Chapter 7 Chapter Seven: The Scarecrow Prevents Sophie from Leaving the Castle

If it hadn't been for the severe attacks of pain, Sophie would have started back to Chipping that night.But the unrelenting rain of Port Sanctuary seeped into her bones.She lay in her comfort zone, aching and worried about Martha.Maybe it's not that bad, she thought.All she had to do was tell Martha that the suitor she was undecided about was none other than Wizard Howl.Martha would run away in fright.And she was going to tell Martha that the way to frighten Hal was to announce that she was in love with him, and threaten her aunts if possible. Sophie was still aching when she woke up the next day. "Damn the Witch of the Wasteland!" She took the cane and murmured to it, preparing to leave.She could hear Hal singing in the bathroom, as if he had never lost his temper in his life.She tiptoed and staggered towards the door as fast as she could.

Naturally, Howl was out of the bathroom before she reached the door.Sophie looked at him sullenly.He was neat and dashing, refreshed, and smelled of apple blossom.The sun shone through the window, shining on his gray-red uniform, and falling on his hair, reflecting a pale pink halo. "I think the hair color looks great," he said. "Are you serious?" Sophie muttered. "To match the dress," Hal said. "You're pretty good at needlework, aren't you? Somehow, you've added style to the dress." "Hmph!" Sophie said angrily. Howl stopped holding the handle above the door. "Afflicted by pain? Or is something bothering you?"

"Provoke?" Sophie interjected. "Why should I be provoked? Someone just filled the castle with rotting frost, deafened everyone in Port Shelter, turned Calcifer into ashes, Hundreds of hearts are broken. Why should I worry?" Hal laughed. "I apologize," he said, turning the handle so that the red mark was down. "The king wants to see me today. I'm probably going to spend a whole day in the palace, but I can cure your rheumatism when I get back. Don't forget to tell Mike that the spell I left him is on the table." He turned Smiling brightly, Sophie stepped into Kingsbury's spiers.

"Do you think it's all right!" Sophie yelled at the closed door.But that smile soothed her. "If smiling does all that to me, it's no wonder poor Martha's lost her mind!" she muttered. "I need one more piece of firewood before you go," Calcifer reminded her. Sophie staggered to add a log to the fireplace.Then walked to the door again.But then Mike ran downstairs, grabbing some leftover bread on the table as he ran to the door. "Excuse me, don't you mind?" he said anxiously, "I'll bring a fresh one when I come back. I have an urgent meeting today, but I'll be back before dark. If the captain comes to ask for the Wind Curse, I put it on the top of the workbench, and it is clearly marked." He turned the green mark down and jumped towards the windy hillside, the bread clutched tightly in his stomach. "See you!" As soon as the voice fell, the door closed, and the transferred castle left him.

"Damn it!" said Sophie. "Calcifer, how do you open the door if there is no one in the castle?" "Me or Mike will open the door for you. Hal will open it himself," Calcifer said. Then no one would be locked out if Sophie left.She wasn't sure if she'd come back, but she didn't want Calcifer to know.She waited until Mike should have gone far enough, then walked toward the door again.This time, Calcifer stopped her. "If you're going to be away for a long time," said he, "you'll put some wood where I can get to it." "Can you pick up the firewood?" Sophie asked with interest, albeit impatiently.

Instead of answering, Calcifer stretched out a pinch of blue flames in the shape of an arm, and a green flame in the shape of fingers at the end.It doesn't look too long or strong. "See? I've almost reached the hearth," he said proudly. Sophie had piled a good number of logs in front of the fireplace, and Calcifer could at least reach the top. "Don't burn them before you put them in the fireplace," she reminded him, and set off for the door again. This time, before she reached the door, someone knocked on the door. What a bad day, Sophie thought.It must be the captain.She raised her hand and turned the blue label down.

"No, it's the castle gate," said Calcifer, "but I'm not sure—" So it's Mike back for something, Sophie thought, opening the door. A turnip face was looking at her anxiously.She smelled musty.Under the vast blue sky, a tattered arm circled the end of the stump, trying to grab her.It's a scarecrow.It was nothing more than sticks and rags, but it was alive and wanted to come in. "Calcifer!" cried Sophie, "make the castle go!" The stones at the door creaked with friction.The green-brown open land suddenly galloped past.The Scarecrow's stick arm knocked on the door, then scraped against the castle wall as it moved forward.It circled with its other arm, trying to catch the stone sculpture.It means that it wants to come into the castle.

