DEEP WATERS

CHAPTER 10 - Special Brigade

By the beginning of June, the days were very long. The sun only disappeared for an hour or two, and even then it didn’t get really dark. The weather settled down, sunny and warm, with gentle breezes blowing the scent of pine across the camp, and General Cherapont decided it was time to send the second years on their expeditions. The first years watched enviously as they set off in their teams. There were still plenty of sprites on camp, though. The whole of Spain 2 were still around, officially for refresher training, but everyone knew there was trouble. Alnus said he’d heard that entire units were refusing to follow orders, because they didn’t like their colonel. He made it sound like an ordinary Spanish row, but Ace caught sight of General Herdalen’s face one morning, and wondered if it wasn’t a bit more serious than that.

Not that he had much time for wondering. The first years were being trusted to do all the work the second years normally did, and you hardly had time to breathe. You might have to rush to the canteen, after an early-morning run, to make the tea for breakfast, or dash back from the training ground to unpack a delivery for the store-keepers. Ace and Will had to jump all the way to the target range one afternoon, after serving the drinks in the officers’ canteen at noon. They were a bit late, but Sergeant Olt could see they’d come as fast as they could, and didn’t say anything. First years could hardly start shouting at senior officers to hurry up and finish their drinks, like the second years did to them.
They were starting a new throw today, the pelt, the short, straight one. It was very tricky. No-one could quite get the feel of it.
“More in the thumb,” Corporal Lavall told them.
“It skies up too high, then,” said Ace, watching another shot go way off target. “This is infuriating. It looks so easy, but it isn’t.”
“It doesn’t half remind me of something,” said Will. “Something from home. I wish I could think what it is.”

They were so absorbed, concentrating on not letting it beat them, they couldn’t believe how fast the afternoon went. They didn’t want to stop, until they saw Wayne, Bella and Stella tearing off. Those three were doing the music tonight. They weren’t going to miss that.
“Shame not everyone’s here to listen to them,” said Will. “We were lucky when it was our turn, we had a good audience.”
“It was perishing cold, though,” said Ace, as they helped Sergeant Olt pick up handfuls of ammunition from around the targets. “At least they’ve got a beautiful evening.”
“It is, too,” said Will wistfully. “Tell you what, Ace, let’s go back to camp through the tree tops. We can, can’t we, Sergeant?”
“D’you know, I think I’ll join you,” said the sergeant. “Not done that for ages. Tip the stones into the bins, and let’s go.”
Ace jumped to the top of a tall birch, and Will to the top of a larch, and they set off through the forest, leaping from one tree to the next. It was wonderful to be up in the canopy on a summer evening, and it was exciting, too. The idea was not to stop at all, so you had to think very quickly, about which branch you were aiming for next. Sergeant Olt watched them go, and smiled to himself. They were fast, those two. He followed behind, a little more slowly, just enjoying being up in the trees.

When they got to the Concourse, it was very crowded.
“I’ll get the drinks,” said Will. “You try and get us some decent seats. What d’you want?”
“Orange, please,” said Ace, and squeezed along between the packed benches. He couldn’t get onto the same table as the rest of their team, they were right near the stage, and other people had filled up the gaps, so he bagged a bit of space nearby, with Ross and Sizzle and some of their teams. Olm and Beuk were there. Ace hadn’t forgotten that General Herdalen had asked them to get those two talking, but he hadn’t had a chance so far. Perhaps he’d get the chance tonight.
“You cut that a bit fine, didn’t you?” said Ross. “Where’s Will?”
“Getting the drinks.”
“Aren’t you going to give him a wave? He’ll never spot you in this crowd!”
“Don’t be daft,” said Ace. “Will could find me with his eyes shut.”
“Oh, of course,” said Ross. “Sorry. I didn’t think. Must be useful, that.”
“It is. Not so hot if you want to sneak off and do something you shouldn’t be doing, though,” grinned Ace.

Will dived down to join them just as the music started. Wayne had chosen a slow piece to open, just him and Bella on the saxophones, and everyone relaxed as the gentle melodies floated up and twisted together in the warm air. But then each piece got louder and livelier. Stella had turned her cornet into a trumpet for the occasion, and everyone who’d thought she was just shy and quiet was amazed. Tonight, she sparkled, as she danced around, her bright staccato notes setting everyone’s feet tapping.
“That was a brilliant idea of Bella’s, to get Stella to join in with them,” said Ace, as they stood clapping and cheering at the end. “She can’t go back in her shell after this, surely?”
“She’s really coming on,” said Will. “Bella’s good for her. They’re getting really close, those two.”
“So that was jazz,” said Kiefer. “I liked that. But I like everything, really.”
“When are we going to hear you, Kiefer?” asked Ross. “What d’you play, anyway?”
“He plays an alpenhorn, of course,” said Sizzle despairingly. “It’s bigger than he is, he can hardly lift it, and it sounds like a cow, dying.”
“No it doesn’t,” said Kiefer calmly. “You imps have no ear for music. It sounds like a tree, singing. But you need two, really, to talk to each other. I’m working on Jenny. She’ll have a go, I know she will.”
“She the one with blue wings?” said Ace. “She’s very pretty.”
“Ooh, I’ll tell her,” said Kiefer, jumping on the table. “Jenny!”
“Pipe down,” said Ace. “You really are crazy.”
“Well, she thinks you’re gorgeous,” said Kiefer.
“Everyone thinks I’m gorgeous,” said Ace patiently. “ ’Cos I am.”
Cured, are you? thought Will. That didn’t last long.
I said that for a reason, Ace thought back. Let’s see if it works.

