Smurfette's Inner Beauty/Part 4

Empath, Brainy, and Duncan flew together on Feathers toward Hogatha's castle, eager to find out what the evil witch is up to now that she is using a magic spell on Smurfette to make herself beautiful. They arrived and landed on a high window where they saw her make final preparations for her evening out of the castle, and they couldn't believe who it was they were seeing in Hogatha's castle.

"Michty me, laddies...that can't be Hogatha the witch in that beautiful dress," Duncan said.

"If you ask me, Duncan, she doesn't look quite as beautiful as some of our human female friends," Brainy said.

"This smurf seems admittedly surprised by how this Hogatha looks now, even if it's at the expense of Smurfette's life," Empath said.

"So how are we going to get that hag to change Smurfette back?" Duncan asked.

"It would be best for us to find out where she intends to go with her new appearance, Duncan, and then follow her around until we can seek an opportunity for us to get Hogatha to remove the spell," Empath said.

"I just hope that it isn't going to be far," Brainy said with some foreboding. "Even now I'm beginning to think that we're not going to succeed with this plan."

"If I knew you were going to be so pessimistic, Brainy, we should have smurfed you at home and brought Grouchy with us instead," Duncan said. "Besides, you're the smart Smurf...you're supposed to be the one who can come up with a plan."

"Well, the only smart plan I can think of right now is to follow Empath's lead and see where Hogatha will smurf us, Duncan," Brainy said.

"Please keep the conversation down, or else we'll never find out what Hogatha is even planning at this moment," Empath warned the other two Smurfs.

As the three Smurfs became silent, they listened to Hogatha speaking. "Oh, tonight, Harlequin, you sorcerous studmuffin, tonight you're going to meet the enchantress of your dreams. We'll have a dance or two at the Wizard's Ball, where everyone who is a famous wizard or witch is likely to show up. We'll talk about all the little things that make up our lives, and then later on we'll retire to my lair where we will spend a quiet evening together, making magic under the moon and the stars. And even if all we have is just one evening of pleasure between ourselves...well, it will certainly be more than what those other hags have had in a lifetime."

Harold squawked what sounded like an "oh boy" as if he heard all this before from his mistress.

Soon the grandfather clock chimed the current hour. "Oh, dearest me, the ball is just starting to get underway," Hogatha said to herself. "Well, enough preparations...I am sure that Harlequin will truly like what he sees, and it's all thanks to a little blue beauty in the forest who's going to wish for the days of her youth to return again." She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled, summoning her flying tapestry to appear before she stepped on board. "Keep watch over the roost while I'm gone, Harold. I should be back home before midnight."

The three Smurfs watched as Hogatha flew off on her flying tapestry through an open window. "So this witch has a date with a suitor at this Wizard's Ball," Duncan said. "What a fine way to smurf her evening with Smurfette's beauty."

"This smurf is curious to find out about this Harlequin that she's meeting with, Duncan," Empath said.

"Well, didn't Smurfette say that Hogatha met him a few years ago and promised to smurf Gargamel her magic whistle if she did meet him?" Brainy asked.

"Smurfs how much you know, Brainy," Duncan said. "Gargamel was the one who smurfed up at her door dressed up as that dream wizard and smurfed the magic whistle from her, only that it smurfs out to be her bird call."

"We can discuss about what happened in the past later," Empath said. "For now, let's follow Hogatha to the Wizard's Ball and see for ourselves the mysterious suitor she's encountering."

To be expanded on.