COTTAGE
“Jarbots!” I announced loudly, and frantically searched for something to say. “Jarbots … leed … feed … heed! … yoss … heed my birds … words. Burst … worst … FIRST! … before anything … other … I and my magic … mag … magnificent! … pet … must be sped … no, but yoss … led to the … the cottage. Yoss! That’s it! Kar! Quickly! To my side!”
Kar, silver Dragon, shimmered to orange smoke and streamed in a ribbon to my side as so such I had commanded in our own Boadlian tongue. Once there gathered, she jelled and firmed into proud and beaming bendo dreen Karro of Thorns. The jesterbeasts, stunned in seeming awe, gazed at her. She stacked her hands palm to palm at her waist and raised her chin to bathe in the admiration. She was so such puffed I could have popped her with a thorn. I remained silent for a goodly span in order to allow her a fair moment of triumph. She is my best friend from ever. When she is full happy, I get a taste of it, too.
“The cottage!” I finally shouted, breaking the spell.
Jerrandal reacted with a leap and a bound, and ordered all the other jesterbeasts to romp into position.
“Karlandave, slip and slide, romp yon!”
“Done, leap and flip, Jerrandal!”
“Marandemma, slip and slide, romp yon!”
“Said before thought, toss and catch, Jerrandal!”
So said, when all jesterbeasts had romped to their places, they revealed ‘emselves to be arranged in two lines with a lane down the middle. Horribly they grinned at us, Kar and me. Kar shrugged like we do. I didn’t.
“Walk down the brain … lane,” I said, knowing without knowing such was what we were meant to do.
The aisle formed by the lines of jesterbeasts ran off to the right and into the trees. Nodding and smiling from side to side, and holding my broom above my head for no known reason, I moved down the lane with Kar at my side. Jerrandal waited, last in line, grinning most horribly, huge right arm, hairy rust red, pointing through the trees. I gave a final nod and brought my broom down to carry it in a more sensible manner.
“I’ll go first,” of course offered Kar.
“Such,” I agreed.
Kar led not twenty paces, and we found my cottage tightly wedged among tall trees. Kar rushed to the door and opened it. She ripped off its lemony outer doorknob and tossed it to me. I greedily gobbled and swallowed and was more than glad to be reminded why I liked my cottage. It was delicious, roof to floor, and especially to door. Licking the last few crumbs of knob from my lips, I followed Kar into the cottage.
“What’s wrong, Bek?” she asked, chewing on a chunk of bench.
She saw my face. She knew me. She knows me. She can read my slightest change of expression, as I so such can read hers when she isn’t cloud or mist so said. She knew I’d seen something right away when I entered. What had I seen? What hadn’t I seen, truth more clearly?
“Where’s my … crystal doll … ball?” I whispered.
We searched. It was nowhere there in the cottage. Clothes, cauldron, Golden shoe, benches, tables, shawl, vials, powders, blue sand, everything other else, all but the crystal ball. The crystal ring glowed danger on my finger. I pointed at it mutely.
“The crystal ball’s still on this world then. We’ll just have to find it,” said ever-confident Kar.
Jerrandal approached, leaned low and peered through the doorway. I subdued my unease, wishing to appear a most powerful Jaha to the jesterbeast.
“Where’s the … the crystal … crystal ball?” I asked with a casual ease.
“Ah, slip and slide, it flew off with the wand,” rumbled Jerrandal happily.
“The bond! The frond! We forgot the … WAND!” I screamed at Kar.
Kar looked thoughtful and said calmly, “You are Harick. Settle, Bek. Practice patience. Sabeek orrun. Think. Think.”
“I can’t … drink! … think!” I snapped, pacing to, fro, fro, to.
“Look at your little finger, Bek. Is the pearl turned under? Yes, it is. Wherever it went, whatever it did, the wand is powerless now. It’s just a stick lying motionless somewhere. We’ll find it, and next to it will be your crystal ball. Is truth true, Bek? Look at your finger. The pearl is under. The wand is powerless.”
So such is one of the many whys that Kar is dear to me. Sometimes she can make me see reason. She can settle me when I storm.