by Ektaa Bali
The dense trees did not let them see too far ahead, so it was a rather big shock when they saw bright light streaming through the trees in the distance. When they reached the beams of light, they found the forest encircled by an enormous clearing with bright green short grass that spread out for acres.
Crouched behind a few bushes bordering the clearing, the Fae children and Pancake gasped.
In the centre of the clearing, on a small hill in front of them, stood the largest tree Vidya had ever seen. Whatever she had pictured a million-year-old tree to look like, it was not this. Its trunk plunged into the blue sky, so tall that she was sure it was at least three times as tall as any tree she’d seen before. There were many branches extending from the central trunk, but each branch did not split into more branches. He reminded Vidya of a fern, with many long, slender, green leaves extending from each branch. He looked lush and healthy, and regal, just as a King should, Vidya decided.
But between them and the King of Trees sat an impressive group of ten to twenty large cassowaries, lounging like giant grey rocks on the grass. They were emu shaped birds, good sized, long, feathered bodies, brilliant blue necks, with a small head crowned with their famous bony crest. Long legs ended in huge, powerful feet that were known to be able to kill a grown man with a single kick.
“These are northern cassowaries,” whispered Lotus, peering at them. “And female. They’re bigger than the males. Look at that one,” he said, pointing at the largest. “That lady must be two meters tall, even taller than your father, Vidya.”
Vidya cleared her throat. “Well, we’d better go and have a chat with them.”
“What do you mean have a chat?” Willow hissed, affronted. But there was no point, Vidya had already stood up and was now striding toward the group of cassowaries. The other kids hastily followed her, exclaiming at her boldness. Pancake grumbled in her pocket but did not comment, clutching tightly onto the fabric.
The cassowaries did not seem surprised to see them. They lounged in their spots as Vidya approached, watching her every move with beady black eyes. The largest of them stood and casually strolled over the grass to meet her at the edge of the group.
“Hello,” said Vidya a little breathlessly. Now that she was here, she didn’t quite know what to say. “I… er… seek an audience with the King of Trees.”
“The Wollemi Pine King!” corrected the cassowary, in a surprisingly deep voice, looking down her beak at her. “The Greatest and Oldest! King of all that grows under the sun!”
“Well, yes,” said Vidya awkwardly, feeling the others gather behind her. “He has information that I desperately need.”
“So!” the cassowary said loudly. “I am Akurra, leader of the cassowaries who guard the Wollemi Pine King. Glory be upon him. I will decide whether or not you get to see him!”
“But he’s just there,” Lotus pointed to the enormous tree towering above them all just ten meters away.
Akurra ignored him. “So, what do you have?” she asked. “What have you brought us?”
Vidya paused in confusion. “Er… nothing?”
“Then!” Akurra announced. “You are not permitted entry,” she fluffed her feathers arrogantly. “Leave, or suffer the consequences. My girls are quite hungry and like the taste of Fae children.”
Lotus gaped at her.
“You are speaking to the Queen of the Eastern Bushland Fae!” he said. “And the Queen’s word is law!”
“That may be,” droned Akurra, unimpressed. “However, you are no longer in what you call the Safe Zone. Here, the King of Trees is ruler. You are not permitted entry until you bring us what we desire.”
“And what would that be?”
“The most valuable thing you have.”
The kids all exchanged incredulous looks.
“Seriously?” scoffed Willow. “What a thing to ask!”
“What about him?” Akurra lowered her neck to peer at Vidya’s tummy. She realised Akurra meant Pancake.
“He’s not for sale!” Vidya retorted, covering Pancake defensively with her hand.
“Well, off you go then,” said Akurra, jerking her head for them to leave. “And don’t return until you have something nice to give me.”
The kids had no choice but to turn around and continue back the way they had come. They flopped down on the grass, groaning about their sore legs and wings. Akurra had gone back to sit in the sun with the rest of the group and didn’t seem to mind the Fae kids sitting at the edge of the clearing.
“What a rude bird,” remarked Lily, pulling her backpack into her lap.
Lotus and Willow pulled out a couple of muffins Daisy and Luna had given them and wolfed them down hungrily.
