Sasha was eager to know anything about Puck. “When was that?”
“Not long ago. Maybe the war set him adrift.”
“Is he…a person?”
“I don’t know,” said Oxi. “He seems like a fairy, the way he appears right underfoot. And he grunts like an ogre in his sleep.”
“And he says ‘gooby,’” added Sasha.
“Oh really?” said Oxi. “He must have learned that. But he eats like a swamp rat, and have you heard him cry? It’s like a howler monkey stubbed its toe or something.”
“But he’s a friend to lizards,” said Sasha, if only to give him one compliment. “And little creatures.”
“He is, isn’t he?” said Oxi, thinking about it for the first time. “Very peculiar. He slept out back for a while, in a hole in the apple tree by the river.”
“Do you think he’s magic?” asked Sasha.
“I think he’s lonely,” said Oxiana.
“Me too,” said Sasha.
She said goodbye to Oxiana the stabler and walked down to the riverbank, where Puck was sitting with his feet in the water. He seemed so peaceful. Sasha wondered if he was somebody’s little brother. He was eating an apple and kicking his feet to splash water. He looked as innocent as a baby bird.
It was nearly too late when she saw the rustling of a creature prowling behind a bush, ready to pounce on him.
Sasha should have screamed, but her throat seized.
She ran down the hill. But she wouldn’t make it in time.
No! she thought. No, don’t hurt him!
But before she could reach Puck or warn him, the creature leaped from the shadows onto Puck.
Chapter 6
“No!” shouted Sasha. “Don’t—”
But by then, she saw the creature as it jumped into the daylight and landed on Puck’s head. It was a mangy squirrel with a patchy tail. For half a second, Sasha thought, Oh. It’s just a squirrel. What a relief.
Then the squirrel began to climb all over him to get at the apple.
Puck shouted, “Neh neh neh!”
The squirrel squeaked and lunged from Puck’s shoulder to the apple.
“Neh neh neh!”
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
They rolled around on the riverbank, both tugging on the apple. It seemed to occur to Puck that the fight would be over if there was no apple. So he bit it.
The squirrel realized the same thing. So he chomped on.
Now they were face-to-face, biting on either side of the apple, glaring at each other. With his mouth full, Puck said, “Neh!”
The squirrel squeaked.
The insult was too great. Puck let go of the apple and tried to bite the squirrel instead. The squirrel did the same. They were both shouting and biting and scratching and rolling until Sasha ran up and said, “Stop it!”
But they didn’t stop.
She would have kicked them, but they might have bitten her leg. So Sasha waited for the right moment, then pushed both of them into the icy water of the Shivering River.
Puck yowled and ran back to shore.
The squirrel squeaked, but he was too small, and the current took him.
“Squeak!”
Puck turned and dove back into the water.
For such a dirty creature, he certainly knew how to swim. He reached the squirrel and scooped him up. He let the squirrel cling to his head as he took them both to the shore.
“I’m sorry I had to do that,” said Sasha as they panted and shivered, “but you were both being unreasonable.”
Puck made a complaining sound.
“Yes, you were,” said Sasha.
Puck made a scoffing sound.
“Were too. It was very childish.”
Puck made a questioning sound.
“How? Are you serious? You were killing each other for a measly apple.”
Puck made a sound like she was wrong about the value of the apple. The squirrel ran onto his shoulder and added squeaks to the argument.
“You’re both being silly. Don’t stick your tongues out at me. Don’t do it. Because. It’s not about that apple. I like apples just fine. I do. But you are standing under an apple tree.”
Both Puck and the squirrel stopped.
They put their tongues back in their mouths.
They looked up at the branches of the apple tree.
The branches were full of apples.
Puck and the mangy squirrel both fell back onto the grass laughing.
Sasha tried to speak, but it was no use.
They laughed and laughed.
They rolled around and patted each other until finally they got all their giggles out. Then they started to jabber at each other like they were old friends.
“Wait,” said Sasha. “You two know each other?”
Puck nodded.
“Do you know more…creatures?”
Puck nodded.
“Can they help with our mission?”
“Guh,” said Puck, as if that was the obvious reason he had come to the river in the first place. He put two fingers to his mouth and blew a loud whistle. Then they waited. When Sasha looked at Puck, he bounced his eyebrows like Just wait and see.
Before Sasha could say anything, they heard the patter of little feet. From behind the tree trunk appeared a twitchy, one-eared chipmunk. Then a toothy rat, then a gross, old badger.
Every single one of them looked smelly and smelled sticky.
“Guh, guh!” said Puck, gesturing to the rat, chipmunk, squirrel, and badger as if he was introducing them.
“I don’t speak…you,” said Sasha. “Do your friends have names?”
Puck nodded, “Guh,” as if he had just said that.
“Can I call them Toothy, Twitchy, Mangy, and Gross?”
They all shrugged.
Puck started to tell them about Abrus. As he spoke, his eyes grew large. He pointed at his teeth and pretended to swipe at them with his claws. He made fierce gestures, as if describing a ferocious battle with a gigantic beast.
The gang of fur nodded and offered suggestions.
