Page 195 of The Knucker King

She glanced back to her damp clothing. I will hang these out and—

Her planning was interrupted by a snarling snore from Trewoofe. His forked tongue poked out, and his giant paws twitched as he dreamt. For the life of her, he reminded her of how Bramble slept. How she missed her familiar and Wisp. She could not wait to see them again soon.

Avice bit back her laughter at the sight, and her amusement deepened when she saw his muddy paws. His scaly pink pads were filthy, and her fingers itched to tickle them. She knew Trewoofe would despise being so grimy. He was particular about his appearance, preferring to be clean and presentable. She also noticed that he was quite fussy about their nest.

For all her musings about his muckiness – and adorable paw pads – she glanced down at her own chemise. Avice was also filthy, her skin itched with grime, and she felt repulsed by her own stench. She shoved on her boots and gathered her damp clothing, hoping to find somewhere to hang them – and a stream to wash herself in.

Avice clambered down from the hollow, stepping carefully through the network of roots that the behemoth oak balanced itself on. After she planted herself firmly on the sodden ground, she gawked up at the magnificent tree that had been their home for the night. Its branches broke up the white fluffy clouds that floated past in the sapphire sky. The only tree she had seen bigger was the Birthing Tree from Queen Fawen’s memory.

Impulse moved her. She wanted to check on the seed after the torrential rain the night before, to make sure it had not washed away in the downpour. Avice draped her damp clothing over a root bathed in sunlight. She trudged up the waterlogged knoll, her boots sinking deep into the mud, making each step more difficult. Her thighs burnt and sweat peppered her upper lip when she laid her eyes on where they had buried the seed.

If Avice had not already been puffing from her climb, she would have gasped. The tree had already sprouted – it was the height of her hip and split into two branches laden with emerald foliage – but that was not what stunned her.

It was the Spriggan gently touching the leaves.

He had not noticed her; it was the smaller male with the missing ear.

“Derrowen?” Avice asked quietly, not wanting to spook him.

Her gentle approach was in vain. The Spriggan squealed when he saw her and began to scamper away.

“Please wait, Derrowen!” she called after him.

He paused, his single ear twitching as he raked his orange gaze over her. “That is twice now you have said my name,” he stated. “How do you know me?”

Avice gestured to the sprout. “I found Queen Fawen. She showed me her memories before she—”

“Were you going to say died?” Derrowen interrupted.

She nodded and clenched her pendant. “I am sorry I could not save her.”

The Spriggan crept closer to her, so he was within arm’s reach. He snuffed at her through his nose holes and rattled his skull.

“Queen Fawen did not die. You did save her!” He pointed his clawed finger at the small tree. “She will be her daughter, and her daughter will be all of the Spriggan.”

Avice nodded, trying to grasp exactly what that meant, before glancing around. “Where is Pren?”

“He went to gather some food for us,” Derrowen replied. “You saw him in the memories too?”

“I did. I saw the dead Drake King, and his barren egg,” Avice said, taking a step towards the Spriggan. “I also saw what happened to Queen Fawen and how she came to be in Lamorna.”

“The death of King Draig, and the lack of an heir, is what caused this mess. There was no one left to look after us and the Green.” Derrowen wrung his clawed hands. “We know that men took Fawen. We followed their scents to the human settlement, but then we could not find our Queen.”

“I am sorry that humans did this to you and yours,” Avice apologised.

“It is not your doing,” Derrowen said, scampering closer to her.

He was in touching distance now, and she slowly reached out. He froze as her fingers grazed his skull. For the life of her, this Spriggan reminded her of a lonely pet who had lost its master. She could not resist the urge to scratch behind his remaining ear. He closed his eyes and lightly sighed.

“You tried to change the human children because you hoped they would be able to wake Eostre. Is that right?”

Avice needed to confirm her theory. She had to know the reason for everything that happened to her and Trewoofe. The cause of it all, since she had brought Hope to Knucker Hill.

“Pren and I tried to wake her. We tried the potions, the medicines, and the herbs. But nothing worked,” Derrowen whimpered. “We thought maybe we needed a female. So, we tried to change humans. But our magic is weak, and our attempts to change the female younglings failed.”

“But one of your failures included a boy,” Avice interjected.

Derrowen blinked dumbly up at her. “It did?”