The Wishbird

by Gabrielle Wang

  A pale blue nightgown with a single butterfly embroidered on the collar lay on one of the beds. She tried it on. It was a perfect fit.

  On a table in the corner was a framed mirror edged with inlays of mother of pearl. Oriole had only dreamt about mirrors through Mellow. She had never seen one in real life. She inspected her face and smiled and the reflection smiled back. Then, for some reason, she shivered and she did not know why. Here in Lord Taku’s house, surely, they were safe. Touching the glass, she almost expected her hand to go through it and her fingers to touch warm skin on the other side.

  When Boy returned from his bath, sweet-smelling and transformed, the children snuggled down into their beds and were soon fast asleep, oblivious to the danger that lurked nearby.

  Outside the city, the Barbarian Army approached with confidence. They knew the city was theirs to seize whenever they wanted.

  The King had taken to his bed, his face pale, his breathing shallow.

  And in the Forest of Birds, Mellow, too, was waning.

  The Forest grew dark as the birds huddled miserably in the branches of the ancient Banyan tree.

  Someone has to find Oriole,’ Redbill said.

  And the birds all nodded. They knew he was right, but no one dared venture into the city. So they sat and sighed and watched the Eastern skies, hoping for a message on the Wind.

  The following morning Lady Butterfly appeared at the door to the children’s room.

  ‘Come and eat,’ she said to Oriole and Boy. She was wearing a coral-pink gown and tiny pink slippers with a butterfly tassel on the toes.

  They dressed quickly. Both were hungry and felt refreshed. There were new clothes for Oriole hanging on a hook – a yellow tunic with long bell-shaped sleeves, and pants to match. And a beaded belt, which she used to secure the precious jade dagger at her waist. There were boots, too, but they were made of leather and the scent of animal was still strong on them. Oriole put her own worn shoes made from twisted vines back on.

  Boy’s clothes had been cleaned and were draped on a stool by his bed. He wasn’t sure if he liked his new clean self or the smell of soap on his skin. It made him sneeze and his nose itch. But Oriole gave him a big hug when he was dressed and called him her handsome Boy, which made him blush. Maybe his clean self was not too bad after all.

  Lord Taku was already at the table eating breakfast when they came into the kitchen. There was millet porridge, nuts and pickled vegetables, baked flat bread filled with onions and spices, and sweet milk tea.

  Boy made loud slurping noises while eating his porridge until Oriole nudged him under the table with her knee. She looked pointedly at Lord Taku. The old man was strangely quiet and Lady Butterfly kept looking at him.

  After breakfast Lord Taku rose from the table. Lady Butterfly beckoned the children to follow.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Boy whispered to Oriole.

  ‘I do not know,’ Oriole replied. ‘But I feel that he is leading us towards a thing that is very important.’

  Lord Taku stopped on the verandah that bordered the inner courtyard. Beside him was a very small door low to the ground. Lady Butterfly bent down and slid the door open. She let her uncle go in first. He bent his back and stepped through.

  Lady Butterfly delicately lifted her skirt and followed.

  ‘Come in quickly,’ she said. ‘We must not let them get out.’

  Boy looked at Oriole and they stepped inside.

  There was a set of winding steps. As they neared the top step, a strange sound filled Boy’s ears. Oriole gasped in recognition and leapt up the last few steps and through the door at the top.

  Boy followed her and stopped, mouth gaping. They were standing in an immense room where a lush forest grew. It was like climbing into another world. Trees with feathery branches brushed the high domed ceiling, and flying in and out of the trees were hundreds of brightly coloured creatures.

  Oriole laughed with tears in her eyes. ‘Birds!’ she cried. ‘These are birds, Boy!’

  A pair of purple birds with yellow heads landed on Lord Taku’s shoulder. He gently shrugged them off and they flew away, chattering to each other. Other birds seemed shy, keeping to the top-most branches, peering down at them, heads cocked in curiosity.

  Then a small blue bird with a smudge of white across its chest fluttered around Oriole. She put out her hand and it landed on her palm. She smiled and sang to it and it sang back to her.

  Boy tried to entice a bird to sit on his arm.

  ‘Keep still, Boy,’ Oriole said. ‘You are frightening them waving your arms around like that.’

