They all met at the "Bed & Breakfast", packed their things in a hurry, paid, and left. Shorty's gang was known for their lawlessness and control of the city. And now they were after Ferry and his friends.
It was still daylight, and people were enjoying the beautiful weather and the weekend. Which meant the streets were full, and the curious group of travelers had to be even more careful to avoid the prying eyes of the passers-by.
Thyme didn't speak to him about the poker incident, though he certainly had found out about it. He walked in front of him, without saying a word, without turning his head to him or urging him to walk faster. Ferry would have preferred to scold him, to shout at him in front of everyone. But Thyme kept walking, his jaw and fists clenched.
"I think we should break paths," he said at one point as they stopped to rest on the corner of an old house on the outskirts of the city. "Sage and I will be accompanying Ferry. We will meet the others on the edge of the forest. We are too many, too weird-looking, and we would only draw attention to ourselves. "
Oona mumbled something like she was best able to protect Ferry, but she eventually joined Parsley and Rosemary and set out on a different path. Ferry hid his face under the hood of his cloak, which made the hot air around him even harder to breathe. Thyme was leading the way, while Matilda and Sage followed. No one said a word to him.
They had been walking for a long time through the stifling heat. The neighborhood was poor in contrast to the big houses, expensive cars, and people in elegant suits they had met downtown. The few people who passed through these streets had shabby clothes and small, broken houses, without gardens, without trees, without life. But what surprised Ferry the most were their empty eyes, without the gleam of life in which there was no trace of feeling, no shadow of joy. This sad part of the city paled in comparison to Goodharts which the locals sometimes considered too small for their dreams. How wrong they were...
For a while now, the cobblestones became so hot, Ferry thought his shoes would melt. They were closer to the outskirts of the city. In front of them laid a long road bordered by wild bushes and scattered trees.
Ferry barely dragged his feet. After all the troubles the people caused over the past days, he was eager to leave their world. And yet, he wished he'd done it differently. He wanted Matilda to at least talk to him.
"Are you still mad at me? Will you ever talk to me again? " he asked after a while. And although the question was for everyone, the only answer that interested him was Matilda's.
"It doesn't matter that we're mad at you, Garrett," Sage said in a low voice. "What matters is that you shouldn't do things like that without thinking first."
Thyme stopped, too. He looked at him and put his hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it. "I trust you, Garrett ..."
Ferry swallowed the knot in his throat. He would have preferred ten slaps instead of the disappointment in Thyme's voice. Matilda said nothing this time either but looked away. Then they all saw her narrowing her eyes and frowning.
"What is it, Matt?" Sage asked.
They were not alone. Somewhere, behind one of the last houses, a small, crouched shadow loomed. This time, everyone saw it. Suddenly, Matilda turned and darted like an arrow, disappearing behind a bush. Ferry didn't wait any longer and ran after her. Thyme and Sage followed.
But before Ferry reached the rosehip bush, Matilda came out, her face scratched and her hair ruffled. She was pulling someone after her. Se took him out of the bush and pushed him in front of them. Ferry looked at the small, dirty creature that shivered like a leaf. It was Finn, Matilda's brother.
"Finn, what do you think you're doing?" Matilda shouted at him. "What are you doing here? Have you been following us all this time? "
The boy began to sob. "I'm sowy, Matt, I'm sowy ..." I just wanted to be with you and Sage. You left me alone. I don't like that place... I have no fends, and no one tawks to me. I'm so alone ... " he burst into tears, small rivers streaming down his dirty cheeks.
"Are you mad?" Matilda continued to scold him. "What about Mum and Dad? They must be worried sick..."
Finn rubbed his eyes with his small fists. "I'm sowy, Matt... Please take me with you. I'll be good, I pomise ... "
"I can't take you with me," Matilda said, trying to calm down. "It's dangerous where we go. What are we going to do, Thyme?" she asked. "I can't send him home alone. Who knows what other troubles he'll get into? "
"Well, it's just one solution," Sage said. "You have to take him back home. I'll come with you both."
Ferry felt unable to stand aside. "Matilda can't come back, Sage. We need her in Akna. Besides, you can't tell her what to do, "he added, glaring at him.
Sage turned to him. "It's none of your business, Garrett. I promised Matt's parents I'd take care of her, and that's what I'm going to do. I, unlike others, keep my promises, " he said, glaring daggers back at him.
Thyme took a deep breath before saying, "No one is going anywhere! We shall take him with us."
