Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Sophie Slanders Howl's Reputation

By the time they reached the palace, Sophie had visibly fainted again.The overlapping golden domes dazzled her.The steps leading to the main entrance were tall and long, and soldiers in bright red uniforms stood every six steps.Sophie thought to herself as she passed them, panting and dazed, that the poor boys must be fainting on such a hot day.Above the steps are arches, lobby, corridor, living room, one after another.Sophie lost count of how many there were.At each arch a man in ornate white gloves--clean and white despite the heat--asked them the purpose of their visit, and then led them to the person in charge at the next arch.

"Mrs. Pendragon sees the king!" The voices echoed in the hall one by one. Halfway there, Hal was politely asked to wait elsewhere.Mike and Sophie continue to lead from one to the other.They were taken upstairs, their uniforms changed from red to blue, and this continued for several rounds until they came to a reception room inlaid with hundreds of colorful wood chips.There, Mike was also asked to wait on the spot.Sophie was not at all sure that she was having a strange dream.She was ushered through the huge double doors, and this time the echo said, "Your Highness, Mrs Pendragon is here to see you."

There was the king, not sitting on the throne, but on a square stool in the middle of the great room, decorated with only a small piece of gold leaf, dressed much more modestly than his attendants.He was alone, like a normal guy.It is true that he has one leg outstretched, and his sitting posture is quite regal, chubby, his outline is not clear but handsome.But to Sophie he was quite young, and he looked a little like a king.She felt that as far as his face was concerned, he should not feel so good about himself. He asked, "What did Wizard Howl's mother see me for?" Sophie suddenly realized that she was standing in front of the king.She thought dazedly, it seems that the person sitting there, and the grand and prominent kingship are two unrelated things, they just happen to be sitting on the same chair.She found herself forgetting all the fine words Howl had taught him, and it had been carefully planned.But she had to say something.

"He sent me to tell you that he will not go after your brother," she said, "Your Majesty the King." She stared at the king.The king stared at her.I am so embarrassed. "Are you serious?" asked the king, "and the wizard seemed very pleased when I mentioned it to him." The only thing on Sophie's mind was that she had come here to slander Hal, so she said, "He lied. He didn't want to provoke you. He's a yo-yo king, if you know what I mean, Your Highness." "He wants to get away from my brother Justin," said the king. "I see. Will you sit down and tell me the reason for the wizard? I see you are old."

There is another plain chair in the room, far away from the king.Sophie sat down crunchingly, following Mrs. Pentstemton's example, leaning on her cane with both hands, hoping it would make her feel better.But her mind was still blank like a stage fright.She thought only of saying, "Only a coward would ask his old mother to intercede for him. You can see what he is from that, my lord." "It is indeed a rare way." The king said solemnly, "but I told him that if he agrees, he will not treat him badly." "Oh, he doesn't care about money," said Sophie, "but he's terribly afraid of the Witch of the Wasteland. The Witch of the Wasteland has put a spell on him and just caught up with him."

"Then he has every reason to be afraid," said the king, trembling slightly, "but please tell me more about wizards." More about Hal?Sophie racked her brains.I must slander him!Her mind went blank, and for a moment she didn't seem to think of any flaws in Howl.How stupid! "He was fickle, careless, selfish, and hysterical," she said. "For a long time I thought he wanted to be good to himself, and he didn't care about anyone else—but then I found out that he was as good as some people." .So I thought he was good to people only when things went his way—only I found out again that he undercharged the poor. I don't know, Your Majesty. He's a mess."

"I have the impression," said the king, "that Hal is a rebel, a slippery bastard, articulate and clever. What do you think?" "You're so right!" said Sophie sincerely, "but you haven't said that yet, he's so vain—" She looked suspiciously at the King, who was a few yards away, across the carpet.He actually seemed to be helping her to slander Hal's reputation. The king smiled.The slightly uncertain smile befits him, not his king. "Thank you, Mrs. Pendragon," he said. "I am relieved by your bluntness. The wizard agreed so easily to find my brother that I think I have chosen the wrong man. I am afraid he is either one of those special Show-off guy, or money-obsessed outlaw. But you showed me that he's exactly what I need."

