Mala sat at the dinner table in the grand hall of her family's castle, hating every moment of her brother's eighteenth birthday party. Henry, the birthday boy, sat not at the head of the table, but at his usual seat opposite Mala. At the one end of the long, food-filled table sat Mala's father, King William and at the other end, Queen Pari sat, eyeing her husband irritably as he spoke through a mouthful of food. Mala stabbed her potatoes with her fork, watching them spin around her plate as she listened to her parents talk.

"So there's that to work out," Mala's father was saying. "I told the mayor to get onto it, but he's a useless old grunt of a man..."

Mala put her fork down and leant back in her chair. Soon, she thought, they're going to start talking about it. Soon, the conversation would fall onto the dreaded elephant in the room. Mala looked up at her brother. His bright red hair seemed to glow against his porcelain-pale skin as he sat trembling in his seat, his dinner untouched. He was dreading the upcoming topic of conversation more than Mala was. Mala would have said something, offered him some kind of support, but her father was still speaking and she didn’t dare interrupt him. He was the king, after all.

The main course finished, dishes were cleared away by the staff, and desert began. As Mala tentatively ate a spoonful of crumbly cake, she could feel the tension in the room rising. It was as if her parents were trying to put off what was to come for as long as was humanly possible. Finally, after the king had finished his cake and Henry looked as if he were about to pass out from worry, the queen put down her spoon and turned to her son.

"So Henry," she said, looking at him seriously. "We need to talk about your quest."

Henry took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

"As you know," the queen said. "It is tradition across the world that princes must go on a quest to prove themselves. By completing a quest, a prince will become an adult and hopefully, rescue a princess who will become their wife."

Mala crinkled her nose at this. She did not want to go off and sit around in a tower until some prince came waltzing up to it to save her from total boredom. It honestly didn't seem worth it, if the only prize was getting married and moving far away from everything she'd ever known.

Queen Pari leant forward and gave her son a comforting look. "Henry dear, we know you're not the strongest or the bravest person in the world, but this is something we need you to do."

"But I don't want to," Henry said miserably, lip trembling, tears threatening to fall. Mala groaned. Henry was always carrying on like this and it annoyed Mala more than anything else.

"Quests aren't as scary as they seem," King William bellowed from the head of the table. "I rescued your mother from a tower guarded by a giant and nothing bad happened to me."

"What are you talking about?" Mala scoffed. "You were nearly killed!"

"Well...yes," her father said, his cheeks flushing. "But I survived and now I have a wonderful wife and family and that's what really matters."

"And losing your ear and your right leg was just collateral damage?" Mala asked.

"Exactly."

Mala sighed and shook her head. "I don't think Henry should go on a quest," she said finally.

Her parents gaped at her.

"Why shouldn't he?" The king asked, frowning at Mala as if she'd just said something very unusual indeed, which, of course, she had.

"He'll get himself killed! Look at him!" Mala waved her hands at her brother, who was still trembling. "Do you think that pale, spindly little prince would stand a chance against a dragon or a troll or man-eating snails?"

Henry looked at her curiously, as if he were unsure whether he should be supporting her argument or not.

"Or he might get sick," Mala continued. "If Henry gets sick from sitting around this perfectly clean castle, just imagine how bad he'd get out there in the elements."

Queen Pari held up a delicate hand and Mala stopped talking. "Thank you Mala," she said softly. Mala couldn't tell whether her mother was upset or was thinking over Mala's argument. After a moment, Queen Pari said, "I think you may have a point."

"Thank you." Mala sat back in her chair. King William looked thoroughly confused.

Queen Pari nodded slightly. "I don't think Henry is very well suited to the kind of adventurous activities that most princes are capable of, but I don't see what other options there are."

"I could...you know..." Henry mumbled. He looked up at Mala, his face glowing at red as his hair. "Mala had this i-idea before..." He trailed off, looking up pleadingly at Mala.

"What plan? What are you two talking about?" King William bellowed, his voice echoing through the hall, his patience thinning.

"Well," Mala said. "I thought that maybe ... since Henry doesn't want to go on a quest and everything ... that I could go on a quest and Henry could stay in a tower."

