Ffrith Le Firth
The Key and the Broken Wing
by
Jessabell Tales
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Jessabell Tales on Smashwords
Ffrith Le Firth:
The Key and the Broken Wing
Copyright © 2011 by Jessabell Tales
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
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Ffrith Le Firth:
The Key and the Broken Wing
“ This book is Dedicated to my Family and friends especially those who aren’t with me any more,”
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Prologue
In the grave yard, yet on a damp and murky day a wooden coffin lay on the ground. Many people had gathered around the coffin, dressed in black.
Tall, short, thin and fat these people looked like they had wings on their backs. As the minister began to say the last phrase all of the butterflies threw white roses onto the coffin.
“Can I stay behind?” The young women asked her parents. Both of them held her hands.
“We have to go, the minister will finish laying the flowers,” her mother cried.
“I want to say goodbye,” she tugged her parent’s hands.
“We have said goodbye to Uncle Cherrome. Come on lets go get some food,” her father mumbled.
“But!”
“But I will sort Uncle Chrome’s Coffin,” the minister shook her mother and fathers hand.
Later that day when the flowers had been laid across the coffin, two figures stood next to the coffin.
“Where is the key? I can’t find it,” Kimberley went on her knees and started to lift the flowers.
“I don’t know. Perhaps we have to price it open,” he laughed.
“No, I am not looking at the butterfly,” Kimberley shook the bits of flower that had stuck to her fingers.
“Shush, lets hide she’s coming back,” he said.
“Oh, no, It’s Jezzabell,” Kimberley held his hand and they hid behind the between the patch of clover and dandelion heads.
Jezzabell, the same young women who did not have the chance to say goodbye to her uncle sat down next to the coffin. She pulled her own white wings off her back, pulled out a long piece of white ribbon. She tied the left wing onto the ribbon and wound the ribbon around the coffin. She did the same thing for the other wing and then she tied the remaining piece of ribbon into a bow.
“Good bye Uncle Cherrome,” she cried. The wings began to flutter up and down, in and out and then, the coffin began to rise.
“She’s taking our key away from us,” Kimberley whispered.
“Watch, it is the old trick. The one where every butterfly has no more secrets. He must have kept it to himself.” Krome explained.
The Coffin lifted into the air and a cloud hovered towards the earth. Jezzabell watched the cloud cover the coffin.
The sky turned black and it began to thunder. Lightning struck the cloud that had gobbled up her uncle’s coffin. Something fell onto her hair and it landed into her hands.
“The key, it”, Krome was about to jump out of the Dandelions when Kimberley pulled him back.
“Wait,” she hissed.
The key that lay in Jezzabell’s hand started to shrink. Its golden colour faded into black and white.
“Where? Why did you eat the Poison Ivy, Uncle", Jezzabell spoke aloud. But the key would not answer her, it just carried on shrinking.
Krome could not wait any longer and he jumped out of the dandelions.
“Give me that key,” he demanded.
Jezzabell stood up; she clenched the small key in her right hand.
“This belongs to me, not you!” she snapped.
“Krome, leave her,” Kimberley walked towards them.
“I want the Ivy,” he stepped towards Jezzabell.
“Krome, Jezzabell stood back against the stone. “Why should I give it to you? You’re not related to him,” she spoke. Krome grabbed hold of her left arm and he forced her clenched fist open.
“No!” Kimberley squealed. The church bells began to ring. Krome put his hands over his ears; he pushed her to the ground. He Fluttered above her. Every second that Jezzabell looked up at him, he dived towards the small Key. Jezzabell ducked, she stood up. He dived towards her again and she ran in to the clover leafs. As she sat down, the patch of leafs started to cover her.
Krome blew heavily onto the ground above her. She was no longer covered with clover leafs. Jezzabell looked at the hand that held the key. The key that had shrunk in her hand left a black imprint of the key. She touched the key but it didn’t move.
“It knows me,” she said.
“You don’t know what you have done!” Kimberley shook her head in disappointment.
“What have I done? I had to send my Uncle away,” Jezzabell’s voice echoed around the yard.
Krome swooped down towards Jezzabell and Kimberley stood over her. His antlers touched Kimberley’s hair and she began to fly away from the yard.
“Come on!”
“She’s not worth it,” Kimberley flew around her. Krome flew around her several times. All of a sudden lightning struck the ground, which covered them in a bright light.
