The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars

by Jaclyn Moriarty

  I’m pretty sure she did know how it happened.

  By the bye, it makes you think, doesn’t it, how strange life is? Rather nasty people can sometimes get medals! I suppose Sir B does an excellent job of tricking most adults into thinking he is a lovely man. We just sigh and hope the whole thing doesn’t give us stomach cramps. And are pleased when Mayor Franny ‘accidentally’ clunks his nose with a medal.

  Next, Anita got a medal, for her ‘tireless work at the Hospital, and for her ingenuity in recognising that the flu was Witch-made flu’.

  Anita danced her way back to her seat beside Prince Jakob and the Prince sprang up, took her hand, and twirled her around. They twirled together for a bit then sat back down laughing. The Queen gave them a polite little clap.

  The twins received medals for ‘being jolly helpful in the hospital themselves, and for being part of the team that planned the rescue of the children from the Whispering Kingdom’.

  That led rather smoothly to Finlay, Hamish, Victor, Glim and me all receiving medals for also being on that ‘team’.

  No mention was made of how I had Spellbound ten Whisperers to save the people of Vanquishing Cove, nor of how Finlay had resisted a Whisper—that whole thing is top secret, and only to be discussed with the Chief Spellbinder. (She will be coming along later, Mayor Franny has told us.)

  Lili-Daisy hooted when the orphans received their medals, and Aunt Rebecca put her fingers in her mouth and whistled piercingly when I received mine. It was embarrassing but funny too.

  When Hamish received his medal, the Queen told him what a particular hero he was, for having figured out about the wristbands. It was huge news to the K&E Alliance, she said, and would most likely change the course of the war.

  ‘Oh no, that was the future children,’ Hamish replied. ‘Thanks ever so. But it was Bronte and Alejandro. I just followed their clues! Easy! Or have I got that wrong?’

  ‘Future children?’ said the Queen, puzzled. ‘Who are these future children, please?’

  ‘Oh, we’ve never seen them since we got back from the Whispering Kingdom,’ Hamish replied. ‘They’ve shot off back to the future, I think.’

  Here, the Queen looked thoroughly bewildered. Finlay piped up. ‘It’s a long story,’ he said. ‘We’ll tell you later.’

  He was anxious not to waste time explaining, I think, as he wanted to get on to afternoon tea.

  There are only two more things to tell.

  The first is this.

  When Glim accepted her medal, the Queen made a fuss about how brave Glim had been, befriending wild dragons. (I saw Victor scowling at this. He’s awfully jealous, and it did make him look a right fool, didn’t it?) Glim smiled shyly without speaking. ‘But Glim, you must tell us how you got through the Witch-made Mist Shroud at the Whispering Kingdom!’ the Queen continued. ‘You must!’

  There was a long pause.

  Mayor Franny leaned forward eagerly. Everyone did. So far, Glim had not explained.

  Glim was silent. She took a deep breath, as if to speak, and then went quiet again. Her hands, I could see, were trembling.

  ‘Go on, child!’ the Queen urged. ‘Speak up!’

  Glim seemed to sink into herself. Finlay hopped up now. ‘She can’t say!’ he called. ‘She—’

  But Glim’s whole body shook, she breathed in deeply, and she spoke.

  ‘Your Majesty,’ she said, her voice loud and clear. ‘I am very sorry but I cannot tell you the secret. I promised the person who told me it that I never would. But I do have something to say to you. In fact, I have a … demand.’

  The Queen blinked.

  Sir Brathelthwaite spluttered. ‘Lili-Daisy!’ he said.

  ‘Discipline that child! She cannot speak to royalty that way!’

  But Lili-Daisy ignored him, and the Queen was busy staring at Glim.

  ‘Let the people out of the fairground enclosure!’ Glim said boldly. ‘The local Shadow Mages and the Whisperers! They are good people. They are loyal residents of Spindrift. They have nothing to do with the war, and they deserve to be in their own homes.’

  Now Sir Brathelthwaite clapped his hand over his mouth. ‘The insolence! Those are dangerous people in there! For the security of our town, we need—’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re making such a fuss about,’ Glim said, swinging around to scowl. ‘I saw you in the fairground talking to Witches!’

