Labyrinth Junction

by Hayley Davenport-Smith

  The crowd roared in approval and started shouting Hal’s name. Hal placed his hands on the Orb and looked at Ben.

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Ben?” he whispered.

  “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life!” Ben answered happily.

  Hal turned to the crowd and began to chant the magic spell.

  Oh, Orb, dear Orb, please listen to me,

  Pass me your powers for all to see,

  For I am the one who will rule this land well,

  The power of the Sword should be mine to tell.

  I will be a leader who is good and true,

  Using powers wisely, which pass from you,

  For I am the rightful heir of these lands,

  I promise you this as I hold out my hands.

  Be loyal to me and I will be faithful to you,

  For this is my destiny, which I dearly hold true,

  For I am the monarch, the monarch to be,

  Your powers should pass to no one but me.

  As Hal spoke the words, the Orb began to shimmer and dazzle in his hands. He felt the power of the Orb flowing through his veins and the crowds cheered in encouragement. The Sword dimmed in Ben’s hands and he felt the energy vanish from it. As he passed it to Hal, a smile appeared on Hal’s face. Lights engulfed the Sword as its magic returned, and cheers could be heard throughout the castle grounds. Hal held the Sword high in the air and it glimmered in all its glory.

  Ben smiled at the wondrous sight before his eyes, knowing that he had made the right decision. He had fulfilled his duty, and now he was ready to go home.

  Chapter 16

  Home Sweet Home

  The day after Hal was crowned king and the celebrations were over, he stood with Ben on the hillside, looking down at the ravine and the floating islands in the distance. Jacob and Owen sat on the grass with Amy, Tia and the other senior Moonbeamers, all deep in thought. Nobody spoke, and only the whisper of the breeze and the sound of Shami munching on the green grass could be heard.

  Ben gave a deep sigh and turned towards Jacob and Owen. “I think the time is right… are you ready?”

  “As ready as we will ever be,” chirped Owen.

  “Are you sure you can do this, Hal?” asked Jacob.

  “With the Sword in my possession, I now have use of all the old magic, so there is no reason why this should not work,” he answered. “If everyone stands back, I will see if I can summon the passage to us!”

  Ben, Owen and Jacob held their breath, praying that this would work and they would see their families once again. Hal held his Sword in the air. He closed his eyes and started to mutter words which the Giddles could not understand. His voice rose and his face reddened with the effort. The Sword glowed in his hand and light shot out from its blade. Shami stopped munching grass and stared warily at Hal, wondering what this strange phenomenon could be. Hal continued to roar foreign words and the blade brightened in intensity. Suddenly, the hillside before them seemed to open up and, exhausted, Hal dropped to the ground. The others stared in wonder at the passageway that had appeared from nowhere.

  “You did it!” cried Tia in surprise.

  Ben looked at Owen and Jacob and saw them smiling… it had been a long time since they had seen their families and they were looking forward to returning home.

  Amy looked at Ben with tears in her eyes. “Are you sure you want to go back to Earthlingcragg?” she sobbed. “I thought you loved it here in Numblebrook.”

  “I do love it here, Amy, but I also love my family. They will have been at their wits’ end wondering what has happened to me. I couldn’t bear to never see them again.”

  “Will you return?” she cried, her heart laden with sadness.

  “I don’t know. Who knows what the future holds?” Ben hugged Amy and wiped away her tears. “I’ll miss you every single day, and I’ll never forget you,” he sobbed.

  “It has been a great honour to fight beside such a true friend!” Hal said as he patted Ben on the shoulder. “You are welcome back here any time you wish, Prince Benjamin Giddle, and I hope you will not forget us. We will never forget what you have done for this land, and we will forever be indebted to you.” He turned to Owen and Jacob. “And you must also be proud of what you have achieved. You undertook some dangerous missions and have played your part in overthrowing King Ados. For that, we thank you.”

  The friends bade their farewells. Ben gave Shami a pat on her huge head and told her to take care of Amy. With tears in his eyes, he looked at his friends one more time and then turned to leave. As he did so, to his utter astonishment, he saw the dog with two tails strolling down the passageway towards them.

  “Hurry up! My mistress is getting anxious; she doesn’t like the passageway staying in the same place for too long. All this sentimental rubbish… there’s absolutely no need for it. Get a move on!” The dog then turned around and started walking back down the passageway into the gloom.

