by Taylor Leigh
She felt Andrew’s eyes fall on her.
Victoria was caught off-guard. ‘Everything here is so different…yet the same. The horses, people…plants…It is like some twisted version of home. So strange.’
‘Oh, not that strange, when you think about it,’ Tollin said thoughtfully. ‘These planets have been here for a long time.’ He cast Victoria a long look over his shoulder. ‘And don’t you think you’re the first thing to have crossed over. No! These planets have been sharing things since they were brought into existence. Cross pollination, you might call it. Brilliant, isn’t it? You people think you’re so different from each other but you just can’t stop it. You’ve been sharing for ages.’
‘But everything here looks different!’ Victoria cried, flummoxed.
‘Simple! Adaption! Horses from here get pulled over there, need to adapt to the new environment. Old ones die off, new ones keep multiplying, you’ve got your own breed now. Fantastic, isn’t it?’
‘Forgive me for saying so, Traveller,’ Molly said. ‘But you are very strange.’
Tollin leant against the neck of his horse and grinned at Molly. ‘I will take that as a complement!’
‘So,’ said Andrew. ‘Hate to put a damper on things, but speaking of the strange, anyone have any ideas on what spooked the Druids so bad yesterday?’
‘Oh,’ Molly breathed. ‘Yes, that was rather strange…’
‘What’s this?’ Tollin asked, jumping from amused to interested in a blink.
Molly spoke up. ‘Yesterday we ran into the Druids in the forest. Thought they were going to kill us and then this big…noise happened. Sounded like some impossibly loud creature making its way through the forest towards us. Frightened the Druids pretty badly. Us too. We’ve never encountered anything like that before.’
Victoria glanced through the branches of the trees, as if expecting to see whatever it was watching them. All she saw were ferns and fallen logs. The forest was still. Peaceful.
‘It was probably nothing. A trick. That’s what the Druids are known for,’ Thedric said. ‘It was probably nothing more than one of those towering leaf eaters. Those lumbering lizards make all sorts of racket.’
Molly shook her head. ‘But they’re never in the forest, not that deep. And they don’t roar.’
‘I heard it as well,’ Victoria spoke up. All eyes fell to her. ‘When I first arrived here. I woke up and heard it. Seemed to come from everywhere. Gave me quite a fright.’
Molly looked disturbed. ‘There’s something wrong about it. Wrong about all of this. Can any of you feel it? It’s like…like something in the forest is knocked out of balance.’
Tollin’s face grew dark. ‘Well, if something’s out of place, then it looks like a good thing I came.’ He turned back to Victoria and his dark eyes met hers. His voice dropped a notch. ‘When I said these worlds share things, it’s not always a good thing. Some darkness from your world might have bled through here, and if it did, then things just became a much bigger problem.’ Everyone stared at him questioningly. Tollin broke into a big grin and raised his voice. ‘On that happier note, what’s for lunch?’
Chapter Fifteen
‘So, Victoria, we can all accept the fact that Tollin will always remain a mysterious being, but what about you?’ Andrew cast a look over at her which sent a shiver down her spine.
They’d taken an hour break in a small clearing off the road for a quick lunch. Victoria had noticed the ground becoming sandier as she sat in the deep ferns. It wasn’t the red sand that she was familiar with, but bright white. Tollin had leant over and told her it meant they were nearing their destination. The thought made her nervous.
Now, back on the road, Thedric had been loudly complaining about how slow the group was travelling, making quite a few not-so-subtle hints to the fact he suspected Victoria was in some way responsible for the sluggishness of the troop.
‘What secrets do you have to tell?’ Andrew pressed, penetrating blue eyes shining with interest as he tilted his head to look at her.
Victoria, hating the scrutiny of suddenly everyone in the group, shrank back. She had been lucky so far. Tollin was such a fascinating and talkative character that there had been little leeway left for anyone to get a word in, which was fine with her. The group wanted to hear about all of Tollin’s adventures, and though clearly he kept more than a few things to himself, he seemed unable to completely keep silent. Most of what he said was, to Victoria, fantastic nonsense about giant trolls and flying machines and other worlds, but it was captivating nonetheless. He just seemed to love people too much to remain still. Victoria, on the other hand, had always been the quiet type. And now the time had come. They wanted to know her story.
