Part 22

Last night during dinner I tried to guess what gift Captain Greg was thinking of giving me. My first guess was flowers and by bedtime I had worked my way up to a wedding ring. With each guess Lucky gave me a look that said "in your dreams." He’s right, of course. Last time I dared to think of the Captain as my Captain he had avoided me for several days.

Since it won’t be long before the Castle pathways get repaired and, according to Captain Greg, more people come to visit, expanding the General Store had become a matter of urgency. And today would be a good day to get it done since I’ll probably be down at the Faire of Light doing errands for Triffledore so that he can focus on repairing those broken light crystals.

Before I could leave Town Hall, Linea arrived with a letter for me. And this time I didn’t have to go find where she dropped it. I waited for Linea to tell me its contents since I know she reads all the correspondence I receive. But all she said was that the letter was from Queen Sophia.

After reading the letter, I got the impression that the Queen wouldn’t be returning to the Skyward Castle any time soon. Sophia had heard that Linea missed her. She wanted me to find some of her personal items and give them to Linea to cheer her up.

Linea was pleased when I showed her the letter, though I wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t already perused it. And she certainly read more into it than I had. Linea thought that the Queen was missing her rather than vice versa and declared that she was blushing. If she was, I couldn’t tell. She looked to be the same shade of pink she always was.

When I arrived at Triffledore’s shop, he has already working on the light crystals but needed more materials. I smiled when I saw his list. I had everything he needed back in the storage closet at Town Hall. Best of all, when I returned with the requested items, he didn’t ask me to fetch anything else.

We didn’t have to wait very long before the crystals were repaired. A good thing, because those skulls and masks Triffledore has on display give me the creeps. We immediately took the crystals up to the Castle.

When the curse was lifted, the vines covering the right hand wall of the Entrance Hall withered and revealed a torn tapestry and a damaged painting. I wondered if Fahleed might volunteer to fix the tapestry. I don’t know how I’ll get the painting restored. I don’t think there’s any painters living in the kingdom.

While at the Castle, I spent some time examining the repaired glasswork. It was impossible to tell that it had ever been broken. Chumblepot had matched the style of the original artisan perfectly. I like Chumblepot’s style better. His glassworks are more detailed. I just wish he had a better sense of color.

When I left the Castle, I was surprised to see that Triffledore had waited for me. He had been on his way to open up the Yura shrine at the Forgotten Glen when Quinn found him and asked if he could repair the light crystals. In the excitement, Triffledore had lost some runes. He wondered if I could find him some replacements.

I found the runes at the Fairy Dragon Nest. It was too early for the Captain to be there. And apparently too early for lobsters. There weren’t any in the Mystic Pool.

When I returned the runes to Triffledore, he informed me that he had also lost the magical musical candles needed to unlock the shrine. He had been busy searching for them while I looked for the runes but had only found two of them. Three were still missing. Triffledore suggested that I search Dawnshadow Lake, Ancient Pond, and Fairy Dragon Nest.By now, I’ve learned that even if I have just searched every inch of place, items that weren’t there before mysteriously appear. So of course I found one of those candles at the Fairy Dragon Nest. In fact, I found a candle in each of the places I searched.Because I had found all the candles, Triffledore decided that I had earned the honor of opening the shrine. I was a little bit nervous about using magical candles. Suppose I did something wrong? But I was able to align them properly so that they played a magical tune and the shrine unlocked.

While searching for the lost candles, I was able to find some things to cheer up Linea. When I gave her the Sophia plushie and the portrait of the Queen, Linea became quite emotional. She said that she would treasure the items and sounded quite sincere when she told me that I was really nice.

I also got a bit emotional. Nobody had ever told me that before.
 

Part 24

I had trouble sleeping last night. I kept waking up to look at my pendant to make sure I hadn’t imagined that Captain Greg had asked for permission to court me. I wondered if he was having trouble sleeping and was spending the night looking at the moonstone pendant I had given him.

Just what form our courtship will take remains to be determined. I have no relatives to keep a watchful eye to ensure that proprieties are observed so spending time together at my home after work is out of the question. Greg had told me not to worry. He would find a way for us to spend time together every day.

I was woken early by the sound of somebody banging on my door. It was Greg. If having breakfast together in the morning is his solution to our dilemma, he needs to think again. He told me to hurry up and get dressed while he fixed us some breakfast and explained why he was visiting me so early in the morning.

