Author's note: Thank you for the noticeably more constructive reviews: they really, really helped. I apologise too for taking ever such a long time to update: no thanks to writer's block and extremely busy schedule!
Chapter 9: A Dangerous Deal
"Crikey!" was the first thing that came out from Anne's mouth.
She pulled out a sword; its scabbard gleaming in the pale light. It felt heavy in her hands. She was about to grasp the hilt and pull the sword out when a hand touched the scabbard. Anne turned and saw that the hand belonged to Laura. But her expression was odd, as if she had seen it before and thus wanted to be united with it. Anne relented the sword to her sister.
Laura didn't say thanks; she kept her gaze focused on the weapon. Anne watched with bated breath as she unsheathed the sword slowly, studying the fine runes etched into the blade. Then she held it up as if she had done it for years. A gentle breeze blew and caught them by surprise; bringing with it a reverence and salutation. The Dryads knelt and Mapha whispered: "Our Queen!"
Laura looked at them solemnly but she didn't say anything. Anne wished she would. William appeared to be fidgety as well. They were not at all used to seeing their sister as a Queen.
Laura sheathed the sword and held it by her side. "Please rise. I'm not your Queen. I can't lead all of you."
"But you have the sword," said Rathan, standing up. The Dryads followed suit. "We follow those who carry the sword."
"Anyone can have it," said Laura, her voice a bit panicked. She handed the sword to William. "Here, Will; take it; you're a boy."
"It's yours," he replied, "Boy or not; it's your sword. You were meant to have it." Laura pursed her lips and looked back at the Dryads. Mapha bowed and said, "The Son of Adam is right. After all, you are eldest; thus you possess the most authority. We hearken to you."
Suddenly, Anne caught something moving among the trees in the valley below. She gasped. Laura turned around and the Dryads became alert.
"The Enemy!" whispered Laura.
"What do we do, Your Majesties?" said Mapha. She turned to him, speechless, not knowing what to do. Anne looked desperately at her and at Mapha again.
"We fight to the end," she said at last.
The Dryads readied their bows. "Aye, Your Majesty!"
"Get back, Anne!" said Laura, bringing Anne to the back of the lines of Dryads that had been formed. They came to the back of the Stone Table and she sat her little sister down. "Stay here, and don't let them see you! Will!"
William had picked up a bow and a quiver full of arrows from the chest. He tested the flexibility of the string and, setting his jaw determinedly, he joined Mapha and Rathan at the front line. Anne's mouth fell open. She didn't think he had ever seen a bow before, much less use it. Then she made up her mind.
"I want to help too!"
"Anne! It's too dangerous!"
"If Will can, so can I."
"I won't allow you."
"Laura, I'm a big girl!"
"What am I going to do if something happens to you? I promised Mum – I promised her I would take care of all of you – and I will keep that promise. So you just stay here, don't show yourself – " she didn't get to finish that sentence for a loud bellow had sounded in the distance, the kind of sound a bull makes before it charges at you. Laura rushed to the front line at once and took her place beside William, leaving Anne by the Stone Table.
Anne watched, her heart beating fast, as the tenseness of the situation mounted. The strings of the bows were trembling. Breaths were short and rapid. The air, as if deliberately adding to the tautness, was as still as time itself.
Suddenly, Mapha lowered his bow with a laugh; shaky at first, but gradually became more joyous. Laura sheathed her sword too and Will replaced the drawn arrow back to the quiver slung over his back. Anne frowned; what was happening?
A hoot, and then Whitter the Owl appeared, soaring above them all triumphantly; and in its wake was the biggest gathering of Animals that Anne had ever seen. A parliament of owls flew in circles overhead them, followed by the mighty eagles. A myriad of Animals; from Leopards to Horses and to Beavers topped the edge of the hill-top and marched in a steady procession towards them. They halted several feet away from Laura and Will and the birds perched on the ground beside their flightless friends. Laura turned around and beckoned for Anne to come to the front.
When Anne had done so quite nervously, a pair of Beavers who were at the front-most part of the march, came forward and bowed to the children. "We have come, Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve."
