THE LIGHT IN THE NORTH

CHAPTER 14 - Valour is the Only Beauty

Ace and Will weren’t surprised to get a message, later on, from General Herdalen, asking them to call round. Sergeant Olt had de-briefed Alnus and Wayne, they knew, and no doubt their information had gone to the general, but he’d want to hear all he could first-hand.
That wasn’t what he mentioned first, though.
“I hear you all excelled yourselves at unison work,” he said, as he welcomed them into his home. “Get yourselves some beer, get comfortable… that’s right. It must have been very good. I don’t know when I’ve ever seen Sergeant Olt so impressed.”
“It was a strange feeling,” said Ace. “As if the harder it got, the easier it got. Weird, but good. I felt almost tearful when we stopped, and so did Will, though he’ll never admit it.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” said Gran. “It shows how well you all used the time, getting even closer, to be able to do that. And you brought the parcels back safely, too. I daresay you’ll be hearing from Major Teplou in the morning, Will, but don’t let him get carried away. There’s not as much urgency as all that. Use your Technology and Maths time for it, by all means, but when you’re supposed to be somewhere else, just remind him you’ve got classes or duties, he’ll understand.”
“Got you,” said Will. “Will do. I’ll need to go down to Hella at some point, though.”
“That’s fine. Just tell Major Teplou when you’re ready, and he’ll take you down. I’ll come myself if I can, I haven’t seen Karl lately. He’s a great character, you’ll like him.”
“It’s wonderful how many Allies there are round here,” said Ace. “The goblins were really impressed by Ingrid in Balestrand.”
“Ah, she comes from a long line of Allies,” said Gran. “Her mother met Queen Sylvia – amazing, isn’t it? It beats me how anyone could not like them… though I suppose I ought to be fair and admit that not all humans are as nice as the ones round here.”
“Is one of the guards at Otta an Ally?” asked Will. “The older one, who has a moustache?”
“No,” said Gran. “Not that I’ve heard, and I would have heard. What made you think he might be?”
“It was just that I was afraid we might have been seen,” said Will. “Fourteen of us, leaving the ledge above the doors a bit too close together… I was watching his face, to check we were OK, and he was smiling to himself. Almost as if he knew we were there, but he wasn’t going to give us away.”
“That’s very interesting,” said Gran. “He’d have more chance than most humans of spotting us, of course. We do use that station rather a lot. He sounds sympathetic… I’ll bear that in mind. It’d be very useful having an Ally at the station, especially if our enemies think they can start waltzing in and out of it, the cheek of it!”
“Out is better than in,” said Will.
“True,” said Gran, “and we haven’t heard of any outs yet.”

Gran questioned them closely about exactly what they’d seen, then nodded with satisfaction.
“I’m glad you followed them that night,” he said. “That was a good decision. And turning back when you did was a good decision too.”
“That was all Will,” said Ace. “I was all for carrying on, was too fired up. But he made me come back, and he was right, I could see that in the morning.”
“The further you’d gone, the more chance you’d be spotted,” said Gran. “I don’t think they’d have tried to take you – though you never know – but they’d have known then that we were onto them, and it’s always a good thing when the enemy don’t know you’re onto them.”
“I should have known you’d be thinking like that,” said Ace. “Also that if they are in that area, you’d have better ways to cover it than two tired second years in the middle of the night.”
“Well, yes,” said Gran. “But it’s your information that’s helped us narrow down the search area. I agree with you… you wouldn’t take that route as a short-cut in the dark, so that’s where they were heading, I’ll bet. The ones you saw near Lom, who looked as if they were out on exercise, wouldn’t have far to go at all from a base in this area.” He showed them what he meant on a map, then tapped his finger on a place just a few miles further south. “This is what puzzles me. Bessheim. There’s a colony there. Do they know that, or not? Do they care, or do they not mind being seen? These are questions I want answers to.”
“Bessheim?” said Ace. “Why does that name ring a bell? Oh, I know! The lieutenant from Norway 1, who led the search for the lost fairies!”
Gran grinned wickedly.
“It’s about time that lad had some home leave. And he might like to show some of his unit where he comes from. Always nice to visit your friends’ colonies… I think they’d like that, don’t you?”
“Undercover work,” sighed Ace. “They’ll love it. Oh well, that’ll be in good hands.”
“Yes,” said Gran, “so don’t worry about it – either of you – you’ve got enough on your minds. Now, is there anything else you think I should know? Anything at all, perhaps something you didn’t want to mention to Alnus?”
They thought hard, then Will nearly choked on his beer.
“Hey, yes! I never even mentioned it to Ace! But when they stopped in the town, to check their direction, I got a look at the badges they were wearing.”
“Brilliant,” said Gran. “What picture?”
“It looked like three loops, one of them possibly broken,” said Will. “Black, on a white background.”
Gran frowned.
“Don’t recognise that.” He got up and searched for a book. It took quite a while, because it was under a heap of other things on his table, but he exclaimed with pleasure when he found it, and brought it over.
“Take a look through that, Will,” he said. “It’s my notes on all their units, with their badges, commanders, and everything. Been collecting information for years. Tell me if you see anything like the badge you saw.”
Will looked through the book carefully, very interested, but when he handed it back, he said, “No. I’m sorry, Gran, it didn’t look like anything in there.”
“Interesting,” said Gran. “Very interesting indeed. A new unit, perhaps? And here, of all places? What under the canopy are they up to?”
“Well, one thing’s for sure,” said Ace, and he sounded weary. “It won’t be anything good for the army.”
“No,” said Gran. “But we knew hard times were coming, and maybe they’re nearer than we thought. But you’re tired, you’ve had a long day. Get yourselves off to bed, and thank you very much for all you’ve done, which was all brilliant, as usual.”
Ace got up, and brushed his hand gently over Gran’s untidy table.
“Does your office need tidying, Gran?” he said.
For a moment, Gran was silent, then he answered quietly.
“Yes. Thanks, Ace, it really needs it.”
Gran hugged them both as they left, and there was nothing unusual in that. But it seemed to Will that he hugged Ace longer and harder than usual, and that worried Will very much indeed. It looked so much like a parting. And Ace was quiet all the way back to the barracks, and that worried Will rather a lot, too.


