Aurabel Page 5

  I gulp. Nod. Think of Murray. Us both. Getting out of Tippi. Going some place else, maybe? I’ve got to try not to get ahead of myself.

  ‘Sienna will meet you down at the forest. At the main entrance.’

  I gape.

  ‘I trust you know of Sienna?’

  ‘Errrr … yeah,’ I say, all dummy and star-struck. Course I know of Sienna. ‘The keeper of beasts.’

  ‘That’s it.’ He shakes his head. ‘That Mer will be the death of me – oh, she keeps me in line, let me tell you, but I suppose you have to be a beast to keep one!’

  I gulp. I am nervous to meet Sienna – I’ve heard so much about her. I feel my tapestry bleach pale, and the king comforts me. ‘Don’t worry, her bite isn’t as big as her bark.’

  We shake hands and I see him really looking at me, properly, right in the eyes, and something tells me that he is a good Mer. A good Mer who’s gone through hell. I can’t help but think of the painting of Lorali on the wall in the corridor. And as I turn to leave, the king says, ‘I hope you have a fantastic day, Aurabel. Let this be the start of a wonderful adventure.’

  I bow a bit and then remember he doesn’t want me doing all that bowing business so I just do a small wave and leave the gorgeous room with the twinkling walls, happy as a toad in mud.

  Then I see this head. Popping down from the floor above, hanging over the iron railings. A young Mer, about my age, who I’ve never seen before. His eyes nervously meet mine. I don’t want to be rude or look inexperienced so I keep my head down and pretend to look like I know what I’m doing.

  He swims down. He smiles at me. He has kind eyes and a soft face. He is what you would describe as ‘handsome’ though not my type, obviously – but I know Tips who would gobble him up. He has long hair that sweeps over his head to the side, a chiselled jaw, good nose, I’d say … if that counts for anything.

  ‘I’m Kai,’ he volunteers in a soft voice, as though it’s a name that doesn’t belong to him.

  ‘Hi. I’m Aurabel.’

  ‘Hello, Aurabel. That’s a nice name.’ His eyes light up.

  ‘It’s not,’ I joke boldly. ‘It’s common as hell.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of it before. I like it.’ He smiles. ‘Are you going to the forest?’

  I nod.

  His eyes widen. ‘Are you going to open it up?’

  ‘That’s the plan.’

  ‘Wish I could come with you.’

  ‘Why can’t you?’

  ‘Not allowed.’ I suddenly guess who he is. He’s the king’s salvaged.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I tell him. ‘It’s only because you’re royalty. Once it’s safe again you’ll be able to go there all the time.’

  ‘I don’t even reckon I’ll be allowed to go then.’

  ‘Course you will. Once you’re resolved you can do whatever you like!’ Am I saying too much? I dunno how it is for these lot. I shouldn’t be talking out of turn, especially not in the palace. ‘Anyway, better get a wiggle on. Got work to do. Nice to meet you.’

  ‘You too.’

  He calls after me: ‘Hey, maybe when you get back I can show you round the palace?’ He looks kind of nervous as he says it. Maybe the poor sod doesn’t have any friends.

  ‘Yeah, defo.’ And I swim away, letting the water take me.

  The sea is warm and calm. The water is a salty lick of paradise, schools of fish springing in triangles, whales singing. I see a couple of faces from Tippers that I know. ‘Awwwright!’ I shout at them, all cocky. They look well jealous, like, Where’s she off to then? Ha! Wouldn’t they like to know? I thought I’d pretty much managed to tell the WORLD what I’m doing but obviously not. I pick up speed. I love swimming, my body all tight like a bullet, slicing through the sea. I am whipping through the water, light, feeling like the most precious thing in the world.

  GOLD

  I don’t tell Cheryl about the note. I want to but I don’t. I don’t want her getting her hopes up. I am scared to go alone too. I could take Flynn or Iris, but what if this is dangerous? I don’t want to get anybody else hurt. I’ve done enough of that. Besides, the note wasn’t meant for Iris or Flynn; it was meant for me.

  I can’t not go. What if it is Rory making contact? It would make perfect sense that he would want us to meet under the pier. Where we first met. But how had he shot the dart and not said anything to me? Shown his face? Reached out to me?