Laura was lost for words. She gave sidelong glances to both William and Anne, but they were equally dumbfounded as well. Then it dawned upon Laura that it was all up to her now that she had the sword. She drew it from its sheath and held it up in salute. "Welcome, fellow comrades. We are glad that you have come, united in one purpose: to liberate this land and restore it to its rightful ruler." However confident it may have sounded, her stomach was actually writhing with discomfort. She had only meant to rescue John; who could have known that such a thing would happen?
But it had been said. They had made themselves clear as their leaders. There was no turning back.
"We recognise your authority, Your Majesties," said one of the Beavers, before she could say anything else. The other Animals nodded in agreement.
Laura drew a deep breath. "Very well. I, to be honest, I do not mean to lead all of you to war – " groans and moans sounded up from the Animals and a Leopard silenced them with its yowl.
"Like I said, I don't mean to go to war – it's only under very desperate circumstances that – "
"But this is a desperate situation!" neighed a Horse. A few Animals nodded and muttered in agreement.
"Quiet, all of you!" said the Leopard that had yowled earlier, "we must listen to the Daughter of Eve. She is our leader, our Queen." Many Animals voiced their assent. Laura tried not to be too pleased.
"The Stone Table," began Laura slowly, "is a place of negotiation, a place where deep magic and diplomacy meet and mix well. If possible, I would very much want an audience with this – Gurd – himself. Here."
"For what?" demanded the Horse again, stamping its hoofs. "What do you want to negotiate for? A peace treaty? That Gurd will never set foot here again? It is folly; Gurd – peace? Never!"
"Our brother was taken away from us," said William in a hollow voice. "This is the only way."
"So we are a tool for you to get your precious brother, is it?" said the Horse.
"Be quiet, Maran!" growled the Leopard. "He is still a Son of Adam; thus he will have respect."
"Yes, a Son of Adam who was foolish enough to trust Meridian the Raccoon," hooted Whitter.
"Listen," said Laura firmly, and miraculously, the Animals fell quiet, "I know this may all sound pretty bosh to you; but by establishing this – " she could find the word, " – this – "
"March?" offered one of the Beavers.
"Yes, er, March," said Laura as she gave them a grateful smile, "We can save not only our – I mean, a Son of Adam, but also free this land from Gurd's tyranny. Surely – surely our might is greater than his. Surely we have the blessing of the Lord Lion!"
The Animals cheered and some jumped and squealed for joy. Laura exchanged relieved and glad smiles with Anne and William. He gave her an encouraging nod.
"Your Majesties!" exclaimed an Eagle suddenly from the sky. They looked up at once. The Eagle gave a sharp cry and swooped down to land directly in front of Laura.
"Your Majesties!" he said again.
"What's the matter?" said William.
"Yes, yes, Beadon!" said one of the Beavers, "whatever's happened?"
"Wait – catch – my breath – very well – Your Majesties – Gurd – come – army . . ."
John's stomach had been twisting and writhing ever since they had left the cave. And it didn't help too that as the journey went on, an army of hideous creatures and black, floating shapes shrouded in tattered black cloaks had gathered behind him. The Raven was, of course, at the very front, and Zar was at his feet, trudging with much difficulty; and behind them was John. Every time John turned around, the black mass of animals and fiendish creatures and the cackling black shapes seemed to grow bigger and bigger.
"My army," said the Raven suddenly. John whipped his head to the front. Gurd turned his head slightly and his beak twisted into a grin. "My army," he said again. John stared at him back as defiantly as he could, but the Raven only laughed, as if mocking his foolishness.
After what it seemed to be two hours of non-stop walking and just as John's knees were beginning to ache and his steps falter, they climbed a hill. Its slope was quite steep, and often John had to stop to gather his breath, but every time he stopped, the black shapes would brush against him and the spot where he was touched burned. The first time it happened, he yelled and sank straight to his knees, but Gurd instantly brought him up with a sharp lashing of his talons. The whole army laughed and sneered and poked fun at him, and John wished he was dead, but he had not such fortune.
Finally, after braving the insults and enduring the pain from Gurd's claws, John made it to the top of the hill. Gurd took a few steps before halting in front of him. John inched to the right a little bit to get a better view of where they were.