Soon after dawn, nearly all the elves were out on the assault course. Competition was fierce now, and after a week away, they were anxious not to lose any edge. Out here, it was all about individual achievement, and Ace was as keen to beat his friends as his enemies. At this stage, you had to build on your strengths, compensate for your weaknesses, and above all, eliminate every tiny error that might slow you down. When they were all racing together, some of the obstacles caused bottlenecks, and getting to them first could be a great advantage.
Ace worked hard on the ropes, knowing his greatest asset was his upper body strength, and concentrated hard on the line he took between the obstacles. Any extra steps were a time-waster if you didn’t have very long legs. When he did his final circuit, Will was watching him, and then he did the same for Will. They’d found that this was the best way to spot little things that could be improved, because every little thing made a difference.
The first years were gathering now. Not having early duties, they came out a bit later, so if they were here, it must be nearly time to go. They were watching closely, picking up tips for themselves. Ace waved to Phil and Rob as he waited for Will to come over.
“How was that?” Will panted.
“Terrific,” said Ace. “I did spot one thing, though – I’d never have thought of it until we did muscles in Science – I think you might be over-reaching on the ropes. Don’t you think you might get more pulling power if your hand was closer to your shoulder?”
Will moved his arm around experimentally, and his face lit up.
“Hey, I think you’re right! Thanks, Ace, that’s a good one. I wish I had something that useful for you, but you’re so fast now, I’m not sure there’s much more you can do. But did you know you stopped to push your hair out of your eyes before the pits?”
“Did I? That’s stupid.”
“You’re so used to doing it you probably don’t even notice, but if you tied your hair back, you’d gain two seconds at least.”
“Great,” said Ace. “At this stage, every second counts.”


The others were leaving now, with one eye on the time. The first years were taking over the equipment, and the sight of them made Alnus hit himself on the forehead.
“Ace, will you do me a favour?” he called.
“Sure, what is it?”
“It’s that letter for the German first years. I haven’t given it to them yet, and I haven’t got time now. And I won’t be in the mess tonight, I’ve got a music practice.”
“I’ll find them,” said Ace. “It might be this evening, but I’ll find them.”
“Thanks,” said Alnus. He picked his jacket up from the fence where he’d left it and felt in the pockets, then handed the letter over to Ace. “I’ve got to run! Officers’ canteen,” he said, and that was all the explanation anyone needed.


Ace and Will weren’t on duty till midday, so they had a quick swim to get clean, then went to look at the notice board. It was Textiles first lesson, but it been crossed out next to Will’s name, and ‘Report to Major Teplou’ written instead. They knew what that was about, and Will was looking excited. Ace was pleased for him, and pleased on his own account, as well. With Will out of the way, and not laughing at him, he was planning to persuade Sergeant Svir to show him how to make hats. If he had to hide his hair, then he didn’t see why he couldn’t do it fashionably.
His ploy was very successful. The sergeant was so stunned by an elf actually asking how to make something, instead of complaining and staring out of the window, that she readily showed him some pictures and helped him to shape some black felt. So Ace was feeling particularly pleased with himself when he went to the canteen at midday and lit the fire to boil the water. It was a bit difficult to see what you were doing when you were wearing a hat tilted so far forwards, but it was worth it to look so cool, and Will would be here soon and he could get the cups out.
“Sorry I’m… blimey!” said Will. “Look at you! Did you make that yourself?”
“Yes, what d’you think of it?”
“We haven’t all got to make them, have we?”
“No, I just asked the sergeant how to do it, and she let me make one.”
“Oh, good,” said Will, sounding relieved. “On you, it looks great.”


