Verne smiled, stood and opened the door he had magically appeared through. There was no portal back to his world, only the bare wall. Verne walked towards the wall, beckoning Shane to follow. From his pouch the leprechaun took a small amount of sand-like powder and threw it against the wall. Instantly a tunnel of light burst open and the wall vanished into a swirling mass of stars and colours.
“Follow me,” said Verne, skipping into the vortex, his body disappearing before Shane’s eyes. “Just walk into it. It won’t hurt, I promise. It’s like riding a mini roller-coaster.” Although Verne’s body was gone, his voice was still strong and could be heard from wherever he had gone.
“But, I don’t like roller-coasters,” stammered Shane, while taking a few steps towards the open door.
“Count to three, then, jump forward,” came the bodiless voice from beyond.
“I… I can’t.”
Without warning Verne’s green cloaked arm grabbed Shane’s jumper and pulled him through. Too stunned to shout or scream, Shane clenched his eyes tightly closed. It felt like his tummy was doing somersaults.
“Why are you standing like that?” Verne asked, looking at Shane’s rigid body.
Opening his eyes, Shane was greeted by green skies, purple grass and many odd coloured birds and plants. The rolling hills were not green as they should be, but, pink and orange. It was a world similar to his own back home. In fact, if it were blessed with the same colours it could be exactly the same.
“It’s err….. It’s lovely,” commented Shane, politely.
“It’s awful, absolutely disgusting,” Verne snapped. “With our crocks of gold missing we can’t keep everything as it should be. The thief has stopped us doing our jobs and our world is turning upside down. We have to make it stop before it continues into your world too. Imagine if the colour of the traffic lights changed. It could cause so many accidents.”
“Who do you think has stolen it all?” asked Shane.
“There is only one person we can think of. The Mixer!”
“The Mixer?”
“A being that is both man and fly. For hundreds of years he has threatened to steal our gold and bring terror to our small world. Until now, we have been able to fend off his attempts.”
“How do we find him?”
“Normally we would just use a crock of gold to cast a rainbow to where he is but now we have to use fairy dust - Not as precise, but it is the best we have.”
“So, why haven’t you gone there and got it off him already? Why do you need me?”
“The spell incantation needs to be said by a human child; you.” Finally, Verne had managed to explain what all this nonsense was about. “We can travel with you, but it is you that will say the spell and rescue the leprechaun world. Your Grandmother saved us seventy-five years ago from a raging ogre and her mother before her against a rebellious gnome. Naturally, you are the next in the family line.”
“Great grandma has been here before? Why has she never said?” Shane wondered out loud.
“It is hard to get adults to believe you about magical kingdoms. Adults don’t like to believe in anything they cannot see for themselves. I am sure if you talk to your great grandma about it when you get back she will enjoy telling you the tale of how brave and noble she was back then.”
Knowing how frail his great grandma was now it was hard for Shane to imagine her ever being a heroine to a community of knee-high Irish men.
“Will you help us to save our realm?”
“If both my grandmas could do it, so can I.”
With a fresh dusting of the fairy powder, a new flash of a gateway opened. Side by side they both walked through, this time Shane walked in with his eyes open, watching the pathway of ever changing colours rotate around him as they travelled.
All at once, the tunnel opened onto a crumbling grey cliff. Before them was a land without colour. Everything was made up of different shades of grey. The trees were grey, the sea and sand below were also grey. A miserable sight.
“Where are we?” Shane asked.
“In the kingdom of The Mixer. Needless to say he hates colour. That is why he had been trying to steal our gold and our rainbows. The Mixer will not be happy until he leaves our world as bleak as his. We have to make our way into the vault where he keeps the crocks under lock and key. Only when you are in the same room will the spell work.”
“Sounds simple enough!”
Edging across the cliff they tried not to fall onto the waiting rocks below. Past the cliff edge, they climbed up the steep hillside leading to The Mixer's dark and gloomy castle. Up close, the castle looked terrifying.
“The vault is kept in the basement of the castle,” said Verne, his voice, almost a whisper.
“Can’t you magic us in there or something?”
“The Mixer has a spell surrounding it that stops anyone or anything from sneaking into it. The only way in is through the front door.” Verne pointed upwards at the huge heavy wooden doors before them. Verne carefully pushed one of the doors. Very slowly it opened until Verne and Shane could just squeeze past. Inside, their footsteps echoed, the sounds bouncing off the brick walls.
“I can sense the gold,” smiled the Irishman as he veered off down a dark and winding staircase. “This way!” The walls were slick with slime. Spiders skittered into cracks in the walls as they approached. Shane had been expecting to be met by monsters and ghouls yet there was nothing to stop them from finding the gold.
“We’re getting closer.” Verne began walking faster, his walking stick tapping on the cold floor as he went. “It’s in there.” He pointed to a small door, almost invisible, lost within shadows. “Here!” Passing a small piece of folded paper to his companion, Verne explained the spell he would need to say as soon as they entered.
The door screeched open, the ghastly noise echoing down the hallways. As promised, a pile of pots, full of sparkling gold, glowed like the missing sunshine, from the centre of the room. Standing next to the pile, Shane unfolded the spell and began to read. Halfway through and all had been going well until the door burst open. Standing between the frame was the hideous figure of The Mixer. He had the head of a man and the arms and eyes of a fly.
“Keep reading, Shane, keep reading.” Shane could hear the terror in his companion's voice. “Quick he’s coming.”
“To save the land of leprechauns, I enchant these crocks to help me. To save the land of leprechauns. Use your gold to set us free.”
Just as The Mixer's black fly-arms were closing around Verne, a burst of blinding light erupted from the pots of gold. The Mixer screamed an unbearable howl of pain as rainbows bounced all around the walls leaving splashes of colour wherever they touched.
Ribbons of red, yellow and indigo whirled around Verne and Shane, transporting them back to the hillsides from where they began their journey. Already, groups of leprechaun men, women and children were at work splashing colour back to their world. Turning the hillsides and trees to luscious green and the sky to a heavenly blue. Soon, everything was returned to its former glory.
“Thank you, Shane, we couldn’t have done it without you.” Verne shook him by the hand and embraced him around his legs.
“What will happen to The Mixer? Will he come back?”
“In time. He will probably try again, but for now, he will be kept too busy sucking all the colour from his own kingdom to worry about ours.” The community of Irish magicians were laughing happily as they worked. “Now we have to get you home before your mum misses you.”
Reaching into one of the pots at his feet, Verne grabbed a handful of gold dust and threw it in an arc into the air. Gradually, the twinkling of gold turned into a beautiful rainbow reaching as far as the eye could see.
“Just sit on it and say where you want to go and it will take you. We will be forever grateful for your help.” Shaking hands again Shane took his place between the ribbons of green and blue. Bidding their final goodbyes, Shane whispered, home, and in a flash, he was off.
Seconds later, Shane was back in the attic at home. He couldn’t wait to tell his mum about where he had been and what he had seen. Rushing down the stairs he found mum in the kitchen, clearing up the dishes.
“Mum, Mum. I’ve just helped the leprechauns rescue their gold and saved their world from The Mixer.”
“Hmm? Oh, okay honey,” mum agreed. She probably thought that he had made up some game on his own.
“Look mum. I can prove it.”
Mum gasped in disbelief as Shane pulled a handful of gold dust from his pocket. How could she disagree with what her own eyes saw?
The end
Claire Atherton© 2009
Category: children's stories |
