Chapter 6: Eglantine

I tossed and turned in my nest, unable to sleep. I sat up in frustration, nervous energy kept on boiling in my gizzard. Seeing my hollow-mates sleeping, I stepped out quietly and took off for a flight. But even this couldn't get rid of the bad feeling I had since I came back from the trip into a burning forest. A premonition you could say, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Help, we need some help here!" I turned around and saw the owl who called me. "Matthias, is that you?" She then sighed in relief. I recognised her; she was one of those in the chaw that was supposed to help Matron with the healing and taking care of the injured. What was that chaw again? I shook my head, trying to remember the name. "Thank Glaux you are awake! Come with me, hurry!"

I followed her back to the Infirmary. "What's wrong, Lauren?" The Short-Eared didn't answer, instead she pointed at something behind me. I turned around and squinted my eyes towards the mainland. "I don't see..." Just then, a group of owls were flying towards the Tree. As they came closer, I recognize some of them. They were from the Search and Rescue chaw and the Tracking chaw. Strangely, some of them, mostly the ones from the Search and Rescue chaw, were carrying something big in their claws. The owls then flew into the Infirmary and quickly deposited their loads onto the nests provided and flew back to the mainland.

"Oh Glaux..." I muttered as Lauren looked on in anguish, so as the owls and nurse-snakes around us. Lying in the nest were owlets, Barn Owl owlets. Not only that, they were babbling something about 'Most Pure', 'Tytos' and purity and even humming songs that were so disjointed they were more like noises than songs. Their eyes were empty and they were staring into space, ignoring everything that was going around them. They did not even respond to the wounds and scratches on themselves, but just bluntly sang their horrible songs.

"What happened to them?" I murmured. This...this was horrible. It's twisted and wrong, a crime against sanity itself.

"We don't know," Lauren replied. "But there will be more coming in soon. We'll need lots of help."

"Alright," I nodded immediately, determined to help out as much as I could. "What do you need me to do?" She immediately directed me to the roots where the Ga'Hoolology chaw owls were, to dig up as much worms as I could. She also tasked me to clearing the spare hollows in the event that the Infirmary would be filled with owlets. I nodded once more and went off to perform my duties.

"Wait!" Lauren's voice stopped me from taking off. I looked back to see her grateful smile.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Do you need me to do anything else?"

"No, just...thanks for your help." I smiled in return before flying off.

As the day dragged on, more owls were dragged out from their sleep to help with the owlets. Owls flew out of their hollows and began performing the tasks they were allotted to; seeing to the injured, fetching refreshments, clearing out hollows, you name it. Even Madame Plonk, who rarely did any manual labour, joined in and learned how to place worms properly on the open wounds. Right now, my partner and I were gathering worms to be brought to the Infirmary and a few feet away, Soren and Gylfie were filling their bucket of worms as well.

Just then, I felt a shiver down my spine and looked towards the mainland. Something was going to happen, and I must be there to witness it. I didn't know what, but I must not be here. Looking into our bucket, I found the perfect excuse. "Hey, Baron," The said Snowy looked up from his task, two slimy worms were already in his beak. "I'm going to bring the bucket to the Infirmary. Keep looking for more worms, I'll be right back."

"Are you sure, Matthias?" He asked, eyeing the almost-full bucket. "That thing looks heavy. Why don't I take it back instead?"

"Are you calling me small?" I glared at him, making him step back. "I have you know I can carry two of this and be back here before you can even find a worm! Besides, I...just remembered that I was supposed to give Lauren something. I forgot what but it will come to me. This way I would be catching two bats with one swipe."

"If you say so." Baron said before resuming the search. Grabbing the handle with both claws, I lifted into the air with the bucket. Baron was right; this thing was heavy. But I ain't going to give up and let that Snowy had the pleasure of saying 'I told you so'.

"Come on. Come on!" I puffed. "Just a bit more.." When the Infirmary came into view, I put in an extra burst of energy and finally made it. Once landed, I dropped onto the floor, filling my lungs with as much air as possible and making wheezing sounds.

"You know you don't have to do that, right?" Lauren came into view shaking her head, spotting a smile. "You could just ask Baron, you know."

"Ain't...'huff'...gonna let...'huff'... that overstuffed bird... 'huff'... say 'I told you so'!... 'huff' Besides, he called me 'small'...'huff'."