Just in time, they got the tea made, as people started coming in, and Ace was very pleased with all the reaction he got, which ranged from snorts of laughter to stunned admiration. True, Clover had remarked caustically that an elf in a trilby was just as conspicuous as an elf with long blond hair, but that was Clover for you, and he didn’t let it worry him.
As soon as the rush died down a bit, he asked Will how he’d got on.
“Was it the equipment?”
“Yes, it all looks terrific, we’ve set one of the repeaters up already, and we can do another tomorrow, further down towards Hella, because it’s a free day. D’you want to come?”
Ace’s worries, that he’d pushed to the back of his mind, came rushing back. Will knew it; Ace could see that by the sympathetic look in his eyes, and he felt very grateful for Will’s understanding.
“I’d love to,” he said, “but I can’t. If we’ve got a free day, then I’ve got no excuse for putting it off. I promised Gran I’d do his office.”
Will nodded and didn’t ask unanswerable questions. He just patted Ace on the back and reminded him to drink his own tea.


Ace was very glad things were going well for Will. He just hoped his own plans would be as successful, because for once he wasn’t really sure they would be. Was that because they weren’t very good plans, or because he was finally learning to see all the possibilities, all the things that could go wrong?
The trouble is, thought Ace, that this plan’s got so many things that could go wrong with it, that even a sycamore can see them.
In a way, he longed to talk it over with Will, but he had a feeling Will’s scientific mind would pull it to pieces, and he was worried enough without that. But he couldn’t talk about it, even if he wanted to, and that wasn’t just because of a promise to Blanche. He was going further than even Gran knew, and he couldn’t risk anything getting back to Gran about that. They said you couldn’t get kicked out of the army, but there was always a first time for anything.
Will had his own work to do, and it was important work, and he must not, Ace told himself fiercely, be distracted because he was the twin of an idiot. And above all, he must not bear one shred of the blame. If this all went wrong, there was still a team to lead, and a war to win.
He looked at Will, who was quietly drying cups, and felt such a surge of affection, he could hardly contain it.
In two days, he thought, I’m going to have to ask you to do the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. Oh, please don’t hate me for it.


He had just one thing sustaining him right now, just one thing to cling to and give him hope. It was something the Tree had said to him, last full moon.
Valour is the only beauty.
There was probably more to that than met the eye, Ace thought – there usually was, with things the Tree said – but some things were clear. Looking wonderful was not much use if you weren’t brave. And being brave was a good thing in itself, no matter what you were up to… wasn’t it?
Ace embraced the words as if they were a living thing.


The afternoon was combat training, and they learned a new technique, fighting with a quarter staff. Some of the fairies protested that this was a weapon, but Sergeant Olt insisted that you could use the techniques with any old stick that happened to be lying around, and you couldn’t really call that a weapon. Also, he added, the moves could be used purely defensively, and were useful for everyone to learn.
That had been great fun, and the exercise and hard work had cheered Ace up a lot. True, he finished up by getting a hard bang on the back of the head from Ross, who hadn’t even been aiming at him, but still, he’d enjoyed it enormously.
Feeling slightly dizzy, he walked off afterwards with Will, towards the Concourse.
“That’s the trouble with practising in a confined space,” said Will sympathetically. “Sometimes you’re in more danger from the people behind you. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’ll be fine if I sit still for a bit. Let’s listen to the music.”
It was some first years tonight, and it was very good. They didn’t recognise the instruments. There was something vaguely flute-like, with a reedier sound, a single drum and something that looked like a zither, and the music was the kind that started off slowly and got faster and faster. Dub and Lupa were dancing to it, along with some first years that Ace and Will didn’t know, and the band were enjoying themselves too, dancing around as they played, and grinning broadly. Ace liked it, and was soon tapping his foot to the beat.


