by Emily Rodda
‘The Flitters told us you were dangerous,’ Mimi said, lifting her chin. ‘They were terrified!’
‘The Flitters are only afraid of one of us,’ Tye said coldly. ‘And they have very good reason for that.’
She, the man and Conker all turned to frown at Freda.
The duck fluffed her feathers irritably. ‘All that happened ages ago,’ she said. ‘And I don’t know what all the fuss was about anyway. I only ate a few of them.’
‘It was unforgivable!’ hissed Tye. ‘Are you blind, that you cannot tell the difference between a Flitter and a dot? And then yesterday you chose to threaten them, as a way of catching the Langlanders! Oh, you and Conker are a pretty pair!’
‘We’ve been through all this before, many times,’ the man broke in quickly, as Conker scowled furiously and opened his mouth to reply. ‘The important thing now is to convince Leo, Mimi and Bertha that we’re not their enemies.’
‘You could start by telling her to drop that knife,’ said Mimi, pointing at Tye.
‘I will do no such thing, until you call off your pig,’ snapped Tye, before the man could speak.
‘I beg your pardon!’ said Bertha, baring her teeth in outrage. ‘I am no one’s pig but my own, thank you very much!’
‘Tye, sheath your dagger,’ said the man.
Tye hesitated, then, expressionless, did as she was asked.
Leo lowered his stick and after a long moment, Mimi did the same.
‘Good,’ the man said. ‘That’s something, at least.’
He threw down the gong and strode to the fire. He put Bertha’s hat carefully on the hearthrug to dry, then lit a lantern that was standing on the mantelpiece. As the lantern flame gathered strength, Leo saw that a black pot hung over the fire. Some sort of stew was bubbling inside the pot. It smelled very good, and, despite himself, Leo’s mouth watered.
‘Now,’ the man said, carrying the lantern across the room and setting it down in the middle of a long table where a round loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese and a bowl of apples stood waiting. ‘It is a little early for dinner, but I suggest we sit down, eat, and talk together, like civilised folk. Conker, will you ladle out the stew?’
Conker nodded abruptly and went to a cupboard near the table. He started collecting bowls and spoons, counting under his breath.
‘We won’t sit down, or eat, or talk, until you unlock that door,’ Leo said in a level voice.
‘That’s telling him, Leo!’ whispered Bertha approvingly.
The man gazed steadily at Leo. There was a strange look in his eyes. ‘I can’t risk your running away again, Leo,’ he said slowly.
Leo shook his head. ‘We won’t talk while we’re prisoners,’ he said. ‘Why should we?’
The man smiled ruefully. ‘Why indeed?’ he murmured.
He pulled the key from his pocket, went to the door, and unlocked it.
‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Now will you sit down? Or is there something else you require?’
‘Well, I would like to know your name,’ Mimi said challengingly. ‘You seem to know ours.’
Tye made a small, outraged sound. Briefly Leo wondered who this man was, so shabbily dressed, so mildly spoken, yet obviously so highly respected.
The corner of the man’s mouth tweaked. ‘You can call me Hal,’ he said.
Leo heard Bertha gasp, and looked around. Bertha’s mouth was hanging open. Obviously the name Hal meant something to her – something important. Jim’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind: We’ve organised a hero for you. The best there is …
The man moved to the table, sat down at its head, and began cutting bread into chunks. Conker dumped a bundle of spoons onto the table, stomped over to the fire and began splashing stew into bowls with more energy than neatness. Tye moved silently to his side and began carrying filled bowls to the table.
‘Don’t tell me you’re the Hal – I mean, Hal, the great wizard who ended the Dark Time?’ Bertha asked breathlessly.
‘The very same,’ Freda quacked.
The man kept silent, and went on sawing bread.
As Leo and Mimi exchanged startled glances, Bertha gasped. ‘I can’t believe this!’ she squeaked. ‘Hal! The Hal! And you saved my hat! You knew my name! You invited me into your home! I – I threatened to knock you down! Oh!’
Clearly bursting with excitement, she moved a little closer to the table.