“Jezzabell, Jezzabell,” she woke up listening to the clouds rumble. She stood up and looked at her hand. There was no key, no mark or ridge on her hand that suggested she had a key in her hand. It seemed to have disappeared by itself.
“Time for home,” she grumbled at her watch and she wandered out of the yard.
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Chapter One
"That’s the tram to the
summit," Daniel watched the tram move along the tracks and into
the wooden shed. The tall, thin man dressed in black opened the
little blue door and he carefully placed a wooden raft on the tram
floor. He slowly unwound it across to the platform which
covered the gap between the tracks and the platform.
"All aboard," he said and the passengers stepped across the
ramp and sat down at the back of the tram. Most of the
passengers apart from Daniel, boarded the tram.
“When will you be moving up the mountain?” Daniel asked the conductor.
"In five minutes lad," the conductor Wandered away from the platform holding a lighter in his hand. "He's having a Cigarette," someone chuckled. Daniel looked up at the passengers who were starring at the station walls and of course him.
He looked at the two young boys. It looked like they were twins fighting with each other over a camera.
“Behave yourselves or the conductor will chuck us off,” their father said. Daniel looked at his watch
"Go on Lad. It will be moving when I finish this," the conductor tipped the ashes of the cigarette on top of the bin. He stepped on to the tram and sat down opposite a couple of woman at the front.
He began to lean his arm against the window ledge. There were no glass windows within the tram, so people could lean out and take photos of the journey up the mountain.
Minutes
later an old man stumbled onto the tram and sat down next to the
young lad with black hair. Daniel pulled his black rain coat over his
shoulders. His face looked red; almost that he had been in the
sun for too long. He rubbed his hands against his forehead. The old
man leaned across to look out of the open tram.
“Excuse me lad. Can I sit there? It is just that when the tram
moves I might fall off the seat", the old man said. The old man
stood up and hobbled towards the two women who sat opposite him.
Daniel slivered across the seat and the old man sat down.
"The married couple over there are in love with one another.
It’s like they are living in a fairytale. The nice weather helps us
to cheer up in the good and bad times. Look at the Sheep and the
lambs, they are enjoying the sunshine", the old man tried to
make conversation.
“Yes, it is a lovely
day, but I haven’t enjoyed it", Daniel spoke.
"Why?" the old man asked.
"I
have been in the sun for too long. It is hot down there, on the
beach. My friend should have been their but he had to help his dad
take his younger sister back home. She is only six and it is the
first year she's been away from her mother," Daniel
explained.
"Where is her mother?"
the old man asked him.
"She couldn't
get away from work. She had to stay over in York to get a bonus,"
Daniel answered.
"I take it Slinks
is meeting you in the cafe after he has left his sister with her
grandma," the old man whispered into Daniel' ear.
"Yes in the cafe at twelve," Daniel replied. He looked away
from the old man. He looked back at the woman and smiled. "How
do you know Slinks? He hasn't got a grandma. She’s going to live
with her uncle", Daniel mumbled.
"I
don’t know him. I passed him on the way home and his dad spoke to
me. I use to work with his father," the old man answered his
question.
"Why are you here are you
on holiday like me and Slinks? Perhaps you can come to our caravan
and see Slinks dad," Daniel asked too many questions.
The old man shook his head.
"Danger
“he paused for a moment. She has the key. The key lives inside her.
He paused. His eyes widened. “This mountain is safe from Krome but
something, I think he is coming. Not only for the Ivy but to unlock
the daisy chain that leads to strong powers. He held onto his walking
stick. “ I ask you not to go near him. He is vile and nasty,” The
old man warned him.
Daniel opened his
mouth "Who is Krome? Why are you telling me that I should
stay away from him? Why does she have the key? If he is a friend of
Slinks dad, then why is he vile?" Daniel could not understand
him. The old man shook his head and looked away.
"Sit
down!" the conductor shouted. Daniel sat back down, near the old
man. He pushed his coat between him and the old man.
"Where are your parents?" The old man asked him.
"No, I am" he gulped “old enough to go up the hill
without my parents. Slinks will be waiting for me," Daniel
protested.
The two women laughed.
The conductor that had let them on lifted the ramp up; he pulled it
toward the glove box and fastened the door shut with a chain.
“Please stay seated throughout the journey," he said and he
began to blow his whistle. The tram began to move toward the
daylight where many could see sheep on the distant hills.
"Someone’s running, mum the trams got to stop," yelled
one of the twin boys.
“The tram has to
move up the hill, he can't stop for one person. Anyway there is
nowhere for her to sit," his mother replied.