"Ah, damn it!" cried Sophie, "he sent me to tell you he wasn't!" "You did." The king pulled the chair closer to Sophie. "Let me be outspoken, too," he said. "Mrs. Pendragon, I need my brother back so badly. It's not just a matter of me liking him, or regretting that we had a fight. It's not even about clearing up. Someone's rumor that I murdered him—anyone who knew either of us knows it's nonsense. No, Mrs. Pendragon. The truth is, my brother Justin was a good general, and Ran and Strangea are about to declare war on us, and I can't fight without him. The witch threatened me too. Since all the reports agree that Justin did go into the Badlands, I'm sure the witch wants me to be there when I need it most. Justin couldn't get him. I think she caught Wizard Suliman as bait for Justin. So I need a very smart and unscrupulous wizard to get him back."

"Howl will run away," Sophie warned the king. "No," said the king, "I don't think he will. You can tell from the fact that he sent you. He wants you to come and show me that he's a coward and doesn't care what I think of him, does he?" , Mrs Pendragon?" Sophie nodded.She wished she could remember every subtle word Howl had said.Even if she doesn't understand, the king will understand. "Vainous men don't do that," said the king, "but no one does, unless it's a last-ditch effort. So I trust Wizard Howl will do what I expect if I tell him his The last attempt failed."

"I think you may be - er - chasing after something that doesn't exist, Your Majesty," said Sophie. "I don't think so." The king smiled.His slightly blurred features became completely clear.He was sure he was right. "Tell Wizard Hal, Mrs. Pendragon, that from now on I will appoint him Wizard Royal to find Prince Justin, dead or alive, within the year. You may go now." He held out a hand to Sophie like Mrs. Pentstemmon did, but less aggressively.Sophie stood up, wondering if she should kiss the hand.But because she had the urge to hit the king on the head with her cane, she just shook his hand and curtseyed hastily.It seems just right to do so.The king gave her a friendly smile as she staggered to the double doors.