  But nobody noticed this, because Mayor Franny was up and babbling to the Queen. ‘Our locals are good people!’ she said fervently. ‘I know I’ve said this repeatedly but I’ll say it again, Your Majesty. Your security advisers were wrong.’

  The Queen admired the ceiling for some time. At least that’s how it seemed. There are fine chandeliers on this ceiling and it really appeared as if they fascinated her, and that perhaps she was wondering about getting some for her palace.

  ‘You may be right,’ she said at last. ‘I have been receiving constant petitions from people of Spindrift about this issue. Also, a Sterling Silver Fox named Motoko—a chocolatier, I gather—has been sending persuasive letters from the fairground. I believe she’s taken on a sort of leadership role there. Could somebody please fetch her here at once, so we can discuss the issue?’

  An official nodded and stepped out of the room.

  ‘Well, what an intriguing awards ceremony this has been!’ the Queen said now. ‘Give yourselves a round of applause and let’s have our afternoon tea!’

  We obeyed her, clapping very heartily for ourselves, and Glim sank onto her seat appearing both proud and rather shocked that she had spoken up in this way. Finlay shook her hand.

  Victor, meanwhile, sprang to the sideboard and began pouring tea! He placed the cups on a tray and moved about the room, chattering away about which of us wanted milk, sugar, honey, who preferred hot chocolate, and so on.

  Good gracious, I thought, as he offered me the tray. Victor has changed! He has become kind and thoughtful! He has realised that—

  ‘Honey Bee!’ said Victor. ‘Did you just take that cup?’

  I looked down at the cup in my hand. I took a sip. ‘Which cup?’

  ‘The one in your hand.’

  ‘I did,’ I agreed. ‘I did take this cup in my hand.’

  Behind me, Eli muttered furiously to himself at this obviousness.

  ‘I specifically said that the cup with the orange-gold rim was for His Highness, Prince Jakob! It’s the second-best cup we have! The best is for Her Majesty, the Queen, of course.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, mortified. ‘I am sorry. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. Shall I put it back?’

  ‘Too late! You’ve just sipped from it! We all saw you! Well, you must focus, Honey Bee! You will bring shame on our school!’

  What was I just thinking about Victor again?

  Ha! Of course, he was only helping to show off to the Queen about what a polite young man he was.

  Anyway, everybody was staring from me to Victor and back, and I felt my cheeks burning.

  ‘It is a pretty cup,’ the Queen said from across the room. ‘That orange-gold rim reminds me of a Kingdom I visited on a tour I once took. This was many years ago, of course.’

  Everybody turned to her politely. Oh, I thought, she is saving me from embarrassment. That is sweet.

  ‘Go along then,’ Lili-Daisy said, getting comfortable in her chair with her tea and cake. ‘Tell us the story. Which Kingdom was this then?’

  It was the rain outside, I think, and the soft light inside. We were all getting so cosy and relaxed, we forgot to be respectful to the Queen.

  ‘Oh, I can’t remember the name of the Kingdom,’ the Queen replied. ‘It was one of the little ones. Anyway, they had a parade for me, and a concert band played—all the usual—and a little girl presented me with a huge bunch of blue elouisas. Very pretty scent they have, blue elouisa flowers, but after holding them for five minutes, my fingernails turned an alarming orange-gold colour!’

  ‘The blue elouisas were o
range-gold?’ Mayor Franny enquired.

  ‘No! They were blue elouisas. Therefore, they were blue.’

  Eli sighed.

  ‘That’s what was so amusing,’ the Queen continued, nibbling on a piece of cream-cheese-frosted banana cake. ‘The fact that blue flowers caused my fingernails to turn such a vibrant shade of orange-gold! Took weeks for them to return to their regular colour! For the rest of my tour, the press kept reporting about my curious choice of nail varnish! It even became a bit of a trend!’

  Everybody laughed, but there was a clatter, and we turned to see that Taya had spilled her cake plate to the floor. She was standing, her eyes wide. Her brother, Eli, frowned at her, and then his own eyes widened, and he spilled his own plate.

  ‘My, my,’ said Sir Brathelthwaite.

  Eli faced the Queen. ‘These blue elouisas?’ he said. ‘They turned your nails orangey-gold?’

  The Queen nodded. ‘That was rather the point of the story,’ she said. ‘Aren’t you the boy who dislikes the obvious?’

