THE MUSIC BOX, THE STAFF AND THE MIRROR

CHAPTER 3

Hannah and Roughus heard Marc and the woman talking.

"You know I will do anything for you, Belladonna."

"This could be dangerous, my love."

"I'm not afraid; nothing can scare me when I do something for you. Oh, Belladonna, I've been waiting for you all my life."

"Yes, but will you get these things for me. They are important."

"I will. I will do anything, I love you, Belladonna."

"Let's go then, now. The quicker I have my possessions back, the quicker I will be yours, my love."

"Yes, Belladonna, of course, let's go."

They went further into the forest; Hannah and her little bird followed them. The bird sat on Hannah's shoulder and told her everything he knew.

"This Belladonna is as poisonous as her name suggests. She has been looking for some magic objects for a very long time. She's lured many a man in her web and has always gotten them mad enough to try and get those things for her. They have all paid with their lives for failing."

"We have to warn Marc. He has to know who that woman is."

"It's no use, Hannah. He is under her spell and won't believe you. By now he probably won't even recognize you."

"But surely…"

Roughus interrupted her, "Hannah, believe me, you can't do anything at the moment. If you try she'll curse you or destroy you and Marc will still be under her spell. We can only follow them and hope for a chance to help Marc."

Deeper and deeper they went into the forest. It became dark and dense, with a canopy so thick Hannah couldn't see a single star, not even the moon. Tree roots crossed the path and strange poison-green vines tried to trip her up. If Hannah didn't fall it was because every tree seemed to emit a faint, sickly fluorescent light that lit the path. Whether this came from the tree itself or was a reflection of the vine she couldn't tell. A few times when she stumbled, she feared the couple in front might have heard her but they were too busy whispering sweet nothings, though how they could talk of love in a place that was so devoid of beauty Hannah didn't know. The air was oppressive, acrid, stinging Hannah's throat. She could hardly breathe. There was a strange smell and taste of burning even though there was no sign of a fire. Shrubs and plants were struggling to grow or were dead, long ago strangled by the vine. They left the vine-infested wood behind when they forded a stream. Ancient trees grew here, tall and wide, or crooked and gnarled. Quite a few were hollow and Hannah and Roughus spent the night in one of them while Marc and Belladonna were smooching under an old weeping willow near a small lake.

It was barely dawn when they were off again. Eventually Marc and Belladonna arrived at a clearing. In the middle of it, all by itself stood an old yew tree. This too was hollow. Marc and Belladonna went straight for it.

"Oh Marc," Belladonna whispered. "My music box fell in the hole under this tree. I have tried to get it out but there is a deep cavern underneath it. I'm just a helpless woman and it is so deep and dark in there. I'm afraid to go in. Please, can you go in and find my music box? Please?"

She smiled sweetly and Marc said, "Of course my love."

Hannah and Roughus stayed hidden in the forest and watched while Marc tied a rope to a branch of the tree and disappeared inside the hollow. Slowly in the pitch-dark he descended into the cave underneath the tree. He looked down and saw a flickering light. "At least there is a candle down there," he thought. Further and further down he went; much further than he thought possible. He couldn't believe the rope was that long. Occasionally he looked down and every time the light seemed bigger until eventually he saw it was a torch that lit up the bottom of the hole. He jumped down and grabbed the torch. He couldn't see a music box but in front of him was a passage in the solid rock. Marc was so determined to get the object his Belladonna wanted that he decided to check it out. The walls of the tunnel were absolutely smooth as if they had been polished. They felt cold as well, but not damp. Along the whole length of the passageway Marc couldn't find a hollow, or a ledge, or anything where the music box could be. The tunnel suddenly opened up into a room with five exits, narrower than the one Marc had just come out off. The light of Marc's torch reflected from the same smooth silvery-black stone as the corridor he'd just left.

"Where to now?" he said aloud.

A deep voice answered him, "What do you want?"

Marc turned around a couple of times but saw no one. "Who are you, where are you?" he shouted.

"I'm the guardian of this place and I am everywhere," the voice boomed. "Tell me: what do you want?"

"The music box. I'm looking for the music box."

"Go through the gates marked with a musical instrument. They will take you to the music box. Don't touch anything except the thing you came for."

With a scraping sound a carved stone in the arch above each entrance moved forward until it jutted out from the otherwise smooth and featureless walls. Every stone was carved differently. One of them had the carving of a drum. Above the tunnel he'd just come out off there was no picture.

"How will I get back," Marc asked the bodiless voice.

"If you prove yourself worthy and succeed, you will be told."

If he didn't want to disappoint Belladonna, he had to go onward and find the thing she wanted. Marc went through the drum entrance. A short corridor led him to another room where he found the carving of a French horn above one of the openings in the wall. On and on Marc went. Every passage ended in a room and every room had one doorway with the figure of an instrument above it. He'd lost count of the rooms he'd passed. Coming out of the umpteenth tunnel he arrived in a room where a narrow passage between chests full of treasure led to the one opening in the opposite wall. The coffers were all open, spilling over with gold coins and precious stones, all tossed about haphazardly. Half a dozen gold statues stood dotted about the place.

A shiver went through Marc when he saw them. He remembered the stories. The losers went for the gold and were cursed; the hero never touched anything but went straight for his goal. Carefully he picked his way to the other side of the treasure chamber and entered another corridor. It was higher, wider and longer than the ones he'd been in before. He was only a quarter of the way through, when from the other end of the tunnel a group of horsemen came thundering toward him. Marc wanted to go out of their way, flatten himself against the wall. Only then did he notice the rubble piled against both walls. He tried to clamber on top but as soon as he thought he was safe, the stones started to shift and he slid down again into the path of the horses. Marc stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at the oncoming danger. He knew it was futile to try and run towards the treasure chamber. He would be trampled to death before he reached it.


Author's Note: This chapter was a bit shorter. To compensate the next one will be up tomorrow.