Ambrosia's Story (7 page)

Once beside her he knelt down and clasped his
hand over her mouth. She awoke seeing her stepfather’s face and
immediately began to struggle for her freedom.

“Stop struggling, Ambrosia, or I will hurt
you and your little friends too.”

Ambrosia immediately stopped fighting him
knowing in her heart he would do exactly what he threatened.

“I need to take my hand from your mouth now.
If you scream I will hurt you and the others, do you
understand?

She nodded yes.

He removed his hand from her mouth and began
tying her hands in front of her. “Now come quietly with me,
Ambrosia, or your new friends will pay for your actions.”

Daniel McDonald tied her feet together then
hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack. He carried her back to
the cave. When he put her down, he was breathing heavily.

He tore off a piece of his shirt and stuffed
it into her mouth. “Now you sit here like a good girl while I visit
that red haired fairy friend of yours.”

Ambrosia’s panicked. “Mirabella!” her mind
screamed. Again, she called out to Mirabella in her mind.

* * * *

Mirabella awoke suddenly. Without question,
she knew danger was near and that Ambrosia needed her. She left her
mushroom and went directly to Bean’s awakening him. “Shh...” she
whispered into his ear. “Something is wrong. Ambrosia is in danger
as are we all.”

Bean did not question her. He rose from his
bed quickly wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What can I do?”

“Wake the others. Keep them quiet. Gather
them all together in Basil’s kitchen. I need to check on Ambrosia.”
Side by side, they left Bean’s home; once in the still night air,
they parted ways.

While Bean went about getting everyone to
Basil and Ogre’s kitchen Mirabella had discovered Ambrosia was
missing from her bed.

Nog was dead the other trolls had moved on so
what or who could be threatening them? She searched her senses for
Ambrosia and realized she was not far from the village and she
could hear her heart beat quickened by fear.

Mirabella joined the others in the kitchen
just as Daniel McDonald stepped from the forest and entered the
small clearing in front of the village.

“What is going on, Mirabella?” Rom asked as
she entered the kitchen.

“Someone has taken Ambrosia.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Bean asked.

“I am uncertain, but I sense danger near,”
Mirabella said. “It is close and after more than just Ambrosia. We
are all in danger.”

“It is not trolls,” Rom said. “I would know
if they were near.”

“This danger is foreign,” Mirabella said. “I
can sense it, but I cannot identify it. We must stay together
and...” The snapping of a twig not far away ended the
conversation.

Mirabella blew out the two candles that were
lit and moved toward the window. In the moon’s light, she could see
something moving just beyond the village. It moved closer like a
predator stalking its prey.

It was hunched over and moving cautiously. As
it passed by Ambrosia’s hut, the night’s moon shone brightly on the
intruders face.

“No...how can it be?” Mirabella said.

“What is it Mirabella?” Raz asked moving
toward the window.

Remembering his face from her encounter with
Ambrosia she said, “It is Ambrosia’s stepfather.”

“How did he find us?” Serena asked.

“I don’t know, but now we must find a way to
deal with him. We cannot let him take Ambrosia back with him. She
will not be safe with him.”

“Tell us what we need to do Mirabella.
Ambrosia is one of us now and we will all work together to protect
her,” Bean said just above a whisper.

“I’m not sure yet,” Mirabella said. “Right
now everyone should stay here and stay very quiet. I am going to go
outside and keep an eye on him.” Mirabella turned to leave.

“I’m going with you,” Rom said stepping in
front of her. She was going to protest, but the look in his eyes
told her it would be useless.

The two friends entered the night together
and hid in the shadows. The watched Daniel McDonald as he crept
through the village. He knelt down in front of Mirabella’s
mushroom. Finding it empty, he was enraged. He moved from house to
house finding them all empty. In his rage, he began to crush the
mushroom homes with his foot.

“Rom! He’ll reach the kitchen soon! Get them
all moved into the woods. Do it quickly!” Mirabella flew high up
into a tree, rested on a branch far from Daniel McDonald’s reach,
and watched him.

