Crossing Barriers
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: All things recognisable belong to Brian Jacques. Alethia, Denea, Gia, JK, Sapphi, Clarenova, Jenn, Estel and Raen all belong to themselves. Any other characters and plotholes belong to Di, Pris and myself. Squee.
The song of Nimrodel as recited by Clarenova is from the Lord of the Rings. That belongs J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Lady of Shalott was originally spelt 'Shallot' in the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson. However, in the song by Loreena McKennitt, it is spelt as Shalott. Don't ask me why. VERY NICE SONG! GO DOWNLOAD IT! And while you're at it, go download The Highwayman sung by Loreena McKennitt, put them in a playlist side by side, and go to sleep. It's very effective. Tested and proven by my sis.
Today's the Teachers' Doomsday is a poem written by Clarenova. It belongs to her. Go pester her for it.
Kaleidoscopic Visions was penned by Clarenova, Raen and Jenn, and the melody was written by xue*~, mIrAcLeZ and myself. Yes, there is such a song. It was written by and for our class in school. Squee.
Dedication: Winifred, this is for you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Also to SAA: I caught your hint - I've updated. Happy? Hmph.
As always, credit to humour goes to Pris, the dress idea goes to myself, and thanks to Di for linking everything up so smoothly!
***
Clarenova walked in, hair bundled up in a towel. Immediately, Raen had set herself upon her, tugging at the towel. The other girls grinned and settled back. Clarenova with her hair loose was a rare but pretty sight, as one of their school's rules dictated that all hair touching the shoulder must be tied up.
"Oh, quit trying to see my hair loose already," Clarenova grouched. She had had a hard time with getting it dry. With a final tug, however, the towel came loose, and the girls laughed at an irate Clarenova chasing after a giggling Raen, hair streaming out behind her like a really odd banner.
Alethia walked in, nearly bumping into Raen. She was holding what looked like a bundle of cloth in her arms.
"Hey, Raen," she called out to her friend. "You won't be too happy when you find out what you have to wear to the welcome feast tonight."
Raen paused in mid-run, turned to look at the stack of cloth, and saw the end of a sash peeking out from the pile. By now, Clarenova had stopped chasing her and had trotted back, chuckling. Raen's eyes widened as she backed against the wall.
"Oh, no. Not. A. Dress. No. Nuh-uh."
Alethia's eye gleamed in a most disturbing manner.
"Yes, a dress. And guess what? The only one that fits you..." She carefully pulled one out of the stack and turned back to the pale Raen and continued. "...is in pink."
The girls laughed as Raen buried her face in her hands, groaning.
***
"I'll swap with someone. Please, Denea? I don't mind wearing a smaller dress as long as it isn't pink...please?"
Raen's voice had been taking on a desperate tone for the past few minutes. She was standing in the middle of the dormitory that the girls had to share, wearing the pink dress, a look of utter revolt and disgust painted on her face.
Denea, on the other hand, looked positively evil.
"No way, Raen, you can languish in that dress."
The girls laughed as Raen glared daggers at Denea. Sapphi however, was busy counting the dresses, flipping them around and counting them again. She looked up, a puzzled look on her face.
"They're only two more dresses in this stack. What will the other people be wearing then?"
The other six exchanged quick grins.
"You see, after our first experience," Denea said, looking at Gia.
"We learnt our lesson," Gia continued.
"Therefore, the next time we came, we warned the others and brought our own clothes," Alethia finished.
Raen scowled. "WHY didn't you tell Sapphi, Jenn and myself then?"
Embarrassed looks appeared all round.
"We forgot..."
Jenn interrupted before Raen could murder somebody with her glare. "Besides, Raen, they didn't tell us, remember?" Turning to the rest, she asked," So...what do you wear? I didn't see you bring any clothes this time."
JK turned to the chest of drawers next to the three-tiered bunk bed. "See, six drawers. Though we'll have to build three more though," She opened one of the drawers and drew out a plain, white blouse and a beige skirt. The rest pulled out similar articles of clothing, except they were all in different colours.
