Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The Royal Wizard Has a Cold

Sophie returned to Kingsbury's entrance in the king's four-horse coach.There was also a coachman, a groom and a footman in the carriage.An officer and six royal cavalry accompanied the escort.This is all for Princess Valaria.She was on Sophie's lap.The carriage clattered down a small slope, and Sophie's skirt was still covered with the wet royal handprint of Valaria.Sophie smiled slightly.It occurred to her that there might be some reason for Martha to want children, although ten Valarias was a little more.As Valaria crawled around on top of her, Sophie remembered the witch's threat, and she couldn't help saying to Valaria, "A witch can't hurt you. I won't let her get her way!"

The king kept silent about it.But he sent Sophie a royal carriage. After a commotion, the carriage stopped in front of the disguised stable.Mike rushed out the door, blocking the valet who was helping Sophie out of the car. "Where'd you go?" he asked. "I'm so worried! Hal's all upset again—" "I think he does too," said Sophie worriedly. "Because Mrs. Pentstem died," Mike said. Hal came to the door too.He was pale and looked depressed.Sophie guiltily examined a file in his hand, with the red and blue royal seal drooping on it.Hal gave the entourage a gold coin, and didn't say a word until the carriage and the guards left with a clatter.Then he said, "Use four horses and ten men to get rid of an old woman. What have you done to the king?"

Sophie follows Hal and Mike into the house, which is supposedly oozing with green goo.But no, only Calcifer went up the chimney, grinning purple.Sophie slumped into a chair. "I think the king is tired of me going to him to discredit you. I've been twice," she said, "and nothing goes right. I also met the witch who just killed Mrs. Pentstemton. What day what!" While Sophie described her experience, Hal leaned on the mantelpiece, the file dangling in his hand, as if he wanted to feed it to Calcifer. "Look, the new royal wizard," he said, "I've got a bad reputation." Then he laughed out loud, to the complete surprise of Sophie and Mike. "What did the witch do to Lord Ketterlake?" he laughed. "I will never let her near the king again!"

"I did slander you!" Sophie defended. "I know. I miscalculated," Hal said. "Then how do I go to Mrs. Pentstemmon's funeral and keep the witch from knowing? Any idea, Calcifer?" Apparently Hal was more saddened by Mrs. Pentstemton's death than anything else. Mike was terrified because of the witch.The next morning he confessed to having had a night of nightmares.He dreamed that she was breaking in through different entrances to the castle at the same time. "Where's Hal?" he asked anxiously. Hal was out early in the morning, and the bathroom was, as always, filled with fragrant steam.He didn't have his guitar on, and the green sign on the doorknob turned down.That's all Calcifer knew. "Don't open the door to anyone," Calcifer said. "The witch knows all the entrances except the one at Port Sanctuary."

Mike was terrified at this, and he fetched some planks from the yard and cross-hatched them to the door.Only then did he set to work on the spell he had retrieved from Miss Angorian. Half an hour later, the doorknob was suddenly turned to the black mark downward.The door started bouncing back and forth.Mike grabs Sophie. "Don't be afraid," he said tremblingly, "I will protect you." The door bounced violently for a while.Then pause.Just as Mike let go of Sophie with a sigh of relief, there was a violent explosion.Calcifer shrank back to the bottom of the fireplace, and Mike jumped into the broom cupboard, leaving Sophie standing where she was.The door flung open and Howl rushed in.

"This is going too far, Sophie!" he said. "I live here." He was drenched.The gray-red coat has turned black-brown.Sleeves and hair tips are dripping. Sophie glanced at the doorknob, the black mark was still facing down.Miss Angorian, she thought.He went to meet her in the enchanted dress. "Where have you been?" she asked. Hal sneezed. "It's raining outside. It's none of your business." His voice was a little hoarse. "What are those planks used for?" "I made it." Mike said, pushing sideways out of the broom cupboard, "The witch——"

"You think I can't manage my own business." Hal was irritated, "I cast so many misleading spells, most people can't find us. Even witches will take three days. Calcifer , I would like a hot drink." Calcifer was climbing up from the logs, but when Hal walked towards the fireplace, he drew back. "Don't come near me like that! You're all wet!" he hissed. "Sophie," Hal begged. Sophie crossed her arms unsympathetically. "What about Letty?" she asked. "I'm soaked," Hal said. "I should have a hot drink."

"I ask you, what about Letty Height?" said Sophie. "You're annoying!" Hal said.He shook his body, and the water dripped onto the floor in a bright circle.Hal stepped out to get the pan, the hair was dry and shiny, the coat had turned back to a grey-red color without a trace of wetness. "The world is full of hard-hearted women, Mike," he said. "I can name three without thinking." "One of them is Miss Angorian?" asked Sophie. Hal didn't answer.He had been discussing the moving castle with Mike and Calcifer that morning, and had grandly ignored Sophie.As Sophie sat mending the triangular pieces of the silver-blue coat, she wondered if Howl was really going to run away, fulfilling what he had warned the king about.She knew she had to get Hal off the gray-red coat as soon as possible.

