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Jamie scouted the river from above. “Still no signs of them,” he said anxiously to Graham and Lina. Henry was with them, pacing, watching for Elinora and Tillie.
Graham leaned his back against Ole Warty and sighed deeply.
Behind them there was a flurry of activity as the animals of the forest welcomed the people and animals of the circus—Caelus, Thunder, Lightning, and Earthquake, the Legatos, Hector, Guinness, Snicker, and half of the canine troop, Ellis, Jazz, and Tango, and the others who had made it into the river. Everyone was out of breath and dazed, but they had made it. They were free. And they had only seen but a glimpse of the magic of their new home.
Henry’s family was there, too. He raced over to Azalea, Aster, Basil, Sage, and Yarrow, kicking up the dirt up as his paws thundered against the ground. Tails wagged frantically as they nudged each other with their noses and jumped up on their hind legs in excitement. Henry could hardly believe he was with his family again...but this time within the safety of Kellandale Wood.
After the first wave of evacuees from the circus arrived, another group suddenly emerged from the river, more animals and people, and a familiar face.
“It’s Emil!” Jamie shouted when he saw them.
Graham stood up quickly, then he, Lina, and Jamie dashed to the water’s edge.
“Emil, how did you get here?” Graham asked, reaching for their hand to help them out. “I thought you were taking Abigail and Albert back to Kellandale after you left us in Waterbridge.”
“I did. But I returned. I told you, if you were gone too long, I was going to come looking for you. I couldn’t sit there and worry and wonder what was happening to everyone. I had Abigail’s blessings.”
“What?” Lina said. “Are you hurt?” she said, looking them over. Though they were lightly scratched up and bruised just like everyone else, they did not appear to be injured.
“No, I’m all right, Lina, thank you,” they replied. “I wanted to keep an eye on all of you, and I suspected others might need help, too, when this was all over. I was there when the breakout happened, and then started helping everyone I could to get into the water just as you were. I couldn’t get to you in the commotion.”
“I’m just so glad you’re all right,” Jamie said.
There was a loud splash, interrupting their conversation and suddenly Mudd appeared at the shore of the river. Slowly, he pulled himself out of the water; he was breathing hard, but his gunshot wound had begun to heal rapidly when he was pulled into the heart of the forest by the Iveria.
“I know who you are,” Graham said, rushing over to him, his jaw tightened and his teeth baring. “Get out of here!” he seethed, picking up a downed tree branch and charging at him.
But Henry dashed over and quickly conveyed Mudd’s story, assuring everyone that he had aided in the escape. Graham dropped the branch. He looked directly at Mudd, who just nodded.
Mister scurried over to Emil and Mudd, running circles around them. Then he stood up and chattered loudly, inviting the escapees into the amphitheater so they could rest and heal. Everyone, including Emil, Mudd, and the people and animals of the circus, followed as Mister led them. Henry’s family stayed behind to be with Henry.
“Emil!” Graham called out as the entourage began to make its way to the trail into the amphitheater.
“I’ll be fine! I’ll return in a bit,” Emil shouted back. “I’ll check to see if anyone needs tended to while I’m there.”
Graham nodded and smiled.
Monkey and Chi emerged from the water next. “Fernph!” the little Capuchin called out to them. A low rumble came in response, then Monkey and Chi swiftly disappeared into the forest.
“I see Elinora!” Jamie shouted suddenly. He ran to the riverbank as she was carried in by the current. Henry, Graham, and Lina followed on his heels, scrambling down to the rocky beach to meet her. “Oh, Elinora,” he said, pulling her out of the water.
She coughed and stood up. “Tillie! Where is Tillie?” she asked at once. She was trembling. “She collapsed and we fell into the river together—I think something was wrong. And I think I may have killed him,” she mumbled. “I killed someone! He’s dead, I’m sure of it! But he was going to kill her. Where could she be? We got away; she’s coming, I know she’ll be here soon, she has to...” she continued to ramble. She turned to the water, shivering uncontrollably.
Lina rushed across the rocky beach and waded into the river, searching for Tillie.
Graham placed his damp coat over Elinora’s shoulders and led her to the bank to sit down. “Elinora, I think you might be in shock. I will help Lina find her. You need to rest. Jamie and Henry can stay here with you,” he said gently, then he joined Lina at the river. Henry brushed up against her and sat down beside her.
Elinora stroked Henry’s fur, and it calmed her a little. “Henry,” she said, leaning into him. “You’re home,” she sobbed.
“She should be here by now, Gray,” Lina said after several minutes had passed. Her eyes were fixed on the river. She was shaking now, too. Graham’s face was slack and pensive.
“Tillie will be all right. She’s got to be,” he replied firmly.
Elinora looked down river again, panic blazing in her eyes.
