Horizons

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this was a dream; nothing else could explain what had happened to me and with dream logic I reasoned that my old friend must be ok, so I could afford the time to look around, move around even, because I was freezing.

I stiffly struggled to my feet and began to walk, but only in the shadows of the trees, not actually amongst them. They were huge. Not only were they much taller than anything in Hayden’s Woods, but the trunks were at least treble the thickness that they should have been. This was a forest, not a wood and the bare limbs of the trees stretched out like dark, giant fingers towards the sky. The clearing was also huge, much larger than any I knew and the two moons bothered me greatly. It was eerily quiet and I was obviously exaggerating everything, but very thankful that we appeared to be the only living things there.

I started jogging to get the blood moving, envying my little friend’s long fur coat. Movement helped a bit, but my fingers, feet and head remained cold and to add insult to injury, I was hungry. I’m never at my best when I’m hungry, cold or tired and despite being asleep I seemed to be all three.

“This isn’t one of my better dreams,” I muttered to myself, although really, I remembered very few of them.

Suddenly I brightened. Perhaps there might be something in the bag. I stepped out into the moonlight and tipped the contents onto the frosty grass, shattering the intense silence.

Clearly my imagination was weird. The bag was full of books and papers, all neatly pinned together, but no flask of hot coffee or sandwiches. As I stuffed them all back in, I noticed a few of the titles. ‘End of World Prophesies’ was a small, compact book and there was a larger volume, ‘Climate Change – what can we do?’

What indeed, I wondered, but my thoughts were sidetracked by my stomach, which was now complaining loudly.

Despite feeling thoroughly miserable, I jogged a circuit of the clearing, which took quite some time and I was still no nearer to waking up. My teeth were chattering, my feet were going numb and the bones in my fingers ached from the cold, yet I also felt slightly exhilarated and I was sure that my senses were keener than usual, but it was all so wrong.

We passed a wide track cutting through the forest and after a bit of indecision I decided to see where it led. Staying put didn’t really seem much of an option and my ability to see in dark places would help enormously.

After walking cautiously for what must have been miles, way too far in the real world, through the bare branches I began to notice a pinkish tinge in the sky and reasoned that dawn must be on its way. The quiet was broken only by our footsteps and I thought it strange that there was no bird song. I strained to hear something, anything, but this only made me feel light-headed, for there was only the silence and it was creepy, not comforting as it should have been.

Willie and I became aware at the same time that we were not alone and that someone or something was watching us. A shudder went up my spine and I noticed that the coarse fur on the back of his neck was standing up. This was not a good sign and then he started to growl, which confirmed my suspicions. I held my breath, not wanting to make a sound and bent down, putting my hand on his back to warn him to be quiet. I turned round slowly and as I looked up I gasped; unbelievably there was a glint of sharp, shiny metal, just inches away from my throat!

My eyes followed the line of the cold blade and my mouth hung open. A sword? How could there be a sword? I shook my head ever so slightly; surely my mind was playing tricks on me again. But no, the sharp metal tip looked too real. Fear raced through every part of me, burning away the chill.

At the other end of the sword stood a man, or rather a man sort of creature. He was tall and heavily built, but despite this he must have moved quickly and quietly to be as close as he was. His face was filthy and his matted dark hair was full of leaves and heaven knows what else. He was also smiling, but it was really horrible; his wide mouth was full of yellowing, pointed teeth and there seemed to be too many of them.

His lidless eyes examined me curiously, but his expression did not inspire hope of any kind and I had no idea what was going to happen next. Was I about to be raped? Was I dinner? He made a series of guttural noises I didn’t understand, but I grasped the meaning from the movement of his head; ‘walk that way or I will skewer you’.

Could I outrun him? After all, he was a lot heavier than me. But before I could move, he jabbed the sword nearer and repeated the sounds, more urgently this time, leering in such a way that I wanted to throw up. His breath was unspeakably foul and I pulled my head back as far as I could, standing up carefully and taking a step backwards. But my luck, of course, was running true to form; I could feel the massive solidness of a tree trunk behind me.

