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Australia.
    ‘Wow!’ she
said, looking up at the detailed frescos adorning the dome. She
felt giddy and a little awed. ‘There are humans up there.’
    ‘Yes, humans
are there,’ said Reginald. ‘And notice that humans and owls are
always shown together. There are no other animals with them.’
    ‘Yeah, I see
what you mean. Why?’ she asked.
    Reginald had
stopped in the middle of the hall, directly under the dome. Under
his feet a colourful and ornate compass rose, showing north, south,
east and west, was skilfully set into the tile floor. He turned to
face her. ‘We don’t know for sure. But the theory is that owls and
humans were the first thinking, talking animals. The rest of us
followed.’
    ‘But how?
Who?’ asked Flossy, fascinated. She hadn’t been taught anything
like that at school before she left Australia, or on board the
Enterprise in what passed for school.
    Reginald
shrugged. ‘I’ve spent most of my life trying to answer that
question, Flossy. It was so long ago. The answers are locked up in
the ice. I just don’t know.’
    Harry was
still looking up. ‘It’s something, isn’t it?’ he said, voice lost
in wonder.
    Flossy turned
around, taking it all in and wondering if clouds ever formed under
the dome.
    Sergeant Boar
snorted impatiently and stamped a trotter, which clattered off the
dome above. He stood by a set of tall doors to their right. These
were plated with golden metal and set into the curving wall of the
hall. Identical doors were at the rear and to the left of where
they stood.
    Reginald led
Flossy and Harry across the floor towards the black boar.
    Harry’s voice
dropped to a whisper so that Flossy had to tip her head to hear:
‘This way leads to the Hall of Deliberation; the Mayor’s formal
audience chamber,’ he said.
     
    CHAPTER 5

    THE HALL OF DELIBERATION
     
    Sergeant Boar thumped
on the heavy doors with his snout. They ponderously swung aside,
revealing gorilla guards with long spears resting against the wall
within easy reach. One of the gorillas was nursing an injured arm
in a sling. Flossy recognised him as the one she had tricked into
falling through the roof, and later, off the downpipe. She hung her
head as she walked past, embarrassed.
    Reginald
paused before the gorilla with the sling. ‘Thank you for helping me
down the stairs last night, sergeant. I’m sorry to have caused so
much trouble.’ The gorilla nodded in acknowledgement but frowned
when he noticed Flossy.
    ‘Sorry,’ she
mouthed, pensively.
    The Hall of
Deliberation stretched before her. It was every bit as impressive,
and daunting, as the Hall of Greeting. Rows of stone columns either
side of a wide isle held up a high ceiling. The columns were
ornately decorated with figures of animals at play. Unlit torches
were set in iron rings attached to each face of each column. The
vaulted ceiling was a patchwork of diamond-shaped panels,
alternating between the colour of cream and earthy ochre.
    The far end of
the hall was crowded with animals of all species, many she didn’t
recognise. All of them watched her and murmured to one another as
she walked towards them, Harry on one side, Reginald on the other.
Their expressions were a mixture of fear, anger and curiosity.
These animals had never before seen a human. Flossy felt extremely
conspicuous and a little nervous about what would be expected of
her. She was glad to be with Reginald and Harry.
    Finally, they
reached the end of the great hall. The animals were thickest here
and parted to allow them through, hooves and claws clattering
noisily on the hard, tile floor. Reginald went first, then Harry.
Flossy adjusted her damp, poorly fitting clothes and followed. Her
cold feet were splattered with mud, but nobody seemed to wear shoes
here. Her hair was a mess. She was glad she had thought of tying it
back with her mother’s ribbon.
    Sitting
magnificently on a raised dais was a lion, the Mayor. It was the
same lion who had confronted her last night