When they were all settled with their plan, they huddled together and touched their foreheads to one another in a circle.
When they broke the huddle, the four creatures took off in different directions and disappeared.
Puck smiled at Sasha and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I have no idea what you just did, but does this mean they’ll help us with Abrus?”
Puck nodded, and they started to walk back to the stables.
Sasha felt the need to fill the silence. “Good. Okay. Good job. Sorry about pushing you in the river. I thought the mangy squirrel was a stranger. Did you really used to sleep here? Can they really be trusted?”
Puck didn’t say anything, but Sasha knew he could be trusted, so she didn’t press the issue. Besides, they had Butta the Butler to worry about.
And the party would be starting soon. They needed a plan to get past him and another plan to make Sisal act right.
As they crested the hill, she saw a caravan of horses and pack mules pulling into the stables—the caravan from Rozny.
The headmistress would be with them. And from the other road, they saw Basil’s carriage there to pick up the headmistress, to take her to the party.
“Uh-oh,” said Puck.
“Uh-oh,” said Sasha.
They were out of time.
Chapter 7
As they ran back up the hill, Sasha worked on her plan. She would need the help of Basil and Oxiana. And that gang of fur would have to be able to take orders. And even then, the headmistress would have to be carefully monitored. And who knew what Sisal would do? She was completely out of control. But if everything else went right, then maybe the plan would work.
The odds weren’t good.
But it was all she had.
Sasha turned to Puck and said, “Quick, run to Oxiana and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere before we can ask a favor.”
Puck
put his palm up to one eye, a knight’s salute, and then ran toward the stabler’s tent. Already, it looked overrun with men and women from the caravan leading their animals into the stables, unloading their saddle packs, and barking commands at one another. Puck skittered between their legs and disappeared into the tent.
Sasha veered toward the Gentry carriage, where Basil was standing in his formal attire, holding a bottle of iced hibiscus tea.
“Hi, Basil!”
Basil laughed uncomfortably.
“I bet you’re wondering what I’m doing here,” said Sasha.
“That’d be impolite to ask,” said Basil.
“But I bet you were thinking it.”
Basil laughed again.
“Is that tea for the headmistress?”
“It is.”
“Are you taking her in the carriage?”
“I am.”
“You have such nice horses,” said Sasha. She patted each horse on the neck. As she did, she secretly drew the bottle of horse liniment from her satchel and rubbed a tiny amount on each one. The horses seemed to like the cold sensation. They nuzzled Sasha’s hand for more.
Soon, they would start to feel relaxed. And by the time Basil and the headmistress got into the carriage, the horses would be almost asleep. That would buy Sasha some time to work on the rest of her plan. But first, she had to get into the mansion.
First, she stalled a little more by asking a dozen questions about the headmistress and her school. Then, after Basil began to get bored, she said, “I was wondering, do you think I could attend the party?” Sasha tried to offer her very best, most charming smile. “I could even help clean up if you want.”
Basil had been polite in every way. Surely he would not be so rude now to refuse a guest. “I’m sorry,” said Basil, squirming in discomfort and wrung his hands. “I can’t. The invitations are set.”
Sasha was embarrassed that she’d asked.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“But if someone was to find my ring and return it, then the only right thing to do would be to let her join the party.”
Sasha was confused for a moment.
“Your ring?” she said.
“Yes, that’s right.”
He was playing with a silver ring engraved with the Gentry seal.
“That ring?” said Sasha.
“Yep,” said Basil. “I lost it.”
He winked.
Then he made a show of dropping it in the dirt and walking away toward the stabler’s tent. “You must be Headmistress Salima,” said Basil to a woman wearing a big red hat, walking toward them.
Sasha quickly pocketed the ring and ran past, hoping the headmistress wouldn’t look too closely. If her plan worked, she would meet the headmistress later on. For now, she had solved the problem of Butta the butler.
“Thank you, Basil,” shouted Sasha as she ducked into Oxiana’s tent. “You’re a gentle friend!”
Sasha rushed past the caravaneers. Many of them were sitting in circles, playing music on lutes and singing songs that Sasha didn’t recognize. Over the hubbub, she heard Oxiana’s gruff voice.
“And will somebody find that Bebbin girl!”
Sasha squeezed through the crowd, wondering what she could have possibly done to make Oxi sound so mad at her. Then she got her answer. Oxiana the stabler was overrun with customers who wanted to rent cots and buy pomegranate cider, but she was stuck in place. Puck had wrapped himself around her ankles and was holding on with all his might. Sasha remembered that she had asked him to make sure Oxi didn’t go anywhere. Puck had taken the request seriously.
“You!” said Oxiana when she saw Sasha. “Get him off me!”
Chapter 8
“Down, Puck!” said Sasha, but he clung tight to Oxi’s legs.
“Release!”
“I command you, release!”
“Mission complete.”
Finally, Sasha knelt down beside him. His eyes were shut tight. He was trembling. Maybe all the shouting in the tent and the attention had scared him. Sasha touched him on the shoulder, but he winced. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m not mad. Nobody’s mad.”