“I don’t think you’re gorgeous,” said Olm bluntly. “I still think you look like a fairy. You both do. Big-mouthed fairies, always swanking about being twins.”
“I’m sorry if you think we swank about it,” said Ace. “We don’t mean to. You should understand, when you’re sort of twins, too. When did you do that, to make yourselves look alike?” he asked pleasantly.
Oh, skill, thought Will. Nice one, Ace.
“Last year, was it?” said Olm. “Or was it the year before?”
“It was autumn,” said Beuk. “When those refugees came from Amsterdam. So it must have been the year before.”
“It’s a good idea,” said Ace. “How did you do it?”
“Someone did it for us. Wonderful skills. Proper sprite skills.”
“But what use is it?” asked Ross, interested. They were on his team, these two, and he was beginning to despair of ever understanding them.
“It’s good fun,” Olm laughed. “You can do anything you want to humans, and the police can’t touch you, because they couldn’t swear to which one they saw.”
“We used to play tricks on humans,” said Will. “The best one was changing the colours of cars. You ever tried that?”
“That’s baby stuff,” said Beuk scornfully. “Wrecking’s more fun. Slashing, breaking, burning. Smash any foul human stuff.”
“I hate them so much,” said Olm, banging his cup on the table. “You make me sick, the way you stick up for them. D’you know what they did to me? Do you? They cut my tree down, humans did. To make a car park.”
“No, I didn’t know that,” said Ace calmly, though Will could see his hands were clenched tight beneath the table. “But I understand. Exactly the same thing happened to me. And to Will. Our trees are dead, too. Same reason.”
Olm’s jaw dropped.
“So why don’t you hate them, then? You ought to!”
“I hate the one who did it,” Ace admitted. “But they’re not all like him. When it...when it happened, I was there. Been trying to stop it, of course.”
“Oh, Ace,” groaned Ross, in sympathy. He’d had no idea. Ace had never spoken of this before.
“It was a human who helped me. Held me, and helped me to bear it. No elf could have been kinder. And I’ll tell you something, Olm, if he was the only decent human in the world, I’d still be pro-human, for his sake.”
“Well, yeah, I suppose there might be a few decent ones,” said Olm. “But not many. If we’re going to survive, we’ve got to fight back. Drive them away from the places where sprites live, like in the old days, when humans were afraid of us.”
“How are you going to drive them away, these days?” said Will. “You can’t frighten people who don’t believe we exist.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, you see,” gloated Olm. “What are humans today afraid of? Getting ill, getting old. How long d’you think they’ll stay in a place where they grow older twice as fast? That’s the weapon of the future. Rapid de...what was that word, Beuk?”
“Degeneration. Rapid degeneration.”
“That’s very clever,” said Ace. “I still don’t agree with you, but it’s a clever idea. Does anyone want another drink? I’ll go.”

He gathered up a few cups, and headed for the mess. He was so angry, he had to get away before he lost his temper. That was the most disgusting idea he’d ever heard. Humans didn’t live that long, anyway; to waste their lives like that! He felt sick. Yet he knew he had to get this news to the general. But the general was tied up with this Spanish problem. Then Ace had an idea. He went round the back of the mess, where it was quiet, leaned on the wall, and tried to concentrate. He thought of the room in the Signals Unit, with that great crystal in the centre, surely that was where you sent your thoughts to, and they’d be reflected out into the room, to be picked up...there was a noise in his head, like his ears popping, and he heard clearly.
You’re through to Signals. Go ahead.
Er...I have a message for General Herdalen, thought Ace.
General Herdalen. From whom?
From me...I mean, Ace Moseley.
What unit?
Huh? Oh, I’m not in a unit yet, I’m only a first year.
Gracious me. All right, dear, go ahead with your message.
News from Holland, at your convenience.
Is that it?
Yes, ma’am.
Message received.


