The Greatest Kingdom by Francesca Gibbons

Author:Francesca Gibbons [Gibbons, Francesca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2022-10-03T12:00:00+00:00

The next day, they woke early. Mum passed around breakfast – a parcel of fruit that looked like blackberries, although they were as large as plums.

Once the berries had been devoured, and the girls’ fingers were stained crimson with juice, they reattached their blankets to their packs and said goodbye to the little tree.

Fred and Frieda had been foraging at the edge of the marsh. When they saw that their humans were leaving, they swallowed whatever was in their beaks and tottered after them.

The mountains were just as impressive at dawn as they had been the night before. Their tops were lost in the clouds, their great immensity only separated by the ravine.

Imogen, Marie and Mum paused at the entrance to the chasm. There was a chill draught that seemed to come from within, as if the mountains were breathing. It ruffled Imogen’s hair and tugged at her clothes.

‘This must be where Radko the Conqueror stood,’ said Marie in her smallest voice. ‘What do you think killed his soldiers?’

‘Oh, it’s just a story, darling,’ said Mum.

It’s never just a story, thought Imogen. But there was no other way to enter Nedobyt.

She hitched her pack higher up her shoulders and stepped into the chasm. Cool air swirled around her. Rock pressed in from either side.

Imogen was a speck of dust on the breath of the mountains, a seed, a grain of sand.

And yet, she would not just roll over and do as the stars wished.

The stars have already set your course, said a memory of Ochi. And you cannot change it.

‘We will see about that,’ muttered Imogen. She remembered what Mark had told her, about how scientists adjusted their ideas with new evidence.

Perhaps, thought Imogen, even the stars change their minds …

And so, Imogen, Marie and Mum began the walk through the mountain ravine, with the velecours toddling behind. Imogen found herself moving swiftly. Fear was chasing behind her. Hope was leading her on.

In some places, the ravine was wide – wide enough to fit a bus. In one spot, it became so narrow that a boulder had fallen and got stuck, suspended above their heads.

‘Let me go first,’ said Mum, overtaking Imogen. ‘I’m sure it’s fine … but just in case.’

Marie started humming, as she did when she was nervous. Imogen joined in.

‘I thought you found humming annoying?’ said Mum. Marie looked surprised too. She and Imogen used to have arguments about this.

‘I’ve changed my mind,’ said Imogen, and she went back to humming.

‘I know this sounds silly,’ said Mum, as the ravine twisted to the left, ‘but now that we’re here, I almost don’t believe in our world.’

Imogen knew what Mum meant. Against the solidness of the mountains and the black rock of the ravine, their little house and Grandma’s bungalow felt like a distant dream.

Imogen’s thoughts turned to Mark. She hoped that he was still safe in hospital. She hoped that they weren’t too late.

She remembered a spring night, when she and Mark had driven to the Haberdash Gardens.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.