282. The Fifth Moonly Letter

The Leafies speak: "We are so into Heather and Beaurenard's story that we couldn't wait to know what would happen. We went to Predictit Pond,saw the future, and read the letter Heather will be writing Arley next May. We are publishing this letter here for you to read too. We'll tell you about Predictit Pond another day."

282. The Fifth Moonly Letter, written by Heather to her brother Arley under the inviting rosy moon, in which is revealed what became of the selfish Unchangedling and his irresistible brother.

Dear Arley,

It is easy to forget time here. As days go by, i t becomes harder and harder for me to leave in the mornings and all I can think about is returning at night. And I am drowsy by day and at last Thistle, though much concerned with her own business, noticed this.

She found her way to the spa one day, silently following me in the company of Quentin Treadfaster.

“What is the meaning of this?” she shouted at Beaurenard when she saw it was he I was meeting with.

“It’s exactly what it looks like, I think. It is, isn’t it, Heather?” he said, turning to me. “But whatever you say goes.”

“Are you as messed up as you’re said to be?” Thissy again shouted at Beau. “Because if you are, you’re not to mess with my sister.”

“I haven’t poisoned anyone, if that is what you think of me. Ask AEternus. Your grandfather knows I haven’t. He’s just pretending he’s pleased I have to tease the Demon Bride. He does dislike Alpin. And so do I. Much. That much is true.”

“Why are you hiding here then?”

“Everyone persecutes Beau,” I intervened. “He’s here to find some peace, to flee from those that chase him.”

“The only people I’ve seen him flee from are women at parties,” said Thistle. “Heathie, he’s known to have been in fourteen different places at the same time. What if he is with fourteen different girls right now?”

“Noooo!” protested Beau. “The very idea! I'm not like that! You yourself have said you´ve seen me fleeing from the girls. If I flee from them, I’m not with them, am I?”

“Maybe fleeing makes you more interesting to chase,” said Thistle, narrowing her eyes. “Love may be a form of madness, but why have you brought my sister here? You and your brother admittedly fed Alpin chocolate. What became of him after eating it?”

“I’ve never admitted anything of the kind. We tried… that is, Radley tried… to stop him from eating it. We did not feed Alpin anything. He’s a free agent, isn’t he?”

“You knew the more you would tell him not to, the more he would do it.”

Beau told Thistle his story in detail, and how he was hiding from the Demon Bride because she was blaming him for something he hadn’t done.

“I can’t blame you for wanting to be rid of Alpin,” said Thistle. “But don’t involve my sister in your problems. She comes and goes from this spa. And if the Demon Bride associates her with you, it will be Heathie who will be intercepted and pay the fiddler for this mess of yours. Aislene’s already sore at her for not having returned Alpn’s interest in her.”

“I would never allow anyone to harm Heather!” cried Beau.

“Aislene won’t hurt me,” I said.  “She didn’t want me for Alpin either, not any more than she did Betabel, and she wouldn’t hurt me. Because of Arley. She thinks so well of him. And because of Mum, who let her keep Alpin when he was a baby.”

“In any case,” said Thistle, “you needn’t come and go anymore, Heather. I already know you are here. You needn’t pretend you aren’t any longer. Quentin and I will be leaving now. But I have my eye on you, Flynn! You remember that! And feel free to feel  persecuted if you want to, because you will be, if anything bad happens to my sister. Where are you, Quentin? We´re leaving!”

Quentin was a little ways off. He had been studying what he could see of the spa.

“I kind of like this place,” he said timidly. “Couldn’t we stay for a while?”

“We’ll be back when I’m in a better mood,” said Thistle, and she led him off by the arm muttering, “I have to digest this first.”

And then, a few days later, we had a second visitor.

This was Betabel, who, unlike the Demon Bride, was not afraid to venture into the Spa of Light.

“I did not poison your husband,” said Beau, the second he laid eyes on her.

“I know that. And neither did your brother Radley. I don’t care if he exists or not. I know you have influence over the pookah. I’ve never been introduced to him myself. And I am scared to be. Will you speak to him for me and ask him to return Alpin to me? It’s been more than a month he’s been gone.”

“Are you sure you want him back?” said Beau. “You’re better off without him. You should be aware of that by now.”

Before I could ask Beau not to say such things, Betabel said, “You didn’t want him to steal your girlfriend. I understand that. I respect you for it.But  I don’t want the pookah to steal my husband. You ought to understand this too.”

That worked for Betabel. Well, sort of. Beau said he would speak to the pookah, and Betabel was to return the next day to see how the conversation had gone.

“When are you going to speak with Garth?” I asked Beau after Betabel had left.

“I don’t need to. I already have his answer.”

“Well, why are you making her wait for it?”

“I don’t know,” said Beau. “Just to hear Alpin named makes me feel unreasonable. If you don’t want her to take the trouble of returning, I can go give it to her now.”

