Chapter 13
Jasper found Sapphire in the armoury, preparing for their next - and final - journey into the woods. He’s left Moss after he’d finished his story and had set out to look for the Princess. He knew why she was upset, but wasn’t sure how he could help her.
“Hey,“he said softly, knowing she would be crying again and not sure how to deal with it. The Dark Knight and the Stone Golem had been difficult to defeat, sure, but nothing quite scared him as much as a girl crying.
Sapphire sniffed and wiped at her nose with her sleeve before turning round with a fake smile on her face.
“Hey. So, you’re Carnelian’s son then. That’s… great!” She tried to seem cheery but Jasper could see by the redness round her eyes and the way the corner of her mouth twitched when she smiled that it wasn’t real.
“Sapphire, look, I know this can’t be easy for you.”
“No, Jasper, it’s fine.” (her tone said it wasn’t fine at all) “It’s great that you’re back and alive when we all thought you were dead. And… and… I know that just because you’re back doesn’t mean my parents are coming back.” The tears she’d tried to hold in started to spill from her eyes again, flowing down her cheeks and dripping off her chin like huge raindrops on to the floor. “I mean, if you could just, maybe, try to remember what happened, and how you survived when my parents couldn’t, that would be great.”
Her tone was almost accusing now, and Jasper bristled.
“I was just a baby, Sapphire; I can’t remember anything. If I did, don’t you think I’d have come looking for the Tiffikins before now?”
Sapphire’s tears stopped and her eyes narrowed in defiance. First she’d been upset and now she was angry at Jasper? He couldn’t keep up.
“Don’t forget my parents were killed the same night, not just yours.” He muttered, and Sapphire’s face softened. Suddenly, she flung herself forward and threw her arms around Jasper in a tight hug. He stood stiff, confused, and unsure what to do next as Sapphire blubbed against his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry!” she wailed, “I was just upset and then I thought you’d been hiding something from me, and… and…”
’Shhh, it’s okay,” Jasper said, patting her gingerly on the back. “Everything’s okay.”
His words, though unoriginal, seemed to help and Sapphire quickly straightened up, wiping her sleeve along her nose again and sniffing loudly.
“Okay,” she echoed, “I’m fine. Now, we both need to concentrate if you’re going to complete your third task tonight. It’s your last chance if you want your wish to come true so we better be prepared.”
They worked together gathering armour, enchanting it with Tiffikin potion and packing as many weapons as they could comfortably carry in their belts and on their backs. Both were silent as they worked, Sapphire’s head going round in circles wondering what happened the night her parents went missing, and Jasper’s going round in circles thinking about his life with Mr. Grind, his wish, and the discovery that he had been a Tiffikin all along. Time passed quickly and before they knew it, they were ready and it was time to leave. They stepped out of the armoury into the twilight and stopped for a moment, glancing at each other. Something had changed between them. Maybe it was that Jasper was beginning to feel less like an outsider; maybe it was the knowledge that their parents had been best friends, or maybe it was just that they had become accustomed to each other’s company. Whatever it was, they shared a small smile which filled them both with confidence before they set off into the darkness of the forest.
Whispers followed them as they left, and instead of piercing Jasper like the hissing of snakes, they surrounded him like a warm breeze, boosting his confidence and bringing a smile to his face. He was going to work harder that he ever had to defeat his last enemy, and this time he wasn’t doing it for himself. Something had changed today and Jasper wasn’t sure he wanted his wish to come true. Tonight, he’d defeat the Tree of Doom for the Tiffikins; for Sapphire and her lost family, and for his parents.
Chapter 14
When Jasper had first heard the name ‘Tree of Doom’ he’d thought it was a joke. In his experience, trees didn’t usually make you scared. Trees, to Jasper, were tall and majestic, with beautiful leaves that changed from vivid greens to vibrant yellows and reds as the seasons changed. He’d sat on his window ledge many times back at Mr. Grind’s coffee shop, looking out at the trees in the distance and watching them sway gently in the breeze. He’d felt many things while sitting quietly in his room looking at nature and none of those feelings had anything to do with ‘doom’.
Now, though, the name didn’t seem as funny anymore. The tree he was currently craning his neck to look up at was nothing like those he’d seen out his window. Its leaves were neither green, red nor yellow, and it didn’t sway majestically in the breeze that was whipping through its clearing. Instead, the foliage that spread from the branches was pitch black and interlocked in a way which meant when Jasper and Sapphire stood directly underneath it and looked up they felt like they were under a starless night sky. The trunk itself was gnarly, twisted with knots and burrs which reached out from the bark in deformed lumps. Some of them looked like they had faces contorted in pain. Jasper looked away from one particularly horrifying grimace and towards Sapphire who looked just as horrified as he felt.
