The Faeries of Dulwich Woods

Chapter 9 - Going Underground

I can't believe this. It's so dark - ugh, it's horrible! I'm not jumping into this creepy hole sight unseen, she thought, wriggling her narrow shoulders further inside the opening. She sat on the edge of the wooden rim and dangled one leg into the lightless gloom in an unsuccessful attempt to test where it ended.

I'd have to be crazy to throw myself in there, I've no idea how deep it goes. What if I plunge to my death or break my back? It could be a trap; I might get impaled on a heap of sharp stakes like in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Or there could be hundreds of poisonous spiders. Or, worst of all, I could be stuck down there in a pitch-black abyss forever, unable to climb out and slowly starving to death! Avery shivered at the thought. She stretched her leg as far as it would go and waved it about, hoping against hope to touch solid ground, but nothing was there. So she clung onto the open cleft with her fingertips and lowered herself gingerly down inside the tree trunk.

Why, oh why did I have to drop my phone? I'm such an idiot! she thought, pointing her toes like a ballerina, still trying to feel the floor. Again, she failed, but she noticed that the surface she was resting on was very smooth and polished and formed a gentle incline. How odd, she thought. Avery hung on uncomfortably for a few minutes, unable to decide what to do. Should she abandon her precious phone forever, claw her way back into the sunlight and wait for Bihan Ruz to reappear? Or should she boldly cast her fears aside and launch herself into the darkness, trusting that Bihan wouldn't lead her to her doom.

'I will NOT be afraid of the dark,' she said determinedly and with that, she flipped over and let herself fall.

Avery began to slide rapidly through the centre of the tree. The slippery surface was as smooth as glass and she was unable to reach the opposite side with her fingertips. I think I'm sliding down a large tunnel, she decided. She was reminded of the Lost Boys in "Peter Pan" and how each one was measured for a bespoke fit within their individual trees.

I must be Slightly, the one who whittled away at the inside of his tree to make it larger because this hole is bigger than I expected. Big enough to fit a grown-up, same as his, she thought, as she slid relentlessly down the lightless passage.

Avery opened her eyes as widely as she could, searching for the slightest speck of light but the darkness was implacable. She waved her hands in front of her face, but it was as if her eyes were shut, she couldn't see anything. She felt suffocated by the impenetrable gloom and started to hyperventilate.

'What have I done? This is literally my worst nightmare,' she said out loud and jumped at the sound of her voice as it echoed around her. Then she remembered Bihan Ruz - he must have slid down the tunnel just like she was. And although he was a long-lived, magical faerie and she was a short-lived, common-and-garden mortal, she felt sure that he wouldn't let her get hurt. This thought reassured her and she slowly calmed down. I'm going to have faith in Bihan Ruz and go with the flow. I don't much alternative anyway, she thought, as she whizzed along at breakneck speed, take heart Avery, you can do this.

Avery descended swiftly onward through absolute silence and absolute darkness. She was warm and she was comfortable although her eyes did ache from their constant search for light. She was even beginning to feel slightly bored when, without any warning, she plunged straight into a huge pile of something soft and dry, almost up to her neck; it was a gigantic heap of fallen oak leaves. Avery looked up at the hole she had just emerged from, and as she stared at the midnight-dark passage high above her head, she realised that one of her predictions was right. She was trapped; she would never be able to crawl back up that long, slippery tunnel to the top.

Oh heck, she groaned, I knew it! Well, I can't go back so I'll just have to go forward; I need to find Bihan Ruz and the Teylu Cup in that order. And quickly.