DEEP WATERS

CHAPTER 11 - Envoy Mecsek

Have you finished that song yet?
Might have done.
Let’s see it, then.
No, you’ll laugh.
I will not laugh!
Yes you will.
No I won’t.
I know you will.
Look, we weren’t given messaging to lie here going yes you will, no I won’t all day, you twit. We’ve got a free day, we could be writing the music for it. How can you be so unkind as to think I’d be unkind enough to laugh at something you’ve put your heart and soul into, even if it’s dire, which it won’t be?
Ace.
What?
Shut up. If you lean over the edge of your bunk a bit, you’ll see I’m waving a bit of paper at you.
Good. About time.
Ace read it carefully, and his eyes widened with surprise and excitement.
“Wow,” he said. “We’re going to get some hassle for this.”
“Is it too much, d’you think?”
“No way. This needs saying. Will, you’re a genius. Come on, let’s get dressed. We’ve got work to do.”

Quietly, they jumped out of bed. They were trying not to disturb the others, but Ace was excited and started talking too loudly. Olm threw a boot at him, but it missed, as they ran out and starting jumping through the dewy grass to their hut.
Ace put the kettle on as Will wired the guitars up to the small practice amp, and they discussed the music as they drank their tea.
“What had you thought of so far?” asked Ace.
“Not much. Just to have harmony on the chorus. How d’you feel about that?”
“Definitely. Goes with the words. But haven’t you got a tune at all?”
“No. Been mulling over it too long, I guess.”
“Well, let me find you one, then. Seriously, Will, this is going to cause trouble. It will help if we can say, we both wrote it. I don’t want anyone dragging you off to prison on your own.”
“They can’t put you in prison for writing a song, can they?”
“I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Right. I get you. The music’s yours, Ace. It’ll be our song, for good or bad.”

Ace sat staring at the words for a long time, then picked his guitar up and crashed out some chords, G, F, E, then turned it darker, down to D, C, B-flat. He was humming quietly to himself.
“This is a weird rhythm. But it’s really strong. Try this for a bass line, Will, keep the 4/4 time going steady, underneath, a really fast hammer...”
The music began to take shape. They were getting excited, lost in the joy of making, when suddenly they jumped as someone came through the door.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
It was a second year elf, and he had twelve white envelopes in his hand.
“It’s just your invitations. I’ll leave them on the table for you, shall I?”
He smiled, and left, and Ace and Will, very curious, put their guitars down and went to look.
“One each,” said Ace. “Full names, all spelled right in neat writing. How posh is that? Invitations? What to?”
“Only one way to find out,” said Will.
He opened his envelope and pulled out a stiff card.
“Your presence is requested at the Midsummer Ball - oh, Midsummer, of course! - to be held in the Great Hall and on the Concourse at 8pm on Saturday 23rd June. Dress, green, formal. Decorations will be worn. Does yours say the same?”
“Sure does. I understand the first bit, but what does the last line mean? Decorations? What sort of decorations? Is this some tradition we don’t know about?”
“P’raps it means tinsel and stuff, like at Christmas. They’re decorations.”
“Yes, that’ll be it. We’ll have to ask Fran, he’ll know. He’s keen enough on traditions. And what does ‘dress, green, formal’ mean?”
“I have a nasty feeling,” said Will, “that it doesn’t mean jeans.”
“Hmm,” said Ace, “I want to know more about this. And we need Dan and Hogweed now, anyway. Let’s go and see if anyone else is about yet.”


It was later than they thought. They’d been so absorbed, they hadn’t even noticed the time. They could see the goblins in the distance, on their football pitch, so they headed that way first. Hogweed saw them, and ran across to see what they wanted.
“No hurry,” said Ace. “Finish your game. But after that, could you come to the hut? We’re making a new song.”
Hogweed’s eyes gleamed.
“That’ll be nice. Why don’t you come and join in for a bit?”
“Can we?” said Will.
“ ’Course you can! Everyone’ll be dead honoured!”
“But we don’t know how to play!” whispered Ace.
“Oh, you just kick the ball,” said Will, and they dived into the fray.
Hogweed’s hut were playing the other goblin hut, so Ace and Will split up, to make it fair. They soon got the hang of it, and proved themselves nifty passers. It wasn’t easy being tackled by goblins, though.
“The best thing is just to jump out of the way before you get flattened, I think,” said Ace, when the game was over. “It’s a good game, though. We’ll have to get some of the elves playing this.”
“Oh, will you, Ace?” begged Hogweed. “Then we could have a real match!”
“Would you like that?”
“More than anything!”
“Leave it to us,” said Ace. “You only need eleven, don’t you? There must be nine other elves daft enough to take you lot on.”

They found the fairies sunbathing on the grassy roof of their barracks, their wings spread out to catch the sun. The elves jumped up to join them, and Clover groaned.
“What do you want? It was nice and peaceful up here.”
“We want Dan,” said Ace. “We’re writing a new song, and...”
“Oh, great!” said Dan. “Where’s my shoes?”
“And we came to tell you,” Will added, “that there’s invitations for all of us in the hut.”
“The Midsummer Ball!” shrieked Rose. “Why didn’t you say so sooner? Come on, let’s go and have a look!”

Clover took a deep breath and faced the elves.
“What it means is, everyone has to dress in green. Traditional sprite colour. Silk dresses, for us, and...”
“Go on,” said Ace. “Spit it out.”
“Tunics. Tunics and leggings. And proper elf boots.”
Ace shut his eyes.
“I knew it was going to be bad. I could tell by your face. But I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
“I’m not going,” said Will. “No way. I’d rather do another week in detention than wear stuff like that!”
Dan had been looking over the rough notes of the tune, but now it sunk into her mind, too, what Clover was saying.
“Dresses? I have to wear a dress?”
“Oh, Dan, cheer up,” said Rose. “It won’t be that bad. It’s only one evening.”
“Silk dresses,” said Clover. “And Rose and I, and Bella too, would really enjoy wearing silk dresses, to show we’re not rough and wild, we’re as good as any other fairies. But we can’t. ’Cos why? ’Cos we haven’t got any silk. Not a scrap.”
“Couldn’t you ask around for some?” said Will.
“We could... but that would show we didn’t know we’d need it. We don’t want to look ignorant and unprepared.”
“I get you,” said Ace. “I understand that. Oh, this is awful. I’ve never felt more like giving up.”
“Wait a minute,” said Will. “Oh, wait a minute. It’s no good, Ace. We’ll have to. Drifting, remember? Can’t see how bad it’s getting? We’ve got a message to get across. And the first people who’ll listen are the people who really care about stuff like this, who value the past. We have to show we respect that. We have to earn the right to be listened to.”
Ace buried his head in his hands.
“Oh, no. You’re right, of course. There’s no way out, is there? Good grief, I’d just as soon wear a dress. I wouldn’t feel any more stupid.”
Clover giggled. Ace in a dress would look exactly like that daffodil in the second year, but she didn’t think that would be a tactful thing to say.

