The Castle in the Attic (3 page)

He asked a question in what must have been his normal voice, but William couldn't understand him.

“Say it again, a little louder, please,” William called.

The man covered his ears with his hands.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to shout,” William said more quietly. “You talk louder and I'll talk softer, okay?”

The knight tried again. “What have you done with Alastor?” he called out, his voice a tiny croak in the courtyard.

“Who's Alastor?” William whispered.

The knight struggled to get up, but his legs wouldn't
work properly. Still sitting, he snatched his dagger from his belt and pointed it at William. William had to work hard to keep from laughing at the ridiculous position the knight was in.

“Are you friend or foe?” the knight shouted. “I am not frightened by your size, my good sir, and I will fight you with every ounce of strength left in me, if that be your wish.”

William stifled a giggle. He was being threatened by a seated miniature man waving a pin-sized knife!

“It might be easier to fight me standing up, my lord, although I don't doubt your strength or courage. Let me help you up. I am your friend and shall ever remain so, if you will allow it.” William was quite proud of his little speech. Those hours of reading about King Arthur with Mrs. Phillips had paid off after all.

The knight put away his dagger, and slowly William placed his index finger down close to the man's shield. He leaned on William's extended finger and pulled himself to his feet. The knight did not let go immediately, so William held himself very still, the way he had once when Jason's parakeet had landed on his outstretched palm. At last, the small man felt steady enough to support himself, and William drew his hand away.
He is as tall as my index finger
, William thought to himself as he sat back on his heels.

Both were quiet as the knight adjusted the sleeves of his tunic and gave his metal shinguards a quick shine with his handkerchief. His motions were precise and unhurried. Using the wall for support, he moved his legs about slowly, bending and unbending them at the knee. Then he worked out the kinks in his arms.

“You look like me when I'm warming up for gymnastics,” William said. The knight didn't answer. Although William was bursting with questions, he waited for this small person, who was clearly used to making people wait, to finish pulling himself together.

“I thank you for your patience, kind sir,” said the knight. “Allow me to present myself. I am Sir Simon of Hargrave, known in my own country as the Silver Knight.”

“I am glad to meet you,” William replied, remembering his manners. “I am William Edward Lawrence. I'm sorry I dropped you. I thought you were made of lead, and then when you moved, I got scared. I felt a little prick. It must have been your dagger.”

“May I ask, is this country peopled entirely by giants?”

William grinned at the question. He'd certainly never thought of himself as a giant. “Yes,” he said. “I am one of the smaller ones.”

“And are they all friendly?”

“Not always,” William said thoughtfully. He wasn't sure either of his parents would be happy about this tiny intruder living in their attic. “But you're safe,” he added. “The only ones who ever come up here are me and Mrs. Phillips.”

“And who, may I inquire, is Mrs. Phillips?”

“She's the one who gave me the castle. She played with you when she was small. But I don't think you ever came alive for her. At least, I'm sure you were made of lead this afternoon. What happened?”

“You must have broken Alastor's spell,” Sir Simon explained. “But wait. Where is the magic token? I snatched it from Alastor just before he spoke the words. Where has it gone? I must find it.” The little man, looking desperate, got stiffly down on his hands and knees and began to search the floor.

“What's it look like?” William asked.

“Like a medal with the face of a man on one side.”

William leaned over the courtyard. “It probably dropped out of your hand when you fell. You start over there, and we'll meet in the middle.”

They both searched in silence for a while, William running his finger back and forth across the courtyard as if he were spreading glue on the floor. Suddenly, he hit something that skidded across the space toward the knight. They both went for it, but William got
there first, and he picked up the tiny round piece of metal. With a demanding air, the knight stepped back and thrust out his hand.

“I just want to look at it for a minute,” William said, ignoring Sir Simon's impatient gesture. It was about the size of a baby aspirin, and on one side he could just make out the outlines of a man's head with two raised lines next to it. Tiny hinges stuck out from either edge at the level of the man's ears. William flipped it over. The other surface was smooth and empty. “It's hard for me to see it clearly,” William said. “I wish I'd brought my magnifying glass.”

Sir Simon took it off the end of William's outstretched finger and put it carefully away in a pouch that hung from his belt.

“Why's it so important?” William asked.

“I believe we were talking about Alastor's spell,” Sir Simon said. “You are the one who broke it, and I am exceedingly grateful to you.”

“Why was I the one who broke it?” William asked.

“It must have something to do with who you are,” Sir Simon said.

“But why me?”

“I don't know, and I don't intend to find out tonight. If you would be so kind as to direct me to the bedchamber, I will take my leave.”

William had more questions, but he decided they could wait.

“Of course, my lord, this way, please.” With his forefinger, William slid open the door to the kitchen. “On the far side, you'll see the stairs leading up to the bedchambers. I'll leave some food for you in the kitchen tomorrow morning, but I can't stay to talk then. I'll come up again for a visit in the afternoon.”

