The Warble (23 page)

“The Warble, its grown
into the Sacred Tree,” Werrien said.

“Hey, isn’t that where
that cave was?” Davina asked.

“It certainly was,”
Ugan said.

“Where did it go?”
Hester asked.

“Well, what happened
was that after Kristina placed the Warble in its resting place, the curse
broke, and the Warble grew back into what it originally used to be, years ago:
the Sacred Tree,” Ugan said.

“It grew right through
the cave,” Retzel added.

The Sacred Tree was
different from any other tree that Kristina, Davina, or Hester had ever seen,
and though its shape was very similar to that of an oak tree, it was much
larger than even the largest one on Earth. It was made out of a vibrant,
shimmering crystal, and it had many, many limbs and many, many branches on the
limbs. Its branches reached so high up into the sky that they could not tell
where they ended. The tree shined like the sun in the sky, but it was different
than the sun because it didn’t hurt their eyes when they gazed upon it.

“Can we go up to it?”
Kristina asked Werrien, excitedly.

“Maybe Graham’s up
there, waiting for us,” Hester said enthusiastically.

“Let’s go,” Werrien
said.

They made their way
back up the mountain, this time with ease, for the biggest obstacles in their
way were only small brooks created by the melted snow. On their way up, they
noticed that the closer they got to the Sacred Tree, the greener and fresher
the grass became.

“Look at the grass.
It’s sprouting up everywhere,” Kristina said, amazed by the sight of it.

“And look at the little
red flowers growing all around us,” Davina said excitedly.

“It’s the fairy
blossoms.”

The fairy blossoms were
growing all around them before their eyes. Other plants and flowers began to
grow, too, and by the time they all reached the base of the Sacred Tree, the
mountainside was covered in stunningly beautiful wildflowers of whole ranges of
colors. The tree itself gave off warmth, and it brought about a feeling of
utter joy and happiness.

As the group stood
beneath it, they suddenly found themselves become very happy, and smiles came
across all their faces—all except for Hester’s.

“Maybe Graham somehow
escaped out the back of the cave. Once the cave started crumbling, I remember
seeing a small hole with light shining through it from outside,” Kristina said
to Hester, trying to be optimistic.

“There is one positive
side to not finding him up here. At least we haven’t found him dead,” Davina said
bluntly.

The longer they all
stood under the tree, the more joyful they became, even Hester. Then, as if
from hearing a hilarious joke, Retzel began to laugh. And then Werrien, seeing
how funny Retzel’s face looked when he laughed, also began to laugh, and soon
after that, they all found themselves laughing, including Hester. Raymond
joined in and became so excited that he leaped off Retzel’s shoulder and
bounded happily over the lush green grass. Davina became so joyful that she
forgot about the pain from the cut on her leg. She even tried to do a
cartwheel, but being not very coordinated, she ended up falling before she
finished it. When she got up, she was amazed to see that her leg was completely
healed. “Look, everyone! My leg is better!” she said amazed.

“That’s because you
fell in a cluster of fairy blossoms,” Ugan said.

While everyone was
frolicking and having fun, they were suddenly interrupted by a familiar caw.
They saw Roage, flying high above them in the bright blue sky. He glided down
slowly and landed on a branch of the Sacred Tree.

It’s good to see you,
Roage. Come down and join us,” Werrien called up to the raven.

Roage cawed loudly
again and then left the tree branch. They watched as he glided down
effortlessly with his wings stretched fully out. It seemed he was going to make
a landing on the other side of the tree, so Werrien and Kristina quickly went
to the other side to greet him.

When Werrien and Kristina reached the
other side of the Sacred Tree, they found Roage standing on the ground under
it.

“The spell has been
broken, Roage,” Werrien said excitedly to the raven.

“Yes, it has,” Roage
agreed. He stretched out his wings as far as they would possibly stretch and
began to flap them vigorously. They moved so fast that they became a blur.

“What is he doing?”
Kristina asked Werrien.

“I’m not sure,” Werrien
answered.