Sophie slammed the door shut.She thought to herself, This just shows how stupid the boss is to go out into the world.It was the scarecrow she had planted in the hedge on the way to the castle.She joked about it.Now those jokes seemed to infuse it with sinister energy, and it followed her all the way, trying to get her in the face.She ran to the window to see if the thing was still trying to get into the castle. Naturally, what she saw was nothing but the sunny day of Port Shelter, the sails being hoisted on the mast over the opposite roof, and the flock of seagulls circling in the blue sky.

"That's the difficulty of being in several places at once!" Sophie said to the skull on the workbench. Almost at the same time, she discovers the real drawbacks of being an old woman.After a quick beating, her heart became a little erratic, and then it was pounding out of her chest.It was excruciating.She trembled and her knees shook.She thought she was dying.All she could do was move to a chair by the fireplace.She sat down panting, her hands pressed tightly to her chest. "What's wrong?" Calcifer asked. "Yes. My heart. There's a scarecrow at the door," gasped Sophie.

"What has a scarecrow to do with your heart?" asked Calcifer. "It wanted to come in. It scared the hell out of me. My heart—but you won't understand, you silly little fire devil!" Panted Sophie. "You don't have a heart." "I have," Calcifer said, as proudly as he showed off his arm. "Red fire under the logs. Don't think I'm young. I'm millions of years older than you! Can I slow down the castle now?" "Wait until the Scarecrow is gone," said Sophie. "Has he gone?" "I don't know," Calcifer said. "It's not flesh and blood. I told you I couldn't really see out."