“What about you, Dan?” said Ace. “Can you handle it? For the sake of getting through to people?”
“I suppose so,” she sighed. “I’ll think of it as doing it for Gemma.”
“Just think how good you’ll look,” Rose told Ace. “With your hair all perfect, and your medal, and your stone.”
“You think we should wear our medals?”
“Well, of course,” said Clover. “Look at your invitation - decorations will be worn. What d’you think that means?”
Ace and Will collapsed.
“Never mind what we thought it meant,” said Will hurriedly. “I get the idea. I’ll really make an effort, and look just as good as Ace, you’ll see.”
He opened a cupboard, and pulled out his backpack.
“I think it’s still in here...yes, here it is.”
He unwrapped his medal, and held it up, and the scrap of fabric it had been wrapped in fluttered to the floor.
“Is that what I think it is?” breathed Rose.
“I don’t believe it,” said Clover. “Will, could we have this scrap of silk?”
“You mean that’s the stuff you need? ’Course you can, Clover. Can I get back to my bass now?”
“Yes, we’re going, hold it carefully, don’t tear it, we need four dresses out of that.”
“You’ll have a job getting four out of that,” said Ace. “Hang on, I’ll see what mine’s wrapped up in...yes, thought it was the same, Madge gave it to…”
His voice died away, and they all remembered Madge giving the silk to the elves to wrap their medals in.
“She knew you’d need them,” whispered Clover. “And she knew that when you got them out…”
“…the silk would be there for you,” Ace finished in wonder.
Rose and Clover hugged them and kissed them, and whirled off to tell Bella.
Dan sighed.
“Sometimes I wonder. I really do still wonder.”
“Music, remember!” laughed Ace. “Come on, let’s get working. We want the best riff in the whole world for this song.”


The camp began to fill up as every army sprite who could came home for Midsummer. Everyone on leave came, every unit that could be spared, until all the barracks were full, and there were tents pitched on the playing field, and flags and banners everywhere. All the officers were so busy, the first years had much less work to do, and it began to feel like a short holiday. Everyone voted for who would have the honour of doing the music, and some German second years won. They were a very traditional band, but they were very good. Ace was feeling quite excited, he would have been really happy if it wasn’t for the clothes. With a few days to go, he supposed he’d better do something about it, so he, Will and Wayne went to find Fran, Peter and Betch. To his surprise, they weren’t much happier than he was.
“Oh, the clothes. Yes, of course we’ll help you,” said Fran. “They’re really naff, but what can you do? At least the English style isn’t too bad. You be glad you’re not Italian.”
“The boots are OK,” said Betch. “Just suede, halfway to the knee, with a turn-over at the top. Dingey, olivey sort of green.”
“The leggings are only woollen cloth,” said Peter. “Bit like the sort Droz always wears.”
“I quite like the tunics,” said Fran. “You wear a shirt underneath them, and they’re sleeveless. Very dark green, like a holly leaf. Leather,” he smiled.
“You’re kidding!” said Ace. “It doesn’t sound too bad. Have we got any leather, Will?” he asked, airily.
“Just a couple of cows’ worth,” grinned Will.
“You couldn’t spare us some, could you?” said Fran.
“Don’t be daft,” said Ace. “Come on, let’s go to the hut and get it over and done with. Then we can all have a good laugh at each other, and it won’t feel so bad on the night.”


While they were working, Fran explained where the tradition had come from.
“The different styles from different countries are because of camouflage,” he said. “The colours and fabrics are what worked in that light, and that plant cover. That’s why we’re all soft and muted. Wearing it so carefully at Midsummer comes from the days when hundreds of colonies would come together on Midsummer’s Eve. There are tiny differences, you see, that show a sort of regional allegiance.”
“I get you,” said Ace. “It’s almost like a uniform, then, isn’t it?”
“Yes... does that help, thinking of it as a uniform?”
“Well, yes, it does a bit. I was kind of expecting uniforms. Human armies wear uniforms all the time.”
“Do they? I didn’t know that.”
“Mmm. Different one for each country. Same as this, really. But what are these regional differences? We won’t be able to copy you on that.”
“No, that’s a problem. For England, it was always something different for each county.”
“Not for London,” said Wayne, proudly. “That was always different. Bright green neckerchief, I know that much. But which county was Cheadle in, in the old days?”
“Cheshire,” said Will. “Cory was very proud of that. Often mentioned it.”
“Cory, yes,” said Ace. “He used to wear clothes like this, at Midsummer, when we were little. Now I see them, it’s coming back to me. What else was there, Will? Can you picture him, in your mind?”
“Not really. But I remember running up to him, to be picked up, yes, and pulling on his belt.”
“That’s it. You’ve got it. He wore a belt with this stuff.”
“There you go, then,” said Fran, pleased for them. “You’ll be wearing the same as every elf in Europe, yet showing you’re English, and what county you’re from. It’s not so bad, is it?”
“Don’t,” laughed Ace. “I’ll end up being proud of it, at this rate.”

Ace had another thing in mind, but that was just for Will. When they were on their own, he said,
“You serious about looking good?”
“Yeah...” said Will, warily. “Why?”
“You have to do something about your hair.”
“Oh, I will. I’ll comb it, I promise.”
“You’ll wash it. Every day for the rest of the week.”
“Get away! Every day? Are you bonkers?”
“Trust me, it’ll look fantastic. You’re the one who said we had to make the effort.”
“Ace, you really are a pain sometimes,” Will groaned.
But he did it.

“I don’t care how much it hurts, sit still!” said Ace. “If I can’t trust you to get all the knots out, you’ll have to let me do it. There! Go and look in the mirror.”
Will looked, and gasped. His hair really did look as good as Ace’s now, smooth and sleek, hanging halfway down his back like a black waterfall.
“Told you,” said Ace. “Oh well, let’s get these uniforms on.”
They dressed with care, and pinned on their medals, and Ace tied his stone round his neck. It felt good, he’d missed it. Then they stood looking at each other. They didn’t feel a bit like laughing.
“You look really good,” said Ace. “Honestly, I mean it. You’re pretty good-looking yourself, you know, when you make the effort.”
“Thought you didn’t like competition?” smiled Will.
“That doesn’t count, with you.”
“Nice. I wouldn’t normally say it, Ace, seeing as you don’t need telling, but you look fantastic. Really. I’m so proud of you.”

