The Ankulen

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  My smile wavered for a second before I answered, “I'll try.”

  The answer seemed to satisfy him, however, since he grabbed my hand, kissed it, exclaimed, “Thank-you!” was up his tree, then back down, holding out a stick. “It's not much,” he said in explanation, nodding towards the stick, “but it's what I have to give you – and it might be helpful in getting your memories back!”

  I solemnly accepted the stick, then put it, for lack of a better place, in my ponytail. “I'm sure it will prove very useful,” I assured him. I had no idea how a stick might help me find my memories, but didn't want him to think it any more inadequate than he already did.

  We exchanged our good-byes, then I ordered the Ankulen back onto its former mission, and we were again on our way. We weren't backtracking, so I guessed that our detour hadn't taken us too far out of the way.

  “I'm guessing that Walnut is a Wood Child?” I said after a while.

  “Yes, he is,” confirmed Chris. “He, Apple and Pecan are the only three left in the Orchard. There used to be many, many more.”

  “So what's up with this stick he gave me?”

  Chris explained, “Any stick taken from a Wood Child's Home Tree has the power of growth. Used by them – and, of course, you – it can grow into a full-sized tree in seconds.”

  “I guess that might be useful,” I admitted. I had no idea why I might need a tree, but if I did, I at least would have one.

  Chapter 6

  In Which I Agree to Help Mermaids

  OUR days fell into an unspoken pattern. I would lead them I didn't know where, taking breaks whenever they asked for them. The places we passed were all in various states of decay. Some weren't as bad as others, as Chris had predicted, but they were all enough to make me shudder.

  As the sky became darker, we would stop for the night and Chris and Tisha would make a meal out of whatever was available. If there was enough, and I found it sufficiently appetizing, I would eat too. If not, well, I simply didn't eat.

  After we ate, they'd sleep and I'd keep watch though the long, boring nights. Breakfast would be leftovers from the day before and then we'd resume our almost-wandering.

  We only stopped for lunch once.

  “Any idea when we'll finally get to where we're going?” I asked one night.

  Both Tisha and Chris shook their heads. “No,” said Chris. “We don't. We've never had to search for your memories before, so we have no idea where we might find them. They could be anywhere.”

  “Oh.” I frowned in thought. “But the Ankulen is leading me in a specific direction. We can only go so far before we run out of land, right?”

  I was met by two blank stares.

  “Oh come on!” I exclaimed in frustration. “Don't tell me this place goes on forever! Just how big did I make it?”

  Tisha looked down and sighed. “It's not that you made the land terribly big or anything,” she admitted. “But it doesn't work the same way the real world does. You liked things to be different and spontaneous, so while within a particular location things are fixed, the locations themselves move around.”

  I blinked. “So … this is a big Rubik's cube that's constantly moving?”

  “You can put it like that,” Tisha confirmed.

  “That's just great!” I stood up. “How am I ever going to reach my destination if my destination keeps moving!” Unable to make real progress, I started pacing.

  “Usually,” said Chris, hesitantly because of my foul mood, “if one has a destination in mind, then the next location they reach will contain that destination. Like when we went to see the Old Woman.”

  I stopped pacing, turned to him, and folded my arms over my chest. “Then why haven't we reached the 'location' of my missing memories yet? How many 'locations' have we visited.”

  “Six,” Chris admitted, refusing to meet my eye. “We've been through six since you asked the Ankulen to find your memories.”

  “So when am I going to get my memories back?” I gave my hair a toss as I stared down at him.

  “We don't know.” Chris finally looked up from the ground to give me a pleading look. “As Tisha already said, we never had to look for your memories before.”

  “And the search feature of the Ankulen wasn't one you used much, either,” added Tisha. “You knew where everything was, so you really didn't need it. When you did use it, it was always for fun, and your goal was usually nearby – you helped Walnut find his tree quite frequently.”

  I stood there glowering at the two of them for several seconds. “If it weren't for the fact that I really want my imagination back, I'd call quits now. The wandering is starting to become boring, and I hate the look of the scenery, and most of the food's terrible.” I turned away in disgust. “I suggest that the two of you go to bed soon. I want to get moving again as soon as possible.”