“Till we meet again,” said the knight. After a slight bow, he disappeared through the kitchen door.
He is the perfect size for the castle
, William thought.

“Too bad you slept through all that, Bear,” William whispered as he found his way back down the stairs. “It would have been nice if someone else had seen it happen. Then I'd be sure it wasn't just a dream.”

William fell asleep with his thumb rubbing the small pinprick the dagger had made in his palm.

Mrs. Phillips liked to sleep late in the mornings and brew her tea using the electric kettle in her bedroom, so William always ate breakfast with his parents.

“What are you doing in science now, William?” his father asked.

“We just started using microscopes. It's boring because Mrs. Phillips and I have been doing it for ages. Right now we're looking at frog's eggs.”

“What about history?” said his mother as she stirred her coffee. “Still on the Spanish settlers?”

“Nope. The Southwest Indians. I have to write a paper on how to build an adobe house.”

“Maybe your father could help you. He spent some time in Arizona.”

“I was only fifteen at the time, Anne,” his father said. “And those were the days when I wanted to be
a movie star, so I didn't pay much attention to the local architecture.” He winked at William.

William pushed his soggy cereal around in the bowl. He had to get the spotlight off himself so he could scrounge some food for the Silver Knight. “How's your work, Dad?”

“Jim Harrison and I walked over the site for their new house yesterday. It should be an exciting project because of the topography of the land.”

“Really?” his mother asked. “I would have thought that land behind the school was very flat.”

While they talked about the Harrisons' house, William slid a piece of toast and half a slice of bacon into his napkin and tucked them up his shirt-sleeve.

“May I be excused?” he asked. “I promised Jason I'd meet him early to go over some homework.” William's face grew red the way it always did when he tried to lie, but his parents were too busy talking to notice. Anyway, Jason usually got to school early, so William had only told half a lie.

“Certainly, dear,” his mother said with a vague smile. “Be careful riding home on your bike this afternoon.” She said the same thing every day.

“See you tonight,” said William as he headed up the stairs.

“Sir Simon?” William called softly. “I've brought your breakfast.”

There was no answer. He waited for a minute, half expecting to hear the clank of the small man's metal shoes on the stone staircase.

“I'll leave it for you in the kitchen. See you later.”

William crumbled up the bacon and half the toast and piled it on the kitchen table.

“Maybe I did dream the whole thing,” he muttered to himself as he wheeled his bike out of the garage.

Jason was waiting for him in the front hall. He and Jason had been best friends ever since first grade. William was the shortest kid in the class and Jason wore thick glasses, so they were usually the brunt of everybody's jokes. Hanging out together had helped them develop tough skins and deaf ears.

They walked up to the classroom. As usual, they had it to themselves for a few minutes. Nobody else in their class ever got to school early.

“You're late today.”

“My parents were asking me the usual questions. How's school? How's science? How's history? How's life?”

“You're lucky,” Jason said. “My parents never ask me anything.”

“That's because your mother is home when you get there in the afternoon. She doesn't think she has to
concentrate on you the way my mother does.”

“Yes, she does. She just concentrates on the wrong things. Like, have I practiced the piano and did I put out the garbage? That's why I spend half my life over at your house. Listen, did Mrs. Phillips change her mind about leaving yet?” Jason asked.

“No,” William said. “But she brought the present she promised me.”

“I forgot all about that. What was it?”

“A castle,” William said.

“A castle?”

William nodded. “It's got four towers and a complete gatehouse and a chapel and a roof that lifts right off so you can see inside the bedrooms on the second floor.”

“Can I come over this afternoon and see it?”

William didn't say anything for a moment. He hadn't decided yet whether or not to tell Jason about the Silver Knight. The other kids were filing into the classroom.

“Find your seats, please,” the teacher said as he closed the door behind him.

“Can I?” Jason whispered.

“Not today, okay? I have to go to a special gymnastics practice,” William lied. “Maybe tomorrow.”

The day seemed to drag by. The Silver Knight stayed in the back of William's mind all afternoon, and the teacher had to remind him twice to pay attention. By
the time he left school, he had convinced himself that his adventures the night before were just a dream.

“You're home early,” Mrs. Phillips said. She was down on her knees by the flagstone walk in the front yard.

“What are you doing?” William asked.

“Turning over the soil for the border annuals. If the weather stays this warm, I'll be able to get the plants in before I leave.” She started to get up.

“I don't need a snack today,” he said quickly. “You can finish what you're doing.”

“But I thought we had to practice the back handsprings. I was going to spot you today.”

“I want to play with the castle for a while. I'll be down soon.”

“All right,” she said. She went back to her digging, and he stopped at the kitchen door to glance at her. The curve of her back, the way her white hair fell down across her cheek, her crisscrossed gardening shoes tucked neatly under her skirt . . . Everything about her made him feel safe and happy.