Then Raven shook his head and ruffled his feathers. He looked as if he had just woken up and was a little groggy. The mood and landscape returned to the way they had been.
“Hoohoo. Hoohoohoo. There it is. There it was. Now I am tired.”
Raven’s eyes began to close. His beak opened in a wide yawn.
“You are they,” he muttered. “But now I must take a little nap. I need coffee….Lots of coffee.”
Raven’s eyes clamped shut, and he instantly fell into a deep sleep.
“Should we wake him up?” Alice asked, turning to look at the other residents of the garden.
They shook their heads. Apparently there was no point trying to wake up Raven unless you had strong coffee, because otherwise he was as angry as a hornet and would peck everyone and everything.
“Where are we supposed to get coffee?” Alice asked.
She wanted more than anything to know what else Raven had to say about her and Marissa, and their mission.
“The garden used to have a coffee spring, but it dried up,” the wind fairies said. “Raven has been very upset about it.”
“Guide us to it, and we’ll try to find a way to get it to work again,” Alice said.
“If you succeed, surely you will have earned the title of official residents,” the wind fairies replied. Then one of them lowered its voice: “Raven has been unbearable without coffee. He’s always drowsy and on edge. It will be a blessing to all of us if you can make the spring flow again.”
* * *
—
The coffee spring was now only a small hole with dried coffee grounds in it. The smell of old coffee still hung in the air, but nothing suggested that any liquid would ever bubble from the earth here again. Alice and Marissa looked at the hole in disappointment.
“How are we supposed to get that working?” Marissa asked in frustration.
The wind fairies shrugged. They’d already tried everything.
Alice circled the hole, pondering.
“What we need is a coffee-summoning spell,” she said.
“Do you know one of those?”
“No,” Alice said with a sigh. “But it should be something along the lines of Come forth, coffee, from the ground….”
“Help our owl come around?” Marissa added.
Alice laughed. “That’s good! Come forth, coffee, from the ground. Help our owl come around!”
The girls began dancing around the spring as they recited the charm they’d made up. Occasionally they had to stop to laugh, because the spell and their coffee dance were so silly. But soon Alice started to lose patience. This wasn’t helping anything. And Raven would just keep on sleeping, and they would never learn what he had to say about them and why they were here.
“Okay, that’s enough. This isn’t…,” Alice began.
But then suddenly she felt a cold gust of wind on her back, and she was sure that someone was watching them from somewhere close. Marissa didn’t seem to notice anything, though, since she continued chanting.
“Did you just feel…?” Alice attempted to ask, but just at that moment, dark brown liquid appeared where there had only been dry coffee grounds. It smelled wonderful.
“Look! It’s working!” Marissa cried.
Then coffee began gushing from the spring, high into the air, and the cheering wind fairies filled a giant cup for Raven. But the whole time as they walked back to the tree, Alice couldn’t help glancing around to see if someone was following them. Even though the garden was warm, she still felt cold chills running down her back.
* * *
—
The smell of coffee worked. Raven’s drowsy head appeared in the heart-shaped crevice. His eyes were tightly shut.
“Come closer,” Raven muttered.
The girls put the coffee cup near the hole in the tree. With his eyes still closed, Raven poked his head out just enough to dunk his beak in the coffee. Then he slurped it up. For a moment, nothing happened. Raven looked as if he might fall back asleep.
Then suddenly his eyes sprang open. Alice had never seen another creature with such large eyes relative to the rest of its body. Raven hopped from his hole like a rabbit hit by an electric shock. He flew to a branch and started to swing around it wildly, holding on with his feet.
“GoodthatyoucamebecauseIhavesomethingimportantforyoubecauseyourworldisindangerandonlyyoucansaveit….”
Raven spoke so quickly that it was almost impossible to tell what he was trying to say.
“Did you say that our world is in danger and only we can save it?” Marissa asked.
“YesIdidbecausethatistheprophecy.”
Raven had started doing backflips now. Alice thought that apparently caffeine had more of an effect on some creatures than others.
“What does the prophecy say?” Alice asked.
“Thattwogirlswhoarebestfriendswillcomefromanotherworld.”
Alice looked at Marissa. Marissa looked at Alice. They took each other by the hand.
“We are best friends,” Alice said. “But why is our world in danger?”
“Toomuchsnowisfallingthere. Thesnowiscoveringeverything.”
“Is it because of something happening in this world?”
“Thereisaqueenwhorulesthisworld. Sheismakingthesnow.”
“A queen? Where does she live?” Marissa asked.
“Nobodyknows. Hiddenfaraway.”
As he babbled, Raven danced a funny jig that seemed to be made up mostly of jumping and various silly walks.
“How do we find her, then?”
Alice was growing tired of Raven’s riddles and his fast talking.
“Youhavetogoovertheseaandfindthekeywithintheheartand—”
“Wait, slow down a minute! So we have to go over the sea?” Marissa asked.
“And find a key within a heart?” Alice asked.
“Yesyesyesyes. Youhavetofreetheamusementpark. Andbecomedragonhandedgirls.”
Alice and Marissa looked at each other, trying to understand.
