Part 8
Two hours into the journey, they followed the arrow over a grove of apple trees until they saw an iron gate and a two story Victorian home with a red roof turret.
"Wow!" Sofia gaped in awe at the beautiful mountain lake. "I can see why he lives here." They landed the carpets right on the front stoop.
Tilly turned to see that they'd just kissed stepping on a few trip wires. "How cute, booby traps." She stepped over the wire guarding the steps and led the way to the door. Sofia, Buster and Ash copied her until they were at the door.
"Buster, since this was your idea, I think you should do the honors," Tilly challenged him.
The koala nervously approached the door and rang the bell. A few minutes past before the door opened and a white-named lion looked down at him in confusion. He looked out at his gate, it was still closed.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry for disturbing you, sir. Are you Mr. Calloway," he asked. He was sure he was but it was rude to assume.
The lion nodded. "I am… How did you avoid the traps?" He asked.
"We went over them," he admitted. "I'm Buster Moon. This is Ash Cohen and…" he stopped as the old lion held up his hand.
"Stop. I can guess what you want. You went over the traps to get to my door, you can go right back over and leave. I'm not interested in anything you have to say." He slammed the door sharply.
All four visitors jumped and Buster looked back at Tilly. "What should I do?"
Tilly looked at Sofia who nodded. The little girl rang the bell and waited, smiling up at the lion when he answered again. She curtsied. "Good morning, Mr. Calloway, I'm Princess Sofia."
He blinked as he struggled to process what he was seeing. "And I just said, I'm not interested."
Tilly reached into her bag. "Are you interested in donuts?" She pulled out the two dozen donuts that she'd bought. Thanks to her bag, they were still piping hot and fresh. She saw him examining her bag. They should not have fit in there.
"I guess I do like donuts and now I have questions of my own so…" he opened the door wider. "And you are?"
Tilly curtsied politely. "Duchess Matilda but you can just call me Aunt Tilly. Everyone else does. Except my baby brother." She giggled and led the way in.
"I'll put on some coffee," he said, but she just pulled out a full pot of hot coffee and five cups, a container of sugar cubes and a container of cream. "How?"
Sofia laughed. "Short answer? Magic. Aunt Tilly and I are from a magical realm called the EverRealm, from the kingdom of Enchancia." She smiled kindly while pouring the coffee for everyone. Except her. Tilly simply replenished her cup of hot chocolate.
"And how old are you?" He asked incredulously.
"12 and a half," she replied. "Your house is lovely. And that view is A-mazing!"
"My wife did the decorating, so thank you," he said. He didn't show it but his grief was still palpable, at least to Sofia. "So you have my attention. What do you need to talk to me about. I warn you, if it's a request to have me sing, the answer is no."
Buster sighed and bit his lip. "Well… um…"
Sofia nodded. "You wouldn't necessarily need to sing, although I have heard great things. Let me start at the beginning. Mr. Moon is the leader of a theater troupe. In my world, I have a very special job called the Storykeeper. It's my job to make sure all of the stories get a happy ending. This is part of my job. Aunt Tilly was Storykeeper before me." She took a drink of her chocolate while he absorbed the information. "A few days ago, I'm playing with my best friend, Clover the rabbit when my amulet glowed. Which means it's time for another story. And the story was called The Tale of the New Moon Theater. My objective was to give Mr. Moon a great idea to give to Mr. Crystal. And Mr. Moon and Ash told us about you."
He nodded and selected a Boston Kreme from the box. "I am retired. I haven't sung or played a note in over fifteen years. If you're asking me to be a part of it, I can't."
She nodded and looked at Ash and Buster. "Would it be okay if I talked with him alone?" She asked them.
Aunt Tilly stood up. "Of course, Sofia. Mr. Calloway, is there anyway we can be of some service to you while we wait?"
He sighed. "If you could hook up the sprinkler and tend to my plants, I'd appreciate it." He said, looking down at the little princess curiously.
Tilly smiled. "It would be our pleasure. Come on, Ash, Buster."