  Boy tried to keep still but was too excited at seeing these strange creatures, and so many of them.

  ‘Lord Taku,’ said Oriole, ‘why are these birds here? I thought they were all killed or banished?’

  ‘When the King had the forests cut down and the birds destroyed,’ Lord Taku said. ‘I collected as many as I could and brought them here.’

  ‘So this is a secret place?’ Boy said.

  ‘Yes. And the secret must stay in this room.’

  Boy turned to look at Oriole. She was not beside him. He looked around, then up to the tallest tree. Oriole was climbing through the branches. She was like a bird, hopping from one branch to another without hesitation. When she was almost at the top, she sat down. A bird with a long trailing tail sat on the branch beside her and began to chatter to her. Oriole replied in the same sing-song tone.

  At once there was a hush as every bird fell silent. Then Oriole lifted her head and sang. It was a song about the forests that once filled the Kingdom of Pafir, about her mother, the bird girl Nightingale, and her handsome father, the Prince. It was about music and yearning and belonging. And about the dying King and his magical Wishbird, Mellow.

  Lady Butterfly pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. Even Lord Taku’s eyes were moist with tears. Boy stood in awe, watching Oriole, his heart aching for his beautiful sad bird girl.

  As soon as Oriole finished her song, the birds began acting strangely. They called out to each other in alarm. They flew from branch to branch as if trying to escape from an invisible enemy.

  ‘What is wrong with the little ones, Uncle?’ Lady Butterfly said.

  Oriole lifted her head. She heard heavy boots on hard ground and the clinking of metallic swords. She recognised the sound. And now she could smell the men, a rancid, sickening smell.

  ‘Soldiers,’ she called. ‘They are outside.’

  ‘Quickly, child, come down,’ Lord Taku said.

  But it was too late.

  The King’s soldiers, led by Lord Chancellor Mzia and Panther, flooded into the Domed Room.

  ‘There she is!’ cried Panther, pointing up to where Oriole was perched.

  Birds fluttered helplessly as the soldiers trampled through their forest. In their frenzy the small creatures flew into walls, falling to the ground stunned or dead.

  ‘You are under arrest, Taku!’ the Lord Chancellor shouted.

  The guards bound Lord Taku’s hands together. They did the same to Lady Butterfly and Boy.

  ‘Cut down that tree! The girl won’t escape this time.’

  ‘You do not have to do that, Mzia,’ Lord Taku said in desperation. ‘I will coax her down. She will listen to me.’

  ‘Too late for that, Taku. So this is where you’ve been hiding all this time. The King should have locked you away with the other musicians. I always despised him for bestowing favours upon you.’ He waved his arm around him. ‘This forest, and all these birds, that is a crime punishable by death. And now you are harbouring a runaway prisoner with the singing tongue,’ he hissed.

  ‘And you, Mzia, are a traitor. I know of your plan with Big Mo Ding to take over the Kingdom.’

  ‘Whether you know it or not, it makes no difference,’ Mzia laughed. ‘The King is on his deathbed, the Kingdom of Pafir is as good as mine.’ He turned to the tree where Oriole sat high in the branches. ‘Cut it down!’


  Boy, Lord Taku and Lady Butterfly watched helplessly as the soldiers began hacking at the trunk with their axes. Oriole tried to climb higher, but there was nowhere to escape to.

  Little hearts stopped beating and birds fell to the ground. Others were crushed as branches fell. The ones still alive were captured in a huge net.

  From up on high, through a veil of tears, Oriole’s anger grew. It twisted and burned inside her belly, making her skin itch as if a hundred mosquitoes were biting her. The turquoise feathers sprouted on her back and shoulders, more quickly this time. Her arms changed into wings and with the faith of a creature who has known flight all its life, Oriole leapt from the topmost branch.

  She flew straight at the Lord Chancellor, who stood frozen in shock. She kicked him as hard as she could and the blow caught him on the chin. He staggered backwards.

  The soldiers rushed at Oriole, cutting the air with their swords, missing her as she swooped and circled and landed on a branch to catch her breath. She charged at them again and again. It was as if a ball of fire was burning inside her and she blazed fury.

