The Secrets of Elderville

Back at Opal’s hollow, she prepares her army, they are all gathered in the gathering hollow. The young and the older wanderers, including Nail, are staying behind, that leaves about 183 warriors to fight against the wasp king. It’s not many compared to the wasp king, she thought, but it’ll have to be enough.

As they begin to file out of the hollow in a single line, Opal heads down to Delilah, who is standing with her staff, waiting for Opal’s orders. “You look ready, are you ready?” Opal asks as she hovers in front of her face. Delilah nods her head, “I’ve been ready ever since you told me my fate thirteen years ago. I know the spell; I know what I must do. I’m also terrified at the same time.” Opal nods, landing on top of Delilah’s head. “My dear, it is perfectly normal to be terrified. The unknown is always terrifying.”

Opal then flies to the front of her army; she climbs onto a hummingbird that is fitted with a saddle and reins as do the rest of the army. Taking one last glance back at Delilah, Delilah kicks the staff, transforming into a broom. The blue gem glowing at the tip of it, she then begins to ascend into the sky, falling in line behind the army. Opal nods at her and begins their journey.

Theo is woken up from his nap by a loud scream, he finds himself alone in Nail’s hollow. “ROSE!” The scream happens again, it sounds like she’s just outside the hollow. Theo begins to beat on the bars, screaming like a rabid animal. “ROSE! ROSE! STOP! PLEASE! TAKE ME INSTEAD! HURT ME! DON’T TOUCH HER! PLEASE!” The screaming stops. The wasp king appears in the hollow doorway, smiling vindictively at Theo. “Good evening, little one. I was reminding your sister who is in charge here. She’s got quite a set of lungs on her, maybe your pathetic older sister heard her. Maybe then she’ll quicken her pace so I can defeat her already, then this whole thing can be done and over with. I will finally rule over Elderville, as I rightly deserve.” The wasp guards drag Rose in by her arms, a huge bump is visible above her eye, she is unconscious, her legs scraping the floor. They toss her into her cage, Theo tries to reach for her, but they have spaced their cages far apart. Rose’s body lay there, limp. Theo’s jaw tightens, “WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALL THIS? SO YOU CAN RULE OVER A DAMN TREE? THERE’S PLENTY OF TREES, WHY THIS ONE!” The wasp king goes to sit on Nail’s beat up chair, smoothing down his long black dress, crossing his legs. “Oh, I’m so glad you’ve asked. I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me. I do love a good story, especially one about me.” He laughs, slowly taking off his long black gloves, revealing yellow skin and sharp black claws.

“This elder tree did not always belong to the people of Elderville. It belonged to my kind once, the wasps. Your grandfather, King Dario, was not a king at first. He used to be a simple wanderer, with his silly little wife and at the time, one little bundle of puke, your aunt. They arrived at my tree centuries ago, lost and hungry. They pleaded for me to help them, ‘just a bit of honey, please’ they begged me, I laughed in their faces. What fools, I thought. Asking for something when they had nothing to offer in return. I did suggest his wife for a trade, that’s when he became very angry. I loved seeing him break, seeing the truth behind his mask. He even tried to swing at me!”

The wasp king laughed again, almost choking on their spit. “Goodness, what a fool. I saw him as nothing and a waste of my time. I flicked him and his family away from my precious tree, thinking that was the last I would ever see of him. That was my biggest mistake, for not six months later, here he comes with an army of wanderers by his side and three silly humans. The humans had special magic, aiding the wanderers against me and my innocent wasps. I killed two of those giants, and half of his army. But it was the third human, a woman, who was the most powerful. She held a silver staff, with a glowing blue gem, she eviscerated my entire hive with one blast, but the power of the blue gem was so powerful, it drained the woman completely, her magic was sucked out from her. She lived, sadly, but the staff had rendered her useless for the rest of the war. Leaving only myself left to defend my home. I’ll never forget Dario, staring down at me, with no expression on his face. No, wait there was one. It was pity, I saw on his face. PITY.”

The wasp king knocks a stack of books from the table next to him. “The next thing I know, I’m being pulled into that dusty book. Observing the disgusting wanderers that passed me around, laughing at my demise. But I knew one day, there was going to be some idiotic one that would release me. And what do you know, it was your mom.” Theo grips the cage bars, wishing he could rip him to shreds. “You’re never going to win. You will always lose. Good will always beat evil,” he raises his wand to the wasp king, catching his wing on fire. The wasp king screams, as his guards put out the flames with a nearby blanket. The wasp king’s left wing was badly burned, making him unable to fly. “YOU. COME WITH ME.” The wasp king’s voice had turned dark, his red eyes glowing like flames. Theo backs further into his cage as the guards unlock his cage and grab him, throwing him to the ground. Rose begins to raise her head, watching her brother being dragged from the hollow. She can barely whisper a “no,” before they’re out of her sight and she passes out once more.

