Chapter 11

“Honey, are you sure this is the right way?” Bette quizzed as she looked out of the Auto’s window.

“Yes dear, I know where we are going,” Gazza replied with sufferance as he watched the slower traffic move out of his way.

“It’s a shame Linda and Jina didn’t come with us,” Bette then said, ignoring his tone. She knew how much Gazza hated slow traffic as they crawled towards the north and the way out of town.

“The old girl said she was too old and frail to sleep rough,” Gazza answered with his quirky smile.

Bette blew a raspberry. “Frail, my foot. I have no idea where that woman gets all of her energy. She makes me tired just trying to keep up with her.”

Gazza chuckled, “Me either. Chasing around after the flicker babies as she does makes me feel exhausted just watching her. I think she just wants some peace and quiet for a couple of weeks. Helping to look after three flicker babies is a lot for her to handle at her age. They are agile little buggers.”

“Well, Little Bee is a lot quieter than her sisters, so Linda should get a rest with us gone,” Bette replied and glanced into the back of the Auto at the sleeping foursome. “Stix wasn’t real happy with us taking off without her,” she commented as she changed the subject.

“No, she wasn’t, but we don’t really have room for an Ant of her size. Plus she was rather horrified when I said that we were travelling in the Auto. I think she is afraid of the car,” Gazza replied as he negotiated another corner after checking for other vehicles. The road rules were a bit on the loose side on the Island.

Bette snickered, “You think? I thought she was going to jump out the window that one time you did coax her into the Auto. The minute you got up above twenty-five klicks, she was frantic. The smell coming from her was pure fear and very unpleasant.”

“Just as well she never has to get into a helicopter with me,” Gazza replied as he stopped to check the traffic at the new intersection before crossing over the through road. He noted with satisfaction that the street sign said they were on the right road to head to Green Bay. Avilla’s roads were set out like byways in an Ant’s nest.

Bette sniggered again, “She won’t fly with me and my speed is comprehensible to her. Even I can’t think of going as fast as you said you flew. I got the impression she wasn’t too happy with me holding onto her either, especially when I said I’d hold her like a baby. She did get rather indignant. (Giggle) What do you think she would have said if we told her we could now blink her?”

“Hum, now that would have been interesting. I still don’t think that we should mention that to her just yet. We are still learning and I think it’s best to keep that skill as our little secret for now. We may need it to get out of a bad situation one day,” Gazza replied.

The now scattered homes flew past them as he got the Auto up to the cruising speed of fifty klicks an hour since there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road. He did notice the road was still in remarkably good repair since it had been nearly four months since they last passed this way. Bette’s spell going over it again wouldn’t hurt. He’d try to make sure he went slower over any rough patches to fix them too.

“You’re still worried about someone trying to take the babies aren’t you?” Bette asked him.

“Yes, I’m worried about any of you being taken from me. I care for all of my family,” Gazza replied as he kept an eye out for slower traffic.

“Yes, I know. You’re such a good man. I know we often take our safety for granted but things do happen. Basil and Petal are just as protective of the babies as Stix, Linda and you are. I guess in their case, they are first-time parents, so they have all the worries new parents do. Linda is just like a concerned granny and Stix acts like their body-guard,” Bette commented. She also looked behind and was pleased that the road looked even better since she had altered her spell a bit.

“True, they are also aware that their babies are not ordinary flickers. Stix seems rather preoccupied with them as well, now they are two months old and weaned by Petal, which worries me. I know her Queen is supposed to be an ally, but I think the ants will always put their own self-interests first,” Gazza replied.

“Well, that doesn’t make them any different to any other race. Hey! I heard an interesting rumour the other day when Marci and I were in the library. Did you know they are saying that Princess Jenifer can’t claim the crown because the entity is no longer in the magical items?” Bette informed him with worry in her voice.

“That could be a problem. That bloke Parry Vassal, who always spouts off in class, says that the Lords think that the items should be displayed openly for anyone to claim since they have abandoned the current royal line. Apparently, the items have done that sort of thing in the past.”

“If the items are broken then that is going to be a whole different problem, it could end up in a civil war if some Lord makes a grab for the crown. I’m curious as to why the Ants haven’t mentioned that the items are dead since they are sensitive to them. Stix told me that her people would obey whoever wears them. Who will they obey if the items are broken?”

Bette smiled at him and said jokingly, “Well you could always step up and be King. Stix would follow you to the end of the world.”

Gazza shook his head, “Not this boy from the bush and she ain’t following me now. You, on the other hand, are already a Princess of this Island and you have as many gems as I do,” he floated by her to see her reaction, knowing what the ants believed.

“A deposed one,” she shot back with a little anger in her voice this time.

“We can’t help that your brother is a greedy little shit. On the other hand, now you’re a high mage we could always go claim your crown back, from him,” he offered, wondering what she would say.

Bette shook her head. “No, I have thought about it but I’m not a true Faerie in their eyes and you can’t fly, so they would never accept you as my consort. The funny thing is, I bet they would flock to me and claim me as kin if I did claim to be the next Queen of Ant Island,” Bette stated with some contempt.

“Well then, I’m glad we have got that sorted out, your Highness. It was interesting that the guard at the palace seemed to think that you are the next in line and that was why Stix was sent to protect us. We could always turn around and go back and claim your other crown,” Gazza half-joked.

