The ground over the nearest grave stirred. An emaciated hand popped out of the earth, followed by a gruesome head and shoulders. It was a zombie! She was too taken aback to move. Her nickelpedes wouldn't have much effect against a thing like this, because zombies didn't feel pain and were always shedding bits of flesh anyway.
The head turned to gaze at her with hollow eye sockets. "Khhannn Iii hellpsh you?"
It was talking! "I was--I was just going to Castle Roogna."
"Thhash waayyy," the zombie said, pointing at the castle.
"Thank you." Cube got her legs moving. When she glanced behind, the zombie was sinking back into its grave. Now she remembered: zombies guarded the castle, rousing themselves only when it was under attack. She would never want to try to attack it.
The path led up to the moat. Was there going to be a Challenge to enter? Probably not. What was she going to say to anyone she met? Surely there would be a guard demanding her business. She needed to have something reasonable to tell him. What would be technically correct, but not give away her mission?
An elf appeared before her. No, it was a cute little girl, wearing a cute little crown. She wore a green dress, had green/blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked to be about seven years old. "Hi!"
"Hi," Cube replied. Was this really a little Princess, or merely a child in costume?
"I'm Melody."
"Hello, Melody. I am Cube."
The girl laughed. "No you aren't!"
Was she guessing? "It is what others call me. My real name is Cue."
A second child appeared beside the first. This one wore a nice brown dress, which matched her hair and eyes. She held a toy harmonica in one hand, and wore a matching crown. "I'm Harmony."
"I am--"
"I heard. Why are you here?"
Cube wasn't sure she should state her business to children. On the other hand, there was no harm in it. "I am looking for--for a traveling Companion."
Both children burst out laughing. "No you aren't!" Harmony said.
What was going on here? Cube suppressed her irritation. "Or Companions."
A third child appeared. This one had a red dress, red hair, and green eyes, and carried a toy drum. She, too had a costume crown. "I'm Rhythm."
"Hello, Rhythm. I was just saying--"
"I heard. Why?"
"Are you twins?" Cube asked.
All three laughed. "No," Rhythm said.
"We're triplets," Melody explained.
Oh, of course. Cube had clumsily gotten the wrong term. "I don't want to travel alone, so I need Companions. I thought I might find some here at Castle Roogna."
"Okay," Harmony agreed.
"We'll show you around," Rhythm concluded.
Cube wasn't quite satisfied with this. It would be hard to scout for potential Companions if she had to humor children. "Thank you, but--"
"Right this way," Melody said. They seemed to take turns speaking. The three of them turned and skipped across the drawbridge.
Cube had little choice but to follow. Maybe an adult would take charge of the playing children inside, and she would be able to get on with her business.
A huge serpentine head rose up from the water of the moat. It was a sea serpent, looming over the children. "Nickelpedes," Cube whispered, and suddenly she was surrounded by them. She wasn't sure they could reach the monster in time to prevent it from gobbling a child, but she had to try.
Harmony turned back. "You don't need those," she said, evincing no fear of the nickelpedes.
"This is Soufflé," Rhythm said.
"Our pet moat monster," Melody said.
"And baby-sitter," Harmony said.
Soufflé brought his huge head down, and all three girls reached up to pet him on the snout.
"Uh, all right," Cube agreed, banishing the nickelpedes. She wasn't entirely easy with this, but surely the girls knew their moat monster.
The monster nodded, then slowly sank back into the water. Cube realized that he understood human talk. The wonders of this castle continued.
They entered the castle. The central hall was enormous, with many arched doors along its sides.
"This way to your room," Rhythm announced, running to a stone stairway.
"But I'm not staying here!"
"Yes you are," Melody said, running beside her sister.
"But I only--"
"Hurry up," Harmony said. "We have a lot of showing to do."
Cube came to a stop. "Look, girls, I appreciate your interest, but I'm just a passing traveler. I can't--"
The three burst into laughter again. "No you're not," Rhythm said.
