DEEP WATERS

CHAPTER 3 - The Great Tree

Rose and Clover were very proud of them next morning. They were at the classrooms on time, glowing from exercise and properly washed. Sergeant Camilo took the goblins off into one classroom, but the rest of them could go where they liked. Ace, Will, Rose and Clover managed to get seats together, and Corporal Lavall came in and handed some papers out.
“Four this morning, three this afternoon. Here are this morning’s – Maths, History, Botany and Law. Tackle them in any order you like. You have to finish by noon.”

Will was fascinated. It sounded just like those school exams David was always groaning about. He turned to the Maths first, and his eyes widened.
Good grief, this is easy stuff. Boring. He whipped through it in no time, then turned to the Law. It made him think fondly of Madge, remembering all she’d tried to teach them during that wet spell last autumn. As he worked slowly through the questions, he could see now how carefully she’d covered the basics. When he’d done all he could, he picked up the History.
This is going to be impossible, he thought. I know more human history than sprite history.
He read the questions with interest. He didn’t know the answers to any of them, but he was looking forward to finding out.
They only want to find out what we know, he thought, and smiled at Ace as he held up the History paper and looked across at him in horrified disbelief.
Botany, that might be OK. Rose should do well on this.
He glanced across at Rose, and she gave him a sad look. She’d finished the Botany, and was wondering miserably how on earth you did long division. He gave her an encouraging smile, and got stuck in. Transpiration, no problem, layers in bark, flower structure, he could do all that. He had to leave some, about plants he’d never seen, but at least it was a decent attempt.


“I want to go home,” moaned Clover, as they all went out for a break at noon. “This is horrible, I don’t know anything, I wish I’d never come.”
“Cheer up!” said Ace. “Whatever you don’t know, they’ll teach you, it’ll be all right.”
“I don’t want to be taught things like that! They’re not interesting! Ace, can you seriously imagine me learning things like decimal points, whatever they are?”
“Pardon?” said Will. “What did you say?”
“Oh, don’t, Will, I daresay it’s all easy to you, but I just can’t!”
“I didn’t mean that. I meant, Go home? Give up? Just you come here a minute.”
He took Clover’s arm and pulled her round the end of a building, and turned her to face the Eastern Forest.
“Look,” he said sternly. “And listen. Really listen.”
Still angry and upset, Clover looked. And as Will watched, her face relaxed and her eyes grew thoughtful.
“You heard it first,” said Will quietly. “Don’t tell me you can’t feel it now. Give up? Turn your back on that? You wouldn’t do that. I don’t believe it.”
Clover turned, shakily.
“Thanks, Will. I think I’ll just go for a walk, if you don’t mind.”
Will rejoined the others, and Ace gripped his arm, hard.
“Well done,” he said. “Very well done.”


Communication? thought Will, as he picked up the afternoon’s first paper.
It wasn’t about telephones and the Internet, as he was hoping. It started off with a few questions about the meanings of words, then jumped off into conversations with lines missing, where you had to fill in what that person would have said, and finished up with a long dialogue where you had to work out what the participants were really saying.
Fine. Have to leave that one, I think. What’s next? Tactics?
He’d never thought of Tactics being a theory before, though he could see how it could be.
Bet Ace is enjoying this one. Bit tricky for me, though. You don’t have to bother thinking what to do when he’s around. I’ll just have to try and imagine what he would do.
It was an interesting paper, full of diagrams and scenarios where you had to say what you would do, with certain numbers and resources at your disposal. Will enjoyed it, but turned with greater relish to his final paper. Science. Beautiful.


“How are you feeling now, Clover?” Ace asked her, as they all streamed out at the end.
“Much better. Just having one paper I could answer all of, made a big difference. That, and Will suddenly getting fierce. You shocked me into listening to you!”
“Good,” said Will. “But which paper was it?”
“Communication,” said Clover happily. “It sounded awful, but when I looked, it was easy!”
“Er, right,” said Will. “I think I did about three on that one.”
“You’ll have done well on Science,” said Ace. “What on earth were you doing all that writing about?”
“The last question, the one about integrated circuits.”
“Oh, I had to leave that one. Did all the others, though.”
“I should think so, too. Did you like the Tactics?”
“Loved it. But there’s no absolute right or wrong in situations like that. Depends if you’re supposed to stick to some theory I’ve never learned, or if you’re allowed to be original.”
“Good point. It’ll be interesting to see. How did you get on, Rose?”
“I liked the Botany best. The rest were all so hard. But I did the question about theory of flight, Will. I remembered you explaining it to me.”
“Good for you. You always do remember things, Rose. You’ve got the best memory of all of us, I think.”
“You’re all good at something,” groaned Dan. “I tackled every paper, but I didn’t finish any of them.”
“You’re an all-rounder, Dan, that’s what it is,” said Ace. “We may be good at some things, but we’re useless at others. At least you can do a bit of everything.”
“I suppose so. Hello, Hogweed! Have you been doing these tests, too?”
“Yes…and actually, I did manage to answer a few questions. But a lot of the others can’t read, so they didn’t try. But the ones that could, had a go, and then we all played marbles. That were a good game, but I told them, football’s better. And they said, ‘What’s football?’ So when I told them, they were all dying to have a go, and the sergeant told us, ‘You get a free day tomorrow, while we mark all these papers, you can have a go, then.’ “
“Excellent,” said Ace. “You sort them out, Hogweed. Do we all get a free day? I hope so.”
“Why does he want a free day?” whispered Rose. “I thought he was mad keen to get fit?”
“Can’t you guess?” giggled Clover. “He wants to wash his hair.”


