Episode 1: A new friend
In a small, modest town in the lush countryside, was a foster home called "Mrs. South's Home for girls". Outside the home was a painted signpost with a single message, 'WARNING: CONSTRUCTION WORK IN PROCESS'. However it wasn't, the works operation was starting the day after tomorrow. The foster building was going to be demolished along with the surrounding forest, Farthing wood, to build new houses. As a result the children that resided in the foster home are to be sent away to boarding school; where they'll live for the rest of their young years. Well all except for one girl, Loveday Maples.
Loveday was sitting on her large windowsill looking down at the large pink ring on her finger that her grandma gave to her on her 7th birthday, feeling miserable. Whilst the cool air was floating through the window, blowing her long wavy blonde hair in the wind, she recalled the moment she received the ring, her grandmother told Loveday "the diamond holds nature's gift of friendship and if you prove yourself then the spirit of farthing wood will guide you."
Loveday used to live with her Grandmother, she raised her as if she was her daughter and taught her everything from survival skills to making beautiful things like jewellery. They had a special, undeniable bond that was scuppered by the harsh hands of fate. Soon after she got given the ring her Grandmother sadly passed away, and Loveday was sent to the girls home as she had no other surviving family. Even after all these years, the words of her Grandmother still baffled her, the ring was such a mystery to Loveday, she still had a lot to learn about the ring.
Lovedays thoughts were interrupted by the high pitched sounds of Canary, the only true friend that Loveday has at the home. "Tweeet Tweet Tweet" sang the very pretty yellow canary, singing such heavenly songs on her shoulder. Suddenly, the sound of chainsaws in full force could be heard cutting down all the nearby trees. The destruction the girls were dreading, was being done, making them feel as though they were living a real life nightmare. The girls most favourite place in the whole world, 'Farthing Wood' was being murdered!
"Don't they even understand that trees help keep the air fresh" Loveday exclaimed her bird friend.
"Tweet tweet" said Canary nodding her head.
Farthing Wood was a forest on the edge of the town, it's full of wildlife and had been the only safe habitat for them for many years. Nobody ever goes to visit it anymore, no one wanted to protect it anymore. Loveday felt so furious about what was happening to the woods because it was a special place for her, as she and her grandmother used to go there all the time, to help preserve and look after the land.
"It's not fair that I have to go to a proper ladies school!" she cried.
"I've got no friends Canary and from the looks of this brochure they don't teach anything I like! just only subjects like Math, History, Business studies and Languages. Not even a single Art, Fashion, Science or Drama courses".
"What's to become of me, i'll surely be an outcast again and suffer from being my true self, then die of loneliness. Whats worst Canary? they don't allow pets there" she stated.
"Tweeet!" Canary gasped with a shriek
"Loveday! Are You All Packed Now!" yelled Mrs Smith from downstairs
"Yes… miss!" She said nervously
"At Once! Your leaving early in the Morning! Understand!"
Loveday faced down as a single tear left her face. "y…yes miss..." she sniffed.
After facing another battle with that wicked woman, she just couldn't take it anymore, she already had to put up with her cruel ways of child care, making her and the other orphans do all the work and labor in the house until she felt sore everywhere. However, Loveday was a fighter and she refused to give up easily, she knew she would have to take matters into her own hands if she wanted to prevail over the harsh restrictions in her life.
"That's it then! Ill leave this horrible place before they come to take me away. I'll go and hide inside farthing wood, well… what's left of it."
"It is time to say goodbye to it before its gone forever, then i'll be free and maybe find out more about this for myself" she said looking at the ring.
"That's better than being a prisoner in ugly uniform while failing to multiply all sums for the rotten governments sakes. When they all should be thinking about saving the only planet that we are living and standing on." she declared very confidently before looking down at Canary in her hand.
"Tweet tweet?" asked the bird
"Your coming too Canary, I'd never leave such a loyal bird like you behind. You're the best friend I've ever had" said loveday, petting Canary on the head.
"Canary we're leaving" whispered loveday, allowing her bird to fly around her room in pure happiness like a tiny angel. She gave her a little bird hug on the nose which tickled so much.
Canary pointed a wing to her ring "Tweet?"
"Yes! I know this ring means something and I'm gonna go find out what!"
"I promised grandma before she died, that I would found out if this ring really holds the spirit of farthing wood. I wonder if it can guide me like she said."
Loveday quickly found her white rucksack, already full of stuff, then changed into a white knee length bridal gown that matched her long black socks and walking boots. The sun started to set, painting the clouds in pinks, reds and orange. She picked up the bag and threw it out of the window onto the soft grass, then carefully stepped out on the windowsill with all her courage.
"Its one step for destiny!" She thought, and with that she JUMPED down with all her might and landed safely on an old mattress, that had been abandoned on the grass outside her bedroom window. It wasn't the only piece of rubbish surrounding the house, random items polluted the area, demonstrating the lack of care Misses Smith had.
