‘I want to visit the clearing,’ Queen Ashana explained. ‘The clearing where Radnor died and it all began. I would really appreciate it if you would come with us.’
‘Of course, your majesty,’ agreed Willem. ‘It would be our honour.’
‘Thank you,’ smiled Queen Ashana. ‘Marnie, this pie is delicious.’
‘And what news of the Sedah, your majesty?’ asked Marnie. ‘Have you had a reply from Emperor Raef after your offer to exchange the Sedah prisoners for the stolen treasure of Tiregian?’
‘His reply was implorably rude,’ Queen Ashana responded. ‘He refused to consider the exchange and insisted that we were welcome to keep the useless rabble of soldiers and priests. He wrote that if he saw them again he would only punish the entire force for their incompetence, and he certainly was not paying for the displeasure.’
‘Will you release the prisoners then?’ asked Willem.
‘Surely you couldn’t release Lord Lazlac, or that terrible Sniffer or Lord Mortimer?’ shivered Marnie.
‘No. Of course not,’ replied Queen Ashana. ‘I have the Sedah prisoners working on rebuilding the homes that they destroyed in Tira and the surrounding villages. When that is completed I have two special projects in mind for Lord Lazlac, Sniffer and their men.’ Queen Ashana smiled mischievously. ‘I thought Lord Lazlac could help pull down that monstrous temple he built and replant my rose garden. Sniffer, on the other hand, could remove that rubbish dump in the cavern. It is unhygienic having plagues of rats, cockroaches and hobgoblins living under the city.’
‘Wouldn’t the smell down there drive him crazy!’ joked Saxon.
The four children giggled with delight at the thought.
The adults continued to discuss politics, revenge, war and restitution.
‘Roana, did we tell you that Aisha had puppies?’ whispered Lily enthusiastically. ‘Come and have a look.’
The four children tiptoed quietly over to a large box in the far corner.
Aisha was snuggled down with nine dark gold puppies, all wriggling and squirming. She wrinkled her eyebrows at Roana in greeting, but did not climb out of the box. Charcoal peered into the box curiously, wondering at the mewling, suckling creatures, then turned her back and stalked away.
‘Oh, they are gorgeous,’ crooned Roana. ‘What a beautiful mother you are, Aisha.’
‘They are a week old,’ explained Ethan. ‘She had ten, but one died a few days ago.’
‘Ten! So many! But I did not even know Aisha was having puppies?’ asked Roana.
‘Neither did we,’ laughed Lily. ‘All we knew was that Aisha seemed very tired and a bit sick, but we were all so busy with the journey home and rebuilding. Then Mama noticed Aisha seemed to be putting on weight, and next thing we know – ten puppies born a week ago.’
‘We think Jonte is the father,’ added Ethan. ‘They did seem rather smitten with each other.’
‘Oh, they are just so beautiful,’ Roana exclaimed.
‘We thought you might like one?’ asked Ethan.
‘Oh, could I?’ shrieked Roana in excitement. ‘I would love an Aisha puppy – a little girl, as clever and brave as her mama.’
‘Sax is taking a little boy,’ said Lily.
‘I thought I’d call him Wilf – a warrior of the snows,’ explained Saxon.
‘Perfect,’ approved Roana. ‘So perfect. I will have to think of a wonderful name for my little girl.’
It was late afternoon when the small group rode out through the forest of Kenley to the clearing where the attack on Tiregian had first taken place. Early spring had become late summer. The bulbs and wildflowers had flourished and died. The sun shone warmly and the birds sang overhead. It was subtly different yet the same.
Memories of that dreadful day crowded in. They rode past the spot where Ethan had hidden Roana in the underbrush, the place where he had found Roana lying unconscious in the mud, the fork where Sniffer had picked up her trail, and at last the clearing where the royal ceremony had been interrupted so many months ago.
Queen Ashana sat on her snow-white horse, her head hanging in grief.
‘It was here that your father fell,’ she told her children. Queen Ashana carried a bouquet of flowers, which she dropped on the spot where her husband had died. Roana grimly clutched the hilt of the Sun Sword, hanging in its scabbard at her waist.
The sun was sinking slowly in the west, flushing the horizon with crimson and filling the clearing with a rich golden light. The forest beyond filled with dark shadows.
A crash in the underbrush startled them, reminding them of the other disturbance in this spot the last time they were here. Willem stopped, holding up his hand for silence. Everyone else halted as well. There was a sound like thunder, low and rolling. Hoofbeats!