One of the soldiers making his usual security rounds had noticed a purple fog surrounding Town Hall. The building was now cursed and nobody was able to enter it. Or exit it, I presumed. That meant the Mayor was trapped!

Greg grinned and shook his head no. The Mayor had not been in the building when the cloaked stranger had cursed it. So where was he if he wasn’t at home asleep in his bed. Greg’s grin grew larger. The Mayor had spent the night at the General Store, presumably in Blessilda’s bed. I blushed. I knew that Blessilda and the Mayor were friends, good friends, but it never occurred to me that they were friends with benefits.

The breakfast Greg had made for me looked very unappetizing. He’s a man of many talents, but cooking is not one of them. But I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I ate a bit of it and pushed most of it around my plate.

By the time we arrived at Town Hall, a crowd had already gathered. The Mayor was speaking, telling everybody that he had just returned from his early morning stroll in time to see the cloaked figure cast a spell on Town Hall. Nobody was paying much attention to him. They were too busy stared at Greg and me and the pendants we were now wearing.

The Mayor said he heard the figure mumble about something in the Shrine of Yura. He told us he felt some ominous presence which might be related to the curse and that I should go visit the shrine and see what’s there.

From the look on Greg’s face I could tell that what he was feeling was anger that the Mayor was yet again sending me somewhere that could be dangerous and he informed the Mayor that he would be accompanying me. As for me, all I was feeling was an ominous queasiness in my stomach and I hoped I didn’t disgrace myself by losing what little breakfast I had eaten.

Inside the shrine at the Forgotten Glen, we found a stone mask which glowed a sickly purple. When we returned to Landsong Village and gave the effigy to the Mayor, he claimed that it reeked of the vile energy of Dreadmyre and added that somebody is trying to bring evil back into the world. He then hurried off to ask the sages to research the effigy.

I hurried off to the General Store to ask Blessilda if she had anything that would cure my tummy troubles. She handed me some nasty looking mixture. Looking at it, I decided that the cure was probably worse than the ailment. This phial would be joining the love potion I had locked away.

There was a commotion outside and I could hear Greg shouting my name. Blessilda and I hurried outside to join the crowd. Purple fog now covered the Squabbit Den and the Glassworks. Chumblepot, Quinn and Mr Vanderkins were all right, but Quinn was concerned about the other animals. We all waited for the Mayor to return and tell us what the sages had to say.

We didn’t have to wait long. According to the Mayor, the vile artifact we found triggered the curse on the other buildings. Sure, blame us. It was his idea that we go find it. There must be other vile artifacts around and we must find them so the buildings can be released from the curse. He suggested we start looking at Ancient Pond and the Fairy Dragon Nest.

At Ancient Pond, we found a squabbit statue. A stone replica of a glasswork was found at the Fairy Dragon Nest. Both items emitted the same sickly purple glow as the mask we found in the cave at Forgotten Glen. I wondered which buildings we would find cursed when we returned to Town Hall.

Nothing else appeared to be cursed. They Mayor said that all the vile objects would need to be sealed to stop them from spreading the curse further and handed me a list of things needed. I had everything on that list in the storage cupboard. The Mayor took what he needed and went off somewhere to do whatever it is that will seal the vile artifacts.

When he returned he thanked me for once again saving the town and remarked that the cloaked man is really bent on causing havoc to the kingdom. He also expressed a hope that we won’t have more of these incidents in the future.

I was embarrassed by his remarks, but even more embarrassed when the Mayor gave Greg a wink and a nudge and congratulated him on finding a good woman just as he had done. Greg gently put his arm around my waist and said that he was luckier than other men: he had found a virtuous woman.
  

Part 26

When I awoke this morning, I was disappointed not to find a note from Greg pushed under my door. We hadn’t seen each other yesterday. I knew he was very busy searching for the cloaked stranger, but I needed reassurance from him that my decision to continue rebuilding the kingdom was the right one.

But I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing while I waited for him to return from wherever he is. The residents of the Faire of Light certainly want reconstruction to continue. Every one of them has asked for help in one form or another.

I decided to visit Fahleed first. His assumption that the sight of my new wardrobe would result in more customers for him proved to be correct. Every member of Greg’s fan club wanted a dress just like mine. The shop would need to be expanded. And Fahleed also needed funds to purchase new exotic fabrics.

I’m pleased that Fahleed’s business is doing so well, but less than thrilled that every woman in the kingdom will be dressed exactly alike. Fahleed assures me that won’t happen. He’s already put aside fabric for my exclusive use and will be doing the same for every customer.