  “We had better hurry before the passage disappears!” exclaimed Jacob nervously.

  As they walked down the tunnel into the darkness, they turned for one last time to wave goodbye to their friends. Ben felt a tear running down his cheek and quickly wiped it away.

  With saddened, heavy hearts, Amy and the Moonbeamers watched their friends depart, and as they stared, the passageway slowly disappeared. Before them, once again, was the hillside, its grass waving gently in the wind.

  The tunnel dimmed until they were almost walking in complete darkness. Eventually they saw light ahead and entered the large chamber. The sign bearing the name LABYRINTH JUNCTION still hung on the wall, and the old hag sat stirring her pot.

  “You were a long time!” she moaned. “When I sent you on that errand to deliver the letter to Haligan Lexin, I didn’t expect it to take you weeks!”

  “We had to go on many dangerous missions to overthrow an evil king. It wasn’t something that could be done quickly!” retorted Ben in defence.

  “Excuses, excuses! That’s all I hear from the youth of today!” She looked at Owen and Jacob. “And what excuses have you two got?” Owen opened his mouth to speak, but the old hag continued. “Don’t bother replying, laddie, I don’t want to hear it! Now off you go, get out of my sight before you get yourselves in more trouble! I presume you are going back to Earthlingcragg? Or do you want to enter one of the other lands and end up in more bother?”

  “Yes, we’re definitely going back to Earthlingcragg!” spluttered Jacob, as he hastily walked towards the steps in the middle of the cavern.

  As Ben approached the stone stairway, he looked around at the walls, looking for the mathematical formulae which had helped him to solve the riddle. “Where’s the formula for pi gone?” he asked the witch.

  “I told you mathematics solves many of the world’s problems, and I was right, wasn’t I? But it’s not needed now; it has served its purpose!”

  Ben looked at the spot where the number for pi had been, and in its place noticed an engraved map bearing a cross.

  “What’s that for?” he asked.

  “Only time will tell!” she muttered. “Now be off with you!”

  Ben turned to look at her as he went down the stone steps and was sure he noticed a sly wink and a wry smile spread across her face.

  The boys reached the beach and ran as fast as they could towards the small village in which they lived. They had agreed to keep the Junction and Numblebrook a secret; besides, who would believe them anyway?

  Ben reached his house, excitedly pushing open the door, eager to see his family after so many weeks. “Mum, Mum, I’m home!” he cried.

  His mother appeared from the kitchen door with a stern look on her face. “Where’s the milk?” she asked.

  “What milk? What are you talking about?” asked a puzzled Ben. “Haven’t you been wondering where I’ve been all
this time? I thought you would be overjoyed to see me!”

  “Don’t play games with me, Ben. Have you bought the milk or not?” she replied angrily.

  “Errmmm… No!” Ben answered, feeling very confused.

  “Well, I suggest you go back to the shop and get it, then! Honestly, Ben, I just don’t know what’s got into you lately. You’ve been acting strangely for weeks!”

  Ben turned to go back through the front door, his mind spinning with hundreds of questions. Milk? What milk? What was she talking about? And how could he have been acting strangely for weeks? He’d been missing for weeks, and hadn’t anybody been wondering where he was? He stood on the porch, trying to make some kind of sense out of the situation, when something caught his attention and he stared in disbelief. Surely this could not be real! Walking up the driveway towards him was somebody who looked exactly like Ben himself, and he was carrying a bottle of milk! Only it couldn’t be himself, as he was stood right there outside his own front door! But the person walking towards him looked identical, and was even wearing his clothes!

  “Who-who-who are you?” asked Ben in wonder.

  The identical Ben carrying the milk stopped and stared with a stern look on his face. “You could have warned me that you were coming home!” he answered crossly as he placed the milk on the floor.

  “What do you mean, I could have warned you?! I don’t know who you are or how you got here. Who are you?”

  “I was sent here to clone you, of course! The witch from the Junction sent me so that your family wouldn’t get worried. Two weeks, she said! I did not expect you to be gone for nearly two months! And what thanks do I get? Nothing!”

  With that outburst the clone immediately vanished, and in its place sat a ginger tabby cat. Ben stared in bewilderment at the strange feline.

