Moon Princess (15 page)

Ling came face to face with both Sienna and Kate.

‘You're pathetic,' hissed Kate. ‘I've heard all about your cruel treatment of my daughter. You will never be allowed to hurt anyone again.'

Sienna smiled brightly at Ling. She'd carried such feelings of hatred for Ling but now, her mum's arm around her shoulders, she felt nothing but pity for this awful woman. ‘I feel sorry for you,' she whispered. ‘
We
have each other, but you only have that horrible monster!'

Ling shrieked furiously and pushed towards Sienna, but another pair of hands held her back. Sienna's dad! As the police officers took the criminals away he embraced his wife and daughter, silent sobs wracking his body.

None of those present noticed as Zou left and headed away from the temple. He picked up Bai tuzi and stroked his fur carefully. Glitter dust sparkled in the moonlight as it fell to the ground.

‘My dear friend, what a great adventure this has been. But now it's time for us to go.' He smiled. ‘I thought we'd keep this one' – he pulled a statue out of his monk's habit – ‘as a souvenir.'

The perfect forgery lay in his hand, gleaming white in the light of the moon.

Later that night, Sienna, Feng, Gege, Kate, Dad and the invisible friends all sat in Dad's hotel room. Everyone was exhausted and barely able to speak, a mixture of joy and disbelief robbing them of language. The adults sat on the armchairs in the room, while Sienna and Feng lay on the king-size bed. Rufus and Minka too had made themselves comfortable on the soft cushions. The little dragon was asleep beside Feng.

Sienna looked at her parents contentedly. At the temple Dad had taken Mum in his arms for a long time, as though he never wanted to let her go. Mum had pulled Sienna towards them and
the three of them had embraced.

‘I feel awful,' muttered Sienna's dad. ‘I didn't believe that you could still be alive, I should have done more to find you—'

‘Stop that,' said Mum firmly. ‘The only one to blame here is Ling, and that crooked abbot Fa Yi. Although it has to be said that Fa Yi has a great talent for forgery.'

‘Fa Yi didn't forge the statues and the jewellery himself, though,' Sienna pointed out. She explained about the poor old monk who had been misled by him, who had worked so hard for him in the cellar.

Mum shook her head in disbelief. ‘I'm sure the monks will take care of him, but we'll check tomorrow that he is all right.'

‘Was Hong Yi as guilty as Fa Yi and Ling?' asked Sienna. She felt a bit bad for the young monk. Surely he had only wanted to do what he thought was best for the temple?

Sienna's mother thought about it for a moment. ‘He desperately wanted the temple to be famous. When Hong Yi found out that a statue existed which could help the temple attain greater fame, he didn't ask too many
questions. Sometimes we believe what we want to believe – I was guilty of that too,' she said. ‘The abbot knew that my expertise would draw a lot of attention to the statue. He thought it would be better if I “discovered” the statue myself. And it wasn't long before I did.'

Here, Kate smiled at Gege, who looked ashamed.

‘At first I didn't spot any of the clues that pointed to a forgery. I
wanted
to believe the statue was genuine. But when I examined the statue more closely, I noticed something wasn't quite right about the eyes – and that's when I realized it was a forgery, specially designed to weep. When I expressed my concerns to Fa Yi, he was very angry. That's when I knew something was wrong. I was on the point of going to the police.'

‘But then Ling kidnapped you,' said Sienna. ‘With you out of the way the forger had time to produce an even more convincing forgery and you had to write your report stating that the statue was genuine.'

‘Exactly,' said Mum, hugging Sienna. ‘Ling blackmailed me. For the first few months it was
just threats – and I simply used the time to continue writing my book, to take my mind off my situation, though I worried terribly about you, my darling. But then Ling showed me photos of you and Dad in Shanghai. I didn't even know that the two of you were in China. I was so frightened you'd be in danger, so I had to do as they said. Write what they wanted.'