Mala bowed her head so that she was hidden from her father's shocked gaze by a curtain of curly black hair. There were nerves coursing through her now. It felt like she had ants crawling all over her. She could hear her father breathing very heavily at his end of the table as he recovered from what Mala had said. After a moment, when Mala was sure that King William had recovered enough not to yell or scream, Mala looked up slowly, her eyes meeting Henry's. There was a flicker of a smile on his face.

"William?" Queen Pari said softly, her eyes full of concern for her husband. "What do you think?"

When Mala finally dared to look over at King William, his eyes were bulging and e was shaking his head rhythmically as if it had suddenly become a tree swing or the pendulum of a clock. He let out a shaky breath and said, "This is mad."

Mala slumped down in her seat, feeling of disappointment now replacing the crawling on her skin she had felt a moment earlier. She was almost certain that her father was going to refuse her idea. It was stupid of her to even have bothered asking. She should have known, she should have listened to Henry's doubts, she should have—Queen Pari's voice interrupted Mala's spiralling thoughts.

"William, I think it might be a good idea."

Mala nearly fell off her chair in shock. She had, of course, hoped that her mother would agree to her plan, but she hadn't thought that her father ever would. So when King William said, after a long moment of tense silence, that he thought it might be for the best for Mala to go on a quest in Henry's place, she was confused and surprised.

"Are you sure, dad?" Mala said.

The king sat back in his chair and nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. "I think this is for the best. Even if it is a little...unusual."

"But, I thought you'd think it was mental," Mala said, frowning. She couldn't decide whether she should be glad or confused about her parents agreeing with her.

"It's not as if the thought hadn't crossed our minds," Queen Pari said softly, a smile creeping onto her face. "Ever since you were little you've been braver than Henry."

Henry's face, which had been slowly returning to a normal colour as the possibility of him avoiding a quest became more likely, folded itself into a frown. "Hey," he muttered. "This is my birthday dinner, why is everyone insulting me?"

"We're not trying to insult you, Henry, we're trying to make sure you don't get killed on a quest," Mala said, rolling her eyes at her brother.

"But still..." Henry muttered.

"Anyway," Queen Pari said, trying to avoid any further arguments. "We have always known Henry was...different."

Queen Pari gave her son a look that was part love, part disappointment. Mala had always known that Pari had mixed feelings about her pale, terrified son. He was not at all like the strong, darker skinned men of her home country, nor was he much like his brave and burly father. Henry, who had once jumped at the sound of the mouse sneezing, was unique in ways Queen Pari wasn't sure she understood.

"Well," said King William. "I think there's just one matter left to settle." He turned to Mala. "Mala, would you like to go on a quest in place of your brother?"

Mala took a deep breath, pushing her glasses further up her nose and said, "Yes, I think I would."

"Then that's settled," said the king. "Mala shall go on a quest to bring honour to our family and kingdom. She will help the people of the world and partake in daring deeds. Henry, our eldest child and most wonderful prince, shall stay in a tower until he is rescued."

Mala grinned. She could see that Henry seemed much happier with this plan than a quest. He was breathing more naturally and his cheeks were flushed a healthier shade of pink now. Queen Pari was dabbing her eyes with a napkin, hiding her face between her long, black curtains of hair.

"Mum?" Mala said, standing up and running around the table to comfort her mother. Mala rubbed the queen's arm as her shoulders shook and a strange, hiccupping sound was coming from under her hair. "Are you okay?"

Queen Pari tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. There were tears in her deep, brown eyes and as she smiled at Mala, she said, "You're both so grown up now..."

Mala nodded and put an arm around her mother's shoulder, hugging her gently. "We still love you," she said.

The queen nodded and squeezed Mala tight.

"Well," the king said, raising his voice to regain the attention of the room. "I think everything should be ready to go by within a few days."

Mala let go of her mother and stood bolt upright. "I'm leaving that soon?"

The king's ginger brow furrowed. "Yes, of course. What did you think was going to happen?"

"Well ... I ... I thought that since the princes are always eighteen, I would have to wait till then too," Mala stammered.

"Oh," King William frowned up at her. "Well, I don't think that's necessary. We've already got everything ready for Henry to leave and I thought you'd just use that. I thought you'd have figured that out."

"Oh ..." Mala couldn't quite catch her breath. She had not been expecting this. She'd assumed she'd have to wait until she was eighteen. She thought she would have had time to learn to fight monsters and survive out in the world all alone, but now, she was going to have to venture out two years early, with none of the expertise she'd hoped to have gained.