  “Well,” said the cat, “do I get any thanks or not? It wasn’t easy being you for seven weeks, you know! In fact some of it was particularly unbearable! I had to put up with your stupid brothers teasing me for a start. And school! I don’t even know where to begin with school! Those boys in your class are idiots! And a maths and spelling test every Friday! I’m a cat, you know! Cats aren’t supposed to sit exams!”

  “You sat my maths and spellings tests?” asked Ben in utter astonishment.

  “Of course I did! I did object, but that stupid teacher of yours threatened to put me in detention!”

  “Well, I hope you got good marks!” replied Ben. “I always get one hundred per cent!”

  “You must be joking!” snarled the cat. “I’m a cat! I can’t do maths and spell words. Your marks have gone right down, and your teacher thinks you’ve gone insane! As do the rest of your family, by the way! I don’t know what you thought you could expect. I tried my hardest and it wasn’t easy pretending to be you. You should just be grateful I was here to cover for you, whilst you were on your missions to save the world! I would much rather have gone off on some great adventure in Numblebrook, but instead I was stuck here putting up with your brothers and going to school!”

  Ben was wondering how to answer, when two other cats ran towards them up the driveway.

  “Owen’s home!” shouted a grey Persian cat with long, fluffy hair. “He gave me no notice whatsoever! Nearly got caught, I did! And no gratitude either!”

  “Nor from Jacob!” chirped a black cat. “Still, I suppose this nightmare is now over. I was sick of going to that silly school. We better report back to the witch and see what other stupid mission she’s going to send us on next. She could have warned us that they were on their way back!”

  All three cats started to walk back down the driveway towards the road, chatting as they went. Ben stared after them in utter confusion.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” shouted back the tabby cat. “Tell that idiotic dog of yours, I chucked all his chews in the bin. He’s been searching for them all week! It’s not in my job description to be nice to dogs!”

  Ben stared in disbelief as the cats disappeared from view. He shook his head and turned to walk into the house, utterly baffled at the situation he had just found himself in. He placed the milk on the kitchen worktop.

  “At last!” his mother chirped.

  Ben went up to his room, still confused about what had just happened. He lay on his bed and felt his eyes grow heavy… he was so tired after everything that had happened. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, dreaming about all the strange things that had happened in the land of Numblebrook.

  He woke to his mother shaking him gently, telling him that his tea was on the table. He ate slowly, deep in thought about his adventures and how unreal they now seemed. Had it all been a strange but realistic dream? The more he thought, the more this seemed like the only sensible answer. How could he have been fooled by such a silly dream?

  He lay in bed that evening feeling both angry and sad; angry with himself for believing such adventures could happen, and sad that his friends must have been simply figments of his imagination. Whilst he was deep in thought, his mother walked into the room and put something down on his bedside cabinet.

  “You’ve been collecting pebbles on the beach again! I wish you would empty your pockets before you put your clothes in the washing basket. It could damage the washing machine!”

  As she walked from the room, Ben looked in disbelief at the stone she had placed on the cabinet… the moonstone! He quickly picked it up and started to rub it frantically, repeating Amy’s name over and over again. At first nothing happened and Ben started to think that maybe it really was just a pebble from the beach. But then, slowly, it began to warm in his hands and tingle between his fingers. He stared at the stone in amazement as it became hazy, then slowly Amy’s face began to appear.

  “You took your time!” she laughed. “I thought you had forgotten all about me!”

  A huge smile crossed Ben’s face. “How could I possibly forget you and my adventures in Numblebrook?” He grinned. “How are things there since I left?”

  “They’re great. King Haligan is a strong and honourable king and the land is now the joyful and peaceful place it once was. Everybody is happy… apart from me, that is. It’s just not the same here, not now that you are gone.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” asked Ben, guilt spiralling through him.

  A large, mischievous grin appeared on Amy’s face. “You could meet me at the Junction tomorrow?” she laughed. “I quite fancy the idea of visiting Smugglers’ Way!”

  An image of the engraved map etched into the cave wall of Labyrinth Junction sprang into Ben’s mind. Smugglers’ Way! Maybe it was a treasure map? After all, smugglers do steal treasure! Now wouldn’t that make a great adventure? Ben grinned excitedly back at the image of Amy and nodded enthusiastically.

  “Tomorrow it is, then!” he laughed.