Vidya was rummaging through her bag for some food for herself when she saw it. The crystal vial of silvery liquid. She remembered who had given it to her.
The most valuable thing you own…
Vidya jumped up and ran back over to the group of Cassowaries, waving the vial in the air.
Akurra stood back up and lumbered over, her eyes narrowed.
“What is that?” she snapped.
“The most valuable thing anyone will ever give you, Akurra,” said Vidya, confidently, showing her the vial. “Unicorn Tears. From the only living unicorn. Princess Sonakshi of the Blue Mountains and Macuata,” said Vidya. “Take a drop and you’ll have the power of a unicorn for a day.”
Akurra’s eyes grew so big Vidya thought they would pop out. She smirked triumphantly. As valuable as the tears were, being a friend to a unicorn meant Vidya could just get more later if she needed. But to anyone else, these tears were priceless.
“That is something,” breathed Akurra. She waved another cassowary over with her wing, and the other bird hurried over, reached down and gently took the vial from her hand with her beak. “Back in my day, many a unicorn walked the land, we’ll be glad to accept this gift.”
Vidya nodded.
“Well then,” said Akurra, regarding Vidya with a new respect. “Come on. The King will be eager to see you.”
Vidya turned and waved for the others who were staring at her, gaping. There would be time to explain later.
They followed Akurra over the grass up to the base of the enormous tree.
“Your Majesty,” bowed Akurra.
Vidya stared up into the branches and gave a slight bow of her head too, urging her pounding heart to slow down. Her mother had always taught her that when speaking to a tree, the most polite thing to do was to keep your eye steady at the topmost part of the trunk you could see below the first branches. Pancake climbed out of Vidya’s pocket and clambered up onto her shoulder, craning his neck to look at the oldest tree any one of them had ever seen.
And then a voice spoke, and none of the children had ever heard a voice so deep and regal as that of the King of Trees.
“Who are you?” They felt the voice rumble in the ground under their feet, and it rose up their legs to vibrate in their chests. But although the voice was heavy with age and wisdom, Vidya felt it was rather soft with kindness too.
Vidya shuddered. “I… I am the Fae queen of the Eastern Bushland, your majesty.”
His great leaves rustled, although there was no wind.
“I was there the day your kind were woken from the earth,” he rumbled gently. “Tell me what it means to be Fae, my Queen, and I will give you the knowledge you desire.”
Vidya frowned and chewed her lip. An image of her Nani came into her mind’s eye. How she fearlessly cared for the Devil’s Fingers when no one else could. She thought of the Flower of Awakening and how the Fae magic looked after the plants.
“The Fae are the guardians of the plants,” said Vidya confidently. “We care for the plants when no one else will.”
The Wollemi Pine King remained still and unmoving. Vidya’s stomach did a little flip. Had she said the wrong thing?
But his voice rumbled through the ground again. “What is your name, Queen of the Fae?”
“
Um… Vidya.”
“Ah! Queen Vidya. Tell me, do you know what your name means?”
Vidya was slightly taken aback, but her mother had, of course, told her what her name meant many times. It had been chosen by her Nani, from her home country, India. “In Hindi, Vidya means knowledge.”
“Not just any knowledge,” rumbled the King. “Knowledge of the highest kind, the truest kind. If this knowledge wore a dress, it would be pure white. Queen Vidya, look inside yourself and tell me what it means to be Fae.”
“To be Fae…” started Vidya. Her mind raced. She knew she was missing something, but what was it?
But it was Willow who finished her sentence. “It means to see all living things as yourself. To be Fae means to see all plants and animals and beings as one.”
“Ahhh,” breathed the King of Trees. “The Fae, are nothing if not loyal to one another. How I have missed the Fae in my little corner of the world. I accept this answer from the boy with hair like twilight.”
Vidya could not help but turn to Willow and smile, he grinned in return.
“What is it you seek?” he rumbled kindly. “Although I believe I think I may know.”
Vidya cleared her throat. “You were there that day the Flower of Awakening woke up the Fae?”
“I was.”