There were garlands of flowers everywhere on the Concourse, and the wooden tables were covered with stiff white cloths. Dozens of sprites, all immaculately dressed, were milling around, looking for their friends and chattering excitedly. Ace and Will walked through the crowds, feeling very self-conscious, looking for Fran and the others.
“Here they come!” said Wayne, as he spotted them.
Fran turned and looked at them, and a strange kind of wonder filled his eyes.
“What’s up?” said Ace, alarmed. “Have we done something wrong?”
Bewildered, Fran shook his head, and Ace realised what he was looking at.
“Oh, yeah,” he laughed. “You know when you said you didn’t know why my senior sprite ever let me come? That’s how I got away with it. It’s me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would never have... oh, it would have saved a lot of trouble.”
“Ach, no,” said Ace. “It’s better this way.”
“That’s a really old stone,” said Peter, in a respectful voice. “And you’ve got medals, too! What did you get those for?”
“Oh, that’s a long story,” said Ace. “I’ll tell you later, if you want. Will was the real hero of that one.”

Betch was asking why they were called Moseley when they came from Cheadle. As Will explained, Ace felt his spirits soaring. OK, there might not be much left of it, and not many sprites, either, but Moseley Wood was an ancient and honourable colony, and here was its stone, here at the heart of the realm, and he was wearing it. It was fantastic.
So that’s what Cory meant, thought Ace. When he said it would help me, when I got to Norway. I thought he meant respect I hadn’t earned. That’s why I didn’t want to wear it. But he didn’t mean that at all. He wanted me to be proud of where I come from, and who I am. One in a long, unbroken line. It matters. That’s where the strength of the realm is, that Parliament can’t break. It matters a lot.
He turned to Will, and smiled.
“D’you think he can still see us, Will? Still knows what we’re doing?”
Will didn’t know what Ace had been thinking, or how his thoughts had got to that point, but he knew what he meant. He was used to filling in the gaps, when Ace’s thoughts jumped around.
“I shouldn’t wonder. It’s a nice thought. We must pour a drink for him tonight, Ace.”
“We will. What d’you think they’ll be doing at home?”
“Oh, they’ll have a party, in Sally’s garden. They’ll have milk, and music, and dancing, for Aesculus. The children know all about it, remember. And Mal will go, I’ll bet.”
“True. They’ll be thinking of us, and we’ll be thinking of them.”

More and more of the first year elves were crowding together, feeling there was safety in numbers. Ace and Will were relaxing, fast. They didn’t have much to complain about. It looked as if the hotter the country you came from, the dafter your clothes looked. Droz, Kes and Vin were the only ones who looked really comfortable, but then, they wore this stuff all the time.
“Kiefer,” said Ace, “what on earth is that on your head?”
“It’s a hat, Ace,” said Kiefer patiently. “Don’t you have hats in England?”
“Well, yeah, I guessed it was some sort of hat. But why is it red? I thought everything was supposed to be green?”
“I thought I’d have a red one, just to be different. When you’re as small as I am, you want to be sure people notice you.”
“You’ve been noticed, all right,” Ross told him. “General Herdalen’s coming to speak to you.”

The Norwegian clothes looked fantastic, Ace thought. Really dark and plain, nothing fussy. The general had some pretty impressive medals, too, and he looked just as cool as he normally did. But he didn’t sound cool as he spoke to Kiefer.
“Make that hat the right colour, you idiot!” he hissed. “There are a lot of important people here. Do you want the Parliamentary Envoys to think the current first years are stupid?”
“Sorry, sir,” said Kiefer, and turned his hat green.
“That’s better. Ace, Will, come with me a minute, will you? There’s someone I want you to see.”
They went with him, nervously, hoping he wasn’t going to introduce them to anyone important. But he led them into the Great Hall, where some very senior fairies were talking, and one of them turned round.
“Madge!” yelled Ace. “Oh, brilliant!” and nearly strangled her with a huge hug.
“You’re not supposed to say that,” said Madge sternly. “You should say, ‘Good evening, Major Arley.’ “
“Yeah, right,” said Will, hugging her too. “Oh, this is a fantastic surprise. When did you get here?”
“Only this morning. Well, let me have a look at you.”
Her eyes went a bit shiny as she looked at them. What a difference.
“Oh, my dears, it’s so good to see you,” she said. “You look wonderful. So smart. And Will...gracious me, I would hardly have recognised you. You look so much bigger, and stronger...”
“...and cleaner,” said Ace.
“And how are they getting on, Gran?” she asked. “Are they being good?”
“Oh, absolutely,” said the general. “Exemplary. Just like I was.”
“As bad as that?” said Madge.
“Yes, well, I’ll have to go,” said the general. “I have to go on the platform with Gia. Catch you later!”
“Where are the others?” said Madge. “Have you seen them?”
“Not yet,” said Ace. “Let’s go and find them, before it all starts. If we can...what a crowd!”
“I can see Hogweed,” said Will. “Dan might be with him. Let’s head that way.”
Hogweed beamed when he saw Madge.
“Hello, Major!” he said. “Oh, this is confusing! People you weren’t expecting, and everyone looking so different!”
“Hello, Hogweed, dear,” said Madge. “Don’t you look good in your goblin cloak!”
“Sergeant Camilo helped us all,” said Hogweed. “It was very difficult, but worth it. I feel so proud of myself, I could burst!”
“Dan!” said Madge, kissing her.
“That’s not Dan,” said Ace. “That’s a fairy in a dress. Dan’s that little fireball with a dirty face, even scruffier than Will.”
“D’you want a fight?” glared Dan.
“Oh yes, it is Dan,” grinned Ace.
“How did you make your hair stay on top of your head like that?” Will asked her.
“Search me. Rose did it. She tortured me.”
“I know what you mean,” said Will. “You going back to scruffy again tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
“So am I.”
“Don’t be daft!” said Ace. “Haven’t you noticed how many fairies are looking at you? And probably thinking, I didn’t know Will Moseley was so good-looking?”
“Yes. It’s very embarrassing. And the sooner it stops, the better.”
“But...”
“Madge,” said Will, “have you noticed the new tapestry?”

While Madge was looking, Ace was thinking hard, telling Will in graphic detail exactly what he was going to do to him, but Will just stood there, grinning.
“You must be very honoured, Ace,” said Madge. “Such skill! I don’t know when work by first years has ever been hung in such an important position. Where are they?”
“Behind you,” said a voice, warmly. “Hello, Madge.”
Madge kissed Rose and Clover, and as they chatted excitedly, Ace and Will just stood there, dumbstruck. The fairies looked so tall with their hair up, so elegant, and...
“Clover,” said Will, “you look beautiful.”
Clover swallowed hard, too moved to speak. She knew as well as Ace did, that when Will said a thing like that, he really meant it.
Ace looked at their dresses, then looked around the room, and back again.
“No contest,” he smiled. “Yours are the best. The way they fit, the design, the way they catch the light... top skill.”
Rose smiled, delighted that he’d noticed.
“Not bad for weeds, are we?”
“I’m just so very, very proud of you all,” sighed Madge. “We must have a good long talk. But we won’t get chance tonight. It’s almost time to start, and you stay in your orders after the dancing. But there’ll be plenty of time tomorrow. Look, here’s the Commander coming, we must find our places. Enjoy yourselves!”

