Unlikely Allies

by Davina Jolley

  Violette swept her hand between her face and the mirror, her appearance changed instantly - immaculate Violette was back again.

  Elina’s scarf stopped tingling and she saw Violette take a deep breath. Whatever danger the scarf had sensed had disappeared. It also proved to Elina that she had made the right decision to leave that night.

  ‘I wanted to say that the cake was delicious, the best I’ve ever tasted, thank you,’ Elina lied. It was then she noticed a fine tissue covered bundle next to one of Violette’s hands.

  Violette also noticed Elina glance at the package and gingerly moved it away with one finger. It was as though she did not want to touch it.

  As it moved Elina also saw a silver bracelet, similar to the one Luna had found near her mother’s coffin.

  ‘I’m glad you enjoyed the cake, Elina,’ Violette said, staring intently at Elina, ‘Once again I would like to say how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter now, I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,’ Elina said softly. As she turned to leave, she needed to ask her aunt one final question, she was curious to know why Violette did not wear the gift that her mother had made her. She knew it was hidden inside the tissue’s folds, ‘Why don’t you wear the scarf?’

  A sudden flicker of intense emotion crossed Violette’s face as she fought some kind of inner battle and struggled to maintain an element of calmness.

  ‘It’s too fine, Elina. I don’t want to damage it.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘I said it is too fine,’ Violette almost snapped, ‘Go, Elina,’ Violette smiled slightly and her tone softened, ‘leave…!’

  Elina felt that Violette had also added something under her breath, which she could not quite hear, but it heightened her sense of unease.

  ‘You’re right, Violette, I do feel as though I could sleep now. For some unknown reason I feel very tired,’ Elina lied again and turned slowly to leave the room, but not before she had seen an enigmatic smile tug at her aunt’s lips. Violette was definitely acting strangely tonight.

  Violette took a deep breath, she knew Elina had not eaten the cake and she hoped that she was also smart enough to have taken the hint to leave, not just her room, but the city! Elina’s presence at her apartment and her identity was under suspicion and her sudden entrance into Violette’s room had caused an unwelcome visitor to teleport quickly away.

  As promised, Shadow and Elina left the apartment building in the dead of night and kept to the shadows as much as possible; two furtive, silent figures making their way back to the people and the place they loved. Neither one had any regrets at leaving Violette or her world behind them. As they made progress and neared the forest, their worries and anxieties lessened, their moods improved and their steps became lighter.

  So far, during their escape, they had only been spotted by one animal. Many had been seen, but Elina and Shadow had tried to remain hidden and unnoticed as much as possible.

  That one animal had nearly been their undoing. Shadow, on exiting the apartment building nearly placed one of his front paws on a brown rat with black, beady eyes. The surprise for both the wolf and the brown rat would have been hilarious to watch, if speed and silence had not been so pressing.

  Both animals had jumped back. Shadow’s first instinct had been to chase it. The rat remained motionless and stared at the pair of them, without a concern in the world. Elina placed a gentle hand on Shadow’s neck and steered him away from the rat and walked on. However, she could not help but glance back and felt mystified upon seeing that the rat was standing still and watching her.

  The rat seemed to smile and the scarf around Elina’s neck seemed to hug her warmly. Shadow nuzzled her leg; it was time to move on and the moment passed.

  With only a few hours of darkness left, Elina and Shadow arrived at the outskirts of the Ancient Forest. Passing a litter bin, Elina pulled from her pocket a food bag containing the uneaten cake and dropped the blackened, rotting, gooey mess into it. Elina realised sadly her suspicions had been correct - Violette had tried to poison her.

  Still wishing to put as much distance as possible between them and Violette, they hurried on. They kept to the thickest parts of the forests. As Elina walked, she felt another package knock against her legs and wondered what it was that Primrose had felt so important to hide from her mother - she would find out later.

  A fox slunk out of the shadows, as soon as Elina and Shadow entered the forest. Softly, it jumped onto the rubbish bin, sniffed inside and grabbed the discarded food bag that had just been dumped. Holding the bag securely between its teeth, it silently disappeared back into the bushes.

