Vyrdahlia
Disclaimer: Some of the characters are mine. Coraline and friends belong to Neil Gaiman and LAIKA studios.
"You know, if it's an ambush, it's not a very good one," Coraline pensively exclaimed, as she and Cat stood before a deep, albeit a relatively narrow, ravine. The crevasse's sides were covered in small shrubs with thorny branches and yellow flowers that emitted a rather acrid smell, and there was no bridge or any other link or crossing point from one side of the ravine to the other. "I mean, according to the spider's instructions, we're supposed to cross the bridge here, and-"
"Oh dear, oh dear, now why would you want to cross?" another voice spoke-up before Cat could.
Slowly, the other two turned around and came face to face with a little back-bent old woman who was leaning heavily on her cane, and was dressed in some sort of green leafy and grassy clothing.
"Hello," Coraline spoke-up first, already somewhat suspicious. "I and my friend here are searching for the Lady of Summer, and a spider told us that we had to cross this place to eventually get to her."
"Oh dear me, dear," the old woman cackled lightly, "that no-good skitterhaunt must've decided to play a nasty trick on you – since it couldn't scare you first."
"Really?" Coraline still was not convinced.
"Oh yes, my dear. That is what skitterhaunts do – do nasty things to people. You're just lucky that you had to deal with a simple case of misdirection instead, and that I was in the neighbourhood."
"Right," Coraline nodded sagely. "And we're sorry, but you are-?"
"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself! I am the guardian of this ravine!"
"Oh! You mean like Ashira is a guardian of the doorway?"
"Yes, exactly!" the old woman spoke.
"And so you'll get us across?"
"Of course! But first – I do insist – you must come over to my little place and rest a little: have a little snack and a wee relief from your travels?"
Cat shot Coraline a look that clearly asked: Just how stupid does she think we are? For her part, Coraline could only shrug: not even the Beldam had been so transparent or so fake in her acting, but on the other hand, she really did not want to confront the new hag so soon without getting to know her better first. Consequently, it was better to play along at first, and that was what Coraline decided to do.
"Very well," Coraline nodded primly. "But – just for a little while because we're very worried about our friend."
"Certainly my dear, certainly."
[Break]
The first clue that her approach was expected, at least on sort of a subconscious level was made clear when a creature stepped from behind a gnarled tree. It was humanoid in shape, albeit to a point that it was almost skeletal, and its hands ended in three-fingered claws, serrated on their inner edge. Still, it was the face that could be considered the most disturbing feature – it was so normal, humane-looking, and almost handsome... that the contrast with the missing eyes and teeth was only made starkier.
"Holt!" the creature spoke in a breezy voice. "Who goes there?"
"Your superior, wretch!" the Beldam replied promptly without breaking stride: she was on a schedule, and every minute counted. "Now keep out of my way, lest you be punished both by me and your mistress!"
"You must not pass!" the creature insisted, as it began to stalk the Beldam, its' claws preparing to strike – and indeed, the Beldam did stop, as she suddenly noticed the movement underneath the forest litter underfoot: it was as if something was hiding beneath all the fallen needles, branches and cones.
"You must not pass!" Vyrdahlia's guard continued to insist, as it prepared to grab the Beldam with its claws – however, the Beldam had claws of her own, with which she seized her pursuer and flung it onto the moving pile of forest litter. Immediately the latter was flung aside, as the prone being became enveloped in piles of translucent sludge.
"That's nice," the Beldam noted with obvious distaste, as she walked away from the struggle of the two woodland guardians. "I see that aunt Vyrdahlia has practicality if anything after all!"
[Break]
When Coraline and Cat saw the humble house of their new friend...Coraline was again overcome by stereotypiness of it all: the place was a classical witch's house, made out of... here Coraline frowned:
"I am sorry," she said politely, as her instincts switched onto a high alert, "but from what did you make your house? It is just so...lovely!"
"Oh my dear, I didn't make it – the trees made it for me! I have a green thumb when it comes to plants, you know?"
"Really? Well, I am still very impressed!"
"Oh no, my dear, that's nothing! If you want, I can teach you how it can be done instead!"
Thank you, Mrs. Obvious. Can your disguise be even less convincing? "Ma'am, you forget – we're in a hurry to find our friend – and a few other people around here."
"Why, so you do," the old woman suddenly agreed, flashing a small smile – and somehow Coraline got the idea that it was not a nice smile at all. "Well then, let me get you a bite to eat and you'll be on your way!"