Every time she told a half truth, they caught her. What was going on here?
"Children!" a woman called, approaching from down the main hall. "What mischief are you up to?"
"Awww, Mom, we're just showing Cube around," Melody said innocently, a bright little halo appearing over her head.
"She needs to see the sights," Harmony added.
"And get some Companions," Rhythm concluded.
The woman turned to Cube. "I apologize. The Princesses are so mischievous it's hard to keep track of them. I hope they haven't been bothering you too badly."
"Oh, not too bad," Cube said.
The three girls burst out laughing again.
Then something else caught up to her awareness. "Princesses?"
"Perhaps we should make a more formal introduction," the woman said. "I am Princess Ivy, and these are my children, Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm."
Now Cube saw that the woman also wore a crown. She recognized the name. "P-P-Princess Ivy?"
There was more laughter from the children. "She didn't know!" Melody said.
"We were having real fun," Harmony added.
"Waiting to see how long it took her to catch on," Rhythm concluded.
Princess Ivy shook her head. "They are endless mischief, but it's hard to stop, because they are Sorceresses."
"Sorceresses," Cube repeated numbly. She was standing before a Princess--four Princesses--and didn't know whether she should bow or faint.
"Any one of them is a Sorceress," Ivy clarified. "Any two of them square it, and the three together cube it."
"Cube it," Cube echoed, wondering whether this was pure coincidence. She kept encountering squares and cubes of three. Had the Good Magician known?
"Whatever they sing, play, and drum together becomes real. Beware when they start making music."
Melody began to hum. Harmony played a note on her harmonica. Rhythm beat her drum. Cube felt intense magic coalescing around them.
"Girls!" Ivy snapped warningly.
The music cut off in mid note, but the children did not look too abashed.
"They don't know their own power yet," Ivy confided.
"Yes we do!" Melody said.
"So it's better to humor them," Ivy continued.
"That's right," Harmony agreed.
"And hope there isn't serious trouble," Ivy concluded.
"So there!" Rhythm said.
"I suppose I can do that," Cube said cautiously.
"So now come on up to your room," Melody said victoriously.
Ivy made a slight roll of her eyes.
"We saw that!" Harmony said.
"I'll go to my room," Cube agreed quickly.
"Now!" Rhythm said in peremptory fashion, imitating an adult. The three giggled.
Cube went. If their mother couldn't entirely control them, Cube certainly couldn't.
The room turned out to be quite nice, with a soft bed, a table, chairs, and plenty of closet space. There was even a comprehensive lavatory. A girl could get to like a room like this. But there was one liability: it had a mirror.
"That's a magic mirror," Melody said.
Harmony faced it. "Wira," she said.
The image of the Good Magician's daughter-in-law appeared. "Hi, Wira!" Harmony called.
The blind young woman looked toward them. "Are you spying on me again, you little mischief
s?" she inquired with a smile.
"Sure," Rhythm said. "We've got Cube."
"Leave her alone," Wira said. "She has her own life to lead."
"Maybe," Melody said as the image faded.
"Come see the Magic Tapestry," Harmony told Cube.
The triplets led the way to their own room. On its wall was a large picture tapestry showing a scene of Castle Roogna and its orchard.
"Watch," Rhythm said.
Then the picture changed. Instead it showed a section of the enchanted path, and in a moment Cube herself came walking along it. "That's me!" she exclaimed. "Coming here!"
"We can tune it in to anything except the secrets of the Adult Conspiracy," Melody said.
"We know where you've been," Harmony agreed.
"We saw you coming," Rhythm concluded.
"You mean it wasn't just chance that you intercepted me?" Cube asked, knowing the answer.
"You're on a mission for the Good Magician," Melody said.
"Because you want to be beautiful," Harmony added.
"But we can make you beautiful right now," Rhythm finished.
Cube was halfway overwhelmed. "But I can't tell you what my assignment is."
"Mice!" Melody swore. As a child she wasn't supposed to know any bad words, like Rats.