As Roage continued to
flap his wings, his form suddenly began to change. His neck stretched longer,
and his body grew much larger and taller. His wings began to change into the
form of human arms, and at the tips of the wings, human hands began to emerge.
His thin, scaly legs grew longer and larger, and his talons changed into human
feet. Last of all, his face changed into that of a man’s face. Werrien looked
at the man Roage was turning into, and when his face was fully formed, Werrien
suddenly recognized him.

“Father?” Werrien
gasped.

“Werrien, my son,” his
father, King Warren, responded. He held out his arms and Werrien ran and
embraced him.

“I thought you were
dead.”

“Oh, no, I’ve been
under a spell that was cast upon me.”

“So Roage was actually
you?” Werrien was amazed by the reality of it.

“I know it’s hard to
believe, but yes. I was turned into a raven many years ago, when you were a
very small boy.”

“I guess that explains
why you were such a great help to us.”

“I wanted to help you
even more, but I was so limited, being a raven. I’m just glad that I planted
the gold case in the trunk of the tree before the spell was cast upon me.”

“I wondered how Roage
knew about the gold case.”

Suddenly, they heard a
loud howl, and they turned to see the wolf. As it trotted toward them, it, too,
began to change into a man.

“Uncle Corin?” Werrien
said.

Corin walked up to
them, and father, son, and uncle embraced.

While they talked,
Kristina stood nearby, waiting. King Warren glanced over at her. “Come here,
Kristina,” he said to her.

Kristina felt nervous
about meeting King Warren because of the times she had been short-tempered with
Roage.

“It’s so nice to finally
meet you in person.” King Warren warmly offered his hand to shake.

As Kristina shook King
Warren’s hand, she noticed that Werrien looked very much like him and that they
both had the same hair color, blue-green eyes, and very similar facial features.

“It’s very nice to meet
you, too,” Kristina said shyly, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m sorry, but is
something the matter?” King Warren noticed her apprehensiveness.

“I feel that I need to
apologize for not being so nice to you, when you were a raven.”

“Well, let me tell you
what I think. If I had to go through what you went through, I would have acted
no differently than you did.” King Warren had a serious yet kind look on his
face.

Kristina could tell
that King Warren was a good-hearted man, and so she began to feel more at ease.
While they conversed, Ugan, Retzel, Davina, Hester, and Raymond came to their
side of the tree.

“What are you two up
to? You’ve been gone a long time.” Raymond bounded over the grass toward them.

“Hey, guys, I want you
to meet Werrien’s father, King Warren, and his uncle Corin,” Kristina said to
all of them.

After everyone was
introduced, Kristina explained to King Warren and Corin that while they were
escaping the cave, Graham went in the opposite direction and never made it out
with them.

“I’m worried he might
be dead,” Hester said nervously.

“When I was still
Roage, I soared high above this mountain, and I saw all of you escaping.
Unfortunately, I also saw Sentiz escaping down the backside of the mountain as
the cave began to break apart. There were others with her, but I couldn’t quite
make out who they were due to the dust and debris that filled the air and
flowed over them.”

“Do you think Graham
may have been one of the others?”

“It’s quite possible,
but if he was, I don’t know which would be worse—his dying in the cave or
escaping with her.”

They decided to head
down the mountain, and this time, all that surrounded them was lush green
grass, wildflowers, little brooks, busy bees, and butterflies that flew in and
out of the flowers—a very nice contrast to the cold, treacherous, icy slopes.
It was such a lovely hike that even Hester seemed to forget about Graham for
the time being.

