Fair Wind to Widdershins (4 page)

“Aunt Millie!” shouted Esmeralda. “Surprise! I’m back!”

There were noises of hasty movement from inside the caravan, and the next moment, the top half of the door burst open and the startled face and upper portions of a plump, elderly lady hedgehog appeared.

“Esmeralda! Is it really you?”

Millie Rose Thorne had a blue-and-silver scarf tied around her head and huge hooped earrings hanging on either side of her round, apple-cheeked face. Her eyes widened in amazement as she stared down at Esmeralda.

“Hello, Aunty!” Esmeralda laughed, running up the steps. “I bet you didn’t expect to see me again!”

“That I didn’t!” gasped her aunt, flinging the bottom half of the door open. “What a resourceful child you are, to be sure!”

“You bet I am!” chuckled Esmeralda.

“And who’s your little friend?” Millie Rose asked, peering down at Trundle, who was standing on the bottom step, feeling a little awkward and embarrassed and left out of it.

“He’s the Lamplighter!” exclaimed Esmeralda. “Just like the Badger Blocks showed!”

“Well, well, well,” said the old lady. “Come on up, Trundle. Don’t be shy. Let’s make ourselves comfortable, and then you can tell me everything the two of you young folk have been up to.”

Trundle scampered up the steps and followed Esmeralda and her aunt into the dark caravan. The walls were veiled in blue velvet curtains, and in the middle of the floor stood a round table with a blue cloth and a shining crystal ball. A strange, spicy scent tickled Trundle’s nose and made him want to sneeze.

“Let’s clear all this stuff away and have a nice cup of strawberry tea,” Millie Rose said. “Do you like plum cake at all, Trundle?”

“I don’t know,” Trundle replied. “I’ve never had it.”

“Never had plum cake?” exclaimed the old lady. “You poor boy! Sit ye down and make yourself comfortable while I get things organized.”

Trundle sat at the table while Esmeralda’s aunt whisked open the blue curtains and cleared the table. In a few moments, Trundle found himself gazing around at a lovely, homey little caravan with pink walls and windows draped with white lace, dressers filled with crockery, and a little black stove upon which a kettle was piping and steaming.

“So, children,” Millie Rose said as she laid plates on the table. “Tell me all!”

“Those horrid pirates took me to Drune and sold me as a slave to work in the mines!” Esmeralda began.

“No! How very dreadful!” gasped her aunt, spooning tea into a pot.

“I’ll say!” Esmeralda agreed. “But I escaped and stowed away on a windship that took me to Trundle’s homeland. I knew the moment I saw him that he was the Lamplighter from the Badger Blocks! The pirates were hot on our trail by then, but we got away from them and hopped a ride on another windship that took us all the way back to Drune. And long story short—we’ve found the first of the crowns—the Crystal Crown! Trundle, show it to Aunt Millie.”

Trundle undid the laces of his backpack and reached inside for the crown. He placed it carefully on the tablecloth. It shone and glittered in the light.

“My oh my!” said Millie Rose, her eyes gleaming. “What a very pretty thing! It must be worth a fortune!” She sat down at the table, lifting a knife and cutting thick slices from a rich, dark plum cake.

“And that’s not all,” said Esmeralda. “Trundle, show Aunt Millie the key.”

Trundle paused with his slice of cake halfway to his mouth. He put it back on his plate and rummaged around in his backpack for the key.

He placed it on the table next to the crown.

“There!” said Esmeralda. “We found that with the crown. It has to mean something, doesn’t it? It’s a clue, isn’t it? A clue to where the second crown can be found!”

“Well, I never,” murmured her aunt, picking up the key and turning it over and over in her paws.

“Do you recognize the seals?” Trundle asked, his mouth now half full of delicious and sticky cake.

The old lady studied the seal on one side of the handle. It was an ornate letter W with vines and leaves running up and down it.

“This is the coat of arms of the ancient kings of Widdershins,” she told them. She turned the key over. “I don’t recognize this other seal at all, but it must have some significance.”

“The second crown must be hidden in Widdershins!” cried Esmeralda. “We have to go there right now!”

“I’m sure I’ve heard the name Widdershins before,” Trundle said. “But I don’t remember anything about it.”

“Well, no, my dear,” Millie Rose said. “I don’t imagine the simple farming folk of Shiverstones would know very much about the Guild of Observators in the ancient citadel of Widdershins.”

Trundle blushed a little. “I’m afraid all we really know about is how to raise and cook cabbages,” he admitted. “But I do read a lot of books,” he added brightly. “And I’m…” His voice trailed off as an odd thought suddenly struck him. “Excuse me,” he said, very politely. “But how did you know I come from Shiverstones?”

Millie Rose sipped her tea. “Oh, I’m sure you or Esmeralda must have mentioned it,” she said. “Eat up your plum cake. There’s plenty more.”

Esmeralda was looking at her aunt with a puzzled frown on her face. “Um, actually, no,” she said. “I don’t think we did.”

“Of course you did, my dear child,” said her aunt. “Have another drop of tea, won’t you?”

“Aunt Millie!” Esmeralda said, her voice suddenly rather sharp. “I am absolutely sure that neither of us mentioned Shiverstones at all.” She reached across the table and drew the iron key back toward herself. “How
did
you know?”

