The Pearl Fox

The Lost Village

He gazed at the sturdy black bricked houses, with their pointed rooftops, crooked chimneys, narrow windows, and thin jagged old streets weaving between them. Moonset and moonrise always gives an eerie silnce to a small town but this was full of forest noise of creatures in the long grass. The new girl was called Flora Radish.

"Vandox? What's it like in Westville 12?" she asked. The girl sometimes acted daft. She sometimes talked about herself in the third person, often using past tense when talking about the now, and vice versa. She used present tense when referring to events from back then in the past. Or she spoke of the here and now, like it was yet to be.

"We're already here," Vandox replied with an irritated huff. "This is Westville 12."

Flora deliberated an expression of deep thinking. It can't be that hard to understand, Vandox thought. She was the most unlikeliest person that Vandox ever expected to see joining the Night Patrol. He worked alongside girls in the patrol many time before, some were shy, some were more clumsy and others enthusiastic but none as silly as Flora was.

"You're restoring the calm, on the fifth day of rioting," she said.

"The riots were last year," he reminded her.

"I know but the riots will soon stop."

"It stopped a year ago. It's not as if I like it sometimes because the poor were refused charity by the wizards. They'd lost their harvest during a cold spell with ice. Freak weather killed their crops. I understand their feelings of anger when the capital refused to send food wagons."

She looked at him with concern. "Will the people get charity from the wizards?"

"I think you meant to have asked if they got charity after that? Yes. A priest of the Blue Path kindly volunteersed to feed them."

"I'm so pleased they're going to get fed!" Flora squealed and her sparkly green eyes lit up.  "Perhaps they'll get their better harvest next year?"

Vandox shook his head and turned away. It was as much as he could take, being with a girl who was the worst conversationalist he'd ever met. They both patrolled the dark village. Stone lanterns with scented candles inside them illuminated the narrow streets.

"Please tell me you'll quieten the restless people of Westville 12."

Vandox sighed. "Flora, don't forget. Last year." He slightly raised his voice to emphasise that it was in the past. "Colleagues and I with police had to calm the riots down. How old are you?"

"I will be fifteen last Autumn," she replied with a grin. Vandox considered asking for another patrol partner as Flora was doing his head in. She made absolutely no bit of sense whenever she talked to him and it was on purpose. He also considered her too unfit as a Night Patroller because she brought along her stuffed toy with her. Sometimes she carried it during her rounds. It was some kind of rag doll with buttons for eyes, a red crotcheted mouth, brown tassles for hair and a flowery dress. As usual, Flora pulled the doll out of her jacket pocket and then sang to it.

"You must put away that doll!" He noticed her frown at him and this changed quickly into a mischievious smile. He wondered what the heck that was all about.

"It helps me think," she told him.

"Thats it. I've had quite enough. Flora, I'm relieving you tonight on this patrol. Go back to the station, clock out, then go home."

She put the doll away and then spoke. "I only wanted some fun. Anyway, I have to bring the doll with me because it comforts me when I get period pains."

Vandox looked away from her, and wasn't in the mood for Flora's childishness. Flora apologised and laughed straight afterwards. Besides her mad ways, she was a tall and strong girl of fourteen, with green eyes and flamingo pink hair. Like nearly all of the Night Patrollers, she had special psychic gifts. A night patroller is supposed to be always on guard watch during curfew house. Vandox missed his former patrol partners including most of all Imogin, Mir and Freg.