Zero!
I am furious but have to control my temper. I just slip away while she is still chuckling to herself.
I promise myself there and then that I will have the last laugh.
Thank goodness I find Abs around the next corner. She looks nervous and excited at the same time. I signal her to put on her 3D glasses and hold her hand and together we make our way back into Gardinia to visit the gnomes in Gazania’s herb garden.
We greet Lupa as we arrive. “Hi Lupa,” I say, “today we need to visit the gnomes. Abs and I think that one of the gnomes may know something and be too scared to share.” Lupa nods his head and heads off towards along the path to the garden.
Going into the herb garden is amazing! Everything smells wonderful and the gnomes keep it so neat and tidy. The smell of fresh herbs is all around us. I feel sure we will find some more clues. This was a special place in Princess Gazania’s life. The herb garden gates swing open and we are surrounded by little people all trying to get into the act of being helpful.
Suddenly Lupa gives out a howl and everyone comes to a halt. “Our friends have come to help us find the Princess and Basil. We need any clues that you may have. It is your duty to step forward and tell us anything that may help.”
There is a bit of low mummbling amongst the gnomes but no one seems eager to step forward and volunteer information. Finally Lupa says, “You won’t get into trouble, we really need your help to find our beautiful Princess. So if you know anything, please I beg of you, please step forward.”
There is a hushed silence and suddenly in one huge movement of gnome figures...all the gnomes step back and one little gnome is left at the front of the crowd standing on his own.
It’s little Chervil, Basil’s assistant. He is trembling from head to toe and looking pale. His little pointed hat is shaking like a leaf and his teeth are chattering.
Lupa looks down at the gnome and says,“So little one, do you know something about the disappearance of these two special people?”
“If you do,” he continues. “You need to come with us and tell us everything you know.”
Chervil obeys Lupa and together we all walk to the greenhouse to hear what Chervil has to say.
I can see he is scared and I want to be sympathetic but if our questioning is to be successful we must help him understand that this is an investigation and every bit of information no matter how small counts.
“So master Chervil, “I begin. “What can you tell us about the night that Princess Gazania and Basil disappeared?” I think that sounds quite official and Abigail has her notebook ready.
Chervil pours out his story as we listen and try to take it all in. “That night,” he says, “the Princess, Basil and himself were close to finishing our tests on the ‘night blindness potion’. The Princess was just holding the bottle up to the light to check on the color and clarity of the medicine when there was a loud sound like thunder and the doors burst open. I had a chance to hide, but the other two were left standing in front of a tall woman in a purple dress. Two grey wolves came with her. The tall lady pulled a small bag out from under her skirt, opened it and blew some black dust over the Princess and Basil. Immediately the two of them fell asleep.”
Chervil was crying, “I watched the tall woman put Gazania and Basil on the wolves backs. Then they disappeared into the dark night.”
“I was so scared,” he said. “I could not move until the next morning. When I did move there was so much going on about the mystery disappearance that I was not able to share what I knew. I am sorry I did not help you sooner.”
Abs and I reassure the little gnome. “It’s okay Chervil, we know how scared you are. Thank you for telling us about the lady in purple, you have been a big help.”
The little gnome bows and runs off as quickly as he can.
It is time for Abs, Lupa and I to discuss this evidence and what we are going to do with the knowledge that Princess Gazania and her scientist gnome Basil have been kidnapped. Lupa tells us that the only person who would be dressed in a purple dress and have the ability to kidnap two people at once would be Bella Donna herself.
This is definitely a big piece of the puzzle. Maybe Lupa can add some interesting information to the story.
“Lupa, why did you look so sad at the mention of the grey wolves?” I asked.
Lupa tells me that once all the wolves were together in the protection of Gardinia. Sadly when Uncle Ru and Bella Donna moved to their own castle they told the grey wolves that they would be better off living in the grey shadows of the dark side and so the grey wolves parted company from the white wolves believing they would be better off on the dark side of Gardinia.
