Wrote this at midnight, I hope it doesn't suck.

Sabriel paced back and forth restlessly. She was bored, which was an odd situation for a Queen of the Old Kingdom. Her boots made nearly no sound as they traced the same path aimlessly, hoping that they would find something different when they returned. She jumped, however, when strong arms gripped her around the waist.

"Touchstone, I didn't see you there!" Sabriel exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"It's easy to miss something you're not looking for," Touchstone responded vaguely. "What has you looking so pained?"

"I'm very bored," Sabriel admitted.

"Bored? Sabriel?" Touchstone laughed, pulling his wife into an embrace.

"Yes, and I have not the slightest idea what to do!" she complained.

"What are you looking for?"

"Something...fun," Sabriel decided.

"Fun? Well, what have you tried?"

"Everything. Nothing. I've tried a bit of embroidery, brushing my hair, combat practice, reading. Nothing is particularly fun."

"Well, that's not fun!" Touchstone protested. "That's merely what you do every day!"

"Well, what do you suggest?" Sabriel wondered.

"When I was growing up, Rogir and I had quite a bit of fun with practical jokes," Touchstone suggested.

"Practical...jokes?"

"Yes, and it was quite a bit of fun. Would you like to try it?"

"I don't know how," Sabriel murmured, casting her eyes down.

"I'll teach you," Touchstone replied, reaching out a hand to raise her chin so she was looking at him.

"I'd like that."

"One of my favorite practical jokes, and one of the easiest, is the bucket-above-the-door joke," Touchstone began, waving his hand to the pile of buckets that was beside him. "Come outside this room and close the door behind you. When I call you, come inside."

"Alright," Sabriel agreed, and whirled around.

She strode outside the small room into the narrow corridor in the abandoned area of the House and leaned against the stone wall. She stared off into space and wondered about this mysterious bucket and its relation to the door. Sabriel heard a soft sloshing sound, and then came the affirmative call for her to reenter the room.

Sabriel sighed and turned towards the door, nervously pushing it open a crack, then then a bigger crack, then a bigger one. She then strode into the room confidently. Next thing Sabriel knew, she was soaking wet, her hair hanging over her eyes in wet spikes. A chilly blast hit her, and then she burst out laughing, as did Touchstone.

"So you like the idea?" Touchstone asked softly, brushing the soaked hair out of her eyes and kissing her lightly.

"It's going to be brilliant," Sabriel confirmed.

"So that's all?" Sabriel asked disbelievingly, looking the water-filled bucket up and down. "Just move it above a door and it falls over?"

"Pretty much. That's the nature of it. Sayre calls it 'gravity'," Touchstone answered. "There he comes, hide!"

Touchstone dove behind a corner hastily as Sabriel's eyes darted back and forth, looking for a place to hide. The first place was a large wardrobe, tall and deep enough to hide Sabriel. She dove behind it, just as the large bucket filled itself with water and rose to levitate above the arched doorway. The soft patter of footsteps began to get louder as they approached, and a moment later, the white head of the eighth Bright Shiner poked out into the room. He looked around, then casually stepped forward. Instantly, there was a splash, a startled yowl, and then an angry hiss. The soaked cat looked around angrily for the source of the water and saw the bucket.

"Your Highness," Mogget growled, turning to Ellimere. The ten-year-old girl turned.

"Yes?"

"Mind removing my collar?"

"Of course not!" Ellimere gasped. "Why?"

"The Abhorsen really deserves it this time."