Sophie got up and shuffled to the door again, feeling uncomfortable.She opened the door slowly and cautiously.Green crags, rocks, purple slopes whirling by made her dizzy for a moment, and she clutched the door frame, leaning out along the wall to look out over the field she was thrown all the way down.The scarecrow was about fifty yards behind.It bounced from bush to heather, balancing on a slope with its fluttering stick arms outstretched at an angle.Sophie looked at the castle and flung it further away.It's very slow, but it keeps following.She closes the door. "It's still there," she said. "Bouncing along with us. Go faster." "But that will mess up all my plans." Calcifer explained, "I'm going to go around the mountain and go back to where Mike left to pick him up when it gets dark." "Then go twice as fast and go around twice. Just get rid of that dreadful thing!" said Sophie. "It's such a big deal!" Calcifer mumbled, but still accelerated the speed of the castle.Sophie felt the rumble around her for the first time as she curled up in her chair, wondering if she was dying.She didn't want to die until she talked to Martha. Everything in the castle swayed with the high speed.The bottles clinked.Skull cracking on the crafting table.Sophie heard something fall in the bathroom, splashing into the bathtub, where Howl's silver and blue suit was still soaking.She felt relieved a little.She shuffled to the door again and looked out, her hair blowing in the wind.The earth is galloping away.The castle passes at high speed across hills that seem to be slowly spinning.There was a deafening rumbling and grinding, and puffs of smoke spewed from the rear.The scarecrow was now a small black spot on a distant slope.When she looked again, it was completely out of sight. "Good. That way I can stop for the night," Calcifer said. "That's a lot of work." The rumbling gradually died down.Things no longer wobble.Calcifer fell asleep by fire, sinking into the logs until they burned into rose-coloured columns covered with white ash, save for a star of blue-green at the very bottom. Now Sophie felt alive again.She ran to the bathroom and fished up six boxes and a bottle in the slippery water.The box was completely soaked.After what happened yesterday, she dared not leave the boxes there just as they were, so she spread them out on the floor and sprinkled them very carefully with stuff marked "for drying."They dry almost immediately.It's exhilarating.Sophie drained the water from the tub and spent the cents on Howl's clothes.Also done.There was still a green stain, and the clothes had shrunk a bit, but Sophie was happy that at least she had done one thing right. Her mood recovered well, and she was busy preparing dinner.She gathered everything on the workbench to one end of the table, piled it next to the skull, and started chopping onions. "At least your eyes aren't watering, my friend," she said to the skull. "You should be glad." The door slammed open. Sophie thought it was another scarecrow and almost cut herself in fright.It's actually Mike.He burst in beaming.He unloaded bread, pie, and a pink and white striped box on top of the onions.Then he put his arm around Sophie's bony waist and danced around the room. "Great! Great!" he exclaimed joyfully. Sophie jumped, stumbling, dodging Mike's boots. "Calm! Calm!" she gasped, clutching the knife dizzily, out of reach to cut them. "What's so good?" "Letty loves me!" Mike yelled, dancing with her almost into the bathroom and into the fireplace. "She never met Hal! It was a misunderstanding!" He led Sophie in a circle in the middle of the room. "If you don't let go, we will all be slaughtered!" Sophie complained loudly, "Be a little clearer." "Great!" exclaimed Mike.He led Sophie around and spun to the chair, unloading her, and she sat panting. "Last night I wished you had dyed his hair blue!" he said. "It doesn't matter now. I even wanted to dye his hair blue myself when Hal mentioned 'Letty Highter.' Saw the way he spoke. I knew if I got this girl in love with him, he'd leave her like he'd left anyone else. Thinking it's my Letty, I—Anyway, you know he mentioned another There's someone else, and I think that's me! So I sprinted down to Chipping today. All's well! Howl must be chasing a girl with the same name. Letty never saw him." "Be clear," said Sophie, a little dazed. "We're talking about Letty Height from Cesarey's, aren't we?" "Of course it is!" said Mike cheerfully. "I fell in love with her when she started working there, and when she said she loved me, I couldn't believe it. She had hundreds of suitors. What if Ha I'm not surprised I'm one of them. I'm relieved! I brought you a cake from Cesarey to celebrate. Where did I put it? Ah, here it is." He pushed the red and white striped box in front of Sophie.Onions fell to her lap. "How old are you, kid?" Sophie asked. "Just turned fifteen on May Day," Mike said. "Calcifer set off fireworks from the castle. Didn't you, Calcifer? Ah, he fell asleep. You're probably thinking I got engaged too soon—" —I have three years to go, and Letty a little longer—but we made promises to each other, and we're willing to wait.” Then Mike was about the same age as Martha, Sophie thought.For a while, she knew he was a steady, good boy who was going to be a wizard someday.Bless Martha!Thinking back to that panic-stricken May Day, she realized that Mike was part of the hoopla leaning against the counter in front of Martha.But Hal was outside in the market square. "Are you sure what your Letty said about Hal is true?" she asked anxiously. "True," Mike said. "I know when she's lying. She'll stop twiddling her thumb." "That's what she is," said Sophie, giggling. "How do you know?" Mike asked in surprise. "Because she's my sister—granddaughter," Sophie prevaricates, "not quite telling the truth as a little girl. But she's young, and—well...she might change when she grows up. She—er—may be very different in a year." "Me too," Mike said. "We change all the time our age. It won't affect us. She'll still be Letty." In a sense, Sophie thought. "But maybe what she said was true," she went on eagerly, "and she knew Hal under a pseudonym?" "Don't worry, I thought about it!" Mike said. "I described Hal—you've got to admit he was easy to spot—Letty hadn't seen him or his broken guitar. I didn't even have to tell Letty he couldn't play that stuff. Letty Never met him, she was twiddling her thumbs the whole time she was talking." "Relax then!" said Sophie, laying back stiffly in her chair.This is certainly a relief.Not too comforting, though, because Sophie was sure that the other Letty in town was the real Letty High.If it were anyone else, people in and out of the hat shop would have gossiped about it.Sounds like the strong-willed Letty didn't give in to Hal.What worries Sophie is that