Bell and the Grym

      Bellsamy covered her mouth so the pair wouldn’t hear her gasp. Grym was something of a legend in the Wanderer’s Camp. They all knew it almost as well as the story of Sophie and Bruno. No one knew where he came from or what he did. She’d thought he was just a legend to scare children, but many of the wanderers had claimed to have seen him.

      The camp seamstress often regaled the youngsters with stories of the mysterious figure. She said Grym was tall as the trees with hooves glowing softly with flames of orange and yellow. His fur was the colour of fresh hammered steel and his mane and tail were the colour of the starless sky. The Uni had glowing red coals for eyes that saw everything that passed by him, even in the dark. Bandages crisscrossed his body covering old wounds. Two large wings sprouted from his back filled with jet black feathers.

      She was too old to gather around the fire when the eccentric seamstress came out of her caravan and sat by the fire. Still, she listened through her open window, she’d become weary of the mysterious uni. Three of her childhood friends had gone missing when they were still quite young. Her mother, who had been as distraught as she was, had blamed it on Grym. Although her mother still didn’t know that Bellsamy had seen Ash..

      Ash, one of the three, once starry, siblings had returned. His fur that morning had resembled the night sky had turned a dark grey. She’d be delighted to see him, until she saw that his sisters had not accompanied him. Her mother had gone to look for the trio. He begged her not to tell her mother, and told her of how he’d encountered the dark uni.

      Ever since she’d been afraid of Grym, a fact her mother knew well. She reminded her daughter of her fear whenever Bellsamy strayed from her studies. Her mother wanted to send her to a school in Faerieland far from the dangers of the forest. Bell refused, she couldn’t leave the forest, she didn’t know why but she just couldn’t. Her mother, though she wished it wasn’t true, knew there was something that kept Bell in the forest.

      Bellsamy loved her mother’s work, one day she wanted to take over for her, but she stayed for Ash. Ash was her best friend, and he needed her. She couldn’t disappear on him too.

      ****

      “Bell? Bellsamy?” Bellsamy heard her mother calling her name as she made her way back to the camp. She picked up her skirts as she ran toward their caravan. It wasn’t as if she lied, but she’d neglected to tell her mother that she was leaving for the morning. Bellsamy couldn’t tell her the truth that would mean breaking her promise to Ash.

      “I’m here, I’m here,” Bellsamy panted as she reached the caravan steps. “I’m sorry mother, I was distracted.”

      “Dear you have a piece of popcorn in your hair, you were at the fairground again, weren’t you,” Her mother sighed. “Bell, you were supposed to be studying, and that place is dangerous!”

      “I know, I’m sorry, I was-” She stopped mid-sentence. Bellsamy couldn’t tell her why she’d been there. “I know, I will make up for it tonight, I promise.”

      “Well, you’ll have to,” Her mother replied, wrapping a cloak around the younger Xweetok’s shoulders. It was a dark green she hoped would have covered the girl’s bright pastel-coloured fur. “I need you to get me some things from the forest.”

      “From the forest?” Bellsamy asked.

      “I’m afraid there is a cold going around the camp, it's hitting the young ones pretty hard,” She replied. “I am afraid to leave for too long, I have so many who need me here and I don’t want them to go to Dr. VonBarret. He’ll just make it worse! It is just a few things and you’ll find them in a clearing not far from here. It looks like this.” She pushed a small green plant into her paw, one that Bellsamy recognized.

      “I know this one, it's for reducing fevers, and helps you sleep,” Bellsamy said. Her mother smiled. She wasn’t oblivious to her daughter’s interest in her work, and always knew when she was watching.

      “Yes, and I am very low,” She responded. “Walk straight this way into the forest till you find the clearing, drop these stones behind you so you can find your way home. Pick as many of them as you can and come straight home.” She pressed a bag of pebbles into Bellsamy’s free paw.