There was the usual crush into the mess once the music was over, and the first thing Ace and Will did was try to find the young Germans. They found them over by one of the windows, looking slightly dishevelled and exhausted, as if they’d been tracking all afternoon. When they saw Ace and Will coming to talk to them, they all stood up.
“Hey, don’t get up,” said Will, seeing that Ace was too stunned to speak. “We’ve got a letter for you, that’s all.”
Ace pulled himself together and handed the letter over to their leader, Kiefer.
“Thank you,” said Kiefer with a smile. He didn’t seem surprised, and he didn’t seem in much of a hurry to open it. “It will be from our senior sprite,” he explained. “Every month, if she can, she writes to us, and her letters are always full of very good advice.”
“Oh, I see,” said Ace. “Pretty boring, then?”
Kiefer’s team looked at each other as if they didn’t know whether to laugh or not. Ace was feeling disconcerted. Did they not expect him to talk like a normal elf? What was all this? He grinned at them encouragingly, almost willing them to laugh, and to his relief, one of the fairies relaxed and smiled. Ace thought she must be a celandine. She had yellow hair, very shiny, and a cheeky little face.
“I bet you don’t get fussy letters from your senior sprite,” she said.
“Not as a rule,” said Ace, imagining what it would feel like to get letters from himself. This was getting surreal. “If I did, I think he’d just say things like, work hard and do your best, but don’t forget to have fun.”
It seemed to Ace that these youngsters were far too serious. Kiefer Immindingen was not much like his namesake.
“Is it because of where you come from?” he asked.
He sat down on a beanbag, and pulled Will down beside him, but it didn’t stop them looking at him with rapt attention.
“Yes,” said Kiefer. “All our lives, we’ve been told we must live up to the standards of the martyrs.”
“Well, that’s great,” said Ace. “And you obviously do. Your team’s got a great reputation – won the paintballing, I heard – and top marks at everything. But, you know, the martyrs were just ordinary sprites, weren’t they? Normal, decent sprites who made Allies and who enjoyed themselves and relaxed sometimes, and I bet they’d want you to do that too.”
They all nodded solemnly, and Ace felt he wasn’t getting his point across.
“What I mean is, you can honour them by having fun too, because that shows parliament haven’t won, and never will. They’re the ones who want to spoil everything and stop us doing things.”
“I never thought about it like that,” said Kiefer. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I always feel a bit guilty for laughing, especially at home.”
“It’s a good point,” said another elf. “But all the same, no-one can really relax until such things can never happen again, and that’s not the case yet.”
“True, there’s a long way to go,” said Ace, “but laughter will help us on our way.”
“To laugh at danger, that would be great courage,” said the celandine fairy. “I like it!”
“The martyrs did not know that what they were doing was brave,” another fairy pointed out. “The highest courage was shown by those who made new Allies, knowing what might happen to them.”
“They may not actually have realised,” muttered Will, making Ace snort, but the Germans couldn’t fathom that.
“Is it true?” asked Kiefer, looking directly at Ace. “That in England, there are new Allies? It seems to me that you are the ones who would know.”
Ace met Kiefer’s gaze, and didn’t look away.
“Yes, it’s true,” he said. “But don’t run away with the idea that they were some kind of heroes. They were just ordinary sprites like anyone else, muddling along and doing the best they could, doing what seemed right at the time.”
“They followed their hearts.”
“You won’t go far wrong if you do that,” said Will. “Whatever the consequences.”
“Ah, the consequences,” said Kiefer. “That’s where the courage comes into it.”
“You’re right,” said Ace, “but courage isn’t just for special occasions, like facing death. Sometimes it’s all muddled up with everyday life. Courage can be making a decision when you just don’t know what’s right, and sometimes it’s just keeping on smiling when everything comes crashing down round your head.”
A rather stunned silence followed that, and Ace wondered if he’d said too much. He was glad when Will helpfully changed the subject.
“Did you hear the music?”
“No,” said Kiefer. “Nothing personal, but they’re not on our side. We don’t listen to the other side’s music. It’s a matter of principle.”
He said it pleasantly, in a matter-of-fact way, but it made Ace feel sad, and soon after that, he and Will went off to get their drinks.
“I know,” said Will. “You’re thinking you’ve got more in common with those loonies out there with the zither than with that lot, aren’t you?”
“Something like that,” said Ace. “I wish everything wasn’t so muddled up.”
“It’ll always be like that, I think,” said Will. “It’s got nothing to do with liking or not liking, it’s about what people really care about, and that can be very well-hidden.”
“And sometimes, it won’t even be known until it’s put to the test,” said Ace. “Do we even know what’s really in our own hearts?”
Will looked hard at Ace and frowned in concern.
“Drink this,” he said.
“What is it?”
“Cocoa. That bang on the head’s made you think too much. You’re having an early night.”


Next morning, Will went off with Major Teplou. The major was carrying a signal repeater, and Will had a coil of rope over his shoulder and his pockets stuffed with tools. He looked so excited, so alive, and Ace sympathised, because he knew the feeling.
You shouldn’t even have to think about fighting, he thought. What a waste it is, when you can do things like this.
He walked as far as the perimeter with them, then patted Will on the back.
“Message me if you get stuck.”
“I might hold you to that,” Will laughed. “See you later, Ace.”


When they’d disappeared into the forest, Ace wandered back into camp alone. He wanted to find Blanche without making it too obvious that he was looking for her, so he decided that he’d try making it easy for her to find him. Knowing that the fairies were likely to start their free day with a swim, he went to Workshop One, which happened to have a good view of the fairies’ pool. He went inside first, and brought out a bit of cardboard and some steel, then sat on the step. He might as well be making something while he was waiting.
He was soon absorbed in what he was doing, but when he heard the chattering of fairies nearby, he was instantly alert. He forced himself not to look up, and he was soon rewarded when a tall, slender fairy’s shadow slipped over him.
“Hello,” said Blanche. “Why are you working on a free day? What are you making?”
“It’s not really work,” Ace explained. “Just doing a favour for someone. I said I’d do it when I had some spare time. They’re only hanging files.”
“What does that mean?”
“They’re for keeping papers in,” said Ace. “You hang them in a filing cabinet. Have a go… they’re really easy. Just a double fold of card… that’s it… and a hooked strip along each edge.”
They worked together quietly for a while, then Ace asked,
“Do you still want to leave?”
“Less and less,” sighed Blanche. “I love it here. But I’ll have to sooner or later. If I can just keep fobbing them off, maybe I can wait until winter. It would be easier for me to escape in the snow, when everyone else is sleepy.”
“Don’t you hibernate at all?”
“No,” said Blanche. “If anything, I get more sleepy in the summer. It was hard for me to stay awake in the heat of June, but I managed it.”
“You’re very brave,” said Ace. “I’m still hoping for a miracle, so you won’t have to leave at all.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. Don’t worry about it. I shall have had one happy year, and I shall treasure the memories so much.”
“I’m not so sure,” said Ace. “Sometimes we have to make our own miracles. Anyway, we’ve made enough files for even General Herdalen, so I’ll take them to his office. Want to come?”
“To the general’s office? He won’t be working today, will he?”
“No, that’s why I’m going,” said Ace. “I help him by keeping the place tidy for him, and let me tell you, it’s a lot easier to tidy up when he isn’t there.”
“Tidying up?” Blanche pulled a face, but she was laughing. “To spend time with you, Ace, I think I could manage that.”