“If you think it is best,” I said.

And Beau vanished.

When he returned, he told me he had spoken to Betabel and she had been very reasonable.

“I told her Garth agreed to return one of Aislene’s two sons. And since it would be cruel of him to make Aislene decide which, he would decide for her. He has returned  Darcy,  who has promised not to do anything against anyone because of all this fuss.”

It came as a surprise to me that Garth had been able to control No no Darcy. I could only think Darcy really didn’t want to help his brother. But I decided not to delve into that. After all, it was Betabel I was feeling concerned for.

“Betabel has accepted this arrangement?”

“Yes, indeed. Well, no. Not exactly. You see, I had to tell her that Garth had turned Alpin into an oyster. A large one. You need two hands to carry him.”

“And?”

“When Betabel heard this, she was quiet for a second. Then she asked meekly if she could see the oyster. Garth has nothing against Betabel. So I took her to see him. And the oyster  was in an aquarium Garth has.”

“Garth has an aquarium?” this surprised me.

Beau nodded.

“In his home.”

“The same home where he has the small, evil  orchard? Pomsylvania?”

Beau nodded again.

“But inside his house. We thought it would be safer there than keeping Alpin in the water under the bridge. ”

“What does Garth have in the aquarium?”

“Just the oyster. It´s a rectangular glass box, full of salt water. It’s empty now.”

“Empty?”

“Betabel asked if she could have the oyster, to keep just like Alpin’s mum kept him when he was an apple.”

“And?”

“I persuaded Garth to let her have him, the oyster, that is.  She had to promise she would not try to change him back. Only Garth would be able to do that. If ever. You see, it was the third time Garth had to  jinx Alpin. No one else has ever gotten  even three chances to foil Garth. He feeds recidivists to his pigs. Alpin, of course, isn’t mortal. But being chewed on by a pig…that can’t be something you want to have happen to you. And Alpin could be made mortal. He could  get kicked out of fayland, into the mortal world.”

“And?”

“Betabel left, carrying the huge oyster with both her little red and calloused hands.”

“That sounds pitiful. Aren’t you sorry for her?” I cried.

“I was about to feel bad, but then I noticed she was smiling,” said Beau.

It took some doing, but I finally got Beau to tell me what had happened to Betabel and the oyster.

“I suggested she make use of my all expenses paid vacation to Easter Island. I said she deserved a holiday and the oyster might like the water there.”

“Wasn’t Radley making use of that?”

“No. I had to bring him back. I couldn’t concentrate on making him be there while all of me was here with all of  you.”

I wanted to know more. I wanted to know how Betabel was doing at Easter Island. So a week later I again sent Beau to check on her. She’s doing fine, Arley. She liked the island so much she decided to move there. Beau helped her transport Alpin’s ideal home – that huge monsastery-like palace the Earl and Ludovica created for him – all the way to the fairy zone of this island. And you know what? She has turned that into a hotel. And Beau says it will be a success, because word got round and  it was all booked even before she had formally opened it.

And…you know what else? I don’t know if I can believe this of Betabel, but Beau says she sticks pebbles and tiny pieces of wood into the oyster, and these prick and molest it, and it turns them into pearls to protect itself. Big ones. And she is making for herself the finest fairy pearl necklace  in any world.  And she says that once she considers it is done, she will sell spare pearls in the lobby of her hotel. And Beau says this scared him, and he  hopes I will never do anything like that to him. So I’ve warned him he had better behave.

I was kidding when I said that, but Beau seems to have taken this seriously. He seems to be a mite worried. 

Heather sends you her love, the cheesecake she promised in her fourth letter and a recipe for rose jam, with which the cake is all covered. Love from Thissy too, and regards from Little Mauel and Purpurina.

 Heather.

Syrupy Wild Rose Jam

You will need:

About two ounces which is more or less  two cups of safe wild rose petals, all shaped like hearts. Pick them carefully, making sure they are very clean and not inhabitted by bugs.

One and a half cups filled with spring water.

Two cups of cane sugar, preferably organic.

Three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

One teaspoon of pectin, perhaps a little more if you want thicker consistency.

In a medium pot, simmer the rose petals in the water for ten minutes. The petals might fade at first, but don’t worry, the colour will return.

Add part of the sugar and the lemon juice stirring carefully. The lemon juice should make the petals recover their colour.

Mix the pectin and the rest of the sugar and add to the pot stirring carefully. The more pectin, the thicker the mixture will get.  

Allow all this to simmer for twenty minutes. Do not overcook. Petals should be whole and soft  and not floating  in liquid.

Pour into bowls or jars and refrigerate.

Once cool, you can pour the resulting jam, which should have hardened a little, over ice cream, yoghourt  or cakes. Pour very softly over cheesecakes, so there won’t be dents in them. You can add berries and fresh rose petals to the jam as decorations.