"Oh, damn it!" she said to herself.It was worse than Hal didn't want it to be.Now Hal will move the castle thousands of miles away.Letty, Martha, and Mike will all be heartbroken, and there will no doubt be another surge of green slime. "That's what being the boss is all about," she murmured as she pushed open the heavy door. "You just can't win!" Something else is wrong.Troubled and disappointed, Sophie somehow walked through the wrong double door.This reception room is surrounded by mirrors.She saw herself in the mirror, hunched and shambling in her delicate gray dress, and many people in blue court uniforms, some as finely dressed as Hal, but there was no sign of Mike.Mike was naturally in the reception room, inlaid with hundreds of wood chips. "Ah, nasty!" sighed Sophie. A courtier hurried up to her and bowed. "Madame Sorcerer! May I be of service to you?" He was a small young man with red eyes.Sophie stared at him. "Oh my God!" she said, "then the spell worked!" "Indeed." said the little courtier with some regret, "I disarmed him when he sneezed, and he's suing me now. But the point is—" A happy smile spread across his face, "I Dear Jane is back to me! So, what can I do for you? I feel responsible for your happiness." "Each to each other," said Sophie. "You don't happen to be Lord Ketterlake, do you?" "I'm waiting for your orders." The little courtier said and bowed again. Jane Farrell must be more than a foot taller than him!thought Sophie.That was obviously my fault. "Yes, you can do me a favor." She explained to him about Mike. Lord Ketterlake promised her that he would find Michael and take him to meet her in the hall.No hassle at all.He handed Sophie over to a gloved waiter himself, bowing and smiling repeatedly.Sophie was then handed off to waiter after waiter, just as she came.Finally she staggered to the steps guarded by soldiers. Mike is not here.Hal wasn't there either, but that was a relief to Sophie.She thought she should have expected this situation!Lord Ketterlake was obviously one of those people who never got one thing right, and she wasn't sure either.She was lucky enough to go to the right exit.By now she was hot and tired and frustrated and decided not to wait for Mike.She wanted to sit down in a chair by the fire and tell Calcifer about the mess she had made. She stumbled down the grand staircase.She staggered down the grand avenue.She wearily walked up another street surrounded by a dizzying number of spiers and towers and gilded roofs.Only then did she realize that the situation was worse than she thought.She is lost.She had no clue how to find the entrance to the castle, the disguised stables.She randomly turned onto another avenue, but didn't recognize it either.Now she didn't even know the way back to the palace.She tried asking pedestrians.Most of them seemed as tired and hot as she was. "Wizard Pendragon?" they asked. "Who is he?" Sophie walked on hopelessly.Just as she was about to give up and sit down for the night on the next doorstep, she passed a narrow alley which ended in Mrs. Pentstemt's house.what!It occurred to her that I could go over and ask the valet.He and Hal were so close, he must know where Hal lived.So she turned into the alley. The Witch of the Wasteland approached. It is difficult to say how Sophie recognized the witch.Her face changed.Her hair was no longer neat chestnut curls, but a waist-length red wave, and her russet dress danced.She looks very beautiful and charming.Sophie recognized her immediately.She almost stopped. She has no reason to remember me, Sophie thought.I must be one of the many whom she has bewitched.So Sophie walked on boldly, her stick pounding the gravel, reminding herself that in case of trouble, Mrs. Pentstemton had said that the stick had become a powerful instrument. This is another mistake.The witch came from the other side of the alley, smiling and turning the parasol, followed by two waiters in orange velvet uniforms with sullen expressions.When she came to the side of Sophie, she stopped, and the smell of tawny rushed straight to Sophie's nose. "Oh, it's not Miss Haight!" sneered the Witch. "I'll never forget a face, especially one I've made with my own hands! What are you doing here, dressed so grandly? Suppose you want to visit that Mrs. Pentstemton, you can save your energy. The old woman is dead." "Dead?" Sophie was a little dumb.She wanted to say on the spur of the moment that she was alive and well an hour ago!But he swallowed the words, because that's what death is: one lives until one dies. "Yes. Dead," said the Witch. "She refused to tell me the whereabouts of someone I wanted to find. She said, 'Unless I die!' So I did her wish." She's looking for Hal!Sophie thought to herself.what should I do now?If it weren't for the heat and tiredness, Sophie might have been too scared to think.Because for a witch who killed Mrs. Pentstemton, Sophie was a piece of cake, with or without a cane.If she suspects that Sophie knows Hal's whereabouts, then Sophie's fate can be imagined.Also, it might be a good thing that Sophie doesn't remember the entrance to the castle. "I don't know the man you killed," she said, "but you are a wicked killer." The witch still seemed suspicious.She said, "But I heard you say you were going to visit Mrs. Pentstemmon?" "No," said Sophie. "You said it yourself. Even if I don't know her, I can still think you are evil if you kill her like this." "Where are you going, then?" asked the Witch. Sophie wanted to tell the witch to mind her own business.But that would cause more trouble.So she gave the only reason she could think of. "I'm going to the