by Gemma Jace
Luna took a seat on the bed beside the lounging girl. The downy softness sank in from the weight of her. If only her bed back at home was this comfortable, life there would have been a little more bearable. Luna didn’t have much time to get what she came there for. Sitting around on this bed, no matter how soft it was, wasn’t going to get her any closer to her goal.
“This room is magnificent. I would have thought it was the master of the house’s room.” She scanned the room.
“The Count’s room is twice as big as this one, and twice as hard to clean.”
“Wow. There are bigger rooms than this on this floor? That’s amazing.”
“The Count’s room is in the west wing of the castle. We’re in the east wing.”
That was all Luna needed to know. She would make her way to the west wing of the castle and find the Count’s room.
“Oh, I see. I guess I’d better learn my way around here pretty quick.”
“You’ll catch on.” Sharie laid back on the bed and closed her eyes.
“Do you mind if I go and help the other girls with their rooms?” Luna asked.
“Sure. Come back and get me when you’re done, then we’ll go downstairs.”
“Ok. Be back in a few.”
Luna left the room and headed back up the hall and down the stairs. She wandered through the castle, trying to figure out which way was west. It was useless; the castle was too big, and she was running out of time. She decided the very next person she saw, she would ask which way she should go. As soon as she had that thought, a young man came strolling her way with his hands behind his back, whistling a cheerful tune. He was tall, brown, and handsome. He wasn’t a cursed person, so he must have been one of the guests. It didn’t matter, she would ask him anyway.
“Pardon me, sir. This is my first day here. Could you point me in the right direction of the west wing? Mrs. Ash sent me to the Count’s chambers.”
“I can show you where it is.” He smiled a warm gap-toothed smile at her. “Follow me.” He turned around and walked back the way he came. Luna walked beside him double time just to keep up with his long stride.
“Thank you so much. I want to make a good impression.” She tried to sound as convincing as possible.
“Stop trying now. Mrs. Ash will never be impressed with you or anyone else.” He started whistling again.
“Where are you visiting from?”
“I live here. The Count is my uncle.”
Did that mean he was a noble as well? “Are you a Count, too?”
“Technically I am, though I don’t go by that title.”
He was a nobleman, right in front of her, with thick, lush, long, noble locks. Should she ask him if she could have a lock of his hair? No, that wouldn’t work. He would think she was crazy. She had to figure out something else.
“Um, sir, you have a spider in your hair.”
The young man let out a high-pitched scream that pierced her ears. He started jumping around in a circle, flailing his arms, and shaking his hair side to side. Luna stood gawking at the sight. She didn’t realize he would have such a strong reaction.
“Get it out! Get it out!” he squealed.
“Hurry and bend down! I’ll get it out!” Luna shouted.
He bent over, stamping his feet and shaking his hands. “Hurry!”
Luna quickly grabbed a healthy lock of his hair and yanked, causing another scream from the young man. She stuffed it down the front of her shirt with one hand, while ruffling the back of his hair with the other.
“It’s gone. It’s gone. I got it out.”
He stood up straight and smoothed his hair back. His face was red and his eyes were watery. Luna instantly regretted what she had done to the poor fella. She would have never done it if she knew he had such a fear of spiders.
He finished walking her to the Count’s chambers, all the while telling her how much he hated spiders ever since he was a little boy when his cousin put one in his mouth while he was taking a nap. He was woken by the creepy feeling of it crawling out of his mouth and into his nostril. He had been deathly afraid of them ever since.
“Well, here you are.” He stopped in front of the Count’s door. “I’ll see you around.” He turned and walked away with shoulders slumped.
“Hey...” Luna called after him. “I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You were only trying to help.” And with that, he left. He put his hands behind his back, but there was no cheerful whistle in the air this time. Luna watched him until he walked around a corner and fell out of sight.
She put the lock of the hair into the tin Rusty had given her and ran down the hall, all the way to the front door, praying Mrs. Ash wouldn’t catch her, and that the boy she tricked wouldn’t realize what she had done and tell the Count. She cracked open the massive front door, squeezed through, and dashed to the side of the castle where she saw River and Rusty lounging on the cropped grass. They saw her running full speed and jumped up to join in her sprint. They didn’t stop until they reached the bottom of the hill.
“I got it,” she panted.
“We need to get back to the train,” River said. “But first, we have to go to Rusty’s house.”
“Why?” he asked after catching her breath.
“Because I’m coming with you.” Rusty smiled and pushed up his glasses before trotting away from them. “Come on. We’ll go through the woods, it’s faster that way.”
Luna and River followed closely behind. Luna was glad to hear that Rusty would join them. He knew a lot about the ingredients they needed, and that definitely would come in handy. But why would he leave his home? It really seemed like he had a great life.
“Why are you leaving Castleberry?” Luna asked, not able to quell her curiosity.
“I’ll tell you later. Right now, we have to pick up the pace.”
RUSTY’S HOUSE WAS A two-story brick house with a wrap-around porch and balcony, and the signature white-tiled roof that all the houses had in town. The weeping willow tree blew in the wind, caressing the wooden spindles of the porch. Climbing red rose bushes hung from white trellises flanking each side of the building.
