AMARYLLIS

Suzuki closed the door and took the round black handle from it.

She then placed the handle back into the satchel on the table where she had taken it from before.

“Well,” said Hress, clapping his wet hands together, “I guess this just means we’ll have more time for the party.”

“Party?” said Chicory, perking up excitedly on my lap.

“You have not mentioned any party?” said Suzuki, who was stood beside Bailey in front of the armchair Chicory and me were sat in.

“Yeah, well,” said Hress, “That’s because it’s just a party for us men.”

There was a shift in mood among everyone.

“Where will you be holding this party?” said Angelica, trudging forward wetly to Hress’s side, looming over his right shoulder.

“Down here,” said Hress, “That way we’ll be less likely to disturb everyone else’s sleep.”

“Don’t you think it’s time you had a hot drink?” said Red, interjecting, her brows furrowed.

“Ah, yeah, sorry,” said Hress, before looking to the rest of us, “Back in a bit, you know it can’t wait.”

Hress left a trail of slimy mud in his wake as he made his way up the middle stairs and out of sight.

Angelica and Suzuki turned their attention to Guy and Albie.

“Why did you not tell us about the party?” said Suzuki, looking at Guy in particular.

“It’s a men’s gathering,” said Guy, “There’s no reason to tell you.”

“Does that mean girls can’t come?” said Chicory.

“It’s not like they can’t,” said Guy, “It’s more like they’re not really supposed to. The same way I wouldn’t expected to join a party just for the girls in this tower.”

“And what will you be talking about during your ‘men’s gathering’?” said Angelica.

“Men’s stuff,” Albie squeaked.

Guy pointed with his skeletal thumb down to Albie who was stood by his side and had just crossed his arms.

“Men’s stuff,” said Guy, crossing his arms too.

“Wait,” said Suzuki, raising her hands, “If the men are having party, then I think we should also have party.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Angelica, “I’m not sure why we haven’t thought of it sooner. It will be nice to talk amongst us girls.”

“When is the party?” said Chicory, looking over to Guy.

“Sorry, Chicory,” said Guy, “But it’s just for us adults.”

“Really?” said Chicory, his mouth hanging agape.

Suzuki and Angelica raced to stand in front of Chicory.

“Oh look what you’ve done!” said Angelica, grumbling deeply in her throat as she gently took hold of Chicory’s hands.

“It is cruel not to include Chicory,” said Suzuki, patting his knee.

The armchair Chicory and me were sat in gave a cracking sound.

“Don’t tap his leg!” I cried, suddenly, “Let me get off first please.”

Angelica and Suzuki eased back, allowing room to slide Chicory off the armchair and for me to stand up.

“We will have our party on the second floor,” said Suzuki, nodding in agreement with herself, “Chicory and Amary you are both invited.”

This wasn’t improving Chicory’s sulking mood.

“But I want to go to their party,” he said.

“Ours will be so much better,” said Angelica, “You’ll see.”

Chicory’s mouth tugged down at the corners.

Guy’s ugly blue face grinned as he walked up to Red’s side. She was stood in her wet armour with her arms folded over her chest.

“Which party will you be going to?” said Guy.

“Shut your face,” Red said dismissively, looking down at him.

A moment later Red vanished like she had done when she was holding the white sheet earlier. All that remained was the mud she had brought in with her on the floor.

“And she’s gone,” said Guy.

Suzuki turned her attention to Bailey.

“Please join us for the party,” she said.

“What would be the point?” said Bailey.

“We can learn to know each other better,” said Suzuki.

“I think you just want your party to be bigger than theirs,” said Bailey.

Suzuki turned up her nose, “I am not thinking of that,” she said, “Your hunting can wait for a few hours can it not?”

Bailey’s top lip pulled back as if she were offended by the idea.

“I’ve never liked parties,” she said.

“You will like this one,” said Suzuki.

“Really?” said Bailey, tiredly.

“Hai,” said Suzuki confidently, giving a curt bow of her head.

“I suppose we better make the preparations,” said Guy, looking at Albie by his side.

“Okey!” Albie squeaked, and together Guy and Albie added to the trail of mud up the middle staircase.

“I wish we had more time,” said Angelica, “I would have prepared banners, activities…”

“Then why not wait until tomorrow?” said Bailey, “There’s no rush.”

“No tonight is better,” said Suzuki.

Bailey sighed.

“You’re sulking worse than Chicory,” she said, “I’m going hunting.”

“No!” said Suzuki, with a sudden intensity that made me feel very uncomfortable.

Angelica, Chicory, and Bailey were also taken aback by Suzuki’s outburst.

“We are having party tonight, you will come and have fun,” said Suzuki.

