Phoenix by Kelly Gardiner
Author:Kelly Gardiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781760973766
Publisher: Scholastic Australia
Published: 2020-09-16T16:00:00+00:00
Her name was Elda, she said, and she was all by herself in the old city. She had no family. Nobody.
They sat close together by a tiny fire, deep in the bowels of the building. Her dog â an enormous scraggly hound â stretched out beside her.
âNobody can see us here,â she said.
The embers glowed brightly in the darkness, and he watched her as she worked. She was a couple of years older than him, but her face was all sharp edges, as if she hadnât had enough to eat for a long time. She wore clothes like the Vikings, but hers were all ragged and patched â woollen trousers and a long blue tunic over the top, reaching down to her knees. A knife hung sideways on a belt at her waist. Like Longsword, she wore her hair in a braid at the back, but hers was dark red. Bits of leather were tied around her feet.
At least someone had shoes.
âI was cooking when I heard you at the door,â she said.
âI feared you were one of the Danes.â
âIâm not, believe me.â
âI see that.â
âArenât you scared theyâll find you?â
She shook her head. âThey watch only the river town. That is why I sleep here at night.â
âBut thereâs a watcher post just up the hill.â
âI know,â she said. âBut they only watch in the sunlight.
In the dark, they guard their camp, but no more.â
Christopher shivered and moved closer to the fire.
âWhatâs the dogâs name?â
âHound. What else?â She smiled.
âDoesnât he bark?â
âHe knows he must not.â
âSmart dog.â
âHe is the best and bravest hound ever.â
âYou might be right.â
âI am.â Elda smiled down at Hound and he licked her hand. âHe has been with me many winters. He still hunts, but he likes lying down much more.â
âDonât we all?â
âI do not,â she said. âI cannot rest. Not now. There is much to do.â
She dipped a wooden bowl into the cooking pot. âI only have one bowl and spoon.â
âAfter you,â he said.
âYou are my guest,â she said, then laughed. âHow do you like my house?â
âItâs impressive,â he said. âBig place for one girl and a dog.â
âIt is safer than the river town at night,â she said. âFor now.â
âWhat are you doing here all by yourself?â he said.
âI am not by myself. Hound is with me.â
She handed him the bowl and he sniffed at it. It smelled good.
âWhat is this?â
âWhatever I could find,â she said. âCarrots, turnips, fish, dandelion.â
âI canât see the carrots.â
âThere.â She picked out a pale little lump.
âItâs white.â
âOf course. What do you expect?â
âBut carrots are orange.â
âWhat is orange?â
Christopher blinked. Perhaps orange wasnât invented yet, âItâs a sort of bright yellow.â
âYou are very strange but also funny.â Elda chuckled to herself while Christopher sniffed again at the bowl. âWho ever heard of a yellow carrot?â
He, meanwhile, pondered whether a carrot was really a carrot if it wasnât carrot-coloured. Were they still good for your eyesight? What would happen to the Ministry of Food posters if they knew? DOCTOR CARROT: THE CHILDRENâS BEST FRIEND, HELPS YOU SEE IN THE BLACKOUT.
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