Next morning, Hogweed proudly got his football out, and the other goblins followed him to a playing-field. Sergeant Camilo saw they were happy, and left them to it. He was very impressed; usually he had to suggest something to do when new goblins had a day off.
Everyone else will be straight in the water, of course, he thought. Except the imps. Goodness knows what they’re up to.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.


Gran talked a few people into trying the sauna, but Ace and Will didn’t want to. They were off to the swimming-pool. It wasn’t just to get clean. It looked good fun in there, there were diving boards, and it was long enough to have proper races. There were only elves there, and there was a lot of showing-off going on. They stayed in for hours, they were having such a good time. The water was very cold, but they were all used to that. What made it so good was the way you could relax. You didn’t need to be keeping an eye open all the time for humans, or birds, or fish with sharp teeth.
In the afternoon, Corporal Lavall came in with a message.
“Are you two called Ace and Will Moseley? General Herdalen wants to see you right away. He’s in his office.”
“In trouble again?” jeered Olm. “You won’t last long. You’ll be out before you know it.”
They ignored him, and went to get dressed. The corporal waited for them. He wanted to make sure they got there all right.
“What’s it about, Corporal?” asked Ace. “Did he tell you?”
“No, not a thing. But he didn’t look very happy.”


Nervously, they knocked on the door.
“Come in,” shouted the general, and rather unwillingly, they stepped inside. The office was very untidy, papers and junk everywhere, and the general was sitting on a rug by the stove, trying to sharpen a pencil just by looking at it. He recognised them at once.
“So it’s you two, is it? I don’t know why I’m surprised. The best people always start off by getting in trouble.”
“Are we in trouble now then, sir?” asked Ace.
“No – no, not at all. And yet, you worry me. Sit down.”
All the chairs were covered with junk, so they sat on the floor with the general.
“Your papers,” he said. “Brilliant. Never seen anything like it. Which is which? No, don’t tell me…you’re Ace. You’re a sycamore. That Tactics paper included a real-life scenario that’s been baffling everyone for months. The one about the mountain pass, the elderly population, the hostile goblins and the human artillery unit. You ever studied Tactics, as a subject?”
“No,” said Ace. “Just try to think what to do.”
“You’ve got a very original mind. Your solution’s gone off to Signals for urgent transmission to Albania. Well done.”
Ace looked stunned. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this.
“As for you, Will,” said the general. “You remember seeing General Széchenyi?”
“The one everyone cheered for?”
“That’s the one. Head of logistics. That means she’s in charge of all signals, supplies, and technical units. Thought she was the only sprite who’d ever seen a computer. Dying to get her hands on one, for an important reason. You’ve obviously used one, and know how they work. Do you think you could make one?”
It was Will’s turn to look stunned.
“If I was at home I could,” he said slowly. “There are thousands of components, you couldn’t memorise the pattern, but I’d ask David to print out the circuit diagram from the Internet. Then, I could do it.”
“David’s a human?”
“Yes, he’s an Ally,” said Will. “He’s our best friend. But there’s no way of getting in touch. The phone doesn’t work here, and even if it did, how could he get the print-out to us?”
“Madge,” said Ace.
“Madge! Do you mean Major Arley?”
Whoops, thought Ace. “Yes, sorry sir, I mean Major Arley, of course.”
“I didn’t mean that. This is becoming clearer. Tell me how you come to know her.”

They didn’t understand why he was so interested, but they did their best, explaining how Madge had come to Wildside, and how she’d helped them, about the battle to save Wildside, and how they’d lost their trees.
“So that’s how you came to join the army.”
“It was partly that,” said Ace. “Then there was Colonel Aberchalder, too. He said we should come. ‘The army can really use elves like you’, he said.”
“It certainly can. When did you meet him?”
Ace and Will looked embarrassed.
“It’s a long story,” said Ace. “It was Major Arley’s fault. She would keep on that we’d done something really brave. It was this three-way transforming thing that we discovered. You can do it to heal warped minds. Anyway, the colonel came to give us medals.”
It was the general’s turn to look stunned.
“I heard about that. That was you? Nice work.”
“We didn’t know it couldn’t be done, you see,” said Will. “We didn’t know much sprite stuff at all. Nearly everything we know is human stuff.”
“Yes, I saw all your papers,” smiled the general. “You’ve got a bit of catching up to do on some things, but with brains like yours you’ll have no problem. But how many humans do you actually know – know to talk to?”
“Ten,” said Ace.
“No, eleven,” said Will. “Don’t forget Gary.”
“Of course, yes, eleven.”
“And how many of them are Allies?”
“Three,” said Ace. “We couldn’t do the others, they’re too young.”

