Chapter Three

Penelope's dream; or is it?

Penelope soared through silver filigree clouds set in a cobalt sky. Off in the distance she could see a prism of colour glowing in the night. Looking down, she was astonished to see herself astride Hec’s back; a Hec with wings!

“What are you staring at?” came a familiar voice in her head. “Haven’t you ever seen a cat with wings before?”

“Err...no,” said Penelope, somewhat taken aback at the turn things seemed to have taken.

“Well, for your information, I’m a half-bird,” said Hec. “It comes from my father’s side back ten generations or so. Every two or three litters one of us is born, and it’s no joke, I assure you!”

“I didn’t mean to insult you,” stammered Penelope. “I was just very startled. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you with wings, you know. I think they’re beautiful!” And indeed they were. Feathers of iridescent blue edged with silver, quite a magnificent sight!

“Well,” hrrumphed Hec, “I suppose I forgive you. You are the daughter of the Arch Wizard after all.”

            “Wh-what?”

“Are you deaf, girl? I said you are the daughter of the Arch Wizard. It’s him we’re going to see, you know.”

“Umm...why is he called the Arch Wizard?” asked Penelope.

“Good gracious, girl, you are full of questions, aren’t you? He will tell you himself if he sees fit. Now, be quiet and watch where you’re going.”

            Penelope rather thought it was Hec who should watch where she was going, but she wisely said nothing and turned her attention to the landscape below. It was dominated by the light of the prism, and was a desolate landscape indeed. Dead tree stumps, foul looking pools of stagnant water, and things moving around she didn’t want to look too closely at.

            Shivering, she pulled her cardigan tighter around her, realizing the air was freezing cold. She wondered how on earth she got here. The last thing she remembered was being on the train with her mother. Remembering that, she also remembered the gift from her father. Looking around her, and being an observant child, she saw, with a catch in her breath, that the clouds resembled the silver filigree work on the box, as did the sky resemble the box’s colour. Looking ahead, her eyes widened as the prism came ever closer. It looked just like the prism she had seen in the centre of the crystal ball! What on earth could it mean? Just as this and other questions started to collide in her head, she jumped and grabbed the nearest thing she could, which just happened to be the scruff of Hecate’s neck.

“Rrrowwww!!!”

“Sorry, Hec, but you startled me, diving like that!”

“Rrowww! Silly girl. Wouldn’t have fallen!”

            As this last was said, Hec swooped in for a perfect four-paw landing in front of the prism, shaking her beautiful wings and folding them against her side, whereupon they promptly dissolved into her fur.

“How did you do that?” exclaimed Penelope amazed at just what a special Cat Hecate was turning out to be!

“Don’t you ever get tired of asking questions?” grumbled Hec as she daintily licked the fur on her sides. “Never saw a child so full of questions...except for your father, and look where it got him!”

“But...” started Penelope.

“Hush.” commanded Hec, raising her paw. “All will be revealed soon.” With that, she touched a sigil on the prism. A resonant series of chimes sounded, and part of the prism slid open, showing a long passageway lined with sapphire blue crystals.

            Penelope caught her breath at the beauty and colour of the crystals. Hesitantly, she set foot on the crystal path.

“Don’t dawdle, girl. We don’t have all day,” came a growl from behind her.

            Sighing, she set off down the path which glowed iridescent blue, giving off enough light to see by. The passage curved around to the right, and she followed it, her eagerness increasing by the second. What would she see? Who would she see? As she mused to herself, she abruptly careened into something solid. A door! She tried to open it, but to no avail.

“Oh, Hec, it’s locked! How do I get in?”

“With a key, girl. How else?”

“But I don’t have a key!”

“Yes, you do! What is it you seek?”

            Penelope thought for a moment. “To know why all these weird things happen to me?”

“Well?” said Hec, tapping her paw impatiently.

            Smiling, Penelope put her hand on the door and said, “I seek knowledge!”

            Silently, the silver door swung open, revealing a huge room filled with books. Thousands and thousands of books! Penelope gasped, as she was an avid reader, but not even she could read all these books.

“Yes, you can my child,” said a deep, musical voice.

            Penelope jumped and turned toward the voice. There, in front of her, was a great silver chair, carved with gargoyles and other magical creatures, and, seated in the chair, a man dressed in cobalt robes, a gentle smile on his face.

            Unbelieving, Penelope took a step forward. The man was strangely familiar. “Daddy?” she whispered with growing delight. The man opened his arms wide, laughing. With a squeal, she ran and hurled herself into his arms. “Oh, Daddy, Daddy, I’m so happy to see you. It’s been so long! Where have you been? Where am I? Why am I here?”

            “She’s as bad as you were,” came an amused voice below them. “Always asking questions.”

“There is no harm in asking questions, Hec, but there can be great harm done if one has questions and they are ignored.”

“Well, I see you have finally acquired some wisdom. About time,” retorted Hec, settling down for a well-deserved nap.

