CHAPTER FOUR

"So, I've called you all here to tell you that the work you've been doing in Latibær is startling. Rudimentary. Intolerable. Good for you." This was Grim Galdur in his lair and he was no longer in the guise of his uniform Robbie Rotten. He was that gnarled hairy old troll that mirrors seemed to love to reflect. He marched back and forth like some general or sergeant of an army, before him were hideous little imps, bad elves, and brownies… the ones who were causing all the waywardness in town. "That stupid little girl is at it again, she's going to ruin everything again! I can't have that. She will blow my cover, she will go to the fairy kingdom and all of you will be banished because of her. She's has the heart of a toad and she hates everyone of you. In order for her to stop her crimes against us, she must be annihilated, no, not killed, but her moral deflated. She must be rendered into a wreck of emotion so she can't even think straight. In order for me to carry out my plans to take over this town once and for all, Stephanie must be stopped."

An elf raised his hand, "How, king of dark elves?"

"How, you ask? Destroy what she loves the most. Give her a reason to cry every night. Make her a laughing stock to every good fairy on this planet."

"And what do we get in return?"

"Sugar!" He said. "You get loads of sugar. All the sugar and sweets you can possibly eat! Go on out there and make a total mess of things, you WILL be rewarded for your actions by the people of Latibær, I'll make sure of it."

They nodded and departed from his company.

Stephanie was practicing her dancing moves in the living room of her home, her father watched her while he sat on the couch drinking his hot chocolate. "Great, Steph! You're glowing tonight."

"Not sure how I will do in that competition, I'm trying my best to remember all of my moves, but I keep forgetting them. Maybe I should make the sequences easier?"

"It's up to you."

"Do you have any suggestions, dad?"

"Well, I used to be a tap dancer back in my day." He put his hot chocolate down and got up. He did a few moves on the carpet, his feet tapping on the floor, but making no sound. "Hmm, it seems I have forgotten some of my moves too."

They both laughed.

"But as it comes back to me, I would suggest you add some tap dancing into your routine, Steph."

"I would love that."

He showed her a few easy steps and she copied him. "That's it, just like that, tap tapidee tap tap."

"Why don't I just do all tap dancing for the competition tonight?"

"But you worked so hard on your other dance moves? Do both."

"Okay, dad."

"Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll be right back." He went into the kitchen.

She rehearsed her moves again making errors along the way and getting frustrated. "Dad? Do you remember mom when she was in ballet?"

He called back from the kitchen, "Yes, I do, and she was a champion. You have her talent, that's for sure. Before she died she said that you were going to go far as a dancer. Her spirit is alive within you."

"I believe she is guiding me."

"She is."

Stephanie did some more dancing of her own and fell down unexpectedly. "Ouch! That was weird." It felt like something came right out beneath her two feet and made her trip. She sat there for a bit to recover. A picture of her and her dad suddenly fell to the floor. She got up to put it back on the wall but found that the nail that was holding up was broken. "Wow, that's strange! Hey, dad, the picture is broken." She examined the picture and smiled. "Dad, do you remember when we were at the amusement park? That's where this picture was taken, you were so scared to go on the roller coaster with me but did anyways."

There was no response.

"Hey, dad, check out the picture. I might need a new nail. This one is broken…" She glanced over her shoulder. "Dad? Can you bring a hammer too?"

Still no answer.

She wondered if he temporarily had left the kitchen? She took the frame with her and entered the other room. "Are you in here still?"

She dropped the picture when she saw him lying on the floor. There was hot chocolate spilled everywhere. All of the cupboards were wide open, the fridge and stove were open, and the lights started to flicker. Stephanie rushed to his side and tried to shake him back to consciousness. The kitchen table started levitating and spinning and the chairs fell over. They had a small rug, which was slightly propped up as if a cat was under it. She could see two white eyes staring at her from it but she couldn't tell what it was.

Immediately she suspected bad imps at play. "Leave us alone!" Her dad was not breathing so quickly she thought that she should call the ambulance and then Milford and Bessie. When she lifted the receiver to her ear she heard chuckling on the other line, a scratchy, squeaky voice spoke to her,

"Heh, and now, not even Sportacus can do anything for you, pesky brat!"

CLICK.

"Who is this?" She said but got nothing in reply, so she hung up and dialled again and this time got the ambulance.

Bessie and Milford stayed with Stephanie at the hospital but the news of her father was devastating. He had passed away from an unknown cause. If the stars could fall from the night sky, then this very hour, that very second, they did. Only the moon was brave enough to offer Stephanie some light of hope.

She fell into Milford's arms and cried.