Fantastic.
What exactly was she supposed to tell them? That she was a princess, the future Queen of Scrabia? She was going to be forced to marry her cousin but thanks to Tollin she accidentally ended up on Scottorr? These people liked her well enough now, but what if they found out she was royalty? They could torture her for information, hold her for ransom. It was not an ideal situation. Better to go with something harmless. Something they could sympathise with.
‘Well…’ Her eyes darted up to Tollin. His face was turned back to her and lit by a half-smirk, eyebrows raised in interested amusement. He appeared to be enjoying the fact she didn’t know what to do. ‘Well, I’m not all that special, really. There’s this palace, I live there…serving the princess.’
Andrew looked briefly confused. ‘You’re a servant?’
‘Slave.’ Victoria bit her lip. She’d been round slaves enough, they waited on her constantly. She cursed herself for not paying better attention to them.
Tollin’s eyes darkened disapprovingly, but to her relief, he said nothing.
‘What was that like?’ Molly gasped.
Victoria glanced back to Andrew. His eyes were narrowed in consternation for a moment, but then a ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Whatever he had thought of wasn’t something he seemed keen on sharing, for he remained silent. She wasn’t even sure if he was listening, or simply lost in his own thoughts.
‘Wasn’t that bad. Well, not compared to people in the lower layers…’
For the next hour, Victoria wove a colourful story—making a good part of it up, and assuming quite a bit more—about a slave’s life in the palace. She explained—though not in great detail—about her mother, Reginald and his father. She talked about Layers, gladiators and the Denizens. Everyone, except for Tollin and perhaps Andrew, seemed completely enthralled by her tale. Especially about the Denizens.
‘How very barbaric!’ Molly cried. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend, but I don’t blame you for running away!’ She turned to Tollin. ‘How did you two meet up?’
Tollin stared up at the clouding sky and let out a breath. ‘Well,’ he drew the word out. ‘She was just such a pathetic case I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Thought I’d do her a favour and give her a bit of excitement. And isn’t she just loving it?’ He gave her an open-mouthed, mischievous smile, which Victoria returned with a glower.
‘You have such a way with words,’ she said through clenched teeth.
Though all Victoria could see was Andrew’s striking profile, she could tell he was smiling, darkly amused by some unspoken thought in his head.
Suddenly Tollin straightened. Victoria sensitive to his alertness, tried to crane her neck around him to see what threat he had spotted on the trail ahead. No-one else seemed alarmed. His gaze swung back to her. ‘Want to see something beautiful?’
Victoria, bewildered, nodded. ‘Sure…’
Tollin flashed a wry grin. ‘Hang on!’
Victoria automatically clamped her arms around his waist just as the horse they were riding broke into a gallop. She gasped as they thundered past the others, who shouted at them, up towards Bard and the huntsmen. She heard Bard cry out.
‘It’s okay!’ Tollin hollered back as they passed. ‘Don’
t worry!’
Trees flashed by in a green blur and all Victoria could hear was the pounding of the animal’s hooves and her own quick breath. She felt a stupid smile spreading across her face as she gripped the front of Tollin’s tunic. They veered off the main path and started downhill. Victoria peeked over Tollin’s shoulder but could see nothing but thick green foliage.
Their horse burst through a scraggly line of trees and pulled up short on a sandy beach. A pair of ducks, frightened by the intrusion, took to the air in annoyance. Victoria was left speechless. Before her was water, stretching on for farther and bluer than she ever imagined water could be. In the foggy distance she could see an opposite shoreline.
Green reeds clogged the shore, making it hard for Victoria to tell where exactly the waterline started. Blackbirds darted here and there through the green stalks, their high, trilling whistles coming from everywhere at once. It was undisturbed, peaceful and so alien she found it hard take it in.
‘What do you think?’ Tollin asked quietly.