The Commander had spoken the words of the invitation, and all the sprites had gone up to drink from the bowl. Although there were so many, it hadn’t felt it was taking long. Yet the sun was low in the sky when they poured outside again for the dancing. The band took their places on the stage, and everyone’s hearts beat faster as the first drum-beats sounded. The circle spread out, wide across the whole camp. Even the sprites from great forests had never seen dancing like this. People were flying and jumping as they danced, faster and wilder, until the circle was like a living thing, like a ring of green fire, flickering across the mountain.
At midnight, the dancing stopped, and the sprites stood still, pulses racing and panting for breath, and one by one turned with joyful faces towards the Tree, as his beautiful voice spoke to one heart after another. And Rose broke down in tears.
“Clover! Help me!” she sobbed. “Who spoke to me? Was it really the Tree? Clover, the Tree’s a person, isn’t he?”
“Yes dear,” said Clover, holding her. “Come and sit down. I’m so, so glad you’ve heard him. He was waiting till you were ready, you see. He didn’t want to frighten you.”
“No wonder you all love full moon so much,” said Rose, shaking a little. “That was so good.”
“What did he say, Rose?” asked Clover, gently.
“He said, ‘No flower of mine is a weed. You are a rose with no thorns, and beautiful beyond compare.’ He really loves us, doesn’t he, Clover?”
Clover was nearly in tears, herself.
“Yes, Rose. He loves all of us.”


All the lamps on the Concourse were lit, and bowls and bowls of wonderful things to drink were carried out to the tables - milk, and wine, spring water, and juices of berries in every colour of the rainbow. Inside the Great Hall, more tables had been spread, and here the Commander and her generals were sitting, with their guests from Wielkopolska.
“Have some cloudberry juice, Envoy Mecsek,” urged General Stalden. “It may be new to you, it only grows here in the far north.”
“Yes, delicious indeed,” he agreed. “You are very fortunate. You are a little remote, here, though. Far removed from the problems facing colonies further south and east. Sprites constantly on the move, as one place after another becomes unsafe.”
General Széchenyi looked furious, but the Commander kicked her, under the table.
“We are indeed aware of the problems, Envoy,” said the Commander. “Our logistics people have been working long and hard to help the refugees.”
“Helping them to avoid the official relocation zone,” laughed Envoy Mecsek. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. We were asked to come and clear it up. Perhaps you were not aware that a law was passed enforcing refugees from Bosnia to settle on the same site, in remote Carpathia?”
“I was aware of a directive,” said the Commander silkily. “I was not aware that a directive had the force of law. Is that now the case?” she added, in an innocent voice.
“Words, words,” spat the other envoy, crossly. “The spirit of the directive is not being followed. I insist that you enforce it. Refugees cannot be allowed to scatter as they will. The dangers of contact are too great.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a little contact, Yantra, you Bulgarian elephant,” hissed General Széchenyi. “A little more contact in recent years would have saved lives, I tell you!”
Envoy Mecsek hastened to smooth things over.
“We’ll have to get you into Parliament, General,” he smiled. “Then you can argue your point. But I fear you would be in a minority.”
General Herdalen yawned, and stretched.
“Besides,” he said, “it makes it much easier to keep them under your thumb if they’re all locked up in the same place, doesn’t it?”
“You’re in danger of being relieved of your command, Herdalen,” snapped Envoy Yantra.
“What, and have Parliament admit they made a mistake in appointing me? I don’t think so.”
“The army is obliged to enforce the true and proper laws! That’s one of the foundations of your existence, isn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed,” said the Commander. “I can quote you the exact words - ‘enforce every true and proper law enacted by Her Majesty the Queen and her Council.’ “
“And Parliament is the natural successor to the institution of Queen,” said Envoy Yantra. “Its laws must be enforced.”
“Insofar as they are true and proper.”
“That’s not for you to decide!”
“Come, come,” said Envoy Mecsek, smiling. “It’s Midsummer! Let’s drink some wine, then we must move around. There are so many people I want to meet.”


The first year elves were sprawled on the grass, leaving the tables for their elders and betters, but they were very well supplied. It was traditional, they knew, on Midsummer’s Eve, to drink as many different drinks as possible, and that was one tradition they were all in favour of. Beuk was getting pretty loud already, and it wouldn’t be long before Kiefer did something daft. That made Ace a bit thoughtful, and when Will asked him if he wanted any wine, he said no.
“General Herdalen wants to impress those envoys. He doesn’t want anyone doing anything stupid. Someone’s got to stay sober.”
“I get you,” said Will. “I’ll keep you company.”
“Nice.”
The wine had gone to Droz’s head, and he was talking about his hero, General Széchenyi.
“You bet she got cheered,” he said. “Every sprite east of the Danube knows her name. You’ve no idea, here in the west, what it’s been like. It was as if the humans’ last war had suddenly flared up again. It was chaos. And every time, she was there, making plans, saving lives, moving people. And not to their damned Parliament refugee camps, either. To good places, where they could make new homes.”
“So you should hate humans, then,” said Olm, “if they’re driving you out of your homes.”
“Are you mad, or just stupid? I don’t hate humans. They didn’t have a war just to harm sprites, you know. And a lot of the people who had to move, wouldn’t have had to if they’d had just one good Ally to help them. But who dares make Allies nowadays? No-one, not since those murders.”
“Murders?” said Ace. “What murders?”
“Don’t you know anything?” said Droz. “Five years ago, some sprites in Germany made some new Allies. Within a year, every sprite who’d signed the forms had been murdered. The Police said they had no idea who’d done it, which was strange, because everyone else knew - Parliament’s Special Brigade. There’ve been no new Allies since, not anywhere in the realm.”

Ace didn’t answer, he was too stunned, but Fran did.
“Are you saying they were murdered on Parliament’s orders?”
“Not officially, of course. They’d never admit that. But it’s true, all the same.”
“I’ve heard a lot of moaning about Parliament, and all the laws,” said Fran. “But I never knew they were that bad.”
“That’s all people do,” said Droz. “Just moan. When’s someone going to do something about it? I want the old ways back.”
“But in the old days,” said Olm, “sprites used to frighten humans! So they mustn’t have liked them!”
“They didn’t frighten all of them! Only nasty ones. They may have frightened more, but don’t you see, they made friends with more, as well!”
“Humans are different now,” said Olm. “Parliament’s right. We have to stop contact before they wipe us out.”
“You’re very quiet, Ace,” sneered Beuk. “Why aren’t you sticking up for your precious humans?”
“I was listening,” said Ace. “It was very interesting. When I came here, I didn’t know any history, or traditions. All I knew was human stuff. And I tell you they’re not different. They’re the same as they ever were. Some are nice, and some are not. Some you can trust, and some you can’t. I want to be able to use my own judgement about who I talk to. And I want to stay close to humans. I want to see what they’re doing, and make new things.”
“I’m not fussed about new things,” said Droz, “but I don’t see why sprites who want them shouldn’t have them. I want to be able to live where I want, and make Allies if I need them.”
“You both want exactly the same thing,” said Will. “Freedom.”

