1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Hi. Welcome to Fiction Revised, a short story podcast where 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:08,119 each episode is a short story, rewritten, reimagined, and reshaped 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:12,560 into a different genre, which is chosen at random the sweek, 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:17,280 our short story is coming back. It's actually the second 5 00:00:17,679 --> 00:00:22,760 version of this story. The first version was a horror genre. 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,399 This one is. It's going to be revised into a 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:34,119 fairy tale genre. By the time Arcole the Wizard reached 8 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,799 the clearing, the sun was already sliding down behind the 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,159 back of the pine, staining the sky and royal purples 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,079 and burnt gold. The giant tree stood at the center 11 00:00:45,119 --> 00:00:48,719 of the glade, huge and hollow, its trunk split and 12 00:00:48,799 --> 00:00:53,920 blackened in long crooked lines. Wind crept through the tall grass, 13 00:00:54,039 --> 00:00:57,039 carrying a faint smell of old ash and wet earth. 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,719 The bark of the tree which charged in places and silver, gray, 15 00:01:01,759 --> 00:01:05,359 and others magical scars of the last story oar Cole 16 00:01:05,439 --> 00:01:08,680 had from this place he used to call home. High above, 17 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,719 some branches had grown new leaves, while others stuck out, 18 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,079 bare and broken. It did not look alive. It did 19 00:01:17,079 --> 00:01:19,719 not look dead either. It looked like something that had 20 00:01:19,719 --> 00:01:24,400 survived by accident. Ar Cole adjusted the strap of his satchel. 21 00:01:24,879 --> 00:01:28,159 It was nearly empty. If everything went how he had hoped, 22 00:01:28,519 --> 00:01:32,519 a foolish expectation, mind you, he knew it would be full. 23 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,519 When he walked back the way he'd come. Inside this tree, 24 00:01:36,879 --> 00:01:40,319 behind an oak panel he had once carved and blessed himself, 25 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,319 he had hidden the Book of Restoring, thick and heavy 26 00:01:44,519 --> 00:01:48,359 and stubborn. The book held spells for knitting bone and 27 00:01:48,519 --> 00:01:51,640 binding life back to the edge of the body, for 28 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,359 calling warmth into cold limbs, for coaxing a spirit to 29 00:01:55,439 --> 00:01:59,439 return to a forgotten life. Our coal had been fairly 30 00:01:59,439 --> 00:02:03,599 successful at keeping his village safe, rebuilding what life he 31 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,719 could after the battle that had taken more from him 32 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,840 than just his home. Then the girl in the village 33 00:02:09,879 --> 00:02:14,000 started to fade, the baker's daughter, Lena, who used to 34 00:02:14,039 --> 00:02:18,000 sneak him sugared rolls and ask about the constellations. She 35 00:02:18,199 --> 00:02:20,719 lay on a bed by the fire, now, her skin 36 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,800 too cold and too hot at the same time, her 37 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,199 breath shallow and small. He had tried herbal remedies, potions 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,599 and books that would work for an hour or maybe 39 00:02:30,599 --> 00:02:34,560 a day, but it never lasted. She was fading, and 40 00:02:34,759 --> 00:02:37,879 Arcle knew he had to try something, And so here 41 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,759 he was standing before the hollow tree that remembered every 42 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,879 mistake he let out of breath he hadn't realized he 43 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,520 was holding the irir tasted of damp bark and the faint, 44 00:02:48,599 --> 00:02:53,240 bitter tang of burned magic. Goenn. He told himself, find 45 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:58,800 the book, go home, simple, But most stories are never 46 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,919 that simple. He remembered that once there had been a 47 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,319 perfectly curved door set into the trunk of his beautiful home. 48 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,319 That he had painstakingly decorated. This door with stars and swirls. 49 00:03:12,599 --> 00:03:15,639 It had a brass handle, polished by years of visitors. 50 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,560 Now that door hung from its hinges, cracked and worthless. 51 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,039 He paused at the threshold for a heartbeat. He saw 52 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,639 the tree as it had been when Lanterns hung along 53 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:33,080 the inner walls like tame fireflies, and the shelves curled 54 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,560 around the spiral of the trunk, heavy with books. A 55 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,520 long wooden table stood in the middle, scored with knife 56 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:45,400 marks and inkstrokes. Maren Arkell's apprentice was sitting at the 57 00:03:45,439 --> 00:03:48,439 table with a pen in her hand, tongue caught between 58 00:03:48,479 --> 00:03:53,360 her teeth, studying. Then the wind shifted and the vision 59 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,000 peeled away like smoke, leaving the real hollow before him, 60 00:03:57,159 --> 00:04:03,120 dark and broken and quiet. Stepped inside, the silence folded 61 00:04:03,159 --> 00:04:07,080 over him at once. The charred walls soaked themselves with 62 00:04:07,159 --> 00:04:09,840 the sound of the forest, till all that was left 63 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,280 was his breath and footsteps. The interior of the tree 64 00:04:14,759 --> 00:04:19,040 rose around him in a tall cylinder, wider at the base, 65 00:04:19,439 --> 00:04:22,759 narrowing slightly as it climbed. The inner bark was blackened 66 00:04:22,759 --> 00:04:26,920 in places, stripped bare in others, but the floor nearest 67 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,839 the entrance was mostly intact. His eyes traced the spiral 68 00:04:31,879 --> 00:04:35,240 of the old staircase, climbing along the inner curve of 69 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,600 the trunk, a ring of steps building into the wood, 70 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,480 with railings made from coast branches and vines. Some of 71 00:04:42,519 --> 00:04:46,879 the steps had cracked and fallen, leaving gaps. Others sagged, 72 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,399 but still clung, stubborn as the tree itself. Maren had 73 00:04:51,439 --> 00:04:54,920 loved those stairs. She'd race up them three at a time, 74 00:04:55,079 --> 00:04:59,319 hair flying, arms full of books, ignoring whatever warning. Arkle 75 00:04:59,439 --> 00:05:03,920 yelled to slow down. Don't look up, he told himself, 76 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,360 knowing exactly what his mind would drag forward if he did. 77 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,519 He looked up anyway, high above in the third level hollow, 78 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,800 where there had once kept the most delicate spell work. 79 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,800 A great wound had been torn in the side of 80 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:23,639 the trunk. Sunlight knifed through, turning ash into a dull shimmer. 81 00:05:24,079 --> 00:05:28,560 That was where the Stranger's magic burst through and changed everything. 