I watched him successfully steer a customer away from the ‘Berengaria blue’ velvet to view some crimson satin and smiled as he murmured how only she had the coloring to do the fabric justice. No wonder he’s been so successful.

The next place Lucky and I visited was Triffledore’s. Lucky wanted to wait outside but I convinced him it was better for us to stick together until the mysterious stranger was captured.

Triffledore urged me to go shopping while he fashioned the skycrystals into ornaments to be hung on the Castle’s chandelier. This time I chose some old gold coins. Maybe Fahleed could use them as buttons for a cloak he was making me.

The chandelier was almost finished but Triffledore needed some bolgite and obsidian to complete it. Lucky and I went back to Town Hall to await word that Triffledore had installed the chandelier in the Castle.

While we waited, I sorted through the remaining requests for assistance and made lists of what I needed to look for in each area of the kingdom. I had hoped to find a note from Greg on my desk. Nothing.

Maybe we should just skip the courtship and get married now. If we’re going to spend so little time together, what difference does it make whether we’re compatible or not? By the time we figure it out, it won’t matter all that much. We’ll be old and gray.

At last it was time to view the new chandelier. The Castle’s Entrance Hall was now brighter. People would be able to fully appreciate the tapestry and the glasswork now. I still need to find an artist to restore the painting, the staircase and pillars need to be repaired, and there’s still eleven door tiles to be found.

Leaving the Castle, I silently noted all the exterior work that needs to be done. I just hope Queen Sophia appreciates all the work that’s being done while she’s gone. And that she returns to see it.
 

Part 28

Courtship is supposed to be a time when a couple gets to know each other well enough to determine if they are compatible and would like to spend the rest of their lives together. So far the only thing Greg and I have been able to discover is that I’m a better cook than he is, and we both like lobster.

Over dinner we had discussed the rebuilding of the kingdom and had drawn up a list of what still needed to be done. We decided that making further repairs to the Castle would show the kingdom’s residents that we were not going to let the cloaked stranger intimidate us.

Troglid had offered to help fix the Castle’s interior pillars. Today Lucky and I went to see him and accept his offer. He joked that it’s only appropriate since he is a pillar of the community. Then he got down to business and gave me a list of what he would need. The carpentry shop would need to be expanded and he would need some blueprints.

Lucky and I returned to Town Hall to check on the supply of blueprints. While we were doing that, Quinn stopped by to ask me to help him find a gift for his sister Ria. Neither Quinn nor Seth had mentioned her before.

Quinn told me his sister stays at the Atriums and visits from time to time. Neither Greg, the Mayor, nor Linea had mentioned the Atriums to me. Is there yet another community that needs rebuilding?

We looked through the storage closet and Quinn selected a pocket dragon plushie, a Ran plushie, and some yellow moonflowers for his sister. Ria was pleased with her gifts and Quinn was grateful for the help I gave him. In return, he gave me a Token of Friendship to use at Mystic Copse to open Whitecedar’s tree house.

Yesterday, while working on the Moonfell Staff, Triffledore had mentioned something about Queen Sophia’s signet ring. He thought it might be found at either Dawnshadow Lake or Mystic Copse.

I decided to go to Apricus Plaza for some blueprints first, then to Dawnshadow Lake to look for the ring, and finally to Mystic Copse to open the tree house and search for the ring if I hadn’t already found it.

To my surprise, I found a ring at Dawnshadow Lake and another at Mystic Copse. When I showed them to Triffledore, he announced that the one found at Dawnshadow Lake was a replica. He called the one found at Mystic Copse a fake replica. I’m confused, I thought replicas were fakes???

Next I went to see Troglid to give him the blueprints. He told me he would have to do some stability research before he could build the pillars and wondered if I would have some time tomorrow to mind the shop. He also mentioned that he’d like to see the Castle’s tower rebuilt. I offered to pass on that information to Greg and said I’d try to find time to help out at the shop.

Greg was waiting for me at Town Hall. He had been chatting to the Forester and had wheedled some chunky meat stew for dinner out of him. Greg added that if the Orchards were expanded again, the Forester could mass produce the stew and sell it t the general public. I decided to make a decision on that after I had tasted the stew.
 

Part 30

Last night Greg and I learned that we needed to work on our lines of communication. A lot.

