One
Sophie Receives A Letter
Sophie sat up from her bed with a start. She looked around the room, wondering what had caused her to wake up so suddenly. She turned to the space beside her in the large bed. It was empty.
"Howl…" she sighed, placing a hand on the vacant pillow.
A knock came from the door downstairs, short and sharp. It sounded urgent. Wasting no time, she slipped on her boots and hurried down the stairs.
The light from the fire was inviting, but a little dim. She threw a log into the flames just as another knock resounded from behind the door.
"Calcifer," she whispered urgently, "who is at the door?"
A voice from the fire smoothly replied, "It's the Porthaven Door. A young man, I think…"
She nodded and gave Calcifer another log. Reaching out with flaming arms, he grabbed the wood and ate it in one bite.
Sophie went down the stairs and slid the knob to the green blob. Opening the door, she was met with the sight of a man, no older than 25. He wore the outfit of a messenger. In his white-gloved hand he held a letter.
She looked from him to the letter. "Hello." She greeted after a moment. "Can I help you?"
He gave her a curt nod and replied, "Miss, I have a letter for you. It was marked urgent."
He handed her the letter and left without another word.
Sophie watched him go with a mix of curiosity and worry. What could be so urgent?
She went back into the castle and took a seat by the hearth to read the letter. The first thing she noticed about it was the seal on the back of the envelope. It was of two birds holding a rose in each beak. She ran her hand over the hard navy blue wax. What could it mean?
Calcifer poked his head up from among the logs. "Who was it?"
Sophie didn't look up, but replied, "A messenger. He brought me a letter. Said it was urgent…"
Calcifer looked over with a suspicious look in his eyes, but didn't say anything.
Sophie slid the flap of the letter open, cutting the wax seal in half. She felt something like an electric shock hit her hand as she did this, but ignored it and continued on.
The letter was written on a blue piece of paper with white ink. Odd, she thought to herself. Could it be magic?
She read the letter swiftly, her brown eyes flowing back and forth across the paper. At one point her eyes widened, and her hand went up to her mouth to stifle a gasp. By the end of it, her hands shook so badly that she dropped the letter to the floor.
Calcifer watched her reaction to the letter and burst out, "What's wrong, Sophie? What is it?"
She looked into the fire with wide eyes. "My…my sister…she's been…kidnapped."
-O-
The boats shifted and rocked in the harbor ports, their masts swaying to and fro. Sea gulls cawed every once and a while, and the moon shone down bright on the long docks. All was quiet save for the gentle hiss of the waves, and the flapping of bird wings.
A man in blue uniform and white gloves walked down the slick dock in confident strides. He came to a plain covered boat and stepped onboard. The door leading into the lower cabin had a carved insignia on it.
It was the symbol of two birds in mid-flight, a blooming rose in each beak.
The man went to the door and knocked twice. The door opened after a moment, and he went inside.
The small hallway was dimly lit, but the man walked as easily as if it were daylight, and found the room at the end.
It was a lushly furnished room, with velvet hangings, ornate statues, and figurines. A satin lounge sat on the western end of the room. A fire blazed on the eastern side. A woman stood facing the fire, the back of her the only thing to be seen. She wore a simple brown robe, her hair falling to her waist in waves of midnight blue.
The man stopped two steps into the room and went down on one knee.
"So she knows." The woman's voice sounded young, like a child not quite turned 15.
The man looked up, but remained kneeling on the floor. "Yes, Miss."
Miss reached out a hand and flicked her wrist in the direction of the man. An invisible hand seemed to pull him from his position on the floor, so that he now stood tall.
"You may take your previous shape. Your job is done."
With another flick of her hand, the man's body slowly began to melt and sway like a bubble being tossed in the wind, till after a bright burst of light, in his place there remained, not a man, but a beautiful white bird. It took flight and came to rest on the mantle over the fireplace.
The woman's hand disappeared into her robs once more.
"Come to me Sophie." she whispered, "I will be waiting."