"I don't think we need to move the Port of Sanctuary entrance," Hall said.He conjured a handkerchief out of the air and blew his nose so hard that Calcifer shook uneasily. "But I want to move the castle away from anywhere it's ever been, and seal off the entrance to Kingsbury." Just then there was a knock on the door.Sophie saw Howl jump up, looking around, as nervous as Mike.Neither of them answered the door.coward!Sophie thought scornfully.She didn't understand why she had to go through that series of things yesterday for Hal. "I must be crazy!" she murmured to the silver-blue dress.

"What about the entrance with the black mark down?" Mike asked after the knock on the door stopped. "Keep it," said Hal, conjuring another handkerchief, and blowing his nose one last time. nature!Sophie thought to herself.Miss Angorian was outside.Poor Letty! In the middle of the morning, Hal changed his handkerchiefs in pairs.Sophie saw that they were actually squares of fluffy paper.He kept blowing his nose.The voice is getting hoarse.After a while he changed into half a pack of handkerchiefs.A hill of used paper was piled up around Calcifer. "Oh, why do I always catch a cold every time I go back to Wales!" He said hoarsely, and simply conjured up a stack of tissues.

Sophie snorted. "Did you say something?" Hal asked hoarsely. "No, I'm just thinking that those people who run away from everything deserve a cold." Sophie said, "I didn't do the task assigned by the king, but ran into the rain to have a romantic relationship. I can only blame myself for being sick." "You don't know everything I do, tell the lady," Hal said, "do you want me to make a list for you before I go out next time? I've got Prince Justin. I'm not looking for a relationship when I go out .” "When did you go look for it?" Sophie asked. "Oh, now the ears are standing up and the nose is sticking out!" Hal said hoarsely, "Of course I looked for him when he disappeared. I wonder why Prince Justin is here, everyone knows that Suliman went I think someone must have sold him a useless Seek Charm, because he went straight to Fording Vale and bought another one from Lady Fairfax. That one brought him here, and he came to the Castle And Mike sold him a Finding Charm and a Camouflage Charm—” Mike put his hand over his mouth. "That guy in the green uniform is Prince Justin?" "Yeah, but I didn't mention it before," Hal said, "because the king might think you should have judgment and sell him a fake one. I'm a man of conscience. Conscience. Note the word, long-nosed Ma'am. I have a conscience." Howl conjured up another stack of handkerchiefs, and stared at Sophie with teary, red-rimmed eyes above the handkerchiefs.Then he stood up. "I'm sick," he declared. "I'm going to bed. I might die on it." He staggered sadly toward the stairs. "Bury me next to Mrs. Pentstemton," he said hoarsely as he went upstairs. Sophie sewed harder than ever.Now was her chance to take off Howl's grey-red coat before he did any more damage to Miss Angorian's heart—unless, of course, Howl went to bed fully clothed, which was not out of the question.So Hal was looking for Prince Justin when he went to Upper Fording, but he met Letty.Poor Letty!As Sophie thought about it, she was sewing on the fifty-seventh piece of blue gusset, with flexible and fine stitches.Only about forty bucks left. After a while, Hal's faint cry came, "Help, someone help me! I'm about to die in the cold!" Sophie snorted.Mike dropped his new spell and ran up and down.Nothing is peaceful.When Sophie sewed ten more blue triangles, Mike went upstairs with lemons, honey, a book, cough drops, a spoon for cough drops, nose drops, throat lozenges, mouthwash, pens , paper, three other books, and willow bark infusion.The knocking on the door continued, causing Sophie to fidget and Calcifer to sway anxiously.Although no one answered the door, some thought they were being ignored on purpose and continued banging for another five minutes. Sophie was now worried about the silver and blue dress she was holding.It's getting smaller and smaller.There is no way to put that many triangles together without sewing off a lot of fabric. "Mike," she called.Mike was rushing downstairs again because Hal wanted a bacon sandwich for lunch. "Mike, is there a way to make small clothes bigger?" "Oh, yes," said Mike. "That's my new spell—when I have time to work it out. He wants to put six slices of bacon in the sandwich. Can you ask Calcifer for a favor?" Sophie and Calcifer exchanged glances. "I don't think he's going to die," Calcifer said. "If you bow your head, I'll give you the bacon rind." Sophie said, putting down her sewing.Calcifer was easier to bribe than force. They had sandwiches for lunch, but they were halfway through when Mike ran upstairs again.When he came down he said Hal wanted him to go to Chipping now and get some stuff for the moving castle. "But witches—are they safe?" Sophie asked. Mike licked the grease off his fingers and leaned into the broom closet.He found a dusty velvet cloak and threw it around his shoulders.In a little while he was dressed as a burly man in a cloak and with a red beard.The man licked his fingers and said in Mike's voice, "Hal thinks