They all went quiet. A lot of them were thinking about such things for the first time, and feeling quite strange. Droz and Ace were looking at each other with new understanding.
“I’m sorry, now, that I ever moaned about these clothes,” said Ace. “They feel good.”
Droz was quick to respond.
“They suit you. You look very good in them. And you know what, Ace, when you’ve got time, show me how to make matches, will you? They look very useful.”
Ace held his hand out.
“You bet,” he said, and they shook hands, warmly.
“What you’re both forgetting,” interrupted Kiefer, “is that the main aim in life is to have fun! It’s Midsummer, and you’re far too serious! Let’s go and jump the second years!”
There was a rustle of excitement at that suggestion. Ace was very tempted, but the memory of General Herdalen’s worried face stopped him.
“We can’t do that tonight!” he shouted. “Sit down again, you don’t want those elves from Parliament to think we can’t behave, do you?”
“You’re a fine one to talk!” fumed Kiefer. “The last time we did that, it was your idea!”
“I know,” groaned Ace. “And it was good fun. But not tonight.”
“Spoilsport!” sniffed Kiefer, and jumped to the top of the nearest flagpole, swinging around and shouting rude words at Ace.
Ace was at a loss for a moment, he really liked Kiefer, and hated upsetting him. But Will had an idea.

“Forget the second years,” he said. “We can sort them out any time. We’ve had a challenge from the goblins!”
“What at?” said Alnus, quick to back them up at keeping things calm.
“Football,” said Will. “You know how they love football. They want to take on a team of elves. How about it? It’s not a hard game to learn.”
“Maybe not, but it’s still a human game,” said Olm. “You can stuff that.”
There were a few heads nodding in agreement, but Amande said thoughtfully,
“I wouldn’t go as far as that. I don’t want to play, but I’d come and cheer you on against the goblins.”
“That’s fair enough,” said Will. “It’s a rough game, and we’ll probably get flattened, but it should be good fun for anyone who’s mad enough to try it.”
“I’ll have a go,” smiled Betch, and fell over, fast asleep.
Fran and Peter said they would too, and so did Gran. They were all big enough to cope with goblins, anyway. Alnus and Ross agreed, because they were just as careful as Ace and Will about respecting goblins’ feelings. But that was still only eight.
“I will if you’re desperate,” said Wayne, gloomily. “Football’s a great game. But I’d rather watch it than play it. I don’t want to be squashed into the mud by Hogweed.”
“No need, Wayne,” said Droz. “I’ll do it.”
It was understood that where Droz led, Kes and Vin would follow, and the tight-knit trio of young Croats were all fit and strong. Kes was a horse chestnut, tall and loose-limbed, like Ross, while Vin was a pine, exactly the same kind as Sergeant Olt, and he was built on the same solid scale. They had their team.


General Herdalen was getting more and more worried. Envoy Yantra, with his open hostility to the army, didn’t frighten him at all. Envoy Mecsek, with his constant smiling, and professed delight in everything he saw, terrified him. You just couldn’t work out what he was really thinking, or what he was really after. General Herdalen escorted him round to meet the people he wanted to see, and listened carefully. On the surface he seemed only to be polite and interested, yet the general felt he was probing for more information. He seemed very interested in anyone from logistics who’d been working in the Balkans, and also very interested in recent events in England.
He questioned Madge closely about the successful operation in Delamere. Madge was more than a match for him, answering cheerfully and even chattily, but without giving anything away that they didn’t already know. She was especially careful not to mention Phil’s real name. But the envoy had a nasty surprise in store for her.

“You have been busy, Major!” he smiled. “And you even found time to make three new Allies, too!”
Madge was shocked to the core that he knew, but she just smiled, casually, and said,
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I expect you’re wondering how I knew that,” he added, in a roguish voice. “A very diligent Police fairy called Montbretia saw the new stars, and wondered if the correct procedures had been followed. She went to the local Hollow Hill to check. And do you know, she found that the forms had not been sent on to central government! I’m sure you’ll be as shocked as I was to hear that they’d been left at the bottom of a filing tray!”
Poor old Lex, thought Madge. I bet she really bullied him.
“The elf in charge of records has been demoted to emptying waste paper baskets,” laughed the envoy. “But the curious thing is, this exemplary Police fairy - truly splendid work, you must be very proud of her - reported that the young sprites who signed with you were missing from their home. I hope this news is not too distressing to you?” he enquired anxiously.
“So much news these days is distressing, Envoy,” said Madge calmly. “Their home was destroyed. Naturally, they will have left. Where they are now, who knows?”
I certainly don’t, she thought. Camp’s a huge place. They could be anywhere.
“Well, I trust you will meet them again soon,” smiled Envoy Mecsek. “And now, General, if you’d be so kind, I’d really like to meet some of your new recruits. The elves, perhaps? Must encourage the rising generation!”
Oh, help them, Gran! thought Madge. They’ve got names, and probably descriptions!
Trust me, thought the general. We’ll fox him.
Oh, dear, he thought to himself, as he led the envoy across the Concourse. I hope they’re not too drunk.
He was expecting the worst as he spotted where the first year elves had gathered. He could see Kiefer on top of the flagpole, and he imagined the rest would be in a similar state.

Ace saw them coming, and sighed with relief. Thanks to Will, everyone was cheerfully discussing football, instead of starting a big fight. True, there was Kiefer, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. And Betch...
Will came to help him pull Betch out of sight behind a bush.
“He’s completely out of it,” said Will sympathetically. “I s’pose he got lonely.”
“Yeah. Bound to miss your friends on a night like this.”
Will ruffled Betch’s hair as they curled him up comfortably.
“Have a nice dream, Betch,” he said.


The envoy went for Droz first. He’d noticed that he’d been just that bit slower to stand up. Droz couldn’t really conceal his feelings, though he was trying. Envoy Mecsek grilled him about who he was and where he came from. Then he turned to Fran.
General Herdalen listened attentively. Yes, it was where people were from that he was interested in.
Will! he thought. Lie!
Will blinked a bit, but nothing more.
“Yes, Envoy,” Fran was saying. “Wayne’s from England, too, from London, and Ace and Will are from the north.”
“Really? Whereabouts, exactly?” smiled the envoy.
“Saddleworth,” said Will, before Ace could answer.
“That’s near Manchester, isn’t it? Have you ever heard of a place called Cheadle?”
“Oh yes,” said Ace, effortlessly backing Will up. “It’s in Staffordshire, isn’t it?”
“Hmm. Not the one I’m thinking of. Why do you grow your hair so long?
“To keep our ears warm,” said Ace seriously. “Freezing cold, Saddleworth. Nearly as bad as this place.”
The envoy smiled, thinly, and turned to speak to Olm.
General Herdalen breathed a sigh of relief, and flashed a look at Ace and Will that said, Well done.
They were safe a bit longer. He’d only heard their first names, and they were common enough. But then Kiefer started shouting again. He was practically upside down, swinging round and round.
“You’re going soft, Ace Moseley, soft as a fairy,” he shouted.
The general saw the envoy stiffen, and stop for a moment. It was too late. He’d found his targets.
Before they left, the general spoke to the elves.
“Tell that idiot Kiefer to report to me in the morning,” he said furiously. “I’ve had enough of his antics.”