  ‘Fools!’ Mzia cried, wiping the blood from his chin. ‘Chop down all the trees!’

  The soldiers began hacking at the trunks and branches. As each tree crashed to the ground, Oriole flew to the next and the next until there were no more for her to land upon. But she did not give up. With her last burst of strength, she flew to the domed ceiling.

  ‘She is tiring,’ Lady Butterfly said, turning her face away in grief.

  Boy couldn’t bear to look and he too turned away. He caught sight of Panther in the corner, smirking at him.

  As anger turned to despair, the feathers on Oriole’s body disappeared and her wings finally became arms. She fell to the ground. The fire inside had died.

  In the Forest of Birds there had been always the sound of the wind in the trees, the chirruping of insects underground and the clicking of beaks as the birds readied themselves for sleep. In her Forest Oriole never felt alone.

  She woke from unconsciousness in the dungeon. Silence and darkness closed in around her. Her body ached and stung. She felt blood on her knees and bruises along one arm and a gash over her eyebrow.

  She thought of Lord Taku, Lady Butterfly and Boy. Had they been killed back there in the Domed Room? Or are they here in the dungeons too?

  ‘Boy?’ she called softly. ‘Boy . . . ?’

  But there was only the echo of her own voice. She looked up at the window in the roof and thought back to that night when she saw Boy’s small face peering down with the moon on his shoulder. Then another thought sent a spark of hope through her.

  Old Ardi!

  There was the sound of doors opening and closing, keys rattling, footsteps growing louder. She sat up hopefully. The door opened, its hinges straining against the wood. A shadow stood in the entrance.

  Oriole’s throat tightened. It was not Old Ardi. It was Lord Chancellor Mzia.

  Mzia stepped into the dungeon, closing the door behind him.

  If only I had the jade dagger, Oriole thought, I would plunge it into your black heart. She felt a tingling on her skin but breathed deeply. She did not want to change, not now, not for such a dark deed.

  ‘I was the one who ordered your parents be killed,’ he said in a voice as smooth as a pond covered with ice. ‘The Prince and that . . . that creature you call a Mother.’

  The words were like arrows shot straight into Oriole’s heart. ‘You?’ she said, her voice trembling.

  ‘They were in the way. Well, your father was. But then chance opened a door. I couldn’t have planned it any better myself. Your father, the fool, rode off into the forest to hunt and there he met a bird girl and didn’t want to return to the Palace. So to make certain he didn’t change his mind, I had them both killed.’ He pulled out an apple, wiped it on his sleeve and bit into it as if he had won a great victory. ‘But then you came along and ruined all my plans. You as Princess are now the rightful heir to the throne and I cannot have this. Not when I’ve been plotting for so long and am so close to achieving my goal. When I join forces with Big Mo Ding we will conquer the surrounding kingdoms and I will be ruler of them all.’ Mzia’s eyes shone brightly.

  Oriole turned away. She did not care for life any longer. When the King died, so too would her beloved Mellow. So she waited for death. But it did not come. Instead, she heard the door open.

  ‘Why do you not kill me now?’ she called.

  ‘Because, my Princess, I cannot be seen as a murderer, can I? Too many men know you are here. But it will be done soon, you can be sure of that.’

  Oriole’s tears soaked the stone floor, her sadness seeped into the walls. She cried until there were no tears left inside.

  ‘Oriole,’ came a voice close to her ear. She felt a hand with rough skin lift up her head.

  ‘It is Old Ardi.’ The old guard was kneeling beside her. ‘Listen, my child,’ he said, helping her to sit up. ‘I’m old and a little stupid, but a strange thing has happened to me since meeting you.’ He smiled. ‘Instead of losing my memories as old people do, mine have grown sharper. I remember how the City of Solace used to be before the Fell. I remember that people were once happy. Then the King lost his only son and it was as if a fog descended over everyone and they forgot to be kind . . . Old Ardi too. Then today I saw Lord Taku being brought down to the dungeons. I knew who he was straightaway as I’ve been here for many, many years. And he still remembered me. Lord Taku told me about you and where you have come from and why you are here. He said that it is written in a prophecy that in a time of great despair, a person of royal blood will deliver the Kingdom from its troubles. You must fulfil the prophecy, my Princess, and give memory and music and laughter back to us all.’