Ace and Will didn’t stay out much longer. When they’d congratulated Wayne and the others, they headed back to their barracks.
“You’re very quiet,” said Will. “You tired? Or just thinking about Olm and his disgusting plan?”
“It’s more like, a bit worried. Have I done the right thing? You know how it is when you have a brilliant idea, and the next thing you know, you’ve got people shouting at you and asking you when you’re going to learn to stop and think before...”
“What’ve you done?” laughed Will.
“Sent the general a message. To Signals.”
“Hey, that’s clever. I was wondering how we could tell him, without interrupting him when he’s so busy. I mean, he’s got so much to think about. We don’t know how important this is, whether it’s a big thing or not.”
“That’s what I was thinking. This way, he picks up the message when it suits him, and he can send for us when he wants the details. I just hope he doesn’t think it’s cheek. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Shouldn’t think so. He’ll probably be dead pleased to know you can do it, then he can send you messages when he wants to.”
“I hope so,” Ace fretted.
“No-one else back yet?” said Will, as they went in. “Good. Come on, Ace, we’ve got to face it. It’s time to put our leathers away, and get some cooler clothes sorted for the summer.”
“You’re right. I was melting, today. Did you bring your jeans, that Phil made you?”
“I think so.”
He threw open the box at the foot of their bunks, where they kept their clothes, and started rummaging.
“Yes, here they are, all screwed up. And here’s yours. And we can soon make ourselves some t-shirts, now we’re so brilliant at textiles. Sleeveless, d’you think? It seems to get really hot here.”
“Definitely. What’s the point having fantastic muscles if you can’t show them off?”
“That’s not all they’ll show off.”
“Ach, never mind. At least people have stopped staring.”
“True. You know, we’re going to have to warn Phil, when he gets here, not to let on how good he is at textiles.”
“Good grief, yes, he’ll end up in the Advanced class if he’s not careful, with a load of fairies, making perishing tapestries.”
Will had been slitting the clean bits off an old t-shirt with his penknife, and they took a piece each, and had a go.
“It’s still hard work,” said Ace. “Will! What’re you thinking of! That’s miles too big!”
“You make tight ones if you want. I’d rather be comfortable.”
For a moment, Ace was ready to argue, and tell Will he’d just look scruffy. But then he remembered what General Herdalen had said, about opposite points of view.
“OK, OK, that’s cool. You be yourself. But I want a perfect fit. I’d better try it on. There! What d’you think?”
“What do I think? I think it’s a good job Rowan can’t see you. David would kill you.”


When Ace woke up next morning, he stretched, and smiled at the sight of sunlight pouring in. Then he realised two things, both at the same moment. One was that Will had already gone out, which probably meant he was up to something interesting. The other was that someone was trying to message him.
Oh, you’re awake at last, are you? It’s half past six!
Oh, good morning, sir. You’re not mad, are you? I didn’t mean it for cheek.
I know that. You’ve done very well, in more ways than one. Will’s got the hang of it too, has he?
Yes, sir.
Good. That’s very good. Come to my house tonight, 2200 hours. Don’t be seen.
Ace jumped out of bed as quietly as he could, so he wouldn’t wake the others, and got dressed in his new clothes. Then he washed his face and combed his hair carefully, and looked at the result in the mirror.
“How cool is that?” he sighed, happily, and went off to find Will.

As he’d expected, Will was making something.
“What is it?”
“It’s a dartboard. I remembered where I’d seen that throw before - Tony’s dad, playing darts!”
“Of course! This’ll be fun. Shove over, and I’ll help you make some darts. Listen, we’ve got to go and see General Herdalen. Tonight.”
“Tonight? Wow, it must be important. He wasn’t mad, was he?”
“No, he was pleased. Hang it on the hut, then we can have a go.”
Neither of them thought how loud it would sound inside the hut, darts thudding into the wooden boards. In a little while, the other seven elves came out, all looking annoyed. Even Wayne was frowning. But not for long. When he saw the dartboard, his eyes lit up.
“Oh, that’s a brilliant game! Can I have a go?”
Only Olm and Beuk held back. Ace could tell they were tempted; they didn’t clear off, but hung around, watching. The others were having so much fun, laughing and shouting, it wasn’t long before their neighbours came out to see what they were up to. A few turned their noses up at a human game, but not many. Even Sergeant Olt came over to see what they were doing, and he was very impressed.
“Well done, Will,” he said. “That’s just right for practising the pelt. Uses exactly the same hand muscles. But you’ll have to leave it there for now. You’re all due on the training ground in fifteen minutes, so if you want any breakfast, you’d better scram!”


Late that evening, Ace and Will quietly slipped away from the crowded Concourse, and wandered into the Southern Forest, as if they were just going for a stroll. But once they were out of sight, they ran through the trees and came out behind General Herdalen’s house, and knocked on his back door.
“You look cool,” he remarked as he let them in. “It’s too hot for leathers now, isn’t it? What on earth’s the matter?” he added, as they both stopped dead and stared.
“Oh yes, the Commander’s here. She wants to hear what you’ve got to say, so stop looking like stuffed fish.”
“Er, right,” said Will, in a strangled voice. “Good evening, ma’am.”
“Good evening, Will. Sit down, Ace, and stop looking so shocked! I just want you to tell us everything they said, and everything you said, as close as you can possibly get it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Ace. “ ’Cos you might pick up things we’d miss.”
“That’s it. Haven’t you got a drop of beer for them, Gran?”
“What, waste beer on deciduous sponges like these two?”
But he brought them each a huge mugful, and they both realised they were only trying to get them to relax.
Greatly daring, Ace said,
“I’ll remember that insult. I’ll bring you some tinsel, at Christmas.”
The general roared with laughter.
“You cheeky little devil! Oh, you’ll go far, you will. Go on, then. Word for word.”