  11. Dawn learns how to trust

  As light started to filter across the horizon, Elina rested for a while. She had never walked so far or for so long or in such darkness. Shadow had been her eyes and ears. With no moonlight to guide them Elina would have been lost within a few minutes of entering the forest. Her friend had not grumbled once as she had held onto the scruff of his neck and stumbled many times.

  Now, as she trailed her aching, tired feet in the cold waters of the Forest Lake and watched the dawn gradually lighten the sky, Shadow lay at her feet. His flanks rose rhythmically as he slept peacefully and emitted the occasional, soft snore. Elina would sleep later. At the moment, she wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of the wakening forest, especially welcome after her stay in the city.

  Elina spotted an owl gliding silently along the lake’s shore. She assumed it was hunting. She was taken by surprise when the owl hovered above her and circled a few times. It seemed to be watching her intently. Suddenly, it swooped down, folded its wings back and landed on a rock next to her without making a sound.

  ‘Hello, Elina,’ Dawn hooted.

  Elina jumped slightly, Shadow opened an eye, but was soothed back to sleep by a slow and gentle stroke.

  ‘Do I know you?’ Elina asked quietly, not wishing to disturb Shadow again.

  ‘Noooo…’ Dawn laughed with a hoot, ‘I’m Velvet’s personal flying machine and I rescued Victor from falling into the river. They are my friends.’ Dawn strutted and puffed out her chest, ‘I’m a messenger,’ she added proudly, ‘I deliver messages.’ Dawn’s dark eyes studied Elina seriously.

  Elina leaned back and smiled, she remembered when Velvet had told her he had flown to her mother’s funeral and she had not believed him. The thought saddened her. She watched Dawn fluff out her soft feathers; the bird was incredibly beautiful. The mixture of reds, oranges, browns and creams blended with flecks of black made this owl a truly remarkable bird. Elina recognised it as a tawny owl.

  ‘And what messages do you carry and for whom?’ she asked. Despite Dawn’s claim of knowing her two friends, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Too much had been happening to her lately, and although her scarf had given her no warning, she knew she had to be careful of who to trust.

  ‘I carry messages between the committee members of the Fallen Oak,’ Dawn said with pride and flair.

  ‘And have you got a name? An important messenger must have a name.’

  ‘My name is Dawn, that’s the time when I took Velvet for his first flight. Velvet named me - I’m his friend. I’m looking for Jack. Have you seen him?’

  Elina was startled once more. Dawn was looking for her father; that meant he must be close by.

  ‘My father doesn’t usually come this far upstream. What message do you have for him? You do know he is my father, don’t you?’

  ‘Oh yes, yes,’ Dawn hooted, ‘Victor wants me to tell him that they found where Primrose rested and that she’s alive. Did you know he has lost Primrose’s scarf? That was one booooutiful scarf,’ Dawn informed her.

  Elina thought her father must be devastated at the loss of Primrose’s scarf. She knew how important it was for him to complete the tasks on her mother’s list, believing it could bring her mot
her back to him, but Elina was not sure if that was possible. Although she hoped that it was; she also thought that even magic must have its limits, and surely it could only do so much.

  ‘Well, you must tell my father I will keep my eyes open for it, and so will Shadow, my tired, young wolf.’ Elina nodded towards him and stroked him fondly once more.

  ‘Dawn?’ Elina asked softly, ‘Do you think you could give my father another message for me? The trouble is, the message is very, very secret and I don’t want anyone else to hear it. Can you come closer so I can whisper it to you?’

  Elina held out her hand and waited patiently to see if Dawn would fly to her. Dawn’s body language altered dramatically, she began to fidget, her eyes darted nervously about her, searching for an escape route; she was ready to fly off.

  ‘I promise not to hurt you,’ Elina said as gently as possible.

  ‘That’s what the Summoner said!’ Dawn blurted out quickly and angrily. As she mentioned the Summoner’s name, Dawn started to shake uncontrollably. Her past was supposed to be her secret and hers alone, not something to be shared. She did not want her new friends to hate her like her previous captor had.

