Chapter 4
The Camp
When I woke up the following morning, Harry wasn’t next to me, which suited me just fine. I took the time to orient myself, stretching, adjusting my shirt, then retied the sash, brushed the dirt off my pants, and headed outside.
Examining my surroundings in the daylight, I tried to understand what this place Harry had called Virginia really was.
The mountains, the very ones I’d seen under the moonlight, were beautiful.
They were covered with lush vegetation and their color was a bright green, an emerald shade different from the forests in Zorya.
I’d never heard of mountains like these before, not even from my old nurse, Arina, who had told me stories of faraway lands.
The fields around us were a brighter shade of green, and I noticed lots of bell-shaped blue flowers throughout.
I knelt next to one, touched its petals and smelled it, catching a whiff of its sweet, gentle aroma.
When I rose from my knees, I saw the two-humped pony standing next to me.
“Good morning, Harry!” I exclaimed.
“I can’t speak. My lunch break is about to end.” He threw me a concerned look, and as I followed his gaze, I heard children’s voices. They were getting louder. I gave the pony a curious stare, but he only sighed in response.
“Lunch break? You mean you don’t graze during the day?”
“No. I’m not allowed. I usually don’t eat during my lunch break because they force me to have those pellets”—Harry wrinkled his nose—“and I like to just enjoy some time in the shade.”
“What work do you do?”
“Don’t you get it? I give pony rides.” The humpbacked horse flared his nostrils.
“Pony rides? What in the world are those?”
“Don’t ask,” Harry noted gravely. Though he sounded stern, I could tell he’d been warming up to me, and I broached the subject of the Firebird.
“Listen, Harry, I was wondering if you could help me. You see, I’m in a bit of a bind. I need to figure out where the Firebird lives.”
Harry didn’t answer, but he moved his ears back and forth, and I took it as a sign of approval.
Possibly the pony could help me find the Firebird.
Animals all knew each other, even if they feigned ignorance.
It was just a matter of earning their trust. I could already picture myself locating the Firebird, capturing it with the help of its feather, and bringing it to Baba Yaga, triumphant.
These thoughts were swirling in my mind as I looked up to see a group of children appear from behind the curve.
Suddenly, the pony shook his head and neighed.
“Hide,” he told me clearly.
“Why?”
“You don’t want them to see you. Let’s talk after my shift.”
“Your shift?”
I raised my eyebrows, but followed the pony’s advice.
I ran up the hill and hid behind a large tree just in time to see a group of five boys and five girls approach.
They were all wearing identical shirts: white, with short sleeves, and a picture of a bright-yellow circle in the middle.
The children looked to be around eight or nine years old, judging by their size, but their facial expressions were very immature, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
In Zorya, a typical nine-year-old already heated the stove and took the horses to pasture, not to mention cleaning the house and even going hunting.
But this group looked like little children.
They were chatting animatedly with each other. Leading them was a young woman. She was also wearing the same short-sleeved shirt, just like the kids, and she walked briskly in front of them.
“Hey, kids, now, please line up, get ready for your rides,” the woman instructed, but the children paid no attention to her. They ran up to Harry and started touching him, running their hands through his mane, and one little girl even pulled his tail.
The pony took it all in stride and did not react once.
I admired his sense of self-control. The horses I’d dealt with would have protested.
I watched as the children, having satisfied their curiosity, finally lined up, taking their places along the fence.
And then the unthinkable began. One by one, they mounted the pony and rode, giggling, up and down the path for about two minutes each.
The pony walked solemnly, carrying his riders from one end to another on a completely pointless ride that made these children giggle with delight.
I wondered whether these were dimwit children, just like I used to be, for enjoyment of this form of entertainment was extremely unusual, but, to my utter astonishment, it was clear to me that the children were rather intelligent.
They spoke to each other of matters I’d never heard of, like flying on vacation, and used words that referred to things I did not know existed.
And then one boy took a small black rectangle out of his pocket, looked at it, and the rectangle flashed brightly.
The other children surrounded the child, and I heard the rectangle play a song.
This child must have magical abilities, I decided, and stared at the boy in reverence, almost forgetting the pony’s instructions for me to hide.