So, word for word, they repeated the conversation, helping each other out. They were in no doubt, now, about how important this was. The Commander and the general were looking more and more grave. When they’d finished, General Herdalen let out a great sigh, and the Commander said,
“It’s a feint. They’re taunting us, trying to provoke us into hasty action. They knew very well that these two, Olm and Beuk, would talk freely of what they’d seen and heard.”
“This is a monstrous plan,” said the general. “If they really mean it...surely we must strike now, before they have a chance to start!”
“That’s exactly what they want us to do! If we move now, we lose. And then who will stop them? Things will have to get worse, before enough sprites will see how much is wrong, and be prepared to take action.”
“It’s hard to bear. I want to crush this evil, now. But it brings it closer, Gia. It’s getting closer all the time.”

Ace and Will hardly dared breathe. They were keeping as quiet as they could, hoping that the Commander and the general had forgotten they were there, and would carry on with this extremely interesting conversation. But the general looked at them, with a rather grim smile.
“You’ve done very well, you two,” he said. “Thank you. I’d like to hear anything else you pick up. But there’s no need for you to worry about it. All you need to do is work hard and enjoy your training.”
“Oh, come on, sir!” said Ace. “You can’t send us off to play, just when it’s getting interesting! Who are they, and what does it bring closer?”
“Look, you’ve helped, you’ve already done more than you had to,” said the Commander. “You’re too young to mess up your careers and risk your lives.”
“As far as that goes,” said the general, “they already have. Are you both absolutely sure?”
“You want me out of that door,” said Ace, “and you’ll have to throw me out.”
“Same here,” said Will. “And I’m not saying that just because Ace is. I can see there’s a lot wrong, but I wouldn’t be so quick to think there was anything I could do about it. But the Tree...there was something he said. I’d rather not say what it was, if you don’t mind, but it didn’t make sense. It does now.”

Ace was amazed. He knew how much it would have cost Will to say even that much. He hadn’t realised it meant as much as that to him. But he was deep, Will, very deep.
The Commander knew strength of purpose when she saw it.
“Very well. What does it bring closer, you asked? What happens when a realm is governed by people who make laws that no-one with a conscience could obey? Civil War. That’s what we’re talking about. It’s inevitable.”
“But we have to stave it off as long as we possibly can,” said the general. “Like the Commander said, we’re not ready. We haven’t the strength yet, we haven’t the numbers. When we fight, we have to win, or the battle will be lost forever. Sprites will cut themselves off from humans, and dwindle away and be lost from the earth. To be fair, that’s not what Parliament wants - far from it - but that’s what will happen.”
“So Parliament’s at the bottom of all this,” said Ace. “I knew it.”
“That’s where it started to go wrong,” said the general. “Do you want to hear all about it? It’ll take half the night, and you’ll still have to carry on in the morning.”
“If you’ve got time, so have we,” said Ace.
“I haven’t, though,” said the Commander. “I’ve got a million things to do. I’ll leave them with you, Gran.”
She got up to go, and Ace and Will stood up, too. She smiled at them and said,
“Work hard. That’s the best way you can help, just now. We need you fully trained and ready for action.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they said together, both deadly serious.

When she’d gone, General Herdalen stretched his long legs out, and smiled.
“Look at your arms,” he said, and they both gasped.
The scars had gone.
“Did she do that?” said Ace. “Wow, that’s cool. Does that mean we’re not in disgrace any more?”
“It didn’t do you any harm. It’s made you stronger. It did to me, too.”
“What?” said Will. “You mean you got that, too? You never mentioned that when you were telling us off.”
“Of course not. But I am now, OK? Get comfortable, anyway. There’s a lot to explain.”
“It’s awful thirsty work, listening,” Ace hinted.
“Get yourselves some more beer then,” laughed the general. “And you can bring me some, too.”

When they’d settled down, the general began his story.
“It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. The last queen, Sylvia, had been a total wash-out, and humans were getting Parliaments. Why shouldn’t we? There are still plenty of sprites around who remember it. Arda Svir will tell you, the whole realm was keen on the idea. We were going to be modern and up-to-date, with proper organisation, and everything.”
“But it didn’t work, did it?” said Ace.
“It was chaos. No-one was keeping the laws anymore. And the more they ignored them, the more Parliament tried to control them by making new ones. And the more new ones they made, the more they ignored them. Until something awful happened.”
“Cottingley,” said Will.
“That’s right. How anyone could have been so stupid as to let themselves be photographed - it defies belief, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, absolutely,” said Ace, trying not to look guilty, and thinking of his precious photograph, safe in Rowan’s care.
“Well, they cracked down, of course. The dangers of total contact were too great. Total contact is utterly forbidden, of course, and always has been.”
“Why?” said Will.
“For some reason, the Tree has always wanted us to be something humans aren’t sure about. We were to help them, unknown and unseen. They can’t look after the world without us. Yet we need them, too. And we’ve always been allowed to make friends with some of them. Those clots in Yorkshire had endangered that delicate balance. Parliament ordered a new punishment - prison. It worked. People were so frightened, they started to keep the laws. And meanwhile, the humans had been having a war.”

