The Pearl Fox

Escape from Tree Hollow

The great Purple Forest was dense, dark, cold and full of food. There were animals worthy to eat, including mice. There was fruit that grew in abundance, berries full of juice. He ate a lot of it, edible mushrooms and roots, wild plants and sugary sap from large leaves after rainfall. Over the weeks, Hanzak made himself a crude shelter, built with enough space to sleep under. The nearby redwoods protected him from the elements. He wanted to stay there during the Winter and continue on towards the Green Snake river. He planned to follow the river all the way to the capital Luniapolis. He felt as though he was being followed, but when he turned around, there was no one there.

He rode Black Light across the hard snow and on the trees were tiny green buds to show that Spring was approaching. He came across a ruin, now a part of the forest. He soon came to a silver birch tree with a poster nailed to the trunk. It showed a poitrait of a man's face, and it looked a lot like him. The poster had words printed on that said:

WANTED. A BOUNTY of 700 g.R (green Rolls) to whoever finds this criminal. HANZAK DEERLOCK. Dangerous. Robbed  a shrine. He is blonde and rides a stolen black horse. 

"Oh fuck!" He quickly tore the poster off the tree and ripped it into shreds. The bits of paper drifted in spirals with the small breeze. He returned to Black Light and rode further on through the forest. He felt peeved when he discovered another poster about him, the exact copy of the one he tore up. Again, he tore it off the tree and ripped it. Sometimes he felt as if someone was behind him, but he could only see birds and animals.

He travelled for many miles for days. He came across up to as many as five posters on trees every day, and he still felt as if he were being followed. "He goes there?" he called out. Birds flapped. Being a wanted man only added to his paranoia. The Purple Forest was said to be the most haunted forest in Diaphry. Animals made creepy noises at night, where he slept under trees and in the bushes, always waking up wet. Glowing eyes peered through the darkness, while brave Black Light had become his one true friend. He took Black Light from the burning village or it would've died there. Soon they should come to the river. He settled down for the night and built a small fire for warmth. Twigs snapped. He was startled and caught sight of a shadow between the trees. "Who's that?" he asked. Someone or something was there. He used the faint light to see and now, emerging into view, a tiny blue figure moved, walking on two legs. Dressed in leaves, a very small humanlike creature, the size of a cat, stepped closer towards the fire. Hanzak rubbed his eyes and thought he might be dreaming. The small person stopped a mere two feet close to the fire.

"What, in the intestines, are you?" he asked. The small being had large amber eyes that changed to a blue colour, then turned back into amber if it moved. What came from the creature's mouth was a squeak.

"What did you say?" Hanzak asked. Black Light snorted, but then the blue raised up its small hands together, cupped full of dried beans. Hanzak understood when it spoke: "For the horse." He gently took the beans and fed them to Black Light.

"My name is Biankra," it said, with a light airy voice like a whistle through narrow channels. Hanzak could see that the tiny humanoid being was not afraid of him. He told Biankra his name. "Hanzak, you're a robber!"

"That's quite rude of you to say so, tiny person. Don't believe everything you read on posters. Now please go away!"

"I'm a bit of stuff from the shrine," it said.

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You put me in your pocket. I'm from the shrine. You stole me from it," Biankra said in that highly pitched voice.

Hanzak thought about the jewels that melted like butter. He thought of the silvery hedgehog that turned into a paper foil. Then he remembered another object he didn't find, which he'd forgotten about. The blue sapphire fish. As if to read his mind, Bianka smiled and said "Yes, Hanzak it was me that was that fish."

Black Light layed down suddenly tired and entered sleep. Hanzak wondered about those beans, and he wondered how that stone fish became this animated sprite. Bats swooped. Owls hooted.

"I want to turn you in. I will hand you to the authorities," Biankra said.

Hanzak imagined this tiny person doing that and he laughed so loud that it upset the nocturnal animals close by in the trees. Then he couldn't stop laughing about it and Biankra just looked at him in silence. He soon was overcome by tiredness. Hanzak woke the following morning, and Biankra was there, but not looking at all as it appeared during the night. It no more looked like a blue doll. Biankra resembled a small girl child of seven, dressed in a patchwork suit of greens and browns. On her feet were little green boots that appeared to be made of leaves, cleverly sewn up together. Her hair was a matted shade of golden, brown and red. When she spoke, her voice was a normal child's voice. "I made you breakfast of boiled pheasant egg," she told him. Hanzak couldn't stop staring at her in shock. He woke up, although he wondered if this must be a dream still.

"You've changed!" he said. "How did you make yourself do that?" The smell of the eggs took his questioning mind off things because he was hungry and the eggs smelled wonderful. Biankra handed him two hard boiled shelless eggs on a wooden plate. They felt very hot. Biankra had a small black kettle hung over the fire that she'd made, to boil water for tea that she prepared. She filled the tea in a small wooden cup, and gave that to him. He ate both eggs and the tea tasted lemony. It was delicious. He couldn't remember the last time he ate a proper meal like that.

"What are you, Biankra?" he had to know. She looked human, although somewhat feral and a child. But there was something extremely wise and ancient about her that he didn't know.

"I used to be a sapphire fish" was all that she said. She tidied the pot, kettle, spoon, knife, skewer and cups. He wondered where she found the kitchen utensils from. He wanted to ask her so many questions. Often, Biankra wouldn't answer or she said repeatedly that she was from the shrine. No more was given, and he was not any wiser. Biankra managed to slide up Black Light and sit comfortably in the saddle as if she owned that horse. She didn't behave like a normal child, and at times, she wasn't always like a human. Hanzak wasn't going to let this tiny girl dominate the situation, and nor let her grass on him to the authorities. He got onto Black Light and put Biankra on his lap. She became quiet, more or less. Hanzak was determined to continue his journey to the Green Snake River.