“How delightful! I have not been addressed as ‘queen’ for years! Yes, I am sometimes known as the Raven Queen, but I am more than that, Ark, much more. I am the guardian of this created land. I, too, was grown like the trees. Sometimes, science and miracles come together.” She stopped and bowed gracefully.

“I’m A-Ark, short for Arktorious,” he stammered. A minute ago he was a potential murderer. Now they were making courtly introductions. “Umm … you’re not going to eat me, are you?”

“Oh really. These nursery rhymes do exaggerate!” She studied him for a second with her vivid green eyes. Why did they look so familiar? It was unnerving.

Ark was in shock. Goodwoody talked about Dendrans ignoring the Raven Queen at their peril. Now she walked alongside him, living and breathing! “Hang on! Does that mean that Diana is here somewhere, too?” He peered around, terrified of meeting the target of his prayers.

“The mother of us all is long gone.” Corwenna frowned.

“Did you … know her?” Ark couldn’t stop the questions tumbling out. It was all too much to take in, just like this tangled treescape that confused his sense of direction. He longed for the familiar woodways that he knew like the back of his hand, the safety ropes that gave Dendrans their sense of security. Here, there were no ropes to steady the nerves, only a tortuous route that was keen to trip him up and pull him over the edge. The branch suddenly narrowed and Ark quailed. “I can’t …” The woodway swayed in front of him, a skinny tightrope of wood, no wider than the width of his foot.

Corwenna smiled as she strode confidently over. “You need to trust. The wild wood will never let you fall.”

Ark wasn’t so sure. These trees were tricky, treacherous. Finally, he tried to calm his breathing and carefully stepped forward, convinced he was about to slip. But somehow his feet found the right gripping points and he was over, scampering to keep up with his new guide.

“Well done!” said Corwenna as Ark at last caught up. “As for the answer to your earlier question. Oh yes. I knew her with all my heart and soul. But let us leave her in peace for now. Your curiosity does you credit. Dendrans are normally so dull, with their rituals and woodsmen and misguided prayers, but you, Ark, have always been different. You have the ability to understand nature’s true power, something far greater than be-leaf alone. This is why you were made, foundling boy.”