"Where do you remember last seeing Benjamin?"

Alice was questioning me the next day in the comfort of her airship, daintily drinking tea. It was an overcast day, not cold but not exactly interesting weather either. The ship sailed through the clouds slowly, graceful in its movement.

"He said goodbye to me in Welhae, in the park near the posh-nobs' quartz houses."

Alice nearly dropped her teacup.

"I beg your pardon?" She half-shouted, offended.

Her eyes went wide and she blinked slowly as if I'd said the worst swear word I knew.

She continued in the same fashion:
"Posh-nobs? I assume then that I'm one too, just because I'm wealthy, yes?"

I'd really offended her!

"Sorry!" I replied.

I quickly changed the subject...

"Anyway... Do you know the name of the park?"

Alice calmed down and smiled.
"Yes. It's called The Victoria Green. We shall be there in a moment."

Alice pushed back her chair and strode up the stairs to tell the driver where to go.
Her swishing emerald shirts scuffed the floor, getting quieter as she moved further and further away.

******

An hour later, we were back in Welhae. The sun was shining now, the quartz in the wealthy person's houses sparkling like a jewellery box.

The airship floated downwards, like a gliding bird. I ran out to the deck and cast the rope overboard so it hooked onto the mooring post below. 3 minutes later, the airship had landed on the ground.

We hopped out and i was reminded of how advanced Alice's airship was. Because next to our ship, there was another airship modelled on a hot-air balloon like Benjamin's.

It looked awkward and out of place next to the gleaming mass of Alice's airship.

But alas! It wasn't Benjamin's airship.

Moving onwards, Alice and I searched the park, asking people if they knew him.
"Excuse me, would you be so good as to tell me if you know of a boy called Benjamin who wears a red waist jacket and a grey shirt? He was last seen in his airship." Alice asked a nanny pushing a perambulator.

I was more direct in approach. I queried a young gentleman:
"Have you seen a boy called Benjamin? He has an airship, red waistband, blonde hair."

Neither of those people had seen him.

The same process was repeated for at least an hour, until I heard a familiar pishhhhhhh...
The steam horse man!
I ran up to ask him.

"You seen Benjamin, wearing a red waist jacket and grey shirt with strawberry blonde hair?" I said quickly.

The steam horse man, holding a steam horse at the ready, nodded.
"'E your sweetheart?"

I blushed.

"Yep, I seen 'im." The man gestured with an oil-stained hand. "'E went out of the town by the road next t'the park, turned left and went down t'the 'vale path' until the second turn'off then flew down there. I was on the same road goin' to Jalithwaite to get me steam 'orse fixed, so I know."

"Thank you, that's very helpful." I nodded, grinning.

The steam horse man tipped his cap at me before turning away.

"Pleasure, ma'am." He finished.

With this information, I rushed to find Alice.
"Wonderful news!" Alice said joyfully. We ran back to the airship and climbed inside, powering it up.

The airship roared into life and surged ahead, once Alice had told the driver where to go. She stayed in his cabin to direct him, while I watched the window in the parlour.

The 'vale path' turned out to be at least 10 miles long, the first turn off was 1 mile in.
We quickly abandoned the brick uniformity of Welhae and was faced with mile after mile of countryside.

There was hedgerow after hedgerow, accompanied with the silver ribbon of drystone walls, rippling over the endlessly green drumlin hills.

In Benjamin's airship, the journey would've taken a day. Alice's airship took an hour.

Eventually, we turned off the beaten earth road, 6 miles later, after a sign pointing to Jalithwaite and Averat. an
We sailed down a gently sloping hill, until the farm was in sight.

It was a hamlet of 3 one-storey once-white stone cottages, with burgundy-violet heather-thatched roofs.

There was an area fenced off with damp wooden poles, and inside this there were small lettuces, some drooping carrots, lots of potatoes.

2 sturdy apple trees were at the side of the road and under these, some hazel-colour chickens scurried and scratched the parched ground.

There was a large wooden post sticking up in the grassy ground near the hamlet, so Alice landed the airship there.

"I'll enter the hamlet and see who's there." I instructed Alice, as I disembarked the airship, landing on the dusty earth.

Alice watched carefully as I strode towards the wooden front door of the first house and rapped my hand on the door.

I waited.

The air smelt dry and dusty and there were woodworm holes in the door.

I waited.

The door creaked open.

A boy with strawberry blonde hair sticking up in peaks and a cheeky twinkle in his eyes peered out.

On seeing me, he opened the door wider and came into full view. Red waistcoat, grey shirt, crumpled trousers. Just how I remembered him.

"Mila?" He said in delighted wonder.

"Benjamin! Good to see you! But we don't have much time. Mr Aberdain knows where you are and we need to leave!" I announced.

"What? Don't tell me what to do! I'm a farmer, I can't leave my chickens again! My neighbour fed them while I gave you a lift but he won't do it again! What you gonna do 'bout that?" He responded, now grumpy.

Without thinking, I answered,
"Take them with you! But don't delay, my friend!"

I ran back to the airship and stood on the deck with Alice.
"He's coming." I told her and Alice nodded, still watching the hamlet.

My mouth fell open when I realised what I'd said. Because Benjamin came back with five crates of chickens! He lifted each one (containing 2 chickens each) into the airship before we went inside and flew away again.

Once airborne, I introduced everyone,
"Benjamin, Alice. Alice, Benjamin."

I turned to Alice,
"Benjamin was my first companion on this adventure I got myself into."

Benjamin added with a passive smile,
"It was a bit eventful."

Alice turned to look at the crates of chickens stacked by the wooden table. The chickens were clucking and jerking their heads, utterly fascinated by the airship ride.

She faced my friend again:
"But why chickens?" She inquired.

Benjamin shrugged.
"Mr Aberdain would never have guessed I'd farm these birds. But now he has done... so that was damn stupid of me."

There was a pause.

Then I replied:

"Well, at least we can have fresh eggs for breakfast tomorrow."

Everyone laughed.

******

Benjamin has been rescued but the new trio are not out of the woods yet...

The next chapter will come soon, don't worry!
Don't forget to vote if you're enjoying my story, it means a lot to me and I appreciate your support! :)