" Come on…" she whispered, flicking some of her thick blonde hair out of
her face. " We can't lose them…if they're who we think they are…our lives
depend on them!" She glanced around once more before jumping into the air,
spreading her silver and blue wings and flying up above the trees. The
animal looked up at her hovering above the ground and growled in annoyance
as it padded into the trees following her and the group of strangers into
the trees.
* * * * * * * *
The group of friends made their way quickly through the strange plants and trees. Guillaume leading the way, Jo hanging limply in his arms, a look of pure determination set on his face. The others followed quickly behind, no one even noticing the speed with which they were marching through the undergrowth. All of them felt nervous, all could feel the hairs on their arms and necks standing up. They put it down to the lack of sunlight and therefore the lack of warmth but deep inside they sensed it was something else. Simon brought up the rear of the group, every now and then glancing back over his shoulder and surveying the trees and bushes behind them. Rosie turned back to see him do it twice in a matter of moments.
" Simon…" she started, " Do you have some strange twitch that none of us know about…?" Simon snapped his head around and his pure blue eyes met hers.
" Huh?" he sounded and looked confused.
" What's with the looking over your shoulder every few seconds?" Rosie grinned.
" Oh…it's nothing…it's just…" He shrugged, " I just have the feeling we're being watched…" He looked up expecting a rebuke but Rosie's face was serious and she nodded slightly.
" I know what you mean…" she whispered, eyeing the foliage on either side of them with distrust.
" Come on…" barked Guillaume from the front. " I think I can see the end of the trees ahead…" Simon exchanged a worried glance with Rosie as they continued on through the trees and shortly they too could see what looked like sunlight in front of them.
" Thank god…" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the trees around them began to thin. The end of the 'forest' came upon them very quickly and all of a sudden the friends found themselves shading their eyes to try and see.
" Can anyone see…anything?!" Mark squinted as he held a hand over his eyes.
" No…" Jenny screwed up her eyes to try and see what was in front of her but she couldn't. The light was so bright that the friends could barely see their feet upon the ground.
" Let's get back under the trees…" Phillipe shouted and they hurried back under the protective canopy of purple and pink leaves.
" Well wherever we are…it's a sunny day!" grinned Amos.
" A little too sunny for my liking…" groaned Marius.
" This is just great…" Martin moaned, " We're never going to get anywhere! We can't see past the end of our noses out there and I don't know about you but I don't fancy going back in there!" He jabbed a thumb back in the direction they had just come from.
" Hey! Watch it…you almost had my eye out!" came a disgruntled voice from behind him.
" Sorry…" he said turning around. His eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise. " Er…er…oh my…" He stepped backwards and bumped into Marius.
" Martin be careful you almost…" Marius started as he turned round but he too lost the power of speech when he spotted who was behind them. The rest of the group turned upon hearing the gasps from Martin and Marius, all of them found them selves staring at a young girl. She had blonde hair, cut just above her shoulders and the brightest blue eyes they had seen. Even Simon's eyes paled in comparison. The strange thing about her was that she appeared to by flying. Floating at least.
" Hello…" she smiled warmly, a small frown creased her brow as they group just stood and stared. She rolled her unbelievably blue eyes and sighed. " I thought you spoke English…?" she said rather than asked of them.
" We-we do…" mumbled Rosie, looking up at the young girl who appeared to be floating in mid air.
" Oh that's good…" grinning the girl, the frown disappearing from her almost elfin face.
" What…I mean who are you…?" Guillaume's voice was very quiet and the girl had to strain to hear him.
" I am Lina…" she bowed gracefully, all without touching the ground. " I am pleased to welcome you and I have come to guide you to Vaniria…" explained Lina.
" Guide us to where…?!" came the unanimous answer from the group.
A rustling in the bushes stopped their conversation and the friends froze as the leaves parted and out crept a large animal. The creature was orange and had black stripes covering the length of its body. Two large round eyes, golden in colour, looked at them as it stopped in front of them.
" Tiger!" screamed Bertrande, scrabbling to get behind Mark. Various yells and cries emanated from the group as they looked with frightened eyes upon the creature that had appeared beside them. " Tiger! What's a tiger and where is it?!" Lina leapt bravely in front of the group, waving a small dagger in front of her. The friends could now see how it was that she had floated in the air. On her back were two beautiful wings, silver and blue in colour. " Whatever it is, Billabong and I will protect you!" she announced bravely.
" Billabong?" Phillipe was very confused.
" My Regit…" Lina continued, her eyes scouring the bushes for whatever it was that had scared them so.
" What on earth is a Regit?" Rosie was baffled. Lina laughed and pointed at the orange and black creature before them.
