Her heart hopping like one of her bunny friends, Isabella skipped home.
"I'm back!" she called, stepping into the darkened cottage. "Is it time for lunch?"
Suddenly, the lights went on with a burst of noisemakers and confetti.
"SURPRISE!" Buford, Baljeet, and Perry were all in party hats, standing in front of an enormous birthday cake. The entire room was festooned with balloons and streamers, and a big banner read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLA!"
"Oh, wow!" Isabella gasped with delight. "What a surprise!" Not really, but hey. It's the thought that counts. She ran up and engulfed the three of them in a big group hug. "Thanks, guys!"
"Do you like it?" asked Baljeet.
"It's perfect!" Isabella exclaimed, twirling. "This whole day is totally perfect!" She sighed. He's totally perfect.
"See, I did the decorations," said Baljeet, pointing, "and Buford—"
"Yeah, yeah," said Buford, shoving him aside. "And I made the cake! C'mon, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!—"
All of a sudden, Perry's watch started beeping. That could mean only one thing. A message from the King and Queen.
Hurriedly, the platypus pushed Isabella's present across the table towards her.
"—Oh. Well, I guess you could open your present first, if you wanted to," said Buford.
"Okay!" Isabella began to unwrap the package. "This is such pretty paper!"
"Perry was in charge of getting the gift," said Baljeet.
"Wow, thank you, Per—!" Isabella suddenly looked up. "Hey, where's Perry?"
Meanwhile, back at Mount Doof, Malefischmirtz had come to a life-changing realization: he really needed to clean out his closet more often. After seemingly endless hours of dust and sneezing and hunting through countless boxes of relics that brought up unpleasant, embittering memories of his childhood, he finally found what he was looking for.
"Ah-HA!" Malefischmirtz exclaimed, and then immediately sneezed, sending up a cloud of dust from the surface of the ancient golden mirror.
"Ah-CHOO!" He snuffled and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his robes, before he stumbled out of the closet. "Urgh. You know, given a choice between repeating that experience and battling a giant, evil dragon, I think I'd take the dra—" He paused. "Well, actually, no; I think I'd still take the closet, but by a very slim margin!" he said. "At least I found what I was looking for. My old Spy-inator, from Magic Mirror Industries, Inc."
The sorcerer moved to hang it on the wall. "Now, let's see if the enchantment still works…"
At first, the screen simply fizzled and sputtered with static, but after a few good whacks from both Malefischmirtz's staff and his fist, the picture finally cleared up. Sure enough, there was Perry the Fairy-pus, slipping out the back door to the woodcutter's cottage.
"What?" The sorcerer was utterly confused. "What is Perry the Fairy-pus doing there, of all places? I always thought that fairies lived in little houses made from hollowed-out toadstools—though I suppose it would be difficult for Perry the Fairy-pus to fit inside of a mushroom. Still, cottages just aren't magicky enough."
As he watched, Perry pressed a button on his watch, from which arose a magical bubble with an image of King Monogram.
"Hmm; what's this?..." the sorcerer leaned in curiously. He whacked the mirror again. "Come on; zoom in; zoom in! Sheesh; I hope these things have a warranty."
"Fairy Perry," said King Monogram. "As I'm sure you are aware, today is Isabella's tenth birthday—"
"Isabella?" Malefischmirtz scratched his head. "Why does that name sound so familiar?..."
"—This means that the ten years we allotted for Malefischmirtz to forget about the curse are up, and it's time for the princess to return to the castle to meet her betrothed," said the king. "There's a feast tonight, and the royal family of Flynn-Fletcher will be there. I trust I can rely on you to bring Isabella back in time?" Perry saluted.
"Good." The monarch suddenly clapped his hands in joy. "We can't wait to see Isabella again! And listen, Fairy Perry—" he said, becoming serious, "—this may sound somewhat sentimental, but I just wanted to thank you and the other fairies for all you've done to keep the princess safe. I knew we could count on you."
Another salute to the king, and the bubble disappeared. Perry turned to head back inside.
"The Princess Isabella!?" exclaimed Malefischmirtz. "Wow, he's right; I totally forgot about the curse! Was that really ten years ago?" he wondered, and shrugged. "No matter. I remember now!"
The sorcerer watched in his mirror as Perry re-entered the house, where Isabella was just unwrapping a new pink hair bow.
"So that's who the mystery present was for!" the sorcerer exclaimed. He chuckled, his wicked gaze fixed on Isabella. "Ha, ha! You thought you could outsmart me, did you, Perry the Fairy-pus!? You thought you could cheat my curse by taking advantage of my bad memory and hiding the princess away in the woodcutter's cottage?—though, I have to admit, that was a pretty brilliant plan," he conceded. "Still, you thought that you could keep me from finding out who the recipient of that package was? Well, now I know!" he laughed. "It was for your little protégé, the Princess Isabella! And you're bringing her back to the castle tonight."
Malefischmirtz rubbed his hands together, an evil smile playing on his lips.
"So sorry, Princess, but I don't think you'll make it to the feast. I think you have a previous engagement: a date with your pillow!..." He threw back his head, intending to give the evil laugh to end all evil laughs, but instead, it turned into a fit of coughing. "Aaaargh! Stupid dust!"
"Oh, there you are, Perry," said Isabella, as the platypus returned to the table. "Thank you so much for the new hair bow! I love it!"
"Speaking of which, where did your other one go?" asked Baljeet.
"Eh, who cares?" said Buford, and he spread his arms wide. "Now, who's ready for some CAKE!?—"
"No, wait!—" said Isabella suddenly, holding up her arms. "Stop! We can't eat it yet!"
