And Then, Everything Changed

  He sat on his bed, looking around his room. An aged wooden chair and a desk were to the left of the door. On the right, a dusty bookshelf had scattered old tomes and some books that he had brought when they placed him under the authority of the Godwin family. Before that bookshelf was a double-hung window, and his eyes stopped on it. He attempted to open it, but it didn’t budge at all. Asking himself why he wasn’t able to, he hoped it wasn’t stuck, flustered.

  Oscar had hidden the rope Cecilia gifted him in his backpack, which he still wore, right before stopping in front of the gate. Using it had been his plan, but now the only way to escape the manor and reach Greenwich was blocked, before he’d even realised it.

  At that moment, an invisible force, like an explosion, threw him back. He fell onto his bed, his face frozen in shock – the glass of the window shattered. Keeping his eyes glued to the shards, he stood up, stepping on them, and they crunched beneath his shoes. As he asked himself what had happened, he scratched his head – nothing was on the dusty planks of the floor that could have hit the glass.

  In the reflection of what remained of the window, he saw a faint glow coming from his backpack. He took out the rope that filled it. It glowed with a pulse of golden light, and in the middle, a small projection from it slowly faded in the air. Like a vision, it changed into the shape of a head and hair; it was Cecilia’s. She winked, as she had done earlier that same day. He rubbed his eyes, yet the glow continued, her image still there. But then, the vision began fading away, back into the light, and a light bulb clicked in his head. He bet whatever was going on with the rope was related to that magic Bertram had spoken about.

  Oscar leapt up from the bed and approached the window again. Paying attention to not cutting himself, he leant his head. Outside the pointed, cone-shaped, dark blue roof of the tower, the awe of the view changed quickly to fear for the dangerous height when his eyes focused down below on the path bordering the entrance. Nobody was in sight.

  ‘I can’t waste her gift. And besides, I only have one way out of here.’

  Holding one end of it, Oscar threw the glowing rope outside. It swayed back and forth above and between the curated lawn and the path, stabilising on the latter.

  ‘Where should I tighten it to? There’s nothing I can use,’ he realised, glancing around.

  Suddenly, the rope slid away from his hand on its own and glided past the sill. It jerked straight, becoming perfectly still and vertical. Oscar raised his eyebrows in awe – he was witnessing something special, unforgettable. A sight beyond the rules of the world that normal people knew.

  Observing it, Oscar focused carefully on what Cecilia had told him that morning, and his fear of the vast height decreased. Not tall enough to reach the floating means of escape, he turned to the old chair. He coughed as dust puffed up and hit his nose when he touched the creaking wood of the back – barely taller than him – and moved it under the window. Climbing on it, Oscar took a deep breath, then leant out, straining his hand forward. With great effort, he grasped the rope. Testing how safe it really was, he tried to swing it, but it stayed rigid. The strings felt like stone.

  ‘What?’ he gasped.

  He looked back to his room, nervous.

  ‘Come on, Oscar, you can do it,’ he whispered to himself in a low but encouraging, determined voice.

  He darted out the window, his hands clutching tight. And so, he hung before the manor tower. Looking down, Oscar’s face and lips twitched as his leg crossed over the rope. He slowly descended its solid length, the distant noise of cars on Knightsbridge and the calming chirping of birds filling the air as the wind blew gently. Oscar stopped and then continued, again and again, his tiny chest rising and falling rapidly. And he proceeded like that until he was halfway to the end.

  But at that moment, he lost his balance and grip; he tumbled backwards, falling off. The speed of the fall was the same as his heart, and overtaken by panic he shut his eyes. Something slid against his knees with a firm but friendly touch. He looked and, while upside down, realised that only a tiny gap separated him from the marble path – the rope had wrapped around his legs just in time. Oscar sighed with relief, a smile slowly spread on his face. The magic rope softly laid him down, releasing his legs, its glow gradually fading. Then, it fell on the grass close to him.

  ‘So that is what you meant, Cecilia. Thanks a bunch,’ he said, breathing very fast.

  He stood up, adjusting his hair and brushing back a fringe that now covered his left eye. He couldn’t just leave the rope lying there not only because it could come in handy again but also, more importantly, he would never abandon a present received from his first new friend. Oscar touched the string – the magical escape tool began dissolving into grains of sand, scattering in the wind.

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  ‘An interesting enchanted item indeed,’ said a voice from behind.

  ‘Sir Bertram?’ he asked in surprise as he turned swiftly to the messenger. ‘I was afraid you’d already left.’

  ‘I did say I would wait long enough to receive an answer promptly, but I never specified what I would do if I didn’t. And I assure you, leaving never crossed my mind,’ explained the man. ‘I was ready to take you out personally and hear the answer directly from you rather than from your so-called parents. Something fishy was going on with them – clearly and, I must add, quite stupidly so – and I was well aware of the rumours surrounding the Godwins.’

  ‘They are not my real parents, sir,’ Oscar said, the Godwins’ faces rose in his mind.

  ‘I know, Oscar,’ said Bertram, with a blend of nostalgic and sad undertones, his eyes softly narrowed.

