The Key to Rondo

by Emily Rodda

  Her eyes moistened. Almost angrily, she dashed the tears away with her free hand. ‘But you must give up this idea of trying to get your friend back,’ she went on earnestly. ‘If the Blue Queen has claimed him, there is nothing to be done.’

  ‘Polly’s right,’ Jim said, as Mimi shook her head passionately and opened her mouth to argue. ‘The Blue Queen has lost the terrible power she had in the Dark Time, sure, but she’s still a sorceress. You can’t possibly defeat her. It would be madness even to try.’

  Mimi’s face seemed to close. ‘I have to save Mutt,’ she said stubbornly.

  ‘You don’t know what you’re saying, girl!’ Grandma snapped. ‘Maybe on the coast, where you come from, folk don’t understand what the Blue Queen is. But we do, and we know what happens to people who try to cross her.’

  Mimi turned her head away.

  Leo wet his lips. ‘We don’t know very much about the Blue Queen, it’s true,’ he said, choosing his words carefully. ‘Anything you can tell us will help.’

  Help to convince Mimi to give this up. So we can both go home.

  Perhaps the other three sitting around the table read the unspoken message in his eyes, because they all began speaking at once. In the end, however, it was the old woman who began the story.

  ‘The Blue Queen was always a bad lot,’ Grandma said. ‘Good-looking, maybe, but vain as a flamingo, and with a cold, ugly heart. She’d married the king after his first wife died. She was jealous of her step-daughter, the young princess, and treated her badly, though the king never seemed to notice.’

  ‘He was bewitched, some said,’ Polly put in.

  ‘Or just stupid,’ Grandma growled contemptuously. ‘In any case, he let the queen have her way. Over the years she got worse and worse …’ She glanced at Jim.

  ‘My father worked for her, in those days,’ Jim said, taking up the story reluctantly. ‘He was a member of her personal guard. He didn’t like it much, but he had my mother and me to think about and so he put up with it.’

  He sighed. ‘Then, one day the Blue Queen called him in and told him she had a special, secret mission for him. A big old forest grew around the castle then. The queen ordered my father to take the young princess into the forest and kill her.’

  Leo and Mimi gasped, glancing at one another then back at Jim.

  ‘Your father –?’ Leo began.

  ‘Was ordered to kill the princess, just like that,’ Jim repeated, nodding. ‘Hard to believe, isn’t it?’

  He shook his head. ‘Father talked to Mother about it, and they worked out a plan,’ he went on. ‘It would be hard, and dangerous, but anything was better than doing the young princess harm. They were both very fond of her and, anyway, Father was no murderer. He was a soldier, maybe, but a gentler, kinder man never lived.’

  He swallowed, and Polly tightened her grip on his hand.

  ‘My father carried out the plan,’ Jim went on. ‘He took the princess into the forest all right. But then he told her what the queen had ordered him to do.’

  ‘So the princess ran away, deep into the forest …’ Mimi murmured.

  Jim gave her a surprised look. ‘Oh, no,’ he said. ‘Father couldn’t have left her to fend for herself. Anything might have happened to her. No, he took her home to our cottage, by one of the forest ways, and my mother hid her. Then he went back to the queen and told her the deed had been done, and that the princess was dead.’

  He bent his head. ‘That night, we left the cottage, taking the princess with us,’ he said, looking down at his hands. ‘Father left a note for the queen, saying that killing the princess had upset him a bit, and he’d decided to try a different line of work. We crossed the river in the dark and walked for days, till my parents thought we’d gone far enough to be safe.’

  ‘It wasn’t safe, though,’ muttered Grandma.

  ‘No,’ Jim said heavily. ‘Nowhere in the world would have been safe, as it turned out. Because the Blue Queen found out that the princess was still alive. She realised that my father had lied to her. And from that moment on, he was a marked man.’

  Chapter 20

  Tales of the Dark Time

  ‘How did the queen find out that the princess was still alive?’ asked Bertha, who had been following Jim’s story avidly.

  ‘Maybe she had a magic mirror,’ Mimi suggested, glancing at Leo again.

