Chapter Two

The Little Rascals

It was early in the morning and already it was very warm on Calliandra but before it was too uncomfortable to work the traders and the field workers were already at their duties. It was the time of year when the Leela plants were being harvest, their unmistakable bitter sweet nectar riding on the breeze into the village where the stallholders were preparing their merchandise for the days trading. Each with their own particular skills finely tuned to produce wares of the highest standard in order to trade successfully. It was a bit like a market full of swapsies and each particular item had its worth. For instance, one Lady may produce jewellery that could be traded for food, clothes or other smaller items, depending on the value place upon each item. The market place was buzzing with activity and as they took a few moments to speak pleasantries to their neighbouring stallholders the air cooled and the skies darkened. There was thunder but no clouds, there was lightening but no storm, and there was a shower but no rain…it was 'The Falling'… a meteor shower that frequently rained on the world of Meru. The field workers stopped their harvesting and the stallholders stopped their trading as they waited with bated breath for their protectors to rise to the challenge. One by one the Dragons appeared in all their magnificence piercing the clouds as they soared straight into the meteor shower. There were three Dragons which revealed to the inhabitants of this volcanic world that it was a relatively minor Falling, it had been known for the falling to require seven and sometimes even eight Dragons. As they elegantly danced their manoeuvres, weaving in and out of the burning rock they discharged torrents of fire which blasted the meteors into smithereens. By the time they had plummeted to the ground the meteors were nothing but harmless dust. It was soon all over and the people of Calliandra resumed their duties, chatting away as if nothing had happened.

The Calliandrans lived in the shadow of two very large volcanic, but dormant mountains, their stone built homes carved into the black rock of the mountain side. They lived a relatively simple life with wind powered fans keeping them cool during the hot days and fires that kept them warm during the very cold nights. The people on Calliandra were no different to those of any other Kingdom on Meru, (except for a peculiar race called the Storytellers), in that they were all different. Some were always cheerful, some just plain moody, some were pretty or handsome to look at and some were not.

It was the season of flowers on Meru, the days were hotter, the nights colder and the atmosphere filled with optimism as the harvesting continued. Soon the Leela would be gathered and the field workers would start harvesting the Bluemeade. These were pretty blue flowers that produced little berries during the warm days of this season and were used to make the very best Blue Wine. The Leela on the other hand were harvested to make perfumes and medicine. It was also common to see the young ladies pressing the petals of these beautiful flowers so that they could be hemmed onto their dresses.

The stall holders were beginning their day as any other, exchanging goods from clothes and shoes to furniture and even houses. At the far end of the market place a commotion was attracting attention. Two young children with torn clothes and faces muddied were being chastised by one of the stallholders. Lady Fiona, (all women were addressed as 'Lady' on Calliandra), was normally very generous when the twins helped themselves to her fruit, usually allowing them to run away with it unchallenged… but not today. Maybe it was because their faces were covered in mud hiding the dimples and pleasant smiles that made them so likeable. Or maybe something had upset Lady Fiona and so she was in a particularly bad mood that day. Whatever the reason she was having none of it and yelled for the Guard to stop them.

'Guard! Guard!' Lady Fiona shrilled in her high-pitched tones that would be audible to Tanets alone had it been any higher. She was rather a buxom lady to say the least and looked a bit like a rhinoceros with her extravagant hairstyle in place of a horn. Picking up her very full dress she began the chase knowing full well that she would be unable to keep it up for long. The incredible and very elaborate hairstyle on the top of her head thrashed from side to side as she ran.

'Guard! Stop those two, they are stealing my fruit!' It seemed like only moments after starting her chase that she halted, already out of breath and out of voice, (to the delight of all who heard her). She rested her hand on her chest and took deep breaths of air in an attempt to slow her breathing down, her hand rising and falling like a small boat on the waves of a stormy ocean.

In the hope of losing Lady Fiona, Millie and Barram, with their tangled, long brown hair trailing behind them, ran into the busiest part of the market. They weaved in and out of the stalls, knocking over fruit, vegetables and other precious items. Barram, not wanting to waste any food, stopped briefly to give a handful of berries to a small child who was digging in the dirt behind his parents stall. Believing they had found a safe place to hide they crouched behind a stall and watched Lady Fiona come to standstill. They couldn't help but laugh at the sight of poor Lady Fiona trying to catch her breath especially with her hair in such a tangle. They put their hands over their mouths to stifle their giggles as they sat and waited.

