Chapter six, the underground River. Hold on tight, said Queen Mave,
trying not to sound afraid. As the bottle started to spin in tighter and
tighter circles towards the center of the whirlpool, Zararah could see the water disappearing
down a hole into the underground river. No need to worry anyone, King
Dagda said, I have seen a me tube video of a man in a
barrel going over the Niagara Falls, which is the largest water fall in America,
and he was absolutely fine. Zararah had watched the video with him.
He failed to mention that the poor man was covered in sick when they got
him out. My ears, my ears, Laura bold, they're going to
explode. Queen Mave reached back and shoved a bit of tree gum in her
mouth. The noise stopped as suddenly as it had started short at her last
circle, and Zarara held her breath. Shork plunged nose first down the hole
into the darkness. Laura screamed with excitement. The bottle dived down, down,
down, past an otter and an evil looking elf. Then it started
to rise and pop to the surface. Oh, like a dolphin, Laura
squealed, all Zarara could see was the emergency exit sign painted by Gracious with
luminous paint on the escape hatch. King Dagda opened the hatch, turning the
submarine into a kayak. Sweet, he said, sounding pleased with himself.
He pulled out the hazel rod oars and handed them out. They all started
rowing. It was dark and very quiet. Zararah her jenny cuff. A
tiny bit of sandwich flew past her ear. The time it took for the
cuff to echo back made her think that the tunnel they were traveling in was
gigantic. From studying the map, King Dagda said, we are crossing the
large underground lake. The river should go above ground quite soon. Sararah had
been eating extra carrots. She could make out a row of scared looking eyes.
Keep rowing, fairies, It will help us along, said King Dagda.
Behind them, she could hear the low cackling of evil elves. Luckily
elves are really bad swimmers, thought Zarara. The tunnel smelt fish. She
rode as hard as she could. A dim disk of light appeared in the
distance. Zararah glanced back at the lake and could see the yellow, glowing
eyes of an enormous otter getting closer and closer. Just then the river popped
out of the tunnel and split into lots of little streams that rushed and splashed
towards the sea. Shork sped off at top speed down the rapids towards the
castle and away from the disappointed otter. The sun was setting over Kinvara bay
Zarara squealed, I can see dun Goura Castle. They rode frantically down the
rapids to avoid the rocks. Heave Ho, shouted King Dagda, and then
between strokes he announced, undo your seatbelts, get all your belongings ready,
and when I say everyone out jump. They steered towards a flat rock and
King Dagda leapt out with the mooring rope. Every one else