"Well that was fun. Don't you think so Luna?"
"Meow"
The two of them giggled softly as the shocked wizard finally managed to tear his eyes away from their basket of flowers and stumbled up the stairs to his room to get dressed.
" I don't know what he's so upset about. hmmm hmmm. I think that the flowers are lovely. he he he. They do make the place feel more like home. hmmm. Don't you think so?"
Luna was still shaking with laughter to give Sophie an answer and soon Sophie was shaking with laughter too.
After a few minutes, they both managed to get their giggles under control and began making a simple breakfast of cherry danishes, cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruits. Along with a little fish and cream for Luna.
At 7:30 Michael came running down the stairs with a disgruntled Howl right behind h'im.
Just as they sat down at the table and were about to dig in. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Kingsbury door." called Calcifer.
"I'll get it. You guys enjoy breakfast." Sophie said raising from her seat and walking calmly to the door.
When she opened the door dialed to Kingsbury. She was greeted by a well dressed, and fat soldier decorated in gold and silver metals.
"Is the wizard Pendragon here?" He asked with a tone that said 'no nonsense please'.
"I'm afraid he is unavailable at this time. Is there anything that I can help you with?"
The soldier regarded Sophie solemnly before quirking his eyebrow and stating that he was General Grossberg of his majesty's service.
"I am under orders of his majesty the King to extend an order to the Wizard Pendragon to report to the palace as soon as possible. He is to aid Madame Suliman in ridding the Kingdom of an evil menace."
"I see. Do not worry sir. I will inform Mr. Pendragon the moment he returns from his journey to Timbuktu."
"Tim- TIMBUKTU!" General Grossberg stuttered/exclaimed.
"Yes. At least that's where I think he said he was going. He left for what he said was a holiday a few days ago. He told me that he would be away for a while and is having me keep house for him. Paying me a pretty coin to do so too, I don't know when he will be coming back however. Would you like me to leave a message for him."
The General looked at her with a face that practically screamed that he thought she was a liar.
"Oh really. Then you would not mind if I came inside to see if you are telling the truth?"
"Actually I do mind. He told me not to allow anyone in, besides myself and my helper, until he returns."
The General was not about to be denied by a scullery maid, no matter how beautiful, and pulled her out of the doorway.
"NO DON'T!"
Howl, who was watching from inside staying hidden from the general, was about to help help Sophie when he heard a pain filled cry.
General Grossberg had barely just stepped his foot in the door when he felt like his whole body was on fire.
The pain only intensified until finally Sophie pulled him back outside.
"I tried to warn you. He put a spell of protection on the door to stop intruders from entering the house. Believe it or not even wizards have to worry about thieves."
Grossberg was shocked, to say the least.
'Never had I been treated so rudely, and by a WOMAN!'
Sophie was entering the doorway and about to close the door when Grossberg finally managed to get a grip on himself.
"YOU INSOLENT WENCH! I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE THIS INSTANT!"
Wench? Now Sophie was the one who was insulted. She was A VIRGIN for goodness sakes. She opened her mouth to shout at him when..
"Miss Pendragon. Where should I put your brother's mail? In his room, or on his desk?" called a nervous Michael from inside the doorway.
Sophie's mouth shut tight in a thin line at hearing that while the general's mouth dropped and his eyes had widened to the point that he started to look like a bull frog.
Ignoring the now shocked general, Sophie entered the castle and shut the door behind her.
She was upset before at being called a wench, now she was furious!
Walking past Michael, she gave off the appearance of being calm and collected. Sitting back down at the table across from Howl, she picked up a cinnamon roll and before taking a bite she addressed Howl keeping her calm mask on.
"So I'm your sister, am I."
Howl noted the slight sarcasm in her tone and knew he was in trouble.
"It solved your problem with General Gross didn't it?"
'What it did was make me the sibling of an egotistical, spoiled, and might I add delusional Wizard."
"I am not delusional!"
"Oh no?"
"No"
"Well what did you think was going to happen after the General goes back to the palace and reports to the king. Huh. You know he will have to, and what will the King think when he hears that you are on vacation and that his sister is keeping house for him while he is away."
"That the King will wait a couple of days before sending the general back to see if I had returned early."
"Oh really?"
"Yes really and all you will have to do is repeat the story you just told him. That was a nice one by the way. I never would have pegged you for a good liar."
"I am not a liar. You do go away a lot to get out of doing chores most likely. So who says thats not where you go to for your 'business trips' that you don't inform us of when they start or when you are expecting to return from. Also I am keeping house for you and you are paying me for it."