82 00:05:29,399 --> 00:05:33,439 Arkell could still hear himself shouting protection spells, could still 83 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,199 see Marin in the corner of his eye while he 84 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,480 chanted on the ground floor, louder, louder, intil. The words 85 00:05:40,759 --> 00:05:44,639 were swallowed by the roar of living fire. He forced 86 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,360 his gaze down. The past would not give him the book. 87 00:05:48,879 --> 00:05:53,240 The present might the book. The Book of Restoring had 88 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,600 never been kept in the open. He had hidden it, 89 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,759 hidden it behind a panel on a side room, wrapped 90 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,720 in layers of wood and a spell and plain old secrecy. 91 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,839 No one had known about it but him and Maren. 92 00:06:06,319 --> 00:06:08,959 He tightened his jaw. There was a small door on 93 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,040 the ground floor to his right, half hanging from its hinges. 94 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,439 Once it had led to a little study alcove where 95 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,319 he did the work. He didn't want apprentices or of 96 00:06:18,399 --> 00:06:22,240 visitors to see. He stepped carefully over the burned boards 97 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:24,839 and pushed the door open. The rest of the way 98 00:06:25,399 --> 00:06:28,319 The room beyond was narrow and curved, following the line 99 00:06:28,319 --> 00:06:31,480 of the trunk. The side where the outside world pressed 100 00:06:31,519 --> 00:06:36,040 close was black and blistered. Their interior curve, where he'd 101 00:06:36,079 --> 00:06:39,319 carved the shells, was a mess of half melted wax, 102 00:06:39,439 --> 00:06:44,319 broken glass, and fallen scrolls. The ceiling sloped low, with 103 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,480 a small window that was now only a jacket hole 104 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,519 ar coal. Melt ran his fingers along the base of 105 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,839 the inner wall, searching for the notch he'd cut. The 106 00:06:54,959 --> 00:06:59,680 grain of the tree felt unfamiliar, wrong in places, grown over, 107 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,439 scorched his nails, scraped rough wood and cold ash, and 108 00:07:04,519 --> 00:07:08,199 nothing more. The panel should have been there, no bigger 109 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,480 than his hand. He could find it blind Once now 110 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,879 his fingers met a straight seam that was not his 111 00:07:15,639 --> 00:07:20,079 newer wood, different hands. He frowned and pressed harder. The 112 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,800 wood did not yield, no trick latch, no hollow echo. 113 00:07:24,319 --> 00:07:27,600 Someone had been here. He sat back on his heels, 114 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:31,680 heart ticking faster. If someone had found the panel and 115 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:33,759 taken the book, if he had went back to the 116 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,480 village with nothing but excuses, with empty hands and a 117 00:07:36,519 --> 00:07:38,680 story about how he had tried, He wasn't sure he 118 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,639 could lose another person that looked up to him. Of course, 119 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,600 it wouldn't be easy, he said. Standing He brushed ash 120 00:07:45,639 --> 00:07:48,040 from his hands and stepped back into the main hollow. 121 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,000 The tree creaked faintly, a sound like an old chest 122 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,519 shifting in its sleep. Somewhere above, something scraped, a light, 123 00:07:57,079 --> 00:08:01,480 irregular sound like bare feet on a board. Markole stilled. 124 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,399 The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. His 125 00:08:06,439 --> 00:08:10,040 first thought, ridiculous and hopeful, was that the sound was 126 00:08:10,079 --> 00:08:15,000 coming from Maron. His second, more reasonable thought was animals. 127 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,639 The forest claimed empty things quickly, birds, squirrels, mice, spirits. 128 00:08:21,279 --> 00:08:25,720 He looked up the spiral staircase. Halfway up, a scrap 129 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,560 of blue fabric fluttered from the railing, smoke stained but familiar. 130 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,519 He tasted the memory of shouting, the sharp, dry heat 131 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,960 on his face as fire licked the inner bark. Maren's 132 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:41,519 voice calling his name from somewhere he couldn't see. He 133 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,840 took a slow breath. Just find the book, he reminded himself. 134 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,080 He traced the curve of the trunk of his eyes, 135 00:08:49,159 --> 00:08:52,559 imagining where someone might hide something heavy and dangerous, not 136 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:57,360 too close to the ground, Somewhere cramped, tangled, somewhere no 137 00:08:57,399 --> 00:09:03,000 one went by accident up. Then the scraping sound came again, 138 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,879 lighter this time, and with it, very faintly, the ripple 139 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,279 of a small voice say, who's stomping around my study? 140 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,200 Arkle blinked, hello, he called up. The tiny head popped 141 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,840 over the edge of the nearest landing. It had a 142 00:09:19,919 --> 00:09:23,000 narrow face with a tangle of hair the color of 143 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,960 dried thistle, two huge eyes, and a smear of something 144 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,720 purple around the corner of the mouth. The rest of 145 00:09:30,759 --> 00:09:34,519 the body followed in a flip, with wings flapping, and 146 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,720 then the small figure was hovering just a few armspans 147 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:42,480 above Arkle's face and peering at him. You're enormous, the 148 00:09:42,519 --> 00:09:47,519 creature said, hello, Arkle said, carefully, I'm you're dusty. The 149 00:09:47,519 --> 00:09:52,240 creature said, bluntly and sad and very tall. Are you dangerous? Hip? 150 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,399 Another voice hissed from above. Don't accute strangers of dangerousness 151 00:09:56,399 --> 00:10:01,600 to their face. It's rude. Figure appeared on the landing, 152 00:10:02,039 --> 00:10:05,000 round cheeked, with a wreath of crooked twigs in their hair. 153 00:10:05,399 --> 00:10:08,200 Then a third, sharper faced one with a maple leaf 154 00:10:08,279 --> 00:10:12,360 raft around her like a dress. Oh, it's him. The 155 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,679 one in the dress, said me. Arkle echoed the wizard. 156 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,840 She said, from the painting in the hall, Arkle right, 157 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,279 the tree says your name in its sleep. Very annoying. Pip, 158 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,679 the first one, flew in a quick circle around Arkell's head, 159 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,200 inspecting him from all sides, their wings beating so fast 160 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:35,919 they were a blur. Do you have snacks? They asked Pip. 161 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,919 The third fairy said, through gritted teeth, we do not 162 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,720 ask giants for snacks before we know if they are 163 00:10:41,759 --> 00:10:45,120 going to curse us. Arkle stared, I'm not going to 164 00:10:45,159 --> 00:10:48,679 curse you. Good. She said, then, with the tone of 165 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:53,200 someone introducing a council, I am Thistle. This is Bramble, 166 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,720 and that one is Pip. He does not listen. Bramble 167 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,440 waved cheerfully, smearing a bit of berry onto the railing. 