Kiefer got two hours hard labour for making an exhibition of himself, but he wasn’t bothered. He was his normal cheerful self again next day, and even being scolded by Sizzle and all his fairies didn’t worry him. Ace and Will felt a bit guilty that he’d got in trouble, but that was nothing, really, to the trouble they were in.
“So what’s going to happen?” said Will. “They know, now. Are we all going to get murdered?”
“I don’t suppose they can touch us here. But once we leave, they’ll be after us.”
“Madge knew. I thought she looked a bit strange, just before we signed those forms. She knew it would come to this, she was thinking about warning us.”
“But she didn’t. She knew it wouldn’t have made any difference. Great compliment, that, when you think about it.”
“It is. Shame, though, when we nearly got away with it.”
“I know. You were brilliant, you thought really fast.”
“Doesn’t often happen. I’m surprised the general didn’t think the warning to you.”
“I’m not. You keep your face straight. You know I’m hopeless at that.”
“Oh, was that why?” said Will, genuinely surprised. “I always thought that was a bad thing, but it’s obviously got its uses.”


All the recruits were out clearing up, stacking away bottles and washing bowls. But when the work was finished, they were free all day, and Ace and the others rushed to find Madge. She was just as pleased as they were.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” she said. “Where would you like to go?”
“To our hut, please, Madge,” said Ace. “If you don’t mind, the other six from our team are coming too. They all know very well that we don’t really come from Saddleworth, and they need to know what’s going on.”
“I agree,” said Madge. “So long as you trust them, it will be a great help. You need all the friends you can get.”
Madge greeted the others warmly, and they were very impressed by her. Wayne and Bella were completely won over because she’d heard of the dancing in Chrisp Street fountain, and the Knightwoods were stunned because she was on first name terms with their senior sprite.
“So,” said Madge,” should I have warned you? Told you about the murders, and what you were letting yourselves in for?”
“I don’t know what you’re all looking at me for!” said Clover indignantly. “I may be bone idle, but I’m not a coward. Yes, OK, being on a hit list is not my idea of fun, but no, it wouldn’t have made a scrap of difference.”
Madge smiled, well content.

“They won’t get you. Or me either, if it comes to that. As for Phil, they don’t know who he is. Don’t realise he’s the same person they’re after for the Delamere job, and I hope he’ll be safely here before they find out.”
“What about Aesculus?” said Ace. “That Rix must have seen him. D’you think he might go after him?”
“Not now,” said Madge. “General Herdalen had a unit out after Rix. It went wrong somehow, I’m not sure why, he didn’t say much about that. But Lieutenant Foxfield reported that Rix and what was left of his gang had gone from Delamere and headed north.”
Madge looked with concern at Ace, who was banging his head on the table.
“What on earth’s the matter?”
“He’s just hoping Lieutenant Foxfield never heard who messed up the operation in the first place,” said Will. “It was us. It was bad enough before, but now we know which unit it was...”
“I don’t believe this,” Ace groaned. “Why did it have to be his unit?”
“He won’t know,” said Will. “Look, General Herdalen didn’t tell you that, did he, when we were in detention? He could really have rubbed it in, but he didn’t. So he won’t have mentioned it.”

“Ah,” said Madge. She’d got the picture. It didn’t take Madge long to put a story together from fragments. “Will’s right. Gran didn’t tell me, and he won’t have told Ace Foxfield, so stop worrying. And you can stop worrying about Aesculus, too. He’s got a bodyguard.”
“What? David, you mean?”
“No, not David. Someone who never leaves his side, even when he’s wriggling through the grass, or at the top of a tree.”
“Who, then? Not Mal?”
“No,” laughed Madge. “Guess again!”
“Oh!” shrieked Rose. “The Elfcat!”
“Exactly,” beamed Madge. “You should see the size of him now. Huge, strong, powerful, and so good-natured. But he’d never let anything harm Aesculus.”
“That’s wonderful news,” said Ace. “If he’s safe, that’s a load off my mind.”
“But you’re not!” said Wayne. “Aren’t you frightened?”
“I don’t think so,” said Ace. “It’s quite exciting, really.”
Clover sighed.
“It’s a pity you two are so conspicuous,” said Madge, frowning. “I don’t suppose you’d consider cutting your hair? Just a thought,” she added, as they snorted in derision. “You should be safe here, but you never know. Be wary of strangers - all of you - and whatever you do, don’t let anyone lure you off the mountain. And work hard. Then you’ll be equipped to cope, when you leave.”
“Such things shouldn’t happen,” said Fran seriously. “Can I tell Droz about this, Ace? I’ve got an idea that he might be interested in.”
“Yes, if you like. He’s hardly going to help Parliament find us.”
“Then I’m going to find him, right now.”
“I must go too,” said Madge. “I need to talk to Gran. Listen, I’m off to England again tomorrow. New job in Liverpool. I’ll be calling at Sally’s on the way, so if there’s anything you’d like me to take...?”
“Letters!” said Clover. “Come on, let’s get writing!”


“Where have you been all morning?” smiled General Herdalen. “As if I didn’t know. How are they taking it?”
“With great courage. Even Clover spoke bravely. Ace, on the other hand, was really alarmed.”
“What!”
“Oh, not about being murdered,” said Madge, with a twinkle in her eye. “Just at the thought that Ace Foxfield might know he’d made an idiot of himself.”
The general laughed.
“As if I’d have been that mean!”
“That’s what Will told him. They’ve got their whole team on their side, you know. They’re going to make a real difference.”
“I would never have guessed, the first time I saw them,” smiled the general. “Shivering with cold, and looking as if they didn’t know what had hit them.”
“You might have done if you’d seen them the first time I saw them. Leaping - just the two of them, unarmed - onto an enormous cat, then leading the monster away from their friends. And neither of them batted an eyelid.”
“Extraordinary. Is this what we’ve been waiting for, Madge? A new generation coming to the fight?”
“So many things are coming together. I feel it won’t be long, now. All we’ve worked and waited for all these years.”
The general smiled, a dreamy, far-away smile that not many people got to see.
“And we shall have a queen again. The cause we swore our lives to. I still miss him so much, Madge, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“And has it been hurting worse, lately?”
“Well...yes. Since they came here, they have made me very glad. But also very lonely.”
“That’s understandable. But for today, you’ve got someone you can say anything to. So put the kettle on, dear, and talk your heart out.”