Suddenly Willie fearlessly launched himself at the legs of the nightmare creature in front of us. It was momentarily distracted and the sword moved away from my throat. At the same moment something flashed through the air very close to us making a whizzing noise. The creature snarled and turned towards where it had come from. That was my cue. Screaming at Willie to follow, I dodged around the tree and ran, heedless of direction, blundering through the trees and bushes, oblivious to everything except the need to get away, trying to put as much distance as I could between it and me. My chest was heaving and it hurt, but I didn’t care, I just kept going. Blind panic really meant something to me.

I didn’t see what grabbed me. I was only aware of something appearing from behind, pinning my arms to my sides and lifting me off the ground. I wanted to scream, but like in most nightmares, nothing came out. Despite all my kicking and struggling, all I heard from behind was a soft murmuring.

Willie however, was jumping up and down, barking playfully.

“Bloody stupid mutt!” I managed to mutter.

When I needed him to be heroic, I got this; he thought it was a game. I looked around wildly, but even if I had seen a weapon of some kind I couldn’t have grabbed it. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of another two figures melting out of the trees, one of them carrying a bow. They were smiling, but not like my previous attacker had been.

Where he had been hideous they were stunningly beautiful. Where he had been almost naked, they were clothed. Tall and slender, their pale skin was similar to mine and their large eyes looked concerned, but not dangerous. One of them tilted his head slightly to one side to look at me more carefully; such was the strange angle I was held at. I didn’t understand a single word of his musical speech, but his voice sounded warm and I stopped struggling.

What kind of idiot was I? I asked myself, filling my dreams with incomprehensible languages! Frowning, I shook my head and the arms holding me relaxed their vicelike grip. Not enough so that I could escape, but enough for the blood to start flowing again.

“I… I... d, don’t understand.” I stammered.

The one with the bow lifted his arm from under his cloak and pointed his long fingers back to where the creature had been, speaking just one word in a questioning tone: “Friend?”

“No!” I cried hoarsely, “No, not friend!”

Whoever these three were, no hint of harm had come from them so far, but a horrified thought began forming. Were they going to give me back?

The questioner seemed satisfied and he nodded, then spoke with the others. Their voices were soft and clear, like running water and they appeared to come to some agreement, because I was gently lowered to the ground but held for a second, as though they wanted to make sure I wouldn’t fall. I stood still, trying to get my breath back, feeling light-headed again. It was then I noticed that the bag was missing.

“Bugger it!” I muttered. “Mr Drune’s bag.”

All three turned to look at me.

“Drune?” One of them said, his amazing eyes examining me closely.

Speechless, I nodded slowly. How could they know that name? I used my hands to draw the shape of a bag in the air and then pointed behind me. The air stirred and the one who had been holding me was suddenly gone. In what seemed like only a few seconds he was back, offering me the bag.

“Drune?” he said, pointing at it.

“Yes.” I replied, taking it from him and putting it over my shoulder, so I wouldn’t lose it again.

The three of them huddled together a few feet from where I was left standing and began speaking again. The tone of their voices sounded uncertain and occasionally one or more of them turned to look in my direction. Clearly I was the subject of their discussion. The fear had slowly ebbed away, leaving me simply bewildered and shivering violently. One of them noticed this and removed his cloak, draping it around my shoulders, before returning to the discussion without saying a word to me.

“Wow, these people are tall!” I muttered to Willie, gratefully pulling the thick fabric closer around my shaking body and hitching it up off the ground.

They were so deep in their conversation I was able to study them. They were easily seven feet tall and lean. Not underfed, but graceful and sinewy.

I was staring at them and must have looked like a simpleton, because the first speaker turned to me and smiled. Then he pointed at the three of them and said very carefully, “Friends.”

I didn’t reply.

He then slowly turned and pointed in a different direction. “Come...” he said, just as carefully.

For a moment I didn’t know what to do. I glanced down at Willie sitting at my feet. He definitely hadn’t liked the creature back there, but he didn’t seem to sense any danger from these three, because his eyes were closed and he was dozing.

I shuddered at the memory of what had happened. I didn’t know where I was and I still wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not. What’s more, I didn’t know what else might be hiding in the trees. Everything was too far outside my comfort zone and I really wasn’t having a good time.

“Ok,” I said, nervously nodding my head, “Ok, I’ll come with you.”