168 00:11:00,799 --> 00:11:05,759 Pip saluted upside down. Arkle bowed his head. I am Arkell, 169 00:11:06,039 --> 00:11:09,240 as you know, he said. I was once of this tree. 170 00:11:09,399 --> 00:11:12,759 Now I am of the village down the south road. 171 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,159 This will said, you left and then you came back. 172 00:11:17,519 --> 00:11:19,919 Don't usually come back, so that's a good thing. I'm 173 00:11:19,919 --> 00:11:22,480 sure the tree is happy about it. I came for 174 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:28,159 something Arkle said, a book. Pip's eyes widened. We have books, 175 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,159 sort of gesturing into the shelves of burned books under 176 00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:35,159 the staircase. The book I'm looking for is large, Arkle said, 177 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,039 carefully bound in bark leather, thicker than your whole body, 178 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,559 full of spells, and pages that cannot be torn or chewed. 179 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:47,759 This'll's nose wrinkled. We don't chew books. I didn't mean 180 00:11:47,799 --> 00:11:51,240 to imply you did. I do apologize, Arkle said. See. 181 00:11:51,279 --> 00:11:53,480 I hit it behind a panel on the ground floor. 182 00:11:53,759 --> 00:11:58,000 The panel is gone. I think someone moved it. All 183 00:11:58,039 --> 00:12:02,759 three fairies thought, tiny brows flwing. Bramble tapped his chin 184 00:12:02,879 --> 00:12:07,000 with a purple berry sing finger. We did move things, 185 00:12:07,639 --> 00:12:10,399 but there are quite a lot of us, and not 186 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,600 all of us are here right now, so maybe one 187 00:12:12,639 --> 00:12:16,399 of them moved it right after we moved into the tree. 188 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,639 It really was a mess, and we still do actually 189 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,360 have a lot to do. Bramble gestured around at all 190 00:12:23,399 --> 00:12:27,919 of this still half scorched hollow. We rescued what was useful, 191 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:32,039 Thistle said, and swept the rest into piles, many many piles. 192 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,159 One of the piles bit me, Pip said. It had 193 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,200 thorns and everything. There was a hedgehog, not a pile. 194 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,559 Thistle said, we've been over this our coal, pressed his 195 00:12:41,639 --> 00:12:45,360 finger to his forehead. Do you remember moving anything large 196 00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:49,600 and very flat? Yes, too big for your little hands alone. 197 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:55,240 Maybe you pushed it or dragged it. Bramble groaned, Wizard, 198 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:58,639 there were ever so many things, and this conversation is 199 00:12:58,919 --> 00:13:03,399 so long. Can we please discuss this over tea or something? 200 00:13:03,799 --> 00:13:09,200 In very hungry bramble Thistle groaned, that's no way to 201 00:13:09,279 --> 00:13:12,919 treat a guest who used to live here. What maybe 202 00:13:12,919 --> 00:13:17,200 tea is a good idea, Arcole the Wizard, Will you 203 00:13:17,399 --> 00:13:20,639 join us for tea? Arcole did not want to give 204 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:22,960 up his search for his book, but he did feel 205 00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:25,080 like he was on the right track, and he had 206 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,840 not eaten anything since dinner the night before, so a 207 00:13:27,879 --> 00:13:31,279 bit of tea did seem nice. Besides, Arkle thought, it's 208 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:36,080 probably my tea anyway, that sounds lovely. Yes, I would 209 00:13:36,159 --> 00:13:39,759 like to join you for tea, said Arcle. Arcole's mine 210 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,000 remembered the old layout of his home, ground floor with 211 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,919 the entrance and the large table, then the second level 212 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,759 with the workshop and the reading nook, then the third 213 00:13:48,879 --> 00:13:52,080 level with the little kitchen carved into the trunk where 214 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,799 Maren had learned to cook truffled apple tarts. Lead the way, 215 00:13:55,919 --> 00:14:00,440 said Arkle to the three fairies. The fairies exchanged looks 216 00:14:00,799 --> 00:14:05,600 a little triangle of opinion, duties and importance. Wonderful, said Thistle. 217 00:14:05,879 --> 00:14:09,000 Mind the stairs. Please follow, but carefully do not break anything. 218 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,360 We worked very hard to unbreak all of the broken. 219 00:14:13,879 --> 00:14:18,799 Thistle zipped upwards. Bramble followed. Trailing close behind was Pip. 220 00:14:19,279 --> 00:14:21,960 Pipped it a loop around Arkell's head, just to make 221 00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:24,600 sure he was coming, and then zipped a head as well. 222 00:14:25,639 --> 00:14:27,960 Arcle put his foot on the first stair and felt 223 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,639 it give a little under his weight. The tree creaked 224 00:14:30,919 --> 00:14:34,000 but did not crack. One step, then another, hand on 225 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,000 the railing. The last time he had run up these stairs, 226 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,639 the bark had been too hot to touch, and smoke 227 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:43,279 had seared his lungs. Now every board felt cold. He 228 00:14:43,399 --> 00:14:47,440 climbed slowly, listening to the fairies voices above him. Get 229 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,759 the cups, Pip, I got three. We have company. Pip. 230 00:14:50,879 --> 00:14:53,399 Three is not enough. I'll drink wine very fast and 231 00:14:53,519 --> 00:14:56,960 then we can share. No, get an extra cup, and 232 00:14:57,039 --> 00:14:59,000 don't forget to grab the bread, and do we have 233 00:14:59,039 --> 00:15:03,799 any fruit left? By the time Arcle reached the second landing, 234 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,000 his body ached from the memories. He stepped onto the 235 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:09,879 platform and looked into the kitchen. It was smaller than 236 00:15:09,919 --> 00:15:13,759 he remembered, the ceiling lower. A round window led in 237 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,919 a spotlight of dusty sun, painting the room in long shadows. 238 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,720 Strings of mushrooms hung to dry along one wall. A 239 00:15:21,799 --> 00:15:25,279 cluster of acorn cups and hollowed nutshells sat on a 240 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,320 little shelf. In the middle of the room, taking up 241 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,840 more space than anything else, stood a fairy sized table. 242 00:15:33,039 --> 00:15:35,159 It was about as high as his ankles and wide 243 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,320 enough for half a dozen fairies to sit around comfortably. 