Trundle accidentally swallowed a big chunk of plum cake.

Something was wrong here!

Very wrong indeed!

M
illie Rose Thorne sipped her tea and smiled indulgently at Esmeralda.

“You and your fancies, my dear,” she chuckled. “What will you think of next?” She looked at Trundle. “More strawberry tea, Trundle?”

“Umm … no, thank you,” mumbled Trundle.

“What’s going on, Aunt Millie?” Esmeralda asked sternly. “How did you know Trundle came from Shiverstones?” She frowned at the smiling old lady. “Tell me the truth!”

“Esmeralda, Esmeralda,” Millie Rose said, still smiling. “You always were such an inquisitive girl!” Her eyes twinkled. “But I suppose I ought to tell you the whole story.”

“Darned right you ought!” growled Esmeralda.

“You remember that when you made that special Badger Block prophecy, your picture—the Princess in Darkness—was upside down.”

“Yes, meaning problems,” said Esmeralda. “So?”

“So it was hardly surprising that the pirates attacked the very next day and kidnapped you!” said her aunt. “Something like that was bound to happen. Which is why I wasn’t too bothered when they popped you in a sack and made off with you.”

“Thanks for your concern!” grumbled Esmeralda.

“Tush!” said her aunt. “It’s not like they were going to kill you, is it? Where would be the profit in that? I knew they would sell you—and Drune is always on the lookout for healthy young slaves.”

Trundle sat openmouthed, hardly able to believe his ears.

“Anyway,” Aunt Millie continued. “I sent a raven messenger off to Captain Grizzletusk with a tempting offer. It got to him just after he’d sold you in the mines. The raven told him about the Badger Block prophecy, and how the blocks foretold that you would find the legendary Six Crowns of the Badger Lords of Old.” She took a sip of tea. “I said I’d pay a very respectable ransom if he was prepared to follow you about on your quest until you had all six crowns. I told him you were bound to escape. And escape you did! I mean, the Fates weren’t going to let you waste away in Drune after a prophecy like that!”

She chuckled. “Of course, pirates being pirates, they couldn’t just quietly follow you—they simply
had
to attack Port Shiverstones!” She tutted and shook her head. “Those rascals will do anything for a quick profit!” She smiled again. “But the long and the short of it is that I’ve been in communication with the
Iron Pig
all along. And very satisfying it was, too, till you managed to outrun them in the Goills! I thought all my clever plans were in ruins till you turned up good as gold on my doorstep, like the precious child you are!”

“You…! You…!” Esmeralda jumped to her feet, spilling the pink tea across the tablecloth in her rage. “You wretched excuse for an aunt!”

Trundle looked from one to the other with growing alarm.

“Calm down, Esmeralda,” said her aunt. “My, but you always were such an excitable child. It all worked out for the best, didn’t it? You found the crown. And you found a clue with it. Now then, sit down, my dear, and let’s finish our tea like civilized people. What must our guest think of your manners?” She beamed at Trundle. “More cake, Trundle, dear?”

“No … thank you,” mumbled Trundle. “Not … very … hungry … anymore…”

“Sit down and finish our
tea
?” hollered Esmeralda. “Not on your life! Trundle, grab the crown and the key—we’re getting out of here!”

Bewildered and befuddled, Trundle snatched up the crown and key off the table and shoved them into his backpack. One thing was certain—Esmeralda’s Aunt Millie was not quite the sweet old lady she seemed. Not at all, she wasn’t!

Millie Rose put her cup down and stood up. “Now stop this nonsense, both of you,” she said. “Or I will have to get cross with you.”

“You put me in so much danger, you horrible, horrible person!” raged Esmeralda as she backed toward the door. “I never want to see you again! I hate you!”

“Tsk, tsk!” said Millie Rose, edging around the table. “What an unkind thing to say! And after I brought you up like you were my own kith and kin! But I can see you’re upset.” She reached out with plump, curved fingers. “Come here, my dear, and let Aunty kiss it better.”

“No fear!” yelled Esmeralda, bounding backward.

Seeing a rather unpleasant light growing in the old lady’s eyes, Trundle stepped in front of Esmeralda and drew his sword.

“I’m terribly sorry,” he said, backing off with the point aimed at the old lady. “But I’m going to have to ask you to keep away.” He hoped she wouldn’t notice how much the sword was shaking in his hand. He glared indignantly at her. “I mean to say! What kind of an aunt are you, anyway? Esmeralda could have been killed any number of times over the past few days.”

“What a fuss you do make!” the old lady said kindly. “It would have been so much easier if you’d kept your silly questions and worries to yourself and just trusted me.” She shook her head and sighed. “But if you insist on doing things the hard way, well … so be it. I’ve done my best, and no aunty could do more.”

So saying, she lifted her hands out toward them, her chubby fingers wriggling like worms.

“Madam, I must warn you, if you try—” Trundle began, but quite suddenly his mouth became so dry that he could no longer speak. His eyes widened as he saw long black threads of smoke emerging from Aunt Millie’s fingertips. The smoke came questing through the air, undulating and slithering as the two friends backed away.

Suddenly the slinking threads of smoke darted forward and down and coiled themselves around their ankles.

“Stop doing that!” Esmeralda exclaimed, struggling to get free.