Finding Monsters

by Liss Thomas

  “Where is she?” I cry without preamble. “Where is she?”

  Mother comes to me and tries to calm my fears. “She left this morning before dawn. She has started her quest.”

  “I don’t understand. What quest? Why didn’t she tell me? Who is protecting her?” I look in turn to each as I question them. I can’t think straight. The hurt inside is growing, increasing with my panic.

  “Charlie, Missy has gone on a quest to become a monster. I explained to her what happened to you when you touched her. She wants you to be as you were. As she completes the tasks of her quest, she will gain traits of a monster, strengths and abilities you probably take for granted. She will grow stronger, and so will you.”

  I am reeling from the news. Did I want her to become a monster like me? Somehow, I always envisioned myself as a human for her. Staggering toward the window, I look out into the distance. I scan the horizon for any sign of her. She’s gone. My human is gone. “Who’s protecting her?” I ask not looking at them.

  “This is a quest she must complete on her own, Charlie,” Mother says.

  I whirl in a rage. “You sent her into our world alone?” I let out a stream of curses as the hurt inside turns to nausea. I run from the room before either can stop me. I run through the halls, knocking over a servant before I reach the outer doors. I wrench them open and scream her name. Other bulls stop to stare at me as I continue yelling for my human to return to me. Father appears behind me.

  “Enough, Charlie!” Father jerks me back inside and I slump to the polished stone floor in silence.

  Mother approaches me and kneels, her long cream dress bunching around her. “She left you a note.” She puts the letter in my hand and leaves with Father. I stare at the folded parchment, a tremor runs through me. I rise and storm to my room, slamming the door. I sit on my bed, unfold the letter, and begin to read:

  “My dearest Charlie, please forgive me for leaving you like this, but I fear it’s the only way we will truly be together and happy. I don’t want you crippled by my presence and that is what has happened. It’s almost as though we’ve traded places; you are sickly now and I am well. Only this time, I have the power to make you whole again. I have received my first task in a series of three that will transform me into a monster. Your mother assures me that I will be able to change back to my normal appearance at will so I am not really changing that much at all, right? Don’t fear for me, my love, your mother has told me all I need to know about your world. I am currently on my way to challenge ‘The Devil’. It sounds worse than it is. I should return to you in three days. I wish you could be with me. Even a tiny bit of you to comfort me. The hurt I feel inside is worse than the pain I felt as a human. I know you are feeling it too. Dawn will be here soon, and I must leave before then. I love you with all my heart.

  Missy.

  I read the note again and again. I won’t let her be alone. Moving toward the corner, I view my reflection in the full-length mirror. I grip the sides and stare for a moment before I speak.

  “Reflection! Come forth.” I stand back and watch as my reflection in the mirror steps though the pane in front of me. “I need you to find our human and stay with her. I only have the strength to transform you into a butterfly but she will know who we are in that form.” I pull up the shimmering blue light and transform my reflection into the swallowtail butterfly. I feel the drain on my strength but don’t care. I open the window and my reflection flies away in search of our human. I check my mirror and I can see all that it sees. Satisfied that we will be together soon, I turn the mirror so I can see it from the bed and lie down to conserve my strength.

  “I’m coming, Missy … I’m coming.”

  PART THREE

  THE QUESTS

  Chapter 7

  The swallowtail butterfly hurried on the wind toward a group of trees in the distance. He beat his wings with a fury born of desperation. Flying high, he landed on one of the top most branches and surveyed the lands below; his antennae perked, catching any sound within distance. A small laughing bark floated on the winds from the north, the sound of hyenas on the trail of prey. The butterfly bolted from the branch and flew toward the sound. A breeze lent assistance as he spread his wings wide and let the current carry him. A sharp scream came next, and the butterfly flapped his wings to increase his speed. He saw the next grouping of trees not far ahead. As he came closer, a single hyena advanced on a large evergreen. He gazed up and focused on the branches, spotting a young girl climbing up and away from the stalker below. Her feverish climbing signaled she was the prey of the circling animal below.

  “Not good,” thought the butterfly as he charged toward them.

  Missy scowled at the hyena as it circled the tree she’d managed to climb. She pulled herself higher as the animal below leapt and snapped its jaws inches from her ankle. He landed and barked an annoying laugh of pleasure. She reached her hand into a hollow of the tree and hurled a handful of acorns in his direction. An indignant cry rang from the hole as a squirrel bounded out in a rage.

  “Those nuts are mine! What are you doing in my tree? Get out! Off with you!” He punctuated the last word with a nip at her hand.

  Although she’d been in the monster realm for a week, she still couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping when animals spoke. The squirrel marched up and down the limb of the tree, flailing his arms as he reminded her whose tree she was in. He stared at her now, nose twitching, his large eyes scowling. Missy suppressed the urge to giggle and mention how cute he was in his little leggings and tunic. Instead, she smiled, trying to win him over.

  “I’m terribly sorry but I’m trying to get away from that hyena.” She pointed down at the animal circling below. The squirrel scurried around the tree for a better look, then came back and sat on a branch near her head.