" He is of course…" she glanced over her shoulder at them and grinned before turning back to the bushes. " Now then…where's this tiger thing then?"
" Er…that is…" Marius pointed nervously at Billabong who looked as insulted as it was possible for a Tiger to be. " Billabong?!" Lina looked at them in amazement. " He's no Tiger…he's a Regit!" she laughed. " Nothing to be scared of there! He's perfectly harmless!"
" He's…he's your pet?" Lucy looked at the animal and then at Lina.
" Of course he is…I liked him better when he was little, a cub…" she groaned, sheathing the dagger and attaching it to the belt around her slim waist. " He was so cute and cuddly but now…he's huge! I can't carry him or anything. All he does is eat. He's like a giant stripy door stop with legs!" She looked sorrowfully at the animal that looked at her with apologetic eyes. She stroked his head and tickled his left ear. " I know…it's not your fault…" she sighed, " I guess you're just big boned or something…"
" Can he…can Billabong talk?" Jenny blinked in amazement at what she was hearing.
" Can he talk?! Of course he can't talk! Whoever heard of a talking Regit! Honestly…" Lina laughed loudly and Billabong made a noise that they could only assume was the sound of Regit having hysterics. Jenny blushed violently.
" What?" she shrugged to the others. " It might have been the case…after all the trees are blue and she does have wings!" Jenny frowned as Lina wiped a tear of laughter from her eye and tried to regain her composure.
" Well, I suppose it was a fairly honest mistake…" Lina smiled gently at Jenny and was relieved to see it returned. " Now then!" Lina clapped her hands together gleefully, " Shouldn't we get going…?"
" Er…how far is this Van…Van…" Guillaume asked, looking at the pallid Jo in his arms.
" Vaniria…" finished Lina, " It's about an hours walk…don't worry, we'll get Jo there before it's too late!" she winked before launching herself up into the sky. Her shape cast a large bird-like shadow upon the ground beyond the trees. " Walk in my shadow…" she yelled, " You'll be able to see where you're going!" The group threw each other mystified looks as they walked out into the blinding light and into Lina's shadow. Relief covered their faces when they found that they could see much better now that Lina was providing shade from above. Their surroundings were much more pleasant than the trees had been in the forest. Wide-open plains of grass (which looked reassuringly green) stretched as far as the eye could see, covered in a myriad of coloured flowers. Billabong appeared by their side. " To save time…" they heard Lina's voice from above. " I'd put Jo on Billabong…that way you can walk faster Guillaume! Don't worry, he's perfectly safe!" Guillaume looked down at the beast at his side, then shifted his gaze to Jo. His brow furrowed as he sighed and gently laid her on the back of the Regit. He looked down into the golden eyes looking up at him. Guillaume couldn't be sure, and he certainly wasn't going to ask anybody, but he could have sworn that Billabong winked at him. He watched as the Regit started to walk forwards as Lina began to fly overhead. The group started to walk,
" Well…" sighed Marius, " This is nice huh?"
" Yes…lovely…" shrugged Bertrande.
" So…are we in Oz?" Martin asked as they wandered along through the grass.
" Well…there's no sign of a yellow brick road anywhere!" grinned Lucy.
" And I don't remember any flying girls in it either…" Mark added thoughtfully.
" Monkeys…yes! Girls…no!" smiled Rosie. " And I don't remember any giant tig…I mean Regits!"
" So where are we? And who is she?" frowned Simon.
" No idea…but she seems friendly enough…" Jenny glanced up at the girl flying high above them.
" What about this Vaniria place…does it sound familiar to anyone…?" Amos shrugged off his leather jacket and flipped it over his shoulder as the temperature rose.
" Nope…" Mark shook his head. " But wherever it is…we'll find out soon enough!"
" She knows who we are…" Guillaume said quietly, receiving confused looks from the others.
" What?" Martin frowned.
" She said… 'don't worry, we'll get Jo there before it's too late' and she called me Guillaume…how did she know our names when we haven't introduced ourselves! And how did she know Jo needed help?" Guillaume glanced up suspiciously.
" Well, she's obviously been following us…" began Rosie.
" I guess she overheard us talking…" suggested Phillipe.
" And one look at Jo would tell anyone that she's not well…" Marius added cautiously, not wanting to dwell on it.
" Yeah…I suppose…" Guillaume smiled weakly. They continued walking in the shadow of the flying girl. The giant Regit padding silently along, Jo laying motionless on his back.
" There!" Lina shouted after a while. " It the distance! That's it…that's Vaniria!" The friends strained their eyes and could just make out a speck on the horizon. Their eyes were gradually adjusting to the unbelievable brightness and they could see that the speck was in fact a city.
" Well…at least help isn't too far away!" Marius smiled broadly.