"Unfortunately," Estel said, "We have to at least wear a skirt for feasts. Other days, we can wear breeches, tunics, even habits, if you want. No jeans though. It doesn't exist here. And you know the general fantasy book rule of never introducing a new item into an alternate universe, right? Well, that applies here as well."
Jenn, Sapphi and Raen nodded, the latter somewhat sulkily. She herself was a big fan of fantasy stories, so she understood the logic behind it, but it didn't mean that she was happy with wearing a dress. Just then, Abbess Vale knocked on the door and entered.
"I trust you are all safe and dry?" She quipped. The girls, who had gotten up, nodded and smiled.
"Well, I just came up here to tell you that the feast begins in about an hour. You might want to get ready." Smiling, she left.
Picking up a lavender dress, Jenn tossed Sapphi a pale blue dress. The others picked up their sets of clothing and went off to change. Raen sat down on the bed and tugged at her dress, grumbling. Then her eye caught something spilling out of one of the satchels flung onto the middle bunk bed. Her mischievous nature took over and she tugged at it. What came out was a notebook without a cover with scotch tape all over the binding. All over the cover were threats and warnings, but Raen had never been known to abide any rules, anyway. As she started to flip the page, though, Alethia, who changed the fastest (there were some good things on being the smallest), walked in, saw Raen and promptly snatched the book away.
Raen blinked.
Alethia growled, eyes flashing, "Raen, don't you DARE touch my property without my permission ever again. I can't tell you what is in this notebook for now, but let's just say that you are better off not knowing. Do you hear me?"
Raen meekly nodded. Alethia in an angry mood was not to be trifled with. Alethia sighed and apologised. "I'm sorry...I know I shouldn't have lost my temper, but you really should stop that." Raen nodded apologetically. Her interest was piqued, though...
When the other girls returned, they all went out into the hallway and proceeded to go down the steps, only to bump into Rollo.
"Muvver Abbess wanna you come down naow!" he said, his head to one side. As the girls smiled and nodded, he blinked innocently up at Raen and said, "Pwetty pink dwess! Rollo likes pwetty dwess!"
As the girls fell about laughing at the comical sight Rollo and Raen made staring at each other, one in angelic cuteness and the other in indignation, Raen said, "Well, then you can bloody HAVE it!" She folded her arms and grumpily went on down the stairs. The other girls followed, practically falling all over each other, laughing so hard they were.
Estel couldn't resist. She bent down and ruffled Rollo's ears, laughing, "Well said, Rollo, well said!"
***
Denea, Gia and Alethia sat together in a quieter corner of Cavern Hall. The feast had started with a speech from the Abbots and Abbesses welcoming the girls back to Redwall, and had been followed with grace, before a truly scrumptious feast. The many timelines of goodmice had put their culinary skills together, to create dish after dish of almost any food imaginable. Fish, pasties, stews, soups, puddings, pies...all were tasty and unforgettable. And the drinks to accompany the food! Cordials of the different fruits found in the orchard; pear, strawberry, cherry...not to mention mint tea for those who preferred mild beverage, and fizzy drinks that popped and bubbled for the little Dibbuns and the girls, who giggled as the drinks tickled their stomachs. And October Ale! If a single cellar keeper could normally keep October Ale very well, imagine if all the cellar keepers came together! Naturally, the feast's Ale was only outshone by the hedgehogs' blushing cheeks as praises were heaped one by one on them.
During the feast, much laughter and bantering had ensued. The hares had decided to compete against the moles to see who could scoff the most deeper 'n' ever pie. It nearly broke the moles' hearts to see their creation being eaten at such a fast pace instead of being savoured, but being trencher beasts, they ate sturdily on. The girls had heaped mounds of food on Raen, Sapphi and Jenn, telling them to eat this, sample that and overall just to try everything they could. On their part, the trio stared at everything on their plates, not knowing where to start. Finally, they attacked the top first. Their facial expressions were almost comical as they tried each dish. First they tasted every new food in a tentative manner, then their eyes slowly widened, before taking a larger bite or sip. Such was the extent of the food's delicacy.
