by K. Jewell
'So, you're her nephew?' Rufus asked him quietly, looking across as Lady Lansdown knelt down in her fine dress and tied Billy's hands behind his back expertly. 'What a family.'
'I try to ignore it,' said George despondently, watching as she reached into Billy's coat pocket and extracted some jingling gold coins. 'You would, wouldn't you?' Rufus nodded as the cart shuddered and there was movement and a loud sigh from inside the covered cage. 'I'll just get him something to drink,' he said, brushing off his hands and walking towards the tents at the back.
'Spike,' called out Rufus, watching as Gerald extricated himself from Lady Lansdown's neck and waved over. 'Do you need a hand?' he asked, gesturing to Captain Briggs who was wriggling to release his arms.
'I'm not that old,' called out Gerald teasingly, 'and she can vouch for that!' Lady Lansdown hid her face as a faint blush tried to make its way up through the small creases on her neck and then gave up. They heard his harsh words towards Captain Briggs as he looked down at the ground, his feet kicking at bare earth. 'You wait till your mother hears...' carried his throaty old sea-dog voice, the lethal sock confiscated in his leathery old hands.
The huge solid door into Brayston opened with juddering and clanging and then a thin stream of them poured out with Max and Alpha Sawyre leading at the front. His gendarme uniform was dusty and torn but sat on his broad physique as though he was born to wear it. Which is, after all, an irony, thought Elli, watching them stand side by side as they walked forwards, stepping over sleeping figures that were strewn over the ground. Alpha Sawyre raised her robes up gently from the ground, her greyhound head proud as she walked towards them. Behind them others in gendarme uniforms began pulling the prone bodies into piles, their arms tied behind their backs quickly and efficiently as they dribbled onto one another in a heap.
As he came closer, Max looked up at the sky through the grey-filtered dregs of sunlight. 'They're coming,' he said gravely, 'well done all. Now I suggest that you get inside, we have to talk to the Queen's Guard and I'd rather they didn't ask you any questions. And there's a wall inside that needs repairing,' he added with a glint in his eye.
'That's a hanging offence, impersonating a gendarme you know,' Josie said slowly, seeing dozens more uniforms behind him.
'Not when you look this good in it, my girl,' he answered, his eyes still on the circling white dots above them.
Chapter Twenty three
The home that sat in the grass and waited
Maud and Effi were waiting for them when they returned and had rustled up four buckets of biscuits as well as a large suspicious-looking gateaux in their absence. 'I hope you don't mind,' said Maud, sitting on the sofa in a huge fluffy dressing gown and matching slippers. 'We discovered your heated shower. Oh it's wonderful Max, so invigorating,' she added, her great-dane dog-head still beaded with foamy water.
'Just what we needed,' added Effi, wearing an identical fluffy robe so that it was hard to tell where she started and the robe ended. She combed the hair on her face with an ornate silver brush and looked up.
'Lovely,' said a third deep voice from the middle of the room, jolly and unencumbered by a body. 'Really first rate.'
Max removed his gendarme hat and sat in his armchair, stretching out his legs in front of him. 'I'm sure we can put one in for you. It's the least we can do to say thank you,' he said as Alpha Sawyre sat down next to him. 'Rufus, tea all round son,' he added, watching as Rufus was perched above a seat and then stood back up with a sigh and sidled into the kitchen.
'Oh, you're too kind Max,' said Maud, her eyes half-closed. 'And how are you feeling young lady?' she asked Elli, her glasses perched on the end of her nose. Elli fought back a yawn and sank into the soft chair, hearing the clanking of crockery and pouring water from the kitchen.
'It's been a long day,' she answered, reaching across for a dappled biscuit. 'What happened to those thugs who attacked us earlier? When we left we had to step over their naked bodies.' She looked across at their innocent faces and saw hard steel glinting behind the eyes.
'All taken care of,' came a cheery reply, as a biscuit hovered in mid-air and then slowly disappeared with bite marks and noisy crunching. 'We put them in a cart with instructions to set them down in the gendarme's yard. Maud and Effi kept the clothes, no point in wasting them.'
'Exactly,' said Maud through a mouth filled with crumbs.
'Where's your young man then?' asked Effi sleepily. 'We thought you'd end up with that blonde fella, didn't we Maud.' There was a mute nod in reply.
'He's just finishing up with the cockatrice,' said Elli squirming. 'And he's not really my young man.'
Rufus breezed in carrying a loaded tray and placed it daintily on the table. 'Turns out old blondie is a terrible one for the girls anyhow,' he said, cutting himself a large slice of gateaux and sniffing it carefully before taking a great bite. 'You know what these young males can be like,' he added, getting icing on his nose and coating his whiskers.
'Yes, you do,' said Alpha Sawyre archly, glancing at him as he swallowed the cake in a noisy gulp.
'And did you sort it all out with the Queen's Guard?' asked Effi, as a gentle rumbling snore was heard from Effi next to her.
