Rocking Horse War

by Lari Don

  She grinned. The hunter had found her quarry. Two horses, and two boys.

  The chestnut stallion stood proudly over Jasper, horsehair tail swishing behind his glossy wooden rump.

  The palomino mare stood beside the boy from the gateway, her ripped bridle draped round her drooping head and twitching ears.

  The tall boy was resting on a large rock, with his legs stretched out. His gun and stick lay by his right hand and he was twisting the golden bridle ring in his left hand while he talked to Jasper, who was sitting by the older boy’s feet, gazing up at him.

  Jasper’s big green eyes were fixed on the tall boy’s face, and his mouth was partly open, his lips stained purple with blaeberry juice. At every dramatic pause in the story, Jasper nodded, giggled or asked an encouraging question.

  Pearl wasn’t near enough to hear the boys’ words. This gully twisted and turned as the water found the best way down from the mountain. If she crept round a bend she might get nearer to the boys without being noticed, then she could hear what was going on.

  Pearl retreated past the rocks, moved up the edge of the gully just out of sight of the boys and horses, and approached them again from behind. Now she couldn’t see them, but she could hear better.

  “So, if you bring me your sisters, I will bring you your destiny.”

  Pearl recognised the tall boy’s voice, though now it sounded inspiring rather than mocking.

  “Why do you need them?” asked Jasper. “You have me. They’re just girls. Ruby cries and Emmie asks awkward questions.”

  “We need them because the three of you are the jewels which will crown my grandfather Lord of the Mountains.”

  “Once we find the girls, once we’ve crowned your grandfather, what happens then?”

  Pearl nodded. Jasper had asked the question she would have asked.

  “Then you’ll have the honour of helping our family hold the power of the mountains as well as the moors.”

  “Why do you need us for that? Can’t you just buy the mountains?”

  “It’s not about money and legal papers, Jasper. It’s about taking responsibility for the land, listening to its music, using the lore to store and share its power.”

  Pearl was as close as she could get, so she heard the tall boy’s unlikely words perfectly.

  “No one has sung with the mountains since the Grey Men died, so they’re suffering from neglect. But we can’t sing with them until the war ends.”

  “The war?” Jasper sounded shocked. “But the war ended in 1918!”

  “Not the Great War, Jasper. We don’t need a peace treaty to end this war; we just need to crown my grandfather. So let’s go and search for your sisters.”

  Pearl, lying as still and low as a stone in the heather, frowned. If the boys left the gully on horseback, how could she keep up with them?

  “But where will we find them?” Jasper objected. “I haven’t seen the girls since my stallion brought me here. Ruby’s mare must have followed us, but I don’t know where Ruby is. I was going to look for her after I’d had a snack, honestly I was. But then you appeared. How did you find me?”

  “I knew your stallion had galloped onto the moor, but I didn’t know where you were hiding. Then I heard the mare’s hooves and saw her leap down here. She’s found her brother, now we have to find your sisters.”

  “But how?”

  “Well, we know someone separated Ruby from her horse …”

  Pearl held her breath guiltily for a moment. But the boy couldn’t know she had tricked the horse, nor that she was just above him.

  He kept talking, “… and the tracks of Emerald’s horse led round the mountains towards the Laird of Swanhaugh’s lands. It’s the Laird who’s fighting us for the right to the mountains, so he might have forced the horses to split up, like he sometimes forces the land to do his will. He might even have captured your sisters. He’s a vicious man, but he probably won’t hurt them while there’s a chance he can use them to crown himself.”

  Pearl frowned. Perhaps she was going to meet all her strange neighbours today. The Laird of Swanhaugh was an eccentric who never ventured out of his parklands to local events. Her mother didn’t disapprove of him, but the local gossips did.

  Jasper was still asking questions. “How will you make him give Emmie and Ruby back? Can he do magic like you?”

  The tall boy laughed. “I don’t do magic, Jasper, I just hear the music of the land. But the Laird is also skilled in landlore, and he won’t give up the girls easily. However, we have a few advantages. He’s ready to defend himself against my grandfather, but he’s never duelled with me. He’s tired of the long war, but I’m fresh.”