Luna climbed the steps and sat down on one of two green metal chairs at a small round table that matched. Birds chirped as a puppy barked in the distance. Pink and yellow butterflies fluttered around, landing on the florescent yellow daffodils surrounding the house. Who would ever leave such a place?
“I’ll be right back.” Rusty swung the screen door open and bolted inside. Five minutes later, he came back out with a dark brown canvas backpack on. “I’m ready to go.”
They left the porch, dashing back through the woods toward the train station. The train horn blew two times, signaling its soon departure. Rusty told them that two toots of the train horn after the layover meant it would be leaving in ten minutes. They ran faster. Luna’s lungs burned as her chest heaved. Her body was begging her to stop, but there was no way she would. They had to get on that train. One toot of the horn rang out. Only five minutes left until departure. They broke through the tree line to see the train and platform. They ran across the open field, slowing from fatigue.
“All aboard.” They heard the conductor shout just as they skipped up the platform stairs, two at a time. Rusty pulled out money from his satchel and handed it through the wrought iron bars to the attendant.
“One train ticket to Coastal City, please.” He struggled to get the words out from exhaustion. The girl handed him the ticket just as the train engine wheel turned.
Luna was first to hop on the moving stairs of the train. River was next; then finally, with his ticket in hand, their new traveling companion, Rusty.
The conductor strolled down the car, stopping to ask the three other new passengers in the car for their tickets before reaching where Rusty sat across from Luna and River.
“Ticket please,” he requested. Rusty thrusted out his hand, handing the conductor his ticket with a grin on his face. The conductor
punched the ticket and continued down the train car. “Next stop, Bainbridge.”
CHAPTER 5
THE SUN DISAPPEARED behind a distant mountain, leaving behind an orangey-pink glow that colored the cloudy sky. River and Rusty chatted away to one another as Luna sat and listened. She waited to hear why Rusty had decided to travel with them. She wondered if he was running away from home for good. Would he board the boat with them too? Luna decided that she liked Rusty and that it would be fine if he stayed with them. She also decided it was time for him to tell them why he was helping them.
“Are you ready to tell us why you left your beautiful home to come with us?” Luna interrupted their conversation.
“Yeah, Rusty. We’re happy you’re traveling with us, but why?” River asked.
“While we were waiting for you to come out of the castle, I looked through the book inside of your bag. I came across a cure that could help me. All the ingredients were the same except for one. So, I thought, why not help them and help myself as well.” He pushed his glasses up.
“Which one?” Her curiosity was overwhelming. He needed a cure, just like she did. Although he appeared perfect, there was something wrong.
Rusty reached up and slid his tweed newsboy hat off. His head was smooth and shiny.
“I lost all of my hair when I was thirteen. That was two years ago, and I’ve been wearing this hat ever since. My dad tried every kind of medication to stop the hair loss, but within a year, it had all fallen out, strand by strand.” He looked away from them and put his hat back on, pulling it low down on his forehead.
“Well, we’re glad you came with us. Now you can get your hair back,” River said.
Rusty gave him a smile, but Luna could tell that just telling them the short of it put a sadness in him.
“Tell us about what we need to get from the next town.” She figured if she could get him talking about a new plan, he would cheer up. And it worked.
“The next town we stop in is called Bainbridge, which is named after the long bridge over Wolf River. The river is where we’ll find two more of the ingredients we need... the sting of platypus and the dragon’s blood.” His face lit up as he gave them the information.
“What is sting of platypus?” Luna asked.
“Dragons live in the river? I thought they were a fairytale.” River ran his hand through his hair, perhaps being secretly thankful for his tresses.
“They are a fairytale. Dragon’s blood is the red sap from a tree that grows near the water’s edge. And sting of platypus is just what it sounds like. It’s the stinger of the platypus.”
“They have a stinger?” River sat up a little in his chair.
“Yes, they do.... Well, only the males do. It’s on the back leg. So that means we have to catch one and take his stinger.”
“And I thought that animal couldn’t get any stranger,” Luna said, crossing her arms.
Rusty chuckled, seeming pleased he taught them something they didn’t know. He told them how shocked he was the first time his grandfather showed the stingers to him when they went on a fishing trip on the Wolf River. His grandfather caught the animal straight out of the water just to teach him all about them. His smile was bright as he reminisced.
“We should be pulling into the station in about an hour,” Rusty said, ending his monologue.
“It will be dark then,” Luna said.
“I remember the layover in Bainbridge only being a couple of hours. How can we get what we need, stumbling around in the dark in only two hours?” River said, more so thinking out loud than asking the others the question for answering.
“I have a flashlight,” Rusty said plainly.
The train pulled into the station, blowing its whistle. The conductor walked through the car reporting that they had reached the town of Bainbridge and that they would leave in two hours. Rusty took his silver flashlight from his backpack and they left the train, heading for the river.
The moon was full, casting a glow over the damp grass they walked through. The river reflected the moon off its surface, giving a dim eerie light through the darkness all around. Short stubby trees with flat tops surrounded the river. Rusty identified them as the dragon trees.