“Elinora, what happened?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know, she just fell into me,” she said. “We went into the water and I was holding onto her, but we were separated by the current, and I lost her somewhere in the river. And where are Alister and Wildflower?” She looked around, searching for them.
Jamie put his head down. “Alister couldn’t get back into the vortex after you left. Then Wildflower tried to help Alexander, and he went back to help her. Stinky, Nigel, and Lark stayed behind with them and they are all going to help free the others that got left behind. Alister said to tell you he promised he would find his way here with everyone else as soon as he could. He will be all right. I’m sure of it.”
“What? What have I done!” Elinora slumped forward and covered her face.
As she wept, Tillie was on the other side of the forest, her body drifting quietly within the vortex.
In the skirmish on the bridge between Coddlefin and Mudd, she, too, had been shot. The bullet Coddlefin had intended for her had connected, piercing her skin, and had ripped through her collar bone; not even Monkey knew it had happened. Elinora had been pulled away from her by the current and carried away quickly. Tillie had drifted limply back to Kellandale and her wound was deep enough that even the soothing waters of the Iveria struggled to heal her.
But she had been clutching the little monkey figurine.
As she had drifted into the forest, it slipped from her fingers, falling to the bottom of the river. It called to The Lady of the Forest, who was at the base of the waterfall where she had been recovering from the escape.
When she sensed the monkey figurine in the water, she swiftly came to Tillie’s side, and wrapping her fins around her, she pulled her through the underground cavern beneath the rocky beach, into her home at the center of the vortex. There she let her rest until she regained consciousness.
With a jolt, Tillie thrashed about, drawing in a deep breath and struggling to fill her lungs with air. Instead, she felt them fill with water and she thought that she might drown; but the water was pure, and it felt good. It coursed through her body, healing her with each breath. Once she had regained strength, she attempted to swim to the surface.
The river serpent swam to her and pulled her back down into the water again. At first she struggled, but she instinctively trusted her and ceased resisting, allowing herself to be taken by the flow. The monkey figurine was back in her hands, and she clutched it tightly as she clung to the river serpent’s massive fins. Together they sped back through the underground tunnel, emerging in the center of the Iveria, and breaking through the surface of the water with a sudden splash.
Elinora was the first to notice the flash of light in the corner of her eye. Startled, she turned to look. The Lady of the Forest breached the water. There in the middle of the river was her sister, her wild and crazy sister, Queen of Mischief, riding on the back of a great river serpent.
Tillie let out a primal scream, fierce and loud, filling her lungs with air. She raised her fists high above her head as together they rose into the sky.
“Tillie!” Elinora screamed.
“Elinora!” she yelled back. “We did it!” They plunged downward, into the river with another splash.
Everyone rushed to the riverbank as The Lady of the Forest carried Tillie to the shore.
She stepped out of the water and grabbed Elinora. She felt different somehow, but she wasn’t sure how.
“Oh Tillie, I think I might strangle you,” Elinora cried, clinging to her.
Mister scrambled down the bank and ran circles around her. He chattered, relieved to see her. But he sensed something different about her, too.
She has given you a gift!
He said this as though even he was surprised.
“A gift?” Tillie asked.
Mister was still scampering in excitement.
Your wounds were very great, but she healed you.
In order to be able to do that,
she needed to give her powers...to you!
“To me?” Tillie exclaimed, looking down and pulling the collar of her shirt back, revealing the scar the bullet had left in her chest. It had healed already. Elinora gasped when she saw it.
Tillie walked back to the river’s edge. “Why me? I don’t want to take your powers from you,” Tillie said to Lady Vivienne, her voice still weak.
The river serpent came close and for the first time she spoke directly to Tillie. Only she could hear her.
There are those who work against nature,
and there are those who understand that humans can work together with nature.
But you and your family are brave and strong,
and you understand more than this.
You know that humans are a part of nature.
Use these powers not just to help others, but to help them understand this, too.
You are worthy of this.
Tillie looked around. Everything looked unusually vivid. She felt things even deeper than before. She looked at her hands. She didn’t seem any different on the outside, but something had changed within her. Lady Vivienne spoke again.
When the river took me, it gave me these powers. It transformed me with its energy. It saved me, too, but it also bound me to the water. When my family came to the river, I was there with them.
I helped guide the river to give them powers so they could return to their mortal form if they chose to.
That is something I have been unable to do,
and I have not been able to walk upon the earth by their side since that time.
Now I will be free to do that one last time.
Tillie looked up. “You miss them. You want to be able to see them, and walk with them through the forest, don’t you?”
The great river serpent lowered her head down.
Tillie stepped back into the water and approached her, placing her hands upon her head. “I am forever in your debt—but we still need you here, you know. Tell me. If I have your powers, then I can choose to use them as I see fit, can’t I?” she asked. But she knew the answer. She closed her eyes. Then, in a flash, before the river serpent could stop her, Tillie wished Lady Vivienne could walk beside Sir Edward and Sir William in her human form whenever she wanted, just as Monkey and the Messenger could do; then she wished for the powers she had just been given to be returned to her.