“Something about an amusement park and dragons?” Alice suggested.
Marissa thought.
“Free the amusement park? And dragon-handed girls,” she said finally. “But I don’t have any idea what that means.”
“Gototheseashore. Travelfromthere.”
“How do we get to the seashore?” Alice asked.
“Youmusthaveagoodguide.”
“A good guide,” Alice repeated.
She remembered that she had intended to invite the shapeshifter in, once she became an official resident of the Garden of Secrets.
Raven had started flying around wildly, diving from high above with his wings tucked in and then opening them just before he touched the ground. It didn’t seem as if he was going to tell the girls anything more.
The wind fairies fluttered over to the girls with wreaths of flowers, which they placed on Alice’s and Marissa’s heads before intoning a solemn chorus:
“Holders of secrets, enter the Secret Garden through the secret gate. The garden hereby accepts you as its residents. Walk these paths as you would your own. Protect this place as you would your dearest love.”
Alice and Marissa bowed graciously with the wreaths on their heads. The small sillyhops jumped around them and shouted, “Hurray!” The leafplayers performed a fanfare. The moss trolls turned happy cartwheels, and everywhere their feet touched, more moss grew.
Alice felt at once proud and sad. They were official residents of the garden now, but they had to leave. It was clear that they had a mission. When Raven had mentioned the queen, Alice had felt that cold tingling again. She had a sinking feeling that defeating the queen would be no easy task.
Alice and Marissa celebrated in the meadow with the other garden residents, until Alice asked for quiet because
she had something to say. “Dear wind fairies, dream weavers, question flowers, barkers, sillyhops, leafplayers, nightwalkers, moss trolls, and all the rest whose names we don’t know. Honored Raven,” Alice began solemnly, “I would like to make a request now that I am a full-fledged member of this place.”
“Tell us your wish,” the wind fairies replied.
“I want more coffee,” Raven said, but the others hushed him so they could listen.
“I would like to invite the shapeshifter into the garden.”
Alice and Marissa heard an astonished murmuring ripple over the meadow.
The question flowers bobbed their heads and asked, “What did she say? Why did she say that? What does she mean? What’s happening?”
All the others whispered, and there were many murmurs.
“What’s wrong with them?” Marissa asked Alice.
Alice shook her head in confusion. She didn’t have a clue. After a while, the commotion calmed a little and the wind fairies (who seemed the most concerned) asked Alice, “Are you sure?”
“I am,” she replied. “But do you have something against admitting him?”
“Long ago, the shapeshifters were free to live in the garden, but then came a terrible conflict. They began to swarm too much where we fairies live, and there were collisions and clashes and broken wings. Finally, a shapeshifter ate one of us while in his wolf form. He claimed it was an accident. He said he had only been yawning in the wind and swallowed in alarm when the fairy flew into his mouth, but what was done was done,” a wind fairy said. The others nodded in agreement. “After that, the shapeshifters were banned from the garden. They can only come on invitation from an official member. If they can promise to behave.”
“I believe our friend will behave,” Alice assured them.
However, she wasn’t completely sure. The shapeshifter might have kind eyes, but he was still a beast.
“This invitation is on your own head. We will leave before he comes.”
And so the wind fairies fluttered away in waves with the swirling breeze. The other residents of the garden also withdrew to their homes. Raven rose into the air with drowsy wings, mumbling something about a double espresso as he went.
“Do you think it’s wise to invite the shapeshifter in?” Alice asked Marissa.
“I don’t know if it’s wise,” Marissa said. “But it’s necessary. I’m sure he can guide us to the seashore.”
“Okay. Then I’ll do it.”
Alice closed her eyes. She imagined the shapeshifter before her, with his rainbow wings and golden eyes and gray coat. The whole time, he changed shape in her mind from dragonfly to wolf and back. Alice didn’t have a clue how to call the shapeshifter, but suddenly she found herself speaking very quietly.
“Shapeshifter, shift your shape; shapeshifter, shift your shape; shapeshifter, shift your shape; shapeshifter, shift your shape.”
She whispered this incantation four times and then opened her eyes. No one besides her and Marissa was visible in the meadow. Alice began to think the call hadn’t worked, until she heard a familiar buzzing of dragonfly wings. The shimmering insect flew to the girls, alighting on a rock and then changing into his wolf shape. When Alice saw the shapeshifter there before her, solid and genuine, she realized how much she’d missed him. Alice and Marissa pressed themselves against the shapeshifter’s pelt and hugged him long and hard.
The shapeshifter smelled at once familiar and strange. His coat was cold, as if he had just come from a place with snow. The longer Alice hugged the shapeshifter, the more longing she felt. The shapeshifter brought the smell and feeling and memories of another world where she had a family and a home. Alice began to cry.
You called me for a reason, little person, the shapeshifter said.
“Yes,” Alice said as she sniffed and wiped her eyes. “We have to get to the queen of Sisterland. But first we must cross the sea. We hear you can take us to the shore.”
Queen Lili, the shapeshifter said in a low growl.
“Do you know her?” asked Marissa.
She is a dangerrrrrrrrrrous creature, the shapeshifter replied. More than that I cannot say.