But after the majority of the population at Redwall was more or less done with the feast, the songs, limericks, recitations, dancing and general merrymaking started. Clarenova had gotten up to recite the sad song of Nimrodel, enchanting all there with her voice that rose and fell. Cheers and clapping ensued as she finished the song. After which, the Abbess Song requested that the girls all participate. After a period of prodding and poking each other, Denea went up and sang the tragic song The Lady of Shalott in a truly haunting manner. Some of the Dibbuns whimpered as the last words trailed away, but the various Mother Badgers quickly shushed them. Then Estel, Gia and Raen put up a recitation of a rather violent but hilarious poem entitled 'Today's the Teachers' Doomsday' that had everyone in stitches. Saxtus was laughing so hard; he had to grab the table to keep from slipping off his chair. Jenn, Sapphi and Alethia then sang a sad but hopeful song, Kaleidoscopic Visions, Alethia providing the harmonics as Jenn and Sapphi's voices rose and ebbed away. Skipper of otters could be seen pawing away tears as the words and meaning got to him. JK claimed that she had no talents, but as a band of beasts performed a lively jig that had everyone's paws tapping, she was pushed up to join the group of lively dancers at the centre of Cavern Hall, spinning, dancing and whirling. There, she had no choice but to join in or be trampled underfoot. As the song ended, the beasts (and JK, although she later denied it) demanded another song, and it had just gone on and on.
It had been a good half an hour since then. Feeling slightly claustrophobic sitting in the middle of a noisy crowd, Alethia, Gia and Denea were slightly apart from the rest, laughing and talking as they watched Clarenova, Estel and Jenn chat with the otters. Raen had grown fidgety and sulky again, the hyperactivity from before dissipating away. Suddenly, Clarenova called out to the trio in the corner.
"Long Patrol's coming in a few days!"
"Wonderful! Whose?" Denea asked.
There was a slight pause as Clarenova clarified with Skipper.
"Perigord's, Skipper says. Oh, and Consellariel took leave to come as well. They have enough badgers up at the mountain."
Alethia squirmed uncomfortably. Uh oh. Her alter ego was coming.
***
"Ow!"
Vatrisha landed with a thump on the ground. She stared at her surroundings, at the leafy canopy above her, and the solid tree trunks around her. She was somewhere...in the woods.
She got up, rubbing at her sore rump and started out through the trees. She figured that that was better than just sitting around, waiting for hypothermia to set in. Ok, maybe she was going slightly paranoid and hysterical, but she really didn't want to be any wetter than she was already.
Just then, she heard voices.
"Perigord, how much farther do we have to travel before we reach Redwall?"
"Er, nary another day, m'lady, wot. As it is, we're nearly there. Would y' rather stop for a bite of tuck or carry on?"
"Don't you put on those noble airs. I know what you hares are like. We're stopping for lunch, right here, actually."
"Right, m'lady. I'll just nip to the back to alert the rest." Vatrisha could hear a barely concealed grin. Redwall...was that where she was now? No, she mentally berated herself. If they were talking about getting to Redwall, it would be impossible that they were at Redwall. This could only mean that she was in Mossflower woods, not a day's journey away from Redwall. She decided to join them. Redwall sounded like a good place to stay before trying to find the girls to spoil their fun. Besides, she was getting really hungry and lonely. Slowly, she moved through the trees, putting on a lost expression on her face. She even staggered a little.
Twayblade was pulling out the tuck from her pack when she heard something. Spinning around, she saw the bushes rustle and a girl came out from them, looking lost, tired and hungry. Immediately, she alerted Consellariel.
"M'lady, another girl headed our way..."
Consellariel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, go invite her here, then. She must know the other girls if she is here..."
Twayblade nodded. She trotted over to the solitary girl, and placed a welcoming paw at her shoulder. She enquired, "Well, hello, wot wot! Fancy seeing a girl here, in the middle of he bloomin' forest. Care to join us for a bite and a sup? You look as if you need it."
The girl looked up, her eyes expressing gratefulness.
"My thanks. I don't know how I got here. I was following a few of my friends through a portal when I suddenly landed here. Could you bring me someplace where I might rest before continuing my search for them?"
