“Hello,” said Sap to one of the Rootlings, they didn’t reply “Hello there,” he said to another one, they stared blankly.
“I’m guessing we shouldn’t be here,” said Rowan slightly worried.
“It fine, you see.”
“Are you sure Sap?” asked Shaya.
“Yup,” said the Rootling unconvincingly as he pleasantly waved to another of the townsfolk, who quickly took three steps backwards.
As they got closer to the Chieftain’s house, one gawping green Rootling suddenly turned and ran as fast as his stumpy little legs could carry him, straight into the house they were about to enter.
“What!?” a voice cried out from within the house. The Rootling that had run in, suddenly bolted out and quickly waddled over to another hut, went inside and slammed the door shut. Sap instantly stopped only a few steps away from the red leaf carpet.
“Yup, okay maybe you shouldn’t be here,” he said quietly.
“Should we leave?” Jinx asked Shaya, who merely shook her head.
“We’ve come too far.”
Suddenly another Rootling came through the doorway and walked right up to them. She was a very pale brown, almost beige colour. She had a large branch sticking out the back of her head that bent down and over her forehead. The twig was littered with tiny pink and yellow followers, covering her head, making it look as if she had multicoloured hair. Small red and white mushrooms were growing on her right shoulder, giving off a sweet smell that filled the air around her. She was a little taller than Sap but not by much. She folded her arms and looked down at the slightly smaller Rootling.
“What you doing Sap? Who they?” she asked furiously in same broken speech as Sap, which Shaya quickly realised, was how all Rootlings spoke.
Sap fidgeted uncomfortably and didn’t want to look her in the eye.
“These my friends.”
“How long you known these friends?”
“Pretty Jinx, Shaya and Rowan Prince.”
The prince sighed and shook his head again, this was not going well already.
“How long Sap?”
“Twenty minutes maybe,” he played with the leaves on the floor with his stumpy feet.
“I see.”
“But they nice Floret, they need to speak to Chieftain.”
Floret glanced up at the humans and the little sprite, then looked back down at Sap “I’m sure they do. What they want with my father?”
“They want to ask about-, they ask about,” Sap hesitated and looked up at Shaya who was standing behind him “Who you ask about?”
“We were wondering if your father knew someone called Shale,” Shaya smiled uncomfortably.
A flash of surprise spread across Floret’s wooden features, her dark brown eyes darted from Shaya to Sap.
“I’m-,” she started, a little taken aback “I’m sorry, no one called Shale here.”
“Please, it’s vital that we speak to him.”
“There is no Shale here.”
“Please can we just speak to your father, Sap said he might know where Shale is.”
Floret looked down at Sap, her big brown eyes suddenly even angrier.
“You tell them about Shale?” Her voice grew louder with every syllable. “He not to be known.”
“Who Shale?” Sap looked confused.
“Oh, you stupid little weed,” she snapped. Sap looked down at the floor again upset and ashamed.
“Don’t blame Sap, he was just trying to help,” shouted Jinx “Now where is Shale, and don’t say, we don’t know Shale,” Jinx mimicked Florets high pitched squeak of a voice “Because you just admitted you do.”
Floret froze for a moment, it was true, she had chastised Sap for talking about Shale, it was a slip of the wooden tongue, and it couldn’t be unsaid.
“Please,” insisted Shaya “This is Prince Rowan, Prince of Arrolyn, it is urgent that we speak to this Shale.”
“A Prince?” Floret looked over at Rowan and smiled “Oh hello prince,” she gave him a little wave.
“Hello,” he said awkwardly.
“Oh, he nice, isn’t he?” she said leaning over to Shaya with her hand over her mouth, but Rowan could still hear her. She took a few steps towards Rowan, he took a step back. Shaya and Jinx just giggled under their breath.
“We-, we’d like to speak to the Chieftain please,” said Rowan uncomfortably.