“We know about that,” said Ace. “The First World War.”
“It was horrific - just get Tilleul Cherapont talking about it. The things he saw as a young sprite, you wouldn’t believe. Cherapont is in the Ardennes. And it wasn’t that long before they had another war. The effect on the sprite realm was devastating. There were all the colonies displaced by the fighting. Refugees, on the roads, getting killed along with the humans. Then, after each war, an explosion of building. They estimate the sprite population was halved in the first half of the twentieth century. People began to draw away from humans, in fear. And all too often, the fear turned to hate.”
“What did the army do?” asked Will.
“Tried to keep things going, as always,” said the general. “But it was hard. Parliament has never really trusted the army. Too independent. The more young sprites that went to work for them, instead of coming here, the better they were pleased. Little by little, they tried to control us. They used Cottingley as the reason to set up the Military Police. Part of the army, yes, but doing what Parliament wanted. The army had always taken care of major outbreaks of lawlessness, and still does. But not hassling and bullying people over every little thing. The police are great at that.”
“Too true,” said Ace, with feeling.
“ Also, fewer sprites meant fewer recruits. And the ones who did come, were a curious mixture. Some, of outstanding character, all you could wish for. Others, little better than thugs, attracted by a career of licensed bullying in the police.”
“That’s one of my questions answered,” said Ace. “How Madge, and this bully called Gromwell, could both be in the same army.”

“No-one is ever turned away,” smiled the general. “That’s not the Tree’s way. But it got worse. In 1940, when Norway was occupied by the German humans’ army, Parliament set up the Special Brigade. To defend the realm, they said, in case we got wiped out here. But it wasn’t disbanded after the War. No way - it grew. We got a lot of people here, the year after the War ended - Madge was one of them - but so did Special Brigade. Officially, they guard Wielkopolska. Unofficially, they do Parliament’s dirty work. They recruit from anti-human gangs, and they stir up trouble. They’re behind these disappearances, without a doubt. We know they travel round in disguise. They’re brilliant at transforming. Those so-called ‘refugees from Amsterdam’ were Special Brigade, I’m sure of it.”
“I had no idea of all this,” said Ace, in amazement.
“Well, a year ago we’d only just heard about the army,” Will reminded him.
“I had no idea, either, when I came,” said the general. “That was in 1970. The army was very demoralised, that year. The number of recruits had fallen below five hundred, for the first time.”
"Five hundred?" said Will. “Oh, good grief.”
“I know. If they’d known then, that by now we’d be glad of topping one hundred! Then in the 1990s, trouble flared up in Eastern Europe. Humans were fighting each other again, and in one place, elves copied them. Started fighting each other. Some of our own units were involved, it was a bad situation. But instead of letting us sort it out ourselves, Parliament sent in Special Brigade. Fourteen sprites were killed in the battle. And that’s a horrific casualty rate, the worst in living memory. The Commander at the time, an awesome goblin from France, marched all the way to Poland to demand an explanation.”
“What happened?” said Will.

“He was sacked, and the head of Land Forces with him. Parliament passed an emergency law giving themselves the right to appoint the army’s six most senior officers, and they saw to it that they appointed the ones they thought would weaken the army even more. It was very cleverly done. As the new Commander, they appointed a fairy, for the first time ever. A lightweight, they felt, I’m sure. How wrong can you be?” he grinned. “And to Land Forces...well, an elf with a reputation for wild and unconventional behaviour. Probably thought I’d wipe out half the army in rash actions.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” smiled Will.
“Exactly. Without knowing it, they’d appointed the two most pro-human sprites in the army. But they hoped we would finish the army off, so they could build up a new one, based on Special Brigade, totally under their control. Then they’d be able to enforce what they’ve wanted for so long - to stop contact, completely.”
“Don’t they care about the Tree at all?” asked Ace, amazed.
“It’s a funny thing, Ace, but the more people hate humans, the more they seem to disregard the Tree. Only the army really know him, anyway. It was different in the old days, when nearly every young sprite came here, to be educated, to meet the Tree, to get to know sprites from other countries. In those days, you know, it was an honour to be chosen for active service. Most of the recruits went back to their colonies after training, to be called on if they were needed. The Tree was held in high regard, then, because everyone knew who he was. But to Parliament and their like, he’s a legend from the past, from times they’d rather forget about.”
“This is awful,” said Will. “It’s even worse than I thought. Trying to stop contact is bad enough, but if they wipe out the army, no-one will know about the Tree at all!”
“And that’s why sprites will be lost from the earth if they succeed,” said the general soberly. “You’re quite right, Will, that’s the most serious danger of all. But don’t despair. Things are beginning to come together. Colonies that were drifting, and couldn’t see how bad things were getting, are starting to wake up. Even here in the west, some of the moaning is being directed where it ought to be, at last - not at humans, but at Parliament. And in the east, people are furious. You’ll have heard Droz Zlatni on the subject, I’m sure.”
“Droz Zlatni?” said Ace. “He’s a jerk! Have you seen his clothes!”
“Give him a chance,” laughed the general. “You’ve got more in common than you realise.”

