The Chronicles of Widget (Phoenix Rising)

by Angela Timms

  I was greatly honoured when the lovely lady had her photo taken

  cxiii

  with me. It was a special moment for me to be close to someone with such joy in her work and curiosity about the world. I was very curious when I saw her sonic screwdriver. It was very special. I have a little one that is a torch but it is not the same, no way, that was really nice. I wanted one for Angel as she knew she would love one for her 50th Birthday but I have no money and money gets things like that. I couldn’t ask Angel or Niall as that was money they couldn’t spend. I looked around as much as I could and committed it all to memory. If I ever get home again I can then show the children there the magic of it all. The wizards there can take my memories and make them images. I’ve seen such bad things that it is wonderful to have something so bright and magical that I can share. In the dark and scary days to come I am sure that the memory of the Exhibition will help to make me smile. So, thank you Doctor.

  It is just fortunate that the old incarnations of the Tardis are captured from space and time so they can all exist in the Exhibition, leaving the current one in the current space and time to be off with The Doctor. That is the lovely thing about the wibbeley, wobbeley, timey wimey thing. I love how he put it. All things are possible at the same time or split up.

  I was lost in thought as they walked around the rest of the Exhibition and caught the taxi back to the hotel. I was looking but not looking. The costumes were great, of course they were. The memorabilia and film props were of course superb but I had a lot on my mind.

  Back at the hotel I sat in the hotel room. The night dark and the lights sparkling on the river. On any other night it would have been beautiful, even mystical. Tonight I was afraid and that didn’t make anything feel either beautiful or mystical. Tonight I was alone. And I regretted it.

  I wanted to be out there in Cardiff Town with everyone having fun. But, Frixians were magical and I know I wouldn’t be welcome and I’d just be a floppy puppet which would be a nuisance to them while they had fun. Imagine if I could move, it would cause chaos if I turned up in a bar. Then again, what was I worried about? With other people around anything could happen on a night out where people were drunk. I am just made of material and I can get dirty. I’ve already had one accident today. While at the Exhibition my wig caught on Niall’s jacket and my lovely black hair is now a little bit loose. That doesn’t matter, Angel can sew it back on again when we get back home and being a puppet of course it won’t even hurt.

  They are out there somewhere in the sparkling lights and darkness of the night. I can only hope that they will hopefully be having fun. They don’t get out much because of the animals and it would be great if they can have a meal and see the people and enjoy the bright lights and Christmas atmosphere. I would only be a pain if they want to sit in a pub and although I’d love to see it, I’d just be a nuisance. Not to be rude to myself but no doubt they’d feel awkward as well. It is one thing going around the Exhibition where it is a bit interesting. It would be very different out in Cardiff on a night out where people have been drinking.

  I am totally and utterly bored of course. The TV of course didn’t provide anything to watch, as usual there wasn’t anything on. I’d long got bored of looking out of the window. The river might be down there but in the dark I couldn’t see much.

  I thought about leaving the room but if someone came around the corner I’d be stuck as a limp puppet and anything could happen. I’d probably end up in “Lost Property” and that sounded even less fun. It wouldn’t be any fun stuck in a box in a drawer somewhere either, hoping that they would rescue me.

  There was no answer other than to sit here and meditate. So, I sat on the bed cross legged and concentrated. It made the time go quicker and it was a good idea to put the events of the day into perspective.

  Then I was dragged back into the room with a bump when I smelled it, Goblian. They were in the hotel and they were very close. I carefully opened the door, keeping my foot behind it and braced myself in case there was trouble. The smell was close and she soon found out why. Of course there was trouble.

  cxv Trouble stood outside the door in the shape of a fully grown Goblian. He was the same height as me, same build and same shape. His skin was green, his nose long and pointed and his clothes were ragged. He was quick, but not that quick. Widget got the door shut before he could push it open or push past her. It wasn’t easy as he caught the door and she had to fight him to get it shut. But finally it slammed back into the door frame. I locked it and leaned against the wood. It took some concentration to keep my mind focused but I managed to wind my magic into the wood so that it wouldn’t splinter or smash if the Goblian charged it or used its own magic.

  “Wood most magic, you now have might Keep it out there, keep things right With word and whisper I do ask

  So please be diligent about your task.”

  Annoyingly the carpet was too thick, I couldn’t hear if the Goblian was still there and I certainly wasn’t going to look through the keyhole. It is a well-known Goblian trick to stick a sharp long thorn through the keyhole and blind who was looking. I don’t want to be blind. Not that it would blind me as the puppet but it would damage me and I didn’t want that. Also, there wasn’t a keyhole, the room had one of those magic cards that need to be swiped through a reader. There was a spy hole but that was far too high up the door, at human height.

  Now what am I going to do? There are Goblians in the hotel and if they are hungry or mischievous they will wreck the place and kill the other guests. They will tear off all the doors and what chance would the guests stand.

  I was concentrating hard and listening, trying to see what was going on when noticed movement and looked down. A note was being pushed under the door.