244 00:15:38,879 --> 00:15:42,559 A cloth covered it, a faded, surprisingly clean piece of 245 00:15:42,639 --> 00:15:44,799 linen that might once have been part of a curtain 246 00:15:44,919 --> 00:15:48,440 or a bed sheet, which draped carefully and tucked under 247 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,480 all around. A few berry stained spotted its surface. Eight 248 00:15:52,559 --> 00:15:56,879 little flat stones served as seats. Thistle hovered at one end, 249 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,120 arms folded Bramble arranged acorn cups on the cloth, and 250 00:16:01,279 --> 00:16:05,000 Pip carried a thimble sized pot with both hands, tongues 251 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:10,360 sticking out with concentration, and sloshed something steaming into each cup. Sit. 252 00:16:11,159 --> 00:16:14,000 Bramble said to Arkle, the chairs are too small, Sorry 253 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,080 about that, Just to sit on the floor. The floor, 254 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,480 it's very strong, and we swept it. Arcle folded himself 255 00:16:20,559 --> 00:16:23,679 down as best he could, crossing his legs. His knees 256 00:16:24,159 --> 00:16:27,600 still stuck up higher than the table. But Pip put 257 00:16:27,639 --> 00:16:30,240 an acorn cup on the cloth in front of Arcle, 258 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,879 full of something that smelled like mint and mushrooms and 259 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,039 a little bit of honey. We thought. Bramble said that 260 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,039 if you were going to talk about your problems, you 261 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,759 should do it properly with tea. Arcle stared down at 262 00:16:43,799 --> 00:16:47,000 the table. He was hungry, but quickly realized maybe tea 263 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,440 with fairies is not the most thrilling option. Still, the 264 00:16:50,519 --> 00:16:53,600 room was warm and the company was nice. Thank you, 265 00:16:53,919 --> 00:16:56,639 he said. He picked up the acorn cup between his 266 00:16:56,799 --> 00:17:02,159 thumb and forefinger and it nearly disappeared. Pip blew on 267 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,240 their tea until it slashed dangerously near the rim. So 268 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,000 they said, why are you sad again? What's wrong with you? Pip? 269 00:17:09,519 --> 00:17:12,559 This Will said, remember your manners. We talked about this. 270 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:16,559 Did we talk about this? Pit fast? I mean, I 271 00:17:16,559 --> 00:17:20,319 don't know. We tried to this Will muttered. Arcole looked 272 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,039 at the three of them. They were ridiculous, and they 273 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:26,759 were serious. They were mending a burned world one piece 274 00:17:26,799 --> 00:17:30,599 of moss and stolen cloth. At a time, when I 275 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,680 used to live here, I had an apprentice named Maren, 276 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,200 Arcole said. Maren. She was young, but super smart, and 277 00:17:38,319 --> 00:17:41,440 she was great at her studies. One day there was 278 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,559 another wizard that knocked on our door. He demanded I 279 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,000 teach him a spell that had been passed down to 280 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,920 me in words only the spell, if he was wrong, 281 00:17:50,039 --> 00:17:54,039 could hurt people. I refused to teach him. He got angry, 282 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,079 and I thought I could fix it by arguing I 283 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,799 could not. He cast a terrible spell, and the house 284 00:18:01,079 --> 00:18:04,759 turned into what it is now, and Maren, well, Maren 285 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,400 was lost with the house. The fairies grew very quiet. 286 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,200 Bramble rested his hands on the edge of the cloth. 287 00:18:13,799 --> 00:18:17,720 Pip sat down cross legged on their stone and picked 288 00:18:17,799 --> 00:18:21,680 at a loose thread. We did wonder how the tree 289 00:18:21,799 --> 00:18:24,519 ended up this way, said Thistle. I knew it wasn't 290 00:18:24,599 --> 00:18:29,039 just lightning or a simple accident. I came back because 291 00:18:29,079 --> 00:18:31,000 there was a girl in the village who will die 292 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,839 if I don't use the Book of Restoring, Arkle went on, 293 00:18:34,279 --> 00:18:37,279 and that book was hidden here. Well, then let's find 294 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,000 that book, declared Pip, as he slammed his fist on 295 00:18:40,079 --> 00:18:44,519 the table. When he did, he knocked over every single 296 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,400 cup of tea. Pip Thistle shouted, you've done it again. 297 00:18:48,519 --> 00:18:52,440 What a mess, tea everywhere? Quick, go get a fresh tablecloth. 298 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:57,160 Bramble put the kettle back on. Thistle began removing the tablecloth. 299 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,839 As she did. Arkell's eyes widen. That's it, Arkle said, 300 00:19:02,079 --> 00:19:05,200 that's my book. Your table is my book. Pip booked 301 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:07,880 from our cole to the table and back again. A 302 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:11,680 table is a book. No, a table is a table, 303 00:19:12,039 --> 00:19:14,799 and a book is a book. No, this time, a 304 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,599 table is a book, a very very important magical book. 305 00:19:18,759 --> 00:19:23,079 Arkle said, Oh, what wonderful luck. A magic book, and 306 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,160 we've been eating on it. This will snap. Oh no, 307 00:19:26,839 --> 00:19:30,839 Pip whispered, we have been eating on spells. That explains 308 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,799 the dreams where my toes turn into mushrooms. That was 309 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,759 just you eating mushrooms before bed. Bramble muttered. Our Cole 310 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,759 reached forward, fingers brushing the edge of the cloth. He hesitated, 311 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:47,839 May I our cole took hold of the cloth and 312 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,400 peeled it back underneath the Book of Restoring leg exactly 313 00:19:51,519 --> 00:19:56,519 as he remembered. Thick bark leather cover corners, once protected 314 00:19:56,599 --> 00:20:01,359 by metal that had now gone dull. Fairy size scratches 315 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,759 and stains mark the surface, now tiny crescents where cups 316 00:20:04,799 --> 00:20:08,440 had sat, a smear of berries, the faint outline of 317 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,680 a leaf that had rotted and vanished. Bramble clapped both 318 00:20:12,799 --> 00:20:17,240 hands over his mouth. Pip made a strangled noise. Thistle 319 00:20:17,519 --> 00:20:22,400 went a little pale. You know, it really does look 320 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,640 like a book, Pip whispered hoarsely. It was flat. Bramble said, 321 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,319 how are we supposed to know? Furniture and magic objects? 322 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:34,319 They look the same. Half the time Arcole let his 323 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,799 hand rest on the cover. The book felt cool and 324 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,440 stubborn and faintly alive. It always had. That had been 325 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,680 the trouble. I'm so sorry that I left you. I 326 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,680 should have saved you from the fire. Please forgive me. 327 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:56,599 Thistle uncrossed his arms, folding them tighter around himself. Instead, 328 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,759 we cannot eat on the floor though we're not animals. 