At this moment, Twayblade had led her back to the rest. Perigord had heard the last half of her explanation and shook his head, saying, "No need for that m'gel. If you're looking only for a place to stop at, we can bring you to Redwall as well. That's where we're going. But if you're thinking of looking for your friends, no doubt the other girls, well, your search ends there. They are there, and that's why we're going to Redwall!"
***
The feast was over. Everyone had returned to the dormitories to turn in, but the girls were rather bored. So, they stayed up to well, basically chat.
Suddenly, Sapphi asked the million-dollar question. "How did the portal come about?"
"Heh. Now that's an interesting story." Alethia said.
Denea nodded. "Quite. Well, the three of us, Gia, Alethia and myself, had discovered the clearing in our own world for the first time. When we got there for the first time, we discovered a book on then stone slab, along with the jewel-boxes. The book was very old and tattered, and we began to read it, curious. It told of many strange things, and after a while, we realised that it told the story of another world."
Gia continued. "A short time later, we realised that this other world was actually Redwall. We later discovered instructions as to how to get to Redwall, using the jewel-boxes and the goldpieces. For some odd reason, however, only Alethia's goldpiece works. The rest simply don't."
Alethia grinned. "Yup. That means that you can only get here if I'm around." She ducked as pillows were aimed at her head. But she stopped laughing to continue "But as to why only my goldpiece works, well, we came up with the idea that the clearing is merely a portal to lead to Redwall, and my goldpiece is the key. Perhaps there are other places that lead to other places, and then either Denea's or Gia's would work, but not mine."
Raen raised a tentative hand. "May we have another look at the jewels? It's just that they were really, really beautiful..."
They shrugged and removed the boxes from their respective bags. Strange, Gia thought. I don't remember the box being this light...
Moments later, they were all scrambling to the pond. In went the goldpiece and out again. The girls retrieved their jewels and the portal standing at the clearing crumbled to a stone slab.
"Whew. That was close," Denea said.
"In any case, we're safe now," Gia replied.
Or were they...?
End of Chapter Two.
A/N: Oh squee. Cliffies. Like it's even a proper cliffhanger. Next chapter? I don't know either. Wait for a long while. Sayonara, minna! Chapter Three will come the moment I'm done with it (duh).
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: All things recognisable belong to Brian Jacques. Alethia, Denea, Gia, JK, Sapphi, Clarenova, Jenn, Estel and Raen all belong to themselves. Any other characters and plotholes belong to Di, Pris and myself. Squee.
The song of Nimrodel as recited by Clarenova is from the Lord of the Rings. That belongs J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Lady of Shalott was originally spelt 'Shallot' in the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson. However, in the song by Loreena McKennitt, it is spelt as Shalott. Don't ask me why. VERY NICE SONG! GO DOWNLOAD IT! And while you're at it, go download The Highwayman sung by Loreena McKennitt, put them in a playlist side by side, and go to sleep. It's very effective. Tested and proven by my sis.
Today's the Teachers' Doomsday is a poem written by Clarenova. It belongs to her. Go pester her for it.
Kaleidoscopic Visions was penned by Clarenova, Raen and Jenn, and the melody was written by xue*~, mIrAcLeZ and myself. Yes, there is such a song. It was written by and for our class in school. Squee.
Dedication: Winifred, this is for you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Also to SAA: I caught your hint - I've updated. Happy? Hmph.
As always, credit to humour goes to Pris, the dress idea goes to myself, and thanks to Di for linking everything up so smoothly!
***
Clarenova walked in, hair bundled up in a towel. Immediately, Raen had set herself upon her, tugging at the towel. The other girls grinned and settled back. Clarenova with her hair loose was a rare but pretty sight, as one of their school's rules dictated that all hair touching the shoulder must be tied up.
"Oh, quit trying to see my hair loose already," Clarenova grouched. She had had a hard time with getting it dry. With a final tug, however, the towel came loose, and the girls laughed at an irate Clarenova chasing after a giggling Raen, hair streaming out behind her like a really odd banner.
Alethia walked in, nearly bumping into Raen. She was holding what looked like a bundle of cloth in her arms.
"Hey, Raen," she called out to her friend. "You won't be too happy when you find out what you have to wear to the welcome feast tonight."