"Boys..." She said before taking the bucket away. I laid on the floor, gulping lungful after lungful of air to slow my heart rate down. Around me the sound of wings flapping filled the hollow like a jumbled salad, each noise just made the surroundings even louder and messier.

It was pitiful, I reflected. Usually, owls prided themselves with their ability to fly silently, but with the owlets appearing in the middle of nowhere, there was no time to be silent. And with each owl coming in with a Barn owlet singing its extremely- annoying song, my anger grew. Damn those Pure Ones! I scowled in the direction of our soon-to-be enemy. I will make sure that they get what they deserve!

Ready to go back down, I prepared to jump off with an empty bucket when suddenly...

"SOREN!"

Jumping up in fright, I looked around to see a familiar Great Grey and Burrowing Owl. Behind them, Primrose hastily asked two snakes to bring their rescued owlet to an empty hollow. Curious, I asked. "Digger, what's wrong?"

"Matthias, do you know where Soren is?" Twilight jumped in desperately.

I could hear the urgency in his voice, so I nodded. " I do, but what's..."

"Bring us to him. Hurry!"

Startled into action by his outburst, I immediately jumped out into the air and flew straight for the roots, with Twilight, Digger, Primrose and the rest of the Search-and-Rescue chaw following me.

The minute we reached there, Twilight immediately spotting the Barn Owl. "SOREN!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. The said owl split his worm in surprise and looked up at us.

"Soren," Twilight said once he'd gotten his attention. "Get up here as fast as you can." Soren looked confused, wondering what was going on.

I landed, placing the bucket on the ground. Baron came over to me, dropping his worms into the bucket. "What's going on, Matthias?" He asked, confused. "What happened?"

I watched Digger landing next to the Barn Owl, waving to him. "This is important. Bring that worm and come on."

"No! No!" One of the owls that was digging for worms as well objected tersely. "All worms must be put into the pile first." She pointed to one of them, ready to be loaded into any empty buckets nearby. "Our chaw ryb says so."

"Drop the worm, Soren, and just come." Digger said before lifting to the air, with the Barn Owl following him and Primrose.

"Gylfie, you too." Twilight said. "He's going to need you as well." Without another word, the Elf Owl flew off with the Great Grey.

"I don't know, Baron." I answered, pulling my best really-I-don't-know look. "But I'm going to check it out. Just stay here, I'll be right back." With that, I took off as well.

"Wait, come back! You can't just do that... Drat."

I saw them banking towards one of the new hollows . Gylfie and Primrose landed on the branches outside, allowing Twilight and Soren to enter first. I landed a little way behind them, far enough to remain hidden but close enough to observe. And from what I saw worried me. They were still, very still, as if something bad had happened. Both of them had even shrunk, emphasizing my point. Soren seemed to notice it as well, since he stepped onto the opening and hesitated to go in.

"Go on," Digger nudged him on one side.

"We'll be right with you," Gylfie stood by his other, supporting him both physically and emotionally. Soren gulped, but I knew he was ready. With hesitant steps, he went in and the others entered after him. Flying closer, I peeked in to see the Barn Owl moving towards a nest with a heap of gold and white feathers splattered with blood.

"So?" Soren asked.

Twilight stood beside the nest, feeling sorry for him. "So, Soren," His usually gruff voice became a soft whisper. This is serious, I thought. Never had I once heard him spoke like that, and if he did then he must really be taking this seriously. "Is this your sister, Eglantine?"

I saw Soren wobbled the moment he heard her name, but with Digger and Gylfie by his side, he forced himself to look down into the nest. I was about to lean closer to see what was in the nest when Soren suddenly wailed. "No! No! This can't be!" His legs collapsed beneath him and he crumbled beside his little sister. "Eglantine! Eglantine! "

"Get Mrs Plithiver, quick!" Gylfie rasped. Digger and Primrose immediately jumped to attention at her sudden command.

"Sure, we'll be right back."

"On it!"

I quickly jumped out of the way of two frantic owls as they immediately jumped and flew to search for Soren's ex-nestmaid. Peeking back in, I couldn't help but teared up at the sight of Soren crying his heart out. Though Twilight and Gylfie were here for him, only a miracle could help him now. With a heavy heart, I flew back to the roots, with Baron waiting furiously for me.

It had been three days since Eglantine had returned to her brother. She was recovering, but only physically. Her wounds might have been healed, but her mind was still far away. For the past three days, I had been walking past the branch that led to her hollow, just to see how she was doing. And then, there was Soren...