'I said there was a group of armed persons advancing on the city and their leader had been killed in the skirmish by looking at his own cockatrice,' announced Max, as Alpha Sawyre cut the remaining cake into equal pieces. 'There were too many left to put in prison so they were given a choice. They could either join the Queen's Guard as footsoldiers and receive the right training and conditions or...'
'Yes?' asked a booming voice as a large piece of cake disappeared up above Alpha Sawyre.
'...or look into the eyes of the cockatrice and take their chances,' answered Alpha Sawyre. Max told them that one statue is quite fetching. Hundreds begin to look like carelessness.' Rufus flung open the door and entered carrying the steaming tea.
'That's Commander Maximillian to you,' said Rufus, setting the tray down. 'Never thought we'd say that, hey Max?'
'I very much doubt that you'll ever get to say it again as well,' he replied, his hand resting on Alpha Sawyre's.
The next morning Elli woke to soft raindrops pattering against her window. She instinctively placed her hand up towards her chest and felt for the absent stone, registering with sadness that it was no longer there. As the welcome smell of warm scones and pancakes wafted up to her bedroom from the oven, she guessed that Maud, Effi and their anti-bodied guest were downstairs waiting for them and wrapped her gown around her.
'Well hello,' said Rufus after a lazy knock at the door. It swung open to reveal him wiping his head with a towel whilst another pink fluffy one was wrapped around his waist. 'Breakfast is in ten minutes, then Alpha Sawyre wants to take us out to meet up with Gorda and Tyler. She doesn't think anybody in here yesterday had a clue. They had plays, sporting games, the works and a day off to attend. It must have cost a fortune. I'm surprised at Sarah agreeing to that. Plus it turns out that a star was born in the musical interlude, you'll never guess...'
'Norman?' she asked, remembering his voice as clear and perfect as fresh snow.
'Sadly not,' he answered, his mouth twisted into a wolfish grin.
'Not...'
'Billy is made up apparently. Elvis is a star, even more people to enjoy the frantic hip-wiggling and unfortunate thrusting. I've volunteered my services as his Manager, a boy like that could go far.'
'But he's not even talented,' said Elli, reacting to a sudden knock at the front door. 'What happened to Norman?' She paused and looked at him suspiciously. 'And aren't we supposed to be heading back to the Dogheadhood now that it's all over?'
He whipped out a buttered scone from somewhere on his person and threw it into his mouth. 'What's the rush?' he asked, licking the crumbs away. 'It's not my fault that a good business opportunity has come up now. And whilst I agree with you that Elvis has less musical talent that your average singing trout, that boy knows how to put on a show,
liberally helped by Billy's erstwhile financial assistance. Norman didn't even get a chance to perform, the applause and encores for Elvis went on forever,' he beamed. He looked around as footsteps moved up the stairs and gave Elli a grandiose wink before disappearing in a cloud of expensive talcum powder.
Behind him stood George, freshly scrubbed and carrying a bunch of tall daisies. She saw that he'd changed into better-fitting clothes and that his hair had been cut shorter as he stood hovering in the doorway.
'Suits you,' she said simply as he eventually wondered in, handing her the daisies that had a few desperate roots still attached.
He ran his hand through his hair and she swallowed, ignoring her racing pulse. 'Thought I'd try to make an effort. Actually I didn't have any choice. Aunt Berta insisted on all this and got Gerald to sort out my hair. It's strange not being able to see it all the time though,' he added, trying unsuccessfully to look up at his own forehead.
'I take it she's over the loss of her husband then,' she asked, smelling the daisies and coming face to face with a largely unimpressed beetle.
He shrugged his shoulders. 'Oh, I think she lost her husband quite a while back, she said she's never seen him better looking or known him to be more agreeable.' He paused and looked at her carefully, seeing the same wide eyes as in his picture. 'So, what are you going to do now?' He saw her reach for the absent stone and then drop her hand immediately.
'Well, I thought we were going back to the Dogheadhood but as always with Rufus, he has other plans. I think I'll probably go back to working at Goat Cuisine for a while at least. You?' she asked as he shuffled slightly closer.
He bowed his head slightly. 'I'm taking back the cockatrice,' he muttered, as though waiting for a blow. 'To where it came from. It's the least I can do, I was the one who looked after it in the first place, poor thing. All cooped up and away from home. Lady Lans...Aunt Berta says she'll pay for me, says it will be a good experience,' he added, his eyes a touch forlorn.
'I take it the cockatrice comes from a great distance away?' she asked, already knowing the answer.
He nodded, looking down at his hands. 'Beyond Naviaria into the wild plains and beyond. A few months at least. I've no idea how we'll know we've made it if I can't look for others, and if they roam in herds then I'm really in trouble,' he added, moving his hand towards hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. 'I just wondered if you'd mind if I called on you when I get back.'
'I'd like that,' she said finally, squeezing his hand back.