"But mum," he protested. The little boy got up and ran
towards the back of the tram,” his mother jumped up and ran after
him. Daniel jumped up and he quickly grabbed the boy with his two
hands and passed him over to his mother.
"Sit down, it’s dangerous to run here,” Daniel quietly spoke
to the boy. She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you,"
she said and she sat down on the back bench with toddler on her lap.
Daniel sat on opposite her. “She will be able to catch the next
tram in half an hour,” he sighed.
The
young woman who had missed the tram was about the same age as the
young lad who answered the old man’s questions. The
disappointed young woman started to Fiddle with a black strap that
lay over her left shoulder connected to a black bag. This hanged from
the blue coat which reflected her name onto the windows. The name
“Jezzabell,” written in black italics.
Jezzabell’s disappointed face immediately lit the room with her
dark blue eyes. She quickly ran behind a screen of moving pictures,
threw her coat onto the dusty floor and gently tapped her feet
against the silver platform.
"Oh,
never mind, I will just use the other way," she said.
The tall standing mirror that lay on the wall behind her began to
reflect the back of Jezzabell’s white Tee shirt. Behind her
shoulder blades formed a pair of wings covered in light blue ripples.
White pearls slowly creating an edging around the wings making her
glow like a fairy. Once the lower wings began to reveal their gems
her legs began to fade into a black body and her feet started to turn
into a butterfly’s tail and then, just as her hands were turning
into thin black legs a large shadow appeared onto the floor.
Jezzabell quickly stepped back into the wall, her right forewing
cracked like a broken glass bottle. Quickly she turned
back into her normal self. She could hear the footsteps come closer
to her and suddenly two black feet appeared next to her.
"Where do you work?” asked a tall woman in a dark brown suit.
She looked taller and rounder than Jezzabell, the small green eyes
and scratched nose made her look frightful and angry.
"I work in the gift shop. I started last week," said
Jezzabell and the woman’s frown turned into a smile. Her green eyes
rolled up and down and then she looked at her brown cobbled watch.
Jezzabell picked her coat up and slowly put her arms into the
sleeves.
"Jezzabell," the
woman read her name on the badge.
"Yes
I'm Jezzabell. Another thirty minutes and I will have to go home. The
golden rule of Work, if you are later than thirty minutes, then
there’s no point being there," she said. Kimberley thumbled
into her right pocket and she pulled out a set of keys which dangled
along a green oval key ring.
"My car
is in the drive over there, I live five minutes away from here, I can
drive you up to the top," the woman insisted.
"Thank you, Miss err"
"Kimberley" she said.
"You
own the White Hotel," Jezzabell said as she stepped on to the
grass.
"I am the manager there. It
was my first investment since I finished the scholarship,"
Kimberly held her hand. They looked left and then right and crossed
the road. Jezzabell let go of the firm hand that had gripped
tightly around her.
"Kimberley how did you own the other places. Mustn't you be in
debt," Jezzabell spoke.
"We
never have money. Humans invented money where as we butterflies help
one another," Kimberley replied. She opened the gate to let
Jezzabell in the car park. Kimberly closed the gate behind her.
There in front of them was the back of the three storey hotel. Next
to the closed gate Jezzabell stood onto the empty parking space.
"The one on the far right,"
Kimberley pointed to her silver land rover that sat between a red
Ford and a green fiesta.
"Do humans
come to the white Hotel?" Jezzabell walked towards the car.
"Yes, they pay money and we turn it
into nettles," Kimberley pointed the key ring to the Landrover
and the lights began to blink. Jezzabell gawped at the
scratches that lay along the land rovers wheels.
"I can sort them out for you," before Jezzabell could say
anything else, Kimberly said.
"They
are just designs for my taste. I like seeing silver scratches on my
wheels," Kimberley opened the passenger door.
“I have seen you with Aunt Chemichalas" Jezzabell spoke and
she stepped into the car.
"I know
Chemichalas; she helped me to run my own hotel. I will have to visit
her next week," Kimberly answered her as she watched the leafy
seat belt wrap itself around Jezzabell’s waist.
"Chemichalas talks about you. She loves the nettles
you gave her for her birthday" Jezzabell said.
Kimberley slammed the door shut. She wandered over to the driver’s
side. She got into the driving seat, put her seat belt on and turned
her keys in the ignition. As her feet moved over the accelerator she
took the handbrake off and they began to drive out of the entrance.