“The Flower of Awakening is drained of her power. I need to know how she woke up last time. What made her awaken the Fae, and how do we restore her power once again?”
The gigantic tree rustled his leaves in memory.
“The Wollemi were there when the Flower of Awakening sung her song for the first time. Except we did not call her that—I knew her by another name at that time. When she awoke, we spoke back to her and told her of the kingdom above the sea. If she is to be restored, she must feel my presence and remember. I will give you a spell thus: Take my wood and give it to your finest Bowyer. They must make a bow and an arrow. With this bow and a single arrow, you must deliver the spark.”
“What do you mean by spark?”
He quivered, “The thing that the plant Kingdom despises the most. Fire.”
“Fire?”
“Earth fire. That day, it flew across the sky.”
“What type of earth fire flies across the sky?” asked Vidya, looking behind her.
“A comet,” said Willow breathlessly, “It had to be. It was a comet that awoke the Flower of Awakening.”
“This is all you will require,” rumbled the Wollemi Pine.
The King of Trees shook himself, and three long lengths of wood tumbled down to the ground. Willow hurriedly scooped them up, holding them against his body reverently.
“Thank you, your Majesty,” bowed Vidya.
“You are most welcome, my Queen,” he replied, rustling his branches. “Please do visit with me again, with your little quokka.”
As they walked back toward her, Akurra watched them with curious eyes.
“We do not often see your kind here,” she drawled, looking at them all one by one.
“No, this is a sort of emergency,” Vidya replied.
“Of what kind?”
“Of the war kind. An army of Bunyips is out to kill us.”
Akurra jerked a little in surprise. “Interesting,” she remarked. “How things can change so quickly.”
“Yes, well, thanks for your help,” Vidya replied, turning away. “We’ll be getting on our way now.”
“A word of advice, Fae Queen,” Akurra said, making Vidya stop in her tracks. “When at war with an unusual enemy, one must think unusually.”
Vidya turned and gave Akurra a curt nod before following the others out of the clearing.
13
Yara-ma-yha-who
Foolish is he who walks into a dragon’s den. Foolish is he who walks into the Fae forest. For with either, none survive without the scars to tell the tale.
—The Book of the Fae, Queen Mab the First, 3333 B.C.
* * *
The team branch-hopped out of the Wollemi King’s territory and back into the darkness of the forest. After the clean open air the and the cassowaries lived in, it was such a shame they would have to retreat back into the uncomfortable, humid darkness again.
Consulting their map, they decided to head back to the palace where it would be safe to talk about their next move. Willow agreed to make the bow and prepare the arrow out of the wood the King had given them. He was the finest whittler of them all, having the sharp eyes for such work. Lily offered to prepare the string for the bow from her guardian plant, the Blackwood tree, which was well suited for bowstrings.
There was still the matter of the ‘earth fire’, the ‘spark’ that the Tree King had spoken of. The bow was meant to deliver that light to the Flower of Awakening to re-charge her power. At the dawn of time, it had been a comet, a ball of earth and fire flying through the sky that had done it. But how were they supposed to get a comet this time?
“Did anyone see that?” Willow whispered suddenly.
Vidya joined Willow on his branch and squinted into the darkness. “No, what was it?”
“You know my vision is good, Vidya, don’t you?” he whispered uncertainly.
“Yes, the best.”
Willow rubbed his eyes and frowned. Shaking his head. “I honestly thought I saw a… koala riding a toad like a horse. He had a saddle and everything.”
Vidya covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “E-excuse me?” she stuttered. Pancake let out a little giggle from his place peeking out of her pocket.
Willow smiled, embarrassed, and shook his head. “Honestly… I really think I did. But they disappeared into the darkness quickly.” He pointed at a spot just ahead.
Vidya squinted into the distance, then cast a glance backward at Lotus and Lily waiting behind them.
Willow cast a glance backward as well. “Don’t tell the others.”
“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say anything at all,” Vidya rubbed her arms, now covered in goosebumps. “Did you see anything?” whispered Vidya at Pancake.
“No koala,” Pancake shook his head. “And Toad is back home.”
Vidya snorted. “Yes, she is. She’ll love this story though.”