A lone wolf howled in the background, sending a cold chill up Luna’s spine. She now knew how the river got its name. Rusty took out a gold jackknife out of his satchel along with an empty jar, much like the one he gave them for the yew berries. When they got close to the tree, he opened the knife and sliced at the tree’s bark. Red oozed from the tree, like blood leaking from a human wound. He put the jar there and allowed it to fill to the brim.
“That was easy,” River said.
“Now it’s time for the hard part,” Rusty replied as he corked the jar and stuck it back inside of the satchel.
“What do we do next?” Luna asked Rusty.
“We have to catch a platypus.”
“Yeah, but how?”
“We go to the edge of the river and wait quietly for one to get close, then we grab him and take his stinger.”
“That simple, huh?” Luna wasn’t at all convinced it was that easy. There had to be more to catching a wild animal.
“Yep, just that simple.”
Luna rolled her eyes at him and made her way to the river’s shore. She sat down on a small boulder and waited, like Rusty said to do. The boys sat down on the ground next to her.
After about twenty minutes of sitting and watching, they heard the wolf howling again, only this time it was closer. Luna’s breath caught in her throat. They shouldn’t be out there in the dark. She knew big animals liked to do their hunting at night.
“Maybe we should go into town and see if someone sells the stingers,” she said with a shaky voice.
“I already told you, no one sells the things we need. Don’t worry about the wolf. They try to avoid people most of the time,” Rusty said.
“Most of the time? What about the other times?”
“They come over and they say ‘hi y’all, come and visit with my belly’,” River said with a giggle as he slapped his hands on his stomach.
Rusty giggled, but Luna didn’t find it funny at all.
They sat for another ten minutes when they heard a rustling in the bushes. Luna jumped to her feet and whirled around.
“Who’s there?” she demanded.
Rusty stood beside her, his jackknife in his hand, and River stood to stand in front of her, with his fist balled up in front of him, ready to fight whoever or whatever showed up. The bushes rustled again, even harder this time. Luna was so scared that she thought she might just jump into the river and swim for the other side. Rusty picked the flashlight up from the ground and shined it in the direction of the movement.
The bushes burst open, sending leaves and branches scattering through the air. A roar followed that reverberated through Luna’s chest, sending her heart into palpitations. A bear stood up on its hind legs, standing just as tall as them. Luna, River, and Rusty screamed in unison, exceeding the pitch of the animal’s hearty roar. Time slowed to a crawl as her mind tried to process what to do next. She froze in place. Rusty clutched the knife and flashlight so tightly that his knuckles turned an ashy gray color, and River was swinging and kicking at the air in front of him.
“Run!” Rusty yelled after his scream subsided.
Before Luna’s mind could register and obey what he said, a man popped out of the bushes.
The ebony-skinned man with a snow-white beard and a racoon hat ran to stand beside the bear. “That’s enough, Honey Pot!” the man shouted at the bear while patting the beast on its back. “You’re scaring the children.”
The bear ceased its terrifying roar and put its enormous front paws back onto the ground. It looked up at the man and snuggled its head against him. The bear was completely calm, but that realization didn’t stop Luna’s legs from shaking.
“Sorry ‘bout that. Ol’ Honey Pot here gets carried away sometimes. She don’t mean no harm, though,”
the man said in an accent Luna had never heard before. “What you all doin’ out here after dark?”
River was the first to speak. “We’re hunting platypus.”
“Well, I’ll be...” The man scratched his beard. “That’s what we out here huntin’ too. Ol’ Honey Pot had one on the run when she come cross you-all.”
“She tracks platypus?” Rusty asked, his fear replaced by curiosity.
“Heck yeah. She could out track any hound from the time she was just a bitty cub.” He ruffled Honey Pot’s fur on her back.
“Fascinating. She is absolutely magnificent,” Rusty gushed.
“Surely she is. She’s still just a cub, but she is as smart as a whip.” The man came closer. “Why you-all huntin’ platypus?”
“We need the stinger to make medicine,” Luna said, thinking she’d better speak before River tells him too much information.
“That’s all ya need? I’ve got plenty of those. I take them off before I sell them to people. Nobody wants a pet that can sting ‘em like a bee.”
Honey Pot shook her head back and forth while pawing her nose when she heard the word ‘bee’. The man laughed at the bear, which lightened the mood and made the rest laugh too.
“Come on with me. I have a whole jar of ‘em back at my cabin. I’ll give you as many as ya need.” He started walking with the bear close behind him.
They walked through the woods with nothing but the moon and Rusty’s flashlight to guide them. The man introduced himself as Earlston, but people called him Early. He told them he had been living in the woods for about forty years and that his catching and selling woodland animals raised him enough money to build his home. He also told them how he found Honey Pot one year ago, only a few days old, abandoned by her mother inside a burrow.
River and Rusty engaged Early in conversation, giddy about the fact he had a pet bear. Luna just listened, secretly sizing the man up. She had lost her trust for human goodness the day her dad died, and her mother turned into, what she thought, was the worst of mankind. Surely if her own mother could cause her harm, a complete stranger would have no problem at all doing it. She listened closely to any inconsistencies in the man’s chatter, but couldn’t find any. She felt just the slightest bit of relief.