I'm safe enough like this. The misleading spell and the disguise spell are both pronged. I don't know if Letty still recognizes me." The burly man turned the green sign down and drove away door, leaping towards the slow-moving hill. Finally calm down.Calcifer settled down, swaying softly.Hal clearly realizes that Sophie won't be running around for him.It was very quiet upstairs.Sophie got up and walked cautiously to the broom cupboard.This was a good chance for her to go out and meet Letty.Letty must be very sad right now.Sophie was sure that Howl hadn't been around her since that day in the orchard.It might have been better if Sophie had told her that her emotions were in fact caused by a cursed dress.Anyway, she should let Letty know the truth. The seven-mile boots were not in the broom cupboard.Sophie didn't believe it at first.She rummaged through her pockets.Nothing but the usual bucket, broom, and the rest of the velvet cloak. "Damn!" Sophie yelled.Apparently Howl wanted to make sure she didn't give her the chance to follow him anywhere again. While she was putting everything back into the cupboard, someone knocked on the door.Sophie jumped up as usual, hoping secretly that the knocker would go away.But this one seemed more determined than the others.Who the hell was knocking—or maybe knocking, because it wasn't a normal knock, but a constant ping, ping, ping.Five minutes later the knocking on the door still didn't stop. Sophie saw Calcifer only showing some disturbed green flames. "Is it a witch?" "No," Calcifer answered muffled from among the logs. "It's the castle gate. Someone must be running after us. We're running fast enough." "Is it a scarecrow?" asked Sophie, with a shudder in her chest as soon as the words came out. "Flesh and blood," said Calcifer.His blue face rose up the chimney, looking puzzled. "I'm not sure what it was, just that it was trying desperately to get in. I don't think it was malicious." Sophie felt a sense of urgency as the pong, ping, ping, and ping continued, and she decided to open the door to silence it.Besides, she wondered what the hell was out there.She still had the velvet cloak she had found in the broom cupboard in her hand, so she draped it around her shoulders as she walked to the door.Calcifer stared dumbfounded.Then, for the first time, she saw him lower his head voluntarily.There was exaggerated crackling laughter from under the curling green flames.Sophie opened the door, wondering what the cloak had made of her. A huge, spindly dachshund leaped from the hillside, over the crunching black stones of the castle, and landed in the center of the room.Sophie tore off her cloak and stepped back quickly.She has always been afraid of dogs, and dachshunds are the kind that scare people even to look at them.The dog stood between her and the door, staring at her.Sophie stared helplessly at the rolling stones outside, wondering if calling Howl would help. The dog arched its already curved back and somehow reared up on its hind legs.That makes it about the same height as Sophie.Then, just as Sophie opened her mouth to call Howl, the animal, with tremendous force, rose upwards into a human form, clad in a crumpled brown suit.He had ginger hair and a pale, unhappy face. "From Upper Fording!" panted the dog-man, "Letty greets—Letty sent me—Letty cried all day and was very unhappy—sent me to tell you—scream I'll wait—" Before he finished speaking, he began to bend down and shrink.He barked in despair and exasperation. "Don't tell the wizard!" he wailed, retreating into his reddish curls and turning back into a dog.another dog.This time it appeared to be a red setter.The red retriever wagged its shaggy tail and stared at Sophie earnestly, eyes full of sadness and pain. "Oh, dear," she said, closing the door, "you're in trouble, my friend. You're the collie, aren't you? Now I see what Mrs. Fairfax means. Damn that witch, Damn it! But why Letty sent you here? If you don't want me to tell Wizard Howl—" At the name the dog barked faintly.But at the same time it wagged its tail and stared eagerly. "Fine. I won't tell him," Sophie promised.The dog seemed relieved.He ran to the fireplace, looked cautiously at Calcifer, and then lay down by the fender, lean and red. "What do you think, Calcifer?" Sophie asked. "The dog is a cursed man," Calcifer said without saying. "I know, but can you break his spell?" Sophie asked.She figured Letty must have heard, like many others, that Howl had hired a witch to work for him.And the important thing at this moment is to turn him back into a human and send him back to Upper Fordring before Hal gets up and finds him. "No. I'll have to join forces with Hal," Calcifer said. "Then I'll try it myself," Sophie said.Poor Letty!Heartbroken for Hal, and her other lover who was a dog most of the time!Sophie put her hand on its round, soft head. "Back to original form," she said.She said it many times, but the only effect seemed to be to put the dog into a deep sleep.It snorted and twitched against Sophie's leg. At the same time, there were groans from upstairs.Sophie kept whispering to the dog, deliberately ignoring it.Then came a violent dry cough, which turned into a moan.Coughs were