We walked at my pace, which was clearly much slower than they could have travelled without me and I noticed that most of the time I seemed to be between them. They moved around me effortlessly and very quietly, while Willie and I were the clumsy, noisy ones. The cloak kept slipping down and dragging along the ground and I would catch my feet in it, but if I stumbled, a hand would appear on my arm or shoulder to steady me. I would hitch the thing up again and for a while I could walk normally, but then it would slip down again. It was very frustrating for someone who usually had trouble buying clothes that were long enough.

They didn’t speak again, not to me or to each other, but their heads turned often as though they were listening to things I couldn’t hear. I wasn’t surprised that I couldn’t hear what it was they were listening for, because there was so much going on inside my head. It was all too real and part of my mind was telling me to consider that maybe I was actually wide awake, but that wasn’t something I was prepared to do.

We finally stepped out from the trees into the sunshine. As with the moons, so with the suns: two of them. I sighed deeply. It was then that I noticed my breathing had sorted itself out and I felt sure that the slight dizziness was more to do with hunger than anything else. Despite feeling as if we’d been walking all day, the suns were directly above, so it must have been around midday, yet dawn had seemed like ages ago, not mere hours.

We were standing on a ridge, with the forest behind us and below, a huge plain stretched out. Cutting across it was a river and in the distance there appeared to be a town.

One of my companions smiled down at me and extended his arm towards it.

“Alveron.” he said.

Obviously this was our destination and I gave myself ten out of ten for imagination. Alveron was fantastic in every sense of the word. As we crossed the plain I saw that it was encircled by high, white walls and constructed on a low hill, with several levels. Rising up from the centre of the uppermost level was a grey green tower that looked organic, like a huge tree trunk, yet clearly made of stone.

The river was slow and wide and although the water level was low, it was too deep for us to wade across. While we waited at the jetty for the ferry, with us were three other people. They didn’t get on with us, but they looked at me very strangely, as did the three waiting on the other side, which made me wonder if they were guards.

The boat itself was large and flat bottomed, with a ramshackle hut in the middle. There wasn’t an engine or a tiller, instead the boatman controlled a series of chains that pulled us through the water. He was very old and his weatherbeaten face creased into a smile when he saw me, but he said nothing. We moved smoothly and silently across the green murkiness and despite the fact that I hate boats, I almost found it pleasant.

There were no clouds and the suns shone brightly, warming me considerably and for the first time I began to wish that if I really were sleeping, I wouldn’t wake up any time soon. I was excited and I wanted to go through the huge gateway that we were approaching. I wanted to explore this place and I wanted to meet who or what lived there. A small door in the enormous, beautifully worked gates opened for us and then we were within the thick walls.

Inside was a huge square and the ground appeared to be hewn from enormous rectangular slabs of rock, worn down by countless years of traffic. On the other side of the square, two wide streets wound upwards, each flanked by buildings decorated with ornate carvings, twisting up and across, jumping from one to another, seemingly alive. The buildings themselves were narrow; many of them two or three storeys high, with tall, pointed windows. The doorways were also high, made from a dark wood and were also covered with carvings. I didn’t see signs hanging above any doors, so I assumed they were places to live in, rather than shops or workplaces. Then I wondered what people here did for work. Would I be able to get a job as a receptionist? I thought, unable to suppress the giggle that bubbled up.

There were a lot more people, similar to my saviours or captors; I still wasn’t sure which they were. As we passed through the crowd, people nodded or smiled in greeting at my companions, but when they saw me, some of them were startled, while others looked openly hostile and I was aware of whispered conversations. A few, but only a few, smiled at me and as we walked up one of the streets I became very self-conscious. All the earlier excitement had evaporated and I now felt a gnawing anxiety.

We approached a wall and passed through another ornate gate into the inner city, whereupon a feeling of dread began to creep over me. Here there were sentries, but they were so still. The breeze ruffled their hair, the only movement that showed they weren’t statues. There were so many wonders all around me to marvel at, I wasn’t paying attention to my guides and I didn’t notice that they’d come to a stop until I walked into the back of one of them.

“Ouch!” I exclaimed, rubbing my nose, which had taken the brunt of the impact along with my big toe.

They all turned towards me as I hopped back, their eyes filled with concern. This made me feel safer; concern did not usually lead to torture in my very limited experience.