  He knelt and examined, his expression composed yet full of concern.

  ‘Are you hurt, my boy?’

  ‘I feel great! A bit dizzy though.’

  ‘I am relieved to hear it. I blasted the window with a Bombardment spell when I saw you struggling to budge it open, but it wasn’t my intention for it to hit so powerfully. A mistake that one such as myself very rarely commits. I’m sorry.’

  Oscar’s expression shifted to confusion and curiosity at the word spell, his brows slightly narrowing, then shook his head. ‘I loved it. No need to say I’m sorry.’ He gestured animatedly to what had happened. ‘It threw me on the bed, and I had no clue what was happening, but it was fun. And well, I could escape because of it! So, thank you, really,’ he concluded with admiration.

  ‘You are welcome. And just so you know, I was ready to catch you if the rope wouldn’t. Although you unfortunately fell, I must say that was an impressive attempt, my boy. Not bad, not bad at all.’

  He blushed a bit, still not used to receiving compliments. Wanting to deflect that pleasant sensation which made him feel oddly out of place, he touched his chin and asked a question that had just come to him. One that concerned what he had not seen from the window.

  ‘Where were you exactly, sir? I’m sure I looked down here, but I saw no one.’

  Bertram pointed to the front wall corner on their right.

  ‘Peeking my head from the manor side while waiting. There was no chance I’d have done so outside the gate with the Godwins acting that way. And although I have apologised for the objective stardust blunder, I couldn’t care less that they accused me of trespassing. After all, true criminals often blame those who try to oppose them,’ he said, then stood up. ‘With that said, we must hurry before they see us here. I wouldn’t want poor Henry to blow up in childish rage and Annabelle to list all the crimes from a legal Bumble’s book. There is only one small problem.’

  Oscar tilted his head. ‘A problem?’

  ‘Yes. You see, sometimes stardust bags can be a bit impish, to put it nicely. So mine must have trailed away while I waited.’

  Oscar giggled with joy. ‘That’s funny! I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this. I feel like I’m in a dream.’

  ‘I assure you, it is not a dream. Everything will be clear in time. I swear on my honour, I will fulfil your true wish. Not one of Godwin’s pettiness, but the one your heart seeks.’ Bertram smiled gently. ‘I’m still obliged to receive an answer formally, although I already know it. Do you wish to reach Greenwich and start the process of becoming a student and part of the Wizardry World?’

  Oscar’s eyes glistened, and the storm inside him softened to a breeze, blending with the charged feelings that flowed through him.

  Nodding, he said, his voice breaking.

  ‘Yes, I do! Please bring me out of here.’

  Sir Bertram bowed his head, then glanced at Oscar mischievously.

  ‘Since that pesky stardust bag is gone, we may risk breaking the Bumble non-disclosure law for what I am about to do, and so I ask you to please be quiet for a moment; I need to focus if we want to avoid that. What is life without some thrill, right?’

  Bertram whistled ten musical notes on a scale. Oscar was enchanted by the mystical, ancient, and catchy sound – but at the same time, he couldn’t help wondering what Bertram was trying to do. He glanced around, then stopped, his gaze lifted to the sky – something was coming. A thud resonated, growing louder and closer. A creature soared high above and slowly descended towards them. His wings were white with golden stripes, his shape that of a horse in a purer shade of the same colour, and a majestic, long tail of gold extended behind with elegance.

  Oscar grinned, following the horse that shimmered before the sun.

  ‘I introduce you to my old, trusted companion,’ said Bertram. ‘He is a pegasus – a remarkable and rare friend that a wizard can have in our world. One you can always count on for life, if deemed worthy,’

  The pegasus landed elegantly on the royal lawn, near the vast fountain in the Godwin garden. He trotted beside Sir Bertram and bowed; the man caressed his mane.

  ‘Thanks for coming. We have a boy to bring to a less hostile place, so be nice to him, you hear me?’

  Pegasus nickered, raising his head tall and bobbing it.

  ‘Are we headed to Greenwich now, sir?’ asked Oscar, timidly trying to caress the horse.

  ‘Please, Oscar, no need to call me “sir”. And yes, we shall go now. It is true that, in the message I brought you, I said the meeting is tomorrow at dawn – but there is a good place we can stay the night right there,’ he said, as Oscar moved his hand softly alongside the pegasus, with delight in his eyes. ‘Magic communities are concealed from Bumbles everywhere in the world. Greenwich is no exception and has a nice, quite famous one too.’

  ‘That’s incredible,’ he said. ‘But I was wondering – what is a Bumble? Also, if we fly there on your pegasus, aren’t people in London going to see us? Would that be alright?’

  ‘Bumbles are those who lack magic and are unable to use it. Many people in the world are, but sometimes it may happen that Bumbles suddenly show signs of magical energy flowing through them,’ Bertram told Oscar. ‘And to answer your other question, yes, they might spot us, and no, that’d be a disaster. The law I mentioned exists precisely to force us to avoid that.’

  Oscar narrowed his brows. ‘But if that is the case, how are we supposed to reach Greenwich without being seen?’