The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

Shelter of secrets (part two)

Ferry limped away from the room; away from secrets and schemes which swept away the last drop of courage he had. The splinter was quite big and, after he pulled it out, he managed to bandage his foot with a piece of cloth from his cloak. Yet, the wound was still bleeding, leaving a white, viscid track of blood behind.

He looked all around him, not knowing where to. Where could Fae Queen's chamber be? The pain in his foot was growing, but the unease of knowing almost everyone in the castle-tree was looking for him grew even bigger. He couldn't wait much longer, trapped inside that place. He kept on going down the sinuous stairs, studying every room, chamber, or corner that came on his way. Nothing. Each one looked the same, dark and packed with strange things Ferry found useless. Every chest, every corner or slot in the walls was revealing the same things, over and over: dishes, tools, books, fountain pens and crayons, handkerchiefs, buttons, reels, even musical instruments. Colored statuettes, wickerwork baskets of all sizes, pasteboard and rag toys, rubber balls, gloves, and wool. Thrown everywhere as if on the booths of a country fair.

When he thought he would never find a way out of that place, something caught his eye. There were sparks at the end of the stairs; dim sparks, the ones that could trick one's mind, like firebugs melting in the night's sky. He went down the stairs, his heart racing, and the more he descended, the brighter the sparkles. Then they turned into beams of light. And when he reached the base of the stairs, a light, too strong for his eyes, blinded him. He realized he was somewhere in the middle of the tree-castle. The stairs were now leading towards a footbridge; right under the footbridge, as wide as an abyss, there was a vast round room, dominated by a giant orb of light, floating above an altar.

Ferry protected his eyes from the bright light that almost burnt him. He felt his heart almost jumping out of his chest. He's never seen anything like it. What was the marvel in front of him? He needed to study that orb closely; it almost seemed like calling him with its light.

He quickly crossed over the footbridge and then he went down the stairs at the base of it. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. It was a pretty long way to the center of that room. He waited to see if someone was coming. Luckily, there was nobody. So he could observe it in peace.

The chamber was enormous, the biggest Ferry has ever seen. There was no window delved into the walls of solid bark. Somewhere from above, the moonlight fell like a spear right in the center of the altar, melting inside the orb of light. The altar was surrounded by nine statues, as tall as temples, portraying majestic beings, four men and five women; their hair was falling to the ground and jewelry adorned their wrists and foreheads. Each being was holding a symbol against their chest. They were formed of solid gold circles, semicircles, crosses, and arrows; their meaning Ferry could not understand. He was surprised that the statues, although built of wood, just like almost everything in the Palace, were actually bright in color and crafted with the greatest mastery. Their faces were serene and kind, unlike the inhabitants of the Palace, frowned and preoccupied with secrets and schemes.

Yet, the orb of light was the one to dominate the room. It was colossal, the size of a gigantic carousel he's once seen in a film. He couldn't come too close, so blinding was the light. He could just watch, protected by one of the statues. And he was dazed to see that, inside the sphere, something was happening. He could see images as if watching the TV in his parents' living room. But the images were dim and turbid, flowing without a meaning. They all showed humans--men, women, and children. Smiles, laughter, tears, joy or sorrow, there were pieces of their everyday lives; scenes from people's past and present. There were even battle scenes with strong, brave men throwing spears towards their enemies. But there were also kind and peaceful ones, with children playing, a shepherd watching over his sheep, a young mother rocking her baby to sleep. Ferry recognized her face. It was Matilda's mother. And the baby must have been Matilda herself. But the scenes were moving so fast, he didn't have the time, nor the cleverness to see their meaning.