     ***

      Bellsamy felt uneasy as she picked the herbs in the clearing. The journey there had been uneventful, but strange. She had heard the sounds of the forest every night from the safety of her bed with their sturdy wagon walls around her. Being out in the woods with the night sky marred by the claws of the bare trees was different, very different.

      Things, unseen things moved in the dark created by the trees. She’d never been afraid of the dark before, but she felt it now. Bellsamy grabbed bunches of the herbs hurriedly, wanting to get back to the camp as quickly as she could.

      A breeze blew right through her thin cloak, making her shiver. The branches of the trees shook eerily and the bushes shook. It's the wind she told herself, but when the wind stopped the bushes kept shaking. Bellsamy backed up slowly, keeping her eyes on the bushes.

      A crack of lightning lit up the night sky, and something shot of the bush in her direction. She ran. Whatever had been in the bush, followed her, pursuing her into the forest. It was on her heels and then she tripped.

      Bellsamy fell head over heels, rolling through the leaves, until she finally came to a stop, after what seemed like an eternity. She felt around for a stick to defend herself, but when she saw what had pursued her, she found an odd, but scared to be sure, little creature. It had a fluffy red body and long narrow striped feet. It appeared to have a bag over its head.

      “Why you’re just a little Gremble, aren’t you?” Bellsamy laughed. “Did the lightning startle you? It scared me too.” She held out a paw toward him. He moved forward slowly and sniffed her paw. With a cooing sound, he began to rub his head against her paw. She laughed and picked up the small creature.

      She’d always wanted a petpet, and Grembles were one of the more friendly petpets the Haunted Woods had to offer. They were a little unusual looking, but they were known for the desire to be loved. He was probably lost and scared, looking for someone to look after him. Bellsamy gave him a cuddle before putting him in her basket to take him home. Then she looked around her.

      “You don’t happen to know the way back do you?”

     ***

      Bellsamy sat down on a stump and tried not to cry. She had been walking for hours and she still had no idea where she was or how she was going to get home. Everything looked unfamiliar and dangerous. If she got out she promised she’d be nicer to Stubs, and try not to be so jealous of Ash’s friendship with her.

      “Do not despair, young one,” She looked up surprised and terrified to see a dark grey Uni standing in front of her. A Vullaby, perched on his shoulder, cawed loudly into the night. It was Grym.

      “You, you, stay away from me,” She grabbed a nearby branch and swung it wildly. The Uni backed up, with a small but clear smirk.

      “I promise I am not here to hurt you,” he answered. His voice was soft and musical. The stories she'd heard were true but he didn’t just smell like fire, he smelled like wood smoke. It reminded her of the yule log she and her mother lit every Christmas in the month of Celebrating.

      “You take lost children!” She accused. This time, to her surprise, the Uni laughed. He laughed heartily for a long time before he responded.

      “Is that what you wanderer’s think I do?” Grym replied. “Well, I suppose it would seem that way. I do not take lost children, dear. I am a guardian of the forest, a protector of the lost, and I have come to show you the way home.”

     ***

      “Why is everyone so afraid of you,” Bellsamy finally managed the courage to ask the question that had plagued her since they’d started walking.

      “Sometimes, we fear the unknown, you were afraid of your little friend there,” He answered looking at the basket. He was silent for a moment before continuing. “And home is not always where you expect to find it.”

      “I-I don’t understand,” She replied.

      “You will one day, I’m afraid, I can’t explain now,” He answered. “But I can tell you, yours is exactly where you think it is. You will be sorely missed if you leave the forest. Your mother has done a great service, and you will in your time.”

      “How do you know all that?” Bellsamy asked.

      “As I said I am a guardian of the forest,” Grym answered. “Your mother is waiting for you. Tell her not to worry, the children will be fine.” She looked away from the Uni to see the fire in the middle of camp shining brightly in the distance.

      “How can I ever thank you?” Bellsamy asked, turning back to where the Uni had been standing. Though she didn’t have a chance to say it, she was sure he knew how grateful she was.