  ‘Maybe,’ Jim agreed. ‘She was a sorceress even in those days. Anyway, she didn’t make a move against us then, and we didn’t dream we were in danger. We were happy. The princess – Suki, we called her, because of course she couldn’t use her real name – stayed with us. She was like a daughter to my parents, and like a sister to me.'

  ‘And to me,’ Polly whispered. ‘Everyone loved her.’

  ‘I grew up, got restless, as some young people do, and went off to find work in town,’ Jim said. ‘Walter and Suki got married and built a house of their own in the village. Then the old king died, and the trouble started. The Blue Queen had always dabbled in sorcery, according to Father, but we had no idea how powerful she’d become.’

  ‘She’d had the king fooled all right but, even so, she hadn’t dared to reveal herself while he was alive,’ Grandma said. ‘That’s how it must have been, because it wasn’t long after he died that the Dark Time came.’

  She fell silent, lost in her own thoughts.

  Leo was longing to ask for more information, but he didn’t dare. He was supposed to be a part of this world. He was supposed to know …

  Surprisingly, it was Bertha who solved his problem.

  ‘I don’t know exactly how the Dark Time started,’ she said. ‘I was living with my brother at the time, and he wasn’t interested in current affairs at all. All he ever talked about was the local darts competition. I was completely cut off from important news.’

  ‘The Blue Queen suddenly revealed her power,’ Jim said. His voice was husky, as if it pained him to speak. ‘She wielded it ruthlessly. She’d met Spoiler by then – actually taken him to live in the castle – and he encouraged her.’

  ‘As if she needed encouragement to do the things she’d wanted to do for years!’ Polly burst out angrily. ‘The first thing she did was to destroy the forest that surrounded the castle. She said it spoiled her view but there was revenge in what she did too, because Old Forest was the ancient home of the Terlamaines who had never paid her the respect she thought she deserved.’

  Jim nodded. ‘The forest vanished overnight. Thousands of Terlamaines were left without shelter, and were slaughtered by the queen’s army. It was a frightful thing.’

  ‘The Terlamaines weren’t the only ones to suffer,’ muttered Grandma. ‘Plenty of ordinary folk did too. After the Blue Queen had got rid of Old Forest, she started on the farms and villages beyond it. Then she dammed up the river to make herself a lake, and all the farms around here started to die.’

  ‘Didn’t anyone try to stop her?’ Mimi exclaimed.

  ‘Didn’t your parents teach you anything, girl?’ snapped the old woman. ‘Of course folk tried to stop her. Thousands died trying. But no one could stand against that army of monsters she’d created to fight for her. As fast as they were cut down, she’d make more.’

  ‘And in no time at all, she had what she’d always wanted,’ said Polly bitterly. ‘She and Spoiler ruled Rondo by fear. Whatever they wanted they took, and whatever they disliked, they destroyed. They decked themselves in gold and jewels. They feasted while we starved. Their monsters roamed the land, spreading terror. The castle stood alone on its hill, overlooking a fine lake, with nothing but smooth green grass around it, as far as the eye could see.’

  That’s just how it looks now, Leo thought, remembering the back of the music box. Except …

  ‘There’s no lake there now,’ he said aloud.

  ‘Well, I’m glad you know that at least,’ snorted Grandma. ‘The dam was taken down when the Blue Queen’s power was broken and the Dark Time ended. Everyone around here went to work on the task
– everyone who was able.’

  ‘Macdonald did,’ Bertha said eagerly.

  ‘So did Polly and I,’ Jim said with a touch of pride. ‘The dam came down, stone by stone, and at last the river flowed again. I only wish other evils of the Dark Time had been so easy to undo.’

  He fell silent. Polly stared down at her hands. Grandma looked bleak.

  ‘The man who finally broke the Blue Queen’s power was a mighty wizard,’ Grandma quavered. ‘He stood alone against her, and he won. But the battle killed his own power – burned it away to nothing, they say. He couldn’t do any more for us.’

  Leo knew they didn’t want to talk about what the Blue Queen had done to them. The memory was painful. But perhaps a real, personal story was the only thing that would convince Mimi to abandon her quest.

  ‘What happened to your family in the Dark Time, Jim?’ he asked softly. ‘Did the Blue Queen track your father down at last?’

  Jim glanced at Polly. She tightened her lips and gave a little nod, as if agreeing that he should speak.

