The Children of When (Complete)

Chapter 28 - The Cave

All eyes were glued to the three amulet pieces. Slowly the pulsating grew fainter, and then stopped altogether. The three pieces of the amulet lay on the table next to each other... and nothing happened. Leah didn't know what she'd expected to happen, but it definitely hadn't been nothing.

Although, she should have known it wouldn't be as simple as the three pieces simply merging back together. They lay on the table, as if their job of finding each other was complete, and now they were waiting. But waiting for what?

She wanted to scream in frustration. How were they supposed to know what to do next? The look on the Oracle's face told her he was as bamboozled as the rest of them.

"Are there any records anywhere, of how the pieces were joined in the first place?" She saw a small flicker of hope spring into the old elf's eyes.

"There is supposed to be an underground vault, in a cave behind the waterfall. According to elven legend, it contains records of events throughout elven history. I'm afraid I can't confirm whether it actually exists, I've never heard of anyone needing to go there. Legends say it can only be entered by those who are 'worthy', but I have yet to find any record of exactly what makes a person 'worthy'. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."

Leah nodded absently, her mind racing. If this cave existed, it might be their only hope of finding out how to reassemble the amulet. Raff's eyes were twinkling, as they always did at the mention of an adventure. And Belle?

"Well, I think it's obvious we're going to have to find out if this cave exists. And if it does, we need to get into that vault, and get some answers," Belle said, surprising everyone in the room. She looked at Leah, smiled and shrugged. "Serena deserves to be avenged. The fact that all these things have landed in our laps tells me we're the ones supposed to do it."

Then she turned to Raff. "What do you think, should we try?"

A grin lit up his entire face. "Absolutely!"

* * *

Arguments had been going back and forth for the last ten minutes about who should go in search of the cave and when. They were interrupted by a young elf entering the room and whispering in Lyricus' ear. Shock and then anger showed on his face as he listened. He stood up, thanked the messenger, and addressed the Oracle.

"I have just received some shocking news. Tyranius visited the Fey Academy today, within hours of the children leaving. He requested an audience with them, and when Madame Persimmons failed to produce them, he removed her from the position of headmistress and ordered her to 'accompany' him back to Ellissidil. He placed Mr Kafoops in charge, who soon realised Dominic was also missing and issued a warrant for his arrest."

A deadly silence followed his announcement. Leah looked from Raff to Belle, and saw the same horror she was feeling mirrored on their faces.

Raff jumped to his feet, the first to recover his voice enough to speak. "We have to do something!"

Dominic and Dub chimed in, with vivid descriptions of what they'd like to do to the Elder Guardian when they got their hands on him. Leah sat in stunned silence. She hadn't even considered the risk Madame Persimmons had taken sending them away if it was Tyranius trying to kill them. What would have happened if they'd still been there? She shuddered, fear clawing at her insides, but the fear wasn't so much for herself, as for the woman who'd sacrificed her own freedom to protect theirs.

The Oracle was trying to restore order, waving his arms and asking for silence. When everyone was again silent, he cleared his throat, and stood up.

"I understand we are all angry, and justifiably so. I will make sure news of this outrage reaches the right people among The Watchers, and trust they will take the appropriate action. But this news also escalates the urgency of our task. The amulet appears to be inextricably tied to the prophecy, and therefore we must do everything we can to ensure it is made whole again."

Grudgingly they all agreed their paths lay elsewhere, but Dominic still insisted on extracting a promise from the Oracle to get word to The Watchers, as soon as possible, regarding Madame Persimmons' plight.

The Oracle rubbed his chin. "We agree then. Now, I must ask you to excuse me for a few hours. I need to do some research on the amulet, the cave, and this nine-tailed fox Serena described in her diary. I have had rooms prepared for you all, Lyricus will take you to them when you're ready. Please feel free to wander around, and we'll meet back here for dinner at sundown. Hopefully, I will have a little more light to shed on our situation when we next meet."

As the Oracle left the room, Leah hoped his research would turn up something useful. Her head was spinning from the day's events, and she hadn't had a chance to talk to Belle and Raff alone since they'd left the Fey Academy that morning.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I would love a hot bath and a soft pillow about now." The others nodded in agreement, and Lyricus bowed, saying he would be happy to show them the way.

They followed Lyricus through the door he had used earlier to go to the Oracle's room. It led to another suspension bridge, which linked up with more bridges leading to small vine covered huts perched in the trees to their left and right. The bridges looked like a giant spider web, branching out from the meeting hall in all directions.

"This one is the Oracle's," Lyricus said, pointing to one of the larger huts, set a bit higher up and to the right "Your rooms are just up ahead."

He stopped at a spot where two smaller bridges branched off towards vine covered huts, one to the left and one to the right.

He pointed to the hut on the left. "This one is for you three, and Dominic and Dub will be here close by." He indicated to the one on the right. "If you need anything, someone will be in the meeting hall at all times. I will see you at dinner." He smiled at each of them before taking his leave, although his eyes definitely lingered on Belle longer than the rest of them, and Leah was sure the other girl was blushing.

The front door of the hut opened into a small sitting room containing three comfy lounge chairs, covered in a soft pale green fabric. Four doors led off the sitting room, which they quickly discovered led to three small bedrooms, and a bathroom with a huge round timber tub in the centre. Six large buckets full of steaming hot water lined the walls, waiting to be used.

"Wow, somebody was quick to organise the hot bath I said I needed. Two buckets each then?" She secretly hoped one of them would say they didn't want a bath, and she'd get an extra bucket.

"Sounds good to me," Belle said, picking up one of the small bottles beside the tub and opening it. The aroma of fresh lavender wafted through the room.

Raff stood in the doorway trying not to yawn. "Well, let me know when you're finished. I'm thinking a nap, then a bath sounds awesome."

Leah knew he hadn't fully recovered from the traumas of the last few days, and smiled as he turned and headed for his room. She called out to Belle, who was already heading towards her room. "Umm, did you notice if there were towels in our rooms? And I suppose we'll have to put the same clothes back on." She thought longingly of her cupboard full of clean clothes back at Fey Academy.

"There are towels and clothes here." Belle came out of her room holding a set of green shirt and pants, similar to what the elven guards wore, and a pale green silky looking dress, with a belt made from intricately woven vines.

Leah giggled. "Wow, do you think maybe we're supposed to get dressed up for dinner?" She dashed into her room, and came back with the same green outfit and a similar dress in pale blue, with the same vine woven belt.

"Ooooh, the blue matches your eyes perfectly." Belle winked, and they both burst out laughing.

Leah draped the clothes over the back of the lounge, grabbed her towel and headed for the bathroom. "Well, I'm going to have a hot bath before the water goes cold. Won't be long."