“Let me get this straight – you signed the forms yourselves? I suppose Madge knows what she’s doing, but…where is she now, do you know?”
“Delamere Forest,” said Will. “Helping a friend of ours called Phil. His best friend’s disappeared.”
“So you know what’s going on in Delamere? Do you know why sprites are disappearing there?”
“Yes,” said Ace. “We know. That’s one reason we signed the forms, really. As a defiance.”
“Now I really am worried. Anti-human gangs…if anyone gets to hear about this, you could be in for a nasty time. And so could your friends.”
“Why?” said Will. “What would they do?”
“They’d try to track you down…and when they didn’t find you, they’d take it out on the humans instead. Vandalism is their usual game; smashing windows, ripping car tyres, that sort of thing. Are there any sprites left at your colony, or did you all come?”
Ace went cold.
“Aesculus,” he whispered.
“Aesculus is only three months old,” Will explained. “His tree was the only thing on Wildside that wasn’t destroyed, so we left him there, in David’s care.”
“Just how bad are they?” asked Ace. “These gangs? They wouldn’t hurt a baby, would they?”
“Probably not,” said the general. “But you’re right to be worried. If they saw a new-born elf in the sole care of a human, they’d be outraged. They’d kidnap him - they’d see it as rescuing him, of course - but they’d indoctrinate him into their disgusting ways of thinking.”
“Send me home, sir, please,” said Ace desperately. “I should never have come. He’s in danger, and it’s my fault!”
“He’s not in danger yet, and he won’t be, if we’re careful. You stay here, where you’re supposed to be. I need to speak to Madge, urgently…listen. Listen like you’ve never listened before. Be careful. There are anti-humans everywhere. Everything you do, your clothes, your attitudes, the things you’re good at, shouts aloud how close you are to humans. That will have been noticed already. So don’t talk about Aesculus, or your Allies, even here. Who else here signed those forms?”
“Clover, Dan and Hogweed,” said Will.
“Then warn them too. D’you understand?”
“No,” said Will. “I don’t understand any of this. But if you tell us to, we’ll do it.”
“You trust me, don’t you? Why’s that?”
“That’s an easy one,” said Ace. “ ’Cos you wear leathers, like us.”
The general smiled. “Rolling Stones,” he said. “You?”
“Iron Maiden.”
“I know. Heavy metal. But it’s all such a give-away. You’re twins, aren’t you?”
“Yes sir,” they both answered.
“Good. You can watch each other’s backs. Can you message yet? No, of course you can’t. Learn it as fast as you can.”
“Anti-humans,” said Ace quietly. “So there are pro-humans, too, obviously. And you’re one. And so is Madge. And so are we. Tell me one thing, sir – who’s winning?”
“They are, Ace. They are.”

Ace got all the Moseleys together and passed on the warning. Rose was really indignant because her name hadn’t been needed on the forms.
“If I’d known how important it was…well, Rowan will be old enough next year. And my name’s going first!”
“Sure, Rose,” said Ace. “I’m just glad we all feel the same about it. But we mustn’t talk about any of them, or where we come from, if we want to keep Aesculus safe.”
“Now I know why Madge was so particular about who we gave the forms in to,” said Clover. “She wanted to be sure it was someone she could trust.”

Just then, Wayne and Bella came tearing over to join them.
“The teams are up on the board, as well as the test results! Come on!”
Everyone raced off to see. There were crowds of first years milling around, groaning, laughing, and talking excitedly.
As Gran had predicted, all the English sprites made up one team. He himself was with fellow-Scandinavians from Sweden, Denmark and Finland. A big group from Poland had already made a flag, and were waving it around in celebration, and not to be outdone, a team whose homes were all in the Alps were ringing cowbells.
Bella managed to wriggle through the crowd looking at the teams, so she could see the test results.
“Oh, look at this!” she screamed. “Oh, I didn’t know you were all so clever!”
They all crowded round. Quite a few people had got all the Maths right. Will had, of course, but so had Ace, and he was very pleased about that. They weren’t surprised, after what General Herdalen had said to them, that they’d come first in Tactics and Science. What really astounded both of them was coming second to each other, as well.
“I don’t believe it,” said Will. “Second in Tactics? Me? It’s impossible. I was just trying to think what you would do.”
“Well, see how it paid off!” said Ace. “Anyway, what d’you think I was doing in Science? Thinking, I’m sure I’ve heard Will waffling on about this, what was it, now?”
“Waffling?” said Will. “Come here!”
Ace ran off, and Will was after him, wrestling him to the ground.
Rose and Clover smiled, and looked how they’d done.
“Well, we both did pretty well in something, too,” said Clover. “Does that make you want to start rolling around in the snow?”
“No, it doesn’t, actually,” said Rose. “Elves are weird.”


Later that evening, General Herdalen sat quietly in his house, until he got through to Madge.
Major Arley, General Herdalen.
Oh, hello, Gran.
Don’t you ‘hello Gran’ me. What d’you think you’re playing at?
I’m on leave!
I know that. I mean, why didn’t you warn me you were sending me two reckless geniuses who don’t know the meaning of the word ‘discretion’?
Oh, you’ve met them, have you? They reminded me of you the first day I met them. And even more when I heard their awful music. And even more when I saw how brave they were…
All right, all right. Has anyone found out yet?
Of course not. I told Rose and Clover to deliver the forms personally to Lex Sefton. Safe as houses.
I hope you’re right. Why are you and Heather still in Delamere? I thought the police were taking over?
We’ve got someone undercover. Young elf called Phil. We know the names of the whole gang. And he thinks they’re going for someone else soon, then we’ll know how they’re doing it.
He’s the one that’s a friend of these two nutters I’ve got here, is he? That figures. But why aren’t you worried?
Everything happens for a reason.
I suppose so. But this is a big step, Madge. Why didn’t you tell me?
I wanted you to hear it from them. But don’t tell them everything, Gran. Not yet.
We have to keep them safe, though. Still, they won’t talk about it here, not now. They’re worried about Aesculus.
Yes, I thought that might help. They’d never be careful on their own accounts, but they’re very protective of their baby.
Hmm. What’s this David like?
Just like them, only human. Lovely boy.
Sounds good. We might need you to bring something here, from him, let me see if I’ve got this right, a print-out from the Internet, of the circuit diagram for a computer.
Why d’you want a computer?
It’s not me, it’s Dizzy. She wants one to analyse all the data. And explain this one, if you can – ‘the phone doesn’t work here’. I didn’t like to ask them what they were on about. Too embarrassing.
Latest technology. Mobile phones. You just put them in your pocket. But you have to be in line with a good signal. Not a chance up there, I should imagine.
And they’ve got one?
They have. You see what I’m doing, Gran. They can’t hide what they are, it would be impossible. And why should they? They could influence their whole generation.
They could get themselves murdered.
You let any harm come to them and I’ll scrag you. They’re the best news we’ve had for a long time.
I’m not denying that. Take care, Madge. Give my love to Heather.


