Chapter 2

 

 

Jena and Dom clung to the bowl’s rim tightly as it bobbed along down the Swift River. They could only watch in mounting worry as the tree-lined banks glided by, leaving Gnome Hollow far behind.

 

‘What… what are we going to do now?’ Dom asked worriedly.

 

‘I don’t know, Dom,’ Jena replied. ‘But we’re in for a long walk home.’

 

‘We’re heading down the valley,’ he said. ‘I wonder how far the river goes?’

 

Jena had no answer to that as no gnome had ever explored the river valley to its far end. No one knew what lay there except that there were more mountains.

 

‘Let’s sit down in the bottom, Dom,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing we can do here and my arms are getting tired.’

 

They slid down into the bottom of the bowl and sat together in nervous silence. The last of the storm clouds had drifted away and the sun was shining again. Suddenly, Dom let out a nervous laugh.

 

‘I don’t think this is at all funny, Dom!’ Jena scolded.

 

‘Well, I was just thinking that we only came out for a walk!’ he replied.

 

‘Yes and whose idea was that?’ Jena teased.

 

‘Hey, it isn’t my fault we’re in the river!’ Dom protested, then added in a more worried tone. ‘But what are we going to do, Jena? We’ll be washed miles away from the village.’

 

‘We’ll have to wait for the bowl to pass close to a bank so we can jump onto it,’ she replied and patted him on a leg. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get home.’

 

They sat in silence again and shortly the warm sunlight made them very sleepy. They dozed off before they could help themselves.

 

* * *

 

Jena was the first to wake up and she found the day was almost gone. The river was deep in shadows from high, rocky cliffs and the mountains reared high into the air beyond them.

 

‘Wake up, Dom!’ she said, giving him a nudge. ‘It’s getting really late!’

 

Dom gave a long yawn as he sat up.

 

‘Where are we now?’ he asked.

 

‘I think we’re in some kind of gorge,’ she replied. ‘Let’s jump up and have a look.’

 

They jumped up to cling to the rim and watched as they floated down a narrow gorge, its walls sheer and steep. It shortly swept around a long bend and in the growing shadows they saw what became of the river.

 

‘Good gnomes!’ Dom cried in dread. ‘The river flows under the mountains!’

 

He was horribly right.

 

At the end of the gorge a huge cave loomed, swallowing the river completely. They could only stare in terror as the bowl swept toward it, the cave rearing high above them and in a blink of an eye they were carried inside.

 

It grew dark quickly as the river continued down a wide tunnel, the light from the entrance fading away. Yet as they drifted on it was replaced by a different kind of light. The tunnel walls and low ceiling began to give off a dim speckled glow, good  enough to just see each other.

 

‘Good... good gnomes!’ Dom said in a frightened tone. ‘What’s going to become of us? We’ll be trapped here… forever!’

 

‘We’ll be all right, Dom,’ Jena said, trying to reassure him. ‘Come on, let’s get down. We can’t do anything up here.’

 

They slid down the sides of the bowl and sat next to each other on the bottom.

 

‘Do you think the river goes all the way under the mountains to their other side?’ Dom asked.

 

‘I think it might,’ Jena replied. ‘And that would take us into the lands where our ancestors came from.’

 

‘Do you really think that giant folk live there?’

 

‘Well, that’s what some of our oldest tales say.’

 

‘Isn’t there one that says they brought your bracelet with them? Perhaps the giants made it.’

 

Jena touched the plain gold bracelet on her wrist and smiled.

 

‘You’re right about our ancestors, but I don’t know whether giants made it, Dom.’

 

They drifted on through the tunnel, listening to the sound of the river lapping against the walls. The air grew colder and they both started to shiver a little.

 

‘I wish we’d brought our coats,’ Dom complained. ‘And something to eat! We haven’t had anything all day!’

 

‘You’re always hungry, Dom,’ Jena replied, but had to admit she was hungry herself.

 

But there was nothing either of them could do and they eventually drifted off to sleep again.

 

* * *

 

Dom started dreaming almost straight away and of course it was about food. He dreamt of a table full of marvellous things to eat like chocolate biscuits, apricot pies and custard tarts. But when he tried to eat some of the food, Jena suddenly appeared and dragged him away.

 

‘No time for eating,’ she said. ‘We’re going for a walk!’

 

It really was very unfair of her and he was glad when he woke to a distant rumble in the air. He opened his eyes to find that along with the rumbling, the air was getting lighter. He ignored the noise, excited more by the growing light.

 

‘Jena!’ he said exclaimed as he gave her a shake. ‘There’s daylight ahead!’

 

Jena woke and sitting up, grinned happily at her brother.

 

‘We must be at the end of the tunnel!’ she said. ‘But what’s that rumbling sound?’

 

‘Oh, it’s just the river going faster,’ Dom replied. ‘Come on, let’s have a look at where we are!’

 

They jumped up to the rim and saw they were approaching a wide opening in the tunnel. Clouds of mist sparkled in bright sunlight and the river was beginning to hurtle toward it. The bowl was getting tossed about and the rumbling was getting louder and louder. Than Dom suddenly realized what it was.

 

‘There’s a waterfall ahead, Jena!’ he cried. ‘We’ll be drowned!’

 

But Jena didn’t hear him, as all of a sudden she felt faint and dizzy. She suddenly toppled back inside the bowl and it tipped over alarmingly. With startled cry Dom dropped back in as well and both were thrown about as it righted itself. When he looked up to scold Jena for almost capsizing them, his words caught in his throat.

 

She was sitting there with a dreamy look in her eyes, but it was her bracelet that caught his eye. It had begun to glow very brightly.

 

* * *

 

Jena meanwhile was caught in a dream of spinning, swirling colours. They began to mingle together and slowly formed into an image. She suddenly found herself standing in a small forest clearing at night with bright stars overhead.

 

Then she heard a musical humming sound and out of the trees a globe of silvery light appeared. It flew towards her and Jena gave a start as it turned into a girl with wings of shimmering silver.

 

She was slightly smaller than Jena and slender like a river reed. Her hair was dark and wavy and flowed down her back between her wings. She hovered before Jena, her wings a silver blur and regarded her intently with bright lilac eyes.

 

‘You must fly, young gnome! Fly, before it’s too late!’ she said.

 

Jena didn’t know what to say to this, unable to find her voice to speak.

 

‘Fly!’ the girl said in a commanding plea. ‘Say the word and you will fly!’

 

Then she was gone, the dream fading away as a deafening roar filled her ear.