Chapter Six
"Will you please stop crying, Smurfette? Some of us are trying to think!"
"Yeah?" said Hefty. "And what good will your thinking do, Brainy? We're too big to smurf out of this dungeon!"
"Well," said Brainy defensively, "humans smurf out of prison all the time! The trick is to figure out how they do it!"
"Gosh," said Clumsy uncomfortably. "This place sure seems small when you're a human. Wet too."
Just then, there were several loud squeaks from a dark corner.
"EEEKKK!" yelped Brainy jumping about three feet in the air from a sitting position. "There are rats in here!"
"Gee, Brainy," said Clumsy. "I'm sorta scared. What do you think they're gonna do to us?"
"And, what about poor Theodore!" sobbed Smurfette. "That wicked Xolynda's plotting to kill him and he doesn't even know! Oh, boo hoo!" She crumpled into tears again.
"Oh, for Smurfs sake!" Brainy exclaimed. "A guard is sure to come down here sometime tomorrow. I mean, they have to feed us, don't they? We can warn him, or give him a note to take to Theodore, or smurf his keys or something."
"Well," said Hefty yawning again. "No matter how you smurf it, there's nothing we can do to help either Theodore or ourselves until morning. Now, I suggest we all smurf a good night's sleep. That way, we just might be able to smurf up with a really good plan tomorrow." He stretched out on the moldy, straw-covered ground and pulled up a broken stone to use as a pillow. "Good night, everysmurf," he said, closing his eyes.
Brainy stared at him. "I don't believe it," he said. "How can he possibly sleep at a time like this? This is worse than being trapped by Gargamel! At least there we know Papa Smurf will save us. Here, he doesn't even know that we're in trouble!" He sighed and gently placed his glasses on the crooked wooden table in the corner. Stretching out on the smelly straw, he sighed again. "Well, at least here no one wants to eat us or smurf us into gold."
Clumsy went to lie down next to his friend, but Smurfette's sniffling on the other side of the cell bothered him too much to let him relax. Carefully as he could, he tiptoed across the cell and sat next to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"There, there, Smurfette," he said. "It's not all that bad. I mean, if we hadn't been behind that tapestry, no one would know Prince Theodore was in danger until it was too late."
Smurfette sniffled loudly and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better, Clumsy," she said, "but I don't think anything will help." She pulled away and started pacing the small cell.
"Oh, I still don't know what smurfed over me to make me smurf that wish! I'm all smurfed up! I don't even know if I want to marry Theodore. I just know how lonely he is, and how very unlucky he is when it comes to girls. They are only after him for his riches or his power, never for himself! And, that evil Morlock is always trying to take over his kingdom. It just doesn't seem fair! He's the smurfiest human I know! He's so good and kind, it's just wrong that everyone is always trying to smurf advantage of him! I-I just wanted to help him. To let him know just how smurfy he really is, at least to me. But, everything's turned out all wrong! And-and now, I've gotten all of you in trouble too and we still might not be able to smurf out of here in time to save poor Theodore!"
"Gosh, Smurfette," said Clumsy. "I know you wanted to help out. But, gee! You didn't have to change yourself to do it. Prince Theodore likes you just the way you are! Or, were. Couldn't you let him know how smurfy you think he is as a Smurf?"
Smurfette sat down again. "Oh, I don't know, Clumsy. I'm so confused. I just wanted to be with him."
"But, Smurfette! Would you really want to leave all of us in Smurf Village to spend your life with him?"
Smurfette sighed. "I guess I'll have to smurf a decision, Clumsy," she said. "If I choose all of you, I can never let Theodore know just how much I love him. If I choose him, I'll have to tell him, but then, I'd never be able to visit the village again." A tear rolled down her nose and landed with a soft splash on the stone floor.
"Gosh, Smurfette," said Clumsy. "It must be tough being in love."
"Oh, Clumsy," she moaned miserably. "You don't know the half of it. But, none of this will mean anything if we don't find a way to rescue him from that evil Xolynda and her rotten snake before midnight tomorrow!"
