THERE WAS DARKNESS, dust and strange earthy smells far removed from the pine scent of a moment ago. It was as if Vetta had stepped into, or rather fallen into another strange dimension. A very unpleasant dimension.
She stood looking up at the hole above her and realised she had tumbled into a trap prepared for her.
'Why have you done this to me?' she cried, rubbing a bruised elbow.
'Are you hurt?' came a voice of concern from above and to the other's surprise the blue-haired girl jumped down into the hole as well so they were both trapped.
'Not really,' Vetta admitted a little hesitantly.
Lighting a torch, the girl then flipped shut what appeared to be a trapdoor and fastened it with a pole.
'Good,' she said. 'Then follow me and I'll explain everything.' With that she marched off down the tunnel's mouth, using the torch to light the way. 'This is an old mine,' she explained the origin of the underground passage they were walking along. 'Abandoned some time ago and found by my people. Very useful for getting about without being seen.'
'Why do you not want to be seen?' Vetta asked, taking in the strange sights and smells of the place as she walked next to her captor. The odour of damp earth filled her nostrils.
'We're the Blue Hair Clan,' the girl laughed scornfully. 'Everyone is against us because we don't fit in. Soon as they see one of us they chuck things our way. If we're lucky it's something useful and we get to keep it.'
'It is wrong to steal,' Vetta felt compelled to say. 'Where are you taking me?'
'To a hideaway deep in the forest,' came the reply. 'And we don't steal. I used that statue thing to lure you away from the others so I could capture you. Worked a treat as you're such an inquisitive little body. Been watching you I have and noticed right off. Thought you would be the ideal victim.'
'Victim! Are you going to sacrifice me?' Vetta gasped.
'Oh dear. You are a strange one,' came the laughing reply again. 'Mind that skull.' This warning came too late and in her fright Vetta tumbled over the gruesome thing on the floor of the tunnel with an impressive scream.
'It's a skeleton!' she gasped, once the initial shock had subsided. 'There are dead people down here. Was that one of your victims?'
'Don't mind old bonehead,' the other laughed. 'He's been down here guarding the tunnel for years. Keeps superstitious people away.' The girl then helped her up and Vetta brushed the dirt off, grateful and frightened all at once.
'Helping others is a kind of generosity, which is one of the five wellsprings of joy,' she said with a nervous stutter. It was as if making this pronouncement strengthened her courage to go on in the difficult situation she found herself in. The blue-haired girl grunted, not sure what she meant.
'Not far now. I can see the steps already,' she decided to respond instead. With that she moved on ahead as if not caring if Vetta ran the other way. Then the captive girl remembered the pit she had fallen into was unscalable so she was trapped anyway. Thus she followed obediently and climbed the rough cut steps behind the other girl, up through planking and into a well-lit room full of homely furniture and bundles of fabric.
'Is this where you live?' she asked uncertainly. The girl snorted as she moved some seats around so that two faced each other in the simple room. There were no windows and light came from two lanterns hung from low rafters.
'What? In this old log cabin? Certainly not. This is where we bring our victims,' she said in a disturbingly sinister voice. Then she laughed again.
Vetta looked suitably alarmed and the girl decided not to pursue the teasing banter any farther as they both sat upon the chairs.
'I heard someone shout 'Vetta' back along when I watched you in the woods. That your name?'
'I am called Vetta Mindal, from Poldorama. May I know your name?' she asked politely.
'Truancy Mundane, but you can call me Tru. Most everyone does,' she added ironically.
'We have the same last initial. That is an amazing coincidence,' Vetta said, squirming in her seat with seeming pleasure.
'A twenty six to one amazement,' the girl added wryly.
'Happy coincidences create a sense of friendship, which is one of the five wellsprings of joy,' Vetta then said as if not understanding the comment previously.
'Really? I won't ask you what the other four are.'