'It's my Mum and Dad in those mirrors and I want them back,' said Molly firmly. 'Can you tell the doorman to let me in?'
'Of course,' said Mr Penny-Pincher, slyly. 'Come with me.'
He took Molly's hand and led her over to the head of the queue. 'You see this girl?' he said to the doorman.
The doorman nodded.
'If you ever see her around this attraction again I want you to call the police. She's a trespasser.'
'But I have to get in there,' cried Molly.
'The fair moves on tomorrow,' said the owner, 'and this attraction is going with it. Now get off my property.' Mr Penny-Pincher stormed off.
Molly looked at the lengthening queue and sighed. She thought about trying to join the queue but she knew the doorman would spot her. She looked around for Granny Whitewand and saw her standing by the 'speak your weight machine'.
'Don't worry, Millie, we'll find a way in.'
Molly watched as the entrance flap was pulled back. The queue started to move forward but they were stopped by the doorman.
'Twenty minutes to go to opening,' he said. 'It's private viewing only at the moment.'
Molly watched in dismay as Henrietta Havelots and her father stepped out of the tent. Henrietta spotted Molly immediately and skipped across to her.
'What are you doing here?' she asked. 'Are you actually going to pay to see your own parents?'
'I'm here to rescue them,' said Molly.
'That might be against the law,' said Henrietta. 'They belong to the fair owner now.'
She leaned forward and whispered:
'Actually, they might belong to my father very soon. He's going to make an offer to Mr Penny-Pincher. This whole attraction could be in our paddock by tomorrow morning.'
'He can't sell them,' said Molly. 'They aren't his to sell.'
'We'll see about that,' said Henrietta nastily. 'Give me a call if you ever want to see them, I'll consider the request.'
Granny Whitewand waited until Henrietta was out of earshot then she nudged Molly. 'Right, I've got a plan. I'll keep the doorman busy while you nip round the back.'
Molly nodded. 'Okay, Grandma.'
Granny Whitewand shuffled up to the front of the queue. 'Does anyone mind if an old lady pushes in?’ she asked. ‘I'll never make it from the back of the queue. My legs aren't what they were.'
The people near the front began to grumble. 'No, take your place in the queue,' said a man.
'Ah, let the poor old dear in,' said another.
An argument broke out. The doorman stepped forward to see what was happening.
'He pushed me out of the queue,' said Granny Whitewand pointing her broom at a figure in the crowd.
'No I didn't,' said the man, 'she was never in it, she's a queue jumper.'
'Jump?' shouted Granny Whitewand. 'It takes me all my time to walk.'
The argument got louder; people began to push each other.
Further down the queue people began to crane their necks to see what was happening up ahead. Molly took the opportunity to squeeze through the line and made her way round to the back of the tent.
Molly worked her way round until she found a place where a tent peg had become loose. She lifted the edge of the tent and crawled underneath.
Inside, the lighting was dimmer than she remembered. Molly made her way to the first mirror in the row. Outside she could hear the fairground owner remonstrating with the crowd. 'Just calm down. Where is this old lady anyway?'
Molly turned to face the mirror. At first she couldn't see anything at all, not even her own reflection. Then she saw a movement in the bottom corner, a few seconds later the shadowy face of her father came into view.
'Dad,' Molly whispered.
A green ghostly figure appeared in the next mirror along.
'Mum.'
The face turned towards her. Mrs Miggins raised her hand to the glass. Molly placed her hand on top.
'I'm here, Mum. I just need to find my way in.'
Molly turned away and looked at the other mirrors in turn. They all seemed to be showing the same images. She made her way down the row then along the back looking for anything unusual, but found nothing.
Molly pulled Wonky from her secret pocket and addressed it. Wonky's fat little face appeared on the wand.
'Hello, Molly Miggins, how may I be of assistance?'
'I need to get into the void, Wonky. The entrance is here somewhere but I can't find it.'
'The void is close, Molly Miggins, I can sense it.' Wonky closed his eyes and concentrated. 'The entrance to the void is hidden behind one of the mirrors,' he said.