“You need to speak to him?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, you should have said princey,” she smiled even wider. It looked as if the wood that formed her mouth was splitting open “Follow me,” she turned towards the door, and the group followed behind her. Rowan and Shaya exchanged looks, Rowan’s face was an expression of uncomfortable confusion, and Shaya’s was one of barely controlled hysterics.
Floret quickly spun around.
“Not you,” she pointed to Shaya and Jinx.
“What?” exclaimed Shaya suddenly annoyed.
“Just the prince.”
“They come with me,” said Rowan.
“But prince,” started Floret in a whiney squeak.
“I said they come with me,” the demanding voice of the Royal family, worked every time.
“Alright,” said Floret irritated “No need to get mean,” she turned once more and went inside. Sap and Jinx followed after her. Shaya looked over at Rowan with a raised eyebrow.
“I think she likes you,” she grinned.
“She’s a tree,” Rowan rolled his eyes.
“She likes you,” Shaya teased.
“Inside,” He snapped.
“Yes, your highness,” Shaya smirked as she bowed and chuckled to herself as they walked inside.
The whole ground floor of the wooden structure was one giant room. A set of rickety-looking stairs were on the left-hand side leading up. There were nearly thirty small glass jars laid out across the room, filled with different coloured glowing insects flying around. Yellow, green, blue, red, purple, they all fluttered about wildly in their glass containers, giving off a flickering multicoloured light that danced across the wooden walls. The red leaf carpet continued inside and all the way up to a tall, thick tree truck at the end of the room. The tree trunk nearly touched the ceiling. At its base was a mound of dirt barely covering mighty roots, as if the hut had been built around the tree. There were two pale green Rootlings stood by the door as the group walked passed. They had the same red flower from outside painted on their chests. Two more were positioned on either side of the tree trunk at the end, they too had the same design on their wooden torsos. As she got closer, Shaya realised that the tree trunk had been carved at the front and partially hollowed out to make a makeshift throne. Vines snaked their way around the great chair, the odd red flower blossomed from within the cracks in the bark.
“Wait here,” said Floret as she continued to march towards the throne. She looked at one of the Rootlings stood at the back, they gestured to behind the chair. Floret disappeared behind the high trunk. The group could hear mutterings, whispers of an argument.
“Father,” a spiteful snap in a raised whisper from Floret was the only word any of them could make out. After a moment of silence, Floret walked around and stood next to the throne, her hand placed on the side of it as she looked out at her audience. From behind the throne waddled a short, podgy Rootling. He was a soft green colour, with dark green moss growing on his face and chest. He wore a handmade cape tied around his neck that draped behind him as he walked. It was made of leaves to match his red carpet. He clambered up onto his throne and sat there for a silent moment as he rubbed his tired looking eyes. He had a large red flower with a yellow centre sticking out of his head, it had dozens of petals on it all slightly different shades of red. Finally, he looked at the group that had come to see him and sighed.
“I am Oakmore, Chieftain of Rootlings. What you want?”
Shaya looked over at Rowan. Rowan nodded and stepped forward.
“My name is Prince Rowan, I a
m Prince of-,”
“I know who you are,” interrupted Oakmore “What do want?”
“I wish to speak with Shale, it’s a matter of grave importance.”
“Is it now?” Oakmore shifted in his seat and leaned forward “You come my village and make demands, you have no power here prince.”
“Chieftain, this is not about power, this is about the fate of the kingdom, a kingdom you are a part of might I add.”
“We’re our own kingdom.”
“You’re a village, not a kingdom,” said Rowan staring daggers at the ill-mannered little tree. He took a breath. Shaya watched as the prince tried to be polite, even though the Rootling was clearly getting under his skin. “Chieftain we mean no disrespect, we just came to your village to-,”
“Yes, our village, how you find our village?” he interrupted once more as he watched Sap, who just stood quietly looking at the ground.
“Sap brought us here, we asked him to.”