'Me too,' added Rufus in a high voice as a high velocity daisy came hurtling towards his face in the doorway.
Rufus and Elli walked behind Alpha Sawyre and Max, keeping a respectable distance behind and watching them talk quietly together. Occasionally they'd laugh, both heads thrown back with abandon and arms finally linked.
'You don't think there's anything going on there, do you?' whispered Rufus. 'Only he's got his extra-smart suit on and he's taking two showers a day now.' Elli glanced across at Rufus who was looking distinctly puzzled. They walked on over dusty cobbles and towards Beggers Bridge, where they turned into a narrow lane and out into a field where the sun struggled to shine. An imposing building sat squarely in the middle, an old school or prison she would guess, long since abandoned and forgotten. She looked up and saw a dusty face watching them from behind a streaked window, distorted and ghostly.
'What do you think?' asked Alpha Sawyre, gesturing up towards the building that squatted in the long grass. Rufus and Elli looked at one another, unsure of what to say.
'About the building?' Rufus finally asked, looking at its gaping windows and splashes of yellowing paint that were once words scrawled over its sides.
'There's an underground spring and a brook, it comes with all this land and Max worked them down to an absolute steal,' she said proudly, gesturing up at the building that sat like a malevolent toad.
'Alpha Sawyre, believe me, Harry the Ratchett does not make offers like that to the likes of me. You had him eating out of your hand, I thought he'd pay you in the end,' he said, his eyes twinkling and his dapper suit incongruous with the dilapidation around him.
'You...bought this?' asked Elli, her mouth suddenly dry.
Alpha Sawyre smiled serenely and nodded gently. 'It's ours, on behalf of the Dogheadhood. We'll have land, water, everything we need. There are even secret tunnels underneath so it will be perfect. I felt that some of us may have reasons to stay within Brayston and there are certainly many here who would welcome spiritual guidance.' She wrapped her shawl around her as a colder breeze danced around them.
'But the others...,' said Elli, as cold air whipped around her cheeks.
'Will have a choice to remain there or join us here,' said Alpha Sawyre. 'I will travel to them once a month to see that all is well.' She waved up as Tyler looked down from a high grimy window, flinging it open and the pane of glass with it which fell to the ground with a disintegrating tinkle.
'There is some work to do as you can see, but we're certain that you two can help to make it a place of great beauty and wonder...and safety ideally,' added Max, looking up with concern at the empty eye-socket of a window.
'Elli,' said Alpha Sawyre, keeping her voice low and placing her arm around her. 'I believe that some things, rightly or wrongly, are expected to be paid back. This way we stay together,' she whispered quietly, watching as Rufus began leaping into the air and swatting at something buzzing with abandon. 'All of us I'm afraid,' she added, shaking her head as she watched his flailing limbs and heard terrified squeals. Max stood next to him, still and calm and apparently unmolested. 'I was asked to give you this,' she said, passing Elli a thick rolled scroll with a wax seal that glittered and shone like fish scales. Elli groaned and opened it carefully, knowing what it would say.
Elspeth
We're delighted that you have given us a new artistic addition outside the city walls, and the Queen’s Guard are pleased with the hundreds of new yet rather reluctant recruits into their ranks.
I believe that our agreement was that you may remain here until your debt is paid in full. I am told that both stones miraculously vanished into thin air, and I would remind you that your account is still outstanding; I am also aware that fyrestones often leave the bearer in a different state of being, but I am willing to keep that information between us for now.
I will call on you when the time is right, as I am sure you are well aware.
S
She read it through twice and then folded it carefully and placed it in her pocket, the droning noise of the bees reminding her of a place far away. She saw Gorda come around the corner with a bucket of whitewash in each hand. She walked over towards them and placed the buckets on the ground, gesturing towards Rufus and Elli and then towards the flaking grey walls before disappearing back inside.
'But...,' managed Rufus as two paintbrushes were flung through an open window.
'I think this is where I'll say my goodbyes,' said Max as he flicked some dust from his suit. 'I don't want to be late on my first day.' The clip-clop of hooves told them that his cart was near, and he walked towards it slowly and purposefully with heavy strides. They watched him go in silence.
'Is he...working?' asked Rufus, as the penny dropped and then rolled through a gap in the floorboards.
Alpha Sawyre carried on watching him, her greyhound head erect and noble. 'He's the new Fine Art expert at the Museum. Can you imagine anybody more suited to the task?' she asked, seeing the shock slowly register into disbelief on their faces.
'But...working,' said Rufus again, his lower lip trembling. 'For money. And to pay...taxes,' he managed, as a large furry bee landed on his shoulder and was roundly ignored.
'People change,' said Alpha Sawyre simply, walking over to a grounded paintbrush and picking it up before placing it into his hand and curling his fingers around the handle. 'You did.'
Elli smiled and collected her paintbrush, feeling the reassuring gentle hum of the missing stone coursing
inside her. Yes, she thought, and so did I.
THE END