[Continued from here]
“Well…”
Beranwen looked around, and spotted what she knew must be around somewhere.
Years of visiting children doubtlessly meant years of abandoned belongings, and
there hanging forlornly from the jagged remains of a sawn-off branch was a
woollen scarf. It was covered with bits of leaves, mud, and who knew what else,
but it was small and it was portable, and that was important. Also, it was a
lovely shade of red.
“How
about you take this, to remind you of... oh, hold on Quinton. I just have to
see to something.”
Beranwen
slipped back out of the tree fort and round to where they had left the horses.
As quietly as she could, she led them around the other side of the fort and
into a sheltered alcove formed by two of the trunks. Once they were as out of
sight as she could make them, she returned to Quinton.
"Now,
what was I..." Inside the fort, Quinton was holding the scarf and turning
it over in his hands.
"It's
small."
"It's
a child's"
"What
child?"
"I
don't know. Lots have played here in the past. I used to play here. They've
probably forgotten they left it here."
"They
won't mind if I take it, then?"
Beranwen
smiled, touched by this thoughtfulness.
"I
don't think they will, no."
"Then
I'll take it. It can go in father's cabinet next to his quests. Or maybe I'll
start my own cabinet."
Outside
the fort, they suddenly heard a whining voice cry out.
"Where
has my man gone? Get him back, Master Lucan!"
Whatever
Lucan had to say in reply was too quiet for Beranwen's ears, but she could make
out a rustling noise somewhere around the outside of the fort. She wasn't
worried - it was a good hiding place, and looked suitably innocuous from the
outside. It didn't take long for the rustling to stop. There was one more cry,
further away this time and more a collection of noises than real words, and
then there was silence.
As
Quinton examined every inch of the scarf he had gained, Beranwen knelt on the
floor and considered Stan. He barely seemed to be breathing, but she wasn't
sure if that was normal. Had he been breathing when they were speaking earlier?
It wasn't something she usually looked for. Carefully, she placed a hand on his
chest and felt for a heartbeat.
Stan
twitched. Beranwen pulled her hand back quickly. What had she done?
"Oooo."
Stan moaned. His head tilted slightly one way, then the other, and he opened
his eyes.
"Stan!"
Quinton cried. At a hurried 'shhhh' from Beranwen, he repeated himself in a
quieter voice.
"What
happened?" Stan croaked.
"We
reattached your legs, and you passed out." Beranwen explained. "Did
you expect that? Because we didn't. And then Derryl and Lucan tried to take you
away, but we got you back. And now we're hiding until I'm sure they've
gone."
Stan
thought about that.
"But
I have my legs?"
"Take
a look."
He
did, and a smile spread over his face. Quinton leapt forwards with an even
wider grin.
“So
now you can come back with us, and you can stay with us, and we’ll go on
another quest to find whoever made you. And we’ll be friends, and have so much
fun.”
“Why
did those people try to take me away? What did they want with me?”
“Derryl
thought he could take you for his quest.” Quinton explained. “His advisor is
rubbish, so he didn’t know it wasn’t allowed.”
“So
there’s more than one of you on this quest of yours?”
“No,
there’s just me. And Master Win, obviously. But Derryl is on a different quest.
I came out on mine because he was going on his, and I thought I could find
whatever he was looking for…” The thought that crossed Quinton’s mind at that
moment was so obvious in his face he didn’t even need to add, “And I did! I
took what he was going to take for his quest! Except I can’t have you for my
quest, but I’ve got this red scarf instead. So it’s all worked out perfectly.”
“Why
would you quest for a red scarf?” Stan seemed confused. Beranwen interrupted
quickly, unwilling to let Quinton mull over difficult questions like that.
“We
were questing to find something to take home.” She explained. “A trophy. So
that’s what the scarf is for. And now, I think we’ve been hiding long enough.
I’m going to slip out and make sure we’re properly alone again, then we can
start for home. If we leave now, we should be home in plenty of time to change
for dinner. Quinton, would you help Stan to his feet while I’m gone, please?”
There
was no sign that Master Lucan had lingered to look for them, so Beranwen
hustled the two men onto the horses, hopped up behind Stan, and turned for
home. As a precaution, she took them off-road.
[Part 19]
[Part 19]
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