'Which one, Wonky? They all look the same to me.'
'I can't tell, Molly Miggins, I think it's going to be a case of trial and error. Point me at a mirror and call up the blast spell.'
'Do I know the blast spell?' asked Molly.
'You don't need to know this spell, Molly Miggins. The power to use it was given to you at the ceremony. It is normally used to ward off enemies, but I think it may be of use here. Just call, blast.'
Molly pointed Wonky at the centre mirror. 'Blast,' she called.
A bright yellow fireball shot out of Wonky and hit the mirror in the top right corner. There was a loud crash as the mirror shattered.
Molly pushed her hand through the empty frame.'Not that one,' she said.
She selected another at random and fired the blast spell again.
The mirror shattered leaving an empty frame. 'Not that one either,' she said.
As Molly took aim at a third mirror she heard a voice behind her. She turned to see Mr Penny-Pincher, the fairground owner.
'What is going on here?' he asked sternly.
'I'm trying to find my Mum and Dad,' said Molly.
'All breakages will be paid for,' said Mr Penny-Pincher. 'I will demand compensation for loss of earnings too.'
Molly shattered another mirror but once again the frame was empty.
'Break any more and I'll get the police,’ said Mr Penny-Pincher.
Molly broke another, and another.
Mr Penny-Pincher took a step towards her. Molly pointed Wonky at him.
'Don't make me blast you,' she said. 'I only want my parents back.'
Mr Penny-Pincher froze to the spot as Molly took aim at another mirror and fired. The spell hit the edge of the frame and deflected back hitting the mirror behind her. There was a loud bang, but no sound of glass breaking.
Molly turned around and walked to the empty frame. She found herself staring into a dark black hole. Molly stuck her head inside but couldn't see anything at all. She pushed Wonky into the space and called the glow in the dark, spell.
Wonky began to glow with a soft blue light. Molly looked into the darkness. A narrow staircase spiralled upwards before disappearing from sight.
'Hurry young witch,' called a voice. 'The clock is ticking.'
Molly turned to see the wizard standing where Mr Penny-Pincher had been only seconds before.
'You have done well so far, Molly Miggins,’ he said. ‘But the sternest test is yet to come.' There was a flash of green light and the wizard vanished.
Molly turned back to the mirror, took a deep breath and began to climb the stair.
Chapter Fifteen
The spiral staircase seemed to go on forever. Molly hugged the wall side fearful of looking down into the darkness. After fifteen minutes the stair ended abruptly at a stone wall. Molly held Wonky in the air and examined it. There didn't appear to be any way round.
Molly began to think she had missed a door on the way up. Then Wonky spoke. 'Why have we stopped, Molly Miggins?'
'There's a stone wall blocking our way, Wonky. Can't you see it?'
'No, I see the stairs, carry on.'
'It's a stone wall, Wonky. I can't walk through that.'
'Push me on ahead, Molly Miggins,' said the wand.
Molly pushed Wonky into the wall, to her amazement her arm went straight through. 'Another trick,' she
sighed.
She climbed for another five minutes until the stair ended. Ahead lay a dark tunnel. Molly held Wonky in front of her as she walked through the dark, musty passage. She shuddered at the huge spider’s webs that hung in the shadows on either side of her. At the end of the tunnel she came to a narrow wooden bridge.
The bridge was about three feet wide and had no handrails. Molly placed one foot nervously on the first board to test its strength, the timber creaked alarmingly.
Molly took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge, forcing herself to look straight ahead.
After one hundred yards the bridge ran out. Molly stood on the last board and looked down into the darkness. She held Wonky out in front; about twenty feet ahead the bridge continued.
'Bother,' said Molly.
'The bridge is there, Molly Miggins,' said Wonky. 'I fear it is another illusion.'
'I can't see it, Wonky, there's nothing there.'
'Trust me Molly Miggins,' said Wonky. 'I will guide you across.'
