Page 10 of The Broken Mirror
If she were to capture Lord Sharif of Nottingham—not that she, in any world, would ever capture anyone!—where would she put him? Somewhere far from reach, yes, but Robin Hood would do worse. Robin Hood seems to have a mean streak. If Robin captured Riff just to mess with Princess Jeanne, then where would he think would be a funny place to hold Riff hostage?
It hits her like an Ogre’s Wrath attack.
“The tower! He put Riff in the tower, I bet you,” Filomena shouts.
“What?” Jack questions.
“Just trust me, let’s check it out.”
The two boys have learned by now that when Filomena has a hunch, it’s worth inspecting. So they run up the stone stairs to the eastern part of the castle, where a large tower is located. At the top of the stairs is a heavy stone door.
Filomena tries to open it, but it’s locked. Robin Hood wasn’t taking any chances there. Jack twists his vines around the handle and pulls, but it doesn’t budge an inch.
“Let me try,” says Alistair, stepping forward. “Have you forgotten who you’re with, old chap? Your brave companion, your sidekick, your chief lieutenant?”
Jack whips his vines back around his wrists and regards Alistair with an amused smile. “If I remember correctly, Byron was my lieutenant.”
Alistair makes a dismissive gesture and motions for them to give him some space, then puts his hand out and booms, “OPEN SESAME!”
The door remains closed.
Alistair scratches his chin. “OPEN SESAME NOODLES!”
Nothing.
He rocks back and forth on his heels. “OPEN SESAME CHICKEN!”
Nada.
Filomena whispers in Alistair’s ear.
“Huh? I’ve never heard of that one,” he says.
“Trust me, it’s big in the mortal world,” Filomena assures him.
Alistair clears his throat and gestures toward the door again. “Right, right. How about… SHOW ME THE WAY TO SESAME—”
“STREET!” Filomena and Alistair chorus.
There is a deep silence.
Then, slowly, oh so slowly—so slowly at first that they’re sure nothing is happening—the heavy stone of the door crumbles and becomes a pile of sand, leaving an open doorway.
Filomena gasps. “It worked!”
Jack slaps Alistair on the back. “Nice one, Ali Baba!”
Alistair grins. “Sand is made out of rocks, and you know the desert is my home turf,” he adds modestly.
“Pardon me, but… who are you?” a voice asks.
In the doorway stands a tall boy of about seventeen years with a brown buzz cut and bronzed muscles like Michelangelo’sStatue of David. (Filomena saw that statue on a trip with her parents once. She feels a pang for them—her art-loving, pasta-eating parents.)
But she snaps back to reality when she realizes,Oh no, I was wrong!They’ve accidentally rescued some Greek god, not Sharif of Nottingham. How many people does Robin Hood have locked up in this castle, anyway?
“Apologies! We are supposed to be rescuing Lord Sharif of Nottingham, but it appears we open sesame’d the wrong door,” Filomena tells him.
“Oh, but that is me! I am Sharif! But please, call me Riff,” the handsome boy says with a blinding smile. He turns to the others and his face lights up even more. “Now, this can’t be Jack the Giant Stalker, Winter Knight, General of the Thirteen Armies, can it?”