  ‘Who hurt you, Dawn?’ Elina asked tenderly, instantly feeling concerned for her.

  ‘Dooo… doesn’t matter,’ Dawn stuttered.

  ‘But my message is important, Dawn. My father really needs to hear it.’

  Elina kept quiet, allowing Dawn time to calm down.

  ‘Can I trust you, really trust you?’ Dawn asked, hoping desperately for another friend.

  ‘You can really, really trust me. See how peacefully Shadow sleeps at my feet. Would he be that relaxed if I was nasty to him? And look, he has no leash or collar, he can go whenever he wishes.’

  Dawn stared intently at Shadow, Elina was right; Shadow had no silver chain, no silver clasp, rope or harness. She thought Shadow was an extremely, lucky wolf.

  Shadow suddenly whimpered in his sleep and Elina gently stroked him again; Shadow settled calmly once more.

  ‘Promise?’ Dawn asked.

  ‘Promise,’ Elina replied honestly.

  Dawn quietly and effortlessly landed on Elina’s outstretched hand. Elina felt the poor bird shake nervously.

  ‘You are so light and beautiful, whoever hurt you must have been crazy. Was it Primrose?’

  ‘Noooo,’ Dawn shuddered uncontrollably.

  ‘May I stroke you? It might help calm you too, like Shadow.’

  Dawn did not know what to do, she froze, but as she watched Shadow sleeping so calmly, she wished that she could have some of that peace too. With some misgivings, she slowly nodded her head.

  Slowly, gently and very, very tenderly Elina brought Dawn closer to her, making no sudden movements. She showed Dawn just one finger and with the gentlest of touches, she placed it on her head and delicately stroked Dawn from her head to her tail. Elina could not believe how soft and fragile the bird felt to her touch. She felt Dawn relax and continued to stroke her ever so gently. How could anyone hurt something so beautiful, she thought?

  Dawn could not believe how wonderful and magical that touch felt and began to relax properly for the first time in years.

  While Dawn relaxed, Elina was having trouble maintaining her calm. Vivid images of despair, cruelty and violence flooded her mind. Images detailing what Dawn had endured, suffered and seen. Elina removed her finger from Dawn’s head and was surprised to see she was sleeping peacefully on her hand.

  To make herself more comfortable, Elina placed Dawn on her lap and wrapped her gently but loosely in the scarf her mother had lovingly made her. She hoped its magical properties would soothe Dawn further. It was important to Elina that Dawn trusted her when she woke: she did not want her to feel the least bit threatened.

  As both animals slept, Elina pulled the package from her coat pocket that Primrose had hidden under the computer desk. Making sure she did not disturb either Dawn or Shadow, she carefully pulled the item from the plastic bag that protected it.

  In her hands, Elina held a book. Its cover was decorated in many coloured and pressed primroses, which had then been tacky-backed carefully to the cover. Elina flicked through the pages to reveal a diary. Primrose’s secrets, Primrose’s deepest feelings, wishes, desires and life laid bare.

  Elina felt to read it would be an invasion of privacy, but they needed to know if Primrose was a threat and a danger to them. If this was true, could it reveal why Primrose had behaved so badly or where she might now be hiding? Elina was unsure whether to read it or not.

  As it was, the decision was taken out of her hands, Shadow stretched lazily and began to wake up. Once more the diary was returned to the safety of her pocket.

  Shadow slowly stretched his head, moved his head closer to Elina’s lap and sniffed tenderly at Dawn. He raised one eye quizzically towards her; Elina shrugged:

  ‘I seem to have a strange way of making animals sleep peacefully,’ she said, grinning at Shadow and poking him gently with the tip of one chilly foot. She had not dared to move in case she woke Dawn, and her feet had grown quite cold.

  Shadow stretched and then once more settled at Elina’s feet, she used his warmth to take the chill from her feet.

  ‘What’s up with it? Is it ill? Owls are usually very shy and solitary birds,’ Shadow remarked.

  ‘This one is special, she knows our friends. Her name is Dawn and when she wakes she may have some news for us.’

  Once Dawn woke and found herself wrapped in one of Briony’s special scarves, she could not get over her excitement.

