2 2 The Digeniche Herb

"Let's go to the stables first," Phyllada said.

These days the stables were quite empty, which made her sad. On Queen Lyneanne's orders, all mares had been taken away. The reason had to be that the Queen needed them in war. Stallions became too wild and hard to control on the battlefield. So only the calm females were used.

Unexpectedly, they met again their friend Bayan.

At that moment, he was sitting near the entrance to the stables, fixing his pocket telescope. He loved to invent and repair "useful gadgets", the usefulness of which would be questionable to the average person... like the glasses for "converse vision of the world" – better don't ask what that was. He liked to explore the far-off nooks of the universe, because if he didn't, who else would dare to?

"Do you know what you need to convince the Queen to stop gathering digeniche?" Bayan told Phyllada. "Facts."

Then he shoved a newspaper in her arms.

She read its title -- *SHOCK in the forest!*

"SHOCK in the forest? Bayan, this is a tabloid. What facts are you talking about?"

"Keep reading, keep reading. Don't be prejudiced!"

She read a short article about JINN BRAVA, an yearly festival which took place in the forest and in a few more locations around Allyria.

THIS YEAR'S JINN BRAVA WILL TAKE PLACE

At the beginning of this year, a few strikes were organized in Wild Wood in the name of the herb digeniche, which is said to be endangered. Many sylvan dwellers refused to participate in the annual Jinn Brava festival as a form of protest against digeniche gathering. There were those who hinted that the whole festival could be suspended as a result.

However, the breaking news from today is this year's Jinn Brava WILL TAKE PLACE! We are still not sure if Wild Wood will participate. A reliable source tells us the condition of digeniche is not as bad as we were initially informed. "Someone wants to scare people off, spreading false rumors about digeniche."

At that moment, Phyllada stopped reading. What was the point of this article?! To convince her that there was no problem with digeniche?! She glared at Bayan.

"Keep reading!" he said.

So she kept reading:

...It is a pleasure to remind you once again that the festival begins in different parts of the kingdom at the same time. In the end, all participants gather in front of the Den of the Indomitable Monster and struggle to defeat it. Although, according to the legend, this is impossible. But our heroes of Jinn Brava never give up and continue their battle each year. Before reaching their final destination, they face many dangers which test their bravery...

This year's festival will be dedicated to the rare dippera bird, which is an endangered species.

(The End)

"See?" Bayan said. "They contradict themselves!" And he explained, "Dippera birds' diet consists mainly of digeniche. They are an endangered species because they can't find enough digeniche."

Despite his innate lack of interest in such festivals, Bayan couldn't ignore this piece of information. This newspaper was misleading people as it claimed that the condition of digeniche was "not so bad."

"I can see your point now," Phyllada said. "But I am not sure I will have enough time with the Queen to explain such details to her. Anyway, I will give my best to convince her to help us."

And just as he was about to leave, Phyllada noticed,

"Bayan… You've got a hole in your hat," she mentioned, trying to sound polite.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Where?!"

She showed him the spot, and he replied,

"Ah, this hole. I know it," he waved his hand in relief. "I thought I had another! ...This is fashionable. I wear a hole with a hat on it."

Bayan smiled. Elyre shrugged. Phyllada already knew him too well to be surprised.

Phyllada and Elyre hurried to return to the Sun Manor and prepare themselves to visit the Queen later. The Sun Manor was a medium-sized snug house with a garden. Phyllada caught her dress up as she kept walking in the grass.

"Look!" Elyre smiled at her, "A five-leaf clover! It brings luck for sure."

"However, I still feel a bit uneasy," Phyllada said in a pensive voice.

"There is no reason to worry. Because when a person wishes for something hard enough, it is sure to come true! And we wish to save Wild Wood," Elyre explained.

They quickly prepared themselves for the journey. Elyre put on a long black robe that hid her body, her face and her hair very well. Her sister said goodbye to all of her pets: her cats, her dogs, her birds, and her horses.

Digeniche. A tiny digeniche in the endless fields. Dew drops sprinkled it with smiling water. Digeniche was mysterious, surrounded by legends. Do you know when digeniche bloomed? Only when two such plants met and united.