  The next day proved to be quite eventful. First, a dragon showed up and Chris had to fight it. Tisha and I didn't watch. It wasn't because I didn't want to – personally I wanted to see this seeming eight-year-old fight a dragon for myself – but Tisha made it quite clear to me that watching the Knights fight dragons was not something that Fair Maidens did.

  So we ran and hid in a nearby cave instead.

  “Frankly,” I commented, after we had been in the cave for some time and there had been no sign of Chris, “I never thought of myself as a 'fair maiden' before.”

  “Well, technically you aren't one,” admitted Tisha after an awkward silence. She then beat a hasty retreat as she tried to correct herself so that it wouldn't sound like an insult. “I mean – you are a maiden, and you are fair – but it's not what you are – no more than you're a mermaid or a Wood Child. You're Lady Jenifer.”

  “I see.” I gave her a long, skeptical look. “Why do you always skirt around the topic of my physical appearance? You never mention it unless you have to, and then you go all out of your way to remain as positively neutral as possible.” I'm not sure I had never noticed this before, but it was true.

  “Because you do not like to be reminded of the fact that your ordinary appearance cannot be changed by the Ankulen,” said Tisha. “That no one speaks of your beauty is a long-standing rule.”

  I wanted to make a snappy retort to that, but I couldn't. Her words had not only hit home, but they also struck at one of my most vulnerable places.

  “I forbade people to talk about my appearance?” I was truly aghast. “What was I? A tyrant? What happened to free speech?”

  “You were never a tyrant, Jen,” said Tisha, closing her eyes with a wistful sigh. “You had rules, yes, but they were, for the most part, good rules. They kept us happy, and safe. We were willing to follow the more unreasonable one. Everyone here loves you. You're Lady Jenifer, after all. You don't look plain in our eyes, least of all mine.”

  I stared at her for several seconds, even opened my mouth to reply, but at that moment, Chris appeared in the cave's entrance. “The dragon has been dealt with and we will have dragon steak to eat for supper for the next few nights,” he announced.

  Tisha practically ran over to him, then leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. “You're so brave, Sir Christofer!”

  He smiled and took her hand. “It is an honor to fight for the protection of you and Lady Jenifer.”

  I rolled my eyes and stood up. “Come on. Enough delays for one day. Let's get moving or I'll leave the two of you behind.” I exited the cave, they followed, and we resumed our journey.

  The dead grass under our feet began to thin, and the soil became sandier. The air acquired a distinctly salty smell, so I wasn't surprised when a large body of water appeared on the horizon.

  “Looks like we get to hit the beach,” I observed to Chris and Tisha.

  “Looks like it,” Chris agreed. I heard him sigh, then he added, “In the old days, there would be mermaids playing in the waves, ready to greet us.”

  “Oh.” I gave the glittering gray water a long hard look. “Any chance one might wave at u
s today?”

  “It's unlikely,” said Chris. “The mermaids only come to the surface if absolutely necessary these days, and then only in the company of an armed escort.”

  I gave the water another longing look and sighed. “I wish you would stop bringing that up.”

  “Bringing what up?”

  “Things I'm not going to see,” I replied. “Stop reminding me how horrid this place is.”

  There was a short silence before Chris responded, “Very well Jen.” His voice was sad, regretful – but respectful.

  We walked in silence for some time as the water slowly drew nearer. Soon we were walking alongside it. For some time, my eyes searched the waves for a glimpse of a mermaid, but I soon gave it up. They were all in hiding. Even if I did see one, she'd not be there to play.

  It was because of me. Because I had abandoned the place and the Polystoikhedron had been able to destroy it. I clenched my fists and stared at my toes. I wasn't even sure why I had left in the first place. I knew only that it had something to do with Chris and Tisha somehow becoming my brother and sister.

  “Hello! How fare you travelers?”

  The sweet, musical words startled my eyes off of my gray toenails and back out to sea. I had to blink a few times and my jaw dropped. There, sitting on a rock, not far from the shore – was a mermaid!