Buford screeched to a halt. "What? Why not?"
"We have to wait for my friends!"
"Animals don't eat cake," said Buford.
"No, not the Forest Scouts," said Isabella. "I mean my new friends."
"What!?" exclaimed Buford. "You don't mean to tell me you've been talkin' to strangers!?"
"Well, technically they were strangers, but don't worry," said Isabella placatingly. "I didn't use my real name, and besides, he's so smart and sweet and wonderful and handsome that it wouldn't have mattered anyway."
"Handsome?" said Baljeet.
"Oh, yes," said Isabella dreamily, twirling again. "He's handsome, and smart, and he builds giant robot horses, and invents rockets, and he said that he'd take me to the stars, and he loves peanut butter and ham just like I do, and he wiped sap off my face, and I bandaged his hand with my hair ribbon, and he's coming to the party later this afternoon, so we have to wait for him, see!?"
She gazed at them, eager and imploring. The fairies just looked at her. Baljeet was nervously wringing his hands. Buford scratched his head. Perry, meanwhile, sat stock-still, only one thought running through his mind:
Oh, crud. She's in love.
Well. This was going to significantly complicate things.
"Well, THERE you guys are!" exclaimed Candace as Phineas dismounted. Ferb climbed out of the hatch and immediately headed in the direction of the stables.
"Oh, hi, Candace!" said Phineas, pausing to wave at his sister. "What's up?"
"I've been looking all over the place for you two." She winced as there came a screech from the ball joint at Gretchen's knee.
"Hang in there, girl," said Phineas, patting the metal of Gretchen's side. "It's okay."
"Where've you been?" Candace demanded.
"We were looking for our missing rocket," said Phineas reasonably. "Sorry if we're being too noisy, but don't worry. Gretchen's leg just needed some oil, but as soon as she's all better, we're heading back out."
"And where are you going, exactly?" demanded Candace.
"Ella's birthday party," explained Phineas, as Ferb returned with the oil can. "That's great, Ferb. Thanks."
"Ella? Who's Ella?" asked Candace, as Ferb knelt to administer the fluid to their horse's squeaking joints.
"Our new friend," said Phineas, smiling. "We met her in the woods today. She helped us repair our rocket, and then she invited us to her birthday party later this afternoon!"
"Oh, no, you don't," said Candace. "You're not going to any party. You're staying right here. Tonight's the feast at Danland Castle, where you're meeting your betrothed."
"My betrothed?" Phineas asked.
"Yeah, your fiancée. Y'know, the girl you're supposed marry one day, when you're old enough? The Princess Isabella, remember?"
"Oh, right. Gosh, I forgot I was already engaged," said Phineas. "But we promised Ella we'd be there!"
"Sorry, pal," said Candace firmly, holding up a hand. "I have orders not to let you out of my sight. Besides, she's just a peasant girl."
"She's not just a peasant girl!" Phineas said indignantly, straightening up. "She's one of the kindest and smartest people I've ever met. She even bandaged up my hand after I cut it!"
"Oh, I see what's going on here," said Candace with a knowing smile. She leaned in closer, pointing at her brother. "You like her, don't you?"
"What? No, not like that!" said Phineas, but then he stopped, confused. "Well…"
For some reason, it felt wrong to deny it. Yet he still wasn't sure. He remembered Ella's blue eyes; he thought back to his unexplained happiness when she held his hand—but was that what it meant to like someone? Was that what you were supposed to feel? He didn't know. He wasn't sure. He had the feeling that even science wouldn't be able to help him here.
"Ah-HA!" exclaimed Candace, pointing her finger in his face. "I can smell a romance at a mile. You do like her! Too bad you're already engaged."
"Already engaged," Phineas repeated. For some reason, the words were heavier in his mouth than before. "I don't know, Candace. But I do know that she's our friend, and we promised we'd be there. Ferb and I never break our promises, and we refuse to make an exception."
"Yeah, well, sorry," said Candace. "Mom and Dad told me to watch you. If you wanna go gallivanting off into the forest, you're gonna have to get past me."
"Or, you could just come to the party with us," said Phineas. "I'm sure Ella wouldn't mind, and we can go straight from there to Danland Castle afterward. We should be able to get there in plenty of time for the feast."
"No!" said Candace. "We're not going to any party! We're going to Danland, attending the feast, and you're gonna meet the princess, like you're supposed to. End of story." She crossed her arms and glared at them. A few seconds passed in silence while they stared at one another. Phineas looked down at the pink ribbon still wrapped around his injured hand, before his brow furrowed in sudden determination. He turned to his brother.
"Ferb, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked. In response, he received a resolute nod.
"Hey, wait!" protested Candace, as the two of them suddenly turned back to Gretchen. "Where are you two going!?"
"Sorry, Candace, but a promise is a promise," said Phineas as he leapt into the saddle.
"You'll never be able to get out; the drawbridge is up!" yelled Candace.
"Ferb, initiate escape feature number four," said Phineas. Inside the cockpit, Ferb pressed a button, and two large wings suddenly unfolded from panels hidden on the horse's sides.
"Giddyup, girl!" called Phineas, and Gretchen galloped across the courtyard, beating her wings as she picked up speed. Candace ran after them, shouting, but she was no match for the horse, who launched herself into the sky. As Candace watched them soaring up and over the castle wall, she suddenly slipped, falling face-first into the mud of the courtyard in her party dress.
"ACK! Oh, no; oh no; ew, ew, EWW!—" Candace shrieked, shaking her fist at the sky. "PHINEAS AND FERB, YOU GUYS ARE SO BUSTEEEEEEED!..." she bellowed.