Squirrels Somehow have Tree Branches for Tails

It was smiling at her. Smiles look scary on mice, so Mavis was so frightened that she screamed and jumped back, knocking over a whole bookshelf. The tiny books tumbled out in unison, littering the stone ground.

The mouse muttered something under its breath, then looked at her, like, You paying for that?

Mavis was so scared that she nearly fainted because she’d never seen a talking mouse before. ‘Who–who are you?’

‘Ah, you speak English, then,’ said the brown mouse. ‘Sorry, I’m just used to speaking Mrindawian. Everyone who asks me for advice only knows that.’

‘Why would anyone ask you for advice?’ asked Mavis, surprised.

‘Oh, because I’m Viqa. I know all about Mrindawa!’ said the mouse brightly.

‘You know all about Mrindawa?’ said Mavis, knowing that it was offensive, but also knowing that not many mice were scholars.

‘You see, the birds bring me information from all over Mrindawa.’

Mavis was nervously creeping away. ‘So, I’m guessing you can . . . talk to birds too?’

‘Yep.’

‘But how? Are you even a mouse?’ Mavis stared at Viqa suspiciously. ‘Or are you a--’

‘A piglet?’ asked Viqa. ‘No. A lot of people mistake me for one, though.’

‘Why would they mistake you for a piglet? Piglets are just ordinary creatures, and they certainly don’t speak English.’

‘Oh, you’re funny.’

‘Well, how can you speak English?’

Viqa sighed. ‘I was burdened with immense knowledge when I was born. As my siblings squabbled amongst themselves and nibbled each other’s tails, I studied trigonometry. You are too smart for this world, my mother would often say. And perhaps she was right. But no matter what dunderheads the rest of the world might be, I knew that I must do my best to help it. However, only mice could understand what I said due to the lack of people studying the mouse language. Still, I wanted to be able to benefit the society. So, I created a magic potion. It took months to complete. But finally, it was done. And as I took one drink of it, my mission was complete. I could now support my task of conveying my knowledge to others, and that was what I did. The potion gave me purpose. It helped me communicate my thoughts more efficiently. It gave me life.’

Mavis stared at the mouse, then finally said, ‘What?’

Viqa muttered something under his breath. ‘I made a potion to help me speak in all languages.’

‘Ohhhh.’

It took a moment for Mavis to digest what she was seeing: a talking mouse. Finally, she decided that this mouse was no stranger than being stranded in Mrindawa, and said, ‘As we speak, my friend is being abducted by Vikings. Can you help me?’

He shrugged. ‘That shouldn’t be a problem; you are, after all, the holder of the Flan–I mean, The Stick.’

He scuttled off the large wooden table on his tiny legs, and Mavis couldn’t suppress a small ‘Aww!’

He climbed to the top of one of the bookshelves and after a minute, returned with a blue sapphire in his mouth.

He leapt back onto his table so that Mavis could see him. ‘Now listen,’ he said, ‘you need to do as I say, or you may be cursed. Take this sapphire using only your index finger and thumb.’

Mavis did as she was told.

‘Great,’ said Viqa, ‘now hold it near The Stick.’ Mavis held the blue gemstone by Spark. Nothing happened, as far as she could see, but Viqa nodded importantly. ‘Yes. Yes, I think the job is done.’

‘What job?’.

Viqa took a deep breath, and Mavis could sense very long explanations coming up. ‘That sapphire was holding magic until a moment ago. You see, that magic was once in The Stick. But then, a few hundred years ago, our ancestors separated it from it, so that even if the weapon did fall into the wrong hands, it would be useless. Same thing goes for the Flima ni Nidra – I mean, The Bow of Fire. It was separated from its arrow. Now, The Stick has been united with its magic. It seems The Bow of Fire has been joined with its arrow too. Now they’re both really powerful.’

Mavis felt her blood run cold–what Godge had been looking for when he rummaged through their belongings–must have been the two weapons. She hadn’t realised their value before! She realised that she had to do everything to protect them now. They couldn’t fall into the wrong hands. And the Vikings and Trolls had tried to catch them. Could it have been for the weapons?

Deep down, she knew it wasn’t. She remembered the faces of the elves when they first saw her and Walter. They had gifted them the two weapons. She doubted it was a coincidence. They’d called them the protectors–the saviours.

She suddenly understood the gravity of the situation. She and Walter were meant to save Mrindawa from the giants–they had to protect the weapons!

She was at a loss for words.