  Pearl considered what she was hearing. Were there any useful facts in the boy’s wild fairy tale? He was involved in a disagreement over land, and thought the triplets could help him, when really he’d be better off with a decent lawyer. He was trying to persuade Jasper to join him with dangerous words like “destiny”. But he’d lost the girls, and thought they were both with the Laird. Pearl knew Ruby was safe in the keepers’ shed, but what if Emmie was with the boy’s enemy?

  Pearl had discovered Ruby guarded by a violent horse and Jasper being entranced by a dangerous boy. She wondered who she’d have to defeat to free Emmie.

  She shook her head. She couldn’t get distracted by unanswerable questions or vague fears; she had to concentrate on saving her family one by one.

  There was no point in grabbing Jasper and trying to run home. Even on the bumpy moorland, the horses would overtake them. She would have to distract the boy, sneak Jasper away and hide him until it was safe to go home.

  The boy was still talking, his voice warm and persuasive.

  “Your names are part of your destiny. Jasper, Emerald and Ruby, three precious gems.”

  Where could she hide Jasper? After a searching look round the deer forest, she stared at the Twa Corbies. Which symbol had her brother drawn beside them on his maps? She hoped she remembered correctly.

  Her fingers poked around under the heather until she found a couple of pebbles. The boy’s voice rolled round the gully as she weighed them in her hand.

  “The horses were a gift from us, to protect you until you were old enough for the crowning ceremony. They did their job today, getting you away from the Laird’s ambush. I just wish they hadn’t split up! If they’d stayed together I would have all three of you already.”

  Pearl lifted her arm and flung one stone as hard as she could over the top of the gully to the other side.

  It landed silently in the heather. She sighed.

  She lifted her arm again and flung the other stone. It clattered on a rock.

  The boy below stopped talking. Pearl held her breath until she saw him clambering up the other side of the gully, towards the noise.

  Pearl slid her head and shoulders over the edge. “Oi!” she whispered to Jasper. “Come up here now!”

  Jasper looked at her and frowned. She mouthed, “NOW!” and reached her arm down to him.

  He shrugged and climbed towards her.

  She grabbed him, almost lifting him off his feet, though he was nearly as tall as her, then she ran with him towards the rocks.

  Behind them, the horses neighed in alarm. But however swift rocking horses were on the flat, they wouldn’t be very fast scrambling up the gully’s steep sides.

  Pearl and Jasper sprinted to the Twa Corbies, where she shoved her brother through a tiny gap she’d guessed was hidden between the two grey rocks, into the cramped cave which Peter had marked on his maps.

  As she got used to the dim light, she noticed words scratched into the rock at the narrow entrance. Peter Chayne, August 1915. Her big brother had been here exactly twelve years ago. She ran her fingers over the grooves forming his name.

  Jasper wriggled beside her, jabbing his elbow into her leg.

  “Be quiet, and they might not find us,” she whispered.

  “What are you doing, dragging me in here?” he whispere
d back.

  “Saving you from that boy and his horrid horses.”

  “That boy is my friend and my stallion is fantastic. I don’t want saved!” Jasper’s voice was rising.

  “Shhhh!” Pearl slapped her hand over his mouth.

  He squirmed.

  “Shh shh shh, Jasper,” she murmured, like he was a wee boy again. “Shhhh.”

  He bit her fingers and shoved her off.

  Then he screamed, “I’m here! I’m here!” His voice rattled round the tiny space.

  “You little … toad!” spat Pearl. “I don’t know why I bother …”

  “Come out, dearest Jasper.” The tall boy’s voice moved nearer as he spoke. “Come on out.”

  Jasper pushed past Pearl and slid out.

  She crouched on the cold ground. Would her brother betray her, or would he leave her, hidden and safe?

  She didn’t really have to wonder.

  “I didn’t run off, really I didn’t. She grabbed me. I bit her, though, and that’s when I shouted. She’s still in there. “

  “What a hero you are, Jasper. Shall we ask her to come out too?”

  Pearl pressed herself to the back of the stone space.

  A voice whispered just outside, “Will you come out? Or shall I come in and get you?”