“Well, whatever it was, I hope it’s the friendly sort,” muttered Willow.
Vidya pulled at a magenta curl of her own hair. She did not need to say that anything in the darkest part of the forest was not going to be the ‘friendly sort’.
She prodded Willow to keep going. With another squint into the darkness, he shrugged and fluttered to the next branch.
Suddenly, Lotus let out a choked cry, followed by a thump sound. Vidya whirled around to see Lily trying to scramble up the tree she was on, while Lotus was lying on his back on the ground below, a heavy rope around his ankles and four small, red, dwarf sized men surrounding him.
“Yarama!” Lotus cried. “Fly!”
The little red men cackled evilly, ignoring Lotus’ attempts to free himself.
Willow let out a cry that was immediately cut short as Vidya watched a thin black rope with a rock tied on the end of it fly toward him, wrapping itself around his ankles. It was yanked so hard that he was hurled toward the ground. Vidya immediately leapt into the air, trying to get higher up into the trees. But she didn’t get far before she felt a rope snake around her ankles and tighten painfully.
“No!” she gasped, flapping her wings hard, trying to get away by the sheer force of her upward lift. The tug on her ankles was not as strong as her wings pulling her upward. If she could just try harder… suddenly, the force on her ankles increased, and she heard the Yarama chanting beneath her.
“Heave! Heave! Heave!”
When she looked down, no less than four Yarama were pulling on the rope leading to her ankles. And with each heave, she was pulled through the air, down, down, down. Next to her, Lily was being pulled in the same way. Vidya thought quickly, and without warning him, grabbed Pancake from her pocket and threw him up toward the trees. “Run, Pancake!”
she called, hoping she had aimed well.
By the time she felt small hands reaching for her feet, her wings were aching and sore. They drooped, and she was thrown onto solid ground.
She lifted her head. Willow, Lily, and Lotus lay on their backs, protesting loudly next to her, Pancake was nowhere to be seen. Vidya’s heart leapt. He must’ve gotten away! What great luck. Perhaps he could… what? Vidya thought. Go back to the palace and get help? They were too deep in the forest for that. Vidya gazed into the trees above her for any signs of Pancake’s furry round form but was quickly distracted by the Yarama standing over her, jeering.
“Looky here,” jeered one. “We gots Fae childreys!”
Vidya had never seen a Yara-ma-yha-who up close, except in the chalkboard sketches Master Sunny had drawn for them. And she had to admit though, the real-life things were a lot worse to look at it.
They were the size of small children, shorter than Vidya by a full head. Their skin was a rusty red colour, with bald heads, long skinny arms and legs, and true to Master Sunny’s word, on the palm of each hand were tiny, shiny suckers, like the ones an octopus has, only dirty looking. They all wore the same dirty little shorts and smelled like Mahiya’s diaper, but much, much worse. Vidya couldn’t tell which ones were boys and which ones were girls. They all looked exactly the same.
“Let us go!” demanded Lotus angrily, struggling against the five Yarama that were binding him with black ropes.
“Oooh, the Fae childreys are angry,” taunted one Yarama, pulling a rope taut. “Nope, no letting go. We’re off to our chief! He will be so happy.”
They repeated the action with Willow, Lily, and Vidya, who fought and flailed as much as they could, but the little men were far stronger and meaner than they looked. The Yarama hauled them to their feet and pulled them along with the ropes, like puppies on a lead. There were ten Yarama in total, and Vidya had no idea how they were going to get out of this.
They were led through the darkness into another part of the forest where a system of caves was spread out. Yarama were scattered everywhere, and when they saw the Fae children, they jumped up and down, cheered, and waved short spears in the air. They were brought into a dark cave lit with tiny burning flowers in holders along the wall. Toward the back, a slightly larger Yarama sat in a chair made out of dried mud, and it was to him the prisoners were brought. Up close, Vidya could see that he wore a little woven hat with a black feather sticking out of it. Vidya guessed this was the chief of the tribe. Behind her, Vidya heard the whole tribe of Yarama filter in. They chattered excitedly. The Chief stood up.