Raen paused in mid-run, turned to look at the stack of cloth, and saw the end of a sash peeking out from the pile. By now, Clarenova had stopped chasing her and had trotted back, chuckling. Raen's eyes widened as she backed against the wall.
"Oh, no. Not. A. Dress. No. Nuh-uh."
Alethia's eye gleamed in a most disturbing manner.
"Yes, a dress. And guess what? The only one that fits you..." She carefully pulled one out of the stack and turned back to the pale Raen and continued. "...is in pink."
The girls laughed as Raen buried her face in her hands, groaning.
***
"I'll swap with someone. Please, Denea? I don't mind wearing a smaller dress as long as it isn't pink...please?"
Raen's voice had been taking on a desperate tone for the past few minutes. She was standing in the middle of the dormitory that the girls had to share, wearing the pink dress, a look of utter revolt and disgust painted on her face.
Denea, on the other hand, looked positively evil.
"No way, Raen, you can languish in that dress."
The girls laughed as Raen glared daggers at Denea. Sapphi however, was busy counting the dresses, flipping them around and counting them again. She looked up, a puzzled look on her face.
"They're only two more dresses in this stack. What will the other people be wearing then?"
The other six exchanged quick grins.
"You see, after our first experience," Denea said, looking at Gia.
"We learnt our lesson," Gia continued.
"Therefore, the next time we came, we warned the others and brought our own clothes," Alethia finished.
Raen scowled. "WHY didn't you tell Sapphi, Jenn and myself then?"
Embarrassed looks appeared all round.
"We forgot..."
Jenn interrupted before Raen could murder somebody with her glare. "Besides, Raen, they didn't tell us, remember?" Turning to the rest, she asked," So...what do you wear? I didn't see you bring any clothes this time."
JK turned to the chest of drawers next to the three-tiered bunk bed. "See, six drawers. Though we'll have to build three more though," She opened one of the drawers and drew out a plain, white blouse and a beige skirt. The rest pulled out similar articles of clothing, except they were all in different colours.
"Unfortunately," Estel said, "We have to at least wear a skirt for feasts. Other days, we can wear breeches, tunics, even habits, if you want. No jeans though. It doesn't exist here. And you know the general fantasy book rule of never introducing a new item into an alternate universe, right? Well, that applies here as well."
Jenn, Sapphi and Raen nodded, the latter somewhat sulkily. She herself was a big fan of fantasy stories, so she understood the logic behind it, but it didn't mean that she was happy with wearing a dress. Just then, Abbess Vale knocked on the door and entered.
"I trust you are all safe and dry?" She quipped. The girls, who had gotten up, nodded and smiled.
"Well, I just came up here to tell you that the feast begins in about an hour. You might want to get ready." Smiling, she left.
Picking up a lavender dress, Jenn tossed Sapphi a pale blue dress. The others picked up their sets of clothing and went off to change. Raen sat down on the bed and tugged at her dress, grumbling. Then her eye caught something spilling out of one of the satchels flung onto the middle bunk bed. Her mischievous nature took over and she tugged at it. What came out was a notebook without a cover with scotch tape all over the binding. All over the cover were threats and warnings, but Raen had never been known to abide any rules, anyway. As she started to flip the page, though, Alethia, who changed the fastest (there were some good things on being the smallest), walked in, saw Raen and promptly snatched the book away.
Raen blinked.
Alethia growled, eyes flashing, "Raen, don't you DARE touch my property without my permission ever again. I can't tell you what is in this notebook for now, but let's just say that you are better off not knowing. Do you hear me?"
Raen meekly nodded. Alethia in an angry mood was not to be trifled with. Alethia sighed and apologised. "I'm sorry...I know I shouldn't have lost my temper, but you really should stop that." Raen nodded apologetically. Her interest was piqued, though...
When the other girls returned, they all went out into the hallway and proceeded to go down the steps, only to bump into Rollo.
"Muvver Abbess wanna you come down naow!" he said, his head to one side. As the girls smiled and nodded, he blinked innocently up at Raen and said, "Pwetty pink dwess! Rollo likes pwetty dwess!"