followed by violent sneezes, each sneezing rattling windows and doors.It was hard not to be noticed, but Sophie managed it anyway.Poof - poof!Blowing your nose sounds like a bassoon in a tunnel.The coughing started again, mixed with moaning.The sneezes were mixed with moans and coughs, and the sounds crescendoed, and Hal seemed to be able to cough, moan, blow his nose, sneeze, and moan softly all at the same time.The door rattled, the ceiling beams shook, and one of Calcifer's logs tumbled to the hearth. "All right, all right, I see!" said Sophie, throwing the logs back into the hearth. "Next is the green slime. Calcifer, watch the dog." She climbed the stairs and muttered aloud, "Really, these wizards! You don't think anyone has a cold! Come on, what's the matter?" she asked, staggering into the bedroom onto the dirty carpet. "I'm dying of boredom," Hal said sentimentally. "Maybe I'm dying." He lay there, propped against a pile of dirty gray pillows, looking pitiful.I was covered with a patchwork sheet, but because of the dust, the sheet turned into one color.Those spiders that he seemed to be particularly fond of were busy spinning webs on the bed curtain. Sophie stroked his forehead. "You do have a little fever," she admitted. "I'm out of my mind," Hal said. "There are spots all over my eyes." "That's a spider," said Sophie. "Why can't you heal yourself with a spell?" "Because there's no spell for a cold," Hal said sadly, "something keeps spinning in my head—maybe it's my head spinning. I keep thinking about the conditions of the witch's spell. I Didn't expect her to expose me like that. It's terrible to be exposed like that, although those are indeed my own actions so far. I have been waiting for the rest to happen." Sophie thought of the bewildering line. "What's the matter? 'Tell me where the years have gone?'" "Oh, I know," Hal said, "my own, or anybody's. They're right there, right where they've always been. I could play the bad fairy at my christening again if I wanted to." .Maybe I did this to cause all this trouble. No, I'm only waiting for three things: a mermaid, a mandala root, and a wind that makes my sincere heart fly high. As for whether my hair will be full of gray hair, I think , I'm afraid I won't be able to lift the spell, can't wait to see. They'll all come to fruition in a maximum of three weeks, by which time the witch will catch me in no time. Luckily the rugby club party is at Midsummer Eve, so I can at least catch that one. Other It happened a long time ago." "You mean shooting stars, and not being able to find a faithful and beautiful woman?" said Sophie. "I'm not surprised by your behavior. Mrs. Pentstemt told me you've become depraved. She said very Yes, isn't it?" "I'd go to her funeral even if I lost my life," Hal said sadly. "Mrs. Pentstemton always thought too well of me. My charms blinded her." His eyes I shed tears.Sophie didn't know if he was crying for real or if it was just a cold.But she noticed that he was slipping again. "I'm talking about the way you always wait for girls to dump them as soon as they fall in love with you," she said. "Why do you do that?" Hal staggered and pointed to the bed net above. "That's why I love the Spiders. 'If it doesn't work out at first, try harder, harder, harder.' I keep trying," he said with great sadness, "but it was a deal a few years ago that led to Yes, it's self-inflicted, and I'll never be able to love anyone properly again." There were indeed tears in Hal's eyes now.Sophie grew worried. "Listen, you can't cry—" There was the sound of pattering footsteps outside.Sophie looked around and saw the Dogman squeeze through the door in a semi-arc.She thought he must be looking for Hal, and she reached out and grabbed his red fur.But the dog just rubbed against her leg, so she staggered back to the mottled wall. "What's this?" Hal asked. "My new dog," Sophie replied, scratching at Dogman's curls.Now she leans against the wall and can see the scenery outside the bedroom window.It was supposed to be the backyard, but it turned out to be a neat square garden with a metal swing for children in the middle of the garden.The setting sun maps the raindrops hanging from the swing into blues and reds.Sophie stood watching intently as Howl's niece Mary came running across the wet lawn.Hal's sister Megan chases Mary.She was apparently yelling at Mary to get off the wet swing, but no sound came. "Is this a place called Wales?" asked Sophie. Howl laughed, beating the sheets.Dust was raised like smoke. "Nasty dog!" he hoarsely said, "I bet myself I can keep you from peeping out the window while you're here!" "Really?" Sophie finished, letting go of the dog, hoping he would bite Howl hard.But the dog just kept on leaning against her, pushing her toward the door. "So all that rhetoric is just a game, isn't it?" she said. "I should have seen it!" Howl lay back on his gray pillow with a wounded look on his face. "Sometimes," he said reproachfully, "you talk like Megan." "Sometimes," Sophie replied, chasing the dog out of the house ahead of her, "I understand how Meghan got to be like this." She slammed the door shut, shutting out the spiders, the dust, and the garden behind her.