When tweener came the next day, he was still standing beside Mrs.P, who was nursing Eglantine ceaselessly. "Will she live?" That was all he seemed to be able to say.

"I'm not sure, dear," Mrs.P replied honestly. "All we can do is try."

At that time, I offered to bring them some refreshments. "Soren?" I called.

"Matthias? What are you doing here?"

"Bringing you something to eat." I replied as I went in and put down my load. "Soren, the others are worried about you. Since yesterday, you haven't eaten. Or slept for that matter."

"But I can't leave her like this! What if..."

I quickly shoved a bat wing into his panicked beak. "Nothing is going to happen to her, Soren. She's going to be fine. Besides, Mrs.P is taking care of her as much as she could, and she certainly wouldn't need you fretting every few minutes and neglecting your health because of it. Right, Mrs.P?"

"Indeed."

"But I have to help her when she..."

"Listen, Soren! You would definitely not be any help if you keep doing this. If you want to help, then let Mrs.P show you how. But right now, you need to rest!"

"But..." Soren tried to come up with another excuse.

"Listen to him, Soren." The nest-maid snake said. "You know he's right."

The Barn Owl finally relented, acknowledging that I was right as well. He then followed me back to the dining hollow to meet the rest of the Band. Another snake had taken Mrs.P's place as the table and I took my leave for my own meal.

Since that time, he began to help. Every chance I got, I used them to visit the siblings. It was heartening to see Soren trying to feed her a bit of milkberry tea. While doing so, in a low voice he kept saying, "Eglantine, it's me, Soren. It's your brother Soren." But Eglantine, with her eyes half shut, only continued to babble a word or two of the horrible ditties they sang.

"How she's doing?" I asked as I entered the hollow.

"She's getting better, and stronger Matthias. Thanks for asking." He then sighed heavily, as if that breath was held in for the longest time.

"What's wrong, Soren?"

He sighed once more and turned to look at me, the tears in his eyes spoke volumes of desperation and worry. "What if she won't wake up from this? Or what if she doesn't remember who I am? Or...or..."

"Soren!" I cut him off his rant. "Calm down. Everything is going to be fine."

"But what if..."

"Soren!" Mrs.P's voice immediately broke our argument, gaining our attention. We turned at her and she motioned to Eglantine. "Look." Her eyelids opened, slowly but surely.

"Eglantine!" Soren exclaimed, excited, and leaned over her. "Eglantine. It's me. Soren! And Mrs.P's here too." But the moment her eyes were fully opened, there was not a flicker of recognition in them. She merely clacked her beak a couple of times and resumed the babble.

Soren sighed despondently, his eyes became wet again. "Patience, dear. Patience." Mrs.P said. "All things take time. See how much stronger her voice is."

"That's right, Soren." I muttered my agreement to Mrs.P's judgement. "This means she's a step closer to be just like she used to be."

"But..."

"No buts, Soren! Don't give up on hope. That's the worst thing you can do right now! Giving up on hope, giving up on your own sister." The words reminded him of what his ex-nestmaid said a few weeks ago. And it stung him a lot.

"How do you know?!" He exploded, whirling around and faced me eye to eye. "How do you know that she will ever wake up?! How can you stay happy at times like this?"

"Because if there is one thing I do know..." I turned away, unable to look into his eyes while remembering the time spent in that horrid place. My claws clenched at the effort of pushing those memories away. "...Is that just as every night comes the day, every dark moment will come a bright one.(1) That's what kept me going Soren, because I knew that eventually everything will turn out for the better once more."

Mrs.P must have sensed the underlying grief as she immediately looked up from her post and stared at me intently. Her eyeless sockets seemed to be looking into my very own soul, trying to find the reason of that sadness. Unable to keep it away anymore, I knew I had to get away from here before they see me crying.

"I have to go, Soren. Your sister needs you right now." Before he could utter a word, I rushed towards the opening, wings opened, ready to fly. "But Soren," My head spun around, giving him my parting message. "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think(2). Promise me."

He was speechless, his mind went blank at what I had just said. It took him a few second to comprehend, and by the time he came back I was already gone. "...Sure, I will."

I flew back to my hollow, and after making sure no one is around, I wept for my fallen inmates until I fell asleep.