  Oh come on, I know better than that. Of course I’m not going to touch it. A hairbrush will solve the problem and avoid any nasty surprises. I grabbed a hairbrush and flipped the note into the bathroom and into the shower. The paper lay in the shower looking interesting, curious and in a way terrifying. Now that it is in the shower I have to do something about it. And that something is going to be open it unless I can think of something to distract myself or solve the problem of the Goblian at the door. If I open it I could get cursed. It may have a message but I can’t think of anything a Goblian could say that I’d want to listen to and of course the Goblian is still in the corridor. Or worse, he is off around the hotel killing people. This is not good.

  Good would be finding a cricket bat in the luggage or having a backup plan. I would say that bad is being a lone Frixian locked in a hotel room with a Goblian at my door with no cricket bat and no plan.

  Of course worse still is having a note from the Goblian which is not going to be good or end well. Can I leave it alone? The answer to that is probably not. I am a curious creature but I know I shouldn’t have anything to do with it. Like all those things you shouldn’t have anything to do with it was in my mind and leapt back to be remembered every time I did anything or tried to think about anything else.

  I decided to perch myself on the edge of the toilet and look at the piece of paper in the shower as if it was going to actually do something. It is parchment and looks a little battered. It is slightly grubby, slightly folded at the corners and looks just like it had been in a Goblian’s pocket. That is probably because it had been.

  If I can find any more excuses to put off the decision to either flush the note or read it I am of course going to try. It is a big decision, it could have magic on it.

  She sniffed it, yep, it had magic on it. It was magiced and that meant it was probably cursed.

  There was a rattle at the room door. I had forgotten about the

  cxvii Goblian as the paper was too interesting. He was still there, still green, still nasty and no doubt still intent on killing and eating me. Well perhaps not eating me, I can hope that one is just a rumour. I am still in the hotel room, still on my own and still wondering what to do.

  I wish I cou
ld call Stormcrow, he can’t hear me though. Then again what could he do and a flying goat would cause chaos. Anyway, he is safely locked up in his shed so no hope of him helping anyway as he can’t get out. Thinking about it, I don’t actually know if the emotional link will work over so many miles and I’m not going to try. I don’t want to worry him or get him to try in case he gets hurt. It is an amusing thought in a difficult situation to be able to think about how Stormcrow would get into the hotel. He could hardly walk through the front door. Though knowing Stormcrow he would probably try.

  Behind me was a big glass window and it made sense to take a look outside and see if I can get any ideas. The window is closed course and probably locked and even if it wasn’t, it is a long way down to the ground. Why hadn’t they got a room on the ground floor I have ask myself. But then that could also be bad. The Goblian would then probably be able to reach up and break the window and get in that way. On reflection, better to be this high up. Goblians do not climb well. Well I hope they still don’t.

  Thinking about it, do they climb well now? Dare I look? Dare I cast a cautious look over my shoulder at the window? What if I see a Goblian there trying to get in?

  This is awful. This is scary and this is going to be a problem I am going to have to solve on my own. If only I can keep calm. And that is pretty near impossible at the moment. My mind is racing and if I had a pulse it would be racing too.

  I could open the door and take the Goblian on in a straight fight. He is probably stronger than me and he is most likely to win. I could of course leave this puppet body and run away but that would break the spell on the door and he would rip the puppet to pieces

  cxviii and then probably kill Angel and Niall when they come back. I’m tied to this body, if I lose it then I’ll not get another one without the Toymaker. Of course now that there is no Toymaker in the world that would be a huge problem. I would permanently be without a body and an ethereal spirit who cannot touch this world. No, there is no answer there.

  I have to think and all I could think of is that Goblians as far as I know can’t swim and there is a river out there full of probably very deep and cold water. If I can lure him out there, I can drown him. I can’t swim, well I couldn’t but I managed to swim as the dragon, perhaps I can make some of the same movements as a puppet. Most importantly as a puppet I will hopefully float. I will get wet and I could get ruined. That is the problem. Do I have enough magic to keep this body dry or will I spend the night on the radiator even if I do survive? Still that is better than the alternative.

  So I’m a cloth puppet who is going to get soaked. I need to think quickly. Well unless I use the spell that I use to get to the secret garden without getting muddy. If I am right then the same spell will keep me afloat. There now I have an answer or at least a plan which can go wrong or right.

  So how about the Goblian? He is made of bits and pieces, he may float too. How can I make him sink? Looking around the room there isn’t anything that would do that. He won’t drown, even if he jumps into the water. What am I thinking of? There has to be an answer.

  He would float but what if his pockets are weighed down? So how am I going to do that? The Goblian rattled the door again and she heard his hissing voice. “Open the door little Frixian. Make it easy on yourself or I will go and kill your little friends. They are crunchy and tasty and they will make this grumble in my tummy go away when I eat them.”

  I took a deep breath. This was awful. “No you won’t. They are out in a public place. Someone would grab you and squish you and put you in a zoo or a laboratory where they would cut you up to see how you work.”

  I listened carefully and I wasn’t disappointed when I heard the gasp and it did make me smile. My pleasure did not last for long. The hissing voice came back but it was a little less sure than before. “Open the door. Now! They aren’t out there in a public place now. They will soon be down in the café area playing backgammon and chatting.”