The general rubbed his eyes, and looked for his jacket. Time to go out on patrol. It wasn’t his job to keep an eye on camp security, it was General Cherapont’s. But he was far too old to be prowling around in the cold, late at night. And far too trusting.


General Cherapont himself came out to launch the team competition. He met the first years on the open field near the classrooms. It was so well-sheltered by the forest beyond it, that tufts of grass showed through the snow. It was featureless and empty, though, and no-one could imagine why they’d come there.
“Gather round, gather round,” smiled General Cherapont. “Now that you’ve done all the tests, we know a bit more about you all. Some very interesting results this year. And it helps us put you in the right groups for everything you’ll be learning. But now that’s all sorted out, the team competition can start.”
There was a ripple of clapping, and cheering, at this.

“Yes, a lot of you have heard of it, I can tell,” said the general. “But we have quite a few people this year who haven’t had much contact with other sprites before, so I’ll explain. Each of you belongs to a team, from your own part of the world, and everything you do from now on will help or hinder your team. Everything. I need hardly tell you what an honour it is for a team to win. It creates a reputation that will follow that team for the rest of their lives. Last year’s winners, from Germany, all achieved splendid first appointments – seven elves to the Queen’s Guard, German division. Three fairies to the 1st Squadron. Two fairies to specialised training, Surgeons and Supplies. Very impressive, I think you’ll agree. I hope that every one of you will strive to the utmost to secure victory for your team, starting now, as you build your team HQ. It’s got to last two years, so build well. I’ll be looking for good design. And don’t forget how cold it gets here! You’ll be wanting most of your kit – I’ll be looking how well you’ve stowed it. I’ll be looking for teamwork, and also for speed. You must be finished by dark, so you’ve got three hours. I’ll be coming back then to do the judging. That’s all – off you go!”

There was a moment’s stunned silence, then a babble of noise, as everyone started talking at once. The sprites streamed off across the field in every direction, looking for a good place to build.
“This isn’t a bad spot,” said Fran. “Nice and flat, and near a path.”
The English sprites came over to see, and Fran looked at them all, and sighed.
“What sort of a team is this going to be? Still, we must make the best of it. I know most of you are only weeds, from rough places, but I’m sure you all mean well. If you do as you’re told, we might be all right.”
Most of them just stared at him. It hadn’t occurred to them that anyone but Ace would take the lead. Ace wasn’t surprised, and neither was Will. They’d seen this coming a mile off.
“What’s the matter?” said Fran. “Don’t you understand what we’ve got to do?”
Even Wayne and Bella sneaked glances at Ace, like the Moseleys did, and they could all see his eyes were shining with mischief, even though his face was serious. Seeing that look on his face usually made Clover extremely dubious about what he was up to, but not today. Whatever he had in mind, she was with him.
Peter thought he knew why they were all looking so shocked.
“You can’t go calling people weeds, Fran,” he muttered.
“Oh, that’s OK,” said Ace. “We’d love to be great forest trees like you, but we’re not. It’s all right, we’re dying to learn what to do, you tell us.”

The others had their cue now, and all started acting politely and respectfully, though Clover was sucking the inside of her cheek to stop herself laughing.
“Well, I suppose the first thing’s to get some wood,” said Fran slowly. “Shame the snow’s so thick in the forest, that’ll waste a lot of time.”
“Yes, that is a shame,” said Will politely. “Especially when no-one said we couldn’t use firewood.”
“I wonder if there’s a woodstore anywhere nearby?” said Dan innocently.
“Actually, there is!” said Peter.”Look, just over there!”
“Oh, so there is,” grinned Ace, and they all brought armfuls of split logs.
“Stand the logs on end, and imagine them taller,” said Fran.
“What!” whispered Will, in disbelief.
“Go on!” Ace whispered back. “P’raps one’ll fall on him.”
They did as he asked, and of course all the logs toppled over. Everyone dived out of the way, and Fran scratched his head.
“What would you do, Will, if you were just making a weed sort of house?” asked Clover, sweetly.
“Oh, anything would do for that,” said Will. “I’d mark out a rectangle on the ground – making sure the corners were right angles, of course – then dig along the lines, and put a log in each trench. Then you’d have the bottom of each wall, and it’d be nice and easy to imagine the other logs on top. But that’s much too simple for this.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Peter. “Sounds all right to me.”
“Yes,” said Fran airily. “It’ll do. Try that.”
He stood watching as everyone else helped dig the trenches.
“That’s far too big!” he said.
“You’re probably right,” said Will. “There’s only twelve of us, after all, and we probably haven’t got much kit between us. Shall we make it smaller?”
“No…perhaps not. You may as well leave it now you’ve done it.”