The Lady Xolynda paced her room angrily. She had to think of a plausible way to get that mushy fool Theodore to destroy those spies before they managed to wreck her plans. She could tell her argument hadn't totally convinced him. The Prince was such a pathetic softy that he hadn't even killed Morlock, her idiotic brother, for his repeated attempts to take over his kingdom. He'd simply locked him in the dungeon. How, then, could she get him to kill four of his young subjects, who were probably innocent after all?
She blew out a furious breath from her perfect nose and flopped down on the soft bed. If only she possessed the magical ability her brother had. Then, she could cast an obedience spell over Theodore. As it was, she only had her good looks and charm to help her.
She sat up then with a sly smile. Her good looks and charm had gotten her this far. Tomorrow night, if all went as planned, she would be the sole ruler of Theodore's entire prosperous kingdom. She would just have to rely on their enchanting properties once more to convince gullible Theodore to do just one last thing for her, before he died!
Prince Theodore spent the night tossing and turning. He couldn't get those strange spies out of his mind. They had been perfect strangers, yet they'd seemed so familiar! The honest desperation on their faces as the guards dragged them away haunted his dreams. After a particularly disturbing dream, Theodore sat up in his bed. Rather than being soft, like all the other beds in his kingdom, Prince Theodore's was firm and springy. This was because, instead of being stuffed with chicken feathers, his mattress was stuffed with fragrant heather. Prince Theodore, ruler of a kingdom of prosperous chicken farmers, was allergic to chicken feathers.
The Prince sat on his bed of heather, thinking back over the events leading up to the arrest of the four spies. Before the guard had called for him to go down to the chicken farmers, he had been showing Xolynda his library. She had spotted Brainy Smurf's books, which had made him very nervous. He knew how much the Smurfs valued their secrecy. He had made a solemn promise to Papa Smurf that he would never reveal them or the location of their village to any human. Naturally, that included Xolynda. He had felt rather guilty about having to keep such a wonderful secret from her, but he knew how necessary it was. Perhaps, after they'd been married for a few years, Papa Smurf would allow him to let his true love in on their secret as well. She had seemed very interested in the picture of Brainy on the cover.
Wait a moment. Brainy! They spy with the auburn hair had called the red-head with the glasses Brainy. Theodore had thought at the time that it was a code name. He'd heard somewhere that all spies had code names. But, what if it wasn't? What if those spies had really been his friends the Smurfs in disguise? That would explain why their voices had sounded so familiar. But, why would the Smurfs disguise themselves as humans? Such a thing was unheard of! Unless, of course, they were in terrible danger. The girl had said something about a wish...
Theodore gasped. Maybe that's why they'd come to see him! Perhaps they desperately needed his help. Maybe they came to the palace disguised as humans because they knew he was having a ball tonight and were terrified of being discovered by the crowd of guests. That would also explain why they'd hidden behind the tapestry when he and Xolynda had entered his office. It was their natural instinct to hide when humans came near. And, he'd thrown them in the dungeon!
Theodore felt a huge wave of shame and anxiety wash over him. He hadn't been thinking clearly since Xolynda turned up. Well, he wouldn't allow love to cloud his judgment again. He would go to the dungeons right now! He had to find out the true identities of those spies, and at once.
Theodore was halfway into his hose when there came a knock on his door. He quickly pulled them up and, stepping into his boots he called out, "Come in!"
The door opened and, to his great surprise, Xolynda entered.
"Xolynda!" he cried. "What are you doing here? It's late!"
Xolynda's pale cheeks flushed slightly. "I know, dear Theodore. But, my room was so cold. I was feeling quite homesick. I couldn't sleep, so, I came to see you." She lowered her deep, blue eyes. "I'm sorry if I've disturbed you. I'll go back-"
Theodore felt torn. On the one hand, he needed to go down to the dungeons and have a talk with the spies. If he wanted to speak freely with them, he knew he had to be alone. On the other hand, he wanted to stay and comfort Xolynda. She seemed so pale and forlorn, standing there in her nightdress with her golden hair down. His heart went out to her. He had to comfort her. He sighed deeply and pulled his cape around his shoulders. He'd make sure Xolynda was safely back in bed. Then, he'd go see the spies. They'd waited this long, they could surely wait just a few minutes longer.
