Chapter four – Goodbye to Zodiac

A few hours later the girls were sat at the big kitchen table listening to what Granny Moonface needed to tell them.”So girls you are going to be staying here for a while, we’re going back round to yours to pick up your things. Your mum won’t be around for a while and we will be looking after the house.”

Once the girls had heard what they needed to hear they went upstairs and got ready for bed.Whilst Shuhai was getting ready for bed and brushing her teeth Hai-Lin slunk into her bathroom.

“Do you think mum will be all right Shuhai?”asked Hai-Lin.

“I don’t know, But we have to always remember that whatever happens that she’s our mum and we love her.”Replied Shuhai half-heartedly.

After the girls had said goodnight and gone to bed Granny and Grandpa Moonface were talking in the kitchen.

“I’m worried for the girls. I don’t know how they’ll cope.”Granny Moonface said sadly Grandpa Moonface patted her on the hand.

“They’ll be all right. Their our daughter’s girls, They managed to be brave when their father got killed during the war,So they’ll manage to cope with their mother gone for a while.”Grandpa Moonface said reassuringly.

“What if she doesn’t come back?”Granny Moonface said before bursting into tears.

“Don’t talk like that,”Grandpa Moonface said whilst getting out of his seat to hug his wife,”She’ll be fine.We just need to make sure that the girls don’t get too upset and that we don’t forget her.”

The next day the girls went home to pick up their things and say goodbye to their mum. Grandpa Moonface took Granny Moonface and the girls back to the farm then took Zodiac to Serpents Gate*.

Shuhai and Hai-Lin went to the stables to go and ride Rose and Bluebell.

The girls spent hours outside racing each other until Granny Moonface called them in for tea.

Whilst the girls were eating their favourite meal mashed potatoes, pork sausages,peas and pumpkin soup , the phone rang it was a phone call from their mother she had arrived at Freldegan*.She told the girls not to worry and that she’ll be sending them a pixie* every week. After the girls had finished their tea they went to bed.

In the morning they both found a huge pile of boxes at the end of their bed.As they went downstairs Granny Moonface was waiting at the table in the kitchen with a huge pile of pancakes waiting for them both. Shuhai and Hai-Lin looked at each other and shrugged.

“Happy birthday girls,” Grandpa Moonface said cheerfully.

The girls had been so caught up with the last few days that they forgot today was their birthday,Today Shuhai would be thirteen and Hai-Lin would be eleven.The girls suddenly noticed that on top of the pancakes there were two small candles.

“Aren’t you going to blow out your candles?”asked Granny Moonface.

“yes of course sorry i was miles away there and i think Hai-Lin was too,”replied Shuhai quickly.

So the girls blew out their candles, ate their pancakes and went upstairs to unwrap their presents. Whilst the girls were playing with their presents there was a knock at the door,When Granny Moonface went and opened it a small shimmerring figure fluttered in front of her, the figure grew and grew until it was human sized and it gave Granny Moonface a package then it shrunk and flew off.The stamp read “To Shuhai and Hai-Lin Love-Locket.”

“Shuhai,Hai-Lin package for you!!!”Granny Moonface yelled upstairs “I think it’s from your mum!!!”

A moment later 4 feet came stomping down the stairs. Hai-Lin was the first one to reach the door.

“Can I open it ?”She asked pathetically

“If tis O.K with your sister,”Granny replied.

Hai-Lin turned to look at Shuhai and gave her a puppy dog look so Shuhai nodded at her as if to say if you must.

“Yaay!!!!” cheered Hai-Lin.

She tore off the scelotape and opened the box, inside were two finely wrapped packages one read “To Shuhai Love-Locket ” the other”To Hai-Lin Love-Locket“.Shuhai took out her package and carefully unwrapped it.Inside the package was a small hand carved box made of a dark coloured wood and lined with a blue mother of pearl .Hai-Lin’s was made of the same wood but lined with a pink mother of pearl.

“Their beautifu, Hey whats that in the bottom of the box?”Inquired Hai-Lin,”it looks like a letter, it is a letter.”

Shuhai reached into the box and brought out a letter. She tore open the envelope and read:

Dear Shuhai and Hai-Lin,these boxes were made by you father, He intended to give them to you on your last birthday but he got called away to the war and he didn’t get the chance to give them to you . He told me to give them to you this birthday when he went away. please take good care of them . Inside them is my present i hope you like them.

Love your mother xxxxxxx

The Girls opened their boxes and inside there were a necklace each Shuhai’s made of Saffire Hai-Lins of Ruby.Granny Moonface helped them put them on.Shuhai and Hai-Lin took the boxes upstairs and put them on their bedside table. the rest of the day they spent having riding lessons off their grandparents.Once they were finished had tea and went to bed. Granny and Grandpa Moonface wrote zodiac a letter and sent it away.

In the morning Grandpa moonface got up got dressed and went downstairs he found Shuhai on the floor at the bottom of the stairs lying in a unusual position.

*Serpents Gate is a station type place where you can get on different serpents to go to different places.It is like an airport a train station and a bus station all in one big building,except that the buses, the planes and the trains are all huge serpents that you sit on.

* Freldegan is where the war is

*a pixie is a sort of post man but it can travel places extremely quickly