"Well," Mala said, standing to address her family. They were all peering up at her, their faces full of concern. "I'm going to ... um ... go to bed. Goodnight everyone."

She bowed quickly to her father at the head of the table and hurried out of the room.

*

Mala barely slept at all that night and she couldn't speak to anyone the next day. She hid in her room, worrying about the decision she'd made. She knew it was the right thing to do, especially as she was bound to survive the quest better than Henry was, but she was terrified that she wasn't going to be ready. Since a few months ago, when Mala had decided to volunteer to go on a quest in Henry's place, she had assumed she had time. She was going to be able to learn everything she'd need and when she finally left the castle gates, older and wiser than she was now, she was going to be ready. Now, sitting in her bed as the castle was abuzz with preparations for her quest, she didn't think she stood much chance at all.

After a few hours cooped up in her room, fretting, Mala decided that she had to take matters into her own hands. She was going to have to educate herself on defence and the world outside her castle window. Mala marched off to the castle library, accompanied by her black cat, Raven, to find out all she needed to know. She sorted through hundreds and hundreds of books about the creatures and people and previous heroes of places around the world and as she walked to dinner that night, her head full of new knowledge, she was feeling both better and worse about her quest.

Dinner conversation was quiet that night and Mala let herself think through all that she had read. As Raven purred at her feet, Mala thought about the fearsome creatures that could swallow her whole. From her reading, it seemed as if the mountains and valleys of the world must be teeming with blood-thirsty beasts. This was not a comforting thought, but there was something else Mala had read that gave her hope for the task ahead of her. For every horribly violent creature described, there was a brave prince or knight or demigod who had defeated it. When Mala put her fork down at the end of the meal, she still had not spoken a word to either of her parents, she prayed she could join this group of heroes and that she would not become an unfortunate victim to the creatures of the world.

Mala was feeling much better about the whole idea of the quest when she re-entered her bedroom that night, ready for a calmer, more restful night of sleep than the day before. She had a few more days until she had to leave and she was hoping to spend that time reading more about how she could survive out in the big, scary world. Maybe, with a few more days to research, she would be okay.

As she approached her bedroom door, she could hear movement and voices on the other side. Raven mewed and hid behind Mala's long skirt as she pushed the door open. A dozen maids looked up at her, smiling and saying good evening, then returned to what they had been doing as if Mala wasn't even there. They were spread across the room, packing Mala's things into bags or into her cupboard.

"Uh...Why are you packing away all my things?" Mala asked. "I thought Dad said I wouldn't have to leave until the end of the week."

An elderly maid near Mala pointed to the bed as if instructing Mala to sit. She did and the maid said, "Your father's brought things forward. He says you can probably leave tomorrow if we get everything packed away."

Mala felt panic rising from her stomach once more. "Tomorrow?"

"That's right," the maid said, beaming at her. "We're so proud of you, we are. Our little princess, off to explore the world."

"With no training in defence or navigation and no clue what she's doing," Mala mumbled.

"You'll be fine, dear," the maid said, tapping Mala's knee reassuringly. "I promise you. We'll all pray to Cass to keep you safe."

Mala forced a smile and the old woman returned to her work.

*

Mala fell asleep with maids still bustling about in her room and the morning sped towards her faster than she would have liked. She woke, aching all over and already nervously sweating. Once she'd dressed, she stared into the mirror at her reflection. She watched as the girl with brown skin and dark, unruly hair in her reflection slowly breathed in and out, her eyebrows knotted in a look of worry.

The grand hall was louder than usual and full of excited chatter about the events of the day. Maids and guards kept clapping Mala on the back and wishing her well for her trip but Mala wasn't sure if their encouragement was getting through to her. Her head was so loud with rushing thoughts and her stomach knotted with nerves that she could barely eat.

Across from her in his usual seat, Henry seemed brighter and chirpier than usual. He was chatting with the maids and his parents and seemed almost excited to get going to his tower. Mala was glad that her brother was so happy this morning, but she also envied how easy his day was going to be.

