Hello, nice people who have clicked on this document in order to read it. Fellow author and I, michasl, are one of probably many who dislike the character Jenna in the Septimus Heap series, for various reasons, most of the time. We really don't think she deserves to live any longer. And so, we have decided to write a fanfiction where Queen Jenna goes bye bye. Permanantly. Enjoy! :D

(BTW, neither thelonelyonlychild nor michasl owns the Septimus Heap series, or any of its original places and characters.)


The Queen Jenna of the Castle was walking slowly along the line of stalls in the Market, observing the wares around her. She made sure to smile at every person who walked by her, determined to give some reason as to why everyone liked her. She knew they would like her anyways, but better to be safe than sorry.

As she began to turn the corner in order to proceed to the next row of stalls, she stopped in surprised amazement.

The End.

Just kidding.

The reason she froze in her tracks were the two girls, fading slowly into existence in the air in front of her.

Just as they became completely solid, the taller one frowned. "That was way too slow," she said. "Not enough drama. We need some pizazz. I need cameras, lights, sparkles, smoke! Let's try this again."

They faded out of existence again. Jenna was about to decide that she had eaten something strange and was seeing things, when a loud BANG shook the air.

Smoke exploded upward from the cobblestones, and glitter rained down. Small fireworks popped, and dramatic music was playing. At this point, everyone was staring.

The two girls were back, and in fabulous poses. Everyone waited while the smoke drifted lazily away from the girls, causing the crowd to cough, and for the fireworks to stop, and the music to end. At last, the two girls broke their stances.

"Much better," commented the tall one. The strangers were dressed oddly. The one who had spoken was wearing a long black dress and black cloak, and the shorter girl was wearing a long red dress with black lining. With a happy grin on her face, she reached behind her and pulled out a tall pointed hat, and placed it on her head.

As if noticing her for the first time, the shorter girl said cheerfully, "Oh, hello Queen Jenna, your Majesty."

Jenna, shocked (although relieved that her charm seemed to be working), said, "Who are you?"

"MANNERS!" shrieked the girl in black, drawing a long, shiny dagger from around her waist and brandishing it at Jenna. Jenna backed up in panic. Apparently her charm wasn't working on this one.

The girl in the hat put her hand on the other girl's arm. "Not yet. We must wait for the right moment." She tilted her head a little, the grin getting a little closer to scary.

The other girl sighed and put back her dagger.

"So... who are you?" asked Jenna again.

"Uh." The two girls glanced at each other with worried expressions on their faces. "We didn't think this far ahead," whispered the girl in the hat.

"Uhm... We'll just use the names from the forest," whispered back the taller girl. She stepped forward, addressing Jenna. "I'm Ivy, and this is Sky." She gestured to her companion.

"And we're here to k-" Sky was abruptly cut off as Ivy clapped her hand over her mouth.

"No we're not!" corrected Ivy. "We're just, uh, sightseeing."

"Okay..." Jenna raised her eyebrows, not sure if her charm was working or not.

"Anyway, we need to start our self-oriented tour!" said Ivy. "Off we go! Bye, your Royal Highness."

They turn, and Ivy pulled up a hood, her cloak swirling dramatically. Next to her, Sky tripped. "Ow!" She stands up. "I'm fine! Don't worry, anyone! Bye!"

The crowd murmured quietly about the spectacle they had just witnessed, and Jenna watched the two girls go with a worried feeling forming a knot in the pit of her stomach. She was glad that they were only tourists.


Nicko Heap was coiling ropes on the end of one of the docks by the moat. He finished coiling another long rope and saw that he only had two more to go. He enjoyed sitting by the water, the breeze whisking away the heat of the summer day, and blowing his sailor's braids.

He heard voices disturbing the quiet of the dock and looked behind him. Coming along the dock were two strange girls. One was wearing a black cloak over a black dress, and had her hood up. The other girl was slightly shorter, and was in a red and black dress and a pointed black hat. She was sort of skipping, staring at the wooden boards, and Nicko saw her short brown hair had vibrant red tips.