" Yes…" Guillaume's eyes narrowed as they walked on, towards the city in the distance. " …something tells me there's more than help waiting for us…" he muttered under his breath as Vaniria drew ever closer.
* * * * * * * *
The group of friends made their way quickly through the strange plants and trees. Guillaume leading the way, Jo hanging limply in his arms, a look of pure determination set on his face. The others followed quickly behind, no one even noticing the speed with which they were marching through the undergrowth. All of them felt nervous, all could feel the hairs on their arms and necks standing up. They put it down to the lack of sunlight and therefore the lack of warmth but deep inside they sensed it was something else. Simon brought up the rear of the group, every now and then glancing back over his shoulder and surveying the trees and bushes behind them. Rosie turned back to see him do it twice in a matter of moments.
" Simon…" she started, " Do you have some strange twitch that none of us know about…?" Simon snapped his head around and his pure blue eyes met hers.
" Huh?" he sounded and looked confused.
" What's with the looking over your shoulder every few seconds?" Rosie grinned.
" Oh…it's nothing…it's just…" He shrugged, " I just have the feeling we're being watched…" He looked up expecting a rebuke but Rosie's face was serious and she nodded slightly.
" I know what you mean…" she whispered, eyeing the foliage on either side of them with distrust.
" Come on…" barked Guillaume from the front. " I think I can see the end of the trees ahead…" Simon exchanged a worried glance with Rosie as they continued on through the trees and shortly they too could see what looked like sunlight in front of them.
" Thank god…" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the trees around them began to thin. The end of the 'forest' came upon them very quickly and all of a sudden the friends found themselves shading their eyes to try and see.
" Can anyone see…anything?!" Mark squinted as he held a hand over his eyes.
" No…" Jenny screwed up her eyes to try and see what was in front of her but she couldn't. The light was so bright that the friends could barely see their feet upon the ground.
" Let's get back under the trees…" Phillipe shouted and they hurried back under the protective canopy of purple and pink leaves.
" Well wherever we are…it's a sunny day!" grinned Amos.
" A little too sunny for my liking…" groaned Marius.
" This is just great…" Martin moaned, " We're never going to get anywhere! We can't see past the end of our noses out there and I don't know about you but I don't fancy going back in there!" He jabbed a thumb back in the direction they had just come from.
" Hey! Watch it…you almost had my eye out!" came a disgruntled voice from behind him.
" Sorry…" he said turning around. His eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise. " Er…er…oh my…" He stepped backwards and bumped into Marius.
" Martin be careful you almost…" Marius started as he turned round but he too lost the power of speech when he spotted who was behind them. The rest of the group turned upon hearing the gasps from Martin and Marius, all of them found them selves staring at a young girl. She had blonde hair, cut just above her shoulders and the brightest blue eyes they had seen. Even Simon's eyes paled in comparison. The strange thing about her was that she appeared to by flying. Floating at least.
" Hello…" she smiled warmly, a small frown creased her brow as they group just stood and stared. She rolled her unbelievably blue eyes and sighed. " I thought you spoke English…?" she said rather than asked of them.
" We-we do…" mumbled Rosie, looking up at the young girl who appeared to be floating in mid air.
" Oh that's good…" grinning the girl, the frown disappearing from her almost elfin face.
" What…I mean who are you…?" Guillaume's voice was very quiet and the girl had to strain to hear him.
" I am Lina…" she bowed gracefully, all without touching the ground. " I am pleased to welcome you and I have come to guide you to Vaniria…" explained Lina.
" Guide us to where…?!" came the unanimous answer from the group.
A rustling in the bushes stopped their conversation and the friends froze as the leaves parted and out crept a large animal. The creature was orange and had black stripes covering the length of its body. Two large round eyes, golden in colour, looked at them as it stopped in front of them.
" Tiger!" screamed Bertrande, scrabbling to get behind Mark. Various yells and cries emanated from the group as they looked with frightened eyes upon the creature that had appeared beside them. " Tiger! What's a tiger and where is it?!" Lina leapt bravely in front of the group, waving a small dagger in front of her. The friends could now see how it was that she had floated in the air. On her back were two beautiful wings, silver and blue in colour. " Whatever it is, Billabong and I will protect you!" she announced bravely.
" Billabong?" Phillipe was very confused.
" My Regit…" Lina continued, her eyes scouring the bushes for whatever it was that had scared them so.
" What on earth is a Regit?" Rosie was baffled. Lina laughed and pointed at the orange and black creature before them.
" He is of course…" she glanced over her shoulder at them and grinned before turning back to the bushes. " Now then…where's this tiger thing then?"