As the girls fell about laughing at the comical sight Rollo and Raen made staring at each other, one in angelic cuteness and the other in indignation, Raen said, "Well, then you can bloody HAVE it!" She folded her arms and grumpily went on down the stairs. The other girls followed, practically falling all over each other, laughing so hard they were.
Estel couldn't resist. She bent down and ruffled Rollo's ears, laughing, "Well said, Rollo, well said!"
***
Denea, Gia and Alethia sat together in a quieter corner of Cavern Hall. The feast had started with a speech from the Abbots and Abbesses welcoming the girls back to Redwall, and had been followed with grace, before a truly scrumptious feast. The many timelines of goodmice had put their culinary skills together, to create dish after dish of almost any food imaginable. Fish, pasties, stews, soups, puddings, pies...all were tasty and unforgettable. And the drinks to accompany the food! Cordials of the different fruits found in the orchard; pear, strawberry, cherry...not to mention mint tea for those who preferred mild beverage, and fizzy drinks that popped and bubbled for the little Dibbuns and the girls, who giggled as the drinks tickled their stomachs. And October Ale! If a single cellar keeper could normally keep October Ale very well, imagine if all the cellar keepers came together! Naturally, the feast's Ale was only outshone by the hedgehogs' blushing cheeks as praises were heaped one by one on them.
During the feast, much laughter and bantering had ensued. The hares had decided to compete against the moles to see who could scoff the most deeper 'n' ever pie. It nearly broke the moles' hearts to see their creation being eaten at such a fast pace instead of being savoured, but being trencher beasts, they ate sturdily on. The girls had heaped mounds of food on Raen, Sapphi and Jenn, telling them to eat this, sample that and overall just to try everything they could. On their part, the trio stared at everything on their plates, not knowing where to start. Finally, they attacked the top first. Their facial expressions were almost comical as they tried each dish. First they tasted every new food in a tentative manner, then their eyes slowly widened, before taking a larger bite or sip. Such was the extent of the food's delicacy.
But after the majority of the population at Redwall was more or less done with the feast, the songs, limericks, recitations, dancing and general merrymaking started. Clarenova had gotten up to recite the sad song of Nimrodel, enchanting all there with her voice that rose and fell. Cheers and clapping ensued as she finished the song. After which, the Abbess Song requested that the girls all participate. After a period of prodding and poking each other, Denea went up and sang the tragic song The Lady of Shalott in a truly haunting manner. Some of the Dibbuns whimpered as the last words trailed away, but the various Mother Badgers quickly shushed them. Then Estel, Gia and Raen put up a recitation of a rather violent but hilarious poem entitled 'Today's the Teachers' Doomsday' that had everyone in stitches. Saxtus was laughing so hard; he had to grab the table to keep from slipping off his chair. Jenn, Sapphi and Alethia then sang a sad but hopeful song, Kaleidoscopic Visions, Alethia providing the harmonics as Jenn and Sapphi's voices rose and ebbed away. Skipper of otters could be seen pawing away tears as the words and meaning got to him. JK claimed that she had no talents, but as a band of beasts performed a lively jig that had everyone's paws tapping, she was pushed up to join the group of lively dancers at the centre of Cavern Hall, spinning, dancing and whirling. There, she had no choice but to join in or be trampled underfoot. As the song ended, the beasts (and JK, although she later denied it) demanded another song, and it had just gone on and on.
It had been a good half an hour since then. Feeling slightly claustrophobic sitting in the middle of a noisy crowd, Alethia, Gia and Denea were slightly apart from the rest, laughing and talking as they watched Clarenova, Estel and Jenn chat with the otters. Raen had grown fidgety and sulky again, the hyperactivity from before dissipating away. Suddenly, Clarenova called out to the trio in the corner.
"Long Patrol's coming in a few days!"
"Wonderful! Whose?" Denea asked.
There was a slight pause as Clarenova clarified with Skipper.
"Perigord's, Skipper says. Oh, and Consellariel took leave to come as well. They have enough badgers up at the mountain."
Alethia squirmed uncomfortably. Uh oh. Her alter ego was coming.
***
"Ow!"
Vatrisha landed with a thump on the ground. She stared at her surroundings, at the leafy canopy above her, and the solid tree trunks around her. She was somewhere...in the woods.