They were on a wide field of sorts, a field that was filled half-full with all sorts of animals. In fact it appeared to John that almost every single animal in the forest and converged there. Behind the herd of animals was an arrangement of boulders that made it clear to John that he was there, at the Stone Table. And it also seemed to him that every animal's eyes were fixed on Gurd, and resentment pulsed through the air.
A few tense minutes passed before suddenly, something parted through the animal herd. John's heart leapt to his mouth. Laura! And behind her were . . . William and Anne! He longed to cry out their names, but he still feared Gurd's wrath; so he held his tongue.
Laura stopped several feet away from the Raven. At that point, John saw the fearlessness in her eyes; and at the same time he could sense her anxiety. For once in his life, he felt nothing but respect and trust in his sister. Somehow, he knew that she would sort everything out.
"Greetings, Daughter of Eve," said the Raven, inclining his head a little bit in mockery. Behind him, his army sniggered and sneered and cackled, but Laura did not flinch. Anne, however, turned a bit red.
"And greetings to you too, Raven," said Laura, curtseying. That wiped off the smirk from the Raven's face and earned soft bubbles from the animals behind her, but it all lasted a very short while.
"I hope that you know why I have come, O Human," resumed the Raven with just a hint of sarcasm hanging onto every syllable. It was quite clear that he did not think much of two girls and a boy leading a whole forest of animals against him.
"You hold my brother captive," said Laura simply. Her gaze travelled to John and she gave him a brief smile, which he returned weakly.
"Yes, it is very true, and I cannot deny how much I have enjoyed detaining him . . ."
"You will release him," said Laura suddenly and firmly.
The Raven was sharp to return to his guard. "Oh? And why should I, O Daughter of Eve? I had not even had the remotest fun with him. My Spectres have not touched him yet, you see – "
"You tell your filthy Spectres that he's not a toy!" snarled William abruptly, drawing his bow and aiming an arrow at Gurd's neck. John noticed that there was an odd, murky smear across his forehead.
The Raven screeched and leaned forward. "My, my, Son of Adam, what a lovely ornament you have on your forehead – I must congratulate my Spectres . . ."
There was a ring of metal and then suddenly, Laura had drawn a sword and held its tip to the Raven's neck. "This is the Stone Table, Raven, have some respect."
Gurd cackled and shook his head slowly, but he backed away. "Do you think that mere metal and strength can defeat me? You speak of Magic, very well. But it is I, O mere girl, that possess this Magic!" Then, louder, "This place is the very heart of Magic, and it is I, Gurd, Lord of this land, who has conquered it and leashed it; you are all subject to the might of pure Magic; thus you are all subject to me!"
"We shall see about it," said Laura bravely, but to John, it seemed pretty foolish and mad to challenge Gurd. "I offer you a bargain, Gurd," she said hastily, as if the thought of it had just occurred to her, "A bargain that will benefit you as much as it benefits me, perhaps to you even more."
An eyebrow rose. "Oh?"
"A duel," said Laura. "A one-on-one. Just between you and me."
"Go on, go on," urged the Raven, seeming to be enjoying what he was hearing.
"If I win, you will give John back."
"What if I win? What will I get?"
"You – " here Laura's voice faltered.
"Allow me to make a proposal: if I win, this land will be entirely mine; if I win, you and the Son of Adam and the Daughter of Eve will leave this land and swear never to meddle in our affairs again."
"What about John?"
"He shall stay with me, of course," the Raven clicked his beak menacingly, and John's heart stabbed with panic. What? Stay forever with him?
"No!" said Laura, looking at him wildly. "No. No . . . if you win," she faced the Raven squarely again, "my life is yours."
Gurd's army roared and howled and stamped their feet in excitement. John shook his head to himself. No . . . Laura, what are you doing?
"Your life?" Gurd's beak twisted into a smile. "You've got yourself a deal, Daughter of Eve. Tomorrow; midday shall our match take place. If you are wary of the time, your loyal Dryads will keep it for you. Remember, Daughter of Eve," he ruffled his feathers and clicked his beak again, "a promise is a promise."
Laura stared at him for a few moments before replying bitterly, "I know."