‘Sienna.' Dad sat down next to her on the bed, looking concerned. ‘How on earth did you and Feng discover that Mum and Gege were down at the mines? And how did you manage to get to the temple on your own? Someone must have helped you, surely?'

‘Careful what you say, my little moon princess. Best not mention the white sparkly hare or the little fire-breather.' Rufus could hardly contain his laughter.

‘Or that you cycled through the night on an old bike, led by a magical white cat,' purred Minka.

Sienna shot them a furious glance! Mum caught her eye and winked. ‘Feng knew a few people,' said Sienna finally. ‘Then we met a man, a doctor. Doctor Zou. He helped us.'

Mum went to Sienna and gave her a kiss on the forehead. ‘Now we must get some rest, tomorrow's another day for talking.' She hugged Sienna tightly. ‘I've arranged for you two to stay here at the hotel too,' she said, turning to Gege and Feng, giving Gege a hug and handing them a room key.

After the others had left, Sienna lay awake next to her mum. She'd wanted to sleep with her parents tonight. Rufus was snoring quietly at the foot of the bed and Dad was sound asleep on Mum's other side.

‘Mum?' whispered Sienna.

‘What is it, my darling?' her mother answered.

‘Did you see Minka, in the mines?' asked Sienna.

There was a moment of silence. ‘Funny you should ask,' said Mum. ‘You know, when I was imprisoned and feeling hopeless, I did feel as if she was with me. Sometimes I even heard the bell on her collar. And then, after the explosion in the mine, I dreamt I was a little girl again, with Minka waking me up by pawing me in the face. I woke up and there were clouds of fire and a passage had opened in the wall. I glimpsed her
then, leading me and Gege out into the light – and the whole time I could hear a little bell tinkling. Remarkable, isn't it?'

‘Why did she go away, when you were younger?' Sienna asked.

‘Probably because I sent her away,' Mum replied, with a sigh. ‘I decided real friends were more important. And I grew up. Lots of reasons, really. Sometimes I think some other little girl needed Minka more than I did – but she came back for me when it really mattered, didn't she? Good friends never really disappear, even when you can't see them any more. Now, time to rest. Sleep well,' said Mum, and she cuddled up closely to Sienna.

EPILOGUE
Zhongguo – China, the Middle Kingdom

S
ienna looked out of the window at the river.

Dad had rented a new flat. It was comfortable here and she liked the view. China was beginning to feel like home. She was starting at her new school the following week. She smiled: in the past, the thought of new teachers and classmates would have scared her, but this time she wouldn't be alone. Her parents were so grateful to Feng that when they heard about
what had happened to him they had decided to help him and Gege.

Dad had found a job for Gege with his employers in Shanghai, and Mum and Dad were also going to pay Feng's school fees. Dad was very happy that Sienna finally had a real friend. He'd have been rather less happy if he had known that Rufus and Xiaolong were the two children's constant companions!

Minka, however, had bid them farewell. ‘It's time for me to leave,' she had told them, rubbing up against Sienna's hand one final time. ‘Your mother's moved on, and I need to as well.' Her whiskers twitched. ‘Besides, I think there's someone else out there who needs me now.'

The morning after the Moon Festival they had all set out together to visit Zou, but the front door was locked up. Dad and Mum had rung the neighbours' doorbells and asked after Zou, but the people just shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.
No, there's no one living there
, they said.

Eventually Sienna met an old woman on the street. The woman had smiled when Sienna had
asked after Zou.

‘It sounds as though you met someone who helped you when you were in great need. All one has to do is trust …' she said.

Sienna wished she could have said goodbye to Zou and thanked him for everything. But she felt in her heart that he knew how grateful she was to him and the amazing Bai tuzi!

But Gege had a new job, and Feng had a home and was reunited with Gege. He'd be going to school again, and he was Sienna's friend.

Sienna smiled. She even had her mum back, and her dad. And she'd
always
have Rufus, no matter what!

Many thanks to Weixiang Wang:
friend, doctor and walking dictionary.

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