“This isn’t the Sakura Kingdom,” said Bailey, “I’m not a servant you can order around. I’ve told you I’m not coming to the party so that’s that.”

Suzuki golden eyes met Bailey’s hard gaze for a moment before looking away.

“Fine,” said Suzuki, “Forget it, no party tonight.”

She stormed off at a brisk walking pace up the tower stairs.

“Angelica, I’m going hunting,” said Bailey.

Bailey walked past Chicory and me and Angelica to the table with the satchel.

She took out the black handle.

“Close the door behind me please,” she said.

“Isn’t it too early for you to go outside?” said Angelica.

“I’ll manage,” said Bailey.

I stood with Chicory as Bailey walked to the nearby stone wall and placed the handle into it.

The door opened revealing the torrential rain that had cut Hress’s hunting trip short.

The rain, several times fiercer than when Hress and the others had arrived minutes ago, was so heavy water began to flood into the tower as if a flowing river had been held back and was now let loose.

Bailey reached out her hand to touch the rain. The impact of it on her skin was like stone against stone.

“Don’t let anyone come out in this,” she said, looking to Angelica, “They’ll die.”

“I won’t, thank you,” said Angelica, “Have a good hunt.”

“Would you like me to bring anything back for you?” said Bailey.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” said Angelica, speaking above the sound of the pummelling rain.

The water had reached Chicory and me. I could feel the cold of it against the soles of my feet.

We took several steps back to avoid it.

Bailey went out into the bright rainstorm and Angelica closed the door behind her and returned the handle to the satchel atop the table.

“Is it safe out there?” I said.

“No,” said Angelica, “Sometimes it can rain so hard on Wish Mountain it floods dangerously. It’s because of the Dawn Storm, of course.”

I looked around the tower.

“Are we safe here?” I said.

“Very,” said Angelica.

She looked around too.

“The stone the tower is made of is special,” she said, “We can only guess, but we think the tower is made out of the same stone that forms the foundation of Wish Mountain. There isn’t anything we know of that can break through it; not the rains, not hammers, explosives, and, most importantly, not even the Dawn Storm.”

“How was it made?” said Chicory.

Angelica looked down at Chicory and me like an angry bear that hadn’t eaten in days.

“C-Chicory’s right,” I said, stammering a little despite being fully aware Angelica didn’t mean me any harm, “If the stone can’t be broken then how was this tower made?”

Angelica’s ears twitched.

“We haven’t a clue,” she said, “All we know is there used to be a village here called Midway Village. So-called because where we are now is believed to be mid-way up Wish Mountain. A stopping-place if you will. Would you care to sit?”

Angelica gestured to the round table with the satchel on it.

Chicory and me pulled out a chair each and sat on them.

I sat slowly and carefully enough in my chair for it not to break.

Chicory settled on his knees on his chair.

Angelica sat in her chair as if to demonstrate how to do it properly; one leg draped over the other and her large hands resting gently on her knee.

“Oh!” said Chicory, “Did the-midway-village get flood-ed-did by the rain?”

“Perhaps,” said Angelica, “From what we can gather Midway Village was here for many centuries, including this tower, but something has happened in the last year. All the people that lived in the village, and the village itself, with the exception of this tower…have disappeared.”

I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

Chicory had a serious look on his face, but I was certain Angelica had used too many big words in a row for him to follow.

“How can an entire village just disappear?” I said.

“I’m not sure,” said Angelica, “But we are on Wish Mountain after all.”

I brought my right forefinger to my bottom lip as I thought about the missing village.

“Are you okay, Amaryllis?” said Angelica.

“Yes,” I said, “I’m just thinking.”

A question formed in my head.

“Were the other buildings in the village made of the same black stone as the tower?” I said.

“I’m not sure,” said Angelica, “Albian would be the best one to ask about that.”

Several long moments of thoughtful silence followed.

“Looks like there won’t be a party after all,” said Angelica, as if speaking to herself.

It was strange hearing Angelica speak because her mouth didn’t move when she talked.

“You could always plan one for another time,” I said.

“True,” said Angelica, “Which I think will be for the better.”

She eased forward a little.

This time I was a prepared for the way my body flinched from the sight of her scary face drawing closer.

“I would like to host a tea party,” said Angelica, “It has been on my mind ever since I arrived at this tower, but until now I haven’t had the…” she waved her right hand through the air and wiggled her long fingers as she tried for the right words, “...proper inclination to host one. Would you both like to have a tea party with me tomorrow?”

“I-I would like that,” I said, stammering a little.

I had missed the taste of Miss Waxwood’s hot teas very much. As strange and as scary as Angelica looked she reminded me in a small way of Miss Waxood.

“How do you like your tea?” said Angelica, curiously.