‘Macdonald said that you were the bravest man he had ever heard of,’ she told Hal. ‘He said that while the heroes were fighting the monsters on the plain in the Final Battle, you went into the Blue Queen’s castle all alone.’
‘There he’s wrong, though I know that’s how the story is often told,’ Hal said quietly, nodding his thanks as Tye placed a bowl of stew in front of him. ‘I wasn’t particularly brave, and I wasn’t alone.’
‘He certainly was not!’ Freda sniffed, glaring at Bertha. ‘Alone, that is. We were with him.’
‘Oh, really,’ Bertha drawled. ‘Well, I’m sure you were a great help.’
‘Conker and Freda got me through the battle, and into the castle,’ Hal said. ‘Without their protection I would never have survived. My life before that had been a placid one. It hadn’t prepared me for fighting four-headed beasts.’
He grinned, and again ten years at least were wiped from his face. ‘Or any beasts at all, in fact,’ he added.
‘You were hopeless in those days, that’s true,’ Freda agreed. ‘But you’re a lot better now.’
‘You are indeed,’ Conker said, plumping the last heaped bowl onto the table and sitting down in front of it. ‘You showed that swamp lurgie a thing or two on our last gig. It was out of that village quick smart. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still running.’
Hal slapped him on the back affectionately. ‘Swamp lurgies aren’t much of a problem, and you know it, old friend,’ he said. ‘But, yes, I’ve improved since the day when you fought your way into the Blue Queen’s castle with me clinging to your coat tails, no doubt about that.’
‘When we finally got to the castle it was practically empty,’ Conker told Bertha, his good humour completely restored by this chance to relive a great adventure. ‘All the queen’s monsters were fighting in the battle. There were just a few guards, that’s all, and Freda, Tye and I – Tye had joined us by then – soon disposed of them, didn’t we, Freda?’
‘No problem,’ said the duck.
‘After that it was easy,’ Hal said. ‘Just a matter of finding the right room. None of the doors were locked. Spoiler and the queen thought they had nothing to fear, you see. So I was able to – do what I had to do.’
He frowned slightly and pushed the board of cut-up bread into the middle of the table.
‘Oh, you’re so modest!’ Bertha breathed admiringly. ‘And you saved the world!’
Hal hunched his shoulders as if the praise embarrassed him. ‘I broke the queen’s power, that was all,’ he said.
‘All?’ Bertha cried, her voice rising to a squeak. ‘What do you mean, all! Why, you’re a hero! You should be living in the best house in the land! What are you doing here?’
Hal raised an eyebrow quizzically, and she blushed.
‘Not that this isn’t a very pleasant little place,’ she added hastily. ‘Very pleasant! With a water view, too.’
‘I live here because here I can be private,’ Hal said. ‘No one else will live on this side of the bridge, and very few folk know this house exists. I’m often away – travelling with Conker, Freda and Tye – but it’s good to come back to peace and quiet.’
‘Oh, I do understand,’ Bertha said, nodding vigorously. ‘Being famous can be quite exhausting, can’t it? Sometimes I long for peace and quiet myself.’
Freda laughed maliciously. Bertha turned to stare at her.
‘This place has another advantage,’ Hal continued. ‘The Blue Queen has by no means accepted her defeat, you know. She’s still dangerous. It does no harm for someone to keep a watchful eye on her.’
Bertha abruptly became serious. ‘I think the queen’s power might be growing again,’ she said in a low voice. ‘There were lots of bears in the forest. Many more than usual, Jim said. And that new troll …’
‘It wasn’t there when Tye and Freda and I crossed the bridge this morning,’ Conker put in. ‘It’s appeared since.’
Hal didn’t comment, merely pulling Bertha’s bowl of stew a little closer to the table edge, and beckoning her to join him. Tye and Freda had already taken their seats. Only Leo and Mimi were still standing.
‘What do you think?’ Leo whispered to Mimi out of the corner of his mouth.
‘I think we should be very careful,’ Mimi whispered back. ‘How do we know that this man’s really Hal? We’ve only got his word for it – his and Tye’s and Conker’s. For all we know the real Hal is buried under the floorboards, or floating in the river.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Leo muttered. ‘Of course he’s the real Hal. Jim waved to him. Jim recognised him!’