“No, not today, I’m on holidays,” she replied flippantly. On the same note, she said, “Plus I would have to finish at least one year at the University to appear credible. It will have to wait until we go to the Ball at the end of the year. Marci said that since we’re magicians, we would be invited. We would stun them senseless if I fronted up to claim the crown if Princess Jenifer couldn’t.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Gazza drawled as he slowed to overtake a cart being pulled by a Black Ant. The driver waved at Bette and she waved back. Bette giggled and snuggled under Gazza’s arm as they continued on at a sedate pace. She was glad she could do this, now that she didn’t have to have her wings in the way all the time.

She loved her new life.

In Green Bay, they found that their room was available.

The concierge, Anton, greeted them as if they stayed here regularly and were his most favourite visitors. He eyed the babies and had to smile when Sage smiled at him. He was no more immune to cute babies as the next person.

Anton was disappointed that they were staying only one night. He promised to keep their room free for the return journey in two weeks’ time. He also commented that the management had put in stairs from their balcony to the back garden, for the convenience of their patrons using that room. They had found it was profitable to be pet-friendly when few other establishments were.

Once they were settled in, the White Tribe, as Bette had nick-named her family, trooped off to find their favourite cafe. They were greeted with smiles and the babies were cooed over. The flickers’ table manners were remarked upon as excellent, even the kids and they were invited to come back anytime.

The family were back on the road early the next morning and headed for the Black Ant Inn. The inn-keeper, Henrik and his wife, Irene were delighted to see them and they remembered them. Henrik had a hard time believing that it was the same Auto since it now looked immaculate. Henrik did like what Gazza had done to it.

Gazza noticed that their lights weren’t working and commented on them. Henrik sadly told them that their electricity had failed and it was going to cost them a great deal to get it fixed. Bette winked at Gazza and wandered outside, while he talked to Henrik as they both watched his wife fussing over the young flickers.

Henrik and Irene were surprised when the lights came on. Gazza grinned at them and said, “Hopefully they will stay fixed for a while. Bette has a knack with electricity and we would hate for you people to go out of business.”

Bette came back in, and while the couple was thanking her, Gazza planted a crystal over the door to the inn and several more in hidden locations as he had wandered around. He performed the ‘Keep clean’ spell and the ‘Repair’ spell for good measure. The place did need a bit of a sprucing up.

Gazza and Bette liked the hard-working couple, so they were happy to make their lives a bit easier. The wife happily went to make a heap of sandwiches and packaged some fruit salad for them, before she filled their tea flasks and water bottles for the journey since they were not staying long. The couple also flatly refused payment for the food and told them they were welcome any time.

The family drove several klicks up the road until Gazza found a dry creek bed to use as a road. He got Bette to alter the road pattern that her spell created. He didn’t wish to leave an easy trail for anyone to follow. The new spell would flatten a path wide enough for the Auto but the pattern behind would obscure any tracks the Auto made.

Gazza didn’t travel a straight path either. He wove between the trees, along other creek beds and around outcrops. They took several hours to get to their destination for the night. A good tracker would find the path if he were following them. However, Gazza had not felt any form of pursuit and hoped by the time anyone tried to follow the path he took, it would have been obscured by time and the weather.

Gazza found a good place to camp, near a small flowing stream. Bette created a shield over the Auto with enough room for the tent and a fire to be hidden under it. The little family bustled around to get an early dinner. They had all missed being in the forest and the crisp forest smells tickled their nostrils and lightened their hearts.

The absence of the noises of city living did take them a little while to get used to. However, the noises of the forest soon had their ears retuned. They all found themselves matching memories to sounds and smells as they became more attentive to their surroundings.

Sage and Thyme clambered over everything in the little clearing. The smells, sights and textures of the forest were wonders to them, and nothing like the well-manicured and protected yards and parks, they were used to. Basil and Petal were thankful for the shield because while they could leave, the kids couldn’t.

Gazza and Bette agreed to keep an eye on the kids once they were settled in the sleeping basket that Bette had made for the flickers to sleep in. Petal loved the basket as it only had a small entrance and she felt safe in it because Bette had added a personal shield over it so no one could remove the kids from it.

The older flickers happily went for a romp in the forest.

It was Petal who found the tribe.

It was a large tribe with many young females. Basil made the appropriate calls to ask to visit with the tribe. Once he received the responding hoots, they joined the tribe on a large sleeping platform high up in an ancient tree.

He was surprised by how old the Prime was. He became wary. An old Prime meant that he had a successor or two waiting in the wings to challenge him. He had no intentions of doing so and made the hand symbols that indicated he came in peace and wasn’t here to challenge the Prime.

The Prime was well aware of his age and who in his tribe would likely challenge him. He had absorbed another tribe a winter ago. Their Prime had been sick and easy to challenge. While the spring and summer had been good to his tribe, he had recently been injured in a fall when trying to catch a young flicker and the wound wasn’t healing well.

He had also realised that two of the new wives were first born of different Primes. Even though they had both birthed a child to him, it didn’t mean they couldn’t become Primes themselves. He was not sure how long it would be before one made a move on him.

“Greetings strangers, what can I do for you?” Old Prime asked Basil as one of his wives offered them each a wooden cup containing juice and chunks of fruit.