  ‘The Blue Queen came to the village,’ he said in a hard voice. ‘I wasn’t there, of course, because I was working in town. By happy chance, Polly wasn’t there either. She was here, visiting Grandma. But everyone else – our mothers and fathers, Suki and Walter, and Polly’s little sister – were at home.’

  ‘And the Blue Queen killed them all?’ squeaked Bertha, her small eyes wide with horror.

  ‘No,’ said Polly, who had grown very pale. ‘That revenge would have been too ordinary for her. She – changed them. She turned them all into swans – seven great, white swans. And then she set the village on fire, and left them. I came home and found them wandering among the burned ruins of our homes. Everyone else had run away.’

  Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Leo’s heart ached for her.

  ‘The swans still seemed to half-remember what they’d been,’ she whispered. ‘But they couldn’t speak to me. And, after a while, their memories clouded and they just – flew away. There was no water for them to swim in near the village, any more. The Blue Queen had seen to that.’

  She buried her face in her hands. Leo felt a burning anger rise in his chest – anger such as he had never felt before in his life. He looked into Jim’s eyes, and saw the same, flaming anger reflected there.

  ‘Polly came to live with Grandma, after that,’ Jim said stolidly. ‘They sent word to me. I came home, but there was nothing I could do to change things. Later, when the Blue Queen’s power was broken, we had hopes. But the wizard who had faced the queen had sacrificed his own power to defeat her. He couldn’t undo what had been done, any more than he could make the great trees of Old Forest grow again.’

  He clenched his huge fists. ‘I burned for revenge, in those days. And even now, when I go to town and see Spoiler walking free, my heart feels as if it’s going to burst in my chest.’

  ‘Everyone who suffered in the Dark Time must feel the same, Jim,’ Polly murmured anxiously. ‘But we’ve made a new life. We’ve been happy.’

  ‘Of course we have,’ said Jim, squeezing her hand. ‘And if ever I’m tempted to do something stupid, I think of you and Rosebud and put the thought out of my mind. Spoiler is under the Blue Queen’s protection and she still has power enough to be dangerous. I might risk my safety but I won’t risk yours. You’re far too precious to me.’

  Bertha made a snuffling sound and bowed her head. Leo felt a burning lump rise in his throat and struggled to force it down. He wondered what Mimi was feeling. She was very still. Her face was unreadable.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he mumbled, and cleared his throat as everyone looked at him. ‘I mean, I’m sorry for what happened to you, and I’m truly sorry we came here and brought trouble on you again. We didn’t know the Blue Queen was your enemy, too. We didn’t know –’

  Jim shook his head and held up his hands. ‘How could you know?’ he said. ‘Besides, if you hadn’t come here when you did, what would have happened to Rosebud? Don’t forget how much we owe you.’

  ‘And if our story has convinced you not to seek out the Blue Queen yourselves, it was well worth telling,’ Polly put in.

  Grandma gave a harsh bark of laughter. ‘We haven’t convinced that one of anything,’ she said, jerking her head at Mimi. ‘She’s stubborn as a donkey. She’ll still go after her dog, and she’ll drag the boy along with her.’

  Mimi looked down and didn’t speak. There was a long silence.

  Polly sighed and got to her feet. ‘I’m going to bed,’ she said, walking to the fire and putting its metal guard around it in preparation for the night.

  Jim went to a cupboard and took out blankets, pillows and quilts.

  ‘In the morning we’ll talk again,’ he said, handing the bedding to Mimi and Leo. ‘For now, I think we all need sleep.’

  A very short time afterwards, Mimi and Leo were lying in comfort by the softly glowing fire. They had the hearth to themselves because Rufus was out hunting and Bertha had chosen to sleep outside in Jim’s work shed.

  ‘I’m sure you don’t snore as loudly as my brother did,’ she’d told Mimi and Leo, ‘but ever since sharing a room with him, I prefer to sleep alone. I hope you understand.’

  They had assured her that they did.

  Polly and Grandma had gone to bed. Now only Jim remained, checking the locks on the doors and putting out the last of the candles.

  At last, the room was lit only by the glow of the fire.

  ‘Goodnight, then,’ Jim said. ‘Sleep well, and don’t worry. Rufus never strays far from the cottage. He’ll bark if strangers come near.’