Other teams were coming back from the forest with wood, and there was a lot of laughing going on, and a lot of arguing, too. The English sprites had their walls up, and most of the roof on.
“It’s a pity we can’t share the rest of the work out, to save time,” said Dan. “But we’ll need to leave all the difficult jobs to you, I’m sure. Doors, and windows, and furniture, and a stove, oh, and a floor of course. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Fran looked staggered. He hadn’t thought of any of those things yet. There wasn’t going to be enough time.
“Right, I’ll do the door, and Peter can do the window frames,” he said. “The rest of you get inside and see what you can do.”
“It’s a good job you’re not organising this,” Rose remarked to Ace. “You’d have sent us all off for our kit first, wouldn’t you?”
Ace looked shocked.
“Not all,” he said. “One from our hut, one from yours. They could get everyone’s stuff, save a lot of time.”
“Shall I go too, Ace?” said Hogweed. He hadn’t twigged what was going on at all. “There’ll be too much for two little ‘uns to carry.”
“Thanks, Hogweed,” said Ace. “Mind no-one drops Will’s bag, it’s got the sulphuric acid in it.”
“Then Will can go,” said Fran testily, wondering what sulphuric acid was, “and so can you, Stella. Make sure you get everyone’s bags.”
“Yes, Fran,” said Stella quietly.

Will was ready to argue that one, but on reflection decided that if he didn’t go, Fran might try to send Ace, and he wasn’t having that. Ace thanked him with one glance, and stepped inside the hut. He tossed a bit of wood onto the ground, and it shimmered into a perfectly smooth floor before the others even got inside.
“Nice,” said Betch. “You’re fast.” He grinned cheerfully at Ace. “I hope you know what you’re doing. He’s got a filthy temper.”
“Has he, now,” Ace grinned back. “So have I. Let’s make some furniture. What sort of a table would you like?”
“I like round tables,” said Betch. “Cross-grain, so you can see all the rings.”
“Beautiful,” said Ace. “Go for it, and we’ll see if these poor little weeds can make some chairs.”
“And what are you going to do?” Clover demanded, as she and the others set to work.
“Make a back door, of course,” muttered Ace. “Never leave yourself without a retreat. Unbelievable. Come on, Wayne. Quietly, so he doesn’t notice.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Wayne remarked. “No instinct for danger, these country types.”
The fairies produced twelve chairs, all the same size and shape, but with different backs. Each looked liked carving, and the patterns were everyone’s names, with their flowers or leaves surrounding them.
“What a good idea!” said Betch. “They’re beautiful!”
“So’s your table,” said Rose. “So smooth, and rock solid.”


The others were back. Hogweed came in, carrying everyone’s bags, and set them all down very carefully indeed.
“Well done,” said Ace. “Have a sit down. See if you can find your chair!”
Hogweed was very impressed with his chair, and kept stroking the carving of his plant.
“Oh, look at that!” he kept saying. “Oh, I like that. That were you, weren’t it, Dan?”
Fran was trying to fit his door into the hole, and Will was holding it for him, trying hard not to make too many comments.
“Bother, it doesn’t fit,” they heard Fran say. “A bit off that corner…there, perfect.”
He pulled it open, and one of the hinges snapped.
“Wooden hinges aren’t too strong, are they?” said Will sympathetically. “Hang on, I’ll find you a bit of steel.”
He came in and opened his bag.
“Iron…here, Clover, you can do good stoves…here’s the bottle we had the petrol in, we can have glass in the windows, someone pass it to Peter…steel, that’s a nice bit. I’ll go and help him. Do we need anything else?”
“A lamp would be nice,” said Bella.
“Copper?”
“Lovely. Thank you, Will.”
“Try and stall him a bit, while we finish off in here,” Ace whispered to Will.
“No problem.”

Will nipped outside and spoke to Fran.
“Here’s a bit of steel to make hinges. Now you won’t believe where I got this, it’s a very interesting story…”
“Brilliant,” said Ace. “Now for some shelves and cupboards, so we can stash all this stuff away. Hogweed, set your drumkit up, will you, in that big space at the far end. And someone can arrange all the other instruments near it. D’you want to do that, Betch?”
“Sure.”
He got up and pulled out their instruments, his cornet, and Stella’s, and Fran and Peter’s fifes. His mouth fell open when he saw what Hogweed was doing.
“That’s a beautiful drumkit,” he said, impressed. “ I can’t wait to hear your band.”
The others passed him their instruments, and he arranged the three guitars, two saxophones and two flutes with loving care.
“Shall I get the amps out too, Ace?” said Dan.
“Yeah, why not? It’ll look impressive. And the microphone.”
Dan took them over and Betch set them out well.
He’s got a cracking good eye for design, thought Ace, watching out of the corner of his eye as he piled Will’s junk into a cupboard.
Clover lit a fire in the stove, and Rose lit the lamp.
“Oh, curtains!” she said.
“Sure, Rose, whatever you like,” said Ace.
“Doesn’t it look dark outside, now the lamp’s lit?” said Rose. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Yes, and we haven’t finished yet,” said Ace.

He went outside. Peter was just finishing putting the glass in the windows, and Fran and Will were putting the last screw in the hinges. This time, the door closed perfectly. Ace looked across the field at the dark shapes of the other huts. Some of them had lamps lit too, now, and there was a lot of rushing and scurrying going on. He followed Fran and Peter inside, and grinned at the others from behind their backs as they stood and stared.
“Oh… well done!” said Fran, amazed. “Really, that’s quite good!”
“I think it’s brilliant, personally,” said Clover. “And I’ve thought of one more thing we need – the perfect finishing touch!”
Fran stared at her.
“Speak when you’re spoken to, please,” he said, shortly. “When I want a fairy’s opinion, I’ll ask for it.”
Clover stared back, speechless. She couldn’t believe her ears.
“You’re lucky any of them speak to you at all, if that’s your attitude,” said Will, coolly. “I don’t think much of your manners. What’s your idea, Clover?”
“A flag,” she said quietly. She was very hurt. “I just thought an English flag would be good.”
Ace smiled at her, encouragingly.
“Red cross on a white background. Come on!”
He was ignoring Fran, now, after that disgusting remark. They poured outside, and finished off their work. By the time General Cherapont and Sergeant Olt arrived, the flag was flying on a pole by the door.