She got up, rubbing at her sore rump and started out through the trees. She figured that that was better than just sitting around, waiting for hypothermia to set in. Ok, maybe she was going slightly paranoid and hysterical, but she really didn't want to be any wetter than she was already.
Just then, she heard voices.
"Perigord, how much farther do we have to travel before we reach Redwall?"
"Er, nary another day, m'lady, wot. As it is, we're nearly there. Would y' rather stop for a bite of tuck or carry on?"
"Don't you put on those noble airs. I know what you hares are like. We're stopping for lunch, right here, actually."
"Right, m'lady. I'll just nip to the back to alert the rest." Vatrisha could hear a barely concealed grin. Redwall...was that where she was now? No, she mentally berated herself. If they were talking about getting to Redwall, it would be impossible that they were at Redwall. This could only mean that she was in Mossflower woods, not a day's journey away from Redwall. She decided to join them. Redwall sounded like a good place to stay before trying to find the girls to spoil their fun. Besides, she was getting really hungry and lonely. Slowly, she moved through the trees, putting on a lost expression on her face. She even staggered a little.
Twayblade was pulling out the tuck from her pack when she heard something. Spinning around, she saw the bushes rustle and a girl came out from them, looking lost, tired and hungry. Immediately, she alerted Consellariel.
"M'lady, another girl headed our way..."
Consellariel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, go invite her here, then. She must know the other girls if she is here..."
Twayblade nodded. She trotted over to the solitary girl, and placed a welcoming paw at her shoulder. She enquired, "Well, hello, wot wot! Fancy seeing a girl here, in the middle of he bloomin' forest. Care to join us for a bite and a sup? You look as if you need it."
The girl looked up, her eyes expressing gratefulness.
"My thanks. I don't know how I got here. I was following a few of my friends through a portal when I suddenly landed here. Could you bring me someplace where I might rest before continuing my search for them?"
At this moment, Twayblade had led her back to the rest. Perigord had heard the last half of her explanation and shook his head, saying, "No need for that m'gel. If you're looking only for a place to stop at, we can bring you to Redwall as well. That's where we're going. But if you're thinking of looking for your friends, no doubt the other girls, well, your search ends there. They are there, and that's why we're going to Redwall!"
***
The feast was over. Everyone had returned to the dormitories to turn in, but the girls were rather bored. So, they stayed up to well, basically chat.
Suddenly, Sapphi asked the million-dollar question. "How did the portal come about?"
"Heh. Now that's an interesting story." Alethia said.
Denea nodded. "Quite. Well, the three of us, Gia, Alethia and myself, had discovered the clearing in our own world for the first time. When we got there for the first time, we discovered a book on then stone slab, along with the jewel-boxes. The book was very old and tattered, and we began to read it, curious. It told of many strange things, and after a while, we realised that it told the story of another world."
Gia continued. "A short time later, we realised that this other world was actually Redwall. We later discovered instructions as to how to get to Redwall, using the jewel-boxes and the goldpieces. For some odd reason, however, only Alethia's goldpiece works. The rest simply don't."
Alethia grinned. "Yup. That means that you can only get here if I'm around." She ducked as pillows were aimed at her head. But she stopped laughing to continue "But as to why only my goldpiece works, well, we came up with the idea that the clearing is merely a portal to lead to Redwall, and my goldpiece is the key. Perhaps there are other places that lead to other places, and then either Denea's or Gia's would work, but not mine."
Raen raised a tentative hand. "May we have another look at the jewels? It's just that they were really, really beautiful..."
They shrugged and removed the boxes from their respective bags. Strange, Gia thought. I don't remember the box being this light...
Moments later, they were all scrambling to the pond. In went the goldpiece and out again. The girls retrieved their jewels and the portal standing at the clearing crumbled to a stone slab.
"Whew. That was close," Denea said.
"In any case, we're safe now," Gia replied.
Or were they...?
End of Chapter Two.
A/N: Oh squee. Cliffies. Like it's even a proper cliffhanger. Next chapter? I don't know either. Wait for a long while. Sayonara, minna! Chapter Three will come the moment I'm done with it (duh).