“I get it now.” Jasper breathed, his voice trembling slightly. “Ok, lets do this.”
He reached into a scabbard hung from his belt and pulled out the dagger he’d retrieved from the Dark Knight only two days ago. Set into the hilt was the faintly glowing gemstone that had once been the heart of the Stone golem. Amethyst the fairy had said that he could use it as a key to open a hidden door on the side of the tree and so he gripped the handle tightly and strode forward to look for the entryway.
As he approached the tree, several things happened. First, the temperature suddenly dropped so that Jasper’s breath came out in great puffs of steam. The ground beneath his feet crunched as he stepped through the frozen fallen leaves and his skin erupted into goosebumps. He allowed himself one huge shiver, then pushed forwards. After another step a horrible smell began to creep into his nostrils, burning the back of his throat with every breath. It smelled like everything he hated; cigarette smoke, broccoli and the bitter smell of coffee grounds all combined and intensified a thousand percent. A glance at Sapphire told him she was experiencing something similar.
“Rotten cabbage, swamp lantern and onions.” She blurted, quickly covering her mouth and nose with her hand. Her eyes were streaming and she looked acutely uncomfortable. Jasper dreaded to think what his own face looked like. They pressed on.
They picked their way quickly and quietly round the perimeter of the tree, searching for the doorway that would let them inside. Creepy, crooked faces leered at them from the trunk as they walked until finally, Jasper spotted a vaguely rectangular split in the wood. He picked up speed, desperate to get inside, hoping that the smell and the bitter cold would stop once he stepped through the door. As he got closer though, instead of fading away, the sensations intensified and were joined by a high frequency squeal which penetrated his eardrums and immediately gave him an excruciating headache.
His sensed assaulted, Jasper unthinkingly took a step backwards, away from the tree, and found the smell, cold, and noise eased considerably. Every fibre of his being ached for him to turn and run away from this place, but he knew he couldn’t give up now. No matter what pain it caused him, he had to do this for the Tiffikins. He reached out beside him for Sapphire’s hand and found it quickly. Then, hand in hand, they struggled over to the door, found the keyhole, and plunged the dagger in.
Nothing could have prepared Jasper for what he felt when he stepped into the trunk of the tree. Still gripping on to Sapphire’s hand, he forced himself forward through pitch darkness, the ringing sound so loud he thought his head would explode. The cold crept up under his armour, freezing him right down to his bones and making him shiver violently with every step forward. The stench from outside had intensified so much that Jasper couldn’t make out the individual scents anymore - it was one disgusting mix of bitter, acrid, burning smell that ripped through his lungs every time he breathed and made him want to retch constantly. He didn’t know how he could stand this and he glanced behind him to the doorway, thinking about making a bid for freedom, only to see it swing shut and magically seal itself closed.
Sapphire had turned, too, and when the door had closed she’d spun round to stare into Jasper’s face with a look of horror. She looked even worse than she had outside; her skin was green, her eyes streaming and her nose and ears were turning blue. She was shivering violently and holding on to her stomach as though trying to keep it from jumping out of her mouth. Suddenly, she buckled, falling forward and throwing up on Jasper’s shoes.
It seemed hopeless. How could they go on and defeat this enemy when they could barely even lift their feet to shuffle forward? Jasper leant down and pulled Sapphire up with all the strength he could muster, just managing to get her on to her feet. There was nothing to do but keep moving forward, and the quicker they moved the quicker this would all be over. Wrapping Sapphire’s arm round his neck, he pushed on, following a dirt path that seemed to be taking them to a second layer of tree trunk. It looked almost like a tree within a tree - this one pale as the moon, shiny and smooth like a silver birch.
Jasper would have liked to have stopped and inspected it, so surprised was he at the difference between this tree and the one they’d seen from the outside, but he pushed on, dragging an almost unconscious Sapphire at his side.
Then, suddenly, as they stepped through an arch carved into the side of the silver tree, everything stopped. The piercing noise which Jasper was sure had made his ears bleed, the stench which burned with every breath and made Sapphire vomit on the ground, and the icy air which nipped at their skin, turning their extremities blue and nearly causing them both frostbite, all gone. The sudden lack of these sensory assaults was as disorienting as the appearance of them and the pair sank to the ground, sucking in the clean air and rubbing warmth back into their legs and arms.
Jasper had thought he understood ‘Doom’ just by looking at the tree, but being inside it had been something else entirely. The Tree of Doom was no joke and he’d never laugh at the name again.
“I really get it now.” He panted to Sapphire, who nodded weakly back. “Lets take a minute to get our strength back then we need to finish this.”
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