The spies had apparently gotten Xolynda very nervous. She seemed convinced that they were behind some sort of plot to get rid of her before their wedding. Prince Theodore tried to calm her, but she wouldn't relax until he had promised he would let her interview them in the morning. Only then, would she lie back in her bed and allow him to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.
Theodore sighed as he crept down the steps to the dungeon. If his intuition was right, Xolynda would go down to the dungeon the next morning to find the prisoners gone. She would probably be upset for a while, but once the ceremony was over and she saw that she really was in no danger from his subjects, she would be all right. On the other hand, if she was right and they really were spies, then it would probably be best if she did interview them. After all, she had experience with spies. Theodore certainly didn't. Either way, everything would ultimately work out fine.
The prisoners were all fast asleep when Theodore reached their cell. This was understandable, it was well past midnight. By the light of his lantern, Theodore peered through the bars at the top of the thick, wooden door at the sleepers within. The three boys were stretched out at one end of the room while the girl was sleeping on the other. The red-head's glasses rested on the rickety wooden table between them. They all looked so peaceful, Theodore felt rather guilty in waking them.
He carefully placed the key in the lock, holding the others on the key ring tightly to prevent them from jingling. He didn't want to risk waking up Morlock, who was imprisoned in a cell much smaller than this one down at the corner of the corridor. Though it was a pretty good distance, Theodore knew even small sounds sounded very loud at night when all was still.
Barely had he turned the key, when there came a loud shout from down the hall. Theodore jumped. The four prisoners stirred slightly in their sleep, but did not wake up.
"Theodore!" the roar came again. "I know you're down here! I want to talk with you!" It was Morlock! Tucking the keys back in his robes, the prince walked over to see what his former court magician wanted. He knew if he didn't go, Morlock's shouts would wake up the entire castle.
"Quiet, Morlock!" the prince hissed as he reached the magician's cell. "I'm here. What do you want?"
Morlock's long features were pressed against the bars of his cell. His black eyes glittered wickedly in the light of the lantern. His mustache hung down his face like two bloated leeches.
"I've been hearing a great many very interesting things from the guards down here," he said. His voice was like oiled sandpaper.
"Oh, yeah? Like what?"
"Well," said the magician with a twisted smile. "For one thing, I've heard you've gotten yourself engaged to the Lady Xolynda."
"So what? That's common knowledge."
Morlock ignored him. "For another thing, I've heard that she's convinced you to move the wedding to tomorrow afternoon. Is this true?"
"Yes," said the prince. "What of it?"
"Well," the magician smirked, "it seems to me that you're being a bit hasty. I mean, it's rather against protocol, isn't it? I've never heard of such a short engagement. Whatever will your people think?"
Prince Theodore blushed furiously. "It's not what you're thinking, Morlock," he snapped. "The Lady Xolynda and I have been writing letters to each other for months now. We've gotten to know each other quite well. Neither of us think we're rushing anything!"
Morlock barked a caustic laugh. "You say you've gotten to know each other quite well?"
"That's right," said Theodore, starting to get angry. "We love each other!"
Morlock laughed again, much longer this time. "Oh!" he gasped. "Oh, my boy, you do have sorry taste in women!"
Theodore was so furious he almost considered unlocking Morlock just so he could strike him. His horrible laugh seemed never-ending.
"Stop that laughing, Morlock! You don't even know the Lady Xolynda! How can you possibly judge her!"
Morlock's laughter stopped immediately. When he pressed his face back against the bars, he was very serious. Prince Theodore felt cold.
"Oh, I know the Lady Xolynda," he said. "I know her better than you ever will. And, I'll tell you this, my boy. The Lady Xolynda is not to be trusted."
"What do you mean, Morlock!" the prince shouted angrily. "How dare you slander the Lady Xolynda in this fashion!"
But Morlock's face had gone from the bars. No matter how Theodore commanded him, Morlock would say no more. Finally, in a rage of frustration and anger, Theodore turned on his heel and left the dungeon, determined to find out from Xolynda herself just how well she and Morlock knew each other. The four young prisoners, and their unlocked cell, were completely forgotten.