John Lenahan - Prince of Hazel and Oak

‘I have an emain slate with me.’

‘You do? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have used that to see how my father is.’

‘I have been keeping track of Oisin’s health. It is unchanged. I would have told you if it was otherwise.’

I relaxed a little. ‘Mom said that he was getting worse.’

‘That has not changed either but it seems the progression is still very slow.’

We rode in silence until finally I broke it. ‘So your dad’s not a big Brownie fan?’

‘Some of my earliest memories are of Father complaining about the Brownies not paying their bills, but I think this is less about the Brownies and more about me being too far from home. He worries about me.’

‘Well, I don’t blame him. I worry about you too,’ I said. ‘I worry about you coming up behind me and clubbing me in the head.’

That one got a laugh out of Essa that was loud enough to make Turlow look around and wonder what we were talking about. I hoped he thought we were laughing at him.

‘Maybe I should get back,’ she said.

I almost replied, ‘Oh, we wouldn’t want to keep the Turd-low waiting.’ But as she pulled ahead what I actually said was, ‘Give your father my best.’ Who says I have to be immature?

The cold air and the rhythm of Acorn beneath should have lulled me into that hypnotic state that makes travelling hours on horseback bearable, but I kept being disturbed by my companions flitting around me. Finally I broke my personal reverie, slid between Tuan and Yogi and asked what was going on.

‘We are being tracked,’ Tuan said. ‘Can you not sense it?’

Of course,’ I lied, ‘I was just asking you for confirmation.’

I had a look around. I neither saw nor felt anything. ‘Brownies?’ I asked.

‘That would be a safe assumption.’

‘Have you spotted them yet?’

‘No, Brownies are very good at not being seen.’

‘Why don’t you, like, turn into a hawk and see if you can spot them from the air?’

An almost growling sound came from Yogi. The look on his face made me think that he was about to hit me. Tuan didn’t look angry but I knew instantly that I had made a major social faux pas. He kept his eyes down as if embarrassed and said, ‘That would not work.’

Even though I wasn’t sure what for, I apologised and slunk back to Araf. I told him what I had just said and asked what mistake I had made. He didn’t know but added how impressed he was that I could make blunders where no one had ever made blunders before.

I didn’t bother looking for our Brownie shadows. If expert trackers like Essa and Araf couldn’t spot anything it was pointless for me to try. Also, from my experience of Brownies, it was unlikely we would get an arrow in the back – the real danger was getting robbed in the dark.

I made Brendan pitch the tent that night. I was drafted into begging wood from an alder. I found a not too menacingly sized tree and placed my hands on it.

‘You have slept under an alder before,’ came a strong and unpleasant voice in my head, ‘but not in the Alderlands. You and… a Banshee slept under one of the lonely trees. Am I not correct?’

‘How do you know that?’ I said. ‘That alder was miles away from any other.’

There was almost a smirk in his voice when he replied, ‘Perhaps we leave messages on the breeze. But where is that Banshee?’

‘Dead.’

‘Ah,’ his voiced echoed remorselessly in my head. ‘He kicked my brother tree.’

‘And for that he deserved to die?’

‘Did he? I do not know what he deserved. I only know that he kicked a tree.’

‘The tree had just robbed him,’ I said.

‘Robbed by a tree? How is that possible?’

‘The one who picks the lock on the door is as responsible as the thief that enters the room.’

‘A door made of wood perhaps?’ said the alder.

‘Never mind, I refuse to talk in riddles to you.’

‘You started it, Faerie. What do I know of locks and rooms? If you are plain with me then so will I be with you.’

He was starting to give me a headache so I just asked him for some firewood. The branches above creaked and fell around me. I thanked him, then just before I let go I said, ‘Would you tell me if there are robbers watching us now?’

‘I would tell you, young prince,’ he said in a way that slightly reminded me of my Uncle Cialtie, ‘but would what I tell you be true?’

That night we set a watch again. Tuan took the first shift. I sat with him until everyone had gone to bed.

‘Tuan, I want to apologise for what I said tod-’

Tuan grabbed my arm and placed his finger to his lips to shush me. He stared up into the tree canopy and then as I watched, his head sprouted feathers and shrank into his collar. I had to almost stand up to see that his head had turned into an owl’s head. He leaned back and surveyed the treetops, then the feathers seemed to melt back into his face and his head popped up as before. He rubbed his eyes and said, ‘I thought I saw something moving in those trees. Sorry, you were saying?’

When I could speak again I started with, ‘That was pretty awesome.’ Tuan shrugged. ‘Right, what I was saying before you turned your nose into a beak is that I am sorry for breaking Pooka social protocol before when I asked you to turn into a bird. It would be helpful if you could explain what I did wrong so I could avoid that pitfall in the future.’

‘You made no error, Conor.’

‘Yogi looked like he was going to tear my head off.’

‘Yarrow, or should I say Yogi as he is now known, helped raise me. He is very protective.’

‘I still don’t get it. What did I say to annoy him?’

‘He thought you were teasing me.’

When I looked confused Tuan hung his head and collected his thoughts. Finally, without looking up, he said, ‘You once called me… what was the word? A super-Pooka. That implies that I am the best of my race, does it not?’

‘Well, even my Aunt Nieve said she’d never heard of a Pooka that could change into lots of different animals.’

Tuan shrugged again. ‘I am not the best of my people – I am the least.’

‘Why would you say that?’

He looked at his feet again, ashamed. ‘I cannot hold to an animal form.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just that,’ Tuan said. ‘I have studied the disciplines of all the animals and I can change into each and every one but only for a few minutes, after that, my Pooka mind always comes to the fore and I lthe form. I change back.’

‘But I saw you fly from a tree as a bird.’

‘I climbed that tree when I heard the commotion on the other side of the wall. I almost never fly. To be honest, I am afraid of heights, but I needed to get to you and your party in a hurry. I thought I could make it to the ground before I changed back. As you saw, I didn’t.’

‘But you saved your people.’

‘Not out of choice, Conor. I was saved from being lost because I am too stupid to hold onto a fauna form for more than a few moments. It is nothing to be proud of.’

‘But who separated the carnivores from the herbivores?’

‘That was me. I allowed the bigger animals to chase me through the gate and then locked them outside.’ Tuan chuckled to himself. ‘Several times it was a very close call.’

‘I can’t believe you saved an entire race and still call yourself “the least” of them. The council didn’t think so – Councillor Tuan.’

‘The council only instated me because of my mother. They think I am weak-minded and I do not disagree.’

This poor guy had been living with this shame for so long, his self-esteem was almost gone. I was tempted to give him a hug but instead I punched him on the arm.