Fran found Droz in the forest, alone for once, moodily practising throwing. He stopped and turned when he heard footsteps.
“You look very serious, Fran Knightwood. Have you decided it’s time to stop moaning, and do something?”
“Yes,” said Fran. “I was very impressed by what you said last night. But you got one thing wrong.”
“Go on.”
“There have been new Allies since those murders - in England. And five of the ones who signed the forms are here. And they’re all called Moseley.”
“So that’s what that damned envoy was after! They know, don’t they?”
“Yes, they know. Names, and descriptions. Their friend, Major Arley, covered their tracks for a while, but the secret’s out, now. Special Brigade will be after them.”
Droz started swearing, furiously.
“They always get what they want! It’s too easy for them!”
“Ace’s team have been laughed at since they got here. I treated them badly, you’ve treated them badly. We have to make it up to them.”
“I thought he was all talk, and no action. I’ve seen too much of that. When all the time, he - all of them - had done the bravest thing possible.”
“But what can we do?” said Fran. “To show them how we feel about what they’ve done?”
“We tell Ace we’re behind him. We tell him that when he wants to start the rebellion, we’re on his side.”
“Rebellion? You think it’ll come to that?”
“Don’t you?”


A few evenings later, the elves had their football match against the goblins. Crowds of people came to watch, even Sergeant Olt and Sergeant Camilo were there. The elves lost 5 - 1, but they didn’t mind. They’d survived ninety minutes without serious injury, and they’d enjoyed themselves. The goblins were ecstatic, and thanked them profusely for the game, before bearing their goal-scorers off in triumph to the mess. The elves who’d been watching streamed off together. Kiefer had lost a bet with Amande, and everyone wanted to see what would happen.
But the team didn’t know about that, and limped off cheerfully to the swimming-pool, along with Wayne, who’d been refereeing. They were all cut and bruised, and covered with mud, so they got clean, and patched each other up. It was in the changing-room, afterwards, that Droz and Fran made their move. Ace was wincing as he tried to comb the knots out of his hair, when he noticed that everyone had gone very quiet. They were all standing up, watching him…except Will. Ace felt a thrill run through him, but whether it was excitement, or fear, he couldn’t tell.
Will, he thought, and Will glanced up, took it all in, and moved quietly to his side.

“Ace,” said Droz, seriously. “We’ve got something to say to you. All of us. We’ll never get a better chance, when just the right people are alone together.”
“Go ahead,” said Ace warily, wondering what was going on.
“We’re all ready to rebel against Parliament,” said Fran. “And we want you to lead it.”
“Stone the crows,” said Ace. “That’s…that’s brilliant. And that’s some compliment, coming from you lot.”
“It’s meant to be,” said Ross. “You’ve proved yourself the best leader of all of us, and you’ve stood up for what you believe since the day you came.”
“That is no disrespect to you, Will,” said Gran. “Everyone knows you are his equal in courage and skill. But…”
“Hey, no problem,” said Will. “I understand perfectly. He’s a born leader, he can’t help it.”
“I’m very honoured,” Ace said, “but the rebellion’s already got a leader. There are loads of sprites, across the army, ready to move. But the timing’s in older hands than ours. People who’ve been waiting patiently for years, for the time to be right. And their word is, we can’t move till we’re ready, because when we fight, we have to win.”
“Good,” said Wayne. “Told you twelve people wasn’t enough to start a revolution.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Ace grinned. “It’s tempting…but I don’t think the real leader would be too impressed if we jumped the gun.”
“Who is he?” asked Betch.
“I’ll ask him if I can tell you,” Ace promised him. “He’ll be really pleased to hear about this. But for us…the rebellion starts here! Come on, let’s get to the mess. We’re going to celebrate!”


No-one was surprised when they barged into the mess together, laughing and shouting. The noise in there was already deafening, goblins celebrating, elves laughing over Kiefer’s triumphant raid on the officers’ mess - he’d had to sneak in and nick a bottle of beer without getting caught - and fairies shrieking over the din to make themselves heard. But after a while, as the light started to fade, Ace went quiet and started thinking to Will.
I’m going to find him, now. You coming?
No…too pushy. They chose you, not both of us.
I don’t like it, doing things without you.
I know, but it’s only bits like this that you have to do alone. I’ll always be there to help you, you know that.
Without you I’d be nothing, I know that.
Buzz off, you mad sycamore, and find the general.
They winked at each other cheerfully, and Ace slipped out.

Will stretched, and stepped his concentration up a gear. It needed a little more effort to think to other people than it did to think to Ace.
Fran, can you hear me?
Yes! Yes, I can! How did you know? I didn’t know I could do this!
I just guessed. You looked so happy tonight. Sort of, at peace with yourself.
Peace…yes. This is a wonderful place, Will. I’m so glad I came.
That’s good. I just wanted to thank you, Fran, for that idea. I know it came from you. It was a beautiful thing to do.

General Herdalen left the officers’ mess early that night. He wasn’t in the mood. There’d been bad news today - another new law out of Wielkopolska. Disheartened, he stepped into his house and lit a lamp. Then he heard a discreet tap on his back door. Trying to remember if he had an appointment he’d forgotten about, he opened the door.
“Oh, hello Ace,” he sighed. “Have you heard already?”
“No,” said Ace. “Heard what, sir?”
“New law. Making Allies is now officially illegal. Unless we win, your David will be the last one ever.”
“Don’t let it get you down! We’ll win! Does this bring it even nearer?”
The general watched him thoughtfully. He was so wound up, his eyes shining with joy.
“You seem very excited,” he said slowly. “Why’s that?”
“You’ll laugh when you hear it,” said Ace. “This evening, some other first years - ten of them, all elves - asked me to lead them in a rebellion against Parliament. Of course, I told them the rebellion’s already got a leader.”
The general did laugh, and felt his cares dissolving.
“They thought that would be enough people, did they?” he chuckled. “But that’s wonderful news, all the same. I don’t know…just when you think you can’t take any more, something good happens. Tell me who they are.”
Ace told him their names, then said, “They want to know, of course. Who the real leader is. May I tell them?”
“I don’t see why not. If they’re committed enough to stand up and say so…yes, that’ll be all right. I’ll make a point of speaking to each of them privately, over the next few days.”
“Brilliant,” said Ace. His eyes were still shining, he couldn’t keep still.
Far too excited, thought the general. “And are you keeping calm, and concentrating on your work, like I told you to?” he asked.
“Oh, absolutely, sir,” said Ace, trying to look very calm and failing completely.