  “Greetings, Princess Mynna,” said Chris, sounding as surprised as I felt. “We fare pretty well, all things considered. What brings you to the surface?”

  Princess Mynna, looked down and fiddled with the comb she held in her hands. She apparently had been combing her hair when we made our appearance. “Mother doesn't actually know that I'm here … but …”

  “What's the matter, Mynna?” asked Tisha in her gentle way.

  “I don't – I don't know if it's safe for me to tell you … Sir Christofer I know and trust, but I'm afraid that I don't recognize you maidens.” Mynna thoughtfully ran her comb through the end of one of her curls.

  “You can trust them as you trust myself,” said Chris. “They are the Fair Maiden Letitia and Lady Jenifer.”

  It was the mermaid's turn to be surprised. She glanced rapidly between Tisha and I for several seconds, but soon her glance came to rest on me. “Have you really returned, Lady Jenifer?”

  I glanced down at the Ankulen, then shrugged. “More or less.”

  A smile spread across Mynna's face, and she slapped the water with her tail. “Then all hope is not lost.”

  “Well, that depends on whether or not I can get my memories back,” I said with a sigh. “So no celebrating yet.”

  “But she is here,” Chris quickly added. “And the Ankulen does indicate that her memories are there to be found. What is the matter, Mynna? Or is it the old issue of the Polystoikhedron destroying things?”

  Mynna again sighed and resumed fiddling with her comb. “We would that it were as simple as that, but … I wouldn't tell this to just anyone, but there are none that I can trust half so well as the three of you …” She was silent for a few moments, then she looked up at us. “We lost the Queen's Necklace.”

  “Oh no!” Tisha exclaimed.

  “The – the Polystoikhedron didn't …” Chris began. He was unable to finish the apparently horrible thought.

  “We – we don't think it did,” said Mynna. “Mother was inspecting Coral Mountain when she suddenly realized that it was missing. We looked for hours, but found not a trace of it. The Polystoikhedron hasn't been in that area in some time though, so we're pretty sure that …”

  I noticed that three pairs of eyes were now fixed expectantly on me, so I did the logical thing and voiced confusion. “What's the Queen's Necklace.” I paused before I added, “and what do you expect me to do about it?”

  Mynna gasped and Tisha's and Chris's eyes flew to the ground.

  “No memories, remember?” I reminded, tapping my head.

  A look of horror spread across Mynna's face. Apparently, she hadn't quite comprehended when I told her that my memories were MIA.

  “The Queen's Necklace is possibly the most important object that you ever came up with,” Chris explained. “It can do many of the things that otherwise can only be done with your Ankulen. You gave it to Queen Tailya – Mynna's mother – because you spent the least amount of time underwater. It can only affect the ocean, though.”

  “And this Queen Tailya has lost this terribly important Queen's Necklace?” I questioned, giving the water a skeptical look.

  “Yes, she has, Lady Jenifer,” said Mynna, her voice remorseful.

  “What do you expect me to do about it!” I exclaimed, flinging my arms dramatically upward.

  “Go with Princess Mynna and use the Ankulen to find it,” came Tisha's simple reply.

  My gaze returned to the water. “And the two of you?”

  “Tisha and I will go to a nearby cave where we will hide from the Polystoikhedron and other dangers.” When I raised an eyebrow, he hastily added, “We can't breath underwater.”

  My eyebrow climbed higher. “And I can?”

  Chris nodded. “You can here.”

  “It's not something you did very often,” added Tisha. “You didn't like going places without the two of us, and since we can't breath underwater …”

  “I take it I couldn't give the two of you the ability if I wanted to?” I folded my arms over my chest.

  “Yes, you could,” said Tisha, quickly. “And you did, a few times. But that wasn't how you made us, so you didn't like doing it.” She looked down at her feet and sighed. “You were a real stickler for rules.”

  I didn't respond to that last bit, since I wasn't sure I liked it. “I'm guessing that I had to use the Ankulen to make the two of you breath underwater?”