When Ace was lying in his bunk that night, thinking over the day, he knew he’d done his best. He still didn’t know whether he’d done the right thing or not, but it was too late to change his mind now. In the bunk below him, Will was sleeping peacefully, tired out from climbing around the steep mountainside. He’d seemed pleased with his work, but they wouldn’t know if it had been successful or not until they’d installed this special amplifier in Karl’s house. They were going down at the weekend, apparently, when Karl would be home from work. Ace hoped he’d be allowed to go too, but he couldn’t permit himself to think that far ahead right now. Tomorrow was enough to be worrying about. One thing at a time… as if he hadn’t got enough on his mind, tomorrow was the class everyone was dreading.


“Transforming another sprite,” said Sergeant Olt in his deepest voice, “is a very serious business.”
He looked around the Great Hall, making sure all the young sprites were listening carefully. All the second years were there, and so was Dale, along with all their training officers. Even the setting, the Great Hall with all the chairs cleared away, seemed to have been chosen to daunt them into taking this seriously. It looked gloomy today, vast and echoing, and the sprites gathered in the centre seemed small and lost. The sergeant needn’t have worried, thought Ace. Some of the fairies were so frightened they were holding hands, and no-one had heard a squeak out of Kiefer all morning.
“You all know the dangers, I’m sure,” said the sergeant. “Insanity… warped personalities… these can be fates worse than death, and don’t think they can’t really happen, because they can and do. Yet it’s a thing that is very difficult to teach, because every situation is different. Once you start, no-one can intervene to help you, even if it’s going badly, because the distraction would only make things worse.”
Then he looked around and smiled.
“But don’t despair. It’s a vital – often a life-saving – skill to have, especially in times like these, and the more often you do it, the easier it will get. It’s a thing you never stop learning. You won’t all be trying it today, but those that do will gain experience and confidence, and I hope that everyone will gain knowledge and understanding. Sit down – on the floor will do – and listen carefully.”


The sergeant spent the next half-hour reading out first-hand accounts of transformations, written by experienced sprites. Each one was subtly different, and Ace could see why the sergeant had chosen them. Between them, they covered different degrees of closeness, difficulty and urgency, and yet patterns were beginning to emerge. Ace thought back to the night Will had transformed him, and nearly smiled. How little they’d known, then… yet it had been enough.
Corporal Lavall brought over a table, and on it was a set of scales, and a bag of coloured stones. One side of the scales was labelled ‘yes’, and the other side, ‘no’.
“From those stories,” said Sergeant Olt, “we can draw out some useful basic principles. The first thing you must always do is weigh it up, and today, we will do that literally. The red stones represent the urgency, the yellow the amount of closeness you have, and the green the difficulty.” He put three red stones and three yellow on the ‘yes’ side, and one green on the ‘no’ side.
“This is the perfect scenario. The matter is of grave importance, and you are transforming a close friend into another sprite belonging to the same order, which is quite easy. The scale weighs down to yes. At the other extreme, a trivial matter, where you hardly know the sprite, and the transformation is to a human, or an animal.”
This time, three greens for difficulty outweighed one red and one yellow, and the scale came down to ‘no’.
“Far too dangerous. You must not try it. But most things will fall somewhere between those extremes. Your best friend – three yellows – wants to be transformed into a goblin – two greens, unless you are goblins – the amount of urgency is not crucial, the balance already tips to ‘yes’. Change the best friend to someone you know less well – two yellows – and the balance is equal. Only you can decide if the urgency tips it towards ‘yes’. You get the idea. You must mentally weigh up the three components, and decide whether they would tip the scale to ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Later on, you can consider other factors, like if you’ve done it before… how much confidence you have… how much trust you have. But for now, just remember closeness, difficulty and urgency. Get that right, and all the rest will follow.”
Madge weighed it up for us! thought Ace, impressed. She knew the closeness and the urgency were both strong, and outweighed the difficulty.