Ace almost looked insulted at that, the general noticed, amused. Will didn’t, though. He was looking very thoughtful.
“I don’t know if we’ll win,” said the general. “But I know we have to try. We have to make people listen. When they sacked General Tihany, my predecessor, he spoke to me before he went home to Hungary. ‘You’ve got two jobs, now, Gran,’ he said. ‘Lead the elves and goblins. And lead the rebellion.’ “
“And what did you say?” said Will.
“I said, ‘I remember two young elves standing up one Midsummer’s Eve and making a speech, swearing to fight until we had a queen again. They went to prison for it. I was one of them.’ Then he said something which I’m far too modest to repeat, and I was left alone to get on with the job. That was, what, seven years ago? Is it really that long? It’s been hard. You have to be patient. Every year, fewer recruits, it’s true, but every year, better and better ones. And the worse Parliament gets, the nearer it comes to its end. Does that answer all your questions?”
“It answers all the ones I had,” said Ace. “But I’ve got a lot of new ones, now.”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” groaned the general. “Let’s get some more beer.”


Ace wasn’t surprised when Will was a bit quiet the next day. They had so much to think about, he felt a bit quiet himself. When they had a free hour in the afternoon, he said he was going to wash his hair.
Will just said, “Sure, Ace, see you,” so Ace knew he was away, and left him to it.
Will found a quiet corner near the barracks where the sun was beating down on the grass, and lay on his back, thinking. He’d never felt so overwhelmed in his life. Everything there was to think about just kept getting bigger and bigger. It was daunting, what they were going to have to do, but it was exciting, too. He’d never cared about anything this much before. He thought about his tree, and about David, and all the others at home.
I wish I could say how I feel, like Ace can, he thought. Wish I could jump on tables and make speeches. But it’d take so long to think what I wanted to say.
He sighed. His fingers were itching for his bass, but it was much too hot to trek all the way to the hut. But then he had an idea. He felt in his pocket for pencil and paper, and soon he was away, even deeper.
So deeply absorbed, he never noticed Ace coming back. Not until he leaned over his shoulder and asked,
“What you up to, then?”
Mouthing a very strong word, Will shoved the paper back in his pocket.
“Oh, nothing,” he replied, unconvincingly.
Ace pretended to leave it at that, and started chatting about something else. But as soon as Will had relaxed, he pounced, and nicked the paper out of Will’s pocket. Will responded like a fury. He jumped on him and pummelled him mercilessly until he gave it back.
“OK, OK,” gasped Ace. “You win. Stop it, you’re hurting me. I didn’t know it was that important!”
“Well, you do now. But I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“I’ll forgive you. If you tell me what it is.”
Will had to laugh.
“Oh, all right. It’s a song - at least, the start of one. But no-one’s seeing it until it’s finished, OK? Not even you.”
“No sweat,” said Ace. “That’s very cool. Time we had a new one of our own. What’s it about?”
“Well, all Maiden’s best songs are about wars, aren’t they? This is going to be about a war, too. The one we’ll be fighting in.”
“I wish it’d hurry up and start,” said Ace.
“What are you like?” laughed Will. “We’ve got to keep calm, the general said. He was looking really worried when you started talking about taking out Wielkopolska with a machine gun. He was looking sorry he ever told you anything.”
“I was just getting a bit excited, that’s all. I’m a sycamore, aren’t I? You have to let me go over the top a bit, now and then. I didn’t really mean it. I know, we’ve got to work hard and finish our training, that’s the best way we can help just now, blah, blah.”
“Talking about training, it’s nearly half past five. Sergeant Olt wants the team leaders, then. That’s you now, you twit. Had you forgotten?”
“Oh, rats, yes I had. It’s a funny time, isn’t it? Hey! P’raps it’s a night-time thing!”
“Oh, no. You’re right, it might be. Not another night without any sleep!”
“We can handle it. See you in a bit!”


As Ace sauntered over to join the other team leaders for the first time, he was feeling very happy. Crocus smiled when she saw him coming.
“The English team have come to their senses, I see,” she said.
“What? Are you leading now?” said Ross. “Oh, great. That’s all I need, competition like you, with the twerps I’ve got.”
“Competition is good,” said Gran. “We will all have to work harder.”
“It’ll be a battle for second place now,” said Alnus ruefully.
“Give over,” said Ace. “That’s very nice of you all, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got a lot of ground to make up. Hello, Sergeant. Fran doesn’t want to be leader any more, so it’s me, now. That OK with you?”
“Frankly, I’m surprised it took him so long,” said Sergeant Olt. “But don’t be tempted to rub it in. Respect his feelings.”
“Trust me,” said Ace. “I’m onto that.”
“Good. Well, the second years are due back tonight, so I thought you might enjoy a little night-time activity yourselves. This will test a lot of things you’ve been learning recently, but it should be good fun, too. You’ll be working in the whole of the Southern Forest. The objective is to reach the Deep Glade - all the fairies know where it is, if you’re not sure - taking as many sprites from other teams with you as you can. The winning team will be the one at the glade with the most captives at 0600 hours in the morning.”
“Oh, brilliant!” said Sizzle. “How do we capture the others? Knock them unconscious?”
“Certainly not! Restrain your blood-thirsty instincts, you silly imp. No, Corporal Lavall is bringing your ammunition. Paint balls. Different colour for each team. If you’re hit, you have to go with the team that hit you. But you can be re-captured, by your own team or another one. It’s the colour of paint on the top that counts. Any questions?”
“What time do we start?”
“Oh, yes. 2000 hours should be fine. That gives you a couple of hours to round up your teams and lay your plans.”
Corporal Lavall gave each of them a big bag full of paint balls, and smiled as they all scattered to round up their teams. All except Ace. He stopped to speak to Sergeant Olt.
“What time, exactly, does your watch say now?” he asked.
“18.03,” smiled Sergeant Olt.
“There’s no flies on that one,” he remarked to Corporal Lavall as they headed off together.