"But Thyme--"
"I can't let you go, Sage," Thyme added. "You're important to this mission. So is Matilda. Finn comes with us and that's that, " he said loud and clear, closing Sage's mouth.
"Thank you, Thyme, thank you," Finn said in his small voice, clinging to his leg.
Thyme detached him from his leg with a gentle move, then knelt in front of him. "Listen, Finn, if you want to come with us, you have to be good and listen to us. You understand?"
Finn nodded repeatedly.
Matilda sighed. "We have to go back to the city. I need to find a public phone and call my mum and dad. And feed him. He must be starved," she added, grabbing his little hand.
"I'm coming with you," Ferry said.
"No need," Sage added. "Just as I take care of Matilda, so I will take care of Finn. Isn't that right, naughty? " he said, laughing and ruffling his hair.
Finn smiled at him with all his heart.
"Thank you, Sage," Matilda said, smiling, yet she didn't seem as enthusiastic as Finn.
"Good. Then we'll see each other at the doorway between the worlds, " Sage said, resuming his journey.
Ferry stood still, not knowing what to do.
"Are you coming, Garrett?" Thyme asked, stopping on his way.
Ferry glanced at Matilda and Sage as they walked away, with Finn in the middle. Then he had no choice but join Thyme.
When they reached the standing stone at the fir forest, Parsley, Rosemary, and Oona were already there. The Red-haired fairy ran towards them, happy to see Ferry. The late sun's rays played in her fiery hair, making it look even more alive.
"I missed you, fairy-boy," she said, chaining his arm with both her hands.
"Where are the others?" Parsley asked as he approached.
"It's a long story," Thyme sighed. "They're coming soon."
By now, the shadows of the night began to descend, creeping through the trees. Ferry looked at the sky through the tall crowns of the trees and had a strange feeling. He was about to leave everything he knew behind and embark on another path to his new life. And yet, the memory of the human world seemed to cling to him, like roots coming out of the ground, ready to pull him back.
Thyme searched the place near the doorway between the worlds, a rock rising out of nowhere in the middle of the forest, as it was in the Shepherd's Forest.
"I need to find a fairy circle," he told Parsley. "I have to see what the whispers say and if everything is settled on the other side."
"I can help you find it," Oona hurried to say. "I did some circles myself with my sisters in Tenalach."
Thyme gave her a suspicious look. "No, thanks. I can handle it."
Oona shrugged. "As you wish," she said, then began to mumble a little song while dancing above the ground as light as feather in the wind.
"Who will be waiting for us on the other side?" Parsley asked.
"Ragh," Thyme replied shortly.
"Ragh?" Parsley wondered. "He was just a child the last time I saw him. And a bit of a trickster, too... Are you sure he's to be trusted? "
"Ragh has changed a lot since you last saw him. Many things have changed... Now I have to go. Take care of Garrett. I'll be back soon, "he said, stepping deeper into the woods.
Ferry caught sight of him disappearing behind the tall, straight pine trees. He sat down on an overturned log and looked at the sky. He had a strange feeling, an emptiness in his stomach that did not give him peace.
Rosemary felt his concern. "You know, whenever I get nervous, I eat a few blueberries and the worries are gone," she told him gently, handing him a white handkerchief in which Ferry saw a handful of blueberries that shone like black beads. Ferry smiled and tasted some blueberries which made him feel a bit better, indeed.
Soon, they heard footsteps approaching and Sage's massive figure appeared from behind the trees, followed by Matilda and Finn. Matilda frowned as she caught sight of Oona who had meanwhile sat down next to Ferry and continued to sing her jolly little song.
Finn ran to Rosemary and Parsley as he saw them.
"Hey, look who we have here," Parsley said, lifting him in his arms.
"Aren't you glad I'm coming with you, Parsley?" Finn asked.
"Of course I'm glad," Parsley said. "But next time let us know what you're going to do, okay?"
Finn nodded several times, taking a serious face. He then jumped out of Parsley's arms and slowly came closer to Ferry.
"Are you upset I'm coming with you, Ferry?" he asked.
Ferry smiled at him. "Of course I'm not, Finn. You just didn't have to leave like that. You didn't have to follow us. Something bad could have happened to you. "
"You mean when those bad men followed you?" he asked.
Ferry nodded. "You saw that? What else have you seen?" he asked.