“Yes, he did,” said Oakmore angrily “He brought outsiders to our village,” he leaned forward more, still staring at Sap, who still stood silently ashamed. “He brought oomans to Rootling Village. Foul little weed, how dare you. Oomans don’t belong here, oomans don’t make demands here, oomans-,”
“Enough of this,” shouted Rowan as he stormed forward. The Rootlings standing on either side of the throne both took a few paces forward, so Rowan stopped. “You listen to me,” he growled pointing a finger at the stunned Chieftain “I am your prince if you recognise my power or not. I’ve demanded nothing from you, I have simply asked for your help. Sap helped us. He has a good kind soul, unlike yours and you will not punish him for being better than you,” Rowan took another step “Now I demand something of you Chieftain. You will tell me where I can find Shale, then we will leave, and you will never hear from us again. If you don’t, the same darkness that has swallowed my castle will soon be here to swallow your village, that I promise you.”
Silence fell over the room, everyone had their jaws agape, their eyes practically popping out of their heads, especially Shaya. She had never seen the prince like that. She had seen him annoyed, rude, arrogant, but never like that. He silently stood staring, waiting for the Chieftain’s response.
The podgy Chieftain nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak, then froze. He started looking around as if an invisible fly was buzzing in circles around him.
“I know that,” he said suddenly. “You hear what he said?”
Rowan turned to Shaya with a look of bewilderment on his face and silently mouthed “What?” Shaya just shook her head and watched the mad little Rootling continue talking to himself.
“Well I was about to,” Oakmore said irritably “I know it time. You let me finish Gerald. Oh, get out,” he suddenly smacked himself on the side of the head and from out of the moss growing around his temple, a small blue bird appeared. It hopped off the Chieftain’s head and hovered in front of him chirping angrily at him. Floret rolled her eyes and shook her head as if this happened all the time.
“I was going to. You not give me chance. Always chirp, chirp, chirp.”
Gerald let loose another barrage of spiteful cheeps and dashed off, landing in a nest higher up on the throne tree’s trunk.
Oakmore sighed heavily and patted the moss on his temple back down. Rowan, Shaya and Jinx waited silently for any kind of explanation.
“Sorry, you had to see that,” Oakmore apologised waving his branch-like hand.
“Not at all,” Rowan said, apparently not knowing what to say. What do you say after you watch a small tree person have an argument with a bird that lives in their head?
“Damn bird, drive me mad,” Oakmore mumbled. “Now, where were we, prince? Oh, yes,” his expression changed from one of annoyance to one of guilt, he hung his head in shame. “I sorry to hear of your castle. The darkness you speak of, it already here.”
“What?” Rowan exclaimed.
“What do you mean?” Asked Shaya.
“Father?” Floret was staring at him confused.
“I sorry Floret, I know I’ve not been myself lately, it the forest, it sick.”
“What, how?”
“I don’t know, but I do know that this darkness is spreading from the east, the trees there they dying, the flowers no grow. Now only shadows in the dark.”
“You didn’t tell me,” Floret sounded hurt.
“I sorry child, I’ve told no one, I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve seen this?”
“No,” Oakmore turned to the prince, “Shale told me.”
“You spoke with him?” asked Rowan.
“Not for a while, but when I did, he say he felt the dark approaching, eating away at the trees far to the east. Now it spreading further.”
“And, where is he?”
Oakmore sighed “To the east,”
Rowan grunted in exhausted frustration and turned to Shaya, she had the same look on her face. A look that said, we have a long way to go yet.
“How do we get there?” Rowan turned back to Oakmore.
“You don’t.”
“Please Chieftain.”
“You go to poisoned woods?”
“We have to, we don’t have a choice.”
“Shale say monsters now dwell within. Animals who graze there, they gone. The ones that remain, they not the same.”
“What kind of monsters?” asked Shaya stepping forward.
“Shale say, woodland creatures, twisted by darkness. What they are now, I not know.”
Rowan turned to Shaya with a concerned expression. He sighed long and hard and rubbed his weary eyes.
“We have to go, don’t we?” he asked, knowing the answer. Shaya nodded with a tired smirk. He nodded back.
