Petronella & the Trogot (15 page)

The Black Box
opened and warm air was soon whizzing around both Petronella and Percy. The two thawed out a little. Then they trudged to the lift as fast as they could. “Can you let us out, please, Nexus?” Petronella said.

“Yes, just pull the door and get in the lift. It will leave in no time. Sorry about these two beasts not helping you. But not all
The Gergon
is bad,” Nexus said.

 

 

Petronella and Percy shot up in the lift, just as fast as when they had gone down. This lift was a little bigger. But Petronella and Percy did not need all that space because they had to hug each other to keep warm. When the lift door opened, they came out into a bright light. It was a hill with fire and sparks spurting out of its top.

“It's a volcano,” said Petronella. “I've seen them in pictures.”

“What be that?” asked Percy.

“Well, that fire coming out of the hill you see there is called lava. Once the lava is out it runs down the sides of the hill. Then when the lava cools down, it stops flowing and turns into what is called molten lava. That is cooled-down lava which then turns into stone and becomes part of the hill. The hill and the lava together are called a volcano.”

“Me thinketh I seeth what ye mean. What be that bridge over the volcano?

“I don't know. Maybe we should go up and see. That bridge could take us to the other side and out of here. It must be the direction we need to go in. I can't see a pathway anywhere. Or a guardian. Let's go.”

As they got nearer to the middle of the bridge, they could see the lava from above. It was blindingly bright. So bright that they had to squint. They couldn't see where they were putting their feet. Percy was walking in front of Petronella. He put his foot forward... all of a sudden the bridge was no longer there. Just empty space... And Percy put his foot out into the air. He lost his balance, to-ing and fro-ing. But, at last, managed to throw himself back onto the bridge instead of falling into the volcano.

The bridge had broken. There was only half a bridge. The other half did not exist at all. What was the point of that?

“That was a lucky escape,” said Petronella. “You could have been sizzling in there by now.”

They stood there a while and looked down into that gaping mouth spitting out fire. The boy stood trembling and at the same time in awe of it all. Flames everywhere. Then they noticed that stuck around the rim of the pit were some moaning shadows. Petronella was also shivering with fear now. They called down to the shadows: “HELLO! HELLO!” No, the shadows couldn't hear them.

“We must needs try the other side of the bridge,” said Percy.

“OK, but don't lean against the railing. It doesn't look safe,” Petronella said.

Looking down from this side, they saw a woman with a shining whip. She was lashing the shadows, one by one, going round clockwise. The shadows groaned.

“HELLO! HELLO!” they tried calling again.

The woman looked up, saw them and stopped whipping the shadow she was on.

She seemed to hover down the volcano. “COME BACK DOWN HERE,” she shouted to them. Another woman they hadn't seen in the volcano came out from a distance and hovered over, too.

Still squinting, Petronella and Percy went back down the bridge until they met up with the women.

“I wasn't expecting you so early. I thought you'd spend more time at
The Frozen Lake
. Did you meet
The Gergon
,” one of the women asked.

“Oh, we sure did. And I was attacked by Lady Fortesque,” said Petronella.

“That woman is awful. Nexus certainly has his hands full. What with her AND Zipper AND Snapper. Still Nexus could leave if he wanted to, but he loves keeping order down there. He was in the army, you know. In the top ranks. A General, I think.”

“How interesting,” said Petronella.

“I was in an army. Or should I say that I was in command of the forces, I actually HAD my own army. An army of women. We occupied Aeolia and Ionia.”

‘
Wherever they are,' thought Petronella.

“Yes, and they were perfect places. All men were not allowed in these cities and had to go and live on the outskirts. Those of us who had children would keep them if they were girls, and the boys were taken to their fathers to look after. I was
The Queen Warrior
. My name is
Bellatrix.
And this is my sister,
Princess Zelda,
also a warrior. All the women in my family are or have been warriors.”
 