  ‘They turned your nails goldy-orange?’ Taya demanded.

  ‘Orangey-gold, goldy-orange, however you like to put it. Wish I could remember the name of that Kingdom. I believe it might be the only kingdom where blue elouisas grow, but—’

  ‘It is,’ Eli said.

  He looked at his sister.

  His sister looked back.

  They blinked furiously at each other and then abruptly, they both burst into laughter.

  ‘Rather a slow reaction to my story,’ sniffed the Queen, reaching for her cake fork again. ‘But there we have it.’

  ‘Not laughing at your story,’ Eli told her. ‘It’s just, we’ve realised where we come from. Haven’t we, Taya?’

  Taya snorted, and the twins erupted into laughter once more. They slapped their thighs and hiccoughed.

  ‘Do tell,’ the Queen commanded. ‘What’s so funny?’

  But they didn’t tell because then the second thing happened.

  The door flew open, the Queen’s guards standing aside, and a large woman burst into the room. How familiar she was! But she was carrying a boy in her arms, and do you know who this boy was?

  I am going to need a new chapter.

  Honey Bee

  The boy was my friend Carlos.

  His eyes were closed. He was thin as thread. His face was grey as chimney smoke.

  He was dead.

  That’s what I thought anyway.

  ‘Carlos!’ I half-screamed.

  But Anita leapt forward even faster, crying out: ‘Put him down! Put him down!’

  The woman laid my friend on the sofa, and Anita knelt by his side, a palm on his forehead, her ear to his chest, fingers to his pulse. He was breathing—I could hear it now—but the sound was like a rake being drawn through leaves.

  ‘Such a faint pulse,’ Anita whispered. She snapped her fingers. ‘My medical kit! At once!’

  Eli grabbed the kit, Taya opened it, Eli pulled out a glass flask, Taya clicked open the lid, and Anita tipped drops into the corner of Carlos’s mouth.

  What a team they were! All of that happened like the slide of a wave onto the shore.

  ‘Come on,’ Anita murmured. ‘Come on, Carlos.’

  More drops were spilled into his mouth.

  ‘Should we take him to the Hospital?’ the Queen enquired. ‘Sir Brathelthwaite! Have a carriage brought around!’

  Anita shook her head. ‘He has the Witch-made flu. I see all the signs here. Faery potion is all that will help now. But he is so thin! He must have had this flu for some time!’

  ‘Months,’ I told her. ‘He got sick before we went to the Whispering Kingdom.’

  ‘Months!’ Half the room exploded with the word.

  ‘Sir Brathelthwaite!’ the Queen cried. ‘This is a student at your school? Why was he not in the Hospital?’

  ‘He has been in the infirmary,’ Sir Brathelthwaite replied, positioning his medal delicately over the centre of his tie. ‘Perfectly suitable. This boy was abandoned here as a baby. He is a prince of the Kingdom of Joya Amarillo, where the royal family has been overthrown by rebels. Quite frankly, I do not believe that family will ever win their throne back.’

  Mayor Franny flinched.

  ‘What has that got to do with anything?’ she demanded. ‘Why is this boy not in hospital?’

  ‘I believe he means that the boy does not pay fees,’ the Queen said, looking coldly at Sir Brathelthwaite, ‘and that the boy is unlikely to take the throne one day and reward Sir Brathelthwaite. Therefore, apparently, the boy is better off dead. This Kingdom of Joya Amarillo—I do not know it. Where is it?’

  ‘It’s in the northern climes, Your Majesty.’ Sir Brathelthwaite clutched his medal protectively. ‘And Your Majesty, you misunderstand! I certainly did not—’

  ‘Whereabouts in the northern climes?’ the Prince asked. ‘I know that area well, but I can’t recall a Joya Amarillo—’

  ‘That’s because there’s no such place,’ Anita murmured. She hovered over Carlos, stroking his forehead, then glanced around at everybody. ‘I made it up,’ she said. ‘Joya Amarillo means Yellow Jewel. That was the name of my family’s farmhouse. When it burned down and my parents died, I carried my little brother into Spindrift. He was ill—he had a very weak chest and I knew he would need the best medical attention growing up. I thought he’d get that here, at the finest boarding school in the Kingdom, so I left a note, pretending he was royalty—and then I walked myself to the Orphanage.’

