Moon Princess (9 page)

He began to speak in a deep and soulful voice. At first Sienna couldn't understand much, but gradually the tickling feeling in her ear grew stronger as Bai tuzi translated.

‘My name is Sun. It is such a pleasure to see you here,' said the old monk. ‘It fills me with joy, and great pain too. Your mother was a very special lady. I wish I could ease your anguish.'

‘Thank you,' said Sienna quietly.

Sun glanced over his shoulder, as if wary of the time. ‘I must leave – I have important work to do and I should not leave my duties. It was my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I haven't given up hope that we will see your mother again, and I beg you not to give up either.'

I haven't
, thought Sienna, and smiled. The old man bowed slightly and continued his walk, his broad shoulders stooped. Sienna felt overwhelmed by the old monk's words. It was hard to hold back the tears.

Hong Yi patted her shoulder gently. ‘Your mother left some papers with us, the day she disappeared. Perhaps you would like them. If you wait here, I'll bring them to you. Will you be all right?'

‘Yes,' she said, sitting down on the shaded steps. ‘I'm fine.'

He nodded, and hurried off across the courtyard.

But Sienna wasn't fine. She felt sad and excited all at once – it was so confusing. She hoped Mum was OK, wherever she was – but Minka had said she was in danger. How would Sienna find her before it was too late? Bai tuzi pressed his nose against her cheek comfortingly. What papers could her mother have left here, and could they hide an important clue?

A moment later a loud gong pulled her from her thoughts. The door of another hall opened on the opposite side of the courtyard. A group of about fifteen monks streamed out. Sienna looked at the faces of the young men in their ochre-coloured robes.

Then she saw him.

It was the piercing blue eyes that gave him away, though he was also much plumper than the other monks. Pearls of sweat glistened on his brow. In his hands he held a golden vessel, which flashed in the sunlight. Sienna realized that the last time she had seen this man, in the
apartment in Shanghai, something else had been flashing in his hand: a knife.

This was Ling's accomplice!

Desperate to get away before the monk recognized her, Sienna raced across the inner courtyard.

She was approaching the exit when someone gripped her arm. She jumped violently.

‘What's the matter? Here, I found them.' Hong Yi handed Sienna a folder full of papers and pushed his glasses up his nose. ‘These belonged to your mother. You should have them. But also I wanted to invite you here for our Moon Festival celebrations. It will be a
very
special occasion this year. And we are planning to say a special prayer for your mother.'

Sienna's heart was pounding. ‘Um, thank you. I'll think about the Moon Festival. Thank you for showing me around. I have to go now.'

Waving a hasty goodbye at Hong Yi – who seemed a little hurt – Sienna raced down the mountain. The white hare whispered directions in her ear:
next right, next left, cross this road, that's the bus stop over there
. Finally she was sitting on the bus, feeling relieved, sweat tricking down
her neck.

By the time she made it back to Zou's place, it was dusk. As she pushed open the door, she heard a familiar voice, and her heart began to thump violently.

10 Huozhede – Alive!

‘
M
y delicate nose simply cannot bear this smell. Thanks for your trouble, Doc, but I'm afraid I must stop this treatment.' There, right in front of Sienna, lying on a white cloth, was Rufus! Zou was standing over him, pouring a steaming drink into the dog's mouth. ‘Waah!' wailed Rufus. ‘Help! He's trying to poison me!'

‘It's all over now,' the doctor soothed him. ‘That was just some medicine to help soothe
your energy and repair your good temper.'

Zou's words made Sienna smile even more – she certainly wouldn't describe Rufus as
ever
having had a ‘good temper'! But she had never been more pleased to see her friend. She lifted Rufus from the couch and hugged him tightly. ‘Rufus, you're alive! You're
alive
!'

‘Of course I'm alive, silly girl,' Rufus said crossly, but he looked pleased to see Sienna and he gave her a tender lick on her nose. ‘That monster had no chance against me.'

Sienna carefully carried her friend up the stairs, kissing and hugging him tightly, while Zou watched them go with a small smile upon his face.

Upstairs, the kitchen was empty and neither Feng nor Xiaolong were anywhere to be seen. Sienna had no time to wonder about that – she just wanted to know what had happened to Rufus.

‘Where have you been? And where's Minka? Is she all right?'

‘One thing at a time,' grumbled Rufus. ‘The cat is fine. I'm glad she's not here. She never stops talking about herself.'

Sienna sat Rufus on her lap and stroked his fur gently. ‘But where is she now?'

‘She suddenly said she could feel your mother more strongly. Then she went off to look for her. Don't worry. She's tough, that one.'

Sienna rested her head against the little spaniel's head and tried to stop tears of relief from falling on his soft fur. ‘But where have you been, Rufus? I saw you … it looked like you were dead!'

‘Dead? Dead?! Me? Don't make me laugh!' scoffed the little dog, giving Sienna a gentle nip as a rebuke. ‘We invisible friends cannot be killed that easily! And certainly not by one of our own kind. It is true that we can be injured … but we will heal, given time and the continued belief of our human counterpart.' Rufus saw Sienna's confused look and sighed. ‘You didn't really think I was gone for ever, did you?'

Sienna paused and then shook her head. She realized that he was right: even after witnessing the terrible scene at the station, a part of her had felt that Rufus would be with her again.

‘Well then,' continued Rufus firmly, ‘it was the strength of your belief and your love that
kept me alive. It's the same for Minka. Even though your mum claimed to have stopped believing in her, she never truly did. As long as you're here for us, we will
always
be here for you.'