329 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,559 I mean, we're small, but we're not animals. I know 330 00:21:03,799 --> 00:21:07,000 Arkle said, I won't leave you without a table. Pip 331 00:21:07,079 --> 00:21:10,240 looked up. You won't, no, he said, In fact, I 332 00:21:10,319 --> 00:21:13,720 think the best payment I could give you for using 333 00:21:13,799 --> 00:21:17,519 this book as your table is another table, and I 334 00:21:17,559 --> 00:21:22,039 can actually make it from the book. Three small foreheads wrinkled. 335 00:21:22,279 --> 00:21:26,519 That sounds complicated. Bramble said, that sounds dangerous. This will, said, 336 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,839 Pip said, will it have legs? I like legs on 337 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,839 a table. And then, more cautiously, you aren't going to 338 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,839 feed us to it, are you? No one is feeding 339 00:21:36,079 --> 00:21:39,960 anyone to anything, Arkle said, I mean using the spells 340 00:21:40,039 --> 00:21:42,880 inside it to mend a piece of the tree into 341 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,559 a new table for you, A proper table, made on purpose, 342 00:21:46,839 --> 00:21:50,880 not by accident. This will aide him. You can do that. 343 00:21:52,079 --> 00:21:54,200 I used to be able to do that. If the 344 00:21:54,279 --> 00:21:58,480 tree is willing, I can do that. The tree creaked 345 00:21:58,599 --> 00:22:02,680 softly all around them, like a very old creature shifting 346 00:22:02,799 --> 00:22:07,400 in its sleep. The fairies lessened heads tilted. Bramble nodded. 347 00:22:08,759 --> 00:22:12,359 It is tired of being broken the tree. It would 348 00:22:12,599 --> 00:22:16,079 like to be partly something else for a change, good, 349 00:22:16,319 --> 00:22:20,599 Arcle said, setting his hands on the book. Then we'll 350 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,079 make it a bargain I'll take the book of Restoring 351 00:22:23,319 --> 00:22:25,240 to save the girl in the village, and before I go, 352 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:27,960 I'll use it to build you a new table from 353 00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:31,599 the tree's own wood, one that fits you, one that 354 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,279 is only a table and not also a book that 355 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,240 complains if you spill tea on it. Pip lifted a hand. 356 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,319 It actually never complained when I spilt tea on it. Well, 357 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,680 that sounds perfect. This will said, on the condition that 358 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,480 once the girl is heared, you may bring the table 359 00:22:50,559 --> 00:22:54,359 book back to visit the tree. It misses you and 360 00:22:55,079 --> 00:23:00,480 you reading sitting under it. Arcole hesitated. He had not 361 00:23:00,599 --> 00:23:03,119 thought about what had come after the girl. He only 362 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,759 thought as far as her next breath. I don't know 363 00:23:05,799 --> 00:23:08,039 how often I'll be able to travel, he said. Honestly, 364 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:13,440 the village needs me. The tree needs you too. Pip said, 365 00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:17,960 you're right. I will come back when I can, and 366 00:23:18,039 --> 00:23:20,480 when I do, I'll bring the book and we can 367 00:23:20,599 --> 00:23:24,720 talk about better uses for it. Thistle looked at the 368 00:23:24,759 --> 00:23:30,559 other two fairies. They nodded, okay, we accept Bramble clapped. 369 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,200 Pip attempted to clap and nearly knocked over their second 370 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,839 cup of tea, then caught it at the last second 371 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,400 and beamed good. Pip said, now you can also help 372 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:46,440 with the upstairs thistle ground. Pip, what upstairs? Uncle asked. 373 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:51,759 Bramble's wings drooped. I don't really want to mention it. 374 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,640 Maybe ever, but if you're already going to do some spells. 375 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,440 There's a room on the top level. We do not 376 00:23:59,559 --> 00:24:02,519 go there. We do not like it. It leaks cold. 377 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,319 Sometimes it says things. Does it say bad things? Are colasked? 378 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:12,200 It says sad things. Bramble said, come back, come back, 379 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,640 over and over again. The tree. It tries to ignore it, 380 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,160 but it gets inside of the sap, inside of the bark. 381 00:24:21,759 --> 00:24:27,400 Sometimes it says names up there, your name and another name. 382 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,759 What other name are collasked? Maren? Maren is the other name. 383 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,759 After I build your table, he said, I will go 384 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,200 and see what is crying upstairs. They nodded all at once, 385 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,160 as if it had been their plan and not his. 386 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:48,519 Bramble pointed to a clear space on the floor. Make 387 00:24:48,559 --> 00:24:52,079 the table there. The tree says that spot doesn't hurt 388 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,559 too much. He opened the Book of Restoring with hands. 389 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,720 That shook a little, though he told himself it was 390 00:24:58,839 --> 00:25:01,079 just because it had been a long time. Since he 391 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,400 had held that weight. The pages rustled like dried leaves, 392 00:25:04,799 --> 00:25:08,319 then softened under his touch. The ink darkened as if 393 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,839 it was waking up. The spell is for shaping supportive 394 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,359 wood into a sturdy form, was three quarters of the 395 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,720 way through, written in his own cramped hand and Maren's larger, 396 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:24,240 careful letters. She had added a marginal note, don't forget 397 00:25:24,279 --> 00:25:27,720 to think the tree, it's doing all the work. Always 398 00:25:27,759 --> 00:25:32,599 the better wizard, He muttered, what'd you say? Pit passed nothing, 399 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,079 Markle replied. He read the spell out loud, softly, in 400 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,519 the language that trees listened to when they pretend they weren't. 401 00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:44,160 The floor hummed under his fingers. A circle of bark 402 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:48,559 at the spot bramble had indicated loosen, then flowed, rising 403 00:25:48,839 --> 00:25:52,559 in a slow, graceful twist. The fairies watched wide eyed 404 00:25:53,039 --> 00:25:56,880 as roots smothered and braided themselves into legs, as a 405 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,839 flat top uncurled like a leaf and settled into a 406 00:26:00,039 --> 00:26:04,039 perfect even surface. When he finished, there was a small 407 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,319 round table in the center of the kitchen, sized precisely 408 00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:11,599 for creatures who drank from acorn cups and argued shoulder 409 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,440 to shoulder the tree side a sound of deep relief. 