Petronella spoke first. Everyone listened. The Minotaur arched its back and put its head down into a fighting position. It started pawing the grass with its left foot sending wads of soil flying up behind him. Luckily there was the net between him and everyone else.
“Minotaur, I have been on a journey through Trogot Caves with Percy here...” Petronella said.
As soon as she said ‘Percy’, a woman came running out of the crowd, grabbed Percy, hugged him and said: “Ye be myn son. I knoweth ye be.” A man was standing behind her. “Percy, this be ye father,” she said. Tears streamed down her face. The father flung his arms around his wife and son. Sobbing, he said: “Me thinketh I would never seeth myn son again.”
Petronella was now responsible for all these people. Only she could get them out.
“Sorry, Minotaur, I will begin again. I have been on a journey through Trogot Caves with Percy here. We were not grabbed by The Trogot. It was our decision to go down there. All I ask of you is if you will please let us out. We would like to go back to our normal lives.
The Minotaur started bellowing. It seemed to go on for so long. But it finally stopped and said:
“What do you think all these people are doing here? Every single one of them has asked me to let them out. Some have been here for over a thousand years. After all these years, you come along and think you can do what these people have not been able to do.”
He took a deep breath, threw his head back. As he breathed out a huge flame rose upwards.
“I was told by the guardians in Trogot Caves that you would let me out,” she said.
“Why, what is so special about you?” The Minotaur roared.
“I am The Chosen One. I can prove it. Look, here is The Metal Disc to prove it. She held it up and showed it to him.
“I did not know you were The Chosen One. In that case, I must let you out. You cannot take anybody else with you. You know that. You have been told by The Hooded Horseman. You can leave, but the others cannot.”
“I cannot leave without these people here,” Petronella said. “It simply cannot be.”
“LADY,” The Minotaur roared. You have no right to ask for anything more. You do know that these people can live here forever and never get any older.”
“What kind of life is this for them? It is better to have a happy free life than to spend forever in such a place where they live in fear,” Petronella answered.
“LADY,” The Minotaur roared again, letting off a flame double the size of the last one, “you do not know what you are talking about. Ask the people here what they wish for.”
Petronella asked the ones who wanted to leave with her to put their hands up. Petronella was overcome when she saw that they had all lifted their arms.
Percy made a square sign in the air with his hands. “The Black Box,” he said. “Getteth out The Black Box.”
“I cannot. I have already used it seven times. The Hooded Horseman said it would only work seven times.”
“I only counteth six,” said Percy. “I knoweth I hath nat been to school much. But I knoweth the difference between six and seven.”
“No, Percy, believe me I have used it seven times. I have made a point of remembering that each time I used The Black Box because it was so important,” she said.
“Why doth ye nat trieth it? What hath ye got to lose? If it doth nat worketh, ye shall leaveth and we shall stayeth here. But if it doth work, we shall all be free. Please, Petronella, trieth it.”
Percy was a good boy. Petronella was sorry that his high hopes were about to be shattered. It made her sad. He had found his parents and they were still clinging on to him. What should she do? Get out of Trogot Caves and leave them behind? She had to give it a go. What did she have to lose? She got The Black Box out of her apron pocket. Pointed it into The Minotaur’s face. Its eyes went blurry. Its expression changed from that of threat to a more friendly one. What was happening?
The Minotaur kept breathing out fire. It roared: “STAND BACK EVERYONE.” They all moved back. Some tripped over themselves or over others. But soon got back up again. In time to see The Minotaur melting a hole in the wire net. Big enough for a person to get through. One by one they went through. Petronella leading the way. Soon they were all standing around the big heavy metal gate. The gate to Fort Willow.
The Minotaur unlocked the gate. The hinges were rusty. It would not budge. It had not been opened for more than a thousand years. The men in the group got hold of the gate and tried pulling it together with The Minotaur. It was no good. They could not even open it an inch. “What if we climbeth over it?” someone shouted. “Cannat ye seeth how high it be? Cannat ye seeth the sharp points at the top?” someone else said.
“STAND BACK EVERYONE,” roared The Minotaur. “The only way is for me to blow fire on the hinges so that the gate opens just enough at the side to let a person through. I will then weld it back together again, when you have all left.”
The Minotaur kept his word. He blew fire onto the hinges on the left of the gate. The hinges loosened up. The Minotaur was able to pull it open enough to let people go out one by one. He turned around and said to them: “There. Those of you who want to go may leave now. You are good people who were caught and forced to live here. Go, and I wish you a long and happy life.”