“I don’t know,” said Chicory, “I never tried it.”

“Hot,” I said.

Angelica’s mouth opened, revealing her large tongue as she let out a throaty laugh.

“Yes,” she said, “But do you like your tea with or without milk?”

“I haven’t had tea with milk,” I said.

Angelica brought her hand to her chest in mock-dismay.

“Scandalous!” she said, “Milk and tea are like bees and flowers; they’re simply made for each other. That settles it, Amaryllis, Chicory, tomorrow we shall have a tea party, and you will both try tea with milk. And sugar of course.”

Chicory and me looked to each other excitedly.

Angelica stood to her full height.

Her large spider-like limbs stretched outward before receding back again.

It looked like she had a giant spider sat on her back.

“I think I will go have a nice hot bath. Will you be okay on your own for a bit?” she said.

“Yes,” I said, nodding.

“Amary, we could play chess if you want?” said Chicory.

My gut answer to anything fun was to say no, but maybe because things were so different, or perhaps Chicory had finally worn me down, I gave a small sigh and said, “Okay.”

Chicory looked delighted.

“Okay!” he said, “Where do you want to play?”

“Upstairs,” I said.

It felt good to return to the dark confines of the first floor storage room. I was unused to having so much freedom to go where I pleased throughout the day, even if that meant being on my own. There were no strict curfews to worry about, and that in itself gave me a different kind of anxiety, as if turning the page in the middle of a book only to find it unwritten; who was to decide what should happen next?

I spent an hour playing chess with Chicory. At first I asked a few questions to learn how to play the game, but it quickly became clear Chicory didn’t actually know the rules.

He made up some rules of his own in the beginning, but they were quickly put aside in favour of us playing with the chess pieces like toys; his little army against mine.

When Chicory was bored of playing we put away the pieces and he went upstairs to get us something to eat, bringing back simple strips of real meat instead of any of the magical food - I simply wasn’t in the mood for anything that tasted really good.

I was exhausted from spending the little amont of time I had in the company of the others in the tower.

After we had eaten Chicory went upstairs to see Suzuki and Angelica.

Come late evening I could hear the muffled sounds of Hress, Guy, and Albian enjoying their ‘men’s gathering’ downstairs. I wasn’t able to make out anything they were saying but it sounded as if they were having a fun time.

As far as I could tell Chicory, Suzuki, and Angelica hadn’t come down from the top floor of the tower since going up mid-afternoon.

What Bailey and Suzuki had said about Hress maybe being a murderer, a prince killer, came back to me.

Before I could second-guess myself I grabbed hold of my blanket, wrapped it over me, and tip-toed over to the stairs. Compensating for my new weight when going down the stairs was difficult. I knew I had to be patient with my slow one-two steps down the stairs both for fear of making too loud a sound, and also because I didn’t want a repeat of tripping all over again. I held one hand against the smooth black stone wall to my right, my left hand pressed against my waist. It continued to surprise me how I didn’t feel any strain from carrying my own immense weight. I had only learned about my new weight shortly after waking from a long, medicine-induced sleep.

Bailey had been there sat like a cat in the chair beside the bed. I had first thought she was made of stone.

“Amaryllis?” she had said, seeming to come to life, no longer as still as a statue.

“Where’s Chicory?” I had asked, my throat dry and sore, and deeper because of my older age.

“He’s fine,” Bailey had said, “You’re both safe.”

My eyes had struggled to focus on Bailey’s beautiful pale face as she explained to me the reason why I was in bed, what had happened since I had collapsed and after Hress had carried me back to the tower.

After our brief conversation I had seen my new older body for the first time.

I pushed that memory away, not wanting to think on the terrible shock and sadness I had felt upon realising I was no longer a child. That maybe I had never really had a chance to be a child in the first place. I had always hoped that at some point in the future I would have claimed the remainders of my childhood before it was too late.

And now it was too late.

The further down the tower I crept the clearer the speech of Hress, Guy, and Albian became.

I reached the final bend of the tower stairs several steps from the ground floor.

It was as far as I could go if I were to remain out of sight.

Sat still and trying to breathe as little as possible I listened to their conversation.

“Okay,” said Guy, with mirth in his voice, “I’ve got a game: bed, marry, kill. I’ll give you three women and you have to decide which out of them you would rather bed for an evening, marry, or kill.”

“Just pwetend, wight?” Albie squeaked.

“Obviously!” said Guy, “Have you played this game before?”

“No,” Albie squeaked.

“Yeah,” said Hress, sounding amused and quite drunk, his words slurred a little, “Alright, give us the women then.”

“Bailey, Angelica, Suzuki,” said Guy.