Suddenly, as he watched, the girl in black threw an arm out, stopping the other girl from going any farther. "Stop!" she cried. "It's rope!"

"Oh, don't worry, Ivy," said the other girl. She pushed past the girl's arm. "I'll be fine!" She kept walking.

"That's what you said last time!" protested Ivy. She went after her. "Remember when you almost-"

At that moment, the smaller girl pitched forward off the end of the dock, and fell face-first into the water.

"-choked yourself," finished Ivy with a sigh.

Nicko looked at the water where the girl had not surfaced. "Can she swim?"

"Huh?" Ivy looked at Nicko in surprise. "Oh, probably not. Even if she can, Sky's most likely distracted by any fish that are under there."

Nicko leaned over the edge of the dock and looked into the greenish-brown murk that was the Moat. He noticed that one of the ropes that he hadn't coiled yet had one end attached the dock, and the other end disappeared into the water. "Will you be getting her then?" he looked expectantly at Ivy, who was examining her nails.

"Nope."

With a sigh, and a worried glance, Nicko dove off the dock and into the water.

Following the line of the rope, Nicko swam deeper into the water, looking for the girl. At last, he spotted her.

She was upside-down.

Her left ankle must have gotten caught by the rope, because it was now attached, and was keeping her from sinking away. Her dress was thin, luckily, so it did not fall over her head. Her hair was waving around her face, and she seemed to be trying to swim lower in the water. Nicko saw the reason why.

It was a very, very large fish, with a gaping mouth, swimming lazily towards her. Nicko caught a glimpse of sharp teeth, and he immediately grabbed the part of the rope closest to him and started pulling the girl up. It was difficult, as the rope was thick, and she seemed to be resisting. Was she trying to swim to the fish? Did she have a death wish? Nicko tried to pull faster. He had no desire to be blamed for the terrible death of a girl.

At last, he had pulled the girl to him. He grabbed her around the shoulders and swam up with her. With a gasp, he broke the surface of the water and moved towards the dock. Ivy reached down and pulled the girl up.

"Sky! You're alive!"

Sky just coughed and looked disappointed. "Fishy," she mumbled.

Nicko hauled himself up out of the water, dripping wet and exhausted from all the effort. "Your welcome," he said sarcastically.

Sky turned in surprise to him, and started to speak. "Do you want me t-" She stopped. Her cheeks became a dark pink and she stiffened.

"Are you alright?" Nicko asked. Sky continued to stare, not moving. Ivy glanced from Sky to Nicko, then back to Sky. Then an unholy gleam entered her eyes and she began to laugh. "What?" asked Nicko, worried.

"Nothing," choked out Ivy. "It's just- you're Nicko Heap, aren't you?"

"Uh, yes."

"Heheheh. Thought so."

"Right, er, is she ok?" Nicko looked down at the paralyzed Sky again.

"Not at all." Ivy smiled. "She's in shock. Someone will have to carry her."

"Oh." Nicko was uncomfortable. He felt that he should offer to carry Sky, but he didn't want to abandon his rope coiling to help strangers who dressed odd and didn't seem to care for their own well-being. He then noticed that Ivy was staring pointedly at him.

"Someone will have to carry her," she emphasized.

Nicko silently groaned and said, "I can help you."

"Wonderful! Let's go!" Ivy turned on her heel and started back along the dock.

Nicko looked down at the shocked Sky, and carefully picked her up. Her expression didn't change. Sighing, Nicko jogged a little in order to keep up with Ivy's brisk pace.

"By the way, I'm Ivy," called back the owner of the name. "And she's Sky."

Well, duh, thought Nicko. But out loud, he said, "I'm Nicko."

"I know."

"So, uh, how far do I have to carry her?"

"Don't think 'have to,' think 'get to' carry her. And we are going to the Palace."


We hope you enjoyed this! We would be love some reviews, (be nice) and we will be writing another chapter soon!