  Dawn, with Elina’s permission, placed the scarf around her, one way and then another as though she was on a cat-walk in a fashion parade. She then flew with the scarf dangling from her feet; it glimmered as it caught the rays of the rising sun. Elina had not noticed until that moment that miniscule pieces of silver had been laced into her precious gift.

  Dawn had never been so happy and carefree. She felt as though a world of troubles and darkness had been lifted from her shoulders, and that her sleep would never be broken by nightmares ever again. But best of all, Elina had trusted her to fly with that special scarf, a true sign of friendship and trust. She knew she had made another truly, remarkable friend.

  It was not long before Elina and Shadow were up to date with the tasks assigned to each of their friends, the details of the legends, the news that Orion’s parents were alive and that they might be quite close to where they now rested. But the first thing Dawn spoke of was the beautiful scarves that Jack had shown them that night and fervently hoped he had not lost both of them.

  As Dawn prepared to leave Elina and Shadow, she turned and suddenly asked, ‘When I see you next, can I fly with the scarf again and have another massage?’

  ‘I promise,’ Elina said tenderly, ‘but you must promise to give my father that message.’

  ‘I will, for you, anything,’ Dawn called out as she soared effortlessly and gracefully into the air to start her search for Jack.

  ‘What message was that?’ Shadow asked, slightly miffed at their earlier whisperings.

  Elina understood his curiosity and had been aware that he was unaccustomed to being left out of her thoughts.

  ‘Sometimes, Shadow, I may need to keep things from you, but this time I will tell you…’ Elina bent down and whispered softly into his ear, ‘…I told her to tell my father not to trust Violette one iota and to let him know we are safe and on our way home.’

  Shadow no longer felt a little bit jealous of Dawn and together they left the Forest Lake and followed the river, which would eventually take them past the Ancient Tree and back home to the cottage.

  12. Briony’s bracelet

  Jack rested; he had made good progress, despite his throbbing leg. He reckoned he was more than half way to the gorge Orion had asked him to go to. He probably had around three more hours of wal
king to do. Feeling peckish, Jack thought it was time for a rest and a bite to eat. He had found a secluded clearing next to the river. At this point it flowed gently into deep pools before continuing its journey downstream.

  Jack rested on an old stump, slipped his rucksack from his shoulders, stretched his muscles and sat down. As he ate his sandwich, he noticed small ripples glistening on the smooth surface of the river, as fish fed and swam lazily in the deep, dark pools.

  Jack breathed in deeply, enjoying the peace and quiet. He watched the clouds move slowly across the night’s sky and heard the haunting hoot of an owl. He used to love sitting by the river with Briony, watching the moon or the sun rise or fall and listening to the sounds of the forest.

  ‘That’s it, my love, keep thinking of all the positive memories,’ his wife’s voice floated comfortingly on the wind.

  As he brushed away a tear, he spotted a brown rat with black, beady eyes looking at him inquisitively. Its nose was twitching eagerly as it smelt the meat inside Jack’s sandwich.

  ‘Want some?’ Jack asked and threw it a bit of sausage. The rat ate hungrily.

  Laughing, Jack went to throw a second piece towards the rat but accidently dropped it on his leg. The rat jumped and promptly landed on his knee. She ate quickly; then sat patiently, expecting more.

  ‘Well bless me, if you aren’t a bold one!’ Jack laughed again, but continued to share his food. It was strange, but his aching leg felt better, the warmth from the rat eased it slightly.

  The rat scrambled up onto Jack’s shoulder and looked around intently from her new vantage spot, she seemed to be looking for something. Jack offered the rat another piece of his sausage. The rat leaned eagerly towards it and fell - straight into Jack’s shirt pocket.

  Jack felt the rat panic, turn and twist quickly, as it tried to find a way out. Finally, he felt the rat’s sharp claws find a foothold in his shirt. It poked its head out of the pocket, paused for a moment and then leapt and toppled comically into the long grass before disappearing into a hole. Something glinted brightly as the rat fell, Briony’s bracelet had got caught up in the rat’s legs.