The next evening, I was in the library reading Reading the Clouds by Lyze of Kiel. Looking at this, I might as well be reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weather Interpretation. I can tell you, it was not easy. You have to know which direction and how strong the winds would be, how does the upper atmospheric pressure differences affects the clouds and what it means and so on and so forth. It's mind-numbing and really boring.

"What is it? Where is it?..." That voice once again broke me out of my daze. Looking up from my reading, I saw Otulissa tossing books here and there with the librarian screeching at her to treat the books properly and 'with respect'.

"What's wrong, Otulissa?" I sighed, alighting next to her.

"Trying to find something that could make sense of this," She said. "All this about Tyto supremacy and purity, what does it even mean? So I thought if I could look back into the history of the Southern Kingdoms then maybe I would understand what was going on with Soren's sister and the owls who were rescued. But I just couldn't find anything!"

She looked as if she needed some rest. Her head feathers were sticking out sideways and her eyes looked...like someone who's crazy would look. "Otulissa, calm down." I insisted. "You will not find anything if you are so worked up like this."

"But I couldn't just..."

"Leave it, Otulissa. Rest for now. Besides, maybe you'll have better luck if you come back after you relax for a while."

"You... you are right. Maybe some light reading would do me some good, like...like that book over there!"

I glanced at the book Otulissa pointed. "Looking into an Owl's Mind by Strix Miralda," I read out, deadpanned. Of course she would picked a book written by a Strix and a poosible relative. That was so Otulissa. "Yeah, go ahead. If you don't mind, I'll be going back to my own reading now."

But not thirty minutes had passed since I had resumed my own reading when that owl exclaimed. "What now?" I moaned before looking up again.

"I found something..." She murmured.

"Say what?" But she already flew away in a hurry, presumably to Soren I think. Sighing I put down my book and flew after her. By the time I caught up to her, she was already there, peeking her head in.

"May I come in?" She asked.

"Sure," the familiar voice of Soren replied.

"Look," she continued, stepping in. I landed closer, stepping on the branch that was previously occupied by the Spotted Owl and looked in, waving to the occupants inside,to let them know I was here as well. " I've been in the library all this time working on Tyto research, to see if there is anything that would explain this - all of them being Tytos and babbling about Tytos, but I somehow got distracted and started looking at a book by a distinguished Spotted Owl that's about owl's brains and feelings and gizzards."

Distracted? Somehow?! My right eye twitched in annoyance at her statement. Why that owl!

"Great Glaux," Twilight muttered and yarped a pellet out of the hollow, which he unfortunately did it right in front of me. "No doubt a relative of yours, Otulissa."

"Well, possibly," the Spotted Owl boasted. "There were many distinguished intellects in our ancestry and we do go back so far. Anyhow..." I tuned her out as she continued on what she had found out, mainly because most of whatever she was saying was long-winded and not important.

"Well, that explains so much," Soren's sarcasm brought me out of my plotting. "What in Glaux's name am I supposed to do about it?"

"Well...well," she stammered. "I'm not sure. I just thought you'd like to know what's making her this way. It's not as if she doesn't want to remember you. She just can't help it, I...I mean...I 'm sure she loves you still." Soren shot back with a hard glint at the fumbling owl. "Oh dear. None of this is coming out right." Tears began welling around her eyes. "I was just trying to be helpful." Sighing, I stepped forward and placed a wing around her to comfort her.

Soren however just sighed and turned away, fluffing up Eglantine's bed. "Come on, Otulissa." I motioned her out of the hollow. "He needs some time to himself."

"But I was...just trying to help."

"I know, Otulissa. I know"

"Hey, Matthias!" Baron came rushing to the 'table' while I was having an early meal, his beak forming a pretty big grin. "Didn't you hear? Trader Mags is coming!"

It had been five days since Otulissa, and I, barged into Soren's hollow for the 'big' announcement. Eglantine was much better than when she was brought in, but still her mind was far away. Since it was a long time since Soren had last met his sister, many things had definitely happened while he was gone. One of those things was that she could fly now. Another was that she was very much bigger than before. I mean she was only a few days old when Soren was owl-napped. He once told me he was initially excited to bring Eglantine to see the sale, but with her condition it was a lucky thing that he had still decided to bring her along. Because I knew it was then that Eglantine and the rest of the owlets could truly be saved.

"I know, Baron," I replied. "You have been talking for days now. In fact that was what everyone was saying for the past few days."

