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Challenge:
Cool post yesterday,
Kendall. And well, you gave me an idea. This may seem painfully
obvious to everyone, but tell me if you can figure out who this is and
where, and what this person finds so fascinating....<G>
For the moment, Father
and his God father were talking to one another, and neither one was
paying particular attention to him. He knew better than to interrupt
his father and god father when they were talking about serious
matters. Eager for a chance to look around the study properly, he
eased away from his father’s side to explore the big, round room.
The were way up in one of the castle towers, and his legs hurt a
little, both from the long climb up at least three long spiral
staircases and with trying to keep up with the long legs of the two
grown men. It didn’t matter now, though. This was one of his
favorite rooms in the whole castle although he wasn’t allowed up
here very often. It was purest good luck that his godfather had
extended his hand and smiled to him as he and Father were headed up to
the study. Father wasn’t about to tell him ‘no, you must stay
behind’ when he was holding his godfather’s hand.
Of particular interest
was the round, polished wooden table that stood directly beneath the
round green skylight set in the ceiling high above. The pale
green-tinted sunlight changed his play tunic to a slightly deeper
green. And even more fascinating was the thing that rested in the
claws of a golden gryphon stand at the very center of the small table.
Just in case Father should look around, he kept his hands clasped
behind his back as he went to take a closer look at the stone ball on
the table. After catching him building little towers with father’s
little black and white cubes one day, Mummy had told him very
seriously that he must not play with or even touch magical objects
unless she or Father specifically gave him permission and were
standing right there with him. This was a pity, as magical things were
even more interesting than most of his toys. It wasn’t possible for
him to disobey Mummy, but he had never been forbidden to just LOOK. So
he walked over to the table as if the ball itself were calling him.
He was not quite tall
enough to see over the table top on his flat feet, so he eased up on
tiptoe to glance at the gryphon and what it held. He had to steady
himself on tiptoe by gripping the edge of the table with his fingers.
Surely THAT would be all right as it was only a table, and not a
magical thing at all. This gave him a slightly better vantage point,
but made his toes ache before long. It took some minutes for him to
climb up and sit on one of the two armchairs drawn up beside the table
since he had to do it as quietly as he could so Father wouldn’t turn
around and ask what he thought he was doing.
It was worth the climb
once he was up here, though. Even though the tabletop came almost up
to his neck, he could see the ball perfectly now. It was perfectly
round, and it gleamed in the greenish sunlight like a knob of polished
honey made solid. Quite without meaning to, he stretched out his right
and touched one fingertip to the ball. It was as smooth as the silk of
Mummy’s gowns, but hard, and it felt cool rather than cold to his
touch.
Frightened at his own
daring, he quickly pulled his hand away, looking guiltily over at
Father. But Father still had his back turned, talking to his
godfather, and evidently hadn’t felt anything when he touched the
ball.
He looked at his
fingertip next - it looked exactly the same as it always did. He was
disappointed. After Mummy’s warning about the dangers of playing
with magical things, he’d expected something more interesting to
happen. Maybe he had to touch the ball for a longer time, or put his
whole hand on it. He hesitated, then stretched out his hand again. He
pressed his fingertip to the ball again, and then his palm, then his
whole hand, when there was still no sign of anything happening and
Father still didn’t turn around.
Then, to his amazement
and fright, something DID happen. The globe misted over as if he’d
breathed on it, and when the mist cleared, bright yellow light began
to stream from the ball which had become pleasantly warm beneath his
palm. He squealed with fright and covered his face with both hands.
The next moment, he felt Father’s hands, warm and reassuring on his
shoulders, and Father was speaking to him, not sounding at all angry.
If anything he sounded pleased.
“Did you make the
crystal glow all by yourself?" |
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