We were in front of a pair of very high, imposing doors and looking up, I saw that we had reached the tower I’d seen from the plain. I gulped. Suddenly the word ‘tower’ was filled with brooding and unpleasant connotations. My feet were rooted to the spot and my mouth hung open as panic began to well up.

The doors slowly swung open, apparently on their own, like in every horror film I’d ever seen.

“Don’t go in, whatever you do, don’t go in!” shouted some voice from inside my head.

My guides stepped into the building and my traitorous dog followed them without even glancing up at me. When they realised I wasn’t behind them, they turned and looked at me.

One of them came back. His arm was outstretched and he gently said, “Come... friends... come...” as though talking to a frightened child.

I took a deep breath, but smiling was beyond me.

“Breathe...” I said to myself as I walked slowly and cautiously towards him.

Inside was a huge empty space, lit by dozens of lamps set into the walls. I could see blue flames flickering inside the glass covers and wondered if they were gas. The ceiling was high, giving the enormous square room a cool, airy feel and the walls were decorated with intricate designs that curled around the doors, set deep in the thick stone. Willie trotted back to my side and sat down, nonchalantly scratching his ear.

One of them went through a side door, while the other two waited with me. Dream or no dream, I began to fidget nervously, moving from foot to foot, in complete contrast to my two very still companions. After what seemed like hours, but must only have been minutes, he reappeared and beckoned to me. I took another deep breath and walked towards him, turning my head to look at the other two but they were gone, already at the main door on their way out. Only Willie, as ever, was still with me.

We went through into a smaller room, furnished with large, beautifully carved wooden chairs with comfortable looking cushions and a few small tables. The walls were noticeably curved and there was a huge fireplace, with a blazing log fire. Late afternoon light streamed in through a window and standing on the other side of the room were five tall, graceful figures; two of whom were clearly female. They were all looking at me, but their faces seemed friendly and I gave a long sigh of relief. What’s more, I couldn’t see any instruments of torture, so it wasn’t about to turn back into a nightmare.

One of the females slowly came forward. Wild red hair framed her pale face and she stopped a few feet away from me, holding her hands out in an expression of openness.

“Welcome…” she said.

Her voice sounded quite musical, but the word came out in a strange, unused way. Seeing that I didn’t react badly, she continued.

“Welcome to Alveron, child of the trees.”

“Um… thank you.” I hesitantly replied to this strange greeting.

She smiled, took my hand in hers and led me to one of the big chairs beside the fire. As I sat down, so did most of the others, but slowly, still watching me. The one who had brought me, continued to stand by the door. How curious, I thought. Where would I run to? They were much faster than me, so I wouldn’t get very far. Willie settled down beside the fire, put his head between his paws and went to sleep.

“Traitor,” I muttered, but I had to admit the heat was having a very pleasant effect on me too and I shrugged off the borrowed cloak, letting it slip behind me onto the cushion. I removed the bag and put it down at my feet. I was tense and sat stiffly in the chair, but I closed my eyes for a moment and enjoyed the warmth, allowing my uneven breathing to settle down a little.

When I opened them again, they were all still watching me, apparently just as surprised to see me, as I was to be there. I had the feeling that it was up to me to speak first, but what was I supposed to say? I was no nearer to understanding what had happened or why.

I tried to clear my throat and asked in a croaky voice the obvious question: “Err… so, you speak English?”

The red haired woman sat on the arm of my chair and nodded.

“Yes, we speak several of your tongues, child of the trees.”

There it was again, that strange expression.

“Oh, I see.” I said. But I didn’t see, not really. I took another deep breath.

“Well...” I began, “My name is Nina Sims and this is William,” I said, pointing at the ball of fur snoring at my feet. “We live in England and we were out in the woods with Mr Drune, but he was taken ill and he sent me to fetch medicine...”

Then the words started to pour chaotically from my lips.

“Except his house wasn’t there, nothing was there that should have been, instead I found myself here, wherever here is. There was a man, well, no, not a man… a creature, who threatened me with a sword. I ran away from him and he…” I said, pointing at the handsome blonde at the door, “And two others, well, I think they saved me and brought me here. I know this is a dream; it can’t be happening, but it all feels so real. I don’t know if Mr Drune is dead or alive... real or part of this, this…”

Breathless, I did then what I’d so hoped I wouldn’t do; I burst into tears.