Sofia waited for them to go. "I am sorry for disturbing you. While we did want to ask you to be part of our show, there's something else. Something I don't really want to say around Buster and Ash because I was told in confidence. There's someone, back in Redshore City, that I think could use someone like you to talk to. Someone who knows. I got my stepdad to come but we'll have to leave eventually." She looked down. "It's Mr. Crystal. His wife died many years ago too and he still feels it but he won't talk about it. I only know because his daughter told me. He tries to cover it up with work."
He listened and nodded. "I know what you're saying. And it's not that I don't want to help. I don't think I can."
"But you could. You could help each other. Maybe what you both need is just a new friend to talk to," she pleaded. "You can, I know you can…"
He listened to her stammering and pleading, frustration growing. "No, I can't!" He shouted, making the child shrink back. "Now, go on. Get your aunt and your friends and leave! I've heard enough!"
The princess nodded. "I'm sorry." She fought against the lump in her throat and went outside. She sat on the stoop and started crying. She didn't know why but since meeting Crystal and now this man, she couldn't help the sadness filling her chest. All she could do was sob.
"I told you," Ash said softly, though she wasn't without pity for the little girl. "He's a recluse. I feel sorry for him too but…"
Sofia cried out. "All I want to do is help! That's all. I want to help you and Mr. Moon. I want to help Mr. Crystal and Porsha. I want to help Mr. Calloway. There's so much sadness here…" She wept, a tear falling on her amulet.
"Well, you can't help everyone. Why's your necklace glowing?" Ash stepped back until she felt someone behind her. The porcupine turned around and her mouth fell open. A young human woman with short, dark, curly hair wearing an embroidered blouse and an embroidered blue-green broom skirt stood there with a kind smile. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"
She knelt down. "I'm Mirabel and I came because Sofia's amulet called me here. Whenever the princess wearing it is in trouble, another princess will come to help. I'm not really a princess but I think the amulet thinks I'm enough of one. So, here I am." She sat down on the stoop. "What's wrong, Sofia?"
Sofia took a few minutes to share her troubles with Mirabel, unaware that they were being watched closely. Not just by Ash or Tilly and Buster. "I just thought I was coming here to help Mr. Moon put on a play but since getting here… I can't just leave Mr. Crystal and Mr. Calloway like this."
Mirabel nodded. "When my abuelo Pedro died, Abuela did the same thing they both did. She threw herself into her work like Mr. Crystal but she also closed herself like Mr. Calloway. She drove all of us to work just as hard as she did until our family reached its breaking point. Only by facing her grief and our love were we able to fix our home and our family." She hugged her gently.
"But I don't know how to help them. That's the problem. I think I'm in over my head with this one," Sofia wept into her knees, overwhelmed.
Softly, Mirabel began to sing. "Two Oruguitas in love and yearning. Spend every evening and morning learning to hold each other, their hunger burning. To navigate a world that turns, and never stops turning. Together in this world that turns, and never stops turning."
Ash listened to the song about the two little caterpillars. She looked up and realized someone else was listening too.
"Ay, oruguitas, don't you hold on too tight
Both of you know it's your time to grow, to fall apart, to reunite. Wonders await you, just on the other side. Trust they'll be there and start to prepare the way for tomorrow," Mirabel waited until Sofia seemed calmer and gently stroked her cheek. "Feel better?"
Sofia nodded. "Thank you, Mirabel." She didn't know why she was feeling these feelings so strongly recently.
Mirabel looked sharply up at the lion then back down to Sofia. "I just have one more piece of advice before I go. You don't need to try and carry it all on your own." With a flash of sparkles, the young woman vanished.
Clay and Ash both blinked as if wondering if they were seeing things. Finally, the old lion sat beside the child. "I'm sorry I scared you and made you cry," he said softly. "Tell me about this play of yours. And how would I fit in?"
Ash sighed. At least she wasn't crying now. She had to admit, she felt bad for the little girl. She meant well.
AN: I decided Mirabel was the best princess for this job because she at least has a story that somewhat relates to Clay's and Crystal's. And I know technically she's not a princess but Mulan isn't either. Will Clay choose to go with them or Will he ultimately turn down the role? But before that, what about James and Johnny's trip to the arcade? Please review!