‘Well, okay, so he’s the real Hal,’ Mimi hissed impatiently. ‘I still don’t trust him. There’s something shifty about him. He says all the right things, but he won’t look us in the eye while he says them. He’s keeping something to himself, and I’m not going to relax for a second till we find out what it is.’
She stalked over to the table and sat down. As Leo followed, and took his place beside her, he stole a look at Hal. All his instincts were telling him that the man deserved his trust.
But why do I feel like that? Leo thought suddenly. I’ve just met him. Could it be an enchantment, like the one in Deep Wood? Hal’s a wizard. He’s supposed to have lost his powers, but maybe he’s still strong enough to bewitch people like us.
The thought was very unpleasant. Leo pushed it aside, telling himself not to be stupid. He had good, sensible reasons for trusting Hal. Hal had driven back the troll. Hal was the hero of the Dark Time. And Jim and Polly wouldn’t have sent Leo, Mimi and Bertha to anyone who wasn’t completely reliable.
But as Leo picked up his spoon and began to eat, he knew that, however he felt, Mimi was right to be a little wary. They couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes.
Chapter 26
Mimi’s Bargain
While they were eating, there was no talk about the quest to save Mutt. When Mimi tried to raise the subject, Hal calmly said it must wait until dinner was over. So while Mimi simmered in frustration, Bertha seized her chance to ask question after question about the Dark Time’s great final battle.
Conker regaled them with spirited accounts of the battle and its heroes, pushing apple cores and crumbs of bread around the table to illustrate his descriptions.
Hal said much less, and when Bertha questioned him about his famous single-handed combat with the Blue Queen he shook his head, refusing to speak.
This impressed Leo more than any thrilling tale would have done. He knew that if something very frightening or very heart-wrenching had happened to him, he would find it difficult to talk about it – especially to strangers.
All the same, he found himself wishing that Hal would unbend a little – treat them a little less like strangers. Hal was polite but he kept his distance, and as the meal went on he seemed to become more and more withdrawn.
When all the plates were empty, Conker, Tye and Hal began clearing the table. Mechanically, Leo got up to help.
Bertha yawned. ‘I might go and see if my hat is dry,’ she said, looking longingly at the hearthrug.
‘Good idea,’ Hal said, his eyes warming as he smiled at her.
Hal doesn’t hold himself apart from all of us, Leo thought. He’s fond of Bertha. It’s Mimi and me he doesn’t like.
Fighting down disappointment, he picked up a pile of dirty dishes and followed Conker out to the long, narrow room that served as Hal’s kitchen.
As he expected, the kitchen was as tidy and well organised as the main room of the house. It was furnished simply with a long, scrubbed wooden bench facing two large store cupboards.
Pots and pans stood on a shelf above the bench. A net of onions and bunches of herbs hung from hooks fastened to the ceiling. A green tea-towel hung over the sill of the window beside the back door.
Why should Hal like us? Leo thought dismally, as Hal brought the kettle from the fire and poured hot water into the washing-up bowl. Hal knows we broke the music box rules. He knows we caused the quake. He knows that, because of us, the Blue Queen’s put more bears in the wood, and a new troll on the bridge. For Hal, we’re just trouble.
Hal said something about fetching more water, picked up the empty kettle, and disappeared through the back door into the night.
Conker began washing up, clattering dishes and spoons noisily, as if to discourage conversation. Leo went to the window to get the tea towel.
The window had swung shut, jamming the towel in place. Leo pushed at the wooden frame, the window opened with a little jerk, and fresh, river-smelling air streamed in, cooling his face.
As he pulled the tea towel free, he heard a voice drifting from outside – Hal’s voice, very quiet and low.
‘Stop arguing,’ Hal muttered. ‘Just do what you’re paid for, and deliver the message.’
‘It’s all very well for you to say,’ squeaked a tiny voice in reply. ‘It’s dangerous, I tell you!’
‘What happened to your motto – The mail must go through, or whatever it is,’ Hal whispered furiously.
‘That’s been changed,’ the squeaky voice said. ‘Now it’s, The mail must go through if possible.’