The woman put her arm around my shoulders to comfort me while the others began talking amongst themselves in their own language. The only word I heard that I understood was ‘Drune’. One of them, seeing that I’d stopped crying, stood up and walked to a table where there was a crystal jug and some glasses. He poured some amber liquid into a glass and brought it to me.

“This will help.” he said soothingly in English, offering me the glass.

I blew my nose on a corner of the cloak and accepted it, then thanked him and took a sip of the cool liquid. It burned my throat a little, but my head cleared quickly.

He was a little heavier than the others and his long black hair was tied back. He had a quirky sort of smile, which somehow made me feel that he and I were sharing a private joke. My reaction was to smile back at him. He rewarded me with a huge flashing grin, revealing his white, even teeth. They looked normal to me, which was some comfort after the set I’d encountered earlier. Then he turned away and sat down again.

They resumed their conversation, still ignoring me, so once again I had an opportunity to study them. They all had pale skin except for one. His was black, like polished ebony and he seemed to be the one they were directing their comments to. Perhaps he was the leader; he certainly had an air of authority about him. He was also the only one with short hair. The women and two of the men, including the one who had brought me, wore theirs loose and they were all dressed similar to the ones who’d found me; long-sleeved shirts under calf-length tunics open at the sides. Under the tunics they wore baggy trousers, tucked into knee-high boots. The two women wore long wrap-around skirts under their tunics and everything was in shades of grey, green and brown, all very earthy and natural.

A discreet cough caught my attention.

“Neemna...”

The red haired woman said my name softly, as if tasting it and I noticed that she gave it the same odd inflection that Mr Drune had used.

“… I am Shanna and this is Rafa.”

I nodded in acknowledgement to the dark haired man who had given me the drink and he flashed me another cheeky smile.

“This is Rolito,” she said, indicating the man sitting beside Rafa, who was resting his hand on his shoulder.

He had a serious but kind face and he too smiled at me.

“Ajnu...” Shanna said, her hand moving to the breathtakingly beautiful woman sitting furthest away.

She had long black wavy hair, but she didn’t smile, nor was there any welcome in her violet eyes. I nodded, but looked away quickly.

“And this...” continued Shanna, with a warmth that suggested closeness, “Is Falco, our leader.”

I looked up at the ebony face and his serious, deep brown eyes softened as they held mine tenderly for a moment.

“You already know Fren...” she said.

The blonde man at the door came forward and bowed, before taking a seat. He too was now smiling.

Once Shanna had introduced everyone, Falco stood up and helped himself to a drink from the jug on the table. He began to speak, but he was clearly not comfortable with English and his deep, velvety voice gave the words an unfamiliar cadence.

“Neemna, we have some questions,” he said, smiling, “And what you tell us may help us answer some of the questions you must have. Do you mind?”

“Of course not,” I replied. “I’ll do my best.”

I reasoned that being on first name terms was always a good sign and sat back slightly in the oversized chair. I was warm, but it was difficult to get comfortable because my feet didn’t touch the floor. Whatever the drink was, it had cleared my head and I was feeling a little more relaxed.

“Drune, you knew him?” asked Falco.

I nodded in response.

“What passed between you?” he asked, sitting down again.

I told them what I knew about my ancient friend; how I would often bump into him in the woods and how we’d talk about all sorts of things. How he told me he’d been visiting the area and that at our last meeting he’d been taken ill, and in an effort to help, I’d somehow ended up in the forest, so I had no idea what had happened to him. Now I was relaxed, I could be more coherent and could give more details.

“I think I am beginning to understand,” he said, considering my words, then clarified what I had told him.

“So you ran, following his directions. Did he give you anything?”

“Yes he did!” I said, sitting up. “He gave me his bag. I’d almost forgotten it.”

I picked it up and put it on my lap. All six pairs of eyes stared at it.

“May I?” Falco asked, reaching out.

“Of course,” I murmured, handing it to him.

As I had done in the clearing, but with considerably more care, he turned the contents out and examined each bundle of papers.

Understanding flickered across his face. “Everything dies.” he said very quietly.