They were soon all on the other side. Free at last. The Minotaur was already shutting the gate. Maybe not to be opened again for another thousand years.
Everyone was so happy. Dancing, jumping and crying with joy. Petronella’s heart swelled up. She had never been so happy.
PART THREE
“Quiet, quiet, please,” Petronella shouted. “I know you are all over the moon with joy. But I need to speak to you.” They soon quietened down.
Barden came out of the crowd. He said: “I must needs nat listeneth to ye. Who doth ye thinketh ye be? I must needs findeth Marian. I shall maketh her my wife whether she liketh it or nat.”
Petronella hadn’t lost her senses. If The Black Box had finished its life, The Metal Disc had not!
Barden ran towards Petronella in a rage. She held up The Metal Disc on the skull side and flashed it in his face. “You are not a fit husband for Marian,” she shouted at him. Barden was no longer there in front of Petronella. He had returned to Trogot Caves. Petronella certainly wasn’t having Marian forced into marriage with such a brute. She did not like to send a Strincas back to the other world. Though she had to admit that sometimes it was necessary. People needed to be protected from the likes of Barden.
It was only now that The Strincas in the crowd understood Petronella’s power. Not all the people in front of her were Strincas. Some had lived in Fort Willow after The Strincas had died out. Others had strayed into The Trogot’s path from Cedar Wood Village.
There were thick rows of trees and bushes in front of them. Planted there to hide the Trogot Gate. It was difficult to make out exactly where they were.
“Please listen to me,” Petronella began. You all follow me to the other side of that wood. When we have worked out where we are, everyone can go back to the house they lived in before being caught by The Trogot. Did you hear me?”
“Yes,” they all shouted.
Petronella led the way. They went through to the other side only to see a wonderful green valley in front of them. At the bottom of the hill they were standing on, laid out in front of them in all its glory, was the village of Fort Willow. The group stood there together and looked down in awe. Some with tears in their eyes.
From the trees behind them other people came out. Who were they? Had they been living here, just outside Trogot Gate? Slowly, first one, then another, then more and more people started to recognise each other. An old woman came hurrying out towards Percy and his parents. It was his gran’ma. Percy hugged and kissed her until he could no more. He was happy now and didn’t seem to need Petronella any more. She had to let him go. She understood that he could not love her as much as his own family. Percy saw the sadness in Petro
nella’s eyes and rushed to her.
“Petronella cometh meet myn gran’ma.”
“Percy hath just telleth me how ye hath looketh after him. We thank ye so much,” the gran’ma said.“We be going back to Charis Cottage. We cannat waiteth to seeth our home again.”
“It be Petronella’s cottage now. I liveth there with her when ye was all away,” Percy said to his gran’ma.
“In that case, we shall all be one big happy family. How doth that sound to ye, Petronella? We hath nowhere else to goeth,” said the gran’ma.
“It will be a pleasure for me to live with your lovely family,” Petronella said.
Petronella was not so sure about this. Having Percy was one thing. Living with his ma, pa and gran’ma was another. They were all nice people. No doubt. But Petronella had always lived on her own and liked her weird habits. For starters, what would they think of the snail bunker? Would it be safe for them there anyway? What about The Trogot?
“Thanks be,” said the gran’ma.
“It will be a pleasure,” Petronella said again. “What’s your name? Percy never did tell me.”
“My name be Charis. Charis Cottage were named after me,” said the gran’ma.
Petronella thought how the cottage was really more theirs than hers. She felt as if they belonged there. She didn’t. And she didn’t belong to their family either. Percy’s parents and gran’ma were strangers to her.
“Well, let’s go and meet all these other people,” said Petronella, with a smile.
This crowd had come up the hill and waited in the small woods to welcome everyone back to Fort Willow. In the crowd were Alfie with his wife, Gwendolen, and Constable Bellamy; Pepin, the dairyman; Miss Primrose with lots of Strincas school children and teachers; Marian with Molly and Jake, and all The Strincas peasants with their wives and children. Petronella didn’t know all The Strincas she saw in front of her.
But one man stood alone in the middle of them all. Petronella had never seen him before. A tall man. Short light-brown hair. Not so good-looking. He wound his way through the crowd heading towards Petronella. Took her hand and kissed it. “Hello, Pe...tro...ne...lla. Welcome back to Fort Willow.”