"Don't remind me," Matilda remarked. It was a well-known fact that the snakes here didn't really like Trader Mags, since they considered magpies to be one of the worst wet poopers there was, next to seagulls that is.

"Come on, Matilda, why don't you join us for a while?" Baron teased. "Who knows? You might find something you like."

"I'm blind. There's nothing I would like from there."

When the sun finally set, Baron and I went out and met Lilica and and Joseph. "I can't wait!" Lilica squealed. "Maybe they have one of those pretty white pieces like the ones in Madame Plonk's hollow." Yeah, porcelain, real pretty. NOT!

"It's the carol!" Some-owl shouted and a cheer went up. Trader Mag slowly approached while her carol threaded through the night(3). Owls began jumping from their branches and alighted at the base of the tree where the magpie and her assistants set up their wares. As soon as the traders spread out the collection, the mood became festive. Chattering filled the air, accompanied by the mouth-watering scents of the special treats the cooks had made for the occasion. From the corner of my eye, I saw Bubo coming forward and hugged the trader.

Trader Mags was black all over, with some white feathers. But her feathers was not just inky black, it was sleek and reflected the moonlight, like how the Others' hair would look when they applied hair gel and conditioners on them. Her tail was immensely long and, on this moonlit night, her black tail feathers had a greenish gloss. Her looks was completed with a bandanna on her head.

"More where these came from, my dears!" I winced at her squawking. How could someone with such a sweet singing voice sound as horrid as a seagull. What was the word I was looking for? I thought for a while before it came to me. That's it! Raucous, that's the word I'm looking for. "Come on up, don't be shy. Bubbles. Bubbles!" She squawked at the unfortunate magpie. "Where're them sparklies I got at the whatchamacallit for Madame? You know the ones. And I got you a nice velvet, dear," she said, nodding to Madame Plonk. She then went on to to talk to Boron and Bubo. As interesting as it was, I had to look out for Soren and his sister.

Finally I spotted them just a little way from Trader Mags. Glancing at Eglantine, I noticed her staring at Madame Plonk. The said Snowy was admiring a piece of tapestry that Trader Mags had introduced to her. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but I was more interested in Eglantine. Trader Mags had finished talking to Bubo and went over to Madame Plonk to help her arrange the tapestry more artfully on her shoulders. When finished, the Snowy then began admiring it in a fragment of mirror nearby.

It was then I saw Eglantine flinched. Quickly I shifted my view to Madame Plonk, wondering what she had done to garner such a reaction. But she hadn't done anything else besides looking into her mirror. Soren felt her flinching as well and went to ask her why. When she didn't reply, he followed her line of sight and glanced at Madame Plonk as well. After observing the vain Snowy for a little while longer, they then moved away.

But I didn't. Whatever that Madame Plonk was doing had made Eglantine reacted in her passive, non-responsive state. But what? Just then, the moonlight reflected on the mirror and bounced into my eye. Darn it! Confound that stupid... I cursed when something came to mind. What if it was the reflection of the moonlight that made Eglantine flinch? It wasn't much, but it was my only lead.

"Matthias, hey!" Baron shouted into my ear tuft(4), making me jumped in surprise. Lilica and Joseph looked at me in concern. "What's wrong? Why were you staring at Madame Plonk for?"

"Erm...no reason," I hesitated. "Come on, let's see if there are other things worth looking at!" I quickly said and pulled at Baron's wings, anything to distract them.

We browsed the stalls for hours, looking at the wares and traded what we had for what we wanted. Well, it was mostly my hollow-mates. For me, I was content to just look around (or in Other's term; window-shopping) and talk. But once in a while, I took a peek at Soren and his friends, hoping everything was going as written.

The moon was beginning to set when the market was beginning to close shop. Most of the owls had already flown back to decorate their living spaces. My hollow-mates had gone back as well. For me, I was shadowing Soren and Eglantine, looking for a chance to help in any way I could. Right now, Soren was looking at some baubles. While Eglantine was standing at the next stall, staring into space as usual. There was a cloth covering the stall, ready to carry the goods in it away. I was beginning to panic. It's about now when Eglantine snapped out of it, but she isn't snapping. Oh Glaux, what am I suppose to do? What am I suppose to do?

