Nightingale

Chapter 23

Fable continued to run down the road. Her mind was racing. Why wouldn't she transform? It had never failed her before! Why now? She was imagining changing into a bird. She was concentrating hard. Why was it still not working? Fable shouted "CHANGE! CHANGE!" into the wind, but it was all in vain. The magic wasn't listening. It was hopeless. The ambulance would be arriving at her school now, and she could hear its siren blaring. Her mother and aunt would come looking for her too. She needed to hide in the meadow. Keep running and don't stop until you get there! - she ordered herself.

At last she was off the beaten track, and was making her way into the lonely meadow. It felt good to be solitary after all the chaos that had just ensued. It was so dark and peaceful. Her headache was easing up a lot, and her vision had mostly returned to its former state. Nature could be such a bountiful healer. But it could also be a malevolent force of destruction. It was hard to know which side of the coin you would fall on. Fable instantly thought of that horrid old crone, Old Mother Faun, and decided it was time to contact the deceiving witch. She had promised her unlimited nightingale power - not this painful and exhausting experience. And now it wasn't even reliable.

"Old Mother Faun! Old Mother Faun! Old Mother Faun!" she screamed at the singular oak tree.

Fable squinted through the darkness, trying to make out a face in the bark. She let out a shriek as the rough texture of the trunk began to shift and slide to formulate a ghastly expression. It was like a haggard, old woman with black pits for eyes. Fable shivered. Those eyes were boring into her. They made her picture a never-ending void; a wormhole leading into eternal blackness. She wished she hadn't summoned this creature. But she had to give her a piece of her mind.

"Speak child!" rumbled the tree.

"You witch! I just collapsed in front of everyone because of these pathetic powers. They are destroying my body and you knew that, didn't you?" yelled Fable.

The tree made no reply. The hollow eyes continued to stare out.

"This mark on my wrist is toxic! It burnt my love when he touched it! How am I supposed to make him fall for me when I make a fool of myself in public and then burn him with my own skin? What will he think now?" demanded Fable.

But again, she was met with silence.

"So you won't even talk now? Why can't I transform, witch? Tell me!" shouted Fable.

The tree let out a yawn as a large chunk of bark dematerialized to reveal an enormous gaping hole. Fable could only imagine it was where a mouth was supposed be and jumped back in case it sucked her in like a terrible vacuum. The tree rattled with thunderous laughter, causing the earth to shudder and the worms to rise from the soil. "Ugh!" shrieked Fable, as she felt something cold slither over the top of her foot.

"Eat it!" bellowed the tree. "You will feel much better if you feast on worms. You are a bird after-all."

"What? No way! Get them away from me!" yelled Fable in disgust.

"Do not defy the natural order, child. Be humbled by your lowly position!" roared the tree.

"There's nothing natural about this! Just tell me why my powers have weakened!" clamoured Fable.

"Very well, child. It is because you are so close. He is standing on the springboard, ready to take his leap. The pact is almost broken and so your powers are waning. Show some gratitude. He almost loves you." Old Mother Faun cackled wildly at Fable, who was shaking with both fear and rage.

"What! You never mentioned this detail in our pact? You have deceived me." grumbled Fable, who was trying to ignore the slimy creatures beneath her feet.

The tree said nothing. Perhaps it smirked, Fable could not tell in the shadowy darkness.

"So, as I approach the finishing line, you incapacitate me. I see you play fair." complained Fable.

"Foolish child. You have four days left to steal his heart. Complain once more, and I shall squeeze the life out of you with these hungry-thirsty roots." 

"Fine. Have it your way, Mother Faun. I'll do it on my own." said Fable, indignantly.

When she gazed back into the face of Old Mother Faun, she found that it was no longer there. Those terrible features had faded back into the bark of that familiar old oak tree.

Fable picked up a worm and held it under the moonlight...