But Finn didn't have the time to answer. Matilda stepped in front of him, her hands on her hips.
"Finn, did you tear up Ferry's blanket?" she asked. "Did you?" she repeated, this time louder.
Finn shook his head repeatedly, the look of a frightened rabbit on his face. "I didn't tear it up, Matt. I swear. Maybe it was-- "
"Who?" his sister raised her voice.
"Maybe it was the Shadow ..." Finn said in a small voice that betrayed his fear.
"What shadow? What are you talking about?" cried Matilda.
This time, Finn had caught everyone's attention. They gathered around him.
Ferry came over to the boy who had begun to shiver. "Finn, think hard. Are you sure you saw it?"
"Yes, Ferry," he said, looking him in the eye. "It's a shadow that has been following you since you left the train station."
Ferry looked around and a shiver ran down his spine. "Is it here now?"
Finn shook his head no. "No. Sometimes it hides in the dark. Sometimes, it's like it's part of the dark, you know ... "
Matilda frowned. For a moment, her eyes met Ferry's, and he could read her concern. "Finn, if you're lying, I swear--" she said, but her voice was uncertain.
"I'm not lying, Matt," he said, almost ready to cry. "It's a shadow that follows Ferry. I could never see its face because it was covered. But it had a strange walk... And he's a bad person. I can feel it..."
Ferry shuddered.
"Who could it be?" Parsley asked in a low voice as if someone unseen had taken part in their discussion.
"Maybe we shouldn't worry so much," Matilda tried to reassure them. "Finn has always been a strange child. He always had a rich imagination. I can't believe he's coming with us, "she muttered.
"Matt is right," Sage added, placing his heavy hand on the girl's delicate shoulder. "Finn has always been a special child with unusual ideas."
"But Sage--" Finn protested again.
He didn't finish because he saw Thyme hurrying towards them.
"Everything is settled," he said. "Let's go. It's time. "
Everyone followed him to the standing stone in the middle of the forest. Ferry's anxiety grew, now more intense because of Finn's story. The stone rose to the sky, angular, covered with a thin layer of lichens and moss. It does not look anything more special than other stones or boulders around. Thyme studied the edges with his fingertips. Ferry remembered the door between the worlds of the Shepherd's Forest with the same strange symbols and sockets on the edges. Thyme touched them with his fingertips and the hard surface of the stone trembled and changed slowly into a curtain of trembling mist. On the other side, there was a white light that illuminated everyone's faces. Ferry looked at his friends. He could read the hope in Parsley and Rosemary's eyes and some sort of content in Sage's eyes. He saw a meaningful gleam in Oona's eyes and the enthusiasm in Finn's. He saw the worry on Matilda's face as the girl's gaze searched for his. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be fine. But Sage was there. Sage was always there. He couldn't read anything on Thyme's impenetrable face.
Parsley and Rosemary took a step forward. They looked at each other, smiled, then held hands and passed on the other side through the curtain of mist.
Oona followed. She was so impatient that Ferry thought she would begin to sing with joy right then and there. She turned his head and gave him a complicit look before passing on the other side.
"See you in Akna, fairy-boy," she chuckled, then disappeared into the fog that now had the texture of a bright jelly.
Sage was next. He turned to Matilda before crossing. "See you on the other side, Matt," he told the girl, smiling and stroking her shoulder with his fingertips. "Don't be afraid. I'll be waiting for you."
Matilda forced a smile. She seemed to hesitate, she, the bravest person Ferry ever met. Thyme came over to her and handed her a red feather. Ferry frowned. He had forgotten that people needed magical objects to get to the other side. From where did Thyme had the key to the other world? He knew that the last feather had been given to Mrs. Cobbs to cross to the fairy land and find her lost daughter ...
"Don't worry, Matt," Thyme told the girl in a soft voice. "Just hold Finn's hand and walk to the other side. Everything will be fine."
Matilda nodded and pulled her brother closer. But Finn jerked from her hand and jumped to the other side without needing the feather.
"How-- How did he do that?" Matilda whispered, unable to believe it.
Thyme said nothing, though the confusion could be read on his face as it was on Matilda's. He matched the red feather inside the socket on the edge of the stone and encouraged Matilda to pass with a nod.
Matilda nodded in return and passed on the other side, her slender figure melting in the trembling fog.
"You're next, Garrett," Thyme told him. "I'll be right behind you," he said in the same gentle tone Ferry had so rarely heard.