  “Sorry to burst your bubble, but it seems that there are now, in fact, three hyenas below.”

  Missy looked down again. Nausea swept through her as she watched two more animals join the first.

  “Throwing my nuts won’t help you none, girl. You need to fight them off. Use your staff.”

  Missy fingered the staff she had attached over her back and sighed. “I don’t really know how to use it yet; this is my first quest.” She felt stupid coming out here alone in a foreign world without having any skills at all. “I don’t know what to do. Perhaps you will let me stay here until they go away?” she asked the squirrel. He twitched his nose at her and tsked.

  “I don’t think they will go away any time soon. Besides, you’re not that safe up here.”

  “What do you mean?” Missy said with an uncharacteristic stutter. The squirrel pointed again at the circling animals below. Missy leaned down to look at the lead hyena. He gave her a toothy smile then another bark of laughter as he shook out what looked like bat wings from his spine. He flapped the dew-wet wings and dispensed as much water as possible. Then he spread them wide in the sun to dry. The others followed their leader in preparations to fly. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Missy said though clinched teeth. She pulled her knees to her chest and clung to them, unable to think of a way out of this. The squirrel sighed and jumped down to face her.

  “My name’s Sir Alastaire Henry, and you are?”

  “Missy.”

  “Well, Missy, it seems like you need a little assistance getting out of this mess. I will help you on one condition.”

  “Name it!” Missy said.

  “You help me and the lovely Mrs. Henry relocate our nuts to another tree.”

  “Absolutely!” Missy said, but added, “but I don’t want you to get hurt on account of me. There are three flying hyenas down there and well … ”

  Sir Alastaire laughed at the near dismissal of his abilities. “Hand me your staff, girl. I eat hyenas for breakfast! Ginger! Get out here,” Sir Alastaire called toward the hollow of acorns. Soon, Ginger appeared at the entrance wiping her hands on her apron.

  “What’s all the racket, Alastaire? Can’t I
have a bit of a rest? I’ve been packing acorns all morning!”

  “Ginger, my dear, I need to ward off a few beasties below, and I want you to look after the girl while I’m working.”

  Ginger followed her husband’s pointing paw to Missy. She scurried over and sniffed at the girl. “What sort of girl are you?” Ginger asked.

  “I’m a human girl, Ma’am,” Missy replied.

  “Don’t worry, child, Alastaire will take care of those hyenas for you.” She turned to her husband. “Don’t get fancy! Just take care of them and come back straight away. We’ve got work to do, you know?”

  Sir Alastaire grunted a muffled, “Yes, dear” before climbing out onto a long branch, gripping Missy’s staff. He hurled a final warning at the three hyenas for good measure. “All right you laughing cowards, be gone with you, or I’ll have to pop you right good!”

  The hyenas laughed of course, which to Missy seemed like all they could muster. Sir Alastaire leapt from the branch. He stretched his arms wide and unfolded the flaps tucked away. Missy watched in amazement as the small flying squirrel grew larger as he made his way toward the ground. When he landed, he matched the size of his three foes. The hyenas tucked their wings back in as they prepared for the fight. They circled the squirrel and attacked. Sir Alastaire struck each one in turn with the staff squarely on the tops of their heads before he moved toward the smallest of the three. He jumped into the air and landed behind the beast before it had a chance to turn. Sir Alastaire gripped the staff tightly as he swatted the animal’s backside, then smacked hard on its hind legs. The animal yelped and went down. Sir Alastaire moved on to the next smaller hyena and assaulted him as well. With the two smaller ones down and licking their wounds, Sir Alastaire moved toward the leader of the pack. The lead hyena lunged for the squirrel that was making a mockery of his pack. He bared his teeth and went for the legs of Sir Alastaire.

  “Please!” the squirrel said in disgust before he side stepped the clumsy move and smacked the hyena’s hindquarters on the way by.

  Ginger gave a running commentary on Sir Alastaire’s techniques. “He wounded the other two first see, and then went after the big one last. If he can get the leader to turn tail and run, the others will follow. Hyenas are powerful but not too bright, my dear. By the way, what brings you out here all alone?”

  “I’m on a quest to become a monster,” Missy said. “I’m bound to my monster, Charlie, but because I am only a human, he is weak. If I become a monster, he will be strong again.”

  Ginger patted Missy’s arm. “Sounds like you really fancy this monster of yours to go on such a dangerous quest.”

  “I do,” Missy said, unable to hide a smile and the flush of her cheeks.

  “And does this monster of yours return your affection?” Ginger asked.

  “He does,” came a voice from the branches above them. Missy looked up to see a large swallowtail butterfly just out of reach.

  “Charlie!” Missy beamed. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? I thought you were too weak to transform?”

  The butterfly fluttered down and came to rest on her knee. “It’s complicated. I’m not really here. I sent my reflection to watch over you. I can see whatever it sees in this form, and right now, I see the squirrel has got the hyenas on the run.”

  They all looked down to see Sir Alastaire giving chase to the three hyenas as they ran away, limping and whimpering. After a few minutes, Sir Alastaire returned to the tree with a smug look on his face.

  “That was fantastic. Thank you,” Missy said.