Howl was quite stunned. Looking at it that way, she was telling the truth.
"I see, and what happened to the general when he walked through the door? It couldn't have been you could it?"
"Hooowwwl. It was me! Don't you remember? We set up an anti-intruder spell years ago. Only you and I can choose who can get in without being electrified." Calcifer called from the fire place.
"Oh' said Howl with his mind drifting off trying to remember when he did that.
"Focusing now. What is going to happen when the King sends his soldiers again?"
"Relax Sophie. We have plenty of time to think of something."
But they didn't have much time at all. The very next morning around the same time that the general arrived the day before, Sophie was startled by a knock at the door.
"Kingsbury door." said Calcifer.
Almost immediately Sophie knew that this would be trouble.
Luna sensed it too, and jumped onto Sophie's shoulder as she made her way to the door.
Opening it to Kingsbury, she saw the general again but this time he was not alone. Behind him was a platoon of 5 soldier, each armed with swords.
"Miss Pendragon. By order of King Edward the fourth. You are hereby requested to appear before the King and his head sorceress Madame Sullivan. My regiment and I will be escorting you to the palace immediately." The general commanded with a touch of finality.
"An audience with the king? What an honor, but must we go this minute good sir. I just don't think that this outfit is suitable for the royal court. May I have some time to change into something more appropriate?" Sophie said using a sweet voice that her sister had often used to get her way with most young gentlemen.
The general however wasn't so moved.
"Sorry miss, but the King demanded that you were to be brought to him immediately." truthful however he didn't sound that sorry at all.
Her plan of going back inside and hiding until she could think of a plan was ruined. With a sigh of resignation, she and Luna came out of the doorway closing the door behind them.
True to his word the general and his men escorted Sophie and Luna to the palace, surrounding them from all sides.
The made it through the city without many problems, other then everyone staring at her being paraded around like a prisoner about to be jailed, and had just passed the first gate when Sophie spotted two slug men carrying a large sedan chair towards the palace.
The curtain pulled back to reveal a fat, overly caked with make up face.
"Well well, if it isn't the little tacky hat shop mouse and her rat. You and Howl gave me quite the surprise that night. Being lead to the gallows now are we. That's not too surprising."
Sophie stayed silent throughout the witches banter with Luna giving the witch an angry glare from her shoulder.
The witches banter was cut off as they neared the palace, because when they got close to the main stairs the witches slug men fell apart and collapsed on the ground.
General Grossberg didn't even glance back at the evil witch while he informed her quite huffily that no vehicles were allowed passed this point.
Leaving the witch behind the guards continued to lead Sophie and Luna up the stairs.
Keeping their eyes open, Sophie and Luna observed many lavished rooms, also one not so lavished that had only a simple chair right in the center of the floor.
Suddenly Luna growled at the presence of a familiar face.
"Luna? Sophie!"
Sophie turned towards the voice to see it was Justin.
"Justin, hey. How are you?"
The General and his soldiers turned angrily towards here and swifty reprimanded her for her insolence
"How dare you speak to the Crown Prince that way you insolent wench!" Shouted General Grossberg.
"Prince?" Sophie whispered turning her gaze from the towering general, who looked as though he was going to hit her, to her friend who was decked out in a gold silk suit with what looked like diamond buttons.
Justin was appalled at how the general was treating Sophie and quickly tried to set things right.
"General Grossberg. Sophie and Luna are my friends. They have my permission to address me as they like. Now stand aside. That's an order."
The General was gobstruck at the prince's command. He turned meek as he and his soldiers bowed and then backed away giving the three of them room.
"I am terribly sorry Sophie. Are you all right?"
Sophie looked all around her before answering. Giving Justin the impression that she was very frightened of something.
"I'm not really sure."
"Well don't worry. As of this moment you and Luna are my honored guests."
"But your highness, your father ordered us to bring Miss Pendragon to him and Madame Sullivan at once!" stuttered the shocked general.
"Oh really. For What purpose?"
"I don't know your majesty."
"Well until you do know or until my father comes and informs me of it himself. Sophie stays with me!"
"B-b-b-but, but your highness"
"Leave us!"
Prince Justin's command echoed through the passage a moment before the general and his soldiers bowed and gave in to his order leaving the three of them alone in the hallway.
"Soooo, Prince Justin?"
"So, Miss Pendragon. I guess we know each other's names now."
"And Titles appearanty. How clever of you to leave that out of our last meeting. Everyone has their secrets I know, but one would think something as your title of Crown Prince would be something you would brag about not keep secret!"