“Some think you are a dangerous creature as well,” Marissa pointed out.
The shapeshifter snorted.
“Shall we depart for the shore immediately?” Alice asked.
Not yet. Not until midnight.
“Why midnight?” Marissa asked.
There are things that must be done in the dark.
The girls didn’t inquire any further.
* * *
—
At midnight, the shapeshifter came and nudged Alice and Marissa awake with his muzzle. Even in the dark, Alice noticed that the wolf’s cheeks bulged strangely.
“What do you have in your mouth?” she asked.
The wolf shook his mouth.
“Spit it out! Now!” Alice demanded.
Reluctantly the wolf opened his mouth, and out floundered a bewildered wind fairy covered in saliva. When the fairy was a safe distance away, it began to berate the wolf:
“Ravening beast! Fleabag! Mangy cur!”
“We’re very sorry!” Alice yelled.
“Get that dratted monster out of here!” the wind fairy shouted back, and then flew off with an angry buzzing of wings.
That was my provisions for the journey. So small but so delicious…
“No. You can’t eat any wind fairies,” Marissa said firmly.
Just one to tide me over on our way…?
“No,” Alice said. “We promised the other residents of the forest.”
The shapeshifter sighed in disappointment. Then he grew to two times the size of a normal wolf and told the girls to climb on his back. They did as commanded. Marissa sat in front. Alice wrapped her arms around Marissa’s waist, pressing her cheek against her friend’s back and holding on tight as the shapeshifter began running through the black garden.
In the darkness, the Garden of Secrets was full of different sounds and smells than in the day. There were murmurings, distant calls, and the playing of tiny bells. The shapeshifter ran with smooth, light steps, his paws hardly touching the paths, the stones, and the roots of the trees. At times, the garden turned to forest, and at other times they crossed meadows where the night dew of the grasses soaked their legs.
Alice knew she was safe as she felt the motion of the shapeshifter’s muscles beneath her and the beating of Marissa’s heart. Even though she didn’t know everything that awaited them or everything that would happen, she did not fear. She knew that together they could survive anything.
Finally, they arrived at the shore. All five moons shone in the sky, and the waves of the sea reflected their silver light.
This is the Ocular Sea, the shapeshifter said.
“Ocular? What’s an ocular?” Alice asked.
You will learn soon enough.
On the shore was a long dock with a ship at the end.
That is the Glimmer. You must sneak aboard. That’s why we came at night, so the crew would be sleeping.
“Why do we have to sneak aboard?” Marissa asked. “Can’t we just ask the crew to let us on?”
The Glimmer has a strict, hardworking crew. They won’t want any little girls making their journey more difficult. That’s why you must stay hidden until you are far enough out at sea.
The shapeshifter gave them a stern look with his golden eyes.
Then his expression softened.
Go already, he said. No goodbyes.
Only now did Alice realize that this might be the last time she would see the shapeshifter. Or the entire Garden of Secrets. Marissa clearly understood this, though. They hugged the shapeshifter hard without saying a word. Then he changed from wolf to dragonfly and flew first to Marissa’s ankle and then to
Alice’s. As he kissed them both, a mark that resembled a lock appeared.
Now you have been marked. You will always have the blessing of the shapeshifters.
The shapeshifter rose high into the air and disappeared in the brilliance of the moons. The girls began quietly stealing along the dock toward the Glimmer.
The ship had a guard, a sullen man, who Alice thought looked more like a pirate than a sailor. He had ragged black clothes, messy hair, and a beard, and at least ten knives hung at his belt. However, fortunately for Alice and Marissa, he now leaned against the rail of the ship, snoring loudly.
Quietly the girls snuck like prowling cats past the man and onto the deck of the ship. Alice was casting about anxiously for a hiding place when Marissa took her by the hand and led her to the lifeboats. Perfect! Together they climbed into one of the boats and pulled a canvas over them. Instantly they were enveloped in darkness, safe and hidden. For a long time, they rested motionless and silent, barely breathing.
“Are you afraid?” Alice finally asked Marissa.
“No, not when I’m with you,” Marissa replied.
Alice thought she would never be able to sleep, but perhaps it was the steady rocking of the ship or the perfect darkness or Marissa’s breathing next to her, because suddenly she fell into a deep sleep, just as she had sometimes as a small child.
* * *
—
Their awakening was unexpected. Suddenly the bright light of morning intruded into their hiding place, along with the salty smell of the open sea and a snout covered with copper-colored fur. The snout moved and sniffed noisily.
“I smell rabbits,” barked a voice.
Alice and Marissa had been caught.
The sun beat down. Alice and Marissa stood on the deck of the ship, where they had been marched out of the lifeboat. The entire crew of the Glimmer had formed a tight ring around them, trying to decide what to do with them. Altogether the crew was made up of twelve men and women. All looked just as wild as the first one the girls had seen, the man who had been sleeping on guard duty. They had messy hair and patched clothing; gold, silver, and bronze chains; rings with glittering gems on every finger; and weapons that hung on display. Their faces were streaked with colorful paint, and their speech was so full of swear words that Alice never would have dared repeat what they said.
Sisterland Page 4