  “Yes, you did,” said Tisha. “Usually you would make us some sort of cake or fruit to eat that would give us the ability, though.”

  “Once it was seaweed,” Chris supplied. He made a face. “That was nasty.”

  “So I take it that I couldn't do it now?”

  “Probably not,” answered Tisha, sighing.

  “It grows late,” observed Mynna. “Lady Jenifer, if you would like to help us find the Necklace, I can escort you to the Sea Castle, since I must return there myself. However, if you wish to remain here and let us suffer for our carelessness, then we will submit to your decision.”

  “How long is this going to take?” I asked, hesitant.

  “If all goes well, we should have you back to the surface by this time tomorrow,” Mynna replied.

  “You can spare a day to fetch the Queen's Necklace,” said Chris encouragingly. “Your memories have been lost for a long time, one day won't make them any harder to find. The Queen's Necklace is far more vulnerable at the moment.”

  “Fine, I'll go,” I relented. “I'll go risk my neck in search of a necklace while the two of you hide in a cave. Sounds like a plan to me.” I turned my face to the Ocean. “So I can breath underwater? You're sure of this?”

  “You always could before,” answered Tisha.

  I decided that their answer was sufficient. If I didn't get hungry, tired, or feel pain here, it would be logical that I wouldn't drown either. However, there was something else that nagged at me. “What about my flip-flops and glasses?” I asked. “I don't want to lose them. My glasses especially. I may need to upgrade, but I don't think Dad would be impressed if I rushed the issue by losing them.”

  “You can tell the Ankulen to take them out,” offered Tisha.

  Instinctively, I raised my arm. “How?”

  “The same way you asked it to take us in,” she explained.

  I tapped the gems. “Take my glasses and flip-flops out.” The gems gave a purplish-pink flash of light, and my glasses and shoes immediately disappeared. I was glad I was wearing flip-flops. Had I been wearing something with a heel, I probably would have fallen over. As it was, I was still off-balance for a few seconds.

  “Well,” said I, “I guess this is good-bye.”

&
nbsp; “For now,” said Chris. “You'll be back tomorrow.”

  I frowned. “If all goes well.”

  Tisha was on the point of tears. “You will come back, Jen,” she fiercely declared. “You will! You have to!” I didn't have time to prepare before her arms were thrown about me. “You're only going to Coral Mountain. You will come back!”

  I surprised myself by returning her hug. “Of course I'll come back,” I assured her. “I was just saying …” I trailed off, unable to put into words the uneasy feeling that nagged at me. I met Chris's eye. “You'll take care of her for me, won't you?” I asked.

  Chris's face acquired an unreadable expression, but his reply was of utmost respect and sincerity. “I'll protect her with my life.”

  That's when Tisha started crying. For a few minutes, I let her cry on my shoulder. “It grows late,” I finally reminded her, then extracted myself from her arms. Without looking back, I walked toward the ocean.

  The water was cold, but not unbearably so. I hesitated only when the water reached the bottom of my shorts.

  “Wet clothing never bothered you before,” Mynna commented when she noticed my hesitation.

  “Since it's imaginary water, I guess it won't kill me to get my clothes wet.”

  “No it won't,” Mynna confirmed.

  So I proceeded, trying to ignore my now-wet clothing. I wished I had brought a swimsuit. The water was above my waist by the time I reached the rock on which Mynna sat. Up close, I realized that Mynna didn't look very old. If she was thirteen, I would have been surprised.

  She held out a hand to me. “It is an honor to escort you, Lady Jenifer.”

  I hesitated, glancing back to the shore where Tisha and Chris still stood, waving at me encouragingly. I was surprised to note that I could still see them perfectly, even though I had already taken my glasses off.

  Instead of commenting on that fact, however, I turned and accepted Mynna's hand. “Call me Jen. Lady Jenifer sounds too stiff and formal, and I've outgrown Jenny.”

  “As you wish, Jen.” Mynna smiled, then, before I could catch my breath, plunged into the water, pulling me down with her. For a moment, I fought against this, but as soon as I was assured that I was still breathing fine, I relaxed and let Mynna pull me along.