“You look as if you’ve finished,” said the general, “so I’ll start here. Give the others a few minutes’ grace. Oh, this is most impressive, don’t you think so, Sergeant?”
“Very nice work,” said the sergeant. “Done a lot in the time.”
General Cherapont spoke to each of them, making sure he knew all their names, and asking them what they’d done.
“Excellent teamwork, too,” he said. “You’ve shared the work, and there’s obviously been no bickering, to finish in time. But that’s just what I would have expected. You’ve got a very good leader in Ace. Congratulations on that splendid Tactics paper, by the way. I’m glad to see you can put your skills into practice.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Ace respectfully, but when General Cherapont and Sergeant Olt had gone out, he just fell on Will’s shoulder, laughing.
The fairies were in hysterics, too. That had been even better than they’d hoped. Then Fran realised they’d been winding him up all afternoon, and he was furious.
“What’s your game?” he stormed at Ace.
“Well, the important thing was not to waste time arguing,” said Ace, trying to stop laughing. “I had to let you think you were organising it, so we could finish in time. And I wanted to see what you could do, because you made a good start. Chose a very good site. If you’d carried on like that, I’d have kept quiet. But you think you can do everything yourself. That’s not what it’s about. Did you even bother to look at everyone else’s test results? I did. You’re hopeless at transforming. Yet you tried to do the door yourself, and sent a master craftsman like Will to fetch the bags! Stupid. Yeah, we made a fool of you. You deserved it. I could lead better than that when I was ten years old.”
“No,” said Will. “Five.”
“I’m not following some scrubby little sycamore with a criminal record!” blazed Fran. “I’m an ash, from a great forest, I’m the tallest and the oldest, and I’ll lead this team!”
“Actually, you’re not the oldest. Wayne is. Or the tallest - Hogweed is. Or don’t you think goblins count? Are you as rude to them as you are to fairies? Do you seriously expect to lead just because of where you come from?”
“It depends what you want, Fran,” said Betch. “Do you want to lead, or to win? ’Cos you can’t do both.”
“Don’t you start!” snapped Fran. “They don’t know anything! We’ve got traditions to uphold. It’s not just about winning.”
“That’s a good point,” said Ace. “Though you could have put it more politely. There’s a lot we don’t know. You could help us. And we know a lot you don’t. We could help you. Can’t you see what a brilliant team this could be, if everyone does what he, or she, is best at?”
For a moment, Fran was tempted. It did sound good. But all his training, and his own pride, cried out against it. He shook his head, angrily. Ace kept quiet, waiting. Then Betch spoke, hesitantly.
“They have got traditions,” he said. “Better ones than ours. Like being yourself. Being kind to each other, and respecting each other. I’d never have been treated like I have in a place like they come from.”
“Oh, don’t start going on about that again,” said Peter. “You just have to put up with these things!”
“You’re as bad as Fran,” sighed Betch. “You just can’t see that there might be other ways to do things. Well, I’ve had enough of it. I like what I’ve seen this afternoon. I want Ace to lead us.”
“Thank you,” said Ace, quietly.
“That’s irrelevant,” said Fran, and walked threateningly towards Ace.
“You think you’re so clever. Well, maybe you are. But clever isn’t what counts. Strength counts.”
He punched Ace in the stomach, so hard that Ace went over, doubled up in pain.
“Strength counts, you weed,” sneered Fran. “And don’t you forget it.”


Ace went outside, when he could move, and found a quiet corner where he could be sick. Will held his head for him.
“Hang on in there, you were brilliant. You’ll win in the end, sure to.”
“Are you sure, Will? Was I too cheeky?”
“No, just right, I’d say. You made a good impression on Betch.”
Ace sat up, shivering a bit, and leaned back against Will’s shoulder.
“’S’good. I’d like him, if I wasn’t jealous of him.”
“You don’t need to be. I heard the fairies talking about him. They didn’t know I was listening. ‘He’s beautiful,’ they said, ‘but he’s not a patch on Ace.’ “
“Really? All of them? Oh, that’s nice,” sighed Ace, happily.
“You are so vain it’s beyond belief. Come on, let’s get you inside before you freeze.”
Will helped him up, and Ace said,
“About Betch, though; I’m going to have to find out what’s eating him.”
“Not yet, you’re not. Just think of yourself for once, will you? You need a drink. If Rose hasn’t made a kettle by now, I’m a goblin.”


The next night, Ace and Will were sweeping snow again. They didn’t mind that, they could see why Sergeant Olt hadn’t been too impressed when a fight had started on the training ground. But they were really annoyed that Fran and Peter had managed to keep out of trouble.
“They started it!” fumed Ace. “Making snide remarks all the time!”
“Yeah, but the sergeant didn’t notice that, did he?” grumbled Will. “Only caught his attention when you landed that beautiful hook on Peter’s chin.”
“Doesn’t look too good, though, does it, fighting your own team?”
“Ach, there’ll be plenty of that,” said Will shrewdly. “Bound to be some arguing before the teams settle down. There was a lot of niggling between that team Olm and Beuk are in.”
“No wonder! Whose daft idea that was, I don’t know, but I bet it was one of those two.”

Ace and Will were laughing too much to sweep. They had to stop, just leaning on their brooms, their shoulders shaking, remembering the scene on the field that morning. The team from Holland and Germany had made their roof like the sweeping wings of a bird of prey. A better shape for holding snow you couldn’t imagine. By morning, the whole hut had collapsed under the weight.
“Look, it’s not supposed to be fun,” said a voice behind them.
“Oh, hello sir,” said Ace. “Sorry, we are working, really.”
“What is it this time?” said General Herdalen.
“Fighting,” said Will.
“Disgraceful,” said the general. “I’ve heard from Major Arley. Your friend Phil’s doing some good work. Found out the names of a whole gang, and on the point of finding out how they’re doing it.”
“Oh, well done, Phil,” breathed Ace. “Thanks for telling us, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Get sweeping!”