‘Oh…’ Victoria couldn’t find words. ‘I never knew there could be so much water in one spot. It’s beautiful!’
Tollin grinned. ‘Glad you like it. And as far as water goes, this is nothing. This is Elk Lake, and right across, about three kilometres directly in front of us.’ He pointed to a bare spot in the trees on the opposite shoreline. ‘That is the village and our destination, Miol Mor. Do you see the ships?’
Victoria had never seen a ship before, but she could guess. Several large sailed vessels were moving about on the water, some heading towards the village, some heading beyond the bend in the lake and out of sight.
Tollin continued. ‘This lake is shaped like a horseshoe, for the most part. The road we have to take wraps all the way round that way.’ He pointed to the left. ‘And then straight to the village. The other way.’ Now he pointed to the right, ‘goes out to the ocean. We can’t see if from here because of the bend, but when you get a chance to see it you’ll be speechless. Beyond that is the channel and the first major city on the ocean.’
Victoria was overwhelmed. ‘It’s hard to imagine.’
‘I know it takes some getting used to, but we have plenty of time, don’t we? You’ll get the hang of things!’ He paused. ‘Victoria, I didn’t just bring you here to admire the view. I want you to learn from these people. Get close to them, Andrew if you can. You’ll learn the most from him.’
‘He seems so arrogant.’
‘Well,’ Tollin allowed. ‘Yes, he is. But you have to get beyond that. It is possible.’
Victoria doubted that but decided against saying so. ‘Why are you here, Tollin?’
He made a face but didn’t answer.
‘It’s because of the pods, isn’t it?’
Tollin gave her a sharp look. ‘What do you know of them?’
Victoria told him what she knew, how the Denizens were sending them and lying about it. Tollin nodded, not surprised. ‘Just stick with your assignment for right now, Victoria, learn, observe. Leave the other matter to me for the moment, and ah, no reason to mention it to the others yet.’
‘Agreed. And thanks for keeping my secret. I’m not ready for them to know just yet who I really am. And thank you for showing me the lake. You were right, it really is beautiful.’
There were a few shouts behind them from the rest of the group. Victoria could hear the hooves of the horses now.
Tollin smiled. ‘I told you it was pretty here. Now we better get back before they start thinking you’ve kidnapped me!’
The ride to the village was a short one after that. When they finally came upon the first signs of civilisation, Victoria’s relaxed feelings of the day dwindled. The trees along the road had fallen away to vast clearings with scattered grazing animals. The first farms she saw in the distance, sitting at the edge of fields, cosy and quiet, were not so bad, but as they rode on, the buildings grew taller and closer together, lining the street. She began to feel queasy. She gripped Tollin tighter.
The sandy road they walked began to grow more crowded, slowing their pace dramatically as they neared the main hub of the village. Victoria was all too aware of the looks she was getting from the townsfolk. People were pointed and whispering. Tollin seemed to be loving it. Being the centre of attention was clearly his natural environment.
Victoria noticed that almost every cottage and shack that sat directly on the water’s edge had at least two boats tied up behind it. Docks ran in every direction and the smell of fish was strong. People sat behind street stalls mending nets and tending horses. Children dashed about with dogs. The whole place was jumbled together with no reason or order. Victoria could see none of the social hierarchy that plagued Scrabia. Everyone was just the same. And they seemed strangely happy.
‘Ah! Right up ahead, that’s our stop!’ Tollin cried to Victoria.
She leaned around him to see. The main road, which continued to run on, branched off to the right through two huge spruce trees. Beyond that, Victoria could see what she realised was the true village. They turned down the road and Victoria got her first good look round.
Bright streams separated the village into at least three different pieces that she could count. Covered bridges connected the separated pieces together, all covered in flowers and moss. Blocks of flats, cottages and boarding houses were bunched everywhere she could see. Shops offering fish, cloth and weapons were jumbled about in no real order Victoria could notice. Most of the streets were paved in loose gravel that crunched under the horses’ clawed hooves.
Again, Victoria could feel everyone watching them.