“Ah,” said Hress, “Does it have to be in a particular order?”

“No, any order you want,” said Guy.

There were several moments of silence.

“Bed…Bailey,” said Hress, his voice trailing as he gave the question some thought, “Marry…Suzuki, and kill Angelica.”

“Really?” said Guy, “I didn’t think that’d be your answer.”

“Yeah, well, I agreed to play and those’re my answers,” said Hress.

“Can I pway?” said Albie.

“Who are you going to pray to?” said Guy.

Hress and Guy broke into laughter.

“Not pway! Pway!” Albie squeaked, annoyed.

“I know, I know,” said Guy, “But, do you even like humans?”

“Yesh!” squeaked Albie.

There was a harshness to his tone.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” said Guy.

“I like human women too,” Albie squeaked, “I am net a dumb animal.”

“Neither of us think you’re a dumb animal,” said Hress, “We just hadn’t considered you’d be interested in human women.”

“Wait,” said Guy, “What is it you like about human women? Are you a breast or butt man?”

“Butt!” Albie squeaked.

I felt myself flinch.

This was the kind of thing men talked about when women weren’t around?

It sounded harmless enough, but the talk was far more sexual than I had ever heard before.

Were they thinking these kind of thoughts when I was around them?

“So do you like other Hindlings?” said Guy, curiously.

“No,” Albie squeaked, “They look too much like animal.”

“Do all Hindlings prefer humans?” said Guy.

“I do net know,” Albie squeaked, “I net really thenk about it before.”

“So who’d you pick?” said Hress.

“Ma’wy Suzuki,” Albie squeaked, “Bed…Bailey, and kill Angelica.”

“That’s the same as mine!” said Hress.

“I guess I ag’wee with y’oo,” Albie squeaked.

They all laughed again.

“Your turn,” squeaked Albie.

“Yeah,” said Guy, “Well…shit. This is kind of difficult. Marry…Bailey, because if my theory is correct she’ll never grow old, and if I also never grow old we’d make a good married couple.”

“Interesting,” said Hress.

“Good thenking,” Albie squeaked.

“Bed…Angelica.”

“What?!” Hress shouted excitedly. “You dog!”

There was the sound of good-natured scuffling.

“What?” said Guy once their wrestling had come to a stop.

“You’re saying you wouldn’t?” he added.

“I don’t fancy having my head bitten off during the middle of sex,” said Hress.

“She wouldn’t bite your head off,” said Guy, “Probably.”

“And she is w’eally big,” Albie squeaked.

“That’s a plus to me,” said Guy, “I’ve always found tall women sexy.”

“What about hairy women?” said Hress.

“Well no,” said Guy, “But in Angelica’s case it’s not the same. It’s fur, it looks different to a woman that, you know, hasn’t shaved her legs.”

“So that means you’d kill Suzuki?” said Hress.

“I mean out of the three options…yeah I guess.”

“That’s weird,” said Hress, “I thought you too had a bit of a…liking towards one another.”

“Not that I know of,” said Guy.

“And what about you and Bailey,” said Guy, “I’ve seen you two exchanging looks across the room. You’re telling me there’s nothing there?”

Hress must have made a gesture instead of answering aloud because only silence hung in the wake of Guy’s question.

“Hress there’s been something I wanted you ask you about,” said Guy, breaking the silence that had built.

“Yeah?”

“You being a wanted man. All that. You’ve told me bits and pieces about it, but you’ve never gone into any details. One day, when this is all over and I return to my world, I’d like to know all the ins-and-outs of what brought everyone to the tower. So, what do you say, want to tell us about it?”

There was silence as Hress seemed to mull over the question.

Then, casually, he began to tell the tale of how he became the most wanted man in Rose Kingdom.

It was a long story with lots of twists and turns.

Hress seemed to take delight in telling the tale at first, but telling the tale brought with it bitter memories.

After an hour and a half Hress finished telling the story.

The excited party mood had become serious, as neither Guy or Albie had spoken much at all during Hress’s tale telling.

“Well,” said Hress, “I suppose it’s time for bed. This has been a fun night, we should do it again sometime.”

“Agweed,” said Albie.

“Yeah,” said Guy.

Their armchairs scraped the tower floor as each of them climbed to their feet.

I turned and headed back up the tower stairs as quietly as I could.

Before I could reach the top of the stairs I saw Chicory’s shadow against the wall.

I continued round the bend, sure that I would see him standing outside the first floor doorway, most likely walking in his sleep.

But as I moved beyond the staircase bend and looked to the doorway…Chicory wasn’t there.

I looked around not seeing him at all.

I looked to the wall where I had seen his shadow.

It was still there.

Like black smoke the shadow began to peel away from the wall.