Then Mary and the Green Witch busied themselves setting up a makeshift field hospital, tending to the several wounded Hircumen, as well as to Nimp and Roger. They ensured all their patients were comfortably settled in beds of soft straw and had enough leaf-woven blankets and such too.
Many of the lower branches, of their side of the Observer tree, were draped with large mats of twigs and rushes to give the campers there some roof cover and a modicum of privacy.
The Green Witch then made a very strange, green, frothy potion, that gurgled and steamed in a cauldron on the camp fire. She poured this into what Mary thought looked very much like what a Unicorn’s horn would look like. She also noticed that once the white, spiraled horn had been filled, right up to the brim, it stayed filled up!
She had allowed Caprinus to build and light their camp fire, but under the strictest of conditions, with many buckets of water collected from a nearby well-spring, and kept close by, just in case. She didn’t want any more forest fires breaking out in her domain, no thank you very much!
So, this had been done and soon a very tasty vegetable broth had also been gotten simmering in a large clay pot hung over the fire, and all were getting fed a heart-warming lunch, with many a hungry Hircuman going for second or even third helpings.
At last all the important chores had been completed, all except for one, that was.
Mary still had to tell the Green Witch all about her poor Grannie, close to death and hibernating, in miniature, in the handbag!
Squirrels were running around everywhere, looking after them all, carrying various items of food and equipment from one place to another. Scritty-Scrat, Scrat’s wife, and several of their many daughters, had also set up a laundry service, beneath one of the Observer Tree’s lower branches. They were now busy getting the muddy Hircumen’s clothes collected up for washing.
Mary chuckled to herself, watching the embarrassed Goat-men being harried into a line by the fussing, lady squirrels and given large sheets of greenish linen to change into and this to be accomplished behind a little, flapping screen, especially set up for the purpose.
Mary noted that the Hircumen had all kept the colored umbrellas that she’d doled out to them. They obviously considered these their personal prized possessions now and hooked them proudly over their arms or down their backs wherever they walked. Having a magical umbrella from the ‘New Witch’, as they called her, was now considered a great badge of honor.
Now that things were getting well organized and the day was wearing onwards, Mary felt she’d better corner the Green Witch as soon as she could. She was half afraid though that the fearsome Green Witch would find out that she’d performed some very bad magic and wouldn’t be able to do anything to save her poor Gran.
“Oh! What if I’ve really hurt her or something? I could never forgive myself!”
But as it turned out, she needn’t have worried. The Green Witch knew a lot more than Mary had given her credit for.
“Well, my dear, things seem to be in order here. Now come along with me. It’s about time we had our talk and we got your Grannie out of that stuffy ol’ handbag too, eh!”
Mary muffled a great yelp of surprise, “Oh, mighty mercy me! She already knows about Gran! Oh, I do so hope she can bring her back and make her all well again,” she thought desperately. “I just couldn’t stand it if I’d made such a mess of magic that I’d gone an’ killed me own Gran!”
CHAPTER 16:
OF HEALINGS & HEARTBREAKS!
The Green Witch looked deeply into Mary’s eyes. “No need to worry your little yellow socks about that, dear, just follow me and we’ll attend to what needs attending to. Now come along and bring your handbag with you.”
“Oh my, you can mind-talk too!” Mary exclaimed out loud.
“Of course, dear, now don’t shout, and let’s keep our conversation private, till we get up into the Observer Tree, at least.”
“Oh yes, understood, your majesty, sorry.”
“And don’t call me your majesty. You can address me as your Ladyship, in more formal circumstances, but here and among friends, you may call me by my proper name, Flora. Flora Feronia, but I don’t mind if it’s just Flo.”
Oh yes, your Ladyship, I mean … erm … your … I mean, Flora … Flo.”
Mary had followed the Green Witch as they talked, and without thinking had been climbing up and around the girth of the great Observer Tree for some time. And although she usually loved climbing trees, she now suddenly realized how high they’d come and felt slightly dizzy.