  Oriole trembled against his warm, kind hands. ‘How can I do this, Old Ardi? I am only a girl. I cannot make the King well, or stop the Barbarian Army from attacking. And I have lost the precious jade dagger, the only thing that might enable me to see the truth.’

  ‘Maybe this will help . . .’ Old Ardi placed the dagger in Oriole’s hand.

  Her eyes widened. ‘How did you come by it?’

  He smiled and patted her hand. ‘I’ve worked here a long time, child, and I have friends inside the Palace.’

  The dagger felt heavy in Oriole’s hand, different. A small flame re-kindled inside her.

  Old Ardi smiled once more and left her, the door swinging open behind him.

  Oriole sat down on the floor of the dungeon holding the dagger on the palm of her hand. She ran her finger over the surface of the ruby and then the emerald. They were as bright as the eyes of a midnight owl.

  At first Oriole did not know if she was imagining things. She wanted to see the truth in the stones so badly. But this time there seemed to be a movement – a flicker of light in the emerald. Not daring to blink, Oriole concentrated on the emerald, looking into its depths. And there she saw an image.

  It was a picture of herself soaring over the lakes to the Forest of Birds. And in that moment Oriole knew the truth. The only way to cure Mellow and the King was for them to be together. She would bring Mellow back.

  ‘But how will I fly if I can only grow wings when I am angered?’ she asked the stones.

  This time, the ruby replied. In its blood-red heart she saw a fire growing. She closed her eyes, imagining the fire inside her own heart, spreading through her body. She thought of Mellow and Boy and her heart swelled and the fire burned. Her skin began to itch and tingle. She did not need to be angry to make the change.

  Now I know. The truth is not in the stones. It is inside me.

  Oriole slipped the jade dagger into her belt. There was one thing she had to do before she left for the Forest.

  Lord Taku lay in the corner of the cell with Lady Butterfly kneeling beside him. Boy rose to his feet when he saw Oriole. Then he ran to her and hugged her.

  ‘The stones showed me the truth,’ she said. ‘I am returning to the Forest of Birds to bri
ng Mellow back.’

  ‘How are you going to fly all that way? You’ve only flown up to a roof and around the Domed Room . . .’ Boy said.

  ‘If the stones speak the truth, then it is what I must do,’ she replied.

  ‘Listen well, Oriole,’ Lord Taku said. ‘Outside this dungeon you will see an old watchtower that is no longer in use. Climb the stairs to the very top and leave from there. That way you will not be seen.’

  Oriole nodded.

  ‘And on your return, if the Barbarian Army has surrounded us, there is a secret tunnel, an escape route, that the royal family used in times of war. This tunnel passes from the Throne Room under the city walls to the outside.’

  Oriole nodded gravely. ‘How will I find the opening to the tunnel on my return?’ she asked.

  ‘You will see a large cluster of rocks in the shape of an eagle. Underneath that, you will find the entrance.’

  ‘I will bring the Wishbird back, Lord Taku,’ Oriole said.

  But in her heart she knew that this was not enough. Mellow and the King might be cured of their illness when they were brought together, but the Barbarian Army was still on the attack. And nothing, it seemed, would stop them now.

  Oriole climbed the steps of the watchtower, circling around and around until she reached the top. Drawing the jade dagger from her belt, she looked into the ruby, into the heart of it, and the fire held within. Immediately she felt the same fire in her own body, beginning in her chest where she felt the strong beat of her heart. Then it spread like cool water through her limbs.

  Oriole’s skin tingled. Feathers grew down her back and on her shoulders. Her arms changed into wings, sleek and beautiful.

  Looking towards the west, towards the Forest, Oriole stepped off the watchtower and soared into the morning sky.

  She flew high, higher than the birds who had brought her to the City of Solace on their woven tapestry of leaves. So high that if you went outside and looked up, you would only see a tiny blue speck amongst the clouds. She flew through the day and into the night. Exhaustion pervaded every part of her body but she flew on, the fire in her heart burning more brightly than ever as she neared the Forest of Birds and her beloved Mellow.