Then, something sparkly caught my eye. Looking back at the covered stall, I saw something glinting beneath the cloth. Oh yeah, I remembered. The reflection of the moonlight, just like before. All I need is a chance... Just then a cloud was floating over, casting its shadow over the area, creating the prefect cover. Looking around to see no one was looking in my direction, I sneaked towards the table and flipped open the cloth, revealing the bits and pieces of glass and shiny stones. Once that was done, I hastily fled the scene and hid, just in time to watch the show going on.

As soon as the shadow left the area, the moonlight immediately reflected from the glass and into Eglantine's eyes, causing her to freeze on the spot, staring at them. Soren was going to fly back to his hollow when he realized his sister wasn't with him. Spotting her still staring at the glass and pebbles, he walked over, worried.

Bubbles was packing up nearby. "She ain't moved an inch," she said. "Just staring at this stone here, with the sparkles." She then went on to describe the particular stone. "Ain't really gold, Mags says ─ just little bits of something called isinglass, some calls it mica. But makes a right pretty rock. Kind of sparkly in places and, if you hold it up, light can shine through it a bit. It's kind of a dusty mirror. Certainly caught your sister's fancy. There be something wrong with her, I s'pose?" She asked quietly, to which Soren nodded sadly. Inside my head I counted down. 5...4...

"Here dear," Bubbles said, wanting to cheer the poor owl up. 3...2... "I'll show you something real pretty we can do with it." She picked up the stone, which was as thin as a blade. "See what it does now." She held the stone up to the moon as it swept down on the dark horizon. When the light of the moon touched the stone, it grew luminous. 1...

Right on time, the guild began playing the harp and its song managed to reach us. And in that instant the stone seemed to shimmer in light and music. Now!

"The Place! The Place!" Eglantine screamed, shaking uncontrollably.

Soren seemed to understand what was going on as he placed a claw on his sister's shoulder and spun her around. "Eglantine," he said softly, calming her nerves.

His sister blinked. "Soren? Oh, Soren!" She cried as he swept her under his wings.

"What was going on here?" A squawk broke the tearful mood. Trader Mags landed among the scene and immediately took in everything. Seeing Eglantine crying her heart out and Soren hugging her, she immediately rounded onto the only other magpie around. "What did you do?" She said menacingly.

"I ain't done nothing, Mags, I swear. Nothing." Bubbles sputtered, backing up in fear."I just held up this here piece of glass we got from that castle over in Ambala and she done gone yoicks."

"Take me to the music, Soren," Eglantine muttered the moment she was done sobbing. "Take me to the music. Take us all to the music." He nodded, beaming gratefully, as he led her to the dining hollow. I stepped out of my hiding place, smiling gleefully at my resounding success as I watched them flew off.

Well done... Some-owl spoke in my head. I jumped to see Grimble standing ─ or floating, whatever ─ next to me. And thank you, he finished. His tone spoke volumes of pride and relief, and for both I knew why.

Thanks, Grimble, and you're welcome. I said before heading back into the Tree.

3rd Person P.O.V

Boron stepped out of his own hiding spot and watched the Boreal flew back to the Tree. He had seen it all; when Matthias flipped open the cloth and the subsequent yet miraculous recovery of Soren's sister Eglantine. How did he know that would actually work? He thought. He had noticed that the moment Eglantine recovered was just when the harp guild started playing. Ezylryb was right, this owl needs watching.

He recalled all of the strange things that revolved around him for the past month. Firstly, most of the snakes avoided him at first. Though they warmed up to him as time passed, but still that already placed him in Boron's watch list. Then, there were the daymares that he never told anyone about, even though his hollow-mates. When asked why, he looked scared all of a sudden and tried to drop the topic. Finally would be s brief yet mysterious disappearance during his forest fire exercise. He claimed he was caught in a pull while catching an ember, but Ezylryb said that he was lying.

These three points however, though suspicious, were just minor and could only warrant an investigation. But now, when Eglantine recovered when she looked at the stone, the stone which had been uncovered by Matthias, just as the song started, he knew this was no coincidence. Matthias knew that would happen, and how he knew it Boron had no idea.

But now isn't the right time for this, he told himself. He would have to put that aside for now, because Ezylryb had not returned from his investigation of the Great Downing. He knew the old Whiskered Screech could take care of himself, but it had already been over a week now. "Where are you, old friend?" He said before flying back to the Tree.