Molly closed her eyes and stepped into nothing. To her amazement she still felt the boards under her feet. Wonky spoke to her as they crossed the invisible bridge.
'Look straight ahead, Molly Miggins, take your time, there is no need to rush.'
Molly held her breath and covered the gap a tiny step at a time. When she reached the boards again she let out a huge sigh. She held up the wand with a shaky hand. 'Thank you Wonky, I could never have done that without you.'
Wonky smiled. 'Come along, Molly Miggins, there is light up ahead.'
***
Molly walked on. As it became lighter she decided to put Wonky into her pocket. 'I think I'll keep you secret for now.'
Molly came to a large tinted glass door that slid open noiselessly as she approached. She stepped through to find herself on a long stage, lit by hundreds of candles. Everywhere she looked, magic tricks were performing by themselves. There were pitchers of liquid that emptied themselves into smaller pitchers which in turn emptied themselves into small drinking glasses until they overflowed. Card Tricks kept choosing the wrong card, bunches of flowers appeared from top hats and rabbits popped out of handkerchiefs.
'Welcome to the void, Molly Miggins.'
Molly turned around to find herself facing the smallest man she had ever seen. He stood no more than two feet high and was dressed in a showman's uniform.
He took off his top hat and bowed.
'Are you in charge here?' asked Molly.
'In charge?' said the man in a high pitched voice. 'No, that would indeed be a burden. I am here simply to welcome you to the void.'
Molly looked around at the failed tricks. 'What happens if a trick suddenly gets it right?'
'It does happen occasionally,' said the showman. 'When it does, the trick disappears, just like it would outside the void.' He pulled out a watch on a chain, looked at it, tapped it, shook it and held it to his ear. 'How long do you have left?' he asked.
Molly pulled out her pocket watch. 'THREE HOURS!' she cried. 'It should be at least four. Something is wrong, time is passing too quickly.'
'Look again,' said a familiar deep voice.
Molly looked up to see the wizard standing before her. She checked the watch again. There were now only two hours remaining.
'This isn't fair,' said Molly. 'You keep changing the rules.'
'I set the rules, Molly Miggins, so I can change them any time I want.'
'Oh, give me a chance,' said Molly. 'Where are Mum and Dad?'
The wizard led her down a short set of steps at the back of the stage. In front of her stood a long line of mirrors. He pointed to a gap in the line.
'There is the entrance to the mirror maze. Your goal is to find the centre. There are ten thousand mirrors in the maze and the mirrors are all double sided. You must return to this stage before the time is up. Fail and you know the penalty.'
Molly was flabbergasted. 'Ten thousand mirrors? I'll never find my way through. Dad had to rescue me from a mini maze on our holidays once.'
The wizard passed Molly a large ball of string. 'This may help.'
Molly tied one end of the string to the edge of a gateway mirror and turned back to the wizard. 'No more stealing time,' she said.
'I don't steal it, you waste it,' said the wizard. 'You had better be off.'
The wizard disappeared and the lights dimmed to a faint glow.
Molly stepped into the mirror maze. After five yards she came to a junction, she chose left and followed the path for another ten yards, rolling out the string as she went. After two more turns she reached a dead end. Molly followed the string to retrace her steps. When she reached the junction she turned right and began to roll out the string again.
Molly went deeper and deeper into the maze, every so often she had to retrace her steps as she found a dead end. After walking down one particularly long row she reached a three way junction. Molly took the right turn, then a left, ten yards later she ran out of string.
Molly decided she must be going the wrong way. She didn't think the wizard was mean enough to give her a ball of string that wasn't long enough reach the centre. She turned round and began to wind in the string. As she took the right turn she found the whole ball of string at her feet.
'Bother,' she said to herself. 'This is getting ridiculous.'
Then all the lights went out.
Molly pulled Wonky from her secret pocket. 'It appears that someone is playing games with you, Molly Miggins,' he said seriously.
'What can we do, Wonky? We’re lost.'
'Let's have a bit of light, Molly Miggins. Try the Bright Light spell.'
