Thanks for reviewing guys! Honestly, it makes me smile so much to read them. :D We're 3 reviews away from 100 reviews. Shall we try to hit that number this chapter?
To answer a guest reviewer: No, Gideon doesn't appear, but, Gabriel makes appearances in chapters 15 and 23.
Three days passed in the same fashion. Will, Jem and Cecily would get up, have breakfast and then spend the day outdoors. Jem's favourite outing so far was when they took the horses and went up Cadair Idris.
It took them about two hours of leisurely riding, crossing pretty medows dotted with purple heather, little waterfalls and streams filled with mossy rocks, to reach the summit. From there, Jem could see beautiful glacier lakes nestled in small valleys, their deep blue standing out from the green grass and towering cliffs surrounding them. They sat and ate their sandwiches for lunch and dangled their legs in the cool clear water.
Will told Jem all the legends of the mountain – how some of the lakes were thought to be bottomless, how King Arthur imprisoned an afanc in one of the lakes, how the Celtic lord of the Underworld Gwyn ap Nudd made Cadair Idris his home and the hounds of Hell would emerge to drag people away. Even Cecily did not argue with her brother over these stories. She added to them by telling Jem how spooky everything could be when the mists suddenly rolled in.
The two siblings also pointed out some places where they did not swim and some paths they did not take, saying they were doorways into the mountain and the underworld. Jem accepted it all as true and followed their lead. Being immersed in the environment, he could not help but believe the tales of faeries and other worlds.
On the fourth day, Will awoke to find a very cloudy sky. He pulled a face in the direction of the window. They would have to stay in today. It was a special day, though. He hopped out of bed and went to wake Jem.
His friend had got used to the quiet by now and was sleeping in his proper bed. The last few days of outdoor activity had certainly been very good for him. He was sleeping better, eating more, breathing well, and had lost the sallow cast to his skin. Will was very pleased about that. Now, he entered the dark bedroom, making no effort to be quiet, and leaped onto Jem's bed.
Jem woke with a yelp and flung his arm out, catching Will square in the face. "Ow!" Will exclaimed.
"Who's there?" Jem called.
"It's me, idiot!" Will replied.
"Will?"
"Who else?"
"Kidnappers? Robbers? Ghosts?" Jem reached over to the bedside table and switched on the lamp. "What are you doing jumping on me? You almost scared me to death."
"I'm pretty sure you can defend yourself, even if it were Gwyn ap Nudd himself," Will said, rubbing his nose where Jem had hit him.
Jem chuckled. "Don't sneak up on someone whom you know knows self-defence," he retorted.
"It's a big day today," Will said. "But it's going to rain and all my plans are spoiled."
"Why is it a big day?" Jem asked.
"Didn't I tell you? It's Cecily's birthday," Will informed him. "The little terror becomes a teenager today. I had a nice outing all planned. But it's going to rain. We'll have to stay in. I don't know what we can do."
"We could just ask Cecy what she wants to do," Jem suggested. Will grimaced but agreed.
The boys went downstairs. The first step of Will's plan had been a nice breakfast in bed for his sister, with all her favourite things – streaky bacon, runny eggs, fried mushrooms and pancakes with lots of syrup and butter. Jem helped to carry a pot of tea and Cecily's orange Winnie the Pooh mug.
Will barged into his sister's room without bothering to knock. Once he entered, he began bellowing the birthday song at the top of his lungs. Jem joined in. Cecily woke up in fright then grinned from ear to ear when she saw them.
Will put the tray down on the bedside table. "Happy birthday, cariad!" he exclaimed enthusiastically and threw himself at his sister to give her a big hug. Surprisingly, Cecily did not resist. Jem stood by the side of the bed and grinned at the siblings. They may hate each other on normal days, but birthdays were special.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Will asked.
"Go out and swim!" Cecily immediately said.
Will frowned. "Sorry, but it's going to rain." Cecily's smile fell. "How about we give Jem a tour of the house? He hasn't seen it all yet. We could play explorers, like we used to."
Cecily seemed agreeable to that and, after breakfast, the trio packed up backpacks and set off. Jem had already seen a lot of the house. However, the gloomy weather and the sound of the wind wailing through the house made it a different experience. Cecily decided not to turn on the lights and to navigate using torchlights. The darkness added an aura of adventure.