  “Remember your promise, girl,” Sir Alastaire said.

  “Yes, of course!” Missy said. She pulled a fur skin pouch from around her waist and looked into the hollow from which Sir Alastaire first appeared. She scooped up the nuts in large handfuls and deposited them into her pouch. It barely shut around the load. She started her descent from the tree as the squirrels gathered their other belongings. Trying not to look down, Missy swung limb to limb, taking care to watch her footing, but her hands lost their grip. She tumbled down the last few feet and landed with a thud, a few nuts spilling from her pouch. Charlie fluttered down to check on her.

  “You ok?”

  “Yes, my first tree climb. I guess coming down is harder than it looks,” Missy said as she gathered the spilled acorns and the ones she’d hurled toward the hyenas earlier. She rose to her feet, smoothing down her tunic and rubbing her bottom to relieve the soreness.

  “You need a lot of work, Missy,” Sir Alastaire said. “Come on. I’ll teach you the fundamentals as we search for a suitable new tree.”

  Chapter 8

  They walked for hours toward the north. Sir Alastaire had a location in mind not far from a stream perhaps a day’s walk from their former residence. Missy filled them in on her quest and her first assignment to challenge The Devil.

  “I’ve heard of him alright. Nasty beast if you ask me and sorely ill tempered,” Sir Alastaire said. Missy thought about this for a few minutes, and then it dawned on her.

  “You mean, he’s a Tasmanian Devil?”

  “Course he is, what did you think? Anyway, you’ll need lots of training to fight against him.” He looked around for a suitable staff. He settled for the branch of an oak and set to trimming it as they walked. After his staff was prepared, they stopped in a shady grove. Ginger began making a light lunch for the group as Missy followed Alastaire for her first lesson.

  “Mind you, it takes years to learn to use a staff or any weapon well, so pay attention and learn quick if you don’t want to lose your head.” Alastaire showed her how to hold the staff and how to stand at a defensive position. He showed her the basic blocks and parries needed in defense. Then he showed her the offensive moves of sweeps and glides. After an hour, Ginger called them to lunch. Missy sat near the wildflowers with Charlie. She ate a few small tart berries Ginger gathered during her training while Charlie sipped nectar. They rested for a few minutes more before starting on their way. Missy practiced as she walked with Alastaire giving pointers as they went. As the sun started to fade, they found a small clearing surrounded by thickets to rest for the night. Missy and Charlie took the first watch as the squirrels nestled together to sleep.

  “Missy, you don’t have to do this,” Charlie said, his nervousness causing his voice to tremble.

  “Yes I do, Charlie. I know what it’s like to be weak, for others to care for you and protect you from harm. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially if I had the power to change it. I have that power now, Charlie, and I won’t be a hindrance to you.” Missy’s eyes burned in resignation.

  “I’ll love you no matter what the outcome, remember that.” Charlie smiled his little insect smile at her and she laughed.

  When morning dawned, the group was already up and moving. They plucked berries and ate as they walked. Ginger found grubs for Missy, who initially declined them but was forced to eat a few at Sir Alastaire’s stern orders.

  “You can’t fight if you’re hungry, girl. Eat up. They’re good for you.”

  She obeyed and swallowed them quickly to avoid tasting them. Small clicking noises emanated from Charlie. Missy threw him an evil look for laughing at her. As noon approached, they came to a stream lined with luscious trees on either side of its banks. However, a troll stood guard on the bridge, his hooded cloak pulled low over his face.

  “I thought this only happened in fairytales,” Missy said to no one in particular.

  “He looks like a dimwit to me. Find out what he wants, Missy. If we don’t have it, fight him for our passage.”

  Missy stared at the misshapen creature, her jaw slack. “Me?”

  “You’ve been practicing. You need to work on your fighting skills before you get to that devil anyway. We’re lucky. Most trolls are over ten feet tall. This one’s a runt in comparison. Go on now.” Sir Alastaire nudged her forward.

  Missy pulled out her staff and walked up to the troll. “Excuse me, Sir. We need to pass please.”
Good manners for all occasions, her mother used to say.

  The troll eyed her with suspicion. “You need to pay, same as everyone else.” He scratched his armpit and waited.

  “Pay what?” Missy asked.

  “Gold,” the troll said reaching his hand out for payment.

  “I’m sorry, Sir. We don’t have any gold,” Missy fished in her pockets for anything valuable but all she came up with was fur. “Perhaps we can pay you double on our way back?”

  “Gold or leave,” the troll said as he watched for the response, his hand still outstretched.

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” Missy said with as much bravado as she could muster, “but we must pass. Step aside or else.” She pulled her staff to the ready and braced herself.

  “Ump,” the troll grumbled as he went to the center of the rickety old bridge to retrieve his club. Missy watched him swing as he ambled closer. His massive arms, like clubs themselves, were long and powerful. Missy backed off the bridge until both were on solid ground. They circled, sizing up each other.

  Horrified, Charlie fluttered in a panic around Alastaire’s head squawking. “Stop her! Help her!”

  “Quiet, boy. Let’s see how she does,” Sir Alastaire said.