The wasp king holds onto one of his guards as they fly into the wasp king’s hollow. Theo is on the ground, staring down at his hands. The wasp king limps over to him, kicking him hard across his face. Theo spits out blood all over the floor. The wasp king grabs Theo’s face, squeezing it till his cheeks connected in his mouth. “YOU’VE RUINED ME. I AM USELESS NOW, YOU SCUM!” The wasp king bashes his fist hard onto Theo’s head, knocking him unconscious. “GET UP!” he screamed, repeatedly kicking Theo in his stomach. “YOU WANNA BURN MY WING? HOW ABOUT THIS! GUARDS! STAND HIM UP!” The wasp guards jerk Theo’s limp body up. The wasp king goes behind him, taking hold of both of Theo’s wings. He then rips them from his body, throwing them to the floor, and proceeds to stomp on them. The guards drop Theo’s body; he lay there as still as a stone. Blood trickling from his back and his head onto the floor, the wasp king takes a deep breath. He inspects Theo’s body, nudging him with his foot. “Is he dead?” he said in a worried tone. The wasp king’s voice changes; it sounded like Queen Isobel. “My baby!” her voice escapes from the wasp king’s mouth, dropping down to the floor, cradling Theo’s body. Suddenly the wasp king’s head twitches and buzzes, releasing Theo’s body. “NO! KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT YOU MISERABLE PEST!” The wasp king begins to hit his head repeatedly. The voice of Isobel squeaks out a whimper, “please stop, just stop. Release me. You don’t have to do this.” The wasp king lets out a guttural scream. He starts to kick Theo’s body even more; you can hear Isobel’s pleas for him to stop. He finally does, he wipes the sweat from his forehead, his hands shaking. “GUARDS! Take him back down to his sister.” The guards carry Theo’s body out of the hollow. The wasp king leaves for the throne hollow, sitting in his golden throne that is caked with honey. He wipes some honey off with his finger, licking it. “When this is all over, your family will no longer exist. Including you, my dear Isobel. What a fool you were to release me all those years ago. In a way this is all your fault.” He laughs as we also hear Isobel’s quiet sobs, he turns his head towards a large mirror that hangs next to the throne. In the reflection, there Isobel is, in a little ball sobbing, the wasp king approaches the mirror. He leans down, laying his hand where Isobel is, “poor Isobel, trapped inside your own mind. Only able to watch as your family is torn apart in front of you. Now you know how I felt all those years ago. It should’ve been your father who witnesses all of this, but things never end the way you want them to.” He walks away from the mirror laughing once more.

Rose wakes up to hear a thud beside her, she raises her head to see Theo back in the cage next to her. “Theo,” she whispers, but he does not move, she squints at him, but her vision is blurry. She touches her face and feels a huge lump above her right eye. She tries to make out his body, she can’t tell if he’s breathing or not. “Theo!” still he does not move. She could feel herself slipping back into darkness, she tries to fight it but it’s no good. Her head drops to the cage floor, the last thing she sees is her right hand, missing her middle finger.

The sun is just setting, and moon rising on the group in the nest, but they cannot rest, Jessa faces off against Lily, no weapons, only their fists. Hawk roots for Jessa, while Matteo stands silent, watching, mirroring Captain Vlad. Corny on the branch next to the nest, watches as well but mostly hides behind his wing, afraid to see one of them get punched. Jessa punches Lily in her stomach, quickly apologizing. Vlad shakes his head, “will you be apologizing to every wasp you kill? I do not think so. Keep going, defend yourselves! It is life or death on the battlefield.” Jessa groans, “why can’t we use our wands? Isn’t hitting each other a bit ridiculous?” Vlad rushes up to her, right in her face, “what happens when a wasp knocks your precious wand out of your small hands? Then how will you defend yourself?” Jessa crosses her arms, “with my bow and arrows,” Vlad shakes his head, “oh but they’ve been destroyed, now what will you do?” Jessa hesitates, “then I’ll fight them,” Vlad nods. “Yes, exactly. That is why practicing hand combat is not ridiculous, it is vital to know how to defeat your enemy anyway you can. Even if it is with your fists. MATTEO, HAWK, YOU TWO NEXT.”