At the very centre of the village was a large structure made of hewn logs and smooth stones. Antlers were nailed to almost every open surface and a few flags fluttered from the eaves. A large chimney belched up grey smoke into the equally dull sky.
‘That’s the lodge. Andrew’s father is the governor of this village. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of room for you,’ Tollin said, pulling his horse to a stop several paces away. ‘Oh, and look who’s here to greet us. That’s Andrew’s mother, Matilda, I believe her name is.’
Andrew rode up next to them and cast a look down to Victoria. ‘And,’ he cleared his throat. ‘That’s Nan. She’s watched out for us since we were born. Still thinks we’re three, I swear.’ He urged his horse forward past them after casting Victoria a strange, almost amused, glance.
Andrew’s mother dashed down the log steps to the cobblestone street and clapped her hands together when she saw him. Victoria thought she was a nice looking woman, a bit wrinkled with light hair and kind eyes. She wore a soft green dress and ornate bonnet set with pearls. Nan, the other woman, was ancient and hardly as kindly as Andrew’s mother. She watched disapprovingly as Andrew trotted ahead and pulled his horse up short.
‘Hello, Mother,’ Andrew said; flashing what appeared to be the first genuine grin Victoria had seen from him. ‘Nan, both of you are looking beautiful today.’
‘Andrew! You’re home. I’ve been worried sick!’
Nan narrowed her eyes. ‘Going gallivanting out in the wood, in your condition, completely idiotic of you! You’re going to catch your death, you know.’
Andrew’s expression tightened slightly. ‘Your concern is touching. I’m fine.’ He dismounted, smile dropping as his back turned from his mother. When he turned back, the smile had reappeared. ‘We have guests. I’ve managed to pick up a few stragglers on this hunting trip and I would be appreciative if you would not stare.’
Tollin held his horse back, still within earshot. He acted as he were in the process of debating with himself to come forward or not. Victoria had a surprisingly good view of the group from where Tollin had stopped. She was fine staying where she was, but knew it couldn’t last for ever.
‘Good gracious, more strays! Who did you bring us this time? Savage Druids, no doubt!’
Andrew took a deep breath. ‘She is not a savage, Mother. Please do try to remember your manners, such as they are.’
‘Oh, she’s a she, is she? Well, that’s a surprise! I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever bring one home to us!’
‘Don’t start that. It makes no difference to me what she is. If it’ll make you feel any better, she’s with the Traveller. Do you remember him?’
‘That’s my cue,’ Tollin smiled at Victoria.
Andrew’s mother blinked. ‘The Traveller? Tollin?’ Victoria could have sworn she saw the woman blushing. ‘Oh, well. Is he here? Is he coming?’
‘Just up the road, right behind us,’ Andrew informed, passing the reigns of his horse off to a man who had just arrived.
‘My! Why didn’t you say so?’ the woman cried, flustered.
The rest of the party arrived then and Tollin joined them. Bard, in a completely agile move for someone of his weight, leapt off of his horse and picked his wife up in a huge hug. Matilda doted on Molly especially, gave Thedric a kiss, and then her eyes fell on Tollin. Her expression lit up visibly. ‘Welcome back, Traveller!’
‘My dear Matilda, glad to see you are well!’ Tollin dropped off of his horse and swaggered up, grinning. He left Victoria completely exposed on the back of the horse, giving her a wink as he went.
She froze.
Andrew walked over to her and held out his hand, snapping her out of her petrification. He was making a surprising effort, considering how their relationship had consisted of her being ignored up to this point. Clearly he loved the attention and was enjoying putting on a show. Victoria reluctantly decided she had no choice but to play along and accepted his hand, dropping to the ground.
Andrew’s mother gasped and pressed her hand to her chest. ‘Good gracious! Where did you pick up this one?’
‘This is Victoria, Mother. She’s from the Red World. Fell down when the planets passed. She’s going to be staying with us for a while,’ Andrew said patiently, if irritably.
‘Victoria? Andrew, how do we know she’s not a savage! She could slit all of our throats in our sleep!’