The oak tree falls 7/10

Joan felt very conspicuous, as a policeman in an unmarked hover drove her to the docks. Lucy had made her a wig with her old pigtails attached and she was also wearing the strange one-piece suit, although she had to admit that it felt very comfortable.

The policeman sat in his car and watched her, as she wandered around the docks looking at the sailing ships. Somehow or other she felt as if she knew quite a lot about them, but nobody seemed to recognise her.

She turned away from the quayside at last and began to walk back to the car. She’d been quite hopeful that she might get her memory back, for some reason she certainly felt comfortable around boats.

Then much to her surprise someone tapped her on the shoulder. “Hello Jennifer Jane, what on earth are you doing here?”

Joan turned round to see a rather tall lady, very sunburnt, wearing well-worn sailor clothes and a roll-necked jumper that seemed a bit bulky round the shoulders and back.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I’m afraid I’ve lost my memory and don’t know who I am. Do you really know me?”

“Of course I do, your name is Jennifer Jane an apprentice witch from the Gate near Lurbridge. You keep on getting stuck in alternate worlds and people at home are just beginning to wonder where you’ve managed to get to this time.”

Joan had no idea what the lady was talking about, but the policeman had got out of his car and was walking towards them, talking into his monitor as he came.

“Do I understand that you know this young lady ma’am? I’m afraid she appears to have lost her memory and can’t remember who she is or where she’s come from. The only thing we really know about her is that she arrived here looking rather like this, with her Uncle Malcolm about three weeks ago. If you’re sure you know her, I’d like you to come along to the police station and identify her formally.”

“I’m not allowed to do that I’m afraid. I’m an alien and can’t go outside the port area.”

The policeman looked her up and down; “You seem normal enough to me.”

“My name is Fern Marigold Knott; I’m a fairy working for the Davy Jones shipping company. I know this girl quite well; she lives in world 57 and has an unfortunate habit of getting into adventures where she can’t find her way home.”

“I think I remember the name ‘Fern’,” said Joan, “aren’t you something to do with very small sailing boats?”

Fern grinned. “Quite right, I think I’ll have to leave you here for a while and try to persuade my captain to let me go when we arrive at the nearest transport fog. Then I’ll have a word with Abigail and get your parents over here to take you home.”

“Could you look after my watch please Fern,” asked Joan, “it seems to cause an awful lot of trouble if I take it outside the docks.” Then she turned to the policeman, “Would it be alright if Fern had a copy of my picture to take to my parents, just to make sure that I’m really who she thinks I am.”

It was the policeman’s turn to smile. “I think that’s probably the best solution young lady. No watch, no problem, although perhaps you could persuade your friend Lucy to buy you a monitor like everyone else.”