  Cheryl pours more tea into my cup; watching the water rise I think about the petrified forest. Rory’s words will be sunken now. Completely immersed. Framed like art on the walls. It has to be him who wrote the note. It has to be Rory. Does he still remember?

  ‘Right then … blue or gold?’ Cheryl rattles the nail polishes in my face, the yellow plastic washing-up bowl filled to the top with soapy hot water.

  ‘Errrr … hands or feet?’

  ‘Feet.’

  ‘Gold.’ I nod. ‘Gold’s a lucky colour.’

  SIENNA

  I pause outside the forest, too nervous to head in on my own. Course I want to; I miss the place like we all do. Not scared exactly – just don’t want to do anything wrong, break any rules. It suddenly dawns on me that I’m about to meet Sienna. One on one. Spend the day with her, maybe. Sienna, the keeper of beasts and monsters. Absolute madness. I am buzzing. Sure, not everyone likes council member Sienna much. We all make up stories about how she is a proper evil witch – we spread all these rumours about how she’ll eat you up. Still, that’s kind of cool in itself, ain’t it, really? Imagine eating somebody.

  ‘Aurabel!’ She arrives beside me in her serpent-pulled black chariot. The striped beasts hiss at me. ‘Oh be quiet,’ she mutters, but they hiss again. ‘SILENCE!’ she scorns. And they freeze. Jaws locked. They cower. Tremble in fear. Imagine making a beast that terrified of you! It’s unreal.

  Ducking from the oversized hood of her cape, she reveals herself. She is even more striking in real life. High cheekbones, creamy skin, silver eyelashes, powder-white brows. Her features are all pointy – even her teeth, which are fanged. Her nose is hooped with a bull ring at the centre. Her tapestry is complex, spinning my head with its illustrative make-up of code and texture – scaled like a reptile, dark and detailed. Sienna, in the flesh. Rah. Intimidated, star-struck, I grin, all toothy. Murray would DIE if she was here – Sienna is like a style icon. A true legend.

  ‘Did you come here unattended?’

  ‘Erm …’

  ‘The king sent no guard to accompany you?’

  I find myself double checking, like just in case he has and I haven’t seen.

  ‘Clearly not,’ she mutters. ‘That stupid king – he expects you, a Tip, to come out to the petrified forest and fend for yourself? Has he lost his mind? Does he know how dangerous that is?’

  I feel sick. Yeah, why didn’t he send me with guards? It didn’t even cross my mind at the time.

  ‘You went to the palace; why didn’t he bring you here himself?’

  I look down to the ground and shrug.

  ‘Now that is just him all over. Typical. What a coward.’ She snaps her gloves off. ‘Move over and let a female get to it, already. He’s in the wrong game!’

  I’m not gonna lie: this is kind of pissing on my parade a bit. There I was feeling all chuffed and important and now I am feeling a bit like a skivvy. She raises her brows. ‘Then again, you’re just a waif to him, I suppose. He has no respect.’ She digs the knife in. Is she right?

  ‘I’m sure his heart is in the right place,’ I stick up for him – he was nice back there. ‘He knows I can protect myself.’ But in the swelling of my gut I doubt my own words.

  ‘You know the only reason he closed the forest was because he didn’t want his salvaged to visit, in case he remembered anything,’ she spits. ‘It’s so selfish.’

  Kai. Of course. That makes sense. I start to feel angry. And small. Standing there in front of Sienna. I feel stupid for even believing a single thing that king said. All he did was
go on and on about how unsafe the sea is. Am I that unimportant to the king that he’d just send me out on my own? Completely inexperienced? I mean, I know I am from Tippi but it doesn’t mean I’m worth nothing. Do your own errands in future then, you wimp! I sniff hard. Don’t want to humiliate myself even further in front of Sienna.

  ‘Don’t get upset; it’s not your fault the petrified forest is dangerous. I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate; he just wasn’t thinking.’ Sienna puts her hand out to me gently. ‘It was my idea to employ you – this was my suggestion, my project – he probably thought I had it covered. Let’s give the idiot the benefit of the doubt. It was probably a miscommunication.’

  I nod. I knew it seemed too good an idea to have come from the king. This just makes me like Sienna even more.