king," she said. The Witch laughed, in disbelief, "But will the King see you?" "Of course," said Sophie, trembling with fear and anger, "I have an appointment. I'm going to petition him to give the hatter a better environment. I never gave up, you see , even if you make me like this." "Then you are going in the wrong direction," said the witch. "The palace is behind you." "Oh? Really?" Sophie responded, not feigning surprise. "Then I have to go back. After you made me like this, I have a bad sense of direction." The witch laughed heartily and didn't believe a word of Sophie's words. "Then come with me," she said, "and I will show you the way to the palace." Sophie had no choice but to turn and walk beside the witch, with the two attendants following sullenly.Anger and despair enveloped Sophie.She saw the witch walking slowly beside her, and she remembered that Mrs. Penztmont once said that the witch was actually an old woman.It's not fair!Sophie thought, but there was nothing she could do about it. "Why did you make me like this?" Sophie demanded as they walked up a grand avenue with a fountain. "You prevented me from getting some of the information I needed," said the witch. "Of course I got it in the end." Sophie was at a loss.Just as she was wondering if it would be helpful to say that there must be a misunderstanding, the witch added, "Though I bet you don't know anything about it," and laughed like it was the funniest part of the whole thing . "Have you ever heard of a country called Wales?" she asked. "No," said Sophie. "Under the sea?" The Witch thought this was very funny. "Not yet," she said. "That's where Wizard Howl came from. You know Wizard Howl, don't you?" "Only hearsay." Sophie lied. "He eats girls. He's as evil as you." But she was cold.And it doesn't seem to be because of the fountain they happen to pass by.Walking through the fountain, passing through a pink marble square, there are stone steps, and above the steps is the palace. "Here it is. There is the palace," said the Witch. "Are you sure you can handle those steps?" "It's not worse than you." Sophie said, "Take me back to my youthful appearance, even if it's so hot, I can run up in one breath." "That's no fun," said the Witch. "Go up. If you persuade the King to see you, remind him that it was his grandfather who sent me to the Badlands, and that I hold a grudge against him." Sophie looked up desperately up the long, high steps.Fortunately, there were only soldiers on the steps and no one else.With today's luck, it wouldn't surprise Sophie too much if Mike and Hal were walking down the steps.The witch was obviously going to stand there and watch her go up, and Sophie had no choice but to go up the steps.She staggered up, past the sweaty soldiers, towards the entrance of the palace again, hating the witch more and more with every step.She finally finished the steps and turned around panting.There is a fluttering reddish brown under the steps, and there are two small orange figures beside it.The witch was still there, waiting to see her thrown out of the palace. "Damn it!" Sophie swore.She staggered towards the guards in the arcade.Still no luck.Mike and Hal were nowhere to be found.She had to say to the guard, "I forgot to tell the king something." They remember her.They let her in, and she was received by a man in white gloves.Before Sophie could recover, the palace machine was working again, just like the first time, and she was handed off to one person after another, until she came to the same double doors, the same person in blue uniform. The man announced, "Lady Pendragon, see you again, Your Majesty the King." Sophie walked into the big room again, thinking what a nightmare it was.She seems to have no choice but to slander Hal's reputation again.The trouble is, after experiencing all the things just now, and the feeling of stage fright hit again, her head is even more blank than before.This time the king was standing before a large table in one corner of the room, very eagerly moving flags on the map.He raised his head and said kindly, "They told me you forgot to say something." "Yes," Sophie said, "Hal said he wouldn't go to Prince Justin unless you promised to marry his daughter." How could that have occurred to my head?she thought to herself.He will put us both to death. The king gave her a worried look. "Mrs. Pendragon, you should know that this is impossible," he said. "I understand that you must be worried about your son to mention this, but you can't tie him to the apron belt forever. My determination It's booked. Come and sit down here, please. You look tired." Sophie staggered to the low chair pointed out by the king, slumped down, and wondered when the guards would come to arrest her. The king looked around a little. "My daughter was here just now," he said.To Sophie's surprise, he stooped and looked under the table. "Valaria," he called, "Veri, come out. This way, good boy." There was a sound of shuffling footsteps.After a while, Princess Valaria came out from under the table, sat on the ground and grinned affectionately.She has four teeth.But she was still young, and her hair hadn't grown yet, except for a thin circle of white around her ears.As soon as she saw Sophie, she grinned even wider, and stretched out the hand she had been sucking on to grab Sophie's skirt.The princess tugged to her feet like this, leaving a pool of wet marks on Sophie's skirt.Gazing up at Sophie's face, Valaria spoke to her in a friendly, obviously personal foreign language. "Oh," said Sophie, feeling like a fool. "I understand what it's like to be a parent, Mrs. Pendragon," said the King.