“Oh my! We’re so high. I hope its safe up here?”
They were indeed well up into the leafy canopy of the tree now and being totally alone they had again reverted to talking out loud.
“Yes, Mary, of course, and you know you are safe, don’t you? Trust yourself, my girl. You too are a child of the Great Forest, although there is much for you to yet learn. For now, your witching instincts will guide you well.”
The Green Witch now came to a halt and pointed to a short set of steps etched into the tree bark. These took them up to a large bowl-like area. This was a natural wooden bowl, filled with dark, green water and situated between eight thick branches that towered above them. They were well covered by a lush canopy of leaves and Mary could smell the rich, green liveness all around her as she climbed up and stepped into this strangely silent and spiritual space.
“From here, Mary, I can survey my world. All that is connected by plant life that is. I can thus look anywhere life grows but am unable to cross seas or go beyond the deepest tree’s roots.”
“Wow!” Mary exclaimed loudly. “I bet she could find where my mum is if she wanted,” she wondered, as an afterthought, momentarily forgetting that the Green Witch could hear all her thoughts, if she so wished.
Luckily the Green Witch didn’t seem to wish that and said nothing further. She just took Mary firmly by the arm and led her to the edge of the silent, green pool. It lay unmoving beneath her. Its flat surface spread out un-rippling and rigid, like a sheet of burnished, viridescent steel; and then she realized, it held no reflection!
Mary looked, trying to see something, anything. If only she could do magic like that, then one day she might be able to find her mum and maybe even get her back. But the more she looked the more the pool remained stubbornly still and greenly opaque.
“My pool shows me all of the events in our Forest realms here; again, for only as long as connections exist through the spirits of the plants and trees. For any message, or news from other lands I rely on my birds. But as you are a witch, Mary, you may see by way of the wood-pool too. Come and look within and tell me what you see?”
Mary leaned over the pool and stared into it. She felt her eyes glancing off its glaucous, green surface, as if the pool didn’t want to be looked at. The Green Witch stood behind her though, holding her shoulders and giving her encouragement.
“Clear your mind, Mary, and do not try to look too deep or too far and on no account attempt to find your mother. I know you miss her greatly, but be patient, that story must wait for another day. For your own education and purposes, I first suggest you look for what the ignorant Humdrums are up to across the Black Heath.”
Mary concentrated and focused her mind on the strange, unmoving surface of the Green Witch’s pool. She then found the pool seemed to be gradually moving, turning around very slowly, like a huge, flat wheel on its side. But every moment that passed, it was speeding up, getting faster and faster. Mary had to take a firm hold of herself to stop herself from falling in. The pool seemed to exert a strong magnetic or even hypnotic pull upon her, almost as if it was testing her will.
“You control the pool, Mary. You command, and it will do your bidding.”
Mary increased her concentration and mentally demanded she be shown the Green Acre, as it had been called, the place where the stump of the Tree King’s old tree now stood, as a black and broken remnant of the once proud tree. The green pool was now a spinning vort
ex below her and at its center, a vision of the Tree King’s stump began to appear.
Mary could see it quite clearly now, and all about it a fine, grey dust had rained down, like some sort of evil snow. Then she saw groups of men with their trucks and jeeps, some with axes and some with staves; they were wearing gas masks and were clearing the land free of the charred remains of trees and using special winches to pull out any obstinate stumps. There were two winching-trucks tugging away at the ash-laden, old Tree King’s stump right now.
Then the green pool seemed to tilt its view and shift away and upwards, showing her high above, another distant part of the Bad Wood.
Here, she saw the two crop-dusting planes that she’d seen earlier, passing by each other; crisscrossing the last quadrant of the burnt-out woods, busily trailing the last of their poisonous DDT dust onto the Erf below.
“Why are they doing that?” she gasped in horror. “The land’s already dead!”
“They’re not killing off the land, Mary, they’re killing off all Life. They’re ensuring nothing of the old Bad Wood, that you knew, ever grows again!”
