I, Coriander by Sally Gardner Page A

‘I know you are there. Show yourself. I fear you not.’
    I stayed as still as I could. I knew then that this was the bridegroom they were waiting for. He was not meant to marry Unwin, of that much I was sure. The man in the cart had been right when he said it was like fire and water.
    He sat down on the ground, his head in his hands. The horse came up to him and nuzzled at his neck and the young man rested his mop of black hair against the snow-white mane.
    Forgetting I was no more than a tiny blue light, I said, ‘Please, I mean you no harm.’
    ‘Who are you? Show yourself.’
    ‘I cannot,’ I said.
    ‘Then you are not the Queen trying to trick me?’
    ‘No,’ I said, ‘my name is Coriander.’
    I walked up to him. I could see the blue light reflected back at me. He had dark brown eyes. I felt a shock go through me as with great gentleness he touched my face, feeling my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my ears, as a blind man would see through his fingers.
    I thought not to say this, for it embarrasses me to remember. But such tenderness had been gone from my life for so long that tears rolled down my face.
    He took me over to the great white horse. ‘Do not be scared. He knew you were here long before I did.’
    The horse raised his head and, trembling, I stroked his mane.
    ‘Where did you come from?’ the prince asked.
    ‘I do not rightly know,’ I said. ‘I was locked in a chest and I thought I was going to die.’
    ‘Medlar was sure you would come one day, when the time was right,’ said the prince, smiling. ‘It is good to meet you at last.’
    ‘What is your name?’ I asked.
    ‘Tycho,’ he said. ‘My name is Tycho.’
    Behind us a branch snapped and his face darkened, as if a cloud were going over the sun.
    ‘Has anyone else seen you?’ he said.
    ‘No.’
    ‘Does the Queen know you are here?’
    ‘No.’
    I did not want him to walk away. I felt safe when he was near me. ‘Why marry against your will?’ I asked him.
    ‘I have no choice. If I do not, Rosmore will cast a spell on me. I shall be changed into a fox and hunted down and killed.’
    I felt worried by what he had said. Surely that could not be right.
    ‘My mother told me fairy stories where such enchantments happen, but I never thought -’
    ‘She told you stories of this world,’ he interrupted, ‘and here there are such spells.’
    ‘Why would the Queen want to be so cruel?’
    He said nothing. Above us, the sky darkened and through the trees the raven, heavy with his inky black feathers, swooped down towards us. The horse reared. I drew back to hide in the undergrowth. The huge bird landed on a branch near Tycho.
    ‘What keeps you from the house?’ demanded Cronus.
    ‘Nothing. I am thinking of what lies ahead.’
    ‘All that fortune can bring,’ crowed the bird, his pearl black eyes glittering. He pointed with the tip of his wing to a tower that rose above the forest. ‘The Queen has been watching for you. She has sent huntsmen to escort you.’
    I looked up to see giant riders approaching the bank. Their jackets were the colour of wet blood and their dogs barked and snarled, showing sets of teeth as sharp as knives. I felt pity for the horses. They were small, much too small for the riders, and their eyes were wild with fear, their ears pinned back as they stamped the ground.
    Tycho walked over to his great white horse. It stood many hands taller than the huntsmen’s terrified beasts, and looked majestic in the golden light. Tycho looked straight at me, and for a moment I thought I must be visible and blushed to think what he would make of me with my ragged dress and ill-cut hair. He touched my arm and whispered, ‘I will not forget you. Do not forget me.’
    I could see the raven looking in my direction and I knew that I must do something. I went close to Tycho and said as softly as I could, ‘Do not go through with this marriage. Follow what your heart tells you.’
    Tycho looked towards me for a moment and then