“Having made your decision,” the sergeant continued, “if you are proceeding, then again we can hold on to some basic principles. And for a first attempt, it is better and safer to get the basics right, than try to remember a lot of advice, and perhaps lose your grip. So, if you are doing the transforming, you must concentrate harder and deeper than you think you can. You are holding your friend’s whole being inside your mind, and a stray thought could ruin it. Your watchword must be ‘concentration’. If you are being transformed, then you must look deep inside, and you must be open, even if that is against your own nature. Listen to your heart, and obey it, even if it sounds silly. Your watchword must be ‘honesty’.”
He then helped the corporal to remove the little table, giving the sprites time to digest what he’d said. When he came back, he had stopped speaking so warningly, and spoke more encouragingly.
“Talk to your partner now, and weigh up the current situation. You have to transform your partner as follows: fairies to elves, elves to fairies, imps to goblins and goblins to imps.”
There was not even the slightest snigger, which showed how terrified everyone was.
“The difficulty level is therefore moderate. The urgency level is low, for although this is important, we can hardly call it urgent. Think about your closeness, and weigh it up for yourselves. If your answer is yes, cross to this side, and if your answer is no, cross to that side.”
Ace and Will quickly crossed to Sergeant Olt, along with others who’d done it before, Kes and Vin, the twin French fairies, Dan and Hogweed, and Lilje and Revebjelle. Others soon followed them, Rose and Clover, Betch and Dale, Peter and Fran, and many others.
Some went as quickly to the other side… Wayne, who had no partner now Dale was here, Lauro and Pioppo, who could hardly speak to each other any more, Gran and Droz, several pairs of goblins, and, surprisingly, Holzia and Detia.
After a few moments more, Sergeant Olt spoke again.
“Everyone who hasn’t decided, move to no,” he said. “If you’re that unsure, you’re not ready yet.” Then he smiled at them. “Don’t worry. Your turn will come. Closeness grows over years of service together, you’ll see. Now, I have something important to ask.”
He turned to the ones who’d said yes, and Ace felt a thud inside him. This was it… he’d seen this coming.
“Is there any pair who think they could be so brave as to do a demonstration, for the sake of those on the other side of the room?”
No-one answered. Ace looked at Will, and saw a look of resignation that surprised him.
We’ll have to, won’t we? No-one else will.
Yes, I think so, Ace answered. But I want to talk to you first.


He looked up at Sergeant Olt.
“Could we have a word in private, Sergeant?” he asked.
“Yes, Ace. Take all the time you need.”
Outside the hall, Will gasped in air as if being inside had stifled him.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I know what you want to ask, and the answer’s yes. Whatever you’ve got on, I know it mustn’t get out. So it has to be me that gets transformed.”
“Will… thank you. I was dreading asking you, because I knew you’d hate it.”
“I’ve had time to get used to the idea. I saw this coming too, and I did promise you that there was nothing you couldn’t ask me. Just one request.”
“Name it.”
“Dan, not Rose or Clover.”
“You got it,” said Ace. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“Oh well,” said Will, “it can only be embarrassing. The days when I thought that was the worst thing that could happen to me are long gone.” He grinned at Ace ruefully. “Let’s go and get it over and done with.”


It seemed as if every eye in the place was on them as they marched back inside and went straight to Sergeant Olt.
“We volunteer, Sergeant,” said Ace.
“Thank you, Ace. Thank you, Will. That is extremely generous, and much appreciated.” He drew them to his side, then addressed the others who were going to be trying it. “Sergeant Svir has lots of empty rooms and private places ready,” he said. “Go with her now, and she will show you. You have an hour, and you mustn’t try for longer than that. When the time’s up, come back here, whether you’ve succeeded or not. Corporal Lavall and Corporal Viella will be patrolling to help you if you become distressed. Please don’t worry about that, it’s very normal. Off you go, and good luck!”

Ace was aching with sympathy as he watched them go. All his closest friends were there, and about to face a horrible ordeal. And there was nothing he could do to help them, because now he had to concentrate as if his life depended on it, because Will’s did, and that was the same thing, really.

Sergeant Olt told them to organise it however they wanted, and withdrew into the shadows, so his presence would not be off-putting. Ace found it was quite reassuring that he was still there. It gave him confidence, somehow.
“Cheer up!” he said to everyone. “Like the sergeant said, your turn will come, and Will and I would really like to help by at least showing you what it’s like. How about if you all sit either side of us, so you can see both our faces? That’s it… great, you’ve left us plenty of room, that’s good. I’m just going to ask three things, OK? First, please sit really still. That’ll be a big help. Second, please don’t make any noise, ‘cos that’d be really distracting. And third, whatever you hear, forget it afterwards. Never mention it, to us or to anyone else. Is that all right?”
Everyone murmured quiet agreement, or just nodded, and they all settled themselves so they could sit really still.
“Thank you,” said Ace softly. “We’re going to start now.”


Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes he knew that Will had opened his at the exact same moment.
“Good timing,” he said. “We’re going to take our time, and this is going to be smooth and easy. Forget there’s anyone else here. There’s just you and me, like there’s always been. We can be anywhere you want. Where do you want to be?”
He knew his gentle conversation had helped Will to focus on him, and helped the distractions to fade away. He could see that all Will’s attention was on him now.
“Wildside? Too many memories… distracting. How about Abney? By the lake, at dusk. All silent, just the hum from the motorway.”
“Perfect,” said Ace. “I’m going to transform you, my Willow, into the likeness of our friend Dan. What an elf she made, remember?”
“Bravest fairy I know,” said Will. “It’s an honour, and you can tell her so.”
“You’ll still be you on the inside,” said Ace. “Clever, and kind… brave, and stubborn. Proud? Not as much as you used to be.”
“Still hate being wrong,” said Will.
Ace concentrated harder, fixed Will with his eyes and thought especially of the ways Will had changed and grown since the last time they’d done this. More tolerant, readier to share the lead, firmer in putting his foot down…
He saw Will jerk as he pinned him down, almost felt his momentary panic.
“I’m holding it, Will… keep your eyes open… that’s it, that’s it… remember to breathe.”
“I know you can hold… I remember… I trust you.”
“Remember how good it felt, the first time?” said Ace. “You were floating, and you felt so free. It’s safe to let go.”
Will smiled at him then – he was almost there – but there was some concern in his eyes.
“Be careful, Ace, it could be different this time. We couldn’t message then… and don’t forget the 1785 thing….”