Mary couldn’t understand such a thing. She didn’t know what to say and tore her eyes away from the ghoulish vision. The spinning pool immediately slowed, and the vision of the Black Heath vanished. Mary stepped backwards in horror.
“I don’t want to watch anymore,” she said, feeling ill at the idea of members of her own race willingly and wantonly waging such awful destruction on nature.
“This is just a very small part of what we must confront in the war that is now upon us,” the Green Witch answered grimly; but then quickly perked up, “But enough of such things! For now my young Witchlet, let us instead see what we can do for your poor old Gran. Agreed, dear?”
Mary gladly nodded her agreement and stepped back from the pool. She took hold of the colorful handbag and placed it on the wooden floor before the witch; then gulping, tentatively opened it.
She was now feeling the fear and dread of having to tell such an important and powerful witch exactly what she had done, or at least, had attempted to do.
“Grannie, sh-sh-she’s in there, your Lady, erm, I mean, Flora. I had to do it though. I’m so sorry if I did it wrong. She was d-d-dying … and I just had to do something!”
The Green Witch could see that Mary was very distraught and took her into her arms. “Now listen to me, Mary. I will do all I can to make your Grannie well again. You did what you had to do in the circumstances, and you did it well I’m sure.”
“H-h-how do you know?” Mary blubbed, burying her head into her shoulder, as Flora stroked her hair, just like Grannie Maddam would have done.
“Well, my dear, because I’m a Witch for one thing, and for another, I know full well what it takes to be rid of an obstinate and obtuse ol’ battle-axe like Grannie Maddam. After all, she is my little sister you know!”
Mary couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “Wh-wh-what did you say?”
“I said that Grannie Maddam is my little sister,” Flora replied gently.
Mary couldn’t speak. She could hardly think. She was totally and completely dumbfounded. She was finding out a lot more about her family heritage than she’d ever bargained for. That meant that the Green Witch was her very own Aunt or something!
“Now let’s get to it,” the Green Witch continued. “I hear she was bitten by a Fire-Imp; nasty things those are too. Now tell me more, how it happened and just where the bite is exactly, and I’ll ensure we get the right remedy. OK?”
Mary did exactly that and Flora then poked about in the handbag with her wand. Then she took a small leaf and dipped it into the green pool and placed that in the handbag too. Then she stood back. “Right, that should do it,” she said.
Mary watched, lump in throat and heart battering her chest. “What if it doesn’t Work? What if I made things worse? Oh, Grim-Gawd! What if I’ve killed her?” These thoughts raced through her mind, unchecked now, as she waited to see the results of the Green Witch’s magical ministrations.
Then a head appeared from out the top of the magical handbag. It was a small head at first, but then it became steadily larger. Mary could see it was her very own frumpy and grumpy, Grannie Maddam! More and more of her steadily appeared from out of the handbag’s mysterious depths.
And she was very grumpy indeed!
“What the be-blubbered blazin’ bananas is goin’ on here?” she demanded, as she came to full size, with both feet still in the handbag.
“And good afternoon to you too, dear,” the Green Witch replied, tartly. “I do hope that you’ve rested yourself enough now. Maybe, you could even manage to give us a hand around here. After all you can’t leave all the hard magic to just me and Mary you know!”
“Well I’ll be a Stoats stop-watch!” Grannie Maddam cried. “It’s you, Flora! So, we made it then?” She then turned to Mary, and from being a grump-lump with her long-unseen sister, she at once became overwhelmed with care and concern for her one and only Grandchild. “Oh Mary, I’m so sorry you’s ‘ad to manage without me. What a place to get caught in, eh! Right in the center of a flamin’ volcano!”
“Oh, Gran, Gran! You’re OK, you’re actually OK! Oh, I’m so happy, Gran.”
Mary rushed to her and jumped into her arms, nearly knocking her over backwards, into the still, green pool.
“OK, you two, let’s get to first things first. And the first, first thing, Cora dear, is to get you fed and watered and then brought up to date,” the Green Witch interjected.