Ace concentrated, and tried to get through to Will.
Can you hear me? Make sure your watch says exactly three minutes past six.
OK...hang on...yes, that’s it. Time matters on this one, does it?
Sure does. We need everyone to the hut, fast. Who can you see?
Only Fran and Peter. But I know where Hogweed is, playing football.
OK, can you go and get him, and I’ll try and get through to Clover, then look for Betch.
On my way, thought Will.

Clover! thought Ace.
Aargh! Stop shouting! Think quietly!
Think quietly? How on earth can you think quietly? Listen, you daft fairy, who’s with you, wherever you are?
We’re in our swimming pool. Everyone’s here.
Ha! Good, that’ll slow the others down, trying to find their fairies. Get dressed, then, and head for the hut. We’re in for an exciting night.
I do not like the sound of this, thought Clover. The things you think are exciting are usually tiring, scarey or dangerous.
Sounds about right, thought Ace. Be quick!


They sat around the table, and Ace told them about the night’s challenge. They all looked pretty excited, even Clover. That was good.
“So we need great throwing, and great tactics,” said Ace. “Clover, what’s this glade like?”
“A big, grassy clearing, with bushes and little trees around most of it, and a big cliff at the southern edge. It’s where we go to practise diving and swooping.”
“I get the picture. It sounds good. Who’s got any ideas?”
“We need good camouflage,” said Rose. “So we’re hard to spot.”
“Good thinking. Hey, hang on a minute. I wouldn’t put it past Gran, or the Russians, to send somebody spying...Peter, you and Will stand at the windows and watch no-one tries to sneak up and listen...thanks.”
Ace listened to all their suggestions, especially Dan’s, that they should take advantage of being able to keep in touch, by splitting up and working a pincer movement.
“Definitely,” said Ace. “Clover, Will and I can message now, and I’ve not heard of anyone else that can, yet. It gives us a big advantage, as Dan says. I think any of those plans would do well. We’d take a good few captives. But tell me what you think of this one. If it didn’t come off, we’d be last, no question. But if it did...oh, if it did, we’d wipe the floor with everybody! It’s an all-or-nothing plan.”
And he told them his idea.

“That’s crazy!” said Wayne. “It’d never work!”
“I’ve said that about nearly every plan he’s ever made,” Clover told him. “But the weird thing is, they nearly always do work.”
“What have we got to lose?” said Fran. “We’re almost certainly last, thanks to my hopeless leading and your run-in with the law. We need a big win. It’s worth going for.”
“Great. Let’s do it. Rose, we’ll still need camouflage, we don’t want to make it obvious what we’re doing. Start changing everyone’s clothes to the right colours, will you, while we’re talking. And make sure you’ve all got plenty of room in your pockets. We mustn’t be seen to be carrying anything.”


At eight o’clock the sprites ran, flew and jumped to the forest, and scrambled to hide before they were hit. Most of them were trying to keep together, but Ace's team split up straight away. The fairies went through the top of the canopy, straight across the forest. Will, Fran and Betch headed to their right, to the western flank, and Ace, Peter, Wayne and Hogweed went east, moving onwards and upwards through the trees, alert for the smallest noise. Everyone was being very cautious. There was plenty of time, and most of them hadn’t realised yet that the difficulty was not going to be hiding, but finding anyone to hit.
Clover led her section confidently, flying openly. Only another fairy could get them at this angle, and she didn’t think any would try. Not with Dan around. Dan would get her, first.
“Hover!” she hissed. “There’s someone down there!”
She flew a little lower, until she could see clearly.
Ace! she thought. Two teams below us, parallel. They’ve not seen each other yet.
Who are they?”
Poland, keeping together and making a lot of noise. And the Italian elves.
OK, wait till they’ve attacked, then go for the winners. Watch out for the Italian fairies, though. They’re probably flying, too.