Here was the bad news I’d been half expecting and I jumped to my feet. “Can I go home now please?” I pleaded.

Shanna, who I’d pushed aside in my haste, looked at me sadly and shook her head.

“No Neemna, I am afraid not. Until we understand how you arrived here, we are unable to help you return.”

“But in the meantime,” continued Falco, “We can learn much from each other. We have not had a visitor from your world for many thousands of years.”

Everyone except Ajnu either murmured or nodded in agreement. She sat completely still, not a trace of emotion passing across her beautiful face.

I sat back down and the warmth of the fire made me close my eyes. I struggled to open them again, but desperately needed sleep was washing over my exhausted mind and body in waves.

Shanna noticed. “Come little one, our days are longer than yours. You have experienced much that is strange and not all of it has been welcome.”

She gently pulled me to my feet. “Let us find you some quarters, where you can bathe and eat. Then you need to rest.”

I simply nodded; I was far too tired to speak.

We left the tower and walked towards some wooden buildings I noticed that the suns were now low in the sky, sinking towards the hazy horizon. A blast of cold air woke me up a little and I shivered, realising that I’d left the cloak on the chair. Willie was plodding along at my side and he frequently looked up at me, clearly not happy at having to leave his nice warm spot by the fire.

All the buildings surrounding the tower were single storey, linked together by covered walkways. The roofs all sloped steeply to a high ridge and the eaves curled upwards, giving them a vaguely oriental look. I was feeling woozy with hunger and tiredness, but Shanna held my elbow firmly, to both steady and steer me. We joined a walkway through a carved arch, but I was too tired to notice the detail and two buildings later she opened yet another beautifully ornate door. This one was much smaller than those in the tower and just inside was a table with a hand bell on it. She shook the bell and gently ushered me inside, sitting me in another comfortable, but oversized chair. The place was cold and obviously unlived in, but it had a bed in it, which even unmade, looked very inviting.

Another tall graceful creature answered the bell and she and Shanna began talking rapidly. As I watched, they darted about the room, taking things out of cupboards that were concealed in the walls. Then joy! The fire had been lit, the bed was being made and I was taken into another room, where a huge tub had been filled with steaming water. Their quick movements made short work of everything and I had to focus hard to keep them in sight.

Shanna told me that food would be waiting for me once I’d finished bathing, then they politely left me alone and closed the door. I slowly removed my clothes and gratefully lowered myself into the tub. The hot water was pure bliss, caressing my aching limbs and soothing my taut nerves. I lay there for a while, trying to make some sense of everything, but my brain had turned to mush; any kind of thought, rational or otherwise, was impossible. I gave up and just relaxed.

I was in danger of falling asleep right there and had to force myself to stand up and get out. I dried myself and put on a nightshirt that was hanging on the door, but I was too tired to eat the food that had been left for me. Instead I headed straight for the bed, which was now covered in soft downy quilts and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

I woke slowly, my eyes still closed, listening to the familiar sound of Willie sleeping on the pillow next to me. I was extremely comfortable and I let my mind drift back into the incredible dream I’d been having. Hunger eventually forced me to open my eyes and I was startled to find that the only familiar object in this strange room was my four legged friend, who was now watching me; his head tilted to one side. I was still in the dream, I realised with a cross sigh.

Daylight was streaming through the windows and warmth was radiating from the fire. There was the smell of pine and apples mixed with something that I couldn’t quite place, and as I slowly got up, I saw that a heavier robe had been laid out on the bed. I put it on and smiled when I noticed that the hem was missing. Obviously quite a bit had been chopped off to shorten it; someone had given some thought to it. The room itself was simple, with white walls and a wooden ceiling, but the carvings on the huge bed, the window and doorframes were spectacular; vines, trees and animals, all interwoven.

I went to the window and looked out. The room overlooked a garden and beyond the wall I could see the plain stretching out below. I felt like I had slept for a very long time, but the suns were not yet overhead, so it must only have been mid-morning.

Perhaps this is not a dream I told myself, sighing again as I let the ramifications of that sentence float through my troubled mind. What I’d been told last night must be true, but it was just too fantastic for me to take in and I sat back down on the bed feeling a little unsteady. Try as I might though, I couldn’t find an alternative answer and had to accept that somehow I had arrived somewhere else; a place that would not be found in any atlas or on Google Maps.