“Pleased to meet you,
Queen Bellatrix
and
Princess Zelda
. I'm Petronella and this is Percy.”

‘
They certainly look like women warriors,' thought Petronella. They were dressed in suits of armour which must have been made specially for them. The top part was like a man's suit of armour. But stuck to the back were thin see-through wings. The bottom parts were steel skirts - very beautiful - pleated. On the edge of each pleat, large nails stuck out. The sharp end pointing outwards. That should stop anyone going near them for sure. Their helmets were also in shiny steel.
Queen Bellatrix
had a crown round hers, while
Princess Zelda
had a tiara. Encrusted into the crown and tiara, at the front, were huge diamonds. They sparkled when they caught the light of the burning lava. Their boots were made of steel, too. But at the side of each boot there were wings. That explains why they hover, rather than walking. Gliding over the ground without touching it. These blue-eyed
Queen Bellatrix
and
Princess Zelda
were truly a beautiful sight.

Queen Bellatrix
was holding a whip. It had a jewelled handle, leather diamond-studded thongs and a large diamond on the tip of each strip.
Princess Zelda
was gripping a jewelled javelin with a shining sharp gold point.

Queen Bellatrix
broke the silence: “As you are visitors, I suppose I should tell you all about
The Beating Volcano
. We have nicknamed it
The Spit Fire
b
ecause it spits out ashes and flames all the time. We chose to be guardians of
The Beating Volcano
because we are THE top defenders of women. The shadows in here are those of men who were violent to women. Mostly wife beaters.”

“Well, that is a terrible crime,” said Petronella. She looked at Percy and he nodded his agreement.

“It sure is,” said
Queen Bellatrix
. “But they are paying for it now. What happens to them is this: when they arrive here, they are placed against the rim of
The Beating Volcano
in a circle. Then they are well and truly whipped. After that, they are thrown in
The Beating Volcano
and come out as lava. When they have cooled down, they turn into molten lava first and then stone. If they try to escape,
Princess Zelda
hurls her javelin and pierces them. Even from a distance, she never misses. Sometimes they run up the bridge only to fall in again when they get to the top. We glide over them all day. You see, these wings on our backs and on the sides of our boots are necessary. Otherwise we would sink into the soft lava. Our bodies are weighed down with this fireproof armour. There is no way we could walk in this,” said
Queen Bellatrix
.

“Men who hit women are cowards,” said Petronella.

“Yes, they be that. I should never wanteth anyone to hitteth myn ma,” said Percy.

“I must say I take pride in my job,” said
Queen Bellatrix,
“and so does my sister here.”
Princess Zelda
nodded. “
Princess Zelda
cannot speak. She is dumb. Her husband tore at her throat and ruined her vocal cords.”

“How awful! Poor dear, I'm so sorry,” said Petronella. “But we had better be off and leave you to your work, then. Could you tell us the way, please?

“There are two ways you can go. If you go through that door over there, you will get to the cave on the same level as this one.”

“I see,” said Petronella.

“Another sister of mine is guardian in there. We are three sisters in all. She deals with wife beaters, too. She tames them as far as she can. Then she brings them here.
Princess Zelda
sometimes does some javelin throwing in there, too. Well, it's only next door so she can go whenever she's needed.”

Princess Zelda
nodded and smiled.

“Circe is a Princess Warrior, too.
Princess Circe
is a right witch. She turns men into pigs. They arrive in groups and she has the most tasty banquet laid out for them. She mixes a special potion with her very own fair hands. And she puts it in their food. Potent liquid is poured into her homemade wine. She boils it for three days in her cauldron, bubbling and foaming. Has to keep stirring it with her stick. Then pours it into golden goblets for them. I am told the wine is tasty. This mixture makes them fall asleep. When they wake up they have heads of pigs, with bristles and all, and they grunt like pigs. But their brains are still that of a man, so they know what is happening. They wallow in the mud and she hits them with big sticks when they get out of hand.”

