She
approached the Good Magician’s Castle on foot an obscure woman of
indeterminate age in a flowing robe, steadying herself with a staff
She looked neither lovely nor regal, without being deficient in
either quality. She earned a large book in the crook of her left
elbow.
The
castle was obviously not expecting visitors The drawbridge was up,
laundry was hanging from a window, and the moat monster was snoozing.
The
woman was unperturbed She touched the surface of the water with the
tip of her staff, then stepped onto the moat She walked across, her
slippers denting but not penetrating the surface. Small ripples
traveled out across the moat.
The
moat monster woke with a start as a ripple gently lifted his nose. He
blinked then coiled into action He raised his head high, opened his
jaws, and oriented on the figure. He inhaled, ready to breathe fierce
water vapor on the trespasser.
“Relax,
Soufflé,” she said.
The
monster blinked, then sank back down into his snooze without even a
snort.
The
woman reached the inner bank and then the front door It was locked
closed. She touched it with her staff, and it opened. She walked into
the castle. There was no clamor of discovery, whoever else was in the
castle remained unaware of the intrusion.