“We need directions.”
“You plan on going? Even if they is monsters?” asked an impressed Floret.
“Yes,” said the prince matter-of-factly.
“Oh, such brave princey,” she beamed.
Oakmore turned to his daughter and looked at her with a quizzical gaze, she noticed him carefully watching her and quickly lost the smile. Silence fell for a moment, a slightly awkward uncomfortable silence, then the plump Rootling slowly turned back to Rowan.
“In secret, I have sent Rootlings to see Shale, Rootlings not return. I won’t send any more.”
“What about me Chieftain?” said a squeaky voice. They all looked down at Sap stood quietly. Still holding his spear, the tiny tree puffed up his chest, trying to look strong and confident, two things he wasn’t.
“You?” You Sap go where monsters are?” Floret asked surprised.
“I go with my friends,” he smiled up at Rowan and the others. Shaya put her hand on his head, Jinx flew down and hovered in front of him.
“Sap are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I sure pretty Jinx. I know eastern part of forest well.”
Jinx smiled and sat on Sap’s shoulder, he giggled slightly as her hair tickled his neck.
“Then it’s settled,” said Rowan.
“Very well prince,” Oakmore said reluctantly.
“Night approaches, we should wait until dawn,” said Shaya realising the time.
“Is there somewhere we can spend the night Chieftain?” asked the prince.
“The prince can stay in my room,” said Floret with a grin.
“No,” shouted Rowan and Oakmore at the same time.
♦ ♦ ♦
It was going to be a tight squeeze for a Rootling and two humans in Sap’s small wooden hut, but it was better than sleeping next to a campfire on the ground, being attacked by jackals. Shaya laid the blankets down on the cushiony grass covered floor and placed her bag in the corner. She pulled off her green jacket, folded it and put it on her backpack. The village was so warm, she wouldn’t need it. Even though the sun was only just about set, she was tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep, but Oakmore had insisted on throwing a party as an apology for his ru
de behaviour, he blamed Gerald. Shaya half stood, having to hunch down so she wouldn’t hit her head on the low wooden beams. With her hand, she smoothed out a crease on her cream coloured V neck vest with the pretty yellow pattern around the collar, and then left the snug little hut. Quickly she made her way over to the garden behind Oakmore’s house.
When Shaya arrived, she stopped dead and grinned the biggest grin she’d had in a long time. She couldn’t believe her eyes. In the dusk of twilight, all the flowers glowed bright and lit up the village. They were every colour she could imagine. The colours were so vibrant, it even made it look like the Rootlings themselves were glowing. There was probably over a hundred of them, the whole village had turned out for what was a celebration of friendship between Rootlings and oomans (and a sprite). They were all gathered in the middle of the garden, laughing and joking. Some had their own instruments and were playing jaunty music while tapping their wooden feet merrily. The merry band all stood in a row on the other side of the garden, there were dozens of them. Two Rootlings had some large wooden pots with thick green leaves tied tightly over the openings. When they hit them, they made a deep thump. They were using them like bongo drums. A few others had long thin tubes that looked like they were made from bamboo canes, they put them to their wooden lips and blew, creating a high pitched but pleasant sound, like a flute. Others had what looked like violins made from large leaves and very thin and delicate vines.
Jinx appeared out of the crowd and shot straight over to Shaya with an excitable grin on her face. She stopped inches from her face.
“Where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you,” she grabbed Shaya’s finger and led her to the front of the crowd before she could say a word. All the many tree children were stood in a circle, around a large patch of dirt. Shaya looked, but couldn’t see any plants or even seeds, just dirt, raked in perfectly straight lines. Rowan, Sap and Floret were stood talking, Rowan looking a little uncomfortable as Floret spoke to him and touched his arm with a smile. The prince looked over and saw Shaya watching him, he quickly excused himself and not so subtly jogged over to her.
The Shattered Moon (A Divine Legacy Book 1) Page 13