Worry lines creased around Lupa’s eyes. “The wolf pack was very sad to see them go. We feel they may be under some sort of spell that keeps them trapped in the dark shadows with Bella Donna as their mistress.”
We are just about to leave the greenhouse when I notice the unusual plant with the purple flowers has also disappeared. The deadly night shade plant has been stolen and the notes made by the Princess.
Lupa, Abs and I gather outside the Greenhouse and sit quietly thinking about everything.
I announce, “We need a plan of action. I think we all know what the next step will have to be...but it will take a lot of planning and courage from all of us.” We nod silently in agreement and it’s Abs who speaks up.
“Friends,” she says with a very serious voice. “We will have to visit the dark-side of Gazania and try to get into the castle, the home of Uncle Ru and Bella Donna.”
Lupa and I nod our heads. We know this is the solution but how, when and with whom.
Lupa looks very serious.
He tells us that the dark-side of Gardinia has become its own land and getting in there is impossible. The trees and bushes are overgrown and all-round the castle are these tall stinging trees. Lupa thinks they are called Gympie trees. They are not the kind of trees that King Costus and Queen Rosemary would want to grow. They are vicious and their sting is very painful, even deadly. It seems like an impossible situation.
“Let us take our problem to the gnome council,” Lupa says thoughtfully. “They are very wise and have inside knowledge into how to solve problems using our natural resources.”
We all nod in agreement and walk off with determination to meet the gnome council.
The gnome council is made up of the five wisest and oldest gnomes. They all have very long beards and big pointed hats. They sit in a row in front of us. Lupa has already explained our situation. The gnome council stroke their beards and make ‘thinking noises’. They confer with one another and finally the oldest gnome with the longest beard stands up to speak.
We all listen in awe and wait for his pearls of wisdom.
“I would like to thank you all sincerely for your concern for beloved Princess and our very talented gnome Basil. We, the gnome council would like to help in every way that we can to stop the wicked Bella Donna and Rumex and their evil plans. Your plan to go to the castle on the dark-side is very noble. It is dangerous and unfriendly there,” says the senior gnome of the council.
Abs and I look at the council with wide eyes but we want to hear what they have to say.
“We think that you should use our woodland animals to help you as they know the forests and woodland paths. However, as the route to the dark castle is full of dangerous plants we think you should consider flying over the forest and getting to the castle from the top. We would like to suggest that if you are keen we can talk to the Giant Eagle Owl and see if he will fly you over the forest and into the dark-side of Gardina.” The chief gnome looks carefully at us, his eyes stressing how serious the situation was.
Abigail and I nod earnestly. We know the dangers but have committed to helping the people of Gardinia. If this is the way to do it then we are going to try. We agree that the gnomes can arrange the flight and we are about to leave when another gnome speaks up.
And he adds, “We would like to offer a backup plan through our gnome tunnel that goes underground and may be used as an escape for you when you have managed to get into the dark castle.”
This is an amazing offer as the gnomes don’t usually share their tunnel information. They have tunnels that lead to their treasure and are well known for tunneling. A back-up plan will be an amazing reassurance for us.
Abs and I know it is time to leave as we have to get out of the library before it closes. We tell Lupa that we will have to make a plan to get back...but it will have to be in the dark of night. We cannot say when or how we will do this. Lupa assures us that he will have everything on standby and we will just need to be ready for a night flight on a Giant Eagle Owl.
Wow how amazing will that be! Abs and I walk down the path to leave Gardinia. I feel so sad as I look to the left and see the fields of potatoes completely destroyed. The plants have no leaves, just spikes. The caterpillars are gone and it is clear there will be no potato crop this year.
Abs and I leave as we always do and make our way out of the library. As we pass the librarian’s desk we notice that the caterpillar in Mrs Sorrel’s jar has also disappeared. The jar is left with dry leaves and some sand at the bottom. What has happened to the brightly colored caterpillar?
Diary of a 6th Grade Spy - Book 1 - Zero to Hero Page 10