Chapter 4 The RISING STALK

Those odd seeds still linger in my dreams when I suddenly jolt awake.

I am disoriented for a second, before I realized what had roused me from earlier than planned. It was because of the strange rumbling sounds filling my ears.

There are strange vibrations from the floor of the cottage, to match the rumbling sounds. I frown, watching the door rattle in it's hinges as the vibrations grow in intensity.

In alarm, I shoot up to my feet, feeling the floor shake slightly under me. For the life of me, I can not figure out what the cause of this could be, so I hurry to the door.

Throwing the shaking door open, I step outside to see three guards atop three mighty horses, galloping towards our little cottage. The horses hooves strike the ground with such power, that I feel the vibrations where I stand.

The rumbling sounds only come from the horses hooves and their galloping.

I sigh to myself,

"These darn guards could not even wait till we are properly awake before barging in on us."

The guards pull the reins of their horses, coming to a halt right in front of me. Dust swirls in the air around them, mixing in with the air going into my nostrils as I breathe.

The horses whinny, trotting around restlessly before finally standing still. The guards, Sir Victor, Sir Hansman and Sir Barret, get off their horses and march closer to me. Their chests were puffed up, and their lips curled in distaste.

"We are the royal guards, and we are here to collect what you owe!"

Sir Victor announces menacingly, in his obsessively loud voice that could rouse half the village from their slumber.

Sir Hansman adds impatiently,

"Come on, pest! Bring it here!"

With a stony face, I reach into my pants and yank out the five copper pieces, placing it in his palm. He and Sir Barret carefully count the coins, then glare at me at the same time.

"You! It is one copper piece short! Bring it here, or pay nothing at all, you vermin!"

Sir Barret's voice holds enough force to nearly push me back against the door. But I maintain eye contact and gesture calmly at the copper pieces.

"That is all we could scour out. We have no other money left. That should buy us some more time, and before your next tax scouting by the next month, we will pay up-"

I barely finish the statement when Sir Victor storms closer, grabbing me by the collar.

"Next month?! Are you so wretched that you can't afford to produce a single copper piece?!"

"He is definitely a cunning little rodent, that boy! He has the remaining copper piece! Search him!"

"No!"

I yell, struggling to get free of Sir Victor's grip on my shirt. I feel someone else coming closer, so I swing one of my legs defensively, only to hit the hand that held the five copper pieces.

The coins fly into the air, scattering and landing into the dust.

Sir Berret seethed,

"You blaggard!"

The door swings open behind me, and aunt stumbles out. From the corner of my vision, I can see the worried expression on her face. She places a hand in front of me protectively, yelling at Sir Victor,

"Let go of the boy! Do you have no dignity? Have you three no shame, attacking a defenseless young lad?!"

I protest immediately, "Aunt, don't worry about me! And I'm not defenceless!"

Sir Victor let go of me, and turns to face Aunt, with his face taking on a defensive expression. "We already gave you one last chance to pay your debt. You owe six copper pieces, pay that or face the wrath of the king."

Aunt places her hands against her hips. Her voice is cracking and weak, but her eyes shine with the injustice she feels.

"Do you go around raiding cottages and insulting good old villagers in the name of the king? Yes, we have no money. Yes, we owe taxes. But we only have five copper pieces to give in addition to what we paid yesterday!"

"No will do, ma'am." Sir Hansman says.

A rumbling sound erupts from the horses behind them, interrupting Aunt's response.

"Tame those horses, Berret." Sir Victor says, without glancing back.

Sir Berret goes awfully quiet, and I shift my eyes in his direction closest to the horses. He looks perplexed and scared. I realize why. The horses were peacefully grazing on a patch of grass.

The rumbling sound did not come from the horses.

Sir Berret voices my thoughts. "It is not the horses."

Everyone whips around to confirm, just as the ground beneath us begins to shake violently. I stagger, in shock and fear as the rumbling sounds erupt again. But it is different from the one that roused me earlier.

The sounds rise from the deep bowels of the earth, giving off vibrations so strong that we are all knocked aside in different directions.

My breath flees as cracks divide the ground and thick, green roots spring up all around, consuming the brown soil, the areas around the cottage and us.

The horse whinny in fright, galloping free of their reins and charging in the other direction.

I yell, slipping free of a large root that nearly traps me under. All my eyes can see is a sudden ocean of dark, fat tangles of green roots.

I hear aunt let out a loud scream that pierces through the deafening rumbling noises. I glance up to see her being taken up one with the rapidly growing roots. At this point, I am unsure if they are even roots. Sir Hansman is trapped on the same root as well, shooting upwards at such a terrifying speed.

I let out a panic-stricken yell, reaching out,

"Aunt!!"

It is futile. She is too high up, and rapidly ascending each second. Her screams mingle with that of Sir Hansman, echoing down the gigantic length of the beanstalk roots. I tremble, looking around to realize that a gigantic bean plant was forming.

A loud roar shatters my ear from the side, and I reflexively jump away just as the massive width of the beanstalk and it's fat roots destroy a part of the cottage.

I hear Sir Victor yelling, but I am frozen. The roots wrap and tangle around the cottage like it was a baby's toy. One root looks as fat as a castle chimney. I have no idea how long I ma frozen, but when I come to, the rumbling and growing has stopped.

I hear Sir Victor and Sir Berret cursing, and I turn to see them staring skyward. I follow their gaze to see the gigantic plant looming straight into the clouds, casting a dark shadow on the land around us.

There was an abundance of thick vines, massive roots and unbelievably large stalks.

And aunt is somewhere up there. That thought spurs me into action and I scramble up from the floor to meet the guards.

"My aunt is trapped up there! You have to please help me save her!"

Sir Victor shakes his head,

"Hansman is up there too, boy. We can not get too close to that thing without supplies. There could be dire consequences that come with climbing it."

"B-but, we don't have time!" Sir Berret disagrees.

"We wait. And alert the others. That way, everyone gets down safe."

I clench my fists in anger, filled with determination and indignation. They refuse to help me? Fine. I will have to go up the bloody beanstalks and save her.

"Then I will make the climb alone! My aunt is I'll, and she will not survive being so high up in the air and exposed to the cold and wind! I will not wait!"

I turn around and turn back to the mangled cottage, twisting around vines and roots with great difficulty. The door is barred shut with a massive root, so I squeeze in through a hole in the wooden wall.

The inside is in disarray from the cottage almost being torn apart, but I hurriedly gather my meagre supplies. I grab a satchel of food, strong rope and the knife my father made when he was alive, as a blacksmith.

It had the curve of a dagger, and I know it would be sturdy enough to pierce those stalks.

I swing the satchel across my shoulder, and tied the rope into a firm knot around my hip and chest, testing my grip on the knife.

When I dash back outside the cottage, I look through the tangle of roots and see that the guards are gone.

"Cowards." I spit.

Then I turn to face a bulging stalk, observing the grooves and bends where I can place my feet.

I grab the rope and tie it around the root, sinking my knife down into it with a dull thunk.