Matthias's P.O.V:

It had been a wonderful night; Eglantine was well again, Soren was back to his cheerful self and I had succeeded in my mission. Looking up, I was glad to see Soren draping a wing over her shoulders while listening to the music. Soren had never looked happier, and of course he would be like that. He just got his sister back and as his friend, I felt happy for him. Surrounding us outside the hollow were the owlets that were rescued like Eglantine. Usually, Madame Plonk did not like having spectators watching them practice, but tonight was an exception.

Then, Boron came over and alighted beside Eglantine and we all watched the snakes got ready and slithered to their assigned positions. Half of the guild snakes played the higher strings while the other half played the lower strings. Then there were a special few, who were able to jump octaves, called sliptweens(5). And Mrs.P was one of them.

Ever since I came to the Tree, she was one of the three snakes who were willing to at least talk to me for a few seconds. Though other snakes had begun to warm up to me, I had already treasured her as a good friend. During the few times we conversed, I could tell she was understanding and friendly, never stepping over a boundary and always ready to give a listening ear to anyone who needed it.

There she was, a pink streak that had just passed through the harp strings and a beautiful sound drifted in the air. Then, in a blink of an eye, she was back in her original position, weaving bass notes. The whole performance was lovely to watch, like it was almost hypnotic. Not only was the music magnificent, but the snakes themselves, in their varying hues of rosy pinks, wove a continuously shifting pattern as they shuttled through the strings of the harp.

I didn't know what song they were playing, but with Madame Plonk's voice blended harmoniously with it, it was a masterpiece. A song I knew I would never forget for a really long time. But there was something else that made this moment all the more special.

All of the rescued owls were different now. No longer were they clacking their beaks, singing meaningless and rhythm-less tunes about Tytos and such, now they were silent, happy to back to the land of the living and free from the spell which they were under. No longer were they mindless drones but free owls. Truly the most wonderful of nights. I thought, mentally patting myself on the back.

"Don't worry, dear," I turned around to spot Barran whispering to Boron. "He'll show up." Somehow that statement brought down the 'truly wonderful of nights' statement. I knew who they were talking about; Ezylryb had not yet returned from who knows where ever since the Great Downing and it had them worried. But they weren't the only ones worrying...

"I think they're worried about Ezylryb," I heard Gylfie whispering to Soren.

"Maybe tomorrow we should go out and take a look." It was then when Digger and Twilight alighted next to them.

"Take a look?" Digger jumped in on the conversation. "A look for what?"

"Ezylryb," Twilight answered. "I heard them talking, too."

Just then, the night sky suddenly lit up a bright array of colours, as if Glaux had painted a rainbow on the black canvas. Every owl gasped at the colourful sight. "What is it? What is it?"

"Oh, great Glaux, we are blessed!" hooted Barran.

"It is the Aurora Glaucora," Boron sang out.

Almost all of the younger ones were confused at what Boron had said. Suddenly, Madame Plonk left her perch and flew out into the brilliance of the night. Still singing, she swept through the long lances of light, her white body reflecting the colours. Looking at the sight while hearing her song, it felt like some of my worries and fears were lifted from my shoulders, making me somewhat lighter. Is this how it feels like, Eglantine? I wondered, thinking back to when she was bathed in the swirling mass of flickering light from the glass and the harp music. Is this the light and song that saved you from nothingness? There were still be problems heading my way, the nearest concerning Ezylryb's disappearance, but that would be a problem for another time. Right now, my mission was to help Soren and the Band in any way I could without messing up in my part.

Looking up, my heart longed to join the singer in flight. Soren, his sister and friends then flew off towards the sky. With wings in position, I jumped off to join them and together, we soared into the night. I smiled, in wait of the dawn that is to come.

A/N:

(1) I used a quote I found in deviantart because I like it

(2) A quote from Winnie the Pooh, or part of it...

(3) According to the book, the warble of magpies is called a carol. Sounds...pretty.

(4) Ear tufts are holes in the owl's head that allows them to hear.

(5) Directly quoted from the book: 'The job of the sliptweens was to jump octaves. An octave contains all eight tones of the scale. This harp had six and a half octaves, from C-flat below middle C to the G-flat. G-flat was three and a half octaves above middle C. To find a snake that could do that jump and do it well in a split second, causing the most beautiful liquid sound to pour from the harp, was rare. And it could be exhausting work, depending on the composition.'

Second book done. Hooray! Next chapter will be the start of Book 3: The Rescue.

Thanks for reading, folks! See ya!