Thanks to Will’s warning, Ace mentally braced himself just in time. There was no need for Will to say anything out loud, because the connection between their minds spoke for him. Ace felt a rush of emotion that hit his mind like a sudden blast of wind, and held on to his control with all his might, as he felt all the fear and worry Will had been hiding, about Blanche, and about what was going on. He had to fight off his own guilt then, by clenching his hands as tightly as he could, because he knew there was more to come. He’d been prepared for that, but now he felt things that surprised him, things that were very deep and private, that he mustn’t ever mention… the depth of Will’s compassion for people who were struggling and how much he longed to help them, treasured moments with Maig, and a glimpse of a level of understanding of how the Tree and the army and the realm interconnected that was beyond anything Ace himself had achieved.
Then, it was as if Will knew very well that Ace was struggling now, and deliberately calmed his mind to make it as easy as possible. Ace felt himself stagger a bit, and knew he’d let out a groan, but his mind was carrying the burden now, he had it steady. He held out his hands, as if he was carrying something large and precious… all that Will was, was safe in his hands, and now he could attend to the externals. He thought of Dan, and first changed Will’s size and shape to match, and then the body, one thing after another, bones and wings and hair and streaks, one change flickering rapidly into the next. Last, he changed the features of Will’s face, not really liking that bit, but knowing it wouldn’t be for long. Then, hoping he’d not forgotten anything, he very gently let go, and immediately staggered, feeling very dizzy.

Someone grabbed his arm to support him, and Ace felt a rush of happiness as he saw that it was actually Wayne. He secretly squeezed Wayne’s arm in warm friendship, and then let out a sobbing laugh as he saw the way Will was very cautiously looking at himself. That was still so very Will, somehow. But the great thing was that though he looked stunned and a bit shaky, Will was clearly not distressed or embarrassed. The new depth of their connection had given them some welcome privacy.
“Thanks, Wayne,” said Ace. “Well, that’s it. I’m not sure we were the best pair to do a demo, because there was a lot of important stuff you couldn’t hear, but at least it’ll give you an idea.”
Everyone started clapping then, and Sergeant Olt came over and had a good look at them both.
“Well done, lads, that was magnificent,” he said. “Sit down, Ace… bring a chair over, someone… thanks, Droz. The trolley should be here in a minute. Are you all right, Will?”
“I’m fine… it just feels so weird!”
“Aargh, I didn’t do your voice!” exclaimed Ace, and everyone laughed.
“Doesn’t matter,” smiled the sergeant. “Very easy to forget, the voice, but if impersonation is your aim, it’s an important thing to remember, of course!”
“Good job I forgot now, when it doesn’t really matter,” said Ace. “I won’t forget again.”
“That is awesome!” said Holzia. “Will, you look exactly like Dan! Is it all right to ask questions?”
Ace looked at Will, and Will just nodded, looking perfectly calm, if still bemused at being in someone else’s body.
“That would be good,” said Sergeant Olt, “but have a drink first… ah, here we are!”