Jessa freezes, but Hawk moves her out of the way, winking at her. “Don’t look so freaked out, I’m stronger than I look princess,” they walk towards Matteo whose face is hardened. His expression stone cold, just his stare fixed on Hawk. Hawk senses his tension, changing their stance to a more defensive one. Vlad yells, “BEGIN.” Hawk does not charge at him, they circle around him, with their fists out and ready. Matteo rotates his body with them, still only staring with his hands crossed behind his back. Hawk begins to get frustrated; they yell out “COME ON! COME AT ME! Or are you scared?” That triggered something in Matteo, he jumps at them, tackling them to the ground and holding Hawk in a chokehold. They tap his arms frantically and he immediately releases them. Hawk rubs their throat, “nice move.” Vlad yells, “AGAIN.” This time Matteo comes at Hawk full force, but Hawk darts into the air, landing behind him, kicking his legs from underneath him. Matteo thuds to the floor of the nest, Hawk now holds him in a chokehold. It takes a moment, but Matteo eventually taps out. Hawk nods, helping Matteo up, he accepts their hand. Vlad nods also, “very good. Everyone rest, we depart for the elder tree soon.”

Jessa approaches Hawk, “you did amazing,” Hawk smiles. “Yeah? You did too. Though that punch looked like it hurt,” Hawk holds up her right hand. Jessa notices some light bruising on her knuckles, “oh I didn’t even feel that. I was so shocked that I landed a punch.” Hawk lifts her hand to their mouth; they softly kiss her bruise. Jessa then rests her hand on their cheek, taking her thumb and lightly rubbing their lips. Suddenly Lily clears her throat, Jessa drops her hand from Hawk’s face, looking around to see everyone staring at them. Matteo quickly looks away; Vlad and Lily start to eat some food and Corny stares at them adoringly. Hawk and Jessa’s faces start to grow red; they go to sit down and eat as well.

As everyone finishes resting, Vlad announces that it’s time to move on. They all get on Corny’s back, except of course for Vlad, who hovers next to them, waiting for Corny to take off. “Hang on to your wings everyone!” Corny says, shooting off the branch, taking flight towards the mountains. “After we get over these mountains, we’ll soon see the elder tree just on the horizon!” Corny yells back at them. Jessa grips Hawk’s waist, Hawk puts a reassuring hand on hers. Vlad flies closer towards Corny’s head, “we’ll have to make a stop in the mountains!” Corny and everyone stared at Vlad, confused. Vlad looks at them, “Opal’s orders!” he explains. Corny, as if reminded of something, nods his head and hoos.

As they approach closer to the mountains, the moon slowly peaks out into the star filled sky, a sudden cry down below is heard. Only Lily and Jessa seem to take notice, “Corny! Someone needs help! Fly down!” Jessa yells. Corny complies, dipping down into the forest. Vlad follows, yelling after them, “we cannot stray from orders! This is time sensitive!” They land in the middle of a clearing, trees surrounding them, the moonlight casting the trees shadows all around. It’s silent, not one sound except the gentle breeze. Matteo whispers, “are you sure you heard someone?” Lily nods her head, “positive. They sounded really scared.” Suddenly from the brush, a tiny wanderer girl pops out, frantic and screaming. She runs straight for the group, grabbing hold of Jessa. “Please! Oh, please help me! It’s going to eat me!” The little wanderer had short blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes, filled with fear. Jessa tries to calm her down, “it’s alright, we won’t let it eat you. What’s your name?” The little wanderer shakes her head, “no! no time! It’s here!” The quiet gentle breeze suddenly carried the sound of a soft rattle, growing louder and louder. From the same brush emerges a long, scaley creature, their tail vibrated, making the same rattle noise.

Hawk and Matteo gasp, Corny screams, “rattlesnake!” The snake bares its fangs at them, hissing and darting its body forward. Vlad steps in front of the group holding out his arm, unsheathing his sword, “everyone stay behind me!” The snake slithers towards Vlad, darting at him, narrowly missing him as he flits into the air. The snake tries to jump its body towards him in the air but quickly tires and focuses on the group. As Vlad begins to point his sword toward the snake, Matteo yells for him to stop, “let me handle this!” The snake slithers right to him, Matteo grabs from his bag an axe, he runs straight to the snake. The snake opens its mouth, ready to swallow him whole when at the last second Matteo jumps into the air, brings the axe down hard onto its head, the rattlesnake slumps to the ground. Lily screams, “no!” Everyone turns to look at her. Matteo hops off the snake’s head, chuckling, “don’t worry Lily, it’s not dead.” In unison, Hawk and Vlad say, “it’s not?”

Matteo takes the axe and flips it in the air and then catches it, “nah, I just gave it a good bonk on the head with the cheek of the axe, and not the edge. It’ll be asleep for a while.” Lily sighs a breath of relief, “thank you Matteo, he didn’t mean to attack us everyone, he was just defending his home.” The focus then turned to the little wanderer who was hiding behind Corny’s wing. Lily offered her, her hand, “come on out, everything’s fine now.”