There were several rooms that Jem had not yet visited. They inspected each one carefully – some had nothing in them but an empty bookshelf or cupboard, others were full of old curios and junk.
Finally, they went up to the attic. It was stuffed full of old furniture and storage boxes. As they moved deeper into the attic, they passed first plastic boxes, then cardboard boxes, and then wooden chests.
They navigated the maze of abandoned furniture and finally found a space that was big enough for them all to sit. It was cold in the attic, with the storm raging outside. They opened their backpacks and took out picnic mats, sleeping bags and quilts, and made themselves comfortable.
"Tell us a story, Will," Cecily requested
Will was always ready to oblige when it came to literature. He was a good storyteller. He began the story, telling about a stormy day when a boy was trying to draw a map for his homework. The boy's sister was playing and constantly interrupting him until, finally, the boy got so annoyed that he kicked over the tower his sister had been making. There was a flash of lightning and the boy found himself tumbling and falling through a roaring darkness.
The boy fell into an ocean and was rescued by fierce pirates. But then, as the pirates were interrogating him, they were attacked by a giant whale and their ship was swallowed. In the whale's belly, they began to despair as the stomach juices began to slowly digest them – feet first.
Then, the boy found another copy of his map. He had to get to the Tower at the middle of it, because that was where the way back to his home lay. They fell through the map again and ended up in a desert where they were attacked by demons. The boy realised that the demons were sent by an evil force that was living in the Tower.
The boy thought that his adventure was like one of the crazy stories his sister liked to make up. And at the moment, his sister was indeed making one up, prompted by a mysterious Voice. His sister did not understand what was happening and was frightened, but the Voice told her that if she stopped making up the story, bad things would happen.
Cecily shivered and moved closer to Jem. She cuddled up to him and he instinctively put his arm around her.
Will went on telling the story. The brother escaped the desert demons and came to a city. He went to the city library where he knew he had to find a book that would lead them to the Tower. It seemed like an impossible task, as there were millions of books in there. But, the book found him. He opened it and found the map inside, and on the map was the Tower.
The brother studied the picture of the Tower. He could feel evil in it. He knew the Tower needed to be destroyed. So he tore the map up. The library shook. Books rained down, the stone ceiling began to buckle. The boy and his pirate companions tried to run out but they were stopped when a gaping chasm appeared in the ground. All three fell in. When they landed, they found themselves by the ruins of the Tower.
Meanwhile, the sister was getting worried. The Voice had disappeared and she did not know how the story should go. She only knew that she had to finish the story and get her brother back. She knew her brother needed a tower. So she began to build one with her books and toys.
The Tower was restored. The boy entered and began exploring. He climbed higher and higher, though he seemed to be getting nowhere. At least, he came to a door, opened it and was confronted with a fire-breathing dragon. It towered over the boy and its bronze-coloured scales shone like polished armour. The boy pulled a sword from somewhere and fought bravely until he killed the dragon.
Behind the dragon was a door. The boy went in and found himself a huge room. Inside were countless mirrors, through which were seen different worlds. The boy searched long and hard until he finally found his own world and he stepped through.
"Then, he got back home?" Cecily asked eagerly. She had been clutching at Jem's arm for the past hour as Will told the story.
"Yes, he got back home. His sister said: 'You're back then?' And he said: 'Yes, I'm back.' And he went back to his homework, but this time, he drew a completely different map. The end," Will concluded. His two listeners applauded enthusiastically.
"Were you frightened, Cecy?" Jem asked kindly.
"Little bit," Cecily admitted. "It's spooky up here." Jem gave her a squeeze round her shoulders.
"So, it's still your birthday, what else do you want to do?" Willl asked.
"How about presents?" Cecily suggested.
"My present is being nice to you for a whole day," Will immediately said. Cecily stuck her tongue out at him. Will did not retaliate.
"I didn't know it was your birthday. I haven't gotten you anything," Jem admitted. "What would you like?"
Cecily's eyes were gleaming with wicked eagerness. "I want you to give me a kiss."