When they neared the
bottom, they could see a large crowd waiting to greet them. There were many
gnomes, dwarfs, fairies, and animals, all cheering. Some were holding small
children on their shoulders, and others held poles with brightly colored
streamers, which they waved back and forth. Others enthusiastically waved their
arms in the air. They were chanting “Long live the chosen one, Kristina, and
long live the true prince of Bernovem, Werrien.” When they actually got close
enough to see their faces, Kristina noticed Leacha standing near the front of
the crowd, and not too far from her were Taysha and Lisheng. Taysha whinnied
happily, and she and Lisheng trotted up the hill to meet them. They both
lowered themselves down for Kristina and Werrien to climb up onto them. Werrien
looked at his father to see if he and his uncle would like to have the honor of
riding the horses the rest of the way down the mountain, but before he could
even say anything, King Warren said, “You and Kristina best get on those horses
fast. You don’t want to keep that anxious crowd waiting. We’ll do just fine
walking down with the rest.”

So Werrien mounted
Lisheng, and Kristina, Taysha. Then they rode down to meet the crowd. Werrien
rode directly to Leacha, and when he got to where she was, he jumped down to
greet her. Leacha ran toward him with tears in her eyes and her arms open wide.
“My
dear child, I’m so glad you returned safely and in one piece!” She squeezed him
tight.

“And I’m so glad to see
that you are well also.” Werrien returned the embrace.

When Leacha finished
embracing Werrien, she turned to Kristina and embraced her as well. “Our little
chosen one! My, what a brave girl you have been.” She smiled so hard that her
eyes disappeared into the folds of her fat cheeks. “Did the fairy blossom come
in handy?” she whispered into her ear.

“If I hadn’t had it, we
probably wouldn’t have made it back.” Kristina returned the embrace.

“I’m so glad I was able
to give it to you.” Leacha beamed happily.

King Warren, Corin,
Davina, Hester, Ugan, and Retzel, with Raymond sitting on his shoulder, joined
Werrien and Kristina, and when the crowd found out that King Warren was back,
they went wild with happy cheers, hollers, and hoots. Then a certain dwarf blew
on a large ivory horn. The sound it made was so loud, it silenced the noisy
crowd. “Make way for our queen!” the dwarf said.

Both Werrien’s and
Kristina’s stomachs went queasy, for they both thought of Queen Sentiz. But
from the spot where they stood, the crowd separated to form an open path, and
the queen suddenly appeared. There was no need for them to worry, because it was
not the horrible Sentiz but the true Queen of Bernovem, Lafinia.

“Mother!” Werrien
shouted. He and his father quickly made their way toward her, and all three
embraced each other.

The people in the crowd
lowered themselves down on one knee, including, Kristina, Hester, and Davina.

When the three finished
embracing, the crowd stood back up and cheered wildly.

Then the certain dwarf
blew again on the ivory horn. “Now let us all head to the celebration!”

A beautiful horse-drawn
carriage, adorned in ornate gold, appeared at the back of the crowd.

“Your coach is ready,
my king, queen, and prince,” the dwarf said.

King Warren, Queen
Lafinia, and Prince Werrien headed toward it. They were just about to get in
it, but Werrien suddenly stopped and said, “Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”
He could see Kristina standing with Hester and Davina, and he went to her.
“Come on; I want you to meet my mother.” He took her by the hand. The two of
them ran back toward the horse-drawn carriage. When they arrived at it, a
gnome, dressed in a purple velvet outfit with gold piping on the neck and
sleeves, opened the carriage door.

Kristina went in first
and when she saw Queen Lafinia sitting inside beside King Warren, she felt
butterflies in her stomach. She hadn’t realized how beautiful the queen was
when she’d seen her from a distance. She was slender, with long blonde hair,
just like her own; strong facial features; and radiant gray-blue eyes that
matched her gray-blue velvet gown with mother-of-pearl accents.

Kristina sat down
across from the queen and king. Werrien entered the carriage and sat down
beside Kristina.

“Mother, I’d like you
to meet my friend Kristina. She’s the one who was chosen to deliver the Warble
to it resting place,” Werrien said.

Queen Lafinia smiled
warmly. “I am so happy to finally meet you. Our family has been waiting for
many, many years for the return of the Warble, and now that it has finally come
and brought peace to our land, I can be nothing but forever grateful to you.”
She took Kristina’s hand, kissed it, and then she placed something in it.
Kristina opened her hand to find an elegant gold necklace with a shimmering
crystal attached to it.