He had been very angry about that bauble I had received from Triffledore and kept asking me where it came from. I kept insisting I got it from Triffledore and he kept saying he didn’t believe me. Finally I couldn’t take any more and removed the sunstone pendant he had given me. It was obvious to me that we didn’t have a future together. Not if he was convinced that I was accepting jewelry from some other man

At that point Greg told me the little gold triangle wasn’t just a pretty piece of jewelry, it was a Tesseract Prism, an amulet used to store magic, and that Dreadmyre had used such a prism to entrap Sophia and her parents. He thought my grandfather had given it to me!

I shook my head no. My grandfather had never given me anything. I had only seen him once, and I was obviously a disappointment to him because I had been born without magic.

Oops! I hadn’t meant to reveal that I was an unwielder. Nobody in the kingdom had asked me what my special gift was. They probably assumed that Dreadmyre had stolen my magic, just as he had stolen the magic from so many other humans.

Greg nodded. He had been puzzled when I was able to undo the cloaked stranger’s petrify magic and release Prince Edric. The only other person he knew that could do such a thing was Queen Sophia. And she was an unwielder.

He asked if anybody else knew. I just shrugged. I hadn’t told anybody in the kingdom, but I had no idea if the soldiers who guarded me while I was exiled knew. Maybe Queen Sophia knew? If she did, she hadn’t told Greg and I doubted that the Mayor or Linea had noticed anything. We agreed that, for now, my lack of magic should remain a secret. As Greg put the sunstone pendant back around my neck, he promised that he would always protect me.

It wasn’t until he left that I realized that he hadn’t told me anything about his special gift. Or how he had gotten into my home and why he had been looking through my things. I suppose I might have forgotten to lock the door, but I made sure I didn’t forget this morning.

The Forester was waiting for me at Town Hall. He wanted a donation of three thousand bolgins to improve the Orchard and upon receiving it remarked that it would inspire more fruits of his labor. I’ve noticed that the goblins have a penchant for puns.

The Forester gave me some more of that chunky meat stew Greg - and Lucky - loves and then remarked that he needed to do some planting and wondered if I cared to ‘dig in’. I gave him the golden oak, obsidian, and bolgite he needed, but I had no time for digging today. I was supposed to be helping Troglid so he’d be free to work on the Castle’s interior pillars.

Before heading down to the Faire of Light, I checked the papers on my desk to see if anything needed immediate attention. Greg had left a note saying that he would oversee the repair of the Castle’s tower today and suggested I meet him there at the end of the day to check it out.

When Lucky and I met with Troglid, he claimed that he had everything under control but that Seth, Fahleed, and Triffledore could use some help. I decided to help Seth first.

While I helped sort the seemingly endless supply of gears he has stockpiled, Seth mentioned that he had heard I wanted to move a walrus out of Coral Cove. It was news to me. I had never visited Coral Cove and was unaware that a walrus had taken up residence there. But I accepted Seth’s offer of help and took the list of items he said he needed to make bait.

Next I visited Fahleed and spent some time weaving. He wanted to talk about the portal in Dawnshadow Lake. He was curious about it and said it could be opened if we could find a special rune stone. But we would need other runes to help us find the special one and just as Seth had done, gave me a list of things to find. But he also gave me a new cloak and some other things to augment my wardrobe.

That just left Triffledore on the list of people Troglid wanted me to help out. Lucky was already bored and anxious to leave Faire of Light. He doesn’t like being cooped up inside and prefers when we are out and about searching for things. And he still gets spooked by the strange artifacts in the shop.

While I was tidying up the artifacts, Triffledore mentioned that he had an artist friend who dreamed about setting up a Gallery and wondered if he’d like it here in the Skyward Kingdom. He then apologized for thinking out loud and asked if I could help him find some things he dropped at Dawnshadow Lake.

I said we could go there right now. Lucky was pleased to have something to do and was of great assistance in finding the things. Triffledore thanked me for picking up the dropped items. I dropped a few hints about how the kingdom could use an artist and hoped Triffledore would speak to his friend about moving here.

I’m not sure he heard me. Triffledore was more interested in the magical tree bark he spotted at Dawnshadow Lake which he claimed could be opened with a Sun Gem. He knew how to make one but would need me to provide the materials necessary. Once again, I was handed a list.

When I returned to the Faire of Light, Troglid was waiting for me. He told me the Castle’s pillars were finished and thanked me for helping out the other residents. Troglid also wanted to make me a ladder as a thank you present, but didn’t have the necessary materials. So once again, I was handed a list.