Letty has told Hal her real name.She might not be able to make up her mind about him yet, but she should like him very much and trust him so much that she told him such a big secret. "Don't be so restless!" Mike laughed, leaning back in his chair. "Look at the cake I brought you." As Sophie started to open the box, she realized that Mike had stopped seeing her as a plague god and had truly accepted her.Excited and grateful, she decided to tell Mike the whole truth about Letty and Martha and about herself.It was only fair to let him know the family of the person he intended to marry.The box is opened.It is the most delicious cake in Cesare, covered with cream and cherries and chocolate rolls. "Ah!" Sophie exclaimed. The square handle on the door clicked automatically, the red sign turned down, and Hal walked in. "Great cake! One of my favorites," he said. "Where did you get it?" "I—er—I made a bend at Sesserly," Mike said timidly.Sophie looked up at Howl.Whenever she decides to speak out about the fact that she has been cursed, something always pops up.It seems that wizards have also come to join in the fun. "It was a worthwhile trip." Hal said, staring at the cake. "I heard that Cesarey's pastry is better than any shop in Kingsbury. I've never been there. Is that a piece of pie on the counter?" He went to look, "Pie lying on a bed of raw onions. Looks like the skull has been played with." He picked up the skull and knocked the onions out of its eye sockets lock up. "Sophie is at work again. Can't you stop her, friend?" The skull's teeth clicked against him.Hal was startled, and quickly put it down. "Any questions?" Mike asked.It seemed that he understood the meaning of this action. "Yes," Hal said, "I'll have someone to discredit me before the king." "Is there anything wrong with a carriage spell?" Mike asked. "No. It's perfect. That's the problem," Hal said, twiddling his onion rings restlessly with his fingers. "Then the king wants me to do something else. Calcifer, if we don't play it safe, he will appoint me Royal Sorcerer." Calcifer ignored.He glanced back to the fireplace and realized Calcifer was asleep. "Wake him up, Mike," he said, "I'm going to talk it over with him." Mike threw two pieces of wood on Calcifer and called to him.Except for a thin wisp of smoke, there was no movement. "Calcifer!" Howl called out.That's not much better.Howl gave Mike a cryptic look and picked up the poker, something Sophie had never seen him do. "Excuse me, Calcifer," he said, poking around at the bottom of the unburned woodpile. "stand up!" A cloud of thick black smoke billowed up. "Go away," Calcifer muttered, "I'm tired." Seeing this, Hal suddenly became nervous. "What's wrong with him? I've never seen him like this!" "Probably because of the scarecrow," said Sophie. Howl spun on his knees, his glass bead eyes on her. "What did you just do again?" He kept staring at her as Sophie explained. "A scarecrow?" he said. "Calcifer promised to speed up the castle, just for a scarecrow? Dear Sophie, please tell me how you coerced a fire demon into being so helpful. I really want to know !" "I didn't bully him," said Sophie. "That thing gave me a heart attack. He took pity on me." "That thing gave her a heart attack, and Calcifer pityed her," repeated Hal. "Dear Sophie, Calcifer never pities anyone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the raw onions and cold Pie, because you nearly extinguished Calcifer." "There's cake." Mike interjected, trying to ease the atmosphere. The good food did seem to take Hal's breath away, though he kept casting anxious glances at the unburned logs in the fireplace as he ate.The cold pie was delicious, too, and the onions, soaked in vinegar by Sophie, were delicious too.The cakes are simply superb.As they dined, Mike tentatively asked King Hal what he wanted. "Haven't made it clear yet," Hal said worriedly, "but he's spying on me about his brother, and it's not a good thing. Apparently before Prince Justin left, they had a serious fight, and people were talking about it. The King obviously wanted me to go find his brother. And I foolishly went and said I didn't think Wizard Suliman was dead, which made matters worse." "Why do you want to slip away instead of looking for the prince?" Sophie asked, "Don't you have the confidence to find him?" "You're violent and rude, aren't you?" Hal said.He hadn't forgiven her for what she had done to Calcifer. "I want to distance myself from this because I know I can find him, if you must know the truth. Justin was a good mate of Suliman, and the altercation happened precisely because he told the king he was going to Suliman He thought at first that the king should not have sent Suliman to the wasteland. You must have heard that there is a nasty woman in the wasteland. She threatened to fry me alive last year and cast a spell to follow me. She is still alive so far because I have a heart and gave her a pseudonym." Sophie was almost stunned. "You mean you abandoned the Wasteland Witch?" Hal cut another piece of cake, with a hint of satisfaction in his sad expression. "You can't say that. I confess that I once thought I liked her. In some ways she's a sad woman, and nobody loves her. Every man in Ingrid is terrified of her. You know what it's like, Dear Sophie." Sophie's mouth fell open, furious.Mike immediately interjected, "Do you think we should make the castle move? This is the original intention of your invention, right?" "That's up to Calcifer." Hal looked over his shoulder at the barely smoking logs. "It's true, if the king and the witch are after me, I'd be dying to put the castle on some pretty rock a thousand miles away." Mike obviously regretted opening his mouth.Sophie understood that he was thinking that thousands of miles away from Martha was too far away. "But what about your Letty Head," she asked Hal, "if you go away?" "I expect it'll be over by then," Hal said absently, "but if I can think of a way to get the king to let go... there is!" He pointed at Sophie with his fork, which still had a large chunk Cake with melted cream. "You can discredit me to the king. You can pretend to be my old mother and plead for her sweetheart." He smiled at Sophie, which undoubtedly made the Witch of the Wasteland and even Letty swoon. The smile shot down the fork, through the cream, and flew straight into Sophie's eyes, making one dizzy. "You can intimidate Calcifer, but the king treats you like a piece of cake." Sophie stared dazedly, but said nothing.It's time to quit, she thought.She is leaving.Sorry about Calcifer's contract.She had had enough of Hal.First the green slime, then the glaring at Calcifer for something she was willing to do, and now it's all over again!Tomorrow morning she would slip away quietly, go to Upper Fordring to find Letty, and tell her everything.