410 00:26:16,599 --> 00:26:19,920 Bramble darted forward and patted the new table. It doesn't 411 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,440 wobble at all, pipped, hopped onto it and lay flat, 412 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,240 face pressed against the grain. Oh it's warm, they said, 413 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,920 and it smells like spells in a nice way, not 414 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:35,920 in an oop's way. Thistle flew once around it, inspecting 415 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,960 the legs and joints. It will do, she said, but 416 00:26:40,079 --> 00:26:43,640 there was satisfaction in her voice. Marcole closed the book, 417 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:46,960 wrapped it in the cloth they jeused, and tied it 418 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,119 with a twist of root the tree offered like a belt. Now, 419 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,200 he said, take me to the room you don't go into. 420 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,720 The fairies exchanged looks again, all of them unhappy with 421 00:26:58,839 --> 00:27:02,000 the idea, but he even more unhappy with the thought 422 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,680 of not doing it. We will fly as far as 423 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,680 the landing, Thistle said. Then we will wait. We do 424 00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:12,079 not go past the door. That is wise, Arkle said. 425 00:27:13,079 --> 00:27:16,000 They let him up the spiral staircase, past the old 426 00:27:16,079 --> 00:27:19,519 reading nook, where burned books still lay in sad drifts, 427 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,480 past the place where the wall had opened to the sky. 428 00:27:23,279 --> 00:27:26,160 The higher they went, the colder. It became not the 429 00:27:26,319 --> 00:27:29,880 chill of ordinary night, but a creeping inside out cold 430 00:27:30,279 --> 00:27:33,480 that slid up his arms and into his chest. Pips 431 00:27:33,519 --> 00:27:39,240 shivered and tucked themselves behind thistle brambles. Hands shook At 432 00:27:39,279 --> 00:27:42,759 the top, the stairs broadened into a small landing. A 433 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,920 single door stood there, half closed, its edges rimmed with 434 00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:50,359 a thin line of frost. Some when I tried to 435 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,319 hang a curtain across at once, a scrap of cloth 436 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,599 nailed into the bark. But the cloth was now stiff 437 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:02,599 and torn. We do not like this door, whispered it whispers, 438 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,240 Pip said, it also listens. This aladded, which is worse. 439 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,839 It's okay, Arcole said, I'll go alone, stay here. If 440 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:17,279 anything changes, fly down. If the tree starts screaming, we 441 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,680 are not waiting for you, this will said, That's fair, 442 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,920 Arcle replied. He reached for the door. His fingers stuck 443 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,240 to the handle for a moment, it was that cold. 444 00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:31,319 He pried them loose and pushed. The wood resisted, then 445 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,519 shifted as if it had grown around the frame. The 446 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:39,319 gap widened with a soft, complaining creak. Cold spilled out, 447 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:44,279 sharp and clean and wrong. The room beyond was not large. 448 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,319 It had once been the kitchen. Proper shelves carved into 449 00:28:48,359 --> 00:28:52,279 the inner curve of the wall hooks overhead. The remains 450 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,359 of our hearth hollowed into the outer bark. Now, the 451 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,599 shelves sagged under the weight of frost. The hearth was 452 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:03,119 choked with Ashscles hung from the rafters like teeth, though 453 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,400 he could see no source of water. In the forest corner, 454 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,599 where the trees wood was thickest, the bark bulged inward, 455 00:29:11,039 --> 00:29:14,880 knotted and stained. A pale light pulsed behind it, slow 456 00:29:15,079 --> 00:29:19,319 and uneven, as if it were breathing with difficulty. Arkle 457 00:29:19,559 --> 00:29:23,599 stepped inside. The door closed behind him with a soft thud. 458 00:29:24,279 --> 00:29:27,480 He heard the fairies small bodies flinch on the landing. 459 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,720 The room hummed low and sad. He approached the knot. 460 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,160 He knew what it was, even though it didn't make sense, Marin, 461 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,400 he said. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the light 462 00:29:41,519 --> 00:29:45,359 behind the bark quivered, the frost on the walls shivered. 463 00:29:46,039 --> 00:29:51,440 A whisper snaked through the woods. Then as silk Arcole. 464 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,640 He pressed his palm on to the knot. The cold 465 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:01,559 bit to the bone, and here he said, sorry, I'm late, 466 00:30:02,279 --> 00:30:06,119 but I'm here. There was a pause that seemed to 467 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:10,839 stretch for years. You came back, the voice breathed. It 468 00:30:11,039 --> 00:30:16,359 was Maren and not Maren, layered with something deeper, older, 469 00:30:17,079 --> 00:30:20,359 the echo of the spell that had snapped and trapped 470 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,079 everything it could catch. I should have never left, he said. 471 00:30:24,759 --> 00:30:27,680 The words lodged in his thoat, but he shoved them through. 472 00:30:27,839 --> 00:30:31,279 I was afraid of the tree, of the magic, of 473 00:30:31,359 --> 00:30:34,640 the wizard, of seeing what I did. You didn't set 474 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:39,960 the fire, she whispered. I also didn't stop it. He 475 00:30:40,039 --> 00:30:43,640 shouted my name, and I argued with the stranger instead 476 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,880 of focusing on pulling you out. You died in a 477 00:30:47,039 --> 00:30:50,119 house that was half a tree and half my pride, 478 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:54,960 and all my fault. The light fluttered faster and steady, 479 00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:00,160 the cold dug and harder, like accusation or grief. Oh 480 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,680 your fault, she said that spell. It was hungry, and 481 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:08,720 the tree was full. The world was Then I stepped 482 00:31:08,759 --> 00:31:11,160 in where I shouldn't have. I was trying to help, 483 00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:15,119 and I wasn't strong enough. You weren't supposed to help, 484 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:19,160 he said. It was my job to teach you, not 485 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:24,480 for you to help yourself. The silence settled between them, 486 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:30,599 both apologizing on top of each other, neither truly it 487 00:31:30,759 --> 00:31:35,799 fault outside the door, he heard a tiny sniffle that 488 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,839 could only be pipped. He let it pass without comment. 489 00:31:40,319 --> 00:31:43,720 How are you still here? He said? At last, you 490 00:31:43,839 --> 00:31:48,160 should have gone. Whatever comes next, How did you stay? 491 00:31:48,799 --> 00:31:51,759 You're stuck in bark or is this just a memory? 