A Ghost in the House of Iron

Chapter Seven

ADAIN

At night, the trees seem like giants, guardians standing sentry over the forest.  I could swear they are watching me before I even reach their shelter, that they can see me run as fast as I can across the palace gardens and the hilly field beyond, hoping I don't hear the shout of one of my father's men. Every little sound, from the crack of a twig under my shoe to the hooting of a nearby owl, makes me leap nearly out of my skin. My heartbeat sounds thunderous in my chest.

Once I'm surrounded by the mossy trunks, I relax.  I don't know why, but in the forest I feel protected. Safe.

"I'm looking for Halifass," I whisper into the dark. I wonder if I need to be louder for the trees to hear, if I need to shout. The idea seems appalling, so I wait for some sort of sign, shifting from foot to foot. The air has a chill to it that isn't there during the day, a clear message that winter is on the way. When the clouds move past the moon and its light shines down through the branches, I can see the fog of my breath.

"Oh-ho, the prince returns!" Halifass says, standing in the doorway of his home. He ushers me inside. The hollow tree is just as cozy and inviting as I remembered, crystals flickering with light up above, fire crackling in the clay stove.

"How is your friend?" Halifass asks as I move to warm myself by the stove.

I grimace. "He's still not allowed to see me. But my mother says they didn't beat him too harshly."

"Ah," Halifass says. "You were not supposed to be out having adventures, and he took the punishment for it."

"Well, I got punished, too!" I say. "I haven't been allowed to play with my friends, or go anywhere unsupervised. My father's guards are always following me everywhere!"

"And yet, here you are!" Halifass has a twinkle in his eye. "You must be very clever, to sneak away at night."

"I climbed down from my bedroom window," I brag. "They lock all the doors, even to the balcony, but not that window."

"Quite a feat!" he says, and I go on to tell him all the details of how dangerous it was to scale the palace wall in the dark.

When I've finished the tale, Halifass looks thoughtful. "I wonder, what made you want to come back to see old Halifass so desperately?" he asks.

"I want to learn magic," I say. "Can you teach me?"

"Oh!" He laughs, as if that's the funniest thing he's heard in a long time. "Teach magic! Do you think I'm a wizard?"

"No, you're a druid," I say, fairly certain. "But you made your tree disappear! And those crystals glow! And you talk to trees!"

"Hmm," Halifass says. "Perhaps I can teach you some things! This tree is called a heart tree. It's very rare." He lowers his voice to a conspiratorial hush. "They used to grow in the Faerie Wood. Or so I've heard."

"The tree is magic?" I ask, a bit disappointed.

"Oh yes!" he says. "Most trees are, to a degree. Much more magical than me!" He laughs again.

"How does it move, though?" I ask.

"It is moved by the whims of the heart," he says, gesturing widely with his hands.

"What does that mean?" I'm starting to get frustrated.

"It goes where it wants! And sometimes where I want, if I want it hard enough. We're quite good friends, this tree and I." Halifass smiles fondly upward, as if to acknowledge our third companion.

"So you talk to it? Like you talk to the other trees?"

"Mostly, I listen," he corrects, as if the distinction is very important. "The trees can hear, but they find direct conversation boring. The same is true for rocks and wind. Water, though! Sometimes the burbling brook and I exchange a tale or two."