Sergeant Camilo came in, wheeling a trolley. On it were several jugs of coffee, a bottle of brandy and a large stack of clean handkerchiefs. Ace and Will didn’t need brandy or handkerchiefs, but they were glad of some coffee. While they were drinking it, they listened as Sergeant Olt explained to the others exactly what they’d been doing at each stage. It was very encouraging to hear their work described with words like ‘swift and skilful’ and ‘awesome self-control’. Ace said he’d learned a lot himself from the sergeant’s explanation. He could see now that there were specific stages, that you could rely on to happen in the same order each time.
“Excellent,” said the sergeant. “So, what did you want to ask, Holzia?”
“Are you only Dan on the outside?” she asked Will.
“Sort of,” said Will. “It’s not just external. I’ve got hollow bones now, same as you! But all the invisible things – mind, memories, character – all those kind of things are still me.”
“So could you change even those things if you wanted to?” asked Wayne.
“Yes,” said Sergeant Olt. “It can be done, but you’d need the other person there – in this case, Dan – and Ace would have had to carry whatever they were copying from Dan, and hold it, and transfer it to Will.”
“Copy and paste,” said Will, and Ace laughed, but no-one else knew what they were on about.
“That’s what Special Brigade did to me,” said Ace. “I didn’t know what they were doing at the time, but they were nicking memories. I wasn’t co-operating, of course, but they could still do it, by force. Mental force, I suppose. It felt bad, I know that.”
“So what you did just now,” said Lauro, “even though you were only changing the body, you have to do something to the personality?”
“You have to protect it,” said Ace. “Whatever you call it – character, personality… soul, even – it’s separate from the body but it’s also connected to it, especially to the brain. You have to encompass all of it, and shield it from harm as you transform the body.”
“Some people are harder than others,” said the sergeant. “Can’t imagine anything harder than a clever willow, myself.”
“You’re right there, Sergeant,” laughed Ace. “He’s terrible.”
“I can see why that would be hard for the person doing it,” said one of the goblins. “That’s an awful lot of concentration. But why do you hear of people getting so upset?”
“Because the person being transformed has to open himself up totally,” said Will. “If you tried to hide anything, it wouldn’t be protected, and you could lose it, and so lose a part of yourself. But even close friends have secrets. You have to share things you know will hurt, and that’s hard to do, and hard to bear.”
“Have you always been able to do the sharing mentally?” asked Sergeant Olt.
“No,” said Will. “That was new, and a great relief to me, as you can imagine. Before, we’ve spoken out loud. But since we’ve learned to message, and other things, we didn’t need to.”
“I was amazed at your speed,” said the sergeant. “You may not realise how fast you are. It shows how well you two know and trust each other. I think you should feel free to push the boundaries on this, and experiment with just what can be achieved. You could try partial transformation, which is actually harder, and you could certainly get faster, if you’re that fast already. With practice, you could be achieving almost instant transformation.”
“Could be useful in a tight spot,” grinned Ace. “Thanks a lot, Sergeant!”
“I was very impressed,” said Gran Starheim. “I shall never do that. I don’t have the gift for getting close to anyone, and it’s wise to know your own limitations. But I am glad to have seen what can be done, and how it is done. Thank you.”
“Well said, Gran,” said the sergeant. “Well, some of the others will be back soon, and some of them – OK, let’s be honest here, some fairies – will be only too keen to talk it all over. Listen, ask questions, and you’ll know just as much then as anyone else.”


By then, Ace was feeling less like a wet rag, and looking forward to seeing what the others had done. Slowly, they started to arrive, and as nearly everyone had copied a real person from their own year, it was great fun guessing who everyone was. Kes came in first, with what looked like Crocus, so they knew it must be Vin. He had a very Vin-like grin on his face though, and he kept fluttering up off the ground, yelling with delight.
“Hey!” said Will. “That’s a thought!”
Dale came in then, with Betch looking like Stella, but still with white hair. Sergeant Svir came with them, and started ticking everyone off on a list, as a few more arrived.
Rose’s face was tear-stained, and you could see she’d been upset but had now got over it, and Ace and Will screeched with laughter.
“She’s done you!” yelled Will. “Oh, brilliant! Clover, over here!”
Clover, looking like Ace, came running over, and grinned at the real Ace.
“What does it feel like to be beautiful, Clover?” said Ace.
“Be careful!” said Clover. “I can probably punch now. Good grief, I feel as if my legs are made of lead. I don’t know how you can walk around, being this heavy.”
“Was it all right?” asked Will.
“We had a dodgy bit, but we came through okay, thanks, Dan – hey, no! You’re not Dan, you’re Will! Oh, this is so weird!”

As more and more people arrived, and started milling around, it got harder and harder to tell who was the real person and who was transformed. It grew very loud with laughter and shrieking, but the sergeants seemed glad about it. Ace could see that a lot of people needed to let out tension and recover.
It hadn’t all gone smoothly. Fran and Peter had had a hard time of it, and they heard that Peter had run off into the forest and Fran was still upset, but the corporals were onto it. Sizzle was laughing hysterically, having transformed her partner into Hogweed, but she ended up sitting on the floor crying her eyes out.
When the real Hogweed came in, he was walking unsteadily and leaning on Dan, who now looked like Will. When he saw himself on the floor, consoling a distressed imp, he passed out and hit the floor with an almighty thud. Sergeant Camilo revived him with brandy, and then Corporal Viella came in with the news that Stella was so exhausted she’d sent her to bed. Sergeant Svir crossed her off and checked Bella was all right. Last of all, Olm and Beuk came in, looking exactly the same. They said honestly enough that they’d tried, but hadn’t got very far, and they thought it was because they were transformed already. Sergeant Olt commiserated with them and said tactfully that that probably had a lot to do with it.
They were being really careful, Ace thought, checking everyone was accounted for, checking everyone was all right. Once they were sure, and everyone had calmed down a bit, they took more questions. Here again, Ace found he was learning a lot, because Sergeant Svir’s answers to questions from fairies showed they had a slightly different approach, and encountered different problems, and that was all useful to know.
Finally, Sergeant Olt announced how they would organise reversing the effects.
“It’s much, much easier,” he reassured them. “It still needs care, but it won’t take long. Go and think about something else for an hour – go for a walk, have a sleep, whatever you feel like – then come back here, and we’ll just keep an eye on things as you do the reversing. And well done, everyone. I’ve seen some very good work this afternoon.”
Sergeant Svir stood up then, and her eyes were twinkling.
“If there are any elves here who would like to try out their wings,” she smiled, “I am available for a quick flying lesson.”
“Go on,” said Ace to Will. “You know you want to.”
“I feel completely silly,” said Will, “but I don’t care. Can’t miss a chance like this!”
“Have fun,” said Ace. “You deserve it.”