"We can't see or hear into Humfrey's study," Harmony said.
"And his designated wives know how to fuzz out our snooping," Rhythm said.
So they truly didn't know. That was a relief.
"We don't like mysteries," Melody said grimly.
"Especially when they are excluding us," Harmony agreed.
"The Adult Conspiracy is bad enough," Rhythm concluded.
"I wish I could tell you, but I can't," Cube said. "It would ruin everything."
To her surprise, they relented. "Okay," Melody said.
"Now we'll show you the grounds," Harmony added.
"And maybe help you find some Companions," Rhythm concluded.
"That would be very nice of you," Cube said, not quite trusting this.
"Where shall we go?" Melody asked her sisters.
"Not the Good Magician's Castle," Harmony said. "Humfrey would threaten us with an Answer."
"Not the Nameless Castle," Rhythm said. "Nimby would take away our magic."
Cube was privately interested. There was a person who could overrule the power of three Sorceresses?
"Not Castle Zombie," Melody said. "Breanna would make us eat zombie pie."
Another person they were wary of? What was her secret?
"Not the realm of Mixed Metaphor," Harmony said.
"Because that puts all our eggs in one place in the sun," Rhythm said.
"And our kettle of fish in the farthest pasture," Melody said.
"You girls are teasing me again," Cube said, forcing a frown. The three looked suitably abashed. They might be Princesses and Sorceresses, but they were also children, who could be cowed by an adult rebuke. That helped.
"So it must be Castle MaiDragon," Harmony said.
"Becka's fun," Rhythm said.
"Who is Becka?" Cube asked.
The three little princesses exchanged a wicked triangular glance. "You'll find out," Melody said.
She surely would. While her search for suitable Companions waited. But what could she do?
The Princesses formed a circle around her, so that she was enclosed in a manner. Melody hummed, Harmony played her harmonica, and Rhythm beat on her drum. The music swelled; these were really not toys, it turned out, but full musical instruments. Cube felt the magic intensifying around them. The Princesses might be young, but there was nothing childish about their power of magic.
Then the room wavered and faded. There was a moment of vertigo. Then the room re-formed. What had happened?
Cube saw that it wasn't the same room. The Tapestry was gone, and the furniture was different, as was the color of the walls.
"We're here," Harmony said, putting away her harmonica.
"Let's go find Becka," Rhythm said, putting away her drum.
"This way," Melody said, running out the door.
The others followed, with Cube trailing. The room turned out to be in a high turret, with a long winding stairway down. She got halfway dizzy going around and around. But finally they reached the ground floor. They ran on through chamber after chamber, looking for Becka, but the castle was empty.
"She must be outside," Harmony cried breathlessly.
They ran out the front gate. There was no moat; instead the castle was surrounded by a beaten dirt track. "Not here," Rhythm said.
"We'll have to call her," Melody decided.
"Yes," Harmony agreed.
"I'll do it," Rhythm said. She brought out her little drum and beat a brisk cadence.
The sound of the drum was surprisingly strong. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! It reverberated through the forest, and made two innocent clouds shake in the sky. In fact one of them was so shaken it wet on the forest below. Cube was reminded again: these children were not mere little girls, they were Sorceresses, with power of magic ordinary folk could only dream about.
In two and a half moments there was an answer from the sky. It sounded like the roar of a dragon. That made Cube nervous, because she was not on an enchanted path at the moment. But the little princesses did not seem alarmed.
Then the dragon appeared, flying swiftly toward them. It had bright green scales with purplish tinges. It looked dangerous.
"We had better get inside," Cube said apprehensively.
The three Princesses burst out laughing. Cube realized that she had made another mistake.
The dragon came to land before them. Then it changed form. It became a cute girl with blonde hair and brown eyes, about eighteen years old.
"Hi, Becka!" the three Princesses exclaimed together.
"Hi, Princesses," the young woman answered. "Who is your friend?"
