Having Sarah over to stay was not at all like Sandy had imagined. It was actually a rather pleasant weekend having a friend over. During her stay, Mrs Drewett gave Sarah the guided tour of the cottage and gardens. Later, Sandy took Sarah to the woods with Benji and showed her the beautiful stream. Sarah had expressed her desire to see Sandy's fort, but Sandy convinced her that the bad weather had destroyed it, and she would have to start building it again in the summer.
Sarah left a little after midday. Her mother had come to collect her and popped in for a cup of tea with Mrs Drewett. They talked for a while about the Drewett's new home and how they were settling in, and also how well the girls had taken to each other since Sandy's arrival at school. When Sarah left, Sandy geared herself up to visit Eleros.
Mr Drewett had not gone to work that day, having spent all of Saturday away, he was now relaxing in the living room as he chatted away on the phone to Sandy's grandmother. Every onw and then, she heard him mention that they may pop in and visit her at some point today, meaning Sand would not have a lot of time to spend with Eleros should he be avaiable. Either way, Sandy though it best to attempt a visit, hoping that Eleros would appear today having been absent yesterday.
The weather had certainly cleared up. The clouds were thinning and the sun shone down. The temperature was still low and a slight breeze tickled the air, but all in all, it was a welcome change from the past weeks torrents. Sandy got her wellies on and pulled on her jacket. Shehoped that she would have better luck at the lair today after yesterdays dissapointment.
Sandy decided that she would take Benji with her today. the recent bad weather had meant that he too had missed out on his regular outdoor activities. Happily Benjo allowed Sandy to clip in his lead, and once more, they headed out of the cottage.
Benji had clearly been stuck indoors for too long. As soon as they hit the lawn he was oof, pulling the full length of his retractable lead and nearly ripping it from Sandy's grasp.
After finally managing to restrain benji, Sandy led him down the lawn and towards the woods and through the entrance Sandy had now began to get accustomed to.
The rain from the day before had clearly saturated the ground at the edge of the woods. All around Sandy could see the markings of the wildlife imprinted in the muddy earth; a rabbits tiny footprints, a birds scuffs from diggin up worms, and even the curving grooves of a grass snake. As she pressed on, the ground dried out, clearly being sheltered well by the looming fir trees. Soon enough, Sandy heard the familiar splashing of the stream and led Benji to his tree where she tied his lead up, leaving plenty of give for him to nose about the ground nearby.
Sandy climbed over to the tiny door as she had done yesterday, again making sure to avoid landing in the raised stream. She leant down towards the tiny door and gave it a sharp knock. Almost immediately Eleros answered.
"Hi Eleros, I..." began Sandy, but she was instantly cut off.
"Sandy," Eleros interrupted, "Thank goodness, it's you." Eleros's face was panic stricken. His relief made Sandy think that something wasn't quite right. Was he expecting someone else? Someone unwelcome?
"Are you ok?" asked Sandy.
"Yes..." replied Eleros unconvincingly. "I mean no, not really." Sandy had never seen Eleros like this before. He always seemed so strong and brave, but now it was as if he were being pursued by a monster.
"What's happened?" Sandy asked with concern.
"Well," began Eleros, "We could be in a bit of trouble."
"Why?"
"It's...it's Diem. We think he's been spying on us."
"SANDY!" came the loud voice of Mr Drewett. "SANDY WHERE ARE YOU?"
YOU ARE READING
Fight of the Nymphs - The Master of the Dragons
Fantasy"Spread out across the bank, on the far side of the stream, were three miniature doors, all of which were identical to that of the one Sandy had seen yesterday. It wasn't this, however, that made Sandy stop in her tracks. It was what she saw sitting...