  ‘I shouldn’t have had an outburst like that, not in front of you. You are going to have to get used to my temper if we are going to work together.’ She smiles. ‘It’s just that sometimes I’d really like to, you know … strangle him!’ We laugh together. I can see her point. I feel like only a good thing can come from us two being a team. Even if the whites of her knuckles are going on a bit strong like she actually does want to strangle him. Anyway …

  I notice Sienna has a chain on her hand – a link. She spies me inspecting it.

  ‘Ah, you’re wondering about my chain. This connects me to my biggest beast, Nevermind, going all the way back to her cell. If she ever tries to escape, I’ll feel her tug. She’s terribly dangerous. It’s imperative that I know where she is at all times.’ She clears her throat. ‘Besides … you never know when you might need a beast like her. This forest has been desolate for a whole year! Who knows what we’ll find.’

  We’ve all heard the stories about Nevermind. I shudder to think of seeing her in the flesh. Dawns on me how big and empty the sea truly is. I hope she doesn’t get invited to the forest.

  ‘Shall we?’

  We swim into the forest. Curling around the spines of trunks, coiling the marigolds and pickerel weeds, dangling talons of beastly feathery sea quills and crusts of amber coral. Their brambles and thistles seem larger than usual and more chaotic. It wasn’t that anybody tended to the overgrown shrubbery before, but it seemed to know our pathways, make space for our bodies to roam. Now it blocks us out, as though we are no longer welcome. Deeper and deeper we loop the labyrinth, combing our way through the knots of weed and ivy that have free rein. The only noise is the slurp of the water rippling about us from our own movements, and the licking sound of Sienna’s serpents snaking behind us.

  My own heartbeat.

  Breathe. You’re all right – you’ve got this … six, five, four …

  ‘I’ve heard you’re a very good hunter.’ Sienna’s voice is gravelly. Must be from all those years of talking to monsters – she now seems to have a voice like one.

  ‘I eat well,’ I joke, patting my belly. ‘Actually, saying that, I hunt for so many of the Tips now, I’m usually the only one who goes without!’

  ‘That’s very sweet of you. Do you always do so much for others?’

  ‘You’ve got to, haven’t you? It’s part of being alive. If I can help, then I do. Because you never know when you might need help yourself and hope there’s someone knocking about to return the favour.’

  ‘That’s very true.’ Sienna smiles and gently releases her serpents from their leash to graze and sniff about. I watch them snuffling out crabs and digging for fleshy prawns, listening to the clopping sound of their mouths working. I gulp. I’ve never been so close to this kind of monster before. I am in awe at how well she has them trained. Maybe something I could do in the future.

  ‘You’re a clever Mer … you want the best for your kind, don’t you?’ she asks me, her barbed fangs pressing into her painted lips. She speaks firmly. Formal but kind.

  ‘Of course I do.’ I nod. I am a bit addicted to looking at her face. She is so unique-looking. I kind of want a moment to just grab it and inspect it up close – have it all to myself without her judging me.

  ‘Good – that’s very good to hear.’ She readjusts her position, claps her hands as if we’re discussing business and then says in a very calm voice, ‘I want you to know that I’m doing this for the greater good; it’s not personal. I just cannot have this king in power any more. He isn’t up to the job and he’s driving our species into the ground.’

  ‘OK …’ I shake my head nervously. I mean, I have lots to say on the matter, I know all the Tips do – we aren’t that happy with the way the kingdom is run. This could be my chance to have a voice.

  ‘I think it would really make a stand if you were to not make it back to the palace today.’ What does she mean? ‘I think it would show just how unsafe the sea really is and, well, make that king look incompetent. Foolish. And that’s what we want.’

  I don’t understand. Her words are chopping. Severe.

  ‘There are monsters here. The sea isn’t safe. He has put you in enormous danger. He is already despised. All it will take is one more little incident to really tip him over the edge. And he’s done.’ Our eyes lock. ‘Making space for a real queen. Which is what we want. Isn’t it?’

  ‘I guess.’ I sense danger. Can suddenly taste blood in my throat. But I’m trying to take her words in – she’s important; I have to stay focused, listen to my instructions.

  ‘By working with me, you will be memorable for ever. Making change. You will be a revolution.’

  ‘Do you want me to work for you?’ I ask, confused. ‘Like, behind the king’s back?’