492 00:31:54,279 --> 00:31:56,839 I don't know how I'm here. The tree held on 493 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,400 to me. I'm tangled with these spells. Every time I 494 00:32:00,559 --> 00:32:05,519 reached for the light, I've tried, it's caught in some 495 00:32:05,799 --> 00:32:08,839 crane and it pulls me back. And then then the 496 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,519 fairies came. You could almost see it as she spoke, 497 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,160 three small lights investigating a burned out kitchen, some ancient 498 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,880 part of the tree, reaching for them for help. It 499 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,480 didn't know how to ask for The fairies are kind, 500 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,880 but they don't know how to help. They just knew 501 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,640 that the tree was hurting, and they patched it and 502 00:32:30,079 --> 00:32:33,240 soothed it, and they sing, and I just didn't want 503 00:32:33,279 --> 00:32:36,799 to scare them, so I made myself smaller and tried 504 00:32:36,839 --> 00:32:40,160 to be quieter. But the not the tree, it just 505 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,599 wouldn't let me go. The voice trembled. Frost crept out 506 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,119 from the knot under his hands, threading along the floor. 507 00:32:49,279 --> 00:32:52,400 I don't want to haunt this place, she whispered. I 508 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:54,480 don't want to be a voice and a wall that 509 00:32:54,599 --> 00:32:57,319 tells people to come back when I know they shouldn't. 510 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,319 I don't want the fairies to be scared of me. 511 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,599 He closed his eyes. Then let me untangle you, he said, 512 00:33:05,279 --> 00:33:10,079 Let me do at least that much right. You don't understand. 513 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,440 My body is gone. I don't have anywhere to go 514 00:33:13,599 --> 00:33:16,640 back to. I can't walk beside you to the village, 515 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,000 or carry the book, or burn porridge or make tarts. 516 00:33:21,319 --> 00:33:27,160 There's nothing left of me but this. Then I will 517 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,599 give you something new, he answered, something that belongs to 518 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,799 you now, Not to the fire, not to the spell. 519 00:33:34,359 --> 00:33:37,759 He opened the Book of Restoring again, fingers numb but 520 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,920 moving near the back. Was a spell he had never 521 00:33:41,119 --> 00:33:44,039 used because it had always seemed more like a story 522 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,599 than a necessity, a way to lift a soul caught 523 00:33:47,759 --> 00:33:51,039 in one shape and ease it into another, made for 524 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:55,200 it slowly, safely. He had written it late at night, 525 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,039 when he and Maren had talked about what it might 526 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,599 be like to be a hawk, or a fire or 527 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,839 a tree. He had suggested that if she ever had 528 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,400 to be something else, she wanted to be something that 529 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,320 could still see the sky, something that didn't have to burrow. 530 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,760 He searched now, until his fingers landed on the lines 531 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,639 for a soul that must be carried from what was 532 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:23,079 broken into what can bear it better. He braced himself, 533 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,760 and then he read. The words were simple and hard, 534 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,840 all at once, the way good words are. As he spoke, 535 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,360 the tree shuddered, the knot throbbed under his hand. A 536 00:34:35,519 --> 00:34:39,320 crack ran through the bark, then another, splitting the bulge 537 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,719 like an over ripe nut. Lights spilled out. He was 538 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,159 cold at first, stinging his skin, then warm as it 539 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,920 flowed along the lines of the spell he's spoken. It 540 00:34:50,039 --> 00:34:53,719 gathered in the air before him in a trembling cloud. 541 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,599 The book told him what to do next, but he 542 00:34:56,639 --> 00:35:00,960 already knew. He cupt his hands. The light cooled there, 543 00:35:01,559 --> 00:35:06,840 sweeping into the palms like snow melting and sun shining. 544 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,840 At the same time. It was heavier than it looked. 545 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:14,639 He was familiar. His throat ached as the words came 546 00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:20,360 out of him like water. He repeated Maren's name over 547 00:35:21,199 --> 00:35:25,880 and over and over again, not out of fear, not 548 00:35:26,039 --> 00:35:30,800 out of apology, but as an invitation. The light answered, 549 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,559 curling into itself. A small shape formed in his hands, 550 00:35:36,079 --> 00:35:40,880 oval and smooth, warm and cool, all at once, glowing 551 00:35:41,079 --> 00:35:45,199 faintly from a thin It was not a stone, It 552 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,199 was not quite an egg. It was something between story 553 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:53,719 and seed. Behind him, the door cracked open a fraction, 554 00:35:54,440 --> 00:36:00,159 and three tiny faces peered in. Is it done? Is 555 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:05,519 the voice gone? In a way? Arkle said, this is 556 00:36:05,599 --> 00:36:08,239 everything of her that was caught in the wood. The 557 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,880 spells hold, the trees grip her stubbornness, all of it. 558 00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:14,840 It's more like a ghost and less like a body. 559 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:19,320 It needs time, time for what to become what it 560 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,480 wants to be, he said. He pressed a kiss to 561 00:36:22,599 --> 00:36:25,360 the show, without thinking about it at first, the way 562 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,360 his mother had once done to a bruised knee or 563 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,920 a frightened forehead. Then he held the egg shaped light 564 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:36,039 out towards the fairies. It should stay here, he said, 565 00:36:36,559 --> 00:36:39,840 voice steadying as the rightness of it settled in his bones. 