Shadows had started to lengthen with the late evening light, but it was still possible to see fairly clearly. They walked briskly down the main path, heading to the avenue.
“Why the avenue?” Autumn had asked as they’d crossed the road.
“It’s shared ground,” Rose had replied. “We have sent word, and the council are convening. We will meet them there.”
Autumn rubbed her temples. As if she wasn’t feeling anxious enough, she could still hear the whispering, the low thrum of noise. She couldn’t block it out.
There was something curious about the light in the avenue. It seemed to be impossibly sharp despite the daylight starting to fade, with flickers of brightness in between the beech and lime trees.
Skoo was waiting there for them. Rose nodded to him and carried on striding towards the midpoint of the avenue to where four figures were standing, more or less in line with the solitary tree in the field on the right.
Autumn’s parents slowed their pace, increasing the distance between themselves and Rose. Skoo fell in walking alongside Autumn. He gestured towards the four people stood in the avenue just as Rose called out something, clearly addressing them.
One of the people stepped forward. He was particularly tall and slender, with his hair tied back in a ponytail and a braided band across his temples. He was tanned, and looked so much like the man Autumn had seen on the stall at the market earlier that day that she squinted her eyes to get a better look. It wasn’t him, but it was someone very much like him.
“We of the Pinewood stand as people of the wood,” he called back in response.
The second of the people was slightly shorter, though still tall. She was broader, quite muscular, with fine facial features and a shaved head. She, too, stepped forward.
“We of the Larchwood stand as people of the wood,” she said. Her voice was light, but it carried on the still evening air.
The third person was the smallest man Autumn had ever seen. He looked like he was no higher than Autumn’s waist, and his clothes seemed to shift colours slightly, rippling through browns, greens, purples, and off-white. He wore a scarf of the same material wrapped tightly around his head like a cap.
“We of the Brushwood stand as people of the wood,” he said in a deep voice.
The fourth person, a woman, had long, straight hair the colour of new leaves in early spring, and wore a long robe with a belt adorned with runes around her waist.
“We of the Greenwood stand as people of the wood,” she said, nodding at the others.
Rose starting speaking again. Skoo leant over to Autumn and said quietly under his breath, “This is all a formality. They know what they need to do, but the council can do nothing together until the words have been said.”
Rose finished speaking. The air seemed to flicker again and, as Autumn watched, the lights sharpened into dozens and dozens of figures stood amongst the trees. The four speakers turned to their respective groups of people, issuing orders. Autumn could easily identify which people were of the Pinewood, the Larchwood, and the Brushwood, but the people of the Greenwood all looked quite different from each other. After they had received their orders, the people starting disappearing. Some left via the path, others just melted into the background - one moment they were there, the next they had simply faded away. The four leaders stayed, standing together.
Rose turned round and beckoned to Autumn and her parents, and Skoo.
“The words have been said, and we know what we must do. The Wildfolk are taking Erland to the bridge. There is only a small number of them, which suggests this was likely an opportunistic play for something else. We need to be prepared. The people of the Pinewood will watch the boundary on the far edge there, where it meets the path. Likewise, the people of the Greenwood will watch the boundary at the broken stile, where it meets the path further down towards the bridge. The people of the Larchwood will come with us, as we head to the bridge.”
“And what about the people of the Brushwood?” asked Autumn.
Rose smiled at her. “They will go collect Erland. They will get there faster without us, and be able to intercept them before they make it to the bridge. They’re probably already there.”
Rose turned to Skoo. “Skoo, you are in charge of the runners.” She gestured behind her. Autumn noticed that several people from each of the families of the woods had stayed behind when some of the others had gone. Most of them looked younger, some not much older than herself. She saw the two children from the market earlier that day. The boy raised his hand in greeting, and the girl nodded her head.
Rose took a step back off the path, so she could see all the gathered people at once. “We do not want blood shed in the woods if we can help it. They will push to fight, but we must simply push them back. Drive them back over the bridge to the Wildlands.”
The leader of the people of the Greenwood nodded. “But,” she said, in a low and calm voice, “we should be prepared should it come to a fight. Each of us knows what has happened before, and we remember.”
“We remember,” echoed the other three leaders together.
“And,” added the leader of the Larchwood, “we stand ready.”
Lydia, you have created a masterful story.