            Chuckling, Penelope’s father turned to her and gave her a big hug, which she enthusiastically returned.

“It’s so good to see you, Penelope. I’ve been worried about you and what’s been happening to you.”

“How can I stop it, Daddy?” she asked anxiously.

“You can’t darling. That’s why you are going to Aunt Matilda’s. You inherited certain, talents, shall we say, from my side of the family, and your mother, bless her heart, has no way to help you. Therefore, it is up to your Aunt Matilda. I shall, of course, help as I can.”

“But what are these talents?” asked Penelope.

            Bending down, so he could look eye to eye with her, her father said, “Penelope, you are a Witch. An untrained one, to be sure, but a Witch, nevertheless.”

“But, Daddy, Witches are mean, ugly and evil!” she protested, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“No, Penelope. They are not,” said her father firmly. “Witches are people too, and, as there are good and bad people, so there are good and bad Witches. You are a good Witch, and will be taught to do the right things. Your Aunt Matilda is a Witch. Do you think I would send you to her if she was bad?” Gently, he reached down and wiped away Penelope’s tears.

            Gulping, Penelope thought things over like the bright child she was, and knew with a certainty her father was right. Smiling shyly at this man who was her father, and whom she really didn’t know, she nodded and said, “Whatever I need to learn, I will Daddy, only please don’t let it be so long till I see you again?”

“That’s my girl,” he beamed. “Now, you got the gift I sent you, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes, Daddy. It’s beautiful!! This place reminds of the crystal, and the box it was in.”

“That’s because we are within the crystal,” said her father, raising his finger before Penelope could interrupt. “Hush! Now is the time to listen, because you must go back soon. As your mother said, the crystal is a transmission device; a very special one. Not only can you send a message to me through it, but Hec can also bring you here. This is where you will learn some of your lessons.. Now, any questions?”

            Eyes huge, Penelope stared at her father. Questions? Questions! She had so many she didn’t know where to begin.

            Seeing the confusion and frustration in her eyes, her father took her hand.

“Darling, I know how hard this is for you. I will start by telling you that this time, only your dream self is here. You are sleeping on the train with your mother. After this, you will be able to come here when you are awake with Hec’s help, and this.” Opening his hand, he dropped something cool into it. Looking down, she saw a fine silver chain with a perfect replica of the prism attached. “When you need to come here for a lesson, or protection, hold this in your right hand, and place your left hand on Hec. That will bring you to this room instantly.”

            Trembling, she put the pendant around her neck. “This isn’t a game, is it Daddy?” She whispered.

“No, Penelope. It is not.”

“I’ll do my best, Daddy, but I have so many questions.”

“I know you do, but some answers will come to you shortly, and Aunt Matilda will certainly help. Now it’s time for you to return. I promise we will meet again soon. Hecate, time to take Penelope back.”

            Grumbling, Hec opened one eye. “No rest for the wicked, eh? You’re a hard taskmaster, Gwyddion.” Stretching, she slowly got to her feet. “Come on, girl. I’m getting too old for this.”

            Turning to her father, Penelope hugged him one more time, a hug he willingly returned.

“I’ll see you soon, Penelope. Believe in yourself!”

            Penelope turned back down the passage through which they had come, Hec following behind her. Following the curve to the left, they came to the outside entrance. Again, Hec placed her paw against a sigil on the inside of the prism, and again the prism slid open, and they were hit with a blast of frigid air. “Well, don’t dawdle! Get on my back before my feathers freeze!” Sure enough, there were the wings again. Penelope climbed aboard and up they went, buffeted by the cold North Wind. Penelope hung on as hard as she could, bouncing and banging on Hec’s back. Suddenly, she awoke to her mother shaking her shoulder.

“Wake up, Penelope! The next stop is ours.”

            Groggily, she opened her eyes, a whirlwind of images flying through her head. She could hear snoring coming from underneath the seat and with that, memory came flooding in. She reached her hand to her neck, and sure enough, there was the pendant her father had given her!

            Seeing the movement, her mother’s eyes dropped to see the pendant in her daughter’s hand. Fear gripped at her heart, and she closed her eyes. ‘Oh, my little one, may the Fates keep you safe,” she whispered to herself.

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Again, a first draft, so please be gentle!

Reviews

[fwvalidus]

Another solid chapter, I am growing more interested and liking the book more as we continue. I think this would work exceptionally well in the hands of a teenage or slightly younger audience... although by no means should it be exclusively so. This chapter is repeated 3 times here as an fyi, don't know if they are all the same but I assumed they were.

Also, “There is no harm in asking questions, Hec, but there can be great harm done if one has questions and they are ignored.” is a very good quote, did you come up with this entirely on your own?

[Susan McCaskill]

Thanks, Fraser! How do you mean it's repeated 3 times? Did I cut and paste the same chapter 3 times? And yes, that is an original quote :-)

[Susan McCaskill]

I fixed it; not sure what happened there!

[fwvalidus]

It's a great quote that serves as a good lesson