Petronella stood speechless among all the merry-making. Her heart flipped. “Of course, you are my dear Hooded Horseman,” she said.
“Yes, and ye be myn very dear Pe...tro...ne...lla,” he said. “Many things hath changed here in Fort Willow since ye hath been away,” he said. “Let’s getteth myn horse and goeth to Fort Willow. I shall telleth ye all.”
Petronella jumped on the back of his horse and they galloped off together towards Charis Cottage.
They arrived and tied the horse to the same old tree. Charis Cottage looked the same as ever.
“By the way,” Petronella said, “before we go any further, can you tell me what your name is? I can’t call you The Hooded Horseman. If only because you are not hooded any longer. I could call you Horseman, if you like?”
“That shall nat be necessary. My name be Edmundus.”
‘What an awful name,’ Petronella thought trying not to laugh. Not that her name was much better.
“Before we go in, do you mind if we go round the back of the garden. I’d like to see if The Trogot is still there. I am even more frightened of it now, than I was before.”
“Ye hath nothing to fear, Pe...tro...ne...lla. Goeth round and seeth. I shall cometh with ye.”
Petronella had seen many wonders down in Trogot Caves. But she really was not ready for this one. She stood there open mouthed. Awesome. “How did this happen?” she asked.
“It were all because of ye, Pe...tro...ne...lla. In over a thousand years, ye was the first person to goeth down Trogot without having doneth a crime or without being catcheth. Ye goeth down there for a noble reason. Because ye be a kind person. When ye findeth out Percy’s parents be down there, ye putteh ye life at risk to maketh a boy happy. Ye putteth yeself through a lot of worry. By doing that ye hath maketh a lot of folk very happy. Me too.”
“Thank you,” she said. “We need to move nearer The Trogot to take a good look. I don’t believe it.”
“Well, ye should,” he said. “It be thanks to ye that The Trogot and the circle under it be now golden.”
Edmundus dropped down on one knee and said: “Pe...tro...ne...lla, shall ye marry me? Shall ye be myn wife?”
“I will. For sure,” she said with a tear in her eye.
***
Petronella and Edmundus were sitting in Petronella’s armchairs talking. He had a lot to tell her. The Trollope family were probably still dancing and singing up on the hill. It would take them some time to walk to Charis Cottage.
“I hath better telleth ye what hath happened in Fort Willow before the Trollopes returneth,” said Edmundus.
“When ye leaveth,” he began, “the men of Fort Willow diggeth and diggeth in Farmer Giles’s field and many more bones be foundeth. As ye can seeth, they also foundeth the rest of me. That alloweth me to getteth rid of myn cape and hood and taketh the shape of a man.”
“I quite liked you in your cape and hood,” Petronella said.
He smiled.
“Anyway, those Strincas riseth out of their burial place and goeth back to their houses. After that, most of the folk of Fort Willow leaveth. But the families with school children stayeth. We now hath one of the best schools in the land with Miss Primrose as Head Mistress. Farmer Giles leaveth too. The peasants gotteth it into their heads that he were Lord Fortesque and no one could talketh them out of it. Not even me. Farmer Giles runneth away from Fort Willow by night. When he thinketh no Strincas peasants would be about. He were terrified of them. After that, the peasants gotteth together and, along with the other Strincas, decideth that I should be the new mayor of Fort Willow.”
“Well, I never!” Petronella said with joy. “So The Blind Prophet was right.”
“He be never wrong, Pe...tro...ne...lla.”
“So that means that the people of Fort Willow now all love me, too?”
“That be right,” he said.
“Oh, I’m really terrible. Where’s Maalox? In all the excitement I forgot about him,” she said.
“He moveth home. While ye be in Trogot Caves, I taketh him to our new home. The Manor House.”
THE END
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK BOX
Have you worked out why Petronella thought she’d used the box seven times while Percy knew it was six?
If you haven’t, turn over the page to see when the box was used.
To stop the earthquake.
To make the fire die down when the shadows had wrapped themselves around Percy.
To secure a safe landing for herself after toppling off the cliff edge.
To save Percy from The Harpies when he was on the cliff ledge.
To use it as a lantern when Petronella was inside the cliff.
To ward the Gergon’s snake off Percy.
To save herself and Percy from freezing.
To persuade The Minotaur to let them out.
So how come Percy was right?
Turn over the page and find out.
The 4th time Petronella used the box didn’t count. The box did not work because The Great Bear had already saved Percy before Petronella used it.
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Petronella & the Trogot Page 13