566 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,559 This is where she was lost. This is where she 567 00:36:42,679 --> 00:36:46,519 can learn to be not lost. If you look after it, 568 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:50,840 this glowing thing, you will know when to sing to 569 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,679 it and when to leave it alone, when to wash 570 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,079 it and care for it. You will know when it's 571 00:36:58,159 --> 00:37:02,119 ready We are very good at taking care of things, 572 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:06,719 especially things that you have broken. Bramble said. This soul 573 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:13,119 frowned and concentration. Will will it hatch? I believe so, 574 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:17,840 Arkle said, not into a girl again that's gone, but 575 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,000 into something that can live a long time and see 576 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,159 the sky and sleep in the tree's arms instead of 577 00:37:24,199 --> 00:37:27,440 its walls like a bird. Will she be a bird? 578 00:37:27,559 --> 00:37:32,159 A proper magical bird with very good feathers. That is 579 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,119 probably what will happen, and it will suit her. She 580 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,280 always liked to be everywhere at once. This wile flew 581 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:42,719 forward and hovered before the egg, his small fingers resting 582 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:47,519 on its glowing surface. Careful and firm, very well, he said, 583 00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:51,159 as if accepting a great charge. We will keep her 584 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:54,280 safe until she decides what to be. We will make 585 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,039 sure the tree does not swallow her again. And if 586 00:37:57,119 --> 00:38:01,440 she hatches cranky, Bramble said, we will her anyway. That's 587 00:38:01,519 --> 00:38:05,840 what you do. Pip reached out, after a moment's hesitation, 588 00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:10,519 and patted the egg. Hello, Maren, they said, Please don't 589 00:38:10,559 --> 00:38:14,400 haunt the pantry anymore. The light inside the shell brightened 590 00:38:14,679 --> 00:38:17,880 just a little. Arcle could have sworn he heard a laugh. 591 00:38:18,199 --> 00:38:21,880 Very far away, and very surprised. He left the egg 592 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,960 with them in the new kitchen, on the new table, 593 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,639 wrapped in a small nest of moss and bark, the 594 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:32,920 tree pushed up for the purpose. It sat there, glowing softly, 595 00:38:33,519 --> 00:38:36,000 warming the room in a way that had nothing to 596 00:38:36,119 --> 00:38:39,639 do with fire. By the time he tightened the cloth 597 00:38:39,679 --> 00:38:42,480 around the Book of Restoring again and slung it under 598 00:38:42,519 --> 00:38:45,960 his arm, the knot upstairs was nothing but a smooth 599 00:38:46,039 --> 00:38:48,840 patch of bark. The room was still cold, but it 600 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:52,719 was the ordinary cold of high places and old stone, 601 00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:56,480 not the biting kind that whispered his name. He walked 602 00:38:56,559 --> 00:38:59,639 back down the spiral stairs, through the hollow heart of 603 00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:02,760 the tree that felt a little less hollow than before. 604 00:39:03,599 --> 00:39:07,159 At the threshold, he paused and looked back. This whole 605 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:11,000 Bramble and Pip covered near the doorway, a glow of 606 00:39:11,079 --> 00:39:15,119 the egg behind them, turning their wings into thin, bright leaves. 607 00:39:16,199 --> 00:39:19,280 You will come back, this will said. This was not 608 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:23,480 a question. When I can, he said. If the girl 609 00:39:23,559 --> 00:39:25,199 in the village lives, it will be because of what 610 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:28,000 we've done here today, because you give up your table, 611 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,599 because you asked me to help. Pip darted forward and 612 00:39:31,639 --> 00:39:35,159 shoved a small sticky object into his hand for you, 613 00:39:35,519 --> 00:39:38,480 they said, or in case your book gets hungry. On 614 00:39:38,559 --> 00:39:41,719 the way. He looked down. It was a dried berry, 615 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:45,199 shriveled and sweet smelling. Thank you, he said, and he 616 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:47,519 slipped it into a small fold of the cloth around 617 00:39:47,559 --> 00:39:50,239 the book, because a bit of fairy kindness is always 618 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,320 a good thing. He stepped out into the clearing. The 619 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,519 sky was darker now, the first stars pricking through the blue. 620 00:39:58,039 --> 00:40:02,039 The air tasted different, less like an old argument, more 621 00:40:02,159 --> 00:40:06,039 like a conversation that hadn't finished yet. The path back 622 00:40:06,119 --> 00:40:08,760 to the village was long. His shoulders ached with the 623 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:11,360 weight of the book, his heart ached with the weight 624 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:14,239 of other things. But there was something else under the ache. 625 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:18,559 Now it felt dangerously like hope. When he came to 626 00:40:18,679 --> 00:40:21,679 Lena's door, the house was quiet except for the low 627 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:25,039 murmur of her mother's voice and the crackle of the fire. 628 00:40:25,639 --> 00:40:28,559 He laid the book on the table, a very ordinary table, 629 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:32,360 he thought of the one upstairs, built from trees and 630 00:40:32,559 --> 00:40:36,519 spells and apologies. He opened the Book of Restoring and 631 00:40:36,599 --> 00:40:40,559 began to work. Weeks later, when Lena was running down 632 00:40:40,599 --> 00:40:43,800 the lane again, with flower on her apron and color 633 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,039 in her cheeks. The villagers still looked at Arcle with 634 00:40:47,199 --> 00:40:50,480 the caution people give the things that might be miracles, 635 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:53,639 or it might be disasters, and might be both at once. 636 00:40:54,199 --> 00:40:56,519 But there was space now in some of those looks, 637 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:00,239 and something softer. And sometimes when the wind blew from 638 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:02,920 the north, it carried with it the faint sound of 639 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,400 wings and laughter, and the sense of a bright eyed 640 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,079 bird watching him from far away, a bird that knew 641 00:41:10,119 --> 00:41:12,960 his name and did not say it like an accusation. 642 00:41:14,079 --> 00:41:16,880 They say in the years have followed that a long 643 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:20,960 lived bird with feathers like dawn light, nested always near 644 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,800 the top of the hollow tree, scolding thistle when she 645 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,000 was too sharp, helping bramble arrange moss carpets, and teaching 646 00:41:29,119 --> 00:41:33,079 pip songs that made the leaves shiver with joy. When 647 00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:36,280 Arcole was able to visit, she would swoop down and 648 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:41,039 land on his shoulder, light as forgiveness, and in the 649 00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:48,159 end the tree was happy. Hey, thank you so much 650 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:52,920 for listening. Let's see what I'm ready next. So next 651 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:58,199 week will be another rewrite of the story rest up, 652 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:03,239 which was episode Previously it was a romance, but this 653 00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:07,800 time it's gotta be science fiction. So I don't know 654 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:11,400 how I'm gonna turn a story about two people moving 655 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:15,119 into each with each other into some kind of science 656 00:42:15,199 --> 00:42:21,400 fiction story, but we'll give it a go. Next week, 657 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,519 the story changes. Thanks for listening.