The great river serpent looked into Tillie’s eyes and knew what she had just done. She bowed to her in gratitude, then she swam off into the depths of the river, her beautiful tail fanning out gracefully as she did.
Henry bounded over to Tillie and knocked her down. She buried her head in his fur. “Oh...Henry, you’re home!” she squealed. She looked behind her. His family was there, too. “Come here, all of you!” she called to them. They rushed over and sat beside her, their tails wagging furiously. She hugged them all.
Pipe came down to the river’s edge next, along with the squirrels, Mitch, Vita, Popo, Ronda, Fernph, and Boing. The big animals were there, too, watching from above, as were the wolves and the fish crow.
Tillie sighed and threw her head back. “You’re here!” she said to them. “I know we all have a lot of work to do to get everyone settled. But right now, I think it’s time for us to rest—but only for a moment, right?” she smiled.
“Oh, Tillie,” Jamie said, tears in his eyes as he, Graham, and Lina came to her side.
Lina knelt beside her and kissed her cheek. “Don’t you scare me like that ever again, Ottilie Wolton.” She was crying very hard.
Tillie’s face brightened. “Lina! Oh Lina!” she blurted out. She grabbed her and hugged her.
“You’re one crazy kid, you know that?” Graham teased. He extended his hand and pulled her to her feet. Together they walked up the bank and he helped her sit down in her favorite spot next to Ole Warty.
Elinora and Lina sat down beside her and each took one of her hands into theirs.
“We did it,” Tillie said, leaning her head on Lina’s shoulder. “All of us—together.” She smiled at Elinora, then looked around. “Speaking of, where is Alister?”
Elinora closed her eyes and leaned into her, tears welling up. “He didn’t make it into the river, Tillie. I begged him to stay behind when I went after you, but he couldn’t get back in. I can’t even bear the thought of it.”
“What?” Tillie gasped.
“He’s back at the circus,” Jamie said to her quietly, then told her what had happened after Alister had gone after Wildflower when she heard Alexander call out in distress.
Tillie looked down and put her arms around Elinora. “Don’t you dare be afraid. We’ll get him back. We will get the rest of them. I know for a fact you won’t rest until we do.” Elinora nodded and wiped her eyes.
“None of us will,” Lina added.
“Coddlefin?” Tillie asked.
Elinora shook her head. “He fell into the river after I threw the knife. I don’t know what happened to him after that.”
“You what?”
Elinora locked eyes with Tillie and nodded. “It hit him in the shoulder, then Monkey charged at him. They both went into the river. And Coddlefin hit his head.”
“I’m not even sure what to say,” she said with a gasp. She cocked her head. “So, that means Alister is at the circus with...who? Who’s in charge now?”
Elinora looked down. “I don’t know.” She growled in frustration. “But I can’t believe we are all here, and he’s still there.” She looked up. “Mudd was there, too—in the forest on the bridge, he was the one who tried to help us...”
“Mudd is here,” Graham replied quickly.
Tillie looked at him with surprise. “Coddlefin shot him,” she said, remembering. “He tried to stop Coddlefin from shooting me!”
“He’s going to be all right. Mister took him and some of the others to the amphitheater,” Jamie said to her. “Emil is here, too!”
“What!” Tillie exclaimed. Lina explained to Elinora and Tillie what Emil had done, and how they were helping the recovering animals and people who had followed Mister into the amphitheater.
“Oh, Emil!” Elinora exclaimed.
“I suspect they’re all going to be hearing all about this place from the heart of the forest!” Graham added.
“Emil is about to be amazed!” Jamie said, smiling.
Tillie leaned her back against Ole Warty and stroked Henry.
Elinora sighed deeply.
“Don’t worry, Nora,” Graham said. “I know what you’re thinking. But Alister is smart and he’s tough. I know he will be all right. He will protect the others until we can get them here. And when it’s time, he’ll have all of us to help.”
“He’s right. I know Alister will be here soon,” Lina said.
Henry put his head down and sighed at the thought of Alister, Wildflower, and all his friends that had been left behind.
Tillie ruffled his fur. “We are going to help them, Henry, don’t be sad,” she said. Then, she sat up with a familiar, mischievous glimmer in her eye.
“Tillie?” Elinora asked nervously.
She cracked a grin. “Today wasn’t very dull at all, was it? I wonder then, whatever shall we do now?” But the reply was not at all what she expected. Before anyone could answer, she felt a surge of energy that seemed to be coming from directly behind her. She looked up, then over at Elinora with wild eyes.
“Tillie, what?” Elinora demanded.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I think I just heard Ole Warty answer my question!” she exclaimed. “What the heck in the world!”