  Prince Jakob placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Oh Anita,’ he said. ‘This is your baby brother?’

  ‘Carlos,’ Anita whispered. ‘What did I do to you?’

  Honey Bee

  ‘Carlos will recover,’ the Queen announced, as if making a royal proclamation. It was very calming. Everyone breathed out. ‘We shall continue having our afternoon tea while we watch over him and wait for the Faery potion to take effect. We’ll discuss other issues later.’ She kept her eyes forward, but Sir Brathelthwaite grimaced. ‘Carabella! Thank you for bringing the boy to us,’ the Queen continued, addressing the large woman who had carried Carlos into the room. ‘It is splendid to see you back in town. Would you like to join us or do you need to return to work?’ Carabella?

  Of course! That’s why I recognised her! She was the Spellbinder who had helped take Rosalind into the infirmary, the one who had told me to check my toenails!

  ‘I’ve only just arrived back in town,’ Carabella said, ‘and I went into the infirmary to check on a young girl. Weeks ago, Honey Bee and I took her in there, didn’t we, Honey Bee?’ (She smiled at me directly, so she remembered me!) ‘But I wanted to be sure she was well. Anybody know?’

  ‘Good afternoon, Carabella!’ Sir Brathelthwaite beamed. ‘Always marvellous to see you!’ His flappy sleeves flew about. He patted his bald head. He has a mole a bit like a sultana sitting on his head, and he just missed it with the patting. ‘Now, I believe you mean Rosalind? She is quite well! Perfectly recovered! Gone off to stay with her aunt for a bit!’

  He was booming now to show everyone that some children did get better under his care. Nobody was impressed. I myself had completely forgotten about Rosalind. Sorry, Rosalind.

  Carabella nodded at him. ‘Good to know. Anyhow, I tweaked open a curtain, thinking that she might be there, and I found this boy. I brought him straight up here, as I’d already been told that Anita, the student doctor, was here for the awards ceremony. I will stay for a cup of tea. I want to have a word with Honey Bee, and Finlay if he’s here too? And of course, to catch up with my sister, Franny there!’

  ‘Good to see you, Carrie,’ Mayor Franny nodded.

  Mayor Franny and Carabella were sisters!

  ‘I asked Carrie to come to Spindrift,’ Franny explained. ‘To train up our Spellbinders. She’s the Director of Spellbinders. Trouble is, all the Kingdoms and Empires need her, so she’s worn a bit thin and couldn’t stay long.’

  Carabella did seem very young to
be the Director of Spellbinders! She must be a most powerful Spellbinder! Anyhow, next Carabella took Finlay and me to the far corner of the room, along with a large plate of cakes, and asked us to tell her what had happened with the Vanquishing Covers. ‘Keep your voices low,’ she added. ‘This must remain secret.’ She glanced across to the others. The room is spacious enough that they could not hear us and anyway they seemed quite distracted. They were pretending to have polite chats but they kept casting worried glances towards Anita and Carlos, and poisonous looks at Sir Brathelthwaite.

  Sir Brathelthwaite happened to be sitting on the very couch where I had been seated the night my toenails turned blue. Hamish was alongside him, hiding behind his blond hair. On Sir B’s other side was Victor.

  Suddenly I remembered how Hamish had thrown a cushion across my feet that night, right before Victor turned around. The memory gave me a curious feeling, a bit like dizziness.

  And right then, as I looked in their direction, Victor was staring at me ferociously! As if he was a guard dog and I was a robber rattling his household gate! What had I done to Victor now?

  But Carabella was waiting.

  We told her our story about the people of Vanquishing Cove and the Whisperers. I said about the string bag net and how making that had somehow allowed me to see the Shadow Magic of the Whispers at last. Finlay explained how he had ducked and weaved around the Whisper that had tried to stop him cutting off the wristbands; it was not one of the ten invading Whisperers, he said. It was somebody else.

  ‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘I could feel it at the edges of the Whispers I had bound, but I couldn’t reach for it without dropping those ten.’

  Carabella frowned. She took a great gulp of her tea, and set it back down.

  ‘You are both remarkable,’ she said, her voice quiet and matter-of-fact. ‘Honey Bee, you are the strongest young Spellbinder I have ever met. To Spellbind, without training, at your age? Astonishing! But to Spellbind ten Whisperers at once! Well!’