"Cube," Melody answered.
"We're showing her around," Harmony added.
"And you're part of the sights," Rhythm concluded.
Becka laughed. "Hello, Cube. I'm Becka Dragongirl, caretaker of the Princesses' castle."
The Princesses' castle? There continued to be details those naughty little girls didn't tell her.
"I'm glad you were able to come so quickly," Becka said to the Princesses. "I was on my way to fetch you, but turned back when I heard your drumbeat."
The Princesses were surprised. "You wanted us?" Melody asked.
"Yes. I fear only you can solve my problem."
"Problem?" Harmony asked.
"Brusque Brassy, my boyfriend, opened the forbidden door. He's gone, and I don't know what to do." The girl wiped away a tear of grief and frustration.
"But doesn't he know better?" Rhythm asked.
"Well, I certainly thought he did. He must have gotten confused. I asked him to fetch a broom from the closet so I could sweep out a speck of dust, and he went, and then I heard a horrible sound, the Forbidden Chamber Door being slammed shut, and I rushed there and he was gone. He must have opened it, and the Random Factor got him, and oh, I don't know what to do!" She wiped away another tear.
"This is suspicious," Melody said.
"Also a mystery," Rhythm agreed.
"What do you think, Cube?" Rhythm asked.
Cube was startled. "I don't know enough to have an opinion. I don't know who Brusque is, or what the Forbidden Chamber is, or anything about the Rancid Factoid."
The three Princesses and Becka laughed together, for half a moment. Then they reverted to serious. "Brusque Brassy is the grandson of Smash Ogre and Tandy Nymph. He's nineteen, and my boyfriend."
"He makes things hard and heavy," Melody said with a third of a titter. "Like himself."
"Or soft and light," Harmony added with another third of a titter. "Like Becka in maid form."
"We have no idea what they do when they get together," Rhythm concluded, with the last of the titter.
"You'd better not have any id
ea," Becka said severely. "The Adult Conspiracy forbids."
"Awwww," the three said together. It was clear that they were very curious about what was in the Adult Conspiracy to Keep Interesting Things from Children, and had some peripheral knowledge of it, but their naughtiness had not quite conquered it. That was surely just as well.
Becka faced Cube again. "The Forbidden Chamber was here when the Princesses made this castle. Inside it is the Random Factor, who does something weird to whoever opens the door. So we don't open it unless it's an emergency."
"But if they made the castle, didn't they make the--Random Factor too? In which case--"
"No, he existed on his own; they merely brought him in to stay here," Becka explained. "They don't understand all the aspects of their magic. Their folks are worried that they have more power than they can control, which could make for real trouble someday."
The three Princesses nodded in silent agreement.
Now Cube had a better basis to form an opinion. "Brusque must have gotten confused," she said. "So he thought he was opening the closet door. It was a mistake."
"But he's not a confused type," Becka said. "Not at all careless. He always knows what he's doing."
"Especially when he gets alone with Becka," Melody said with her share of a snicker.
"Oh, stop it!" Becka said severely, turning dragon for a good third of an instant. "This is serious."
The three Princesses looked abashed. "We're sorry," Harmony said, looking woeful.
"But not mortified," Rhythm concluded with a hint of a smirk.
"Maybe something happened to mislead him," Cube suggested. "Is there any way to check on that?"
"Sure," Melody said.
"We'll check the Tapestry," Harmony said.
"And here it is," Rhythm concluded with a beat on her drum.
The three turned to face the wall--and there was the big Magic Tapestry Cube had seen in Castle Roogna. Its picture was fuzzing and changing. Then it settled on Castle MaiDragon, in a cutaway view so that Becka and a handsome young man were visible.
Becka kissed him. "OooOooOoo!" the three Princesses Oooed together. Becka shot them a dark look and they stopped.
The Tapestry showed Becka say something to Brusque. He nodded and went through the halls, obviously to the broom closet. "It's on the other side of the courtyard," Becka said.