Ferry took a deep breath and stepped through the curtain of mist. He expected it to be cold and wet on his skin. But it wasn't. On the other side, he discovered a bridge made as if of the same gelatinous and luminous material which was as solid as the hardest stone. Ferry stepped slightly as if he was afraid the bridge would collapse at the slightest touch. He saw the light at the end of the bridge and started towards it, pushed as if by some magical hands.
The bridge on which he walked had streams of mist on both sides in bright colors that he could not watch too much because his eyes ached. He found all the colors he knew and some more he could not define. Shadows and silhouettes followed him, but every time he tried to take a better look, they melted into the fog. Unintelligible whispers rumbled from everywhere and nowhere. Ferry felt his legs heavy as if they were not his own. He tried to hurry. In front of him, he thought he saw Matilda's figure, her dark hair in contrast to the white blouse she was wearing. He looked back but did not see Thyme. The door to his past world, his past life stood behind. Who knew if he would ever see it again? Ferry forced himself forward toward the light in front of him, which grew stronger with each step he took.
After a while, he felt light as if he was flying. The white light drew him like a vacuum, and he could no longer resist it. The light blinded him, and he held his breath as he crossed.
Then, for a moment, time stood still.
As time resumed, Ferry was struck by a crisp, sharp air that filled his lungs. He choked on that pure air that seemed to blow ice into his chest. He found himself lying on his back, with that new world spinning above him. Several figures moved somewhere close, but he was too dizzy to distinguish them.
He felt a strong arm helping him stand and delicate fingers examining his forehead full of cold sweat.
"Deep breaths, Garrett, deep breaths," he recognized Thyme's voice.
"Maybe he should drink some water," Rosemary's voice said next to him.
"Let's give him water from the human world, for now," Thyme said. "We don't know how his body reacts to this world yet ..."
Ferry felt someone putting water on his burnt lips. He could have drunk a whole barrel. But those drops helped him regain his senses. He opened his eyes. Thyme and Rosemary helped him to his feet. Ferry looked around. They were surrounded by a white, gentle light that poured all around. It no longer blinded him.
The place where he found himself was also a forest. But the ground was covered with a blanket of moss and blue-green grass that shone in the moonlight as if sprinkled with gems. Tall trees rose to the sky, covering it almost entirely, a strong, impenetrable fortress grown around them.
Ferry looked at the faces around him. He recognized his friends. His guards were smiling and speaking in an unknown language with a young man, not much older than him. Oona hopped and chirped, spinning her hands with Finn, whose contagious laugh made the forest resound. He looked for Matilda. He found her at a distance leaning against a tree, pale and weak. Sage was beside her, giving her to drink from a bottle and holding her with the other hand. The girl tried to walk, but her legs didn't seem to listen to her, and she stumbled and fell into Sage's arms. He helped her rise with gentle movements. Then, she coughed a few times and rested her head on Sage's shoulder, completely abandoning herself in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Sage gently lifted her into his arms.
Ferry headed for them, but the ground felt like moving under his feet and he stumbled a few times. "Sage, what's wrong with Matt?" he asked, looking at the girl's pale face. She didn't even open her eyes.
"She'll be fine," Sage softly said, as soft as his husky voice could sound. "She just needs a little time to adapt to this new world. The light here is different from the one at home ... "he added, looking up at the sky.
Ferry looked up at the sky and watched the moon. It just wasn't the moon at all. It was a huge star, just like the sun in the human world, but bigger and closer to the ground, somehow. And yet, its light did not burn him. The star was surrounded by a half-lit circle of dimmer light. Ferry felt the white-blue light the star cast around soft and light on his skin. The light embraced his body like a warm, welcoming blanket in which to nest and forget about everything. Ferry turned his face to the light. He felt his forehead pulsing as if that light had become a gentle hand caressing him. There was even more light around him. The voices turned silent. The forest no longer shivered.
His friends turned to him and looked at him as if they were seeing him for the first time. Oona and Finn with jaws dropped while his guardians stared in amazement. Even Sage was speechless, forgetting for a moment about Matilda who was lying in his strong arms with her eyes still closed.
The unknown young man stepped away from his friends and came to him. He took a deep bow, his knee on the ground and his head bowed. "Welcome home, Prince Garrett!"
To be continued...
Ferry is finally home. What do you think? Will he adapt to the new world or will he find it challenging to live here, away from everything he knows? Let me know your thoughts. Love lots!