The Broken Ones

Chapter 14:3 -Beroal

The mountains grew higher and higher around the two travelling. The grey shade of these mountains weren’t the same as of the mountains parting the forest and the plain. This grey was warmer and the mountains’ peeks didn’t remind Soi of the pointy teeth of a monster but rather like pillars holding up the blue sky.
Soi and Nibbles were now only a few hours away from Beroal and they were no longer surrounded by the sun burnt plain but by mountains. To keep his mind away from the very question on what to do when they actually reached the city Soi tried to imagine how Beroal looked like. But after the brief visit to the Academy he couldn’t see anything else but white houses and buildings. He gave up the imagination part and asked his company for real details.
-What’s Beroal like?
Nibbles smirked.
-It’s not white it that’s what you’re wondering.
Soi smirked back, the images of white buildings towering over him remained vivid in his memory.
-Beroal is nothing like any other city you’ve been to either, Nibbles continued. -Those cities tend to be dull and grey and ordinary. No, Beroal is like these flowers.
Nibbles gestured towards the ground and Soi looked down at his feet. The ground was covered with colourful flowers in all sorts of colour. The flowers had short stems and weren’t higher than a pinky. Soi wouldn’t have noticed them if Nibbles hadn’t pointed them out but now he could see that the whole valley was full of them. There were no other plants, no trees or bushes only pretty flowers in all colours of the rainbow.
-This is our sign that we aren’t far from Beroal. In the middle of all these grey mountains Beroal lies in a field of flowers. And just like the colourful flowers embracing the city, Beroal is a city full of colours and with so many colours there is no chance anyone can be unhappy, gloomy or evil. I don’t know if it was the colour or the kind and happy people who draw me to Beroal.
-You have a house there? Soi asked surprised, he couldn’t imagine Nibbles settling down anywhere but constantly moved from city to town to villages. Like Ana.
-It’s a flat and in comparison with Ana’s mansion it will look tiny but I hope you will enjoy all the same, Nibbles shrugged his shoulders and smiled as usual.
As the dusk closed in on the day so did Nibbles and Soi towards the walls of Beroal. When watching the walls Soi got his first hint of how the city really looked like. Nibbles description hadn’t washed away the white mansions in Soi’s mind but the pink walls now facing him made his mind go blank. Beroal was like a dream on pink clouds, embraced by the tiny rainbow flowers. Covered by their capes they walked into the colourful city and were embraced by its warm light and cheerful song which floated through the streets from every pub and bar Soi and Nibbles passed on their way to Nibbles flat.
Their way there went in circles, taken through different shortcuts and sneaking through hidden passages to shake off anyone who tailed them. At last they arrived at a small square surrounded by a handful of colourful painted shops and in the middle lay a well. Nibbles walked towards a sweet shop painted in a deep cassis purple and walked up a stair which led to the second floor of the sweet shop. Soi stopped when he saw the decorated windows of the sweet shop. In the window there were dozens of different kinds of sweets and in all forms and shapes imaginable. Pots full of caramels, chocolates in all shades of brown was laid out on a golden plate and on a green bit of velvet small flowers in every colour stood as if they grew there, except they weren’t real flowers but sweets. If they hadn’t been sprinkled with some sort of glitter Soi would have thought they were real flowers, exactly like the ones growing on the field around the city. Without noticing Soi stood there with a gaping mouth and wondered how they would taste.
Nibbles turned around and smiled at Soi’s expression.
-Do you like it? He asked with a spark in his eye.
-…yes, it’s …amazing, Soi finally answered.
-It’s mine.
Soi furrowed his eyebrows and looked clearly at Nibbles who had his usual grin on his face. As Nebelius didn’t give him any other explanation Soi turned his head back to the sweet shop and noticed its name: “Mr Silver’s Sweets” It really was Nibbles’ shop.
-Why? How? For how long?
Yet again Soi’s head was filled with questions. Fortunately Nibbles only smiled instead of trying to kill him, like another person Soi knew would do.
-It’s fun, how your forehead folds itself. You look a bit like Ana, Nibbles teased. -I’ll tell you more once we’re safe in my flat.
He waved for Soi to follow him and they took the few steps to the second floor. It really wasn’t a large flat but it oozed with Nibbles present. Every furniture had velvet covers and the windows were draped by velvet as well and all in colours such as red, purple, crimson, amaranth, deep blue or dark green. Against one of the dark red walls there was a cabinet where hats of different models were put on display.
Nibbles reached down and picked up something from the floor.
-Looks like I’ve got letters. Two, actually, and with the same handwriting. Funny, he said as he turned the two letters around.
-So open them, Soi said a bit curious.
Neatly Nebelius Silver unfolded one of the letters addressed to him.
-Ah, the ball, right, I almost forgot.
Nibbles hit his forehead lightly in his usual air of drama before he opened the second one. And then his face went completely blank and Soi’s curiosity changed into anxiety.
-What does it say? Soi asked carefully.
Nibbles pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows.
-It’s them. They want the flute back.

To be continued...
By J.L.Frick