Molly held Wonky out in front of her. 'Bright Light,' she called.
The whole area lit up with a brilliant white light.
'Molly, is that you?' called a faint voice.
‘Yes, it's me, I'm here, Dad,' yelled Molly.
'I can see you in the mirrors, Molly,' her father shouted.' Your yellow tunic is being reflected throughout the maze.'
'Keep talking, Dad,' called Molly. 'I'll follow your voice.'
Molly followed the sound of her father’s voice. She took half a dozen wrong turns before she finally spotted her father's reflection in the mirrors. After one more wrong turn she found herself in the centre of the maze and in the welcoming arms of her father.
'Well done, you clever girl! cried Mr Miggins.
The big grin that had spread across Molly's face disappeared in an instant. 'Where's Mum?' she asked. 'I thought you were both here.'
'I haven't seen Mum since we entered the cabinets at the fair,' said Mr Miggins. 'I was hoping you would find her elsewhere in the maze.'
Molly began to cry. I thought I'd done it, but I haven't, he's cheated again.'
'Who cheated, Molly?' asked Mr Miggins.
'The wizard from the Magic Council. He set me the task to find you both and he's done everything he can to make fail, hasn't he, Wonky?'
Wonky nodded as he spoke. ‘I’ve been thinking. Your mother may still be in the maze, Molly Miggins. We may have passed her without realising it. How much time do we have left?'
Molly pulled out the pocket watch. 'We have an hour yet, Wonky. Let's have another look.'
Molly gasped as she looked at the watch again, the hands were speeding up as she spoke, and five minutes flew by in ten seconds.
'He's cheating again, Wonky. What are we going to do?'
The hands on the watch began to go even faster. Twenty minutes sped by. ‘Let’s try the Super Blast spell,’ said Wonky. ‘Point me at the last mirror in the line.’
Molly did as she was asked. ‘Super Blast!’ she cried.
A huge red fireball shot out of Wonky and hit the top of the mirror with incredible force. The mirror fell backwards knocking over the one behind, which fell onto the one behind that, until the whole maze collapsed like a row of dominoes.
Molly held Wonky aloft as they searched among the lines of smashed and twisted frames but there was no sign o
f her mother. Mr Miggins took Molly's hand and they walked quickly back towards the stage. As they climbed the steps, the pocket watch alarm, struck twelve. Molly felt tears falling down her cheeks.
A tinted glass door slid open. Outside they could see the flashing lights of the fairground.
'We failed, Wonky,' sobbed Molly. ‘Now I'll never get Mum back.'
'Wonky looked sad. 'Never say never, Molly Miggins.'
Mr Miggins knelt by his daughter. 'I agree with Wonky, Molly. We can still try to reverse the spell using the cabinets if we can work out where she has been sent.'
Molly looked around for the wizard but there was no sign of him. As she stepped down from the stage she felt something brush against her foot. When she looked down she saw a scroll of parchment on the floor. She picked it up, unrolled it and read aloud.
Congratulations, Molly Miggins. You have proved to be an excellent opponent.
You have completed the first part of the task. To complete the second part and be reunited with your mother, you must seek out Gloop. Your father may now assist you on your quest, follow his advice and you may yet succeed, but be warned, it will not be easy.
The High Council of Magic chose well.
Good luck and farewell Molly Miggins. Until we meet again.
The Wizard.
Molly was ecstatic. 'We didn't fail, Wonky, we still have a chance.'
Wonky grinned a huge grin. 'As I said, Molly Miggins. Never say never.'
Molly bit her lip and turned to face the darkness of the void. 'We're coming to find you, Mum,’ she called softly.
Molly lifted the wand to her lips and kissed Wonky’s fat little face. 'Thank you so much,’ she whispered.
Wonky's cheeks blushed redder than ever. 'It was a pleasure. We make a good team, Molly Miggins.'
Molly dried her eyes, pushed Wonky into her secret pocket, took her father's hand and together they walked out of the void.
THE END
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