‘Leo! Are you going to dry up, or not?’ called Conker from the other end of the room.
Guiltily, Leo spun around. He hurried to the bench and began wiping dishes, wondering uneasily about what he’d heard.
Tye had gone back into the living room. Hal didn’t return. Conker obviously didn’t feel like talking. Leo stolidly dried dishes, feeling like an unwelcome intruder and trying not to mind.
When at last the job was done, he trailed back into the living room to find Mimi still sitting at the table, staring down at her folded hands, Freda and Tye keeping silent watch on her, and Bertha stretched out on the hearthrug beside her hat, snoring gently.
He wanted to tell Mimi about hearing Hal arguing with the messenger mouse, but he couldn’t. Not with Freda and Tye listening to every word he said, and Conker stacking clean bowls into the cupboard close by.
Hal came in with the filled kettle and put it back on the fire.
‘Good,’ he said in a low voice, glancing at the sleeping Bertha. ‘Now we can talk freely.’
He sat down heavily at the head of the table again. Leo sank down beside Mimi. Suddenly there was a strong feeling of tension in the room.
‘For generations Langlanders used this world as their personal playground,’ Hal said abruptly. ‘I thought those days had ended.’
Leo thought instantly of Spoiler, and was filled with shame. Did Hal know who Spoiler really was? It sounded as if he did. He must have discovered Spoiler’s secret when he was battling the Blue Queen. No wonder he hated Langlanders – hated the very name.
‘We’re not here for fun,’ Mimi said in a flat voice. ‘We’re here to get my dog back. When we’ve done that we’ll go straight home and be no more trouble to anyone.’
Hal closed his eyes as if Mimi’s sharpness pained him.
‘I assume it was you, Leo, who inherited the music box from Bethany Langlander?’ he asked.
Leo’s stomach lurched. ‘Yes,’ he managed to say.
Hal nodded. ‘But if my instincts are correct, it was Mimi who –?’
‘Yes,’ snapped Mimi. ‘I was the one who wound the music box more than three times. I’m the one who opened the Rondo gate.’
‘Keep you
r voice down,’ Hal warned, opening his eyes and glancing over his shoulder at Bertha.
‘I do not know why you insist on this secrecy, Hal,’ Tye complained, moving restlessly. ‘If we can live with the knowledge that the Langlander world exists outside our own, why should others in Rondo not live with it, too?’
‘Most folk wouldn’t believe it!’ Conker snorted. ‘They’d think we’d gone crazy if we told them.’
‘And what good would it do for those few who did believe?’ Hal muttered. ‘They’d learn that their world is just a small painted box inside another, far larger, far more unfriendly world. They’d learn that it’s at the mercy of any stranger who chooses to treat it carelessly. They’d learn to fear.’
‘At least they’d know the truth,’ Leo exclaimed, before he could stop himself. ‘Haven’t they got a right to that? Even if it makes them unhappy?’
Tye gave a short, triumphant laugh. Hal took a breath, then pressed his lips together as if thinking better of what he’d been about to say.
It was Mimi who broke the silence. ‘Will you help us rescue my dog, Hal?’ she asked bluntly. ‘I’m not asking you to fight the Blue Queen. I know you’ve lost your magic, and I know we could never defeat her on her own ground. If we’re going to get Mutt back, we’ll have to steal him back. We’ll have to sneak into the castle and find out where she’s keeping him. And you know your way around the castle better than anyone. You can help us trick the Blue Queen – if you want to risk it.’
‘Shut your mouth, girl,’ Tye hissed. ‘Hal is not afraid. Not for himself.’
‘But is he afraid –?’ Leo felt his face grow hot as everyone looked at him. ‘Is he – are you – afraid the Blue Queen will capture Mimi and me and – use us to make herself more powerful?’
Hal looked up. ‘What gave you that idea?’ he asked sharply.
Because we think the Blue Queen used Spoiler that way.
The words were trembling on Leo’s tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. He couldn’t bear to admit that he knew Spoiler was a Langlander.
‘Well, we wondered –’ he stumbled on, his blush deepening, ‘if maybe the queen can use living things from our world to make her stronger.’