  ‘In a way, I suppose,’ she lisps. Then her lip flickers. It’s animalistic – can’t explain it. Suddenly I just don’t trust it. I feel unsafe. My instinct makes me do it. Something tells me to –

  I launch backwards. Away from her. She laughs and slams her hand on my shoulder. Knots her fingers around my hair. Snaps my neck back. Got me. Grabs me tight, her lips against my face, close to her. ‘I am going to be queen and you are going to help me,’ she growls.

  ‘Help you how?’ I am so scared I’m nearly sick. Trembling. I can barely breathe.

  ‘Sometimes, Aurabel, one has to kill a cow to feed many mouths.’

  I throw myself forward, darting fast. She drags me back by my hair and throws me to the forest floor. Dirt in my hands and mouth.

  ‘Babies! Make it quick – she’s a nice one. I’m sure she will be tasty too.’

  No! No! Please! Don’t! I beg and scream but I have to swim. Away. Fast. The serpents are coming for me, chasing me, quick, quick, quick, attacking, growling, biting, with gnashing teeth and claws and eyes that burn through me. And Sienna is sailing away, her back turned as I begin to taste my own blood.

  AT MIDNIGHT

  I’m not a good sleeper. Cheryl knows that. She’s slept like a baby since she came off the medication. She told me she sleeps better now than she ever did when Rory was around. Even though her missing boy is a drop in the depths of the sea, out of touch, still it gives her security, reassurance somehow. She never cries or wants him like somebody pining after somebody dead. She sleeps soundly, as if he is guarding her, protecting her always, squeezing into every hole in the wall; his love for her a blanket, with her all the time.

  I think of her always when I lie awake at night. I lie where Rory did. Eyes at the blank ceiling, waiting for the fluorescent green stars to appear like on that first night. Lying in his bedroom. Slotting into his life like a foreign coin in an arcade machine. Waiting for hope to come in the form of a coma. Where are you? What are you doing? Breathing in the last of whatever scent was left of him in his bedroom, although it seems I have sniffed the life out of everything he touched. So now I just leave everything the way it is for him, allowing his mother to remind me of him every day.

  I creep up. She’s used to that. To the bathroom first to make things normal. I have an anxiety about bedwetting – there are new things to think about and some, especially at night, are out of my control. I flush the
chain and in the wash of the water I bounce down the stairs and out into the summer night. Hastings is sleeping, lit only by the spilling amber of street lamps.

  At the beach, I nervously grip onto my door keys in that knife-like position that Flynn taught me. Aim for the eye. Aim for the eye.

  Over the stones I wobble and tip. There it is. The sea, with its unforgiving familiarity. The night so black and the water so cold. How could I have grown in this unforgiving mass of navy ocean?

  The pier in sight, it all comes rushing back in a blur. When I first met him. When he found me.

  I feel sick and squeamish from the butterflies. Excited. The thought of seeing Rory. My tummy whipping and flipping and jump-jacking in this trapping, cramping darkness. I feel selfish. I should have told the boys I was coming. Now I am small. I am a dot in the palm of nature. The big grand moon, staring, a Cyclops eye. Shut up, you.

  Heart rattling in its cage, I step under the pier. The sea is moaning. A fat seal flops and rests in the water’s break, which is a bit strange. But nothing else other than Hastings regulars: a few empty, browning crushed beer cans and burnt-out cigarette butts left over from summer. Pigeons coo. I check my phone. I don’t even know how to use the thing. But I’m on time. Chewing the soft fat on the inside of my mouth, I’m not sure whether to sit or stand. Not sure what my fate will be; who or what is wanting me if it isn’t Rory – and if it is … him … do I look OK? Does he feel the same? I rearrange my pose – leaning, standing, hair folded behind my ear self-consciously. Why am I so nervous? Why am I so … And it’s dark. Scary. Could be the journalists again … if it is, this is a nasty trick. To lure me here to ask questions – how am I feeling? Still sad that your boyfriend drowned? They’ll never know the truth.

  The seal leans up, its body gingerly thumping closer. Backing into the wall I hope whoever’s coming comes quick. Still the seal, closer again, with her leathered rolls of blubbery fat, slamming down to the stones, dipping and rising, flippers sucking, glassy eyes fixed on me – and something makes me think that it might be the seal I have come here to see.