Prince Justin simply stood there smiling sheepishly while he basked in Sophie's beauty. Despite the fact that she was angry at him he was still very glad to see her.
"I am sorry Sophie. I was afraid that you would simply want to be with me because of my title and treat me differently."
"Differently how?"
"Like some prized stud that you would want to buy. Most women see me that way you know, it gets depressing after a few dozen women treat you like something you could purchase with a few giggles and battings of the eyelashes."
"Like a trophy you could win and display for your amusement." said Sophie in a sad and understanding voice.
She had been treated the same way by almost every man she had ever met.
"Exactly. It gets to a point where you would think that all women are the same. But that is not true, because you were different. You didn't start giggling senselessly the moment you saw my face. I thought that for the first time, I could have a real friend that would like me for me and not for my wealth and title. And I didn't want to ruin my chance at that by giving you my title. I just hope that you may forgive me."
"I may, and I will. For I feel the exact same way." Sophie replied with a soft smile.
Justin return it with a large grin of his own and with a dramatic flourish offered her his arm.
"Miss Sophie Pendragon. Will you give me the extreme pleasure of showing you around the gardens."
"I shall." Sophie said laughing a bit at his display, placing her hand upon his arm.
With that Justin lead her through the palace to the luxurious flower gardens within the palace walls.
The three of them had spent several hours in the gardens talking, or in Luna's case chasing butterflies through the flowers. Having a wonderful time before an angry king, followed by some armed guards, had discovered them.
"PRINCE JUSTIN!"
Said prince and his two new friends visibly flinched at the harsh thundering tone of the angry monarch.
The King resembled that of an angry troll with his wildly ruffled red hair and large mustache accompanying the furious look on his face. The only difference between the like was the dark emerald royal clothes, shining crown, and jeweled gold medals the king was wearing, while a troll would wear nothing at all. Not that Sophie would ever say these thoughts out loud.
"Son. What is the meaning of THIS?"
"Father, this is my friend Sophie and her companion Luna. Sophie, Luna, this is my father King Edward." Justin said calmly with a small smile upon his face.
"I know WHO they Are Justin. I mean what is the meaning of you undermining my orders. The sister of the Wizard Pendragon was to be brought to me and Madame Sullivan immediately this morning. What were you thinking? She could share his magic and have put you under a spell or hexed you with a curse."
Justin however stopped listening to the kings rant after hearing one thing.
He turned to Sophie, a bit surprised and asked.
"You have a Brother that is a Wizard?"
"Not officially, if I had any say in the matter." replied Sophie with a deep scowl of disdain.
"Really? Why? I would think that having a brother who is a respected and powerful would be a great honor."asked Justin.
"You would think that wouldn't you. Well let me tell you, to some it is an honor to others, meaning me, it is about as much fun as sitting on a angry hornet's nest."
"Oh" replied Justin with a look of surprise.
"Son, why do you allow this commoner to speak to you so rudely? It is disgraceful!"
'Commoner? Really? Is that all he can think of to insult me?' Sophie thought.
"Father. Sophie is my friend. She has my royal permission to treat and speak to me as she likes. What she likes is to treat me as a friend who is her equal. So that is as it shall be! For despite the fancy titles we give ourselves Father, the truth of the matter is we are all equal." Justin stated with a very stern and serious face, saying the world royal in disdain for he was not happy with the fact that he was.
King Edward was shocked that his son had spoken to him like that, but was secretly pleased that he was already sounding like a wise leader. On the side of what was right and fair.
"I see." King Edward said with a stern frown. "But friend or not she must come with us to see Madame Sullivan. If she is a witch she must be dealt with properly."
'That doesn't sound good.' Sophie thought.
Prince Justin must have thought the same for his next words were.
"If that is the case Father, then I shall go with you. I will not take no for an answer."
"Very well Justin. Come along now, I believe Madame Sullivan has been waiting long enough."
Sophie sighed as she picked up Luna, to hold in her arms, and got off the ground. At least she wasn't going through this alone.
The King and his men lead Prince Justin and Sophie to a glass greenhouse filled with exotic and tropical plants.
There sitting in a large posh chair, with a quilt covering her lap and a silver tea set on a small table to her left, was Madame Sullivan.
"Greetings your Highness. I trust that all is well."
"It is Madame Sullivan. This is Miss Sophie Pendragon." said the King with a gesture of the hand towards Sophie.