Viqa looked at her sympathetically. ‘I know it is difficult for you, child. You are the only one who can control your weapon, and only Walter can control his. So, to use it, the giants need you. And yet you are a threat to their empire. So, they will try to kidnap you. This is why the trolls tried to kidnap you, and so did the Vikings. The prophecy–'

‘The prophecy. The one that the elves spoke about,’ guessed Mavis.

Viqa nodded gravely. ‘Yes, I think now you should know about it.’ Then, he scuttled off the table and pulled out a scroll from a cupboard. Strangely, it wasn’t small like the books. It was normal-sized, and the mouse struggled under its weight.

‘Could you take it?’ he asked weakly. Mavis picked it up and unrolled it. Then she read it aloud:

Mavis’ mind was racing. What did this mean? She turned to Viqa, but he was silent. ‘What does this mean?’ she demanded.

‘I’m quite sure you know the answer,’ said the mouse softly.

Mavis knew, but she didn’t want it to be true.

The heroes who rose from nothingness were her and Walter. They had time-travelled and basically had appeared out of nothingness. And the illness they would cure was defeating the giants. And the billows were the waves–the attacks of the giants. They happened at midnight, in other words, in darkness, so no one would see them coming. The Empire’s last breath meant the Giant Empire would fall at their defeat. But the doorstep of death–that could only mean one thing. The Mrindawians would win against the giants, but Mavis and Walter would have to die.

Her fingers were trembling. She dropped the scroll.

Viqa’s gaze was sad. ‘I know you do not want this to happen, but a prophecy is a fate. You cannot walk away from it. It must happen.’

Mavis was silent. Finally, she said, ‘If I do not do this, the giants will take over Mrindawa. They will use the Flan’s power to conquer the rest of the world. Millions would die. I would die anyhow.’ She took this news more lightly than she expected.

Viqa sighed but said nothing.

Mavis suddenly remembered her difficult situation. ‘Walter–he is being abducted by the giants. I must go now.’

But Viqa stopped her. ‘Here, take some of this!’ he handed her a bottle made of pure jade with a wooden cork. ‘It lets you speak in different languages! You’ll need it!’

Mavis managed to give him a quick thank-you, before dashing out the door.

‘If you untie my legs, I could walk freely,’ said Walter weakly. His legs were tied up and he had to hop to keep up with the Vikings. And if he slowed down to catch his breath, they would prod him with their spears.

‘Nice try,’ one of them growled, ‘but you’re not running away.’ Walter didn’t reply. He was completely out of breath.

He looked down dismally at the rocky path surrounded by thick forest. He knew Mavis would come back for him, but would she know where to look?

Just then, there was a shout behind him. He jumped, and nearly stumbled over. He spun around, and to his horror, saw blasts of blue magic that seemed to come up from the canopy of trees. They hit the startled Vikings, who were thrown away.

The Vikings hastened their pace. The ones behind Walter prodded him with their spears. ‘Faster!’ they urged. Then suddenly, a few blasts of magic hit them too. Walter began to flee. But he couldn’t do anything. His legs were tied up, and he could merely hop.

Then suddenly, the blasts of magic hit him at his feet. The rope which bound them together slipped off. He was so startled that he stumbled over and fell face-first on the ground.

‘He’s getting away!’ one of the Vikings shouted. Walter picked himself up and ran into the forest. But his legs were numb, and the Vikings were gaining on him.

Just then he heard a familiar voice: ‘Peanut Butter, grab him!’ He saw a winged chestnut horse swoop down. He didn’t hesitate to leap onto his horse’s back. The horse took off right at that moment. He tried to grab the reins, but then, of course, his hands were tied up. So, he ripped the rope off with his teeth.

‘That was a terrible rescue,’ he called out to Mavis as she rode Star by him.

‘Oh, you’re just ungrateful,’ she scoffed. Then suddenly a spear whizzed past her ear, missing her by inches.

She looked down at the canopy of trees, annoyed. More spears were flying out. ‘If you kill us, Master Godge would be angry, wouldn’t he?’ she shouted. The spears stopped flying towards them.

Walter looked surprised. ‘Wait–why would he want us alive?’

Mavis quickly told him what Viqa had said, but left out the parts where he stated they were going to die because she didn’t want to worry Walter.

He looked nervous. ‘Oh. That’s worse than Godge wanting us dead.’

Mavis sighed. ‘Unfortunately. We’ll have to save Mrindawa now–at the risk of our lives.’