I was wondering what to do when my thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. I walked across the room and opened it. Outside stood Shanna holding a tray of food and two other women, carrying armfuls of clothes, one of whom I recognised from the night before. My gaze immediately fell on the food; my stomach ached, I was so hungry.

She laughed. “Good. We were worried when we found last night’s meal untouched.”

She set the tray down on the table and sat with me while I ate, giving Willie some scraps as he lay at our feet. The other two busied themselves and I tried not to stare at the speed at which they moved.

“Our days and nights are longer than yours, so it will take you a while to acclimatise to them and to other things as well, I imagine.”

“Are you all so fast?” I asked.

“Compared to you, yes. Does it bother you?”

“No not really, it just makes me feel clumsy.”

She laughed again and turned to the others.

“Merke, Dreni,” she said, and something I didn’t understand. I guessed what she’d said to them though, because they immediately slowed down.

“Now,” said Shanna, when I had finished eating. “Let us find you something to keep you warm.”

She bent over the pile of clothes now spread over the bed and pulled things out for me to try on. I stood in the middle of the room and my sleeping robes were taken off. Then a soft, long sleeved shirt was quickly dropped over my head, so I was naked for only a fraction of a second, easing my discomfort at being dressed by other people. My arms and legs were gently pushed and pulled into an assortment of different garments, some of which went on only to come straight off again.

Eventually, Shanna was happy. “In a day or two the clothes that are being made for you will be ready. They will fit you, but for now these will have to do. At least you will be warm and comfortable.”

Merke and Dreni picked up the discarded items and left us.

Looking down, I saw that I was dressed similar to everyone else, except the over-tunic fell to my ankles and the skirt and trousers had had a good bit chopped off. Everything was green, apart from the russet tunic and the grey, knee-high soft leather boots encasing my feet. I was not particularly fashion conscious; I preferred comfort over appearance and anyway, I’d long ago given up trying to find clothes that actually fitted.

I looked up and smiled.

“It’s all so soft and light.” I said in amazement. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever worn before.”

“And warm too,” said Shanna. “That is important. Come, let us go and meet the others. They are eager to talk with you again. If you are willing...?”

Suddenly I felt apprehensive.

She noticed and her tone softened. “Really, we are very pleased to have you as a guest. The last visitor from your world came a long time ago, when times were very different, so you have much to teach us. Come,” she said, “They are waiting.”

She wrapped a shortened cloak around me and opened the door. As we stepped out into the cold morning air, I noticed that the suns had gone. Instead, snow was gently falling from the grey sky, lightly dusting the ground with white.

“This is our citadel,” she explained as we walked. “We live here and this will be your home for as long as you are with us. Everyone else lives in the city below. We are Freyans and there are about three thousand of us here in Alveron. There are other cities, but they are far away. You are free to wander here in the gardens, but please wait until we have shown you the city before you go there on your own. First, we need to explain your presence to our people. But what is more, we would not want you to get lost.”

Then she spoke more seriously.

“And do not go out onto the plain on your own. The wildermen, like the one you met yesterday, sometimes come close to the city to hunt.”

We both shuddered, and for a moment his face swam in front of my eyes again. I squeezed them closed to make the image go away.

We walked slowly along a walkway through part of the garden and Shanna pointed out plants to me, saying that in the summer it was full of flowers, many of them scented, but that morning it looked bare and sad. Soon we were back at the tower and the doors swung open again.

“How do they do that?” I asked.

“How is not really important. They sense us and know to open. An unfamiliar presence would not gain admittance without permission from one of us. They are aware of you now, so you may come and go as you please.”

Once again we passed through the large hall, but this time I felt no apprehension as we went into the room we’d been in the day before and took off our damp cloaks. The others were already there and except for Ajnu, they all smiled as we entered. Questions about how well I’d slept and was I comfortable, quickly assured me that they were only concerned about my wellbeing. The fire still burned brightly and I took a seat near the window as they chatted naturally amongst themselves, sometimes including me, but not putting me on the spot and I was able to sit back in the huge chair and dangle my legs in a way I’d not done since childhood. It had been a long time since I’d felt so small.