But Mary just couldn’t stop clinging to her dear ol’ Gran. She hadn’t killed or harmed her after all. Her putting her into deep hibernation in the handbag had actually saved her life.
“We’ll go down to the camp and get something hot into you. You’ll need fattening up after all that laying down on the job, now won’t you dear?” the Green Witch laughingly chided, taking Grannie Maddam’s arm and helping her step free of the handbag.
“All right, Flora, I’ll have none of yer lip now. We all gets into a tangle at times so there’s no needs fer you to be sassin’ me an’ playing the smart big-sister.”
“No, you’re quite right, dear,” the Green Witch answered, “it really is good to see you … I think it is time we patched things up, you know, it’s been a good fifty year now after all!”
“Sixty!” Gran snapped. But then smiled and said, “Yes, Flora, I thinks you’re right. We’re goin’ ter need ter stick tergether more than ever now, that’s fer sure!”
Mary was amazed at what she was hearing but also much gladdened to see that the two estranged sisters actually cared for one another and were getting on so well. “And they do behave just like two argumentative sisters would!” she thought, beaming at them.
All three now returned to the Camp at the base of the Observer Tree and the Green Witch got Grannie Maddam and Mary their own little Witches enclave with straw beds made up for them and made sure they had food and drink and were comfy.
After dinner, Mary went to where Roger and Nimp were being looked after. They both had attendant squirrels caring for them, a brother and sister. Scoot, the boy for Nimp and Scat, the girl for Roger.
They were both wide awake and were sitting up in bed and beamed brightly on seeing Mary. “Glad you two could join us,” she laughed at them. “You do look a sight with your head swathed in bandages, Nimp, but I hope you get better fast. We’re going to need you.” Then she turned to Roger saying, “Oh Roj, you really had me worried. I thought your head was going to explode for a while there!”
“Yes, it was rough for a bit,” Roger replied bashfully. “But it was Regor who kept the blue-flame going for as long as it did, he’s the real hero, him and the Green Witch of course.”
Then Mary sat down with them and told them all about what had happened with her and the Green Witch, up in the Observer Tree. And how Grannie Maddam had been brought back to them alive and well, and how very happy and relieved she was. And how Grannie, of all things, was
the Green Witch’s very own sister!
She gushed it all out in a rush, because she was also trying to cover up the fact that she’d been scared out of her wits … in fact terrified that she might have lost Nimp and Roger as well.
She also enquired after Regor, but as expected, he was out for six and still fast asleep.
“I don’t think we’ll get a eep pout of him until tomorrow, the very earliest,” Roger told her. “If you mind-cast to him, all you’ll hear is a loud, rumbling sort of snore. He really pushed himself to the limit you know.”
“Well, you did too, you silly, brave boy,” Mary said, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then ignoring his embarrassment, she quickly went on, saying, “He must be getting close to his hatching time now, Roj. I bet it gets real tight and uncomfortable in an egg when you’re nearly fully developed, and all pressed up against your shell.”
Roger nodded his agreement and they chatted on until the Green Witch came over to tell them that she was convening a War Council in her Observer Tree for the next morning, and they were all invited to attend, Roger and Nimp too of course, if they were well enough that was.
Roger told her they definitely would be. “I’m not missing that for anything!” he whispered to Mary, as the Green Witch left them for the night.
In the morning, when Roger awoke, the camp was once again bustling with activity.
There seemed to be squirrels scampering about everywhere. But the Hircumen were all very busy too, repairing their tools, weapons and equipment. Roger went with Mary to a nearby brook and they washed themselves and then went to the camp kitchen for breakfast.
“Let’s go and find Grannie. She’d love to see you and we’ve got a good hour before the War Council’s due to start,” Mary told Roger. “And have you checked on Regor, is he awake?” she added, eyeing Roger’s rucksack.
“Yes and no. I have checked - and he’s not awake. But I’m not surprised. Did you know that babies in the womb spend most of their time fast asleep, that’s a scientific fact?”
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