Daniel McDonald had entered the village
silently, but now he was enraged at finding it empty. He continued
his path of destruction. “Where are you?” he shouted.

Mirabella watched from high above. After
several minutes, he sat down in the middle of the village exhausted
by his tantrum. Patiently Mirabella waited. She hoped to follow him
to where ever he had hidden Ambrosia.

Rising to his feet, anger still clear on his
barely visible face Daniel McDonald began to walk back to the woods
defeated. Mirabella followed from a safe distance. As soon as he
cleared the meadow and headed toward the mountainside Mirabella was
certain he was headed for the old black bear cave.

Closing her eyes, she used her fairy magic to
wish herself to the cave. She had only a few minutes before Daniel
McDonald reached the cave so she quickly entered in search of
Ambrosia. She was rewarded with the sight of her tied up on a bed
of moss.

“He is close, Ambrosia.” Mirabella landed on
the ground in front of her and it took all her might to pull the
rag from Ambrosia’s mouth.

“Are you hurt?”

“No,” Ambrosia said trying to sit up.

“Stay still,” Mirabella pulled on the vine
tying Ambrosia’s legs together. It took all of her energy, but she
was able to loosen it enough to unwrap it from Ambrosia’s legs. “We
do not have time to untie your hands. As soon as we are free of the
cave, Ambrosia, I want you to run as fast as your legs will carry
you. Run into the forest behind the village and find a place to
hide.”

Just as they stepped out of the cave’s
darkness Mirabella saw Daniel McDonald just a few feet away. “Run
Ambrosia. Run and do not look back.”

Ambrosia ran as fast as she could, her
balance off a bit due to her hands being tied together. Daniel
McDonald turned as though he was going to give chase, but didn’t.
Instead, he turned to face Mirabella.

He took one-step forward. “I’m not going to
hurt you.” He slowly took a few more steps. Mirabella hovered just
a few feet from his face. With one quick move, he lunged forward
and tried to snatch her from the air.

Mirabella had flown higher up just in time
and looked down at him from high above his reach.

“Get down here!” he shouted up at her as he
got back to his feet and dusted wet leaves from his jeans.

“Ambrosia lives with us now. It would be best
for you to return to the human world and leave us alone.”

“Oh. I’ll be returning to my world with
Ambrosia and you little fairy.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“You have no option. Now get down here!”

When Mirabella stayed where she was Daniel
McDonald grew angrier. He picked up a handful of rocks and began
throwing them at her.

Mirabella was able to dart out of the way.
“We will not let you take Ambrosia.” Mirabella flew off and he
turned and began chasing her, but he could not keep up.

He had to stop to catch his breath. His chest
ached from exertion. “This is not over!” he shouted.

* * * *

Mirabella found Ambrosia tucked away in a
hollow log. “It’s safe Ambrosia come out.”

Ambrosia’s eyes were red and swollen with
tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“All of this is my fault. Everyone is in
danger because of me.”

“Your stepfather is an evil man, Ambrosia.
That in no way is your fault. I wish we had the time to discuss
this further, but we must find the others and find a safe place to
hide.”

As they headed into the woods in silence
Mirabella’s thoughts raced. She had to find a way to protect them
all.

They found Rom and the others hidden in the
May apple patch protected by the plants’ big leaves.

“We need to find a safe place to hide for a
few days. We need time to figure out how to deal with this
problem.”

Before Mirabella could finish the thundering
voice of Daniel McDonald filled the air. “You can hide, but I’ll
find you. I’ll find you all. You’re going to make me rich!”

They moved quickly deeper into the woods. As
time passed, Daniel McDonald grew frustrated. He pulled a bottle of
whiskey from his backpack and began to drink. It did not take long
for him to become drunk.

As he continued his search for Ambrosia and
her new friends, his rage grew. “You think you have out smarted me,
but you are wrong!” he shouted angrily.

As he continued staggering through the trees
an evil thought came to him. He pulled a lighter from his jeans
pocket and began to laugh. He bent over to pick up a dried stick,
but lost his balance and fell. “I’ll smoke you out!” he shouted
from the ground.