Walter pulled out their map and surveyed it carefully. Eventually, he came to a conclusion. ‘We’ll go north-east,’ he declared, ‘to the Kingdom of The Woodland Elves.’

Mavis gave a sigh of relief. ‘Then we won’t have to pass through the Kingdom of the Olves?’

Walter looked at their map. ‘We can pass through their land, and I must admit, but that would be better because we won’t be short on food that way. But we can also go directly to the Kingdom of the Woodland Elves, in which case we’d probably run out of food on the way.’

Mavis thought for a moment. ‘The Olves seem really bad. I don’t think we should pass through their land. And we’ve faced hunger many times, haven’t we?’

‘You’re right,’ agreed Walter. ‘Why risk it?’

‘How long will it take to get there?’ asked Mavis.

Walter shrugged. ‘I dunno. About a day?’

‘Then that’s good. We don’t have far to go,’ said Mavis in relief.

So, they flew northeast, over the endless canopy of lush green trees. They had barely flown for a few hours when the horses began to whine in hunger.

‘We need to land,’ Mavis called out to Walter.

‘Where do we land?’ he asked.

Mavis looked down. The forest was so thick that they could hardly fit through the gaps of trees. Where could they land? Mavis swallowed hard. ‘Look for a clearing,’ she ordered Walter, finally.

In about ten minutes, they found one and swooped down.

When they landed, the horses waited impatiently for their owners to get off, then, when they did, they dashed into the forest in search of fresh grass. Alpha leapt into a hedge to hunt for rabbits.

‘Let’s not stay here for long,’ said Walter; ‘the Vikings could be near.’

Mavis laughed. ‘Oh, you worry too much! The Vikings would be miles away! Anyway, I’m going to see if I can find any water.’

Saying so, she marched away.

Walter sat with a plomp on a large mushroom and waited patiently for his friends to return.

Mavis walked through the deep forest. A chipmunk, with a leafy branch for a tail, was curiously watching her.

‘If you stay out here in the open, my dog will get you,’ she remarked drily.

The chipmunk tilted its head to one side questioningly, before scuttling away.

Just then, there was a rustle in the hedge. Mavis froze, then slowly turned around. ‘I’m warning you–I’m armed,’ she said, slowly pulling out Spark.

Suddenly, something pounced on her from the bush. She sent blasts of magic from her weapon, but couldn’t strike the creature. Surprisingly, it was very light.

She jumped to her feet and was surprised to see Alpha standing in front of her. ‘Oh, it’s just you!’ she said, surprised.

Mavis and Alpha trotted through the green forest.

Suddenly Mavis stopped. In front of her was a cliff. No point if there’s water down there, she thought.

‘Come on Alpha, let’s look somewhere else,’ she said, but he gave a low growl. Confused, Mavis turned around. To her horror, there was a large white snake in front of her. It was the size of a coconut tree, but had a cute fluffy head, like the sea serpent. And it had two front paws. Mavis recognized it as a cloud dragon, from a book in the Village of The Villagers.

It snarled at her menacingly, and she could tell it was sent by Godge, or the giants, or any of her enemies. Come to think of it, she had a lot of enemies: Godge, the giants, the trolls, the sea serpent, the giant snake, and of course, the Vikings.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the cloud dragon stepped towards her. If she had time to think, she would have blasted its head off with Spark, but her brain didn’t care to think about all that. It was too busy panicking.

She stepped back in fright. This was a mistake. She stumbled over and fell off the cliff. Alpha spun around and looked down the cliff, whimpering. Then he tripped and fell off to join Mavis.

Alpha barked loudly with fright as he fell down the cliff. Then suddenly, he saw Mavis holding on to a rock jutting out of the cliff’s steep walls. She reached out and grabbed him by the hind leg, preventing him from falling anymore. The two stayed dangling from the cliff for barely a minute. Suddenly, the rock broke off the cliff’s walls.

Walter chewed his lip. He was standing in the clearing with the horses facing him. It had been an hour since Mavis and Alpha had left. He had tried calling for them but still couldn’t find them. He wondered what to do.

Suddenly, Star and Peanut Butter neighed loudly and began jumping up and down.

‘What’s gotten into you two?’ cried Walter.

‘Mafes!’ he heard someone shout from behind him. He spun around, and to his horror, saw a dozen little men holding spears at him. ‘Heamp biaso las?’ growled one of the men, who looked like the leader.

‘I–I can explain,’ stuttered Walter, trembling with fear. ‘Please, don’t capture me. I’m just looking for my friends.’

