The Reluctant Dark Knight/Part 9

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“Golly,” Clumsy started while they trailed the wagon on Feathers, “Whadd’ya think Gargamel’s gonna do to the knight at King Gerard’s party?” His companion was eating a muffin he had brought along in a knapsack, so between bites he answered, “Beats me – we don’t even know which knight he’s talking about!” He paused to finish his treat and added, “But whatever it is, it can’t be good, right?” “Oh, yeah - we gotta stop him, Greedy,” he replied. He overlooked the wagon in search of the other two Smurfs; they were hiding behind the spokes of the back wheels and exchanged hand signals saying, “All is well for now.” With that, Clumsy sat back and patted Feathers’ neck as a subtle way of showing his appreciation for the ride. An hour of riding and flying passed by the time the wagon stopped in front of King Gerard’s castle – that’s when Gargamel and Scruple fled for the nearest tree as not to be caught for freeloading. Likewise, the Smurfs hid behind a bush and watched their movements closely. Sadly, they only knew who was hidden – they saw none of their actions until they stepped out from the shadows. Behind the tree, Gargamel brought out the two vials of blue liquid and uncorked them. “These should last us a few hours,” he explained, giving one to his apprentice, “just long enough to do what we came here for and be on our way.” Scruple let his master take it first – a swirling red cloud engulfed him for several seconds, and then died down to reveal a chef’s servant. He was fascinated: “Wow, Garggy, if I didn’t know it was you, I’d hardly recognize ya!” “Exactly the idea, my boy, now take yours and let’s get inside!” he commanded in a new voice. Scruple did as he was told and externally became Peewit in a matter of seconds, so they set off. As soon as the coast was clear, they strolled across the path and approached the drawbridge; suddenly Gargamel identified the guest greeter to be the very knight they were looking for and stopped his apprentice. “Let’s use the back entrance, Scruple,” he whispered, turning away. As if on cue, Johan raised his arm and proclaimed, “You two – why are you not yet inside? Come here, please!” Cursing to himself, the wizard turned around again and led the boy over the drawbridge. “Is-is-is-is-is anything wrong, sir?” he asked, trying to keep his character. The knight looked first at Scruple, somewhat confused, and asked, “Peewit, I thought you were helping Falla set up the last of the decorations. What are you doing out here?” The boy stuttered for a minute, and then he thought of a worthy excuse. “Oh, right, I was just going to – uh – pick some daisies for the vases,” he said, liking how much he sounded like the jester. He held up his hand with a nervous smile as he added, “But I didn’t find any patches near enough to the castle, so I gave up a minute ago.” Johan seemed suspicious at first, but then with a sigh he gestured for him to enter, telling him to find Falla. Scruple nodded and scurried past him, promising to do what he said as he disappeared down the hallways. Gargamel, on the other hand, had no trouble fooling Johan – all he told him was that he had been running late for his duties and was let in. The Smurfs made their way to him next and stayed hidden in the shadows: “Johan, down here!” He looked towards his left foot and saw, at the edge of the moat, his friends. “Smurfs,” he cried softly, placing his hands on his knees, “What brings you here?” Vanity put down his mirror for a moment to tell him, “We heard about the Grand Ball and simply could not miss it.” Grouchy nudged him, so he added, “Oh, and we think that nasty old wizard, Gargamel, is lurking somewhere inside.” “What business would he have here?” he asked. Before they answered, he stood up and greeted another arriving princess and her personal escort – both of whom he knew from a previous occasion. Then he returned to the Smurfs so Greedy could say, “We heard him talking about doing something terrible to a knight in King Gerard’s castle,” he paused to munch on a Smurfberry cookie, “and Papa Smurf said the potion he was working on could be deadly.” Grouchy cut in with, “I hate deadly!” Johan furrowed his brow and, with mild discontent, asked them what he should do to stop their treachery. The Smurfs exchanged uneasy glances and finally admitted they weren’t sure. “Fact is we don’t even know which knight he means…” “Then I’ll keep my eyes out for any suspicious activity.” He straightened up as another member of royalty came into sight. “Rest assured I won’t let those goons get past me. Thank you, Smurfs, for the warning.” “Aw, it’s nothin’, Johan,” Clumsy gushed. Vanity quickly added, “We’ll stay here and smurf an eye on the party while you’re out here.” The young man agreed with a smile, so they bid Feathers good-bye and dashed inside – they hoped to find Gargamel and Scruple after losing them before. Unfortunately, they knew not of their disguises.