Eventually, breakfast ended and Mala followed her parents out the huge wooden doors of the castle and into the gardens. There were two horses with two large carriages waiting for them. Both were packed high with supplies and Mala noticed that her tall, black horse, Richard, seemed to be shifting his weight around nervously, just as Mala was. A guard ushered Mala over to her carriage and began giving her a quick tour of it. There was a bench at the front for her to sit and steer Richard and at the back, there was an enormous cupboard filled with supplies and weapons and food. The guard told Mala that she absolutely must lock the cupboard before moving and then he opened the door into the carriage itself. Inside, there was a small wooden bed covered with far too many blankets, a chest for Mala's clothes and books, and hanging from the roof, a glass candle holder to give her light. When Mala had seen everything in her carriage, she lifted Raven onto the bed and shut the door. Through the window, Mala could see the cat curling up to go back to sleep.

Back at the castle steps, Queen Pari was hugging Henry and weeping. King William stood beside her, his face a mixture of uncomfortable and concerned. As Mala approached, he reached into his large pocket and pulled out a small, wrapped package.

"Here," said gruffly, handing Mala the package. "This is for you."

Mala turned it over in her hand. The paper was crinkled and thin and whatever was inside felt heavy in her hand. She tore the paper and a beautiful, round, blue pendant fell into her hand. Carved into it was an arrow, the symbol of the protector goddess, Cass. Mala turned the pendant the blue stone glimmered and shone in the sunlight.

"Thank you," Mala said, looking up at her father.

"It was your mother's idea," he muttered. Mala could swear he was tearing up.

"I'll do it up for you," Queen Pari said and Mala swept her mass of hair out of the way for her. When the necklace was safely secured on Mala's neck, the queen pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight.

"You're going to do wonderfully, Mala," she whispered. Mala smiled, though her mother couldn't see. She could feel her eyes prickling, threatening to cry. 

"I hope so," she said.

Queen Pari unwrapped herself from her daughter and held her shoulders, looking her up and down, taking in the image of her daughter before it disappeared for who knew how long.

The queen sighed and said, "Cass will protect you ... but I doubt you'll need her help."

Mala smiled again and was enveloped in another hug she didn't see coming. Henry was gripping onto her so tight she could barely breathe and his sobbing was loud and wet on her shoulder.

"Henry," Mala said. "I love you, but I can't breathe."

"Oh." Henry let her go and his cheeks flushed scarlet. "Sorry."

"Well," King William said, looking down at his children and smiling slightly under his huge beard. "You two best be off. You've got quests and towers to get to."

After a few more hugs and tears and goodbyes, Mala was sitting on the bench of her carriage, waving goodbye to her parents and the only place she'd ever known. As the castle grew smaller behind her, she rubbed the stone necklace between her thumb and forefinger, hoping and praying that everything would be alright.

Mala and Henry travelled together, Mala's carriage in front, Henry's slower and further behind, until they reached a tower. The tall stone tower stuck out from the flat farmland. It looked like a sword someone had struck into the ground in frustration.

Mala helped Henry clamber down from his seat at the front of his carriage and the royal guard that had been riding with Henry loaded his processions into the tower. Henry stood with Mala and waited until it was time for him to be locked into the tall stone building. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and Mala thought he looked as if he were trying to convince himself to be excited.

"Henry," Mala said, looking worriedly at her pale older brother. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," Henry said, forcing his face into something like a smile. "I'm going to be nice and safe and you're going to be ... you know ... out there in the world and ..."

Mala frowned. Henry's green eyes were glistening with what Mala thought were bound to be tears. She sighed and held out her arms, wrapping Henry in a hug.

"It's okay," she said, reaching up to pat Henry's bright red hair. "I promise you'll be alright."

"I know," Henry whimpered forcing himself from Mala's grip. "It's just ... it's just that I'm worried about your quest."

"Me too."

Thin streams of tears were falling down Henry's cheeks, but as Mala looked into her brother's watery eyes, she didn't see the pathetic, blubbering mess she usually did. The boy, the prince, standing before her now seemed braver than the Henry Mala knew. She couldn't quite put her finger on what gave her this feeling, but she liked seeing her brother standing so tall and sure of himself. It was refreshing.

Henry looked as if he were about to say something, but was interrupted by the guard, who chose that moment to come out of the tower and yell, "Righto, Princey, you best be getting in here then!"