"Good Afternoon Miss Pendragon. I trust that your journey was pleasant."
"As pleasant as it could be being apprehended by soldiers and then practically dragged to the palace without so much as an explanation or reason."
"Terribly sorry about that, but when we heard that Howl had a sister and that she was watching his home while he was on holiday. We simply had to see if it was true and meet you."
Truth was though she didn't sound sorry at all. She rentanted a small polite, but smug smile on her lips all throughout the conversation.
"Howl? The Wizard Howl? The one who eats girls hearts Howl? That's your brother?" Justin asked shocked that his sweet Sophie was related to such distasteful man, not that he listened to such gossip.
"Like I said Justin. To some it is an honor, to others a curse."
"Oh, I see." Justin replied finally understanding her apparent dislike for her brother.
For someone so independent, who wanted to be seen as something more than a pretty prize that a man could win. Having a brother that no honor and treated all women like a conquest would seem like a curse in its own right.
"It must be difficult. Having Howl as a brother. It must also be difficult being the only one in your family without magic."
"Not really. It was kind of a relief really. While Howl was cooped up inside studying magic. I was swimming in streams, playing in the mud, making a large flower garden and chasing the butterflies that came to see the flowers. Truthfully in terms of magic, I lucked out and didn't get any like Howl." said Sophie smiling cheerfully.
She wasn't lying, that was exactly how her childhood was like. And she had a feeling that was how Howl's childhood was like too.
"I see, and you and Howl are certain that you don't have any magic at all?"
"Don't know. Don't Care. I am perfectly happy with my simple life thank you."
"Are you certain about…"
"GGRRROWWLL"
Madame Sullivan was cut off as Luna growled and began to hiss angrily at a discovery she had made under Madame Sullivans tea table.
An old Dog was lying flat on his belly on the floor. He was making a noise that was a cross between a wheeze and a laugh.
He was laughing at Luna!
Luna jumped out of Sophie's arms and went straight after the dog who had gotten onto his feet and promptly run away from the hissing feline.
It was one of the funniest things anyone in that room had ever seen. Soon the whole room was filled with laughter as the cat chased the dog around the room. Even the King was laughing.
This went on until the dog flapped his long ears and took of flying to get into a tree. Luna being a cat simply climbed the tree to catch him. Seeing has the cat was still coming, the dog jumped out of the tree and started to fly again. But he wasn't fast enough as Luna hopped on him as soon as he was in the air.
The two of them fell to the ground, not too fast as the dog was still trying to fly. And Luna began an onslaught of hits and hisses at the old dog.
Feeling like she had enough fun, Sophie called her back between the last of her giggles.
Hearing Sophie call for her, Luna gave the dog one last hiss and went right into Sophie's arms again. Feeling quite pleased with herself.
"Sorry, I hope your dog is ok."
"Do not worry. It is nothing a bit of magic won't fix. Speaking of which." Said Sullivan as she lifted her staff and through it like a spear straight at Sophie.
She watched in horror and barely had time to scream before she was thrown to the ground.
"SOPHIE!"
Justin was frightened as he rushed to save Sophie. Knocking her down to the ground and covering her body with his own.
When he thought it was safe, he looked back at the staff imbedded in the far wall behind them. Then he looked to Madame Sullivan.
"What do you think you're doing? You could have killed her!"
"I am Sorry Prince Justin. But one of the most basic magical tests is that of life danger. Even if one goes through whole life thinking that they don't have magic. Magic will always protect the wielder in a life threatening situation."
"You! Well, you want to know if I have magic like Howl or not! I can answer that question for you right now!" Sophie said angrily getting up off the floor, with Luna still in her arms growling with the same amount of anger.
"No, No, NO, NO, NO, AND NO! I AM NOTHING LIKE MY SO CALLED GIFTED BROTHER! Sorry Justin, BUT I AM OUT OF HERE!"
After Sophie finished shouting and yelling, she turned with a huff and head towards the door that lead straight outside.
Two guards moved to stop her, and she grabbed hold of their arms twisting them, and then threw them hard against the closest stone wall.
After that it only took an angry glare towards the others guards for them to stay out of her way.
"Sophie, wait!" Justin called out scrambling to get off the ground.
He spared a moment to throw a glare at Madame Sullivan before he chased after what he hoped was still his friend.
"Well Madame Sullivan, it looks like you were wrong this time."
"I am not quite so sure your majesty, I can't help but think. What would have happened if Prince Justin had not have pulled her out of the way."
Something was off with that girl, and Madame Sullivan was determined to find out what.