The little pale wanderer came out, still shaking like a leaf. “Thank you so much for saving me, I thought I was a goner for sure,” she shakes Matteo’s hand. “No problem, but uh what are you doing out here by yourself?” The little wanderer’s eyes flitted across, looking at everyone’s faces, nervous to answer the question. “Well, you see, it’s a funny story. I was…dared…to steal one of the rattlesnake’s eggs.” Lily looked at her puzzled, “but rattlesnakes don’t lay eggs,” the little wanderer nervously chuckles. “Yeah, well now I know that” Matteo chuckles too, slapping the little wanderer on the back. “Looks like ya got pranked, a stupid and dangerous prank. Who dared you to do this?” The little one mutters, “my friends.” Hawk scoffs, “some friends they are! Where are they? I wanna talk to them for a minute,” a squeal from some nearby bushes is heard, the branches rustling. Hawk quickly flies over to it, pulling out two little wanderer boys. The blonde wanderer girl shouts at them, “Roland! Bo! You two are going to be in so much trouble when we get home! I’m telling on you to both of your mommas!”

The two boys stopped their snickering, terrified expressions crossing their small faces. “Nancy no! Come on, we were just having some fun. We were going to save you from that snake eventually.” Hawk kicks them both, they fall over, “You two sure took your damn time! She could’ve died!” Hawk then smacks them both upside their heads. Jessa walks over to them, helping them up, she then grabs each one of their pointed ears in her hands, pulling them up to her face. “You better start taking care of each other, cause friends are rare, and they could be gone in the blink of an eye. What if she had died tonight? What would you two have done? How would you explain it to her parents? Hm?” The boys looked down at their bare, dirty feet. “Nancy doesn’t have parents, they died,” Jessa drops the boy’s ears. She turns to look at Nancy, who is on the verge of tears. Jessa scoops her up into a hug, holding her, she weighed no more than a ladybug.

Matteo comes forward, brushing some hair from Nancy’s face, “who takes care of you honey?” The boys answer for her, “she lives alone, down by the river in a little hollowed out trunk!” Lily clutches at her chest, “alone? But you couldn’t be no more than in your first stage of wing growth! Oh my.” Vlad steps forward, putting a hand on her back, “will you show us where your tree trunk is? I would like to see it.” She nodded her head, pointing toward a small passage, “it’s through there,” she said in a tiny voice. Jessa tried to let her down, but she refused to let go. They all start to follow the trail, with Corny taking up the rear.

The large, hollow tree trunk was rotted but purple flowers grew all over the outside and inside of it. Nancy led Jessa into the little carved out hole, inside of the tree trunk was moss and purple flowers. A little bed was made from moss and one of the purple flowers used as a pillow. Jessa turns to Nancy, “how do you get food?” Roland and Bo answer for Nancy again, “we bring it to her from our village.” Vlad approaches the boys, “and where is your village?” The two boys gulped as Vlad towered over them. The boys quickly take them all to the nearby village that also sits on the ground next to the river.

When they entered the village, all the river wanderers who were enjoying music and drinks froze in place. Roland and Bo run to their mothers, hugging their hips and whimpering. A tall wanderer with a long black beard and long black hair approaches Vlad, who is holding Nancy’s little hand. The tall wanderer says in a low voice, “can I help you?” Vlad motions to Nancy, “is there any good reason why no one here would take this little wanderer into their homes?” The villagers started to murmur to each other and whisper. The tall wanderer answers him, “Her parents got themselves killed being stupid. Why should any of us have to take on the burden of an extra mouth to feed? She’s done alright by herself so far.” The crowd of villagers nodded in agreement, resuming their music and drinking. The taller wanderer turns away from Vlad when Vlad catches his arm fast as light. The wanderer stares down at Vlad, “what’s your problem?” Vlad’s eyes fill with rage, Jessa quickly scoops Nancy into her arms and backs away. Matteo and Hawk step forward.

“My problem is seeing injustice happen to the innocent while lowlifes like you stand by and do nothing about it,” Vlad says, his grip becoming tighter on the wanderer’s arm. A short, green haired wanderer girl yells to the tall wanderer, “you can take him Sid! He’s so puny compared to you.” Sid smirks at her, then takes his hand trying to remove Vlad’s grip but quickly realizes how strong Vlad is. Sid’s eyes fill with terror as he sees Vlad lift his fist, cocking it back, Sid’s body is thrown backwards into some wooden chairs and tables, spilling all the brown liquid from the mugs onto his head. No one else moved, no one dared to take on Vlad after that display of strength. The green haired wanderer girl screams hysterically, rushing over to Sid, “get off of me Chrissy!” He shoves her away from him. Jessa sets Nancy back down, Vlad then takes Nancy’s hand again, leaning down so they are face to face, “Nancy, how would you like to come with us on our journey? It will be dangerous but our friendly owl Corny will protect you, as will the rest of us. How does that sound?” Nancy smiles at him, nodding her head. Nancy runs to Jessa, taking her hand, Jessa then flies onto Corny’s back, as does everyone else. They fly away from the little river village, the sounds of their music and laughter fading away.

End of Chapter Eleven.