Henry patted Mala on the shoulder, smiled at her through his tears, and walked into the tower. The guard shut and locked the heavy wooden door behind him and turned to Mala, who was feeling quite strange.

"Time for your quest, then Your Highness?" he said, grinning and bowing slightly.

"Yeah," Mala muttered. "I guess so."

Mala could feel the guard's eyes in her back as she climbed back onto the seat of the carriage. She turned back toward the tower as Richard pulled her away and saw Henry waving from a small round window near the top. She waved back and turned away as her horse carried her toward her adventure.

As soon as Mala left Henry's tower, she was lost. She'd never been this far from the castle and she'd never travelled alone. It was strange and scary and just a little bit exciting. At one point, Mala pulled over and rummaged through the supplies that had been packed for her, looking for a map and a compass, but when she realised that she was so lost that these wouldn't be much help, she gave up and returned to her seat at the front of the carriage.

Mala followed a rough gravel road to Nidria's border, across it and into the unknown world. Mala left the farmland of Nidria behind and as she travelled further, more and more trees dotted the landscape until the road she was using as a guard was surrounded by towering trees.

With Raven curled up on her lap, Richard the horse pulling the carriage along at a trot, leading them further away from everything Mala had ever known, Mala felt a strange sense of calm. Raven's fur was shining in the dappled afternoon light and the rhythmic sound of Richard's hooves on the road echoed through the trees on either side of it. Even though Mala was thoroughly lost and completely unsure of what she was meant to be doing on her quest, she couldn't help but feel at ease when everything around her was as slow and calm and perfect as it was now.

Just before sunset, Mala came across a small clearing beside the dirt road. Mala stopped here and decided to make camp for the night. As she collected sticks and fallen branches for a fire, Raven prowled around the clearing, inspecting the place. The cat rubbed against almost every tree, stretched and rolled in the grass and leaves, and sniffed the air, trying to smell out a small animal for dinner.

As Raven explored, Mala struggled to make a fire. She had brought a book with her that explained how to do start a fire by rubbing sticks together, but when Mala tried that, she couldn't even get the tiniest wisp of smoke. Eventually she gave up and rummaged around in the cupboard at the back of the carriage for matches, which she used to finally light the fire. She cut up some vegetables and meat that had been packed for her and held the saucepan over the fire, hoping it would cook.

After Mala had eaten her plain dinner and fed Richard the vegetable scraps, she she sat beside the fire and read by its light. The setting sun had taken the warmth of the afternoon with it, but the fire was going quite well now and was glowing with heat. Raven curled up beside Mala and purred loudly, apparently content out here in the wild.

Mala tried to concentrate on her book, tried to soak up the information so that she could use it later, but her mind was elsewhere. Mala wondered what Henry would be doing now. He was probably sitting in by his tower window, reading or drawing the view, happy and safe. Her parents were probably sitting by the fireplace, listening to musicians play for them until one of them fell asleep. Mala looked out into the darkness of the forest. This was the first time she had ever been properly alone. All her life she had been surrounded by her family and important politicians and maids and visitors and now her only company were a sleeping cat and a grazing horse. Mala wasn't sure why, but somehow, she thought she preferred this. Being alone, being able to go wherever she wanted ... this was the kind of freedom Mala never knew she'd wanted.

Mala was just sitting there, looking into the flames and feeling free, when a stick snapped somewhere in the forest and she jumped at the sound. Raven was on her feet in a second, back arched, golden eyes searching for the source of the sound. Mala stood up slowly, staring hopelessly into the darkness.

"Hello?" she said, her voice shaking and echoing through the trees.

Mala stood very still and listened hard, but whatever had made the twig break was not willing to give itself away.

"Okay, Raven," Mala said softly. "It's probably just a bird or something."

The cat's golden eyes shone as she glared at Mala.

"I'm sure it was nothing," Mala said again, as if trying to convince herself. "But ... just in case, let's go to bed."

Mala put out the fire and retrieved a sword from the cupboard. She climbed into the carriage with Raven behind her, placed her glasses on a shelf, the sword on the floor beside her bed and wrapped herself in the covers.