Clover and the others landed on a branch, and watched as the Polish goblins spotted the Italians, and took aim. Green and red paint flew, and Poland were two down.
“Right,” said Clover, “who’s going first?”
“Oh, I will,” said Rose. “I can’t stand this tension. I’d rather get it over and done with.”
“Off you go, then. Good luck!”
Rose flew forward, fast, and landed ahead of the Italian elves, creeping forward as if she was after someone further ahead. It wasn’t long before a green paint ball hit her on the back. Rose was captured.
One down, Clover reported in.
Good work. We’re going to lose one ourselves, now. France are just ahead of us...well, some of them. Can’t see Alnus with them.
Ace turned to Hogweed.
“D’you understand what to do?”
“ ’Course I do. Pretend I haven’t noticed them, and act really annoyed when they hit me.”
“Perfect. Sneak quietly!”
Ace grinned to himself as he heard Hogweed’s bellow of disappointment. That was very convincing. But a few moments later, Will had some worrying news.
Have France just got Hogweed? Yes? Well, they’re messaging then. Alnus knew it, I heard him telling somone, and he’s right over on this side of the forest.
Who’ve they got...? Oh Will, it’s those twin fairies, I bet you. They’ve got it too, we should have thought of that. Is one of them over there?
Yes. But only one. You’re right.
That’s OK, now we know. Don’t let France get anyone else. Alnus isn’t stupid, he could work out what we’re doing.
I’m heading further out, then. Everyone’s trying to outflank everyone else, this side. We should soon blunder into someone.
Let loose a few if you have to. It’s got to look convincing.


As darkness fell, things hotted up. Teams were moving more openly, and taking more chances. Paint was flying thick and fast. Some of it was on the trees; not everyone was hitting their targets. If you missed, you’d had it. You got return fire pretty fast.
Clover! How’re you doing? thought Will.
Oh, this is so nice, to hear you thinking to me!
Yes, it’s lovely, but this is no time to get sentimental!
Sorry. Dan got one of the Italian fairies, then the others got Dan and re-captured their own. I’m sending Bella down in a minute. Ross is below us, now.
Sizzle’s lot have got us. We’re sitting in a tree with Kiefer, while his fairies go whizzing round for new victims.
What time is it, Will?
Nearly midnight. Hours to go, yet. Take your time, there’s no hurry.

Peter had gone to the Scandinavians, and Wayne to Crocus and her Balkan team. She’d got a lot, by getting Droz and his friends to guard the prisoners, while she and her fairies did the shooting. Just as Sizzle had found with the Alpine team, you couldn’t move your prisoners, and at the same time, work quietly to capture new ones. Hogweed had been re-captured, this time by the Russians, but so had his friend Cowberry, so he was perfectly happy.
Ace waited until Clover had checked in that she was a prisoner of the Russians, too.
I’d better go for Poland, thought Ace. Then we’ll be well spread out. They shouldn’t be too hard to find.
He jumped through the trees, listening out carefully for goblins’ voices. When he saw them, they were herding a large group through the trees. They seemed to have captured most of Italy, and all their captives, too. Ace waved at Dan, but they didn’t notice him.
I’ll have to have one shot, he thought, and carefully pulled a paint ball from his pocket. The paint ball hit a tree, a whisker away from Zoza, Poland’s leader, which was just where Ace had been aiming. Zoza whirled round, grinning, and Ace dived for cover, a second or so too late. The red paint got him on the back. Ace did his best to look fed-up and disheartened, but it was difficult. He was crowing, inside.

About five o’clock, as soon as it was fully light, France swooped down on Germany as they came out from under the trees, from two directions, a perfectly co-ordinated attack that finished up their ammunition, but captured all the German team, and all their captives, too. Ross accepted defeat with a smile.
“Very impressive,” he said to Alnus. “But you’ve got no paint left now, either. What are you going to do now?”
“Guard you, out of sight, till Poland have gone past. I’m not taking any chances. They’ve got all of Italy, and they’ve got Ace.”
“Phew, they must be good. Have they got more than you, though?”
“Not sure. But we’ll soon find out.”
Poland marched triumphantly into the glade, with all their captives. Alnus sent one of his fairies to whizz past them, but they didn’t take aim, so he knew they were out of ammunition too, and brought his own captives down.

A few Scandinavians arrived, scattering for cover as the Russians came down on them from the trees, firing wildly with orange paint. Sizzle and Crocus faced each other across the glade, grinning, and whistled to their elves to bring their captives down through the woods. Gran’s team were scattered here and there, picked off by different teams, one by one. They’d fought hard, though. There was plenty of yellow paint around. Ross, out of it now, was looking thoughtful. Yellow, Scandinavia. Red, Poland. Russia, orange. He’d been firing white, and the French had blue. He knew that, he was covered in it. Crocus’ lot had had purple, by the look of their captives, Italy had green, and the Alpine team were just aiming their last brown paint hopefully at the crowd in the glade. They got one or two last captives, that way. Everyone else was milling around, chatting excitedly and trying to count up who’d won. Only Ross had thought to count the colours. There were only eight. For nine teams. Hadn’t he used any at all? He looked round more carefully, then he spotted it. On one of the Italian fairies, half-covered by red, a single black splodge. Then he saw Ace watching him, grinning.
“You clever sod,” he whispered. “Oh, that is incredible.”

Ace smiled happily, and casually made his way to the edge of the glade. It was nearly time. At five fifty-nine, Will yelled, ”Go!” and the entire England team rushed to the edges of the crowd, and pelted them all with black paint. There was nowhere to run. They couldn’t fire back, they had no ammunition left. But England still had ninety-five paint balls, and they took eighty-three captives and freed each other. As Sergeant Olt said, when he came down from his perch in a tree high above, there wasn’t much doubt who’d won.