" Er…that is…" Marius pointed nervously at Billabong who looked as insulted as it was possible for a Tiger to be. " Billabong?!" Lina looked at them in amazement. " He's no Tiger…he's a Regit!" she laughed. " Nothing to be scared of there! He's perfectly harmless!"
" He's…he's your pet?" Lucy looked at the animal and then at Lina.
" Of course he is…I liked him better when he was little, a cub…" she groaned, sheathing the dagger and attaching it to the belt around her slim waist. " He was so cute and cuddly but now…he's huge! I can't carry him or anything. All he does is eat. He's like a giant stripy door stop with legs!" She looked sorrowfully at the animal that looked at her with apologetic eyes. She stroked his head and tickled his left ear. " I know…it's not your fault…" she sighed, " I guess you're just big boned or something…"
" Can he…can Billabong talk?" Jenny blinked in amazement at what she was hearing.
" Can he talk?! Of course he can't talk! Whoever heard of a talking Regit! Honestly…" Lina laughed loudly and Billabong made a noise that they could only assume was the sound of Regit having hysterics. Jenny blushed violently.
" What?" she shrugged to the others. " It might have been the case…after all the trees are blue and she does have wings!" Jenny frowned as Lina wiped a tear of laughter from her eye and tried to regain her composure.
" Well, I suppose it was a fairly honest mistake…" Lina smiled gently at Jenny and was relieved to see it returned. " Now then!" Lina clapped her hands together gleefully, " Shouldn't we get going…?"
" Er…how far is this Van…Van…" Guillaume asked, looking at the pallid Jo in his arms.
" Vaniria…" finished Lina, " It's about an hours walk…don't worry, we'll get Jo there before it's too late!" she winked before launching herself up into the sky. Her shape cast a large bird-like shadow upon the ground beyond the trees. " Walk in my shadow…" she yelled, " You'll be able to see where you're going!" The group threw each other mystified looks as they walked out into the blinding light and into Lina's shadow. Relief covered their faces when they found that they could see much better now that Lina was providing shade from above. Their surroundings were much more pleasant than the trees had been in the forest. Wide-open plains of grass (which looked reassuringly green) stretched as far as the eye could see, covered in a myriad of coloured flowers. Billabong appeared by their side. " To save time…" they heard Lina's voice from above. " I'd put Jo on Billabong…that way you can walk faster Guillaume! Don't worry, he's perfectly safe!" Guillaume looked down at the beast at his side, then shifted his gaze to Jo. His brow furrowed as he sighed and gently laid her on the back of the Regit. He looked down into the golden eyes looking up at him. Guillaume couldn't be sure, and he certainly wasn't going to ask anybody, but he could have sworn that Billabong winked at him. He watched as the Regit started to walk forwards as Lina began to fly overhead. The group started to walk,
" Well…" sighed Marius, " This is nice huh?"
" Yes…lovely…" shrugged Bertrande.
" So…are we in Oz?" Martin asked as they wandered along through the grass.
" Well…there's no sign of a yellow brick road anywhere!" grinned Lucy.
" And I don't remember any flying girls in it either…" Mark added thoughtfully.
" Monkeys…yes! Girls…no!" smiled Rosie. " And I don't remember any giant tig…I mean Regits!"
" So where are we? And who is she?" frowned Simon.
" No idea…but she seems friendly enough…" Jenny glanced up at the girl flying high above them.
" What about this Vaniria place…does it sound familiar to anyone…?" Amos shrugged off his leather jacket and flipped it over his shoulder as the temperature rose.
" Nope…" Mark shook his head. " But wherever it is…we'll find out soon enough!"
" She knows who we are…" Guillaume said quietly, receiving confused looks from the others.
" What?" Martin frowned.
" She said… 'don't worry, we'll get Jo there before it's too late' and she called me Guillaume…how did she know our names when we haven't introduced ourselves! And how did she know Jo needed help?" Guillaume glanced up suspiciously.
" Well, she's obviously been following us…" began Rosie.
" I guess she overheard us talking…" suggested Phillipe.
" And one look at Jo would tell anyone that she's not well…" Marius added cautiously, not wanting to dwell on it.
" Yeah…I suppose…" Guillaume smiled weakly. They continued walking in the shadow of the flying girl. The giant Regit padding silently along, Jo laying motionless on his back.
" There!" Lina shouted after a while. " It the distance! That's it…that's Vaniria!" The friends strained their eyes and could just make out a speck on the horizon. Their eyes were gradually adjusting to the unbelievable brightness and they could see that the speck was in fact a city.
" Well…at least help isn't too far away!" Marius smiled broadly.
" Yes…" Guillaume's eyes narrowed as they walked on, towards the city in the distance. " …something tells me there's more than help waiting for us…" he muttered under his breath as Vaniria drew ever closer.