Puck opened his eyes. They were so big and curious. And they wanted so badly to please. Sasha was struck suddenly by the thought that she had been scolding him all day. She didn’t mean to. He just never listened. And made such messes. And—Sasha caught herself. She had to admit she was wrong. It was unjust to scold Puck all the time. He was only ever trying to help her.
Sasha leaned close, so their foreheads were touching. She looked him in the eyes and said, “You’re doing a great job, Puck. I think you’re a really great partner.”
Puck’s questioning look gave way to a smile full of every joy a bird can sing. He let go of Oxi’s ankles and hugged Sasha’s face, rubbing his nose against hers.
It took all of Sasha’s strength not to scream and wipe her face.
She could feel the dirt smearing on her nose and forehead. Was he made of dirt? Puck let go eventually, and she stood up.
Oxiana was up there, still angry, still wondering why in the world Puck had attached himself to her.
“Oh. Right,” said Sasha. “Is now a good time to ask a favor?”
“Does this look like a good time?” said Oxi. She gestured at the tent hall—people everywhere, complaining in a dozen languages, dogs, monkeys, parrots, all squawking in their own.
Sasha gathered herself. “Right. It’s never a good time to ask a favor, which is why now is as good a time as any.”
Oxiana had to laugh at the absurd logic.
She set out twelve tin cups and said, “Fill these with cider while you talk. Then I’ll listen.”
Sasha grabbed the first cup and put it under the spigot.
“Okay. We don’t have much time. I only need you for a few minutes.”
“That sounds easy enough,” said Oxi.
“But those minutes are now.”
“Okay, what do you need?”
“And they’re not here.”
“Where are they?”
“At the Gentry Mansion.”
“Not a chance,” said Oxi. She handed a few of the full cups to a merchant in exchange for a coin.
“It’ll be super quick.”
“No.”
“You don’t have to do much.”
“Sorry, kid.”
“I’ll do all the talking.”
“I believe you.”
“So you’ll do it?”
“No.”
“Okay, what if Puck and I come back and help you with the caravans? He can watch the horses, and I’m a very good shopkeeper.”
That was an offer that got Oxi’s attention. The caravan was bigger than usual, and she’d need all the help she could get.
Sasha knew when she had made a sale. She stayed quiet while Oxiana thought it over. The only worry was if Oxi could leave her stables unattended. Sasha added, “We’ll even shovel out the stable.”
Oxiana was practically a giant. So when she stepped onto a table, everyone stopped and looked, wondering how long the table legs would hold out. Oxi cleared her throat and said, “Listen up. I’m leaving for a few minutes. I counted my coins and I counted the cups left in the cider barrels. If you want one, take it and leave a coin. Otherwise, don’t touch anything.”
Everyone gaped up at her, mouths open.
“Got it?” she said.
Everyone nodded.
She got off the table. It creaked with relief.
Then Oxi walked to her cabinet and pulled out a coat made of a lion skin. She swung it over her shoulders, so the lion’s mouth rested on her head like a hood.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s ride.”
She started toward the tent entrance.
“Wait,” said Sasha. “Do you have a different coat by any chance?”
She looked at the fearsome lion skin on Oxiana’s shoulders. “This favor is a bit more…um…delicate.”
“I hav
e one made out of a crocodile face,” said Oxi.
“How about we forget coats altogether?”
Oxi shrugged the coat off her shoulders.
“It’s your show, little lady.”
Chapter 9
They rode Oxiana’s fastest horse up the hill toward the Gentry Mansion. It was a beige charger, fit to ride into battle, so tall that Sasha felt a little dizzy. She sat with Puck in the front, and Oxiana sat behind them to make sure they didn’t fall off. But the horse was so thick that Sasha and Puck could have sat side by side. They could have had their own tea party on the broad horse.
On the road, they passed the Gentry carriage. It was stopped on the side. Three of the horses were fast asleep. The windows of carriage were shuttered. The driver had his hands on his head, wondering what to do.
It worked! The horse liniment worked! thought Sasha.
But the horses would wake up eventually, so they had to hurry.
“When we get there,” said Sasha, “I might say some things that seem strange.”
“No kidding,” said Oxi.
“Just go with it, okay?” They galloped under the stone gate.
Oxiana said, “I’ve got ten minutes before the caravaneers start stealing everything that isn’t nailed down in my stables. And fifteen minutes before they start on the nails. Till then, I’m all yours.”
“Okay,” said Sasha. “But just try to be, I dunno, classy sounding.”
The horse pulled up in front of the mansion with a whiny and snort. Oxiana jumped off and helped Sasha down. Puck got down by swinging off the bridle.
Oxi said, “Classy sounding, got it.”
“Like you’re a princess who was a middle child and so you started an academy in the mountains for rich girls to learn astronomy and falconry and secret arts. But you’re still kinda stuffy.”
“That’s really specific,” said Oxiana.
“And your name’s Salima. Follow me.”
They walked around the house to the gardens in the back, where they could hear the hubbub of the party.
Sasha and Puck and the Cordial Cordial Page 3