Sienna smiled. She didn't think she would ever understand the mysteries of the invisible friends! Then her smile faded. ‘But the monster, Rufus. Will the monster be able to find us again?'

‘That's quite possible, Sienna. I take it you know who it belongs to?'

Sienna gulped and nodded. ‘I think it's Ling's. Can Ling see you, Rufus?'

‘Yes. And now we've met her best friend. A charming fellow, that monster. Now, come to think of it … where's
your
new bestie? Did the two of you have a falling-out? I know you're not always easy to get along with …'

‘Rufus, stop it. I don't know where Feng is right now either. He couldn't come with me to the temple today.' Then Sienna told Rufus Feng's story about his brother, the Moon Festival, and her visit to the temple.

Rufus rubbed his nose thoughtfully. ‘I am sure you are right. Something
must
have happened at the temple. Perhaps your mother discovered
something that Ling wasn't happy about. But I don't know what part your new friend and Gege play in all this. Perhaps Feng knows more than he has told you? But I don't want you to get your hopes up too high; I've experienced first-hand what Ling and her crocodile companion are capable of.'

‘Was it that bad?' asked Sienna.

‘Pretty much. They asked constant questions about you and your family and whether Kate had been in touch and what she had told you. It was most dull. And that crocodile monster has the most evil bad breath. Not to mention the constant caterwauling from Minka …' Rufus shook himself. ‘It's a wonder I survived, frankly!'

‘Ah, I see you are feeling better.' Zou had come upstairs. ‘Thanks, in no small part, to my potion, I expect!'

‘You must be a very good doctor,' said Sienna, frowning at Rufus as he stuck his tongue out at Zou.

Zou put his head on one side and smiled. ‘I don't know if I'm a good doctor, but I see things that other people don't. That helps a lot. Now, tell us what happened at the temple today.'

Sienna described everything that had happened, including the invitation from the monk to join them for the Moon Festival celebrations. Zou's eyes shone with pride when Sienna told him how the hare had helped her to find her way to and from the temple.

‘A childish dragon and now a sparkling hare, this just keeps on getting better,' grumbled Rufus.

‘Let's get some sleep,' said Zou, ruffling Rufus's fur. ‘Tomorrow is another day.' He glanced at the sky through the tiny kitchen window. ‘It's almost a full moon. And the day after tomorrow is the Moon Festival.'

As Zou laid mattresses out on the floor, Sienna thought again about where Feng and Xiaolong might be.

‘Do you think he's all right?' asked Sienna.

‘Don't worry,' Zou replied. ‘This is his home city, so he won't get lost.'

Sienna snuggled up to Rufus and felt herself drifting quickly into sleep. With the familiar warmth of her spaniel friend back by her side, she knew she could now find Mum – she was sure of it.

11 Gege – Big Brother

S
ienna was back in England. She was in her classroom at school, with Rufus. Everyone was staring at her. Mrs Kay, her maths teacher, seemed to be waiting for her to answer a question
.

Rufus whispered the solution to her
.

‘
Sorry, Mrs Kay. I think x equals five,' Sienna answered
.

Mrs Kay frowned. ‘Correct. But please stop talking to yourself now.'

Sienna realized she had been whispering with Rufus. The girls behind her giggled. She felt furious with them!

Suddenly Mum came through the door. Her face was dirty and her clothes were ragged. Her arms and legs were covered with scratches and mosquito bites. She reached out to Sienna. ‘I miss you so much, my little one, please forgive me …'

Sienna wanted to jump up and to run to her mother, but a wall appeared out of the ground
.

‘Mum!' she cried. ‘I can't reach you!'

Before the wall blocked her view, Sienna saw something white had appeared on her mother's shoulder
.

It was Minka
.

A delicious smell awoke her. On the kitchen table steamed a pot of hot tea, with
mantou
bread lying beside it. Rufus was snoring in her arms. Sienna placed the dog carefully on to the pillow and got up.

Zou greeted her cheerfully. ‘Delicious dragon's head tea and warm
mantou
. Unless you'd prefer rice soup with dried meat.'

Sienna looked at Zou doubtfully.
Dragon's
head tea?

‘That's just what they call it,' explained Zou, seeming to read her thoughts. The doctor sat down beside Sienna at the table and bit into his bread. ‘Now, whilst we were sleeping, Bai has been busy. There's still no sign of Feng, but Bai tuzi tells me he knows where he is. I think it's time we paid Feng a visit.'

Sienna hurriedly ate some bread and drank a slurp of tea. Then, after a quick visit to the bathroom, she tied the headscarf around her hair again. She was worried about Feng. He had seemed so sad yesterday when he'd told her about his fear of going to the temple. Plus she knew it was getting him down that he couldn't see his little dragon friend, or the other invisible creatures. Getting her things together, Sienna woke up Rufus. ‘Time to get up, sleepyhead!' she whispered.

The dog got to his feet, grumbling. ‘I'd rather stay here and sleep but I suppose I had better come with you – you'll only get yourself into difficulties without me. And they say humans are the most intelligent species. What a joke.'

They were about to go downstairs when
Sienna suddenly remembered the folder the monk had given her, containing her mother's papers. She dashed back to her room to fetch it. She had been so pleased to see Rufus yesterday that she'd forgotten all about it! She stuffed the papers in her bag, not wanting to be separated from them.