“It’s the most
beautiful necklace I have ever seen!” Kristina was dazzled by its splendor.

“It’s for a girl who is
just as beautiful,” King Warren said.

The crystal glistened
and sparkled just like the Sacred Tree.

“May I?” Werrien held
his hand out toward her.

Kristina put the
necklace in his hand. He opened its clasps and placed it around her neck. Then
she held the crystal in her hand again to admire it.

“This necklace is going
to take you home,” the queen said softly.

Kristina was so
enthralled with the crystal’s beauty that she didn’t seem to hear what Queen
Lafinia had said.

“Kristina?” Werrien
gently nudged her shoulder.

Kristina took her eyes
off the necklace to look at Werrien. “Yes?”

“My mother was just
saying that this necklace is what is going to bring you home.” Werrien looked
seriously into her eyes.

“It is?” Kristina
seemed a little caught off guard by this statement. She turned her head to
stare out the carriage window, and as she gazed upon the lovely green meadow
they were passing, it began to sink in that her time of being in Bernovem was
coming to an end. She would have to leave her newfound friend Werrien, and
would never see him again. The thought caused a tear to well up in her eye and
slowly trickle down the side of her nose.

“Is something the
matter Kristina?” King Warren asked her.

Kristina quickly wiped
the tear from her nose. “No, I was just admiring the pretty scenery.”

“It is very lovely,
isn’t it,” Queen Lafinia agreed.

Kristina sniffled. “How
is the necklace going to bring me home?” she asked.

“When the crystal turns
a deep red, it will take you home.” The queen smiled warmly.

“And what about the
others? How are they to get home?”

“They also will be
given a crystal that will take them home.”

The carriage came to a
sudden halt and the door swung open. Loud cheers flooded into the carriage, and
the same gnome stuck his head inside. “The crowd anxiously awaits you,” he said
to the four of them. As Werrien, Kristina, and the king and queen exited the
carriage, they could see that the sun was receding behind Mount Bernovem, and
it was a very lovely sight. “Would you please follow me?” the gnome asked
Kristina.

Kristina looked to
Queen Lafinia to see if this was the right thing to do. The queen nodded, and
so Kristina followed the gnome. He brought her to a tent in the meadow, not far
off from the crowd. When they arrived at it, he opened the door flap, bowed,
and waved his hand for her to enter. Inside the tent were Bronya and Neela,
busily sewing the last stitches on a beautiful fuchsia and moss-green gown.
They were so busy that they didn’t even notice that Kristina had entered the
tent.

“Hello,” Kristina said.

Both girls looked up,
and when they saw that is was Kristina, they instantly laid the dress down on a
chair and quickly went to her.

“We have just finished
the dress you are to wear to the party. Come with us and try it on,” Neela said
cheerfully.

Kristina’s pale-blue
eyes lit up. “Party?”

“Of course!” Bronya
said.

“In honor of our chosen
one,” Neela said.

They helped Kristina
into the dress. While Neela was fastening the back of the bodice, Bronya
brought a chair for Kristina and suggested that she sit down so that they could
fix her hair. The two rosy-cheeked, plump gnome girls brushed and combed
Kristina’s hair, sprayed it with herbal hair remedies, and braided parts of it,
all the while discussing how lovely her blonde hair was and that any gnome girl
would do practically anything to have it. Once they had her hair exactly as
they wanted it, Bronya pulled out a number of hair pins from a woven basket.
Then Neela picked up a vase that was filled with fairy blossom and carefully
plucked a handful of the freshest, brightest-colored ones for Kristina. They
continued working on Kristina’s hair, pinning in the blossoms. When they
finished, Bronya hurried to get a long mirror for Kristina to view herself.
Kristina could hardly believe it was her reflection that she was looking at.
The bright fairy blossoms matched the fuchsia and moss-green dress perfectly,
and the crystal around her neck sparkled vibrantly, reflecting all the colors
she wore.