“Why is he always wandering about, so late at night?” Ace wondered, when he’d gone.
“Probably thinks it’s nice, fresh weather for a stroll,” shivered Will. “I just wish Fran and Peter were out here, too.”
“Peter was just as nasty as Fran today. Yet up till now, he was friendly enough, and even tried to sit on Fran when he was going too far.”
“Didn’t like us winding Fran up. He’d see it as loyalty, he’s an oak, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Oh, Will, I found out what’s wrong with Betch, you won’t believe this. That so-called wonderful forest with its wonderful traditions!”
“What?”
“They only split him up from his best friend. Betch was thirty this year, right, so he had to come to join the army. But he asked if he could come next year instead, with his friend, because he’s a year younger. And they said no!”
“That’s gross! That’s just really cruel. And so pointless! What does a year matter? That is so rough on both of them. What’s his friend called, did he say?”
“Dale. He’s a birch, too, but a different kind.”
“So he’ll be in Phil’s team.”
“Yes… yes, he will, won’t he? And we’ll be second years, stonking about looking important.”
“Hmm. That’s a long way off. I hope Phil’s all right. He didn’t really get into this to nobble anti-human gangs. He only wanted to find Rob.”
“Rob’s an oak, too. If they’re all so loyal, what went wrong?”
“It doesn’t make any sense. But it might not be long now, before he finds out.”
They both stood there, thinking of Phil, desperately wishing him well. And because of where they were, and because of who they were, thinking together, their thoughts reached Phil, miles away in England. He knew, suddenly knew beyond doubt that Ace and Will were thinking of him, and took fresh courage.


The next day was the full moon, when Commander Biagioni had promised the first years that they would go into the Eastern Forest to be enlisted. More than half of them had already sensed the tremendous power that was coming from the place, and the sense of excitement and anticipation grew stronger all day. Petty squabbles were put aside; every second year they met told them how good it was, and the sergeants were very kind to them all, and glossed over mistakes, and day-dreaming, and lapses of concentration.
Will was very quiet all day, thinking. Beneath the Great Tree, the Commander had said. Was that where it was all coming from? Yet he felt sure it was a person he could sense. He was lost, deep in thought.
Ace knew the signs, and left him to it. He himself was keyed up with excitement and would cheerfully have talked about it all, but you had to give Will space sometimes.

As darkness fell, they tumbled thankfully out of a classroom, and joined the throng on the Concourse, waiting for the moon to rise. As the white glow started to shine about the tree tops, trumpets sounded on every side, as dozens of brass players came from their work, in regimental offices, or signals rooms, or storage sheds. They gathered together, ready to lead the way. More and more sprites arrived, many carrying flaming torches, until every sprite on the camp was there. Then Commander Biagioni and three of her generals fell in behind the band, and gave the order to move off.
The sudden burst of music brought Will out of his dreams. This was it. He grinned at Ace, happily.
“Welcome back,” said Ace.
“Was I that bad? Sorry.”
With their arms across each other’s shoulders, they moved along in the crowd.
At first the forest felt like any other; ordinary trees on every side, pine needles underfoot, a little moonlight filtering down through the thick canopy. But after a while, Ace noticed, you really needed the torches. It had gone very dark indeed, yet the trees were more thinly spread. And they were getting bigger. Pine, spruce, birch, larch; everything you’d expect to see in a Norwegian forest, yet their trunks were huge, and you couldn’t see their tops at all. The band stopped playing. Everyone had fallen silent; the only sound was their feet, whispering over the ground. Ahead, the torches halted, and spread out, around the edges of a clearing.
There before them was the greatest Tree they’d ever seen in their lives. It gathered all the moonlight to itself, and it shone, glimmering grey and green in its beauty. However high you dared look, you felt your eyes would never reach the top. No-one could put a name to its kind; you couldn’t focus, the light was so strange. It was so awesome, you could hardly look, yet you could hardly bear to look away.
Ace’s heart was pounding in his chest.
This is the centre of the world, he thought wildly. This is the beginning and the end of everything.

Commander Biagioni walked forward, right up to the great trunk, went down on one knee and placed a hand on the Tree’s bark. She stayed there a while; a few moments, an hour, it was hard to tell. Then she rose and smiled encouragingly at the terrified recruits.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “This is the Great Tree, the Talende Tree. It is he who has called you here, and he already knows each one of you. If it is still your purpose to be enlisted in the army, then place your hand upon your heart, and speak these words – I promise to serve, I promise to listen, I promise to obey.”
Ace spoke the words along with the rest, fervently, happily. If she’d asked them to swear the oath now, he would gladly have done it.
The Commander spoke again.
“Thank you. You are now enlisted in the army, and entitled to bear the band upon your wrist, as we all do. I ask you now to come forward in order, as you would at Midsummer, and receive from me this honour. Then, step forward and greet the Great Tree, as you saw me do.”

There was no fuss, only a little rustling and movement as they sorted themselves out, and it was Wayne Langdon who came forward first, as the oldest recruit. The Commander smiled at him, and placed the grey band upon his wrist. Wayne took a deep breath, stepped up to the Tree and touched it. Then, a little shakily, he walked away, and stood watching, thoughtfully.
One by one the sprites came forward, one after another they touched the Tree and came away shaking, or scared, or tearful, or joyful. One or two had to be helped away. Ace and Will weren’t the only twins. Two French fairies went forward together, and came away quietly, hands tightly clasped. Hogweed was high up the line; Ace and Will saw him go. More and more followed him, then it was Clover’s turn, then another few, then Rose, then suddenly it was their turn. Dan and Bella, a long way back among the youngest, watched them go, side by side as always.