Loveday got up, found her bag and started running away from the foster home toward the fence surrounding the forest, with Canary swopping down, flying at her side.
Loveday soon took one final glance at the house which ruined her life, knowing that it would soon be nothing but rubble soon.
"Goodbye everyone good luck with your lives and good riddance to you Miss Smith" she said. Loveday couldn't be any happier running towards her new life and all the potential adventures facing her. They went down the road straight for Farthing wood, taking no notice to the warning signs saying to 'keep out'. She pushed through a gap in the high fence as Canary flew over it. It was dark when they arrived at the wood, Loveday stood on the path that lead into the forest with a warm smile on her face, at last she could now be a part of the forest one last time and find answers. She started walking in with canary perched up on her shoulder.
"Tweet?"
"Yes I remember coming here all the time with grandmother, she taught me everything about the animals who live here, she loved this place, some of the towns folk believed she could actually talk to animals. I wonder if it's true?"
But just as she was about to start exploring, "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Vibrated a security alarm beaming from the fence, she'd been caught!
"Hurry canary we've got to hide!" she ran as fast as a hare looking for somewhere to hide or it was prison bars for her! While Canary was behind flying like a golden snitch from Harry Potter.
In a matter of minutes the police were there. Loveday and Canary could hear them getting closer as they ran, "STOP! POLICE!" echoed through the wood. "COME OUT NOW!"
Someone please help me!… help me!… help me!… Loveday prayed, she starting to lose strength, hardly breathing, painful memories flowing. This was supposed to be her freedom from suffering those lonely years, now she's going to be arrested and she'll never fulfill her promise to grandma.
She leaped over ditches, climbed the steep hill, tripped over a root, ran over a meadow and was soon near the site full of yellow diggers and bulldozers, mountains of earth were everywhere. Loveday was really starting to panic, there's no escape for her.
"Tweet Tweet Tweet!" Canary let out a warning, Loveday saw them coming after her now.
Up ahead was a rather dangerous peak in the construction yard, Loveday didn't take any notice until she almost slipped in the deep hole.
"I'm Trapped!" she saw the beams of flashlights from behind her.
"Kid get away from the hole!" shouted a rough voice from a megaphone.
Loveday turned around out of fright, took a step behind then…
"AHHHHHHHH!" down, down into the deep unknown she went, eyes shut for dear life! Falling to her death.
Suddenly the diamond ring was glowing pink and light surrounded her body, the last thing she remembered was feeling lightheaded everywhere and blacking out of consciousness. See saw herself in a soft pink sky flouting over farthing wood being destroyed by giant diggers like monsters cutting flesh, even a giant mixer pouring a Tsunami of wet grey cement, turning the grass hard. That's when she saw the animals trying to escape being swallowed up by the machines, mammals were running, birds flying, rodents scurrying before the monster digger buried them alive.
"Save them… save the farthing animals before its too late" said a soft voice, the ring was talking to her as it sparkled.
"Who are you? what are you talking about? She said gazing at her ring.
"You can save them, help them understand and act as an example of a good person, use the ring to save the farthing community." the voice then faded away
"No!… wait …I can't… please come back!" the pink sky grows brighter around her, then everything turned black.
Loveday blinked her eyes open; was she deceased? Had that all been a bad dream?
"No it felt too real to be a dream" she thought
She was in what looked like a nest of moss and straw, she looked at her surroundings, she was in a cave like cavern made from soil, rather than stone. There was no sign of Canary anywhere.
"Where am I? This isn't heaven!" she thought "Hello? Hello?"
"Well… it's about time you got up" said a husky voice. Loveday turned her head to see a pure red fox looking at her suspiciously, She was shocked that she could understand him! she was shocked that the fox could talk!
"This is impossible" she thought "animals can't talk, wait a minute, my ring!" She looked down at the jewel, it must have made her fox-sized and granted the power to let her understand animals.
"Are you okay?" fox asked
"I… I don't know, how did I get here? All I remember is falling down that peak, now here I am, shrunk down and sleeping in a burrow?"
"What! Your human stone brought you here to us, you were outside unconscious, I was the one who smelled your sent and found you"
"Really?" she asked, Getting found by a fox was a new experience Loveday thought.
"Well thank you, um Mr. fox"
"Just call me Fox, no need to be formal. What's your name human and what business do you have here in Farthing Wood?" he said sitting down in front of her
"My names Loveday Maples, you can call me Loveday" she said politely bowing her head, fox nodded back.
"Loveday hmmm… interesting name for a human" said fox looking interested.
"To answer your second question Fox, I'm not sure why, my ring showed me a vision; you were all being chased away by cruel humans, a voice told me to help the farthing animals" said Loveday.
"So you're saying, that human thing you call a ring, is telling you to help us animals of farthing wood with our human situation?" asked Fox.