There is something very wrong with that idea, but I cannot remember what, Coraline replied with a start and was about to flatly refuse the old woman's invitation, when she realized that she was actually in the house already, and so was Cat, whose fur was standing on end, and who didn't look too happy at all. The old woman, however, was not there at all, but rather in an adjoining room, from which some kitchen-like sounds seemed to emerge.
"I think we should try to leave while she's busy," Coraline told her friend.
"I think that's going to be much harder than it looks, because the door is now to your left, and it doesn't seem to be leading out of here," Cat muttered back.
"Leaving? So soon? But I got you fresh strawberries with oatmeal!" the old woman was back with a bowl of something that did smell good, but by now Coraline's patience was at an end.
"Look," she said, still trying to be polite, "I know what you are, all right? So, why don't you stop pretending and gloating at us on the sly?"
The old woman put down the bowl, looking cannily at Coraline with her eyes, which twinkled in a nasty sort of way. "Oh really?" she said in a voice that too bordered on nasty without actually being so. "And what am I, then? Come on, girl, answer briskly!"
"I think that you're one of the Beldam's aunts, and your name is Vyrdahlia, for Trillobia's dead," Coraline replied briskly.
In reply, the old woman laughed – and it was a laugh worthy of a rat. She straightened, and grew, reaching the height of Coraline's own mother (not her other mother), bursting out of clothes, her skin turning green, her teeth – rotten yellow, and her eyes and hair took on the colours of flame.
"Very good," the Beldam's aunt said, looking down at Coraline who has been glaring defiantly back at her. "Very good, but not that good: you see, I am not 'the Beldam's' aunt – I am her other aunt. Let's talk."
[Break]
As far as the Beldam knew, all members of her 'other family' had their pet peeves. In case of her mother is was the hidden claustrophobia thing; late aunt Trillobia fancied herself to being the new incarnation of the Lernean Hydra; and aunt Vyrdahlia had a thing for plants and similar mindless beings. (As for her other aunt, Terraxia, she did not even want to think before it would be necessary.) Therefore, when a moss-covered pile of deadfall suddenly stood up on a pair of stocky, splayed feet and reached out with six tentacles towards her, she did not break her stride, but just took off her sunhat and put it on the mobile plant.
Vyrdahlia's mosslords, as far as plants went, were very intelligent, especially for plant servitors from the Unseelie court. Still, they were plants, and as such, their intelligence was limited to certain ways. Having a sunhat put onto one of their number by their mistress's relative, was beyond these limits in several ways. Consequently, it stopped trying to reach the Beldam with its tentacles and instead just stood still, as it tried to figure out what has happened. And as it did that, the Beldam walked on, unbreaking her stride, as she was determined to make it on time and save her daughter.
(All around her, the sound of fighting between the oozing mulchers and Vyrdahlia's fey servitors was breaking out in stroves.)
[Break]
"I am listening," Coraline said flatly. "What do you want to tell me?"
"Let's see," the green-skinned hag said calmly. "Some time ago you had encounter with Christabell, haven't you?"
"Yes," Coraline nodded, still wary. "What of it?"
"It means that you may have a rather skewed view of me and my elder sister as well," Vyrdahlia smiled, as if she knew a joke and Coraline did not. "You think that we are nothing but shadows, bogey-men to fear when you're little and to laugh at when you're older. Well, we are not. We're quite real and now you're in our world."
Coraline opened her mouth to ask the green-skinned hag about a point to her ramblings, but apparently, it was just the opening Vyrdahlia was waiting for: she jumped forwards, jamming a fistful of berries (or whatever else) into Coraline's mouth before slamming it shut.
Naturally, Coraline began to struggle, but her opponent's gnarled claws had a lot of strength in them, and currently this strength was used to keep Coraline's mouth shut and her body stationary in one spot.
"Now," the green-skinned hag whispered into Coraline's ear as the young girl began to choke on whatever food was in her mouth. "You will join me and my sister to punish that other impudent part-human brat, or you will join the others who defy me as my furniture!"
With her mind slipping into unconsciousness due to lack of oxygen – the pressure of those gnarled claws on her mouth and base of neck was surprisingly strong – Coraline briefly became curious about what happened to Cat, but then –
"My dearest auntie, I regret to inform you that my daughter's visit to you is up. Please step away and let us leave in peace."
Of all the people, it was the obviously alive Beldam.
To be continued...