A blaze of white flew into the clearing in front of them. It stopped. It was a white horse, like Moonbeam only twice the size. The huge horse stood in the middle of the clearing and turned to look at them quizzically.
The wild white stallion! The elusive white horse that was the object of the annual Royal Hunt at the Spring Equinox. Some village folk swore he was a unicorn, or a fabulous winged horse. There he stood, his muscles rippling in the dappled light. The stallion snorted, flaring his velvet nostrils wide. He tossed his flowing white mane, the tufted forelock falling over one brown eye.
The stallion sniffed the smell of the humans standing still on the forest track and the smell of their horses. He neighed a challenge, warning them all that he was the undisputed king of the forest. Nutmeg, Caramel, Moonbeam and Toffee pranced and sidled, drawn by the wild call. Lily, Ethan, Roana and Saxon held the reins fast, holding their horses in.
The stallion reared up on his hind legs, his shiny black hooves flashing and pawing the air in challenge. He danced on his hind legs, gracefully balancing for what seemed like long minutes. The party of humans could hardly breathe at the grace and beauty of this wild horse.
Finally the spell was broken, and the stallion sent a ringing neigh through the forest. The mares answered his call. A herd of two hundred of Tiregian’s finest hacks, ponies, hunters and carriage horses streamed through the forest galloping as one. The river of warm horseflesh streamed across the track and off into the shadows of the forest on the other side. The stallion turned to look at the humans once more, neighing defiantly, then galloped off after his herd.
Everyone was silent for a moment, overcome by the beauty of the scene.
‘The horses are safe,’ sighed Lily happily. ‘The Sedahs didn’t get them.’
Willem laughed uproariously. ‘Not only that, my darling. Most of those mares are looking a tad rounder than when I left them five months ago. I’d say that wild stallion has done his job, and there’s a hundred or more moon foals, waiting to be born next spring. We’ll have a huge job rounding them up in the wild and bringing them into the stables before winter.’
‘And a busy job delivering a hundred baby moon foals!’ cried Marnie exuberantly.
Everyone grinned in excitement and happiness. In the east, a golden disk shimmered on the horizon, reflecting the sun’s glory. Slowly, majestically, a huge golden moon rose in the purple sky. A single star gleamed overhead.
Roana drew the Sun Sword and held it above her head, pointing at the moon. ‘To a bountiful harvest and to many, many moon foals. May the Moon Goddess bless them all and keep them safe.’
Belinda has worked as a writer and public relations consultant for nearly twenty years. Her overseas adventures inspired her travel stories for the West Australian newspaper and Out & About With Kids magazine, amongst others.
Belinda comes from a very literary family, with a history of Australian writers stretching back 180 years – her great-great-great-great grandmother Charlotte Atkinson published the first Australian children’s book in 1841, and her sister Kate Forsyth and brother Nick Humphrey are both published writers. Belinda’s passion for children’s books was reignited when she had her own three children and began telling an
d writing stories for Nick, Emily and Lachlan. Belinda is currently writing her next book for children.
Belinda lives in a tumbledown cottage overlooking the sea in Sydney with her husband Rob, three gorgeous children and lots of animals, including a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback called Asha (the real-life inspiration for Aisha).
BOOK ONE IN THE SUN SWORD TRILOGY
After their village is attacked, a young brother and sister set off on a dangerous quest to save their captured family and friends – and free their land from the Sedah invaders. Where are Ethan and Lily’s parents being held? And where have the Sun Sword and its magical gems been hidden?
Joined by their friend Saxon and the determined Princess Roana, Ethan and Lily must solve puzzles and riddles, escape legendary sea monsters and outwit bandits along the way. But the greatest threat to the children is the sinister Sedah tracker, Sniffer, who is close on their trail …
Can the four friends find the sun gem – before the Sedah can find them?
Out now!
BOOK TWO IN THE SUN SWORD TRILOGY
Ethan, Lily, Saxon and Roana have cracked the code, only to find that the Moon Pearl is being sent on a Sedah warship back to the land of the invaders. The only hope for Tiregian is for the four children to give chase in order to save the precious stone.
The fisherfolk can help. So can Saxon’s mysterious acquaintance, Fox, a disreputable smuggler who will do anything for a pouch full of Roana’s gold. But the sea is far more dangerous than the land. There are sea monsters, wild storms, greedy pirates, and the sheer power of the ocean itself – not to mention the deadly warship they are chasing.
Will Fox’s stealthy black sloop, The Owl, carry them to safety, or will the Moon Pearl remain in the hands of their enemy? And even if they make it home alive, will Sniffer be waiting for them?
Out now!
The Snowy Tower Page 20