‘Your friends were smart to leave,’ said the man, now speaking English; ‘they would have been captured by us if they stayed. This land belongs to us Olves.’

Walter now hated the Olves more than ever. He watched helplessly as the men tied up his hands, and took Peanut Butter and Star’s reins.

‘Let us go,’ he begged; ‘my friends could be in grave danger. I need to get to them–’ The Olves cut him off, stuffing his mouth with some bitter herbs.

They tasted so terrible that he swallowed them in a hurry. This was a bad move. The moment he swallowed the herbs, everything went hazy. His head began to spin, then he collapsed.

Alpha nervously rubbed his nose on Mavis’ cheek. For the first time, he was scared but didn’t whimper. Mavis was crouched on the floor of a cave, worriedly glancing outside. When she had lost her grip on the rock, she had found herself falling down the cliff with Alpha.

Then, thankfully, she found another rock and grabbed it by instinct. The rock was big enough for her to stand on, so she went ahead and hoisted herself and Alpha up. Then, by luck, she found the opening of a cave in the cliff and went in.

The cloud dragon’s orders were to retrieve the Flan. Mavis, if it could. All it had to make sure was that the girl was not killed. If it didn’t bring her back, someone else would. The dragon hoped Mavis wasn’t dead. It flew down the cliff to find her.

So now, here she was, in this cave, waiting for the cloud dragon to realise she was gone and go back up so that she could get away without being noticed.

Hours went by, but the dragon didn’t come out. Mavis finally lost her patience. She picked up Alpha and walked to the mouth of the cave. She looked down. There were a couple of rocks there, which she could use to climb down.

She looked up. Nah, not much she could do to climb up there: it was just the slippery walls of the cliff.

She decided to climb down. She could figure out how on earth to climb back up later. She nervously tied Alpha to her back with her silver spider rope. The remaining part of it, hanging from her back, was tied to a rock, so that she could easily lower herself down.

She clutched the rope tightly with her hands and slowly began to climb down. Once, her legs slipped off a rock, and she was left dangling down the cliff. A chill ran down her spine. Thankfully, she managed to swing herself back to the cliff’s walls and continue her climb.

Finally, she reached the bottom of the pit. The ground was wet and marshy, and her shoes sank deep into it. She untied Alpha from her back and set him down. He didn’t sink in very deep, because he was light.

Mavis wondered how she was going to get her rope down. It was still hanging from the rock in the cave. She gave a vain attempt to yank it down, and amazingly it slipped down. Mavis shuddered to think that the whole time, the rope hung loosely from the rock, and she could have fallen any time.

Then suddenly, she heard a low growl. She jumped, and to her horror she saw the cloud dragon in front of her, staring at her with its beady violet eyes.

Mavis suddenly had the feeling Godge had done something with it. It was he, after all, who had the strange violet eyes. Mavis wondered if he had hypnotised it. Only, she doubted that was even possible.

The dragon snapped its jaws threateningly, making her jump out of her thoughts.

‘Don’t move a step closer!’ shouted Mavis in panic. She pulled out Spark and aimed it at the dragon. It stared fixedly at the weapon, then suddenly grabbed it with its jaws. It jumped up into the air and began to fly. It looked a bit strange because it had no wings. A bit like that giant snake.

From what Viqa had said, Mavis had realised that Spark couldn’t fall into the wrong hands. It would be disastrous! She decided to stop that from happening.

So, she picked up Alpha and leapt into the air, grabbing the dragon’s tail. The dragon flew out the cliff, trying to get Mavis off. Alpha, frightened, dashed to the dragon’s neck so that he wouldn’t be thrown off.

The dragon began to swing around vigorously, leaving Mavis holding on for dear life. She began to inch frantically to the dragon’s neck, but it wouldn’t give in so easily. It swung harder, nearly sending Mavis flying off its tail. But she went on struggling without giving up.

But this wasn’t for her life.

It was for Mrindawa.

She finally crawled up to its neck and tried to yank Spark out of the dragon’s mouth. It wouldn’t budge. But the dragon halted suddenly and jerked its head upwards. Mavis tugged again, and the dragon turned right.

She suddenly realised Spark was like a bridle for the dragon. She could make it go wherever she wanted. It was like riding a horse. That meant she was going to make the dragon turn right because she wasn’t crazy about being captured by Godge.

The dragon was forced to change its course and fly towards Mavis and Walter’s campsite. It was pretty annoyed by this, because from what Godge had said, getting the Flan should have been easy. And it couldn’t believe that it was being ridden by a little girl. How meaningless!