  Leo propped himself up on his elbow. Among all the things that were whirling around in his head, one thing in particular was worrying him.

  ‘Jim,’ he said. ‘Before you go – could you tell us something about Spoiler? I mean, we’ve met him. He’s … well, he’s sort of ordinary, isn’t he? Nothing like the Blue Queen. What made her choose him to share all her money and power and everything?’

  Jim shrugged. ‘Who knows?’ he said. ‘Spoiler came out of nowhere. No one seemed to know anything about him. He was already hanging around the town, making a big man of himself, when I first went there to work. I used to see him in the tavern …’

  ‘The Black Sheep?’ asked Leo quickly.

  Jim nodded. ‘I’d got a job there – collecting empty glasses, washing up, and so on. I saw Spoiler a lot. He didn’t seem to work, but he always had plenty of cash. He gathered a gang of spongers round him, went in for card games, and horse races, betting for money – lots of money, sometimes.’

  He paused, thinking. ‘There was something about him … He was different from anyone I’d ever seen before. Sort of – exciting. But not someone you’d like your parents to meet. You know?’

  Leo was starting to feel sick. What Jim was saying sounded horribly familiar, and the vague idea that had made him ask about Spoiler in the first place was beginning to become more and more concrete.

  ‘Was Spoiler at the tavern every day?’ he asked, trying to sound casual.

  Jim frowned. ‘At first he just came now and then. Then suddenly he seemed to be around all the time. He acted as if he owned the place. The landlord, Jolly, didn’t like him, I know that for a fact. Then the Blue Queen came to the tavern to complain in person about some cider she’d ordered. She and Spoiler hit it off straight away. The next thing we knew he was with her in the castle, acting like a king. That’s really all I can tell you.’

  ‘Right,’ Leo said faintly.

  Jim said goodnight again and took himself off to bed.

  Leo lay down, pulled his covers up to his chin, and tried to face what he now was certain was the truth.

  ‘This is all so strange, Leo,’ Mimi whispered in the dimness. ‘I can’t – quite – believe it. Polly, Jim, Grandma, Conker, the Blue Queen – even Bertha and the wolf – they were all painted on the music box a long time ago. But somehow they didn’t just stay the same, like pictures are supposed
to do. They got older and moved around and went on with their lives, just as if they were real!’

  ‘They are real,’ Leo muttered. ‘They’re as real as we are.’

  ‘And the Langlander tales,’ Mimi murmured. ‘They’re stories about people from our family, who came here a long time ago. One of them’s about Rollo Langlander. And Aunt Bethany used to talk about Monty and Ida, too. They were her great-grandparents, I think.’

  Leo didn’t answer. He heard her moving restlessly under her quilt. Then her voice came again.

  ‘Leo! Do you realise that we’re fairytales to these people, just like they’re fairytales to us? It’s so weird!’

  ‘I know,’ Leo whispered back. ‘But Mimi, that’s not all. I think –’

  ‘What?’ Mimi asked impatiently.

  Leo took a deep breath.

  ‘Mimi,’ he said. ‘I think Spoiler – is Wicked Uncle George.’

  Chapter 21

  The Forest Way

  It was very strange, and rather nice, to wake up the next day rolled in a quilt by a still-smouldering fire, with a rooster crowing outside. In a way, it reminded Leo of a school camp he’d been on once.

  But the pleasant feeling ebbed away as Leo woke up fully. This wasn’t a school camp, where there were teachers to tell you what to do and a whole lot of sensible, if sometimes annoying, rules to follow. This was another world, where the rules were unknown, where you never knew what was going to happen next, and where you held your future in your own hands.

  A world, what’s more, in which your own great-great uncle was a major villain, and he and his gang were after you.

  Leo saw that Mimi was already up. She was sitting by the window and looking out, her chin resting on her hand. Soon Jim and the others would be up and about, too. In fact, even now there were sounds of movement from behind the door that led to the bedrooms.

  Reluctantly, Leo crawled out of his warm nest and ran his fingers through his ruffled hair. Mimi didn’t look around. Maybe she was so deep in thought that she couldn’t hear him. Or maybe she just couldn’t be bothered. You could never tell with Mimi.