“How can she deal with all those men? Don't they attack her?”

“No, they would not dare. You see, she has very long hair. Down to her waist. Each strand is a horrid skinny snake with slimy scales. Men are terrified to go near her,” said
Queen Bellatrix.
 

“I can understand that,” said Petronella, trying to imagine what
Princess Circe
looked like.

“She makes sausage meat out of them and sometimes feeds this to the next load of shadows. Her pork pies are the best anyone has ever tasted.”

Petronella and Percy thought they would never want to try those pies. No matter how tasty they were!

“So all you would see if you went there would be hundreds of pigs grunting around. B
ut I am sure you will want to get on with your journey and go up to the next level,” said
Queen Bellatrix.
 

“Yes, I think we'll take your good advice, thanks,” said Petronella. “It would be better to skip
Princess Circe
's Cave. What do you think Percy?”

“Me thinketh I must needs getteth to myn ma and pa,” said Percy.

“It's all upwards now. If you go through there,” she said pointing to a well-polished oak door, “then you can take the walled stairs. These stairs are made of red-brick, like the walls either side of them. Just go up the stairs and you'll be well and truly on the way.”

After having said their goodbyes, Petronella and Percy went through the polished oak door and started climbing up the stairs.

 

 

The stairs were steep and it looked a mighty long way up. As
Queen Bellatrix
had said, the stairs had red-brick walls built up on either side. Every now and then, there were recesses carved into the walls. In each of these spaces stood a statue of a woman.

Percy was striding up the stairs fast. Probably because he knew he would be seeing his parents soon. Petronella lagged behind a little. Her feet felt wet. How could that be? She turned around and saw that water was rising up behind them. It was rising faster than she was climbing the steps. Soon her boots and skirt were soaking wet which weighed her down and made her go even slower. The water was now up to her waist and she couldn't see the steps anymore. Percy saw that Petronella had stopped, she was floating in the water.

“Run up fast, Percy. Don't you worry about me. Just try and get to the top and out of danger. You must save yourself and get to your parents.”

“No, Petronella. I shall nat goeth without ye.”

“You must, you silly boy,” she said.

But the boy had a mind of his own. He let the water rise up until he was floating, too. The water was very salty. Sea water. Was there a sea under here? Impossible. How could that be? Maybe a salted lake. Anyhow, they kept afloat thanks to all that salt in the water. It then dawned on them, that they were actually being helped up. The rising water took them higher and higher up the stairs. There were so many steps and they were so steep that it would have been nearly impossible for them to get up to the top by walking up.

One hour went by until they finally saw a door at the top of the stairs. The water stopped rising and Petronella and Percy climbed the last few steps. They knocked on the door. They heard the sound of slow shuffling footsteps and a walking stick. The door was slowly opened by an old woman. A very old woman. White hair and face full of deep dark wrinkles. She had a hunched back and shaking hands. When she talked her voice trembled. In shaking steps she went towards another door asking Petronella and Percy to follow her. They stopped in front of the door and she said:

“I've been expecting you. I hope the ride up here was not too awful. Come, come to my little office. I have a nice log fire burning and you can dry your clothes out. Here are two dressing gowns. You can wear them while you wait. On the table there, you'll find hot drinks and cakes,” she said.

“While you are drying out, I will tell you about myself.”

“My name is
Etheldreda
. I am
Bellatrix
,
Zelda
and
Circe
's grandmother. My daughter,
Andra
, died fighting for our cause. Her shadow is here. She is the mother of my three granddaughters. I was a warrior woman, too, in my day. Those were the days. Our army was double the size it was in Bellatrix's day. Then women lost interest. My granddaughters do me proud though. They have so many medals. And now women simply don't have armies anymore. They have let themselves go. Don't stand up for their rights like we used to. Still, can't be helped. Such a pity, though, say I. Never mind. No good harping on the past. So we stay here in
Trogot Caves
and do what we can.”