'What do you think Barram, can you see anyone coming?'

'No, she's not coming after us, what do you think, time to go?' They looked into each other's dark brown eyes and grinned, knowing that once again they had got away with their mischievous behavior. Believing they had been undetected they slowly emerged from their hiding place to make their escape.

'So, my young friends did you think you had got away?' A smile of enormous proportions lit up the Guard's face as he placed his hands on the top of the twins' heads. He spun them around and walked them back towards Lady Fiona. He was pretty pleased with himself to say the least, it was the first time he had caught any villains.

'I hope you both have an apology ready for Lady Fiona, well have you?' The twins were more than a little embarrassed and nodded, but said nothing. A very stern looking Lady Fiona, with hands on hips, was waiting impatiently at her stall. Her hair now in a complete shambles as it flopped untidily to one side of her head. It was difficult for Millie and Barram to keep their faces straight as they stood before her. To avoid her gaze they bowed their heads and looked at the floor, trying to think serious thoughts to prevent themselves from erupting into hysterical laughter.

'This is becoming quite a habit with you two.' Lady Fiona tried to put her hair back on top of her head but some of the hair sticks had fallen out and as she fiddled with it the thick, plaited…what can only be described as a loaf of bread hair style, suddenly collapsed completely and her cheeks glowed with humiliation. Millie and Barram could hardly contain themselves as they sneaked a peak at the flamboyant hairdo disintegrating before them, ringlets trickled over her eyes, hair sticks poking out of her ears and the rest just looked like it had melted around her face. How the Guard managed to ignore the whole hair catastrophe and not find it at all amusing was a complete mystery. He was still glowing with pride, his face still stern and he placed his hands on the back of the twin's necks, his fingers tightening as if to squeeze an apology from them.

'Sorry Lady Fiona' they apologized in unison, heads still bowed to the ground. Millie raised hers slightly as she stretched out her fruit filled hands and attempted a sweet smile. The smile was the easy part, preventing it from developing into an uncontrollable fit of giggles though, was no minor feat.

'We will not do it again; here are your Berry fruit'. Barram followed Millie's lead and gave the fruit to Lady Fiona putting his hand over his mouth to stifle the sound of his sniggering.

Lady Fiona, a resourceful woman, and aware of the obvious humour her hair was creating, grabbed a pencil from a stall. Yanking it all back with her hands she twisted her hair high onto her head and shoved in a very large ornate pencil, miraculously locking it all into place.

'There that's better.' She said hoping that it would put an end to the frivolity. 'No, no, you keep them, I'm sure they will do you good.' Lady Fiona referred to the fruit that Millie and Barram were still holding out in the palm of their outstretched hands. She could not remain angry for long, had she not dropped and smashed her favourite cooking pot this morning she might not have been so irritable in the first place and let them have the fruit, after all it was only a few berries that her husband had brought home from the fields. Not that that was any comfort to Millie and Barram for now they were in a heap of trouble. They knew to expect some sort of punishment to come their way, especially as the Guard seemed so….joyful in his duties.

'I will ask the Guard to take you home, let your family know what you've been up to.' Lady Fiona was now composed and her breathing was back to normal, she returned to her stall and quickly checked her hair to make sure it was still on top of her head.

'Come on you two.' The Guard could hardly contain his pleasure as he nodded to Lady Fiona and wheeled the twins around to march them homewards. Henry, (the Guard), was glad to have something to do. Since joining the Imperial Guard only a few months ago he had done nothing but training and patrols. It was all getting a little boring and he longed for someone to commit a crime so that he could make an arrest. The fact that they were only children made no difference whatsoever, it had certainly added some much needed spice to his otherwise mundane day.

Henry held onto the twins tightly and nodded to the flutist as they passed by the well. The flutist stopped briefly to nod back and chuckled at the sight of Henry taking his job so seriously. He then continued playing his music as he watched Henry and the twins climb the hill. Henry frowned, not quite getting the joke, (was Pock laughing at him?), he took long, frustrated steps, as the twins jogged merrily alongside him to keep up.

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