  Pearl shivered, and looked at the narrow entrance. She remembered the boy as tall but slim, and he could probably fit through. She would rather meet him again, if she had to, in a larger space than this.

  “I’m coming out.”

  She squeezed out awkwardly, to the cool smile of the tall boy and the sideways smirk of her revolting little brother.

  “A brave rescue attempt,” sneered the boy. “It might even have succeeded, except Jasper didn’t want to be rescued. Just a slight flaw in your plan.”

  Pearl glared at Jasper as she stood up. He retreated, muttering, “This is my big sister.”

  “We’ve met,” said the boy, towering over both of them. “I thought I’d left you safely at home. You must be brighter than you look.” He glanced in amusement at her muddy clothes.

  Then he looked behind him very briefly, perhaps checking the horses were out of sight. He began to twirl his stick.

  “Your brother and I were just exploring the deer forest. I’ll look after him, so you can go home now, you don’t need to worry.”

  “Of course I need to worry. You’re filling his head with nonsense about wars and destiny. We’ve had enough of that in our family. It’s not Jasper’s destiny to fight anyone else’s war. There’s no such thing as destiny. He can make his own decisions.”

  The tall boy was now staring at Pearl. Not at her dirty hands, or lumpy pinafore, but at her eyes. His stick swung faster.

  “What did you hear me say?” he asked sharply. “Before you tried to run off with Jasper, what did you hear?”

  Pearl shrugged. “I hardly heard anything. I couldn’t get much closer than this.”

  “But you heard us talk about the war and Jasper’s destiny. What else did you hear?”

  Though she hadn’t understood or believed most of what he’d said in the gully, it didn’t seem sensible to admit she’d heard his silly secrets. So instead she turned to Jasper.

  “Come on, let’s leave this boy and his daft wargames. Mother’s probably got elevenses ready now, so come home, and we’ll find Emmie and Ruby later.”

  Jasper glanced at the tall boy, who smiled. “So, Jasper, do you want to go home with your big sister for tea and toast, or do you want to come with me and fulfil your destiny?”

  Pearl’s brother hesitated, then took a deliberate step towards the tall boy, who immediately slowed the moving stick so it didn’t hit Jasper.

  The moment the stick stopped creating its pattern, Pearl heard the crashing and scrambling of hooves. The palomino leapt over the edge of the gully and galloped straight at her, with teeth bared, ears flat back and white-rimmed eyes looking for revenge.

  Chapter 7

  The huge rocking horse hurtled towards Pearl, heavy wooden hooves hammering on the ground.

  Pearl forced herself to stand still. There was no point in running away. She waited until the horse was nearly on top of her, then flung herself to the right, as the massive hooves rushed past her.

  She jumped up as the mare skidded to a halt on the heather and swerved back round.

  Pearl was trembling. Would the horse charge again? Could she clamber up the Twa Corbies before the horse reached her?

  Suddenly the tall boy stepped forward. He stood between Pearl and the horse, his back to Pearl, his left hand out towards the mare. “Whoa, girl. Calm down, calm down. Leave her alone. I’ll deal with her. Whoa, my beauty, whoa.”

  The mare obeyed. Her hooves didn’t move, but she was still breathing hard, her wooden ribcage creaking. The boy kept speaking soothingly until her eyes lost their white rims, until her ears moved forward again.

  Pearl had time to slow her own breathing before he turned back to her. “My horse doesn’t like you. I wonder why?”

  “I’ve no idea,” lied Pearl, ignoring the tattered bridle on the horse’s neck.

  “So you’ve not seen this horse before?”

  It was tempting to say, “Of course, lots of times, in the schoolroom.” But she didn’t want this boy to realise how much she suspected, so Pearl simply said, “No.”

  “And you don’t know where either of your sisters are?”

  “No.”

  “We need to talk. Jasper, lead your sister down to your blaeberries and your stallion, while I coax the mare back down.”

  Jasper slithered down the gully to the stones by the burn. Pearl zigzagged after him.

  When they reached the bottom, Jasper asked angrily, “Why are you interfering? I’m having an adventure all of my own and I don’t need you.”