This won’t do, thought the general. “You’re a good leader, Ace,” he said. “You think fast, you care for your team, you inspire people. But you’re not good enough for war. Not yet. Do you ever stop to think what it’s going to cost? People die in wars. Not as many as in human wars, but still…are you ready to die? Or even worse, to live on, alone? For what, maybe a hundred years? Could you bear that? Are you ready to make that sort of sacrifice?”
Ace shut his eyes.
“Don’t,” he said. “Please, don’t.”
“Think about it!” shouted the general. “Imagine it! Take a look at this!”
He bombarded Ace’s mind with images, vivid scenes of battle and death, panic, fear and ugliness, friends wounded, lying dead, even Will…it was like a waking nightmare, relentless, insistent.
“Stop it!” Ace pleaded. “No, no, I’m not that brave, I couldn’t bear that, you know I couldn’t.”
He fell to his knees, with his arms around his head, as if he could stop the images getting in. The general crouched down beside him, and put an arm around his shoulders.
“Then you could,” he said gently. “If you think you could, you couldn’t. But if you think you couldn’t, you could.”
“No, no, it’s horrible, make it go away!”
He wouldn’t move his arms, wouldn’t look up.
Will, thought the general, come to my house, will you?
On my way, sir.

Will wasn’t surprised, he just imagined the general had thought of something he wanted to tell them both. So he was taken aback to see the state Ace was in. He still hadn’t moved, and he was shaking uncontrollably.
“Ace, what’s the matter?” said Will, coming to his side. “What’ve you done to him?” he asked the general.
“You might call it extra training. It’s not enough to think of all the possibilities. A good officer needs to be able to visualise it. To see the worst.”
“Ah,” said Will. “How? Images? That’s a bit cruel.”
“Harsh, but necessary,” said the general quietly.
He went to make Ace some coffee, and left it to Will, but he was listening.
“He made me see you, dead!” said Ace, in a muffled voice.
“Not very likely,” said Will calmly. “Bit of an outside chance, that. Come on, get a grip.”
He gave him a hand, and heaved him up, and sat him in a chair.
“Look, you want to be an officer, don’t you? Well, you’re a step nearer after that. I bet they had to do that to Ace Foxfield too, and look at him now.”
“Ace Foxfield?” said the general, over his shoulder. “One of my best officers. Once he’d calmed down a bit.”
“OK, OK,” said Ace. “Point taken. You know what you’re doing.”
“The thing is, Ace,” said Will, “that even if all the bad things you saw happened, we still have to do this. It’s that important.”
“Yes, it is,” said Ace. “But I don’t feel in such a tearing hurry for it any more, that’s for sure.”
“Then it was worthwhile,” said the general. “Here, drink this.”
“Thank you. For everything,” said Ace, lifting his eyes. “I don’t always like your help, but it’s good help, I know that. But why just me? Will, can you see that stuff all the time?”
“Well, yeah. I think most people do, at least a bit. See the worst happening, in their minds. But I didn’t know you couldn’t do it at all. S’pose I should have guessed, though. But if it’s that new to you, you’ve got to remember, the worst doesn’t often actually happen. Only once, that I can think of.”
“Right. You mean your tree, don’t you? I get you.”
Their eyes met, with smiles that were full of shared joy and shared pain. A fleeting look of anguish shivered across the general’s face, and Ace and Will caught it. They both realised, then, where they’d seen that look before. And what it meant.
“Cory,” said Will softly.
“We must have hurt him so often, without meaning to. If only he’d told us sooner,” said Ace. “We’re sorry, sir. We didn’t mean to hurt you. We’ll go.”
“No, don’t be silly. It’s all right, sit down.”
He buried his head in his hands a moment, then looked up.
“Madge said you’d guess. Yes, I’m a twin. Am…was…I don’t know. He died of pneumonia, in prison. He was only thirty. His name was Ket.”

Ace and Will couldn’t speak, they were overwhelmed that the general should tell them that, overwhelmed at the thought of such suffering. Watching them, General Herdalen could see the sympathy in their eyes. Ace was fighting back tears.
“We did wonder,” he got out. “It had to be that. You understood too well. But thank you for telling us. I feel…I don’t know…”
“Honoured,” said Will. “And what sort of courage is that? To carry on, alone? And do something with your life? That’s the bravest thing I ever heard of.”
“It was a long time ago,” said the general. “Nearly thirty years. The pain never goes. You never lose the feeling that you’ve been cut in half. But you can bury it, deep enough to cope.”
They were all in tears, without even realising it.
“I didn’t want to say anything,” said the general, frankly. “Knew it’d hurt, you as well as me. But Madge told me to. Very fierce, she was,” he added, trying to smile.
“She told you to!” said Ace. “But you’re a general! She’s only a major!”
“You think she lets that bother her?” laughed the general, shakily.
“You need some coffee yourself,” said Will. “I’ll do it.”

They all had some. It helped a bit, they began to feel a little calmer, and to smile through their tears. Will thought the general actually looked happier, somehow. He didn’t understand it, though Madge would have done. He just felt he wanted to give the general something in return for his confidence.
“When we’re out there,” he said, “you’re a general. No problem. But on our own, we’re all twins together. And friends. Give me your cup, Gran, I’ll get you a refill.”
Ace stared in amazement, but Will had hit unerringly on the kindest thing he could have said. There was no doubt about the general’s reaction. He was delighted.
“Thanks, Will,” he said. “Now come on, back to work. I’d like your advice. There’s a plan I’ve been wanting to try, and this news Ace brought convinces me that this is the year to try it. The thing is, every year, when the appointments are made, we have to send one or two people to serve with Special Brigade. It’s meant to be a gesture of unity and friendship. The people General Cherapont chooses are usually thugs and half-wits, who would otherwise have been a nuisance, even in the police. My idea is to get someone of our own in there. A plant. A spy. Just think what a help that would be, to know what they were up to! It would be very, very dangerous for whoever did it. He’d have to start right now, pretending to be on their side. He’d have to pretend to scorn the rest of you, which would be very lonely for him. He’d have to be totally committed to the cause. Is there anyone you would recommend?”
“Wow, what a job!” said Ace. “Can we go?”
The general sighed, and reminded Ace that Special Brigade wanted to murder him.
“They wouldn’t buy that, anyway. Nor Droz, either. You’ve done too much. Someone quieter, less noticed.”
“I wonder…yes, he’s committed. First to follow us out that night they passed the anti-technology law.”
“Is he brave enough, though?” said Will.
“He was brave enough to finish that race, even though he was last. His courage is the dogged, determined kind, that does what it has to, however long it takes. He’s nearly forty, you know. Pessimistic, yes, but realistic too. He’s got a lot of common sense.”
“This sounds very promising,” said the general. “What’s his name?”
“Wayne Langdon.”
“Wayne? What tree is that?”
“London Plane,” said Ace. “Don’t worry, it’s an English joke.”
“Don’t say what it’s about. But ask him to come and see me in the morning.”