Ace managed to smile back at Commander Biagioni as she slipped the band on his wrist. Tight and binding, the warmth of commitment and belonging, it felt good. Then, trembling a little, they walked on, intensely aware of each other as they knelt down, until the moment they touched the Tree. Then each felt as if no-one else was there at all. There was nothing but the Tree, filling your mind. Ace felt as if he could hardly hold on, this was beautiful, this was joy. And just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, it did. The Tree spoke to him.
“Acer, fly high, don’t look down.”
Ace gasped aloud, and looked up. There was the saddle where he’d stood so long, there was the branch he used to lie on, there was the sycamore, his own tree, his life.
“But you’re dead!” said Ace. “I saw them kill you! How can you be alive?”
“Because you listened when I called. I am here, and I will never leave you. Acer, trust in my strength.”
Ace couldn’t move, couldn’t see, tears were blinding him. Then he felt a strong arm round his shoulders, gently steering him away, and a voice speaking.
“It’s all right, lad, come and sit down a while.”

It was Sergeant Olt, helping him walk, guiding him away from people’s stares, to a quiet place, where he could recover. The sergeant patted his shoulder, and gave him a cloth to wipe his eyes, and water to drink.
“Thank you,” Ace gasped, his hand shaking as he tried to hold the cup steady.
“Take your time,” said the sergeant kindly. “Look, here’s Will. He was in a bit of a state, too.”
Will came and knelt down beside him. His face was radiant.
“You OK?” he said.
“Just about,” said Ace, trying to smile. “How…how come you look so happy, and I can’t stop crying?”
Then he realised Will’s face was wet with tears, too.
“Happy?” said Will. “You should see yourself. I’ve never seen you look so happy in your life.”
General Herdalen slipped between the trees. He was coming to speak to them. Shakily, Ace and Will tried to help each other up.
“It’s OK, sit down,” he said.
He squatted down beside them.
“Are you all right? I was a bit worried about you two when you told me your trees were dead. But I couldn’t warn you what might happen, in case it didn’t.”
“It was a shock,” said Ace, “but a good one. What was that dream you had, Will…‘all’s safe, somewhere’…that was a true dream.”
“I remember,” smiled Will. “And I remember something else – ‘when you know who, how will make sense’.”
“That’s one of Madge’s!” laughed the general.
“It’s all beginning to make sense,” said Ace. “But when I answered…him…did I speak out loud? And did I sound really stupid?”
“Yes, you spoke out loud. Everyone heard you – except Will. And everyone heard you, Will – except Ace. That’s why I came to find you, to warn you, because it will have frightened some people. Some of your friends, even. You see, you both said exactly the same thing, at exactly the same time. And it certainly didn’t sound stupid. It was incredibly powerful. It made me shiver, I can tell you, and I’m used to it. So if people are wary of you, be patient with them.”
“We’d better get back and join in with everyone else,” said Ace.
“Yes, if you feel up to it,” said the general.
He watched them safely back into the throng of first years now making their way back to the camp, as other sprites came forward in their turn, to touch the Tree if they wanted to, before leaving the forest, jumping, flying, dancing, laughing and singing, full of wonder and delight. The band played till moonset, in honour of the Tree, and on the Concourse the sprites listened, drinking spring water that tasted like wine, and watching the shimmering golden-green of the aurora shining around the moon.


Ace and Will felt very grateful for the general’s warning next morning. Without it, they would have been very puzzled by the strange looks they were getting. Warily, they edged into the canteen and filled their cups. They could see Rose and Clover, but they weren’t looking. They were in a deep discussion, and Clover was frowning.
“Better join them,” said Ace uneasily. “It’ll only make it worse if we don’t.”
As they sat down, Rose looked up and brightened.
“Oh, good. Explain!” she demanded.
“I’m not sure I can, Rose,” said Will. “I don’t understand it myself.”
Rose squeezed his hand and smiled.
“Not your spooky twin-stuff; those beautiful lights in the sky.”
“Oh,” said Will, relieved. “Yeah, they were fantastic, weren’t they? It’s called the aurora…”


It helped a bit, made things seem normal again. Clover hadn’t said a word, she looked worried and upset, but she managed a bit of a smile before she and Rose rushed off to Basic Maths.
“What have we got?” said Will.
“Basic Textiles.”
“Oh, great. That’s all I need.”
Will sighed, and leaned his head on his hands.
“It’s coincidence. It’s got to be. When we saw…what we saw…we just reacted exactly the same, that’s all.”
“In exactly the same words? It’s not very likely. We don’t usually react exactly the same to things. We’re pretty different, you know.”
“I know. But what else can it be? If it’s not coincidence, then it is something, well, spooky.”
“It was the Tree himself, Will. He… gave us something. Part of himself. You must have felt it, if you’ll only admit it.”
“That made us say the same words? I don’t know, Ace. It could be.”
“Whatever it was, Clover got it too. But not Rose. Not yet. To her, it was just a beautiful ceremony. But for us…our lives are never going to be the same again.”
“You’re right,” Will smiled. “You usually are. I just don’t like the feeling that I’m not in charge of my own life any more.”
“He’s worth it,” said Ace. “Isn’t he?”
Will thought again of the joy of last night.
“Yes. He’s worth it,” he admitted.