  “I don’t think you’re safe with that boy. I don’t like these impossible horses and I don’t trust his talk about destiny. People told our big brother it was his destiny to defend his country, and look what happened to him.”

  “That won’t happen to me.” Jasper jumped onto a rock. “I’m special. He says so. I will be very important and very powerful. That is my destiny.”

  “Jasper, you fool, there’s no such thing as destiny. He’s just trying to persuade you to do something you’d refuse to do if it wasn’t dressed up in fancy words. We have to get you out of here. Do exactly as I say, and we’ll be home soon.”

  Pearl looked at the birch trees growing by the water. They were short but sturdy. She tugged at a thin white branch, trying to think of a plan to defeat two wooden horses, an older boy and a petulant little brother.

  Jasper stamped his foot. “I’m not going to do what you say!” His purple-stained mouth opened wide as he shrieked louder. “I’m going to be a power in the land, and you won’t get to boss me around any more!”

  The tall boy and the mare appeared at the top of the gully. The boy strode down the slope towards Pearl, speaking right over the top of Jasper. His voice wasn’t inspiring, or sneering, or amused. It was angry and hard. “I found the flattened heather where you lay, like a sneak, eavesdropping. From there I could hear every word you were saying down here, even before your delightful little brother started having a tantrum.

  “You heard everything I said, didn’t you?”

  He stopped very close to Pearl, the two horses either side of him. She could smell the walnut oil from their shiny flanks.

  Pearl didn’t like lying on principle, and she wasn’t very good at it anyway. So she shrugged. “I did hear some of what you said. But I didn’t understand it.”

  “You heard about the mountains? The jewels? The landlore?”

  She nodded. “You may have convinced Jasper with your fairy tales, but you didn’t convince me.”

  “I didn’t convince you?” He scowled. “But you still heard me!

  “Guard her,” he ordered the horses, then stomped away and kicked out viciously at a stone. It splashed into the burn, get
ting his perfect boots wet. The drops glistened for a moment on the leather, then slid off.

  Pearl, trying to ignore the two horses staring at her, heard him mutter, “Damn! I’m making a complete mess of this war already. I’ve lost two triplets and I’ve told our secrets to a girl who can’t even hear the land! Damn, damn, damn!”

  He kicked another stone, took a deep breath, then turned back to Pearl and Jasper. He spoke slowly and deliberately. “Alright. This is what we’ll do. Jasper, the horses will take you to my grandfather’s house, and your big sister will come with me to find the girls.”

  He waved the horses away from Pearl and smiled charmingly at her. “We’ll work better as a team, don’t you think?”

  Pearl wasn’t any more impressed by his charm than she had been by his sneers or his threats.

  “No. Jasper will stay with me, and you can take your nasty horses home to Grandpa. I’ll find my sisters myself. I can deal with the Laird.”

  The boy’s smile dropped off his face. “You may not be convinced by me, but if you challenged the Laird he would convince you, just before he crushed you. If you want your sisters, work with me or go straight home.”

  He twisted his fingers swiftly, and the two rocking horses crowded even closer to Pearl. The sun was shining behind the mare and the stallion, casting stark shadows and harsh lines on their carved skulls. The exaggerated sweep of their eyebrows hid their eyes. Their wooden ears pointed straight at Pearl, as sharp as arrowheads.

  “I’m not scared of them, I’m not scared of the Laird, and I’m not scared of you.” She clenched her fists, so her fingers wouldn’t tremble as the cold golden mare came nearer.

  The boy laughed. “You aren’t scared? Really?”

  He flicked his fingers and the horses moved back again. Pearl’s hands uncurled a little.

  “Sit down.” He waved grandly at the chair-sized rocks. “Sit down. I think we need each other. We shouldn’t fight.”

  Pearl remained standing. “Why do we need each other?”

  “I know how to defeat the Laird, and you know where … you know the girls. They trust you. As you’ve just discovered, it’s hard to rescue someone who doesn’t want to be rescued.” He glanced over at Jasper, sitting on a rock, gobbling blaeberries again. “Perhaps you should have hit him on the head before you hid him?”