"You better go back to where you came from Loveday, having a human girl here may cause some trouble for us." Said fox in an unbelieving manner
"But I have nowhere to go back too! I don't have a mother or a father, they died when I was a baby" Loveday said with tears growing in her eyes
"You're an orphan?" he said feeling sorry for her.
Loveday sniffs before answering "Yes i've just escaped from my foster home, I hated it there, all I wanted was to live a peaceful life beside nature like my grandma. She took care of me before she passed on, I have no place among society, I got casted out… nobody wants me… no one" Loveday couldn't hold it in anymore. She cried for what seemed like half an hour and fox was starting to understand her.
Fox took a good look at her ring and was positive that he'd seen someone wearing it before back when he was a cub. Fox thought to himself, could this girl be related to her? The name Maples sounds familiar! Fox pondered on this idea for a moment, "maybe she is here for a reason" fox whispered under his breath.
"I want to help you understand, prove you wrong about all humans being bad" she blew her nose and wiped away the tears. "Please Fox, let me stay here and prove myself"
When fox was about to answer when they were interrupted by a loud, protruding voice "Fox! is she awake yet? is the poor thing hurt?..." then a Badger came through the hole from the tunnel.
"Good Lord, the human girls alive!" he said with a smile
"This is Loveday, she speaks our language badger" said fox
"Really… I say...oh where are my manners, Greetings my child, welcome to farthing wood"
Loveday was surprised of his level of hospitality, never did she think a Badger was capable of it!
"A pleasure to meet you sir, I'm Loveday." She greeted him holding out her hand
"Um what are you doing?" he said looking confused at her hand
"Oh this, its how we greet where I come from, may I have your paw please?"
Badger didn't want to appear rude to her, so he offered his paw, Loveday placed it in hers and shook it very gently, both Badger and Fox were both surprised by such a new form of introduction.
"He he!... this is a new feeling, you should try it fox" said Badger in an amused manner, shaking his paw up and down with her.
"I don't need to badger, we are already acquainted and Loveday is going to stay with us" Loveday was sure fox gave her a quick wink, "She told me she's here to help us all out."
"Really? can it be that she already knows of the earth movers and why they are destroying our homes? i only ask as she is human after all" asked Badger to Fox
"I can hear you, you know" said Loveday
"Loveday will explain everything Badger" said Fox, he didn't want any more confusion concerning Loveday helping the Farthing wood community.
"Right now I'm going to do some hunting, while you both have a proper talk without me getting in the girls way" Fox turned to the hole then looked back to her with caring eyes "and Loveday, if you are here to help us animals, then promise you'll never go back to your world again, because now your one of us you'll have to live like us, if you don't then your on your own".
Loveday had never thought about leaving her own kind, but maybe it's time to move on. This proposal prompted her to think about her own safety and the risks involved if she were to go back to the humans or slum it on her own.
"Alright I promise, i'll do anything to gain your trust, if that's what it takes and I will use this ring to your aid" she promised as Fox gave Loveday an approving nod.
As soon as Loveday was about to thank Fox again he was already gone.
"I wish he stayed here, he somehow makes me feel safe, the foster families I use to live with didn't care about me, the way he appears too" Loveday sighed sadly
"now he's letting me, a human, the enemy of all animals to stay, I don't understand why?"
"You're not our enemy Loveday, my nose tells me you've come to us as a friend, don't think so negatively about yourself! you'll have to excuse Fox he's been rather sly and distant since he lost his mother last winter, but you'll get to see how compassionate he really is. After all, you wouldn't be here if he didn't save you" Badger said kindly with an arm sitting on her shoulder
Loveday then understood why Fox permitted her to stay, maybe there's more to him then meets the eye, maybe he does like her even if she's human. Loveday had never felt this way before, could the ring be working its magic on her? she just couldn't stop asking herself that very question.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the soft voice of Badger "I believe you were going to tell me more about yourself dear" waking her from distraction. "Hmm… Oh yes" she replied, this is going to be a long evening she thought. The rest of the evening Loveday told Badger everything from the beginning, including how she and Grandma tried to protest against the estate operation but were unsuccessful. Badger was impressed, now he knew why Loveday wanted to help, she was trying to protect them before they even knew her.
Badger said they were going to see the damages tomorrow, and asked for Loveday to come along as Badger believed she could be useful in helping them understand what was going on by explaining everything they need to know.
After having a nice chat with him, Loveday ate some nutella sandwiches that had made herself and stored in her backpack before leaving the girls home, as she was ravenous. She proceeded to snuggle down for the night with Badger sleeping beside her making her feel extra warm and safe. Just before she drifted off, Loveday thought to herself, I am so grateful to Fox for saving me, i really hope we are going to be great friends.
Authors Notes:
Hello I'm MidnightWand567 this is my first time trying fanfiction! I hope you all enjoy it, please leave good reviews so that I can continue my story.
I don't own any of the animals of farthing wood properties or characters, they rightfully belong to the author and creators of the BBC program. This is used only for entertainment purpose not for profit.
Please do not copy any of my OC's.
Thank you