Mala didn't remember falling asleep and she mustn't have been dosing very deeply because it wasn’t long before a scratching sound woke her. It was dark, darker than it ever got in her castle at home, with all its torches and guards. She fumbled for her glasses and put them on. Slowly, and as quietly as she possibly could, Mala slid her feet out of bed and onto the floor. She found the sword, gripping the handle and tiptoed over to the door. She was just about there when a horrible screeching sound filled the carriage. Mala jumped, nearly cutting her own hair off with the sword, and looked around frantically for the source of the noise. She felt around the shelf for a match and a candle, lit the candle clumsily and the carriage was filled with light again.

Mala looked around and saw that Raven was sitting on the floor, licking her fur and looking very unhappy. Mala lowered the candle to reveal claw marks on the inside of the door.

"Raven," Mala hissed. The cat ignored her. She kicked it lightly with her foot and the golden eyes looked up at her, irritable and expectant.

"Did you want to go outside?" Mala asked. "You should have just asked."

She opened the door slightly and Raven jumped out of it.

"Stupid cat."

*

As she sat on the step of the carriage the next morning, Mala felt miserable. She could picture Henry, still lying in a nice four poster bed while she sat outside in the cold, eating a jam sandwich for breakfast and aching all over from a sleepless night on a too-small bed.

Mala set off a little after breakfast. She sat at the front of the carriage with Raven sitting beside her, watching their surroundings intently. The road was less calming this morning. The grey clouds and glaring light that came in through the trees was not as warm or as pretty as yesterday and everything seemed to annoy Mala.

That night as Mala lay in her carriage, trying to get to sleep on the uncomfortable bed, she heard a whistling sound outside. The sound was strange, all high and wobbly, as if the whistler were running out of breath. Mala slowly got up, pulling on her boots. She gripped her sword in one hand and rubbed the blue stone necklace between the fingers of the other. Then she let the necklace drop back onto her chest, just over her pounding heart, and opened the door.

Stepping down the steps of the carriage, and squinting in the gloom, Mala was terrified. She shook in the cold, her nightdress offering no warmth. Her heart pounded so hard that if it weren't so dark, Mala was sure she would be able to see it beating through her clothes. She stood shivering by the carriage, staring hopelessly into the black darkness as the ringing sound grew louder and louder until it felt as if the sound were coming from inside her own head.

Mala squeezed her eyes shut and dropped the sword, gripping her head to stop it from splitting, trying to block her ears from the horrible sound. She felt herself fall and her knees hit the ground with a thud. The pain of her fall mixed into the pain of the sound and just as Mala felt her ears were about to explode from the awful ringing, the forest fell silent.

Mala let her hands fall from the side of her head. She frowned into the darkness. She fumbled around in the leaf litter until her hand met the handle of her sword. Gripping it tight, Mala wobbled back onto her feet, determined to discover the source of the sound. 

She took a cautious step forward, her boots slipping on the leaves that covered the ground, and held the sword higher. The forest was silent, which was stranger than the ringing, whistling sound. Mala paused, listening hard. She could not hear a single bird or bat or the whisper of a breeze. Only the sound of her breath and the soft thud of her footsteps broke the silence. The quiet was uncomfortable and Mala decided she needed to break it.

"Who's there?" she called, her voice as shaky as her cold body. Mala's voice echoed between the trees and disappeared into the overwhelming silence.

This was strange and Mala was terrified. Yesterday, it had been impossible for her to sleep through all the noise of the forest and tonight it was completely gone. Mala's hands were shaking and she felt the fear pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She had to get back into her carriage. She had to get out of the darkness.

Mala took a step towards her carriage, but after a single step, she was forced to stop by a brilliant blue light that had suddenly sparked out from the darkness, lighting up the forest. Mala squinted through it, but she couldn't see where it had come from or what it was, but it had light up the forest so well that she could see far into the trees in all directions. She held up the sword and it shone silver.

She turned carefully, looking out into the forest for any sign of what had made the sound, but saw nothing but trees. Mala took a deep breath, felt her heart slowing and went back into her carriage. The blue light followed her and it wasn't until Mala saw Raven staring at her that Mala realised what had caused the light to flood the clearing. She took off the blue stone necklace and turned it over in her hands. Light was streaming out from the arrow carved into it and the beam moved across the room as Mala twisted the stone.

"Maybe Cass is protecting me," Mala muttered.

She glanced out the window and by the light glowing out of the necklace, Mala could almost swear she saw a figure standing in the trees.