Still on the ground, he lit the lighter to
some leaves and sticks and began to laugh. As dawn arrived, the
fire grew.

* * * *

As the sun lit the world, it was added in its
duty by the flickering flames of what was now a major forest fire.
They could not return to the village because soon it would be
engulfed in flames.

“What do we do?” Ellie asked tears streaming
down her face. “Our home will soon be gone.”

Mirabella looked around her to see the faces
of everyone she loved. Many of them were crying and all of them
looked at her with eyes filled with fear.

Before she could say anything Jollah, Nadia
and Majik emerged from the trees. They paced back and forth
nervously. Jollah neighed loudly.

“They want us to follow them. Everyone, stay
close together,” Mirabella said.

Rom took Ambrosia’s hand and they led the
others in the direction the unicorns had gone. When their journey
was over Mirabella understood.

“The Rainbow Waterfall. You’ve saved us my
friends!” Mirabella kissed each unicorn on the nose. “There is a
huge opening behind the waterfall,” Mirabella told Ambrosia.

“I know. It’s in my book,” Ambrosia said.

Mirabella smiled, “Of course it is. The rocks
are very slippery so everyone be very careful.” As they lined up
and made their way through the waterfall, Mirabella looked back.
The fire grew closer and the air was growing hot. Soon it would
surround the waterfall and everything they knew as home would be
gone.

They all huddled together along the rock wall
inside the waterfall clinging to each other for comfort. Several of
the smaller children clung tightly to Rom. He looked down into
their scared eyes and it pained his heart.

Patting each of their heads Rom asked them to
sit. He sat down beside them and they formed a small semi-circle
around him. “Would you like a story?” he asked.

Even inside the waterfall, they could smell
the smoke. The roaring of the waterfall did spare them the
crackling and popping the fire made as it destroyed their beloved
Mystical Forest.

Rom had to speak loudly to be heard over the
waterfall’s roar. A long time ago a mighty black dragon once
reigned over the Mystical Forest. Merth was the last of his kind
and his heart was black as coal. Each day Merth would wake up
ravished with hunger. He would take to the sky in search of food.
He would swoop over the village and pick someone to eat.

The Great Fairy knew that unless they were
able to stop Merth soon there would be no mystical creatures left
in the world. Merth was gobbling them up one at a time. So the
Great Fairy made the long journey to the edge of the Mystical
Forest where the Goddess of Nature lived within the soul of the
Tree of Life.

The Great Fairy asked the Goddess how they
could stop Merth. In a voice that was, but the whispering wind the
Goddess explained that the only way to stop Merth was to seal him
inside the Tree of Life with her so should could forever ensure he
could not escape and wreak havoc upon the world.”

Despite the devastation going on everyone
lost themselves in Rom’s story grateful for the distraction. For
the next half hour, Rom told them of how Merth came to be sealed in
the Tree of Life by the Great Fairy and how everyone lived happily
for hundreds of years until Nog.

* * * *

They spent the night inside the waterfall.
They laid close together taking comfort in each other’s presence.
When they rose in the morning they knew that they had to leave
their shelter and see what remained if anything of home.

Carefully they left the waterfall. The air
was still smoky and it took a moment for their eyes to readjust to
the light. No words were spoken; no words could ever describe the
devastating loss they felt. Their world was gone. Nothing remained
except ashes over blackness.

“I’m sorry,” Ambrosia said.

Rom put his arm around Ambrosia and she
rested her head on his shoulder finding comfort in her friend’s
arms.

“None of this is your fault Ambrosia.”
Ambrosia was about to speak, but Mirabella stopped her. “Don’t you
dare say that if you hadn’t come here none of this would have
happened. If you had not come here Rom would be dead. Things happen
for a reason, Ambrosia. We will start anew. The fire could not have
crossed the river so we will find a way across and build a new
village.”

“Do you think my father survived?”

“I am unsure, but if he did he may be injured
so we should search the area where this all started for him.”

“I’ll take my pixies and search,” Serena
offered.

“Thank you, Serena. Please be careful and
stay on guard. He may have come out of this unharmed and still be a
great danger to us.”