  The smile that had crept onto my face soon faded. “No I won’t and I won’t read your note either. I’m not that stupid.”

  She heard the Goblian stamp on the soft carpet. That was followed by a thump as he kicked the door. “Open the door nasty Frixian.” I have to think about this. I need something very heavy. I need bricks or stones to heavy his bones so words will certainly hurt him. I’ll think a while and leave the Goblian to stew in his own thoughts.

  Something will come to me, I’ll have to hope for that. Widget went to the window and carefully opened it so that the Goblian couldn’t hear what she was doing. She then held out her hand and whispered.

  “Stones of glory, stones most light Come and help me in my plight Fly across the air so clear

  Make you far away stones so near”

  Four medium sized stones rose up and floated across the river and landed on the carpet. They were dirty and wet and lay there, still and stone like.

  Great, that is part one. Now to make them what I want them to be.

  cxx Stone so light, I see you there Come and help me with some flare Bright and shiny, light and gold Be back to normal when you are told

  The stones sat on the carpet, shining and beautiful. They glistened and glimmered and all I need to do is put them on the window sill. It was very quiet. The carpet was soft so I couldn’t hear what the Goblian was up to. I can still smell him so he has to be outside. But, he is very quiet which means he is probably confused. Confused was good. If he is confused that will buy the time to come up with a real plan. I have my back up plan but that is in case I can’t think of anything else.

  The Goblian squealed and kicked the door. “Open it. You are supposed to open it. I want you to open it. I told you to open it.” What nasty things they are. I’ll just sit here on the bed cross legged and breathe out to calm myself. If the Goblian was able to break in easily then he would have done by now. So that gets me some time. But he isn’t going to go away either. And when my friends come back to the room he will hurt them so I have to open the door to go out and help them. If they stay downstairs there will be other people around. They will come back up here sometime. So I don’t have all night.

  I have a packet of popping candy, my emergency pack. A bit on the stones and on the window sill and that idiot will hopefully be dim enough to pick up the stones and eat the candy. Candy makes them a bit silly as well and then hopefully he will do what I hope he will do. If he doesn’t, I’m in trouble. Now all I have to do is climb down to the outside without hurting myself in some drastic fall. Then what am I worried about, I’m a puppet!

  It was still a long way down but I am light now and with supreme concentration I have to take a deep breath and jump.

  Momentarily stepped out of the puppet and let it fall. She used her magic to make it float down and it landed elegantly on the grass in a delicate laid out pose.

  Ok now that I’m on the ground it is time to let that door open. This is going to be the dangerous bit. Thankfully I can get up now and move around.

  Little door you have done your job You have the Goblian his success to rob But now it is time to let him come in As I know his patience is wearing thin.

  Now to run away. Splinter, blammo, there goes the door and I can just imagine the Goblian rushing through the gap where the door used to be. I can imagine him running to the gold bits on the window sill. No doubt he will eat the candy and hopefully by now he has picked up the stones. They are of course light and hopefully by now he has put them in his pocket. Look, there he is, he’s run to the window and I can see him greedily devouring the candy.

  Time to run and by throwing a bit of candy into the grass behind me that might help. Not that he needs any help to follow me as that is what he wants to do anyway. Oh no, here he comes! Thump, he’s on the floor. Pitter patter we are running! Here we go!

  I run, the Goblian runs, she runs faster, he runs faster. Now to be faced with the river and across it all the things of the other bank, like the crane I saw earlier. That is all very well bit it
is a long way away and that river is very large and now that I get nearer all I can think about is that it is very deep. Ok, so now Jump!

  Magic spell please keep me dry

  If I get wet I know I’ll cry

  So keep me safe and keep me warm From when I get in there until the dawn.

  cxxii I leap into the air and get ready for wet. Wait for it, splash and now to paddle like a dog as I don’t really know how to swim. Please, please, I don’t want to know how to drown. I will have to paddle and paddle. Focus little one, focus, try and remember the time in the stream as the dragon and somehow make the same movements with her arms and legs. I can’t believe it, I’m staying afloat.

  Wait for it, splash, here comes the Goblian. I can’t help smiling, in hope, nervousness or anticipation. Here we go. Nasty Goblian you must die

  If you were good then I would try Those rocks of magic must now be true Be heavy again and see what you can do.

  Look at that. I had to look as the Goblian wiggled and squiggled and paddled and splashed. He couldn’t swim so no matter how much he splashed and splashed he still sunk like a stone to the bottom of the river where he became food for fishes.

  I can’t believe it, I have just drowned a Goblian and I am still alive. I am alive but in the middle of the river but time now to get to the other side which is nearer. Now I have to splash, splash, slowly to the other side of the river, watched by a group of ducks who find it all highly amusing.

  I can’t believe I’ve made it to the bank and now to drag my wet self out and sit on the bank. I’m safe! Oh no I’m not, I can smell Goblian again. They were everywhere. They were closing in. Here I go again and what do I do this time?

  The crane has to be useful, ok so I think I’ll run to the crane and climb up the metal skeletal frame of it until I get to the top. I’ll at least get a good view from there and hopefully they won’t think to look up and find me. So I climb and climb and of course it is a bit