But then the young woman ordered the children to follow her back and told them the pony rides were over for the day and that they would now go to their “next activity.”
I waited until the children had left and walked up to Harry.
“Hey, what was all that?” I asked.
“It’s a spring break camp. I provide rides to the children,” the pony told me with pride in his voice.
“A spring break camp? Why does spring need a break?”
“Don’t you know anything?” The pony shifted his hooves, throwing a look full of disdain at the bowl filled with the pellets.
“A spring break camp is a place for children so that they have something to do outside of school. And they come here for pony rides. They also do a few other things, but it’s only a week.
Then it gets quiet until the summer, when there is summer camp. ”
“I see. So you don’t do any regular work?”
“This is my regular work!” The pony stared at me in surprise.
“And why are they making you eat this stuff?” I asked, pointing at the pellets. I didn’t mean to offend him, but everything was so strange, and I needed answers.
“Listen, stop bothering me,” the pony said.
“This is the food I’m given. I showed it to you last night.
It’s supposed to provide me with all the nutrition I would ever need.
” He moved his jaws in silence while I observed.
“The hay I ate last night is what I crave, but if they catch me eating it, I’ll be punished. ”
“Who’s they?”
“My keepers. My employers. The people who run this place.” The pony bared his teeth.
“You mean Virginia?”
“No, Dimwit, this place is called the Fernwood Resort.”
“What’s that?” I asked, wide-eyed. “First you tell me we’re in Virginia, now you call it something else.”
“You must really be slow.” Harry furrowed his brow. “Listen, how about I show you around?”
“Sure, why not?” I shrugged. “But listen, if you plan on leading me into the woods and leaving me there, I’ll find my way back.”
“Why would I do that? You’re being very nice to me, Ivan the Dimwit,” the pony said, giving me a careful stare. “Most people just call me ugly, or point at my humps and call me the Humpback.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Harry.”
“Yeah, the only one who doesn’t insult me is Lisa. She’s very nice. She brings me sugar.” The pony smacked his lips.
“Sugar? Like sugar beets?” I looked at Harry in awe. In Zorya, sugar was expensive, akin to silver and gold. No one in their right mind would ever give something so precious to a horse.
“You don’t know anything, do you? Are you an actual dimwit?”
“No, it’s just a nickname.” I frowned. “Would you mind just calling me Ivan?”
“Not at all.” The pony blinked, then continued, “I guess time will tell. So, this is the actual resort.”
I followed the direction of Harry’s gaze and gasped.
A sprawling building had appeared out of nowhere.
It was ten floors high and looked almost identical to the descriptions of the tsar’s palace I’d heard from my old nurse.
It was a beautiful dark-red color with white alabaster designs all around.
I tried to count its windows but stopped at fifty.
“Is this the tsar’s palace?” I gasped.
“No, we don’t have anyone like that here. This is the Fernwood Resort, a place where people come to relax.” Harry neighed, leading us around to the building. “We should be careful in case someone sees us, but if that happens, just pretend you’re taking me on a walk.”
“Sure,” I said. “They won’t make you give the kids rides or anything?”
“Of course not, the rides are booked in advance.”
Having reached the back of the building, I saw several other structures, smaller ones. A beautiful garden connected them.
The grass was all the same height, and nearly the same shade of green. The flowers had been planted in intricate circular patterns in the flowerbeds. I couldn’t help but stare at the garden in admiration. I opened my mouth to ask Harry about this beautiful space, but stopped, paralyzed with fear.
A huge black object was moving at high speed, making a terrible roaring noise. It looked somewhat like a carriage, only it was metal and moved on its own, without a horse or even a donkey pulling it along.
“Harry, watch out!” I screamed, trying to push the horse out of the way. “Come on, we’ve gotta run!”
But Harry didn’t flinch. He shook his head and sighed.
“Ivan, I don’t know where you come from, but this is just a car. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“What’s a car? What kind of sorcery is this?” I ducked down.
“It’s an automobile. You, humans, invented them a hundred years ago. This is one of the reasons no one rides horses anymore. Only for fun.”