Chapter 11

Drained

Septimus awoke. And he wasn't in his room. The room reeked of evil and he was filthy. Marcia wouldn't allow him to be as filthy as he was. Septimus stood up but immediately sat back down. His chest hurt. It ached badly. His mind seemed fuzzy and he couldn't think straight. From the ground, he peered at his surroundings. Was he in a dungeon? The place was dark and certainly dirty enough. There were bars and walls surrounding him. In the middle of his jail cell and other cells was an enormous vase like structure. Purple mist was curling into it at a rapid rate. Septimus attempted an invisibility spell. It didn't work. He tried again but failed even worse than the first try. Was his Magyk gone? Septimus then re examined the vase. "It must be Magyk in the vase," he thought too himself. Then, it donned on him. It was his Magyk in the vase. He was being Drained.

Chapter Welve

Something About- Yawb..

I'm so tired . Must stay awake. Good night.. No.. Awake.

Pop Quiz-

What do you think of Marcia Overstrand's pointy purple python boots?

They are ridiculous

I have a neutral feelings

They are ok

I envy Marcia

Poor snakes!

They are fashionable

Thank you for answering the questionnaire. The results will be in as soon as I have over 5 people answer. I'm now fully awake, so no worries!

Chapter Twelve

Aunt Zelda's

I groggily sat up and let everything sink in. I was:

Not in my bed

Not in my room

No awareness of previous events

Oh, yeah. It all came back to me in little bits and pieces. Oh, ok, so that 500 year old crush of Septimus's was apparently my eldest sister. There was some prophecy claiming that I was going to have to deal with 7 kids someday if I wanted to save Magyk ,(uh, no way!). And not to mention the fact that Septimus had been touched by an unknown villainy and had disappeared before my eyes. What a day.

I looked around and registered my surroundings as Aunt Zelda's cabin in the Marram Marshes. I had heard about it before, but never seen it. Four children and whom I believed to be Aunt Zelda (it was) were seated around a table and eating strange goop. The mere smell set my nostrils afire.

"Marcia sent you?" Jenna asked something unseen.

"Yes! It's my first job outside of the Castle!" A high pitched voice babbled. "Da was afraid to let me go. He said that you Heaps are trouble!" I stood up and saw a young rat on the table.

"You're one of Stanley's children, aren't you?" Jenna asked with a grin.

"Uh huh!" The ratling sad proudly. "He's my da alright!"

"Could we hear the message, dear?" Aunt Zelda asked politely.

"Oh, yeah, right. Achem, First, I have to ask: Is there anyone here answering to the name of Zelda Heap?" The rat piped. Aunt Zelda nodded, not wanting to fully interrupt. "I have come here to deliver a message to you, Miss Zelda. Message Begins: Zelda, as you may or may not know, my two Apprentices, the Chief Hermetic Scribe, and the Princess are all missing! If they are with you, please tell the rat. Septimus has already got over," the rat paused. "Um, Message Pause: Was it 10, 15, or 20 letters? No, I think it was, yeah! That's it! Message Resumes: Septimus has gotten over 60 get-well/we-miss-you cards from the fan girls in case you were wondering about his social status again." My stomach hurt at this and I had to sit down to keep from puking. "Please respond as quick as possible. This rat doesn't look like the type for speed travel. Marcia. Message Ends."

The rat took a huge breath and Aunt Zelda began a reply. The four children, (Wolf Boy, Beetle, Syrah, and Jenna) turned around and saw me trying to keep my innards inside. "Are you ok?" Syrah asked me. Her face was flushed a bit red, from the comment about fan girls that had made me sick I presumed.

"No, she's sick," Jenna argued.

"I think it's something else. I need to talk to her. Outside, now," Syrah said.

Wolf Boy was examining me cautiously from a distance. Beetle seemed perplexed as well. "No, I need to talk to her. Alone. Upstairs," Jenna protested with authority that belonged to a Queen.

"Fine," Syrah gave in. Jenna helped me upstairs and sat me down on the bed.

"Explain, please. What is going on?" Jenna asked.

"I- I can't," I stumbled my words as I spoke.

"The Red Book of Princess and Queen Law says that anyone has to tell the princess information she needs to know. Even Extra-Ordinary Apprentices," Jenna teased with a smile.

"Ok, fine!" I laughed. "There's um, this, um," I blushed and admitted that I didn't know where to start.

"Ok, start with thew beginning," Jennatried.

So I did. I told her everything. She listened and didn't ask any comments until the end.

"Some darned prohechywants you to bewed my brother," she said simply, as to sum it up.

"Yes, I think so. I don't want to, believe me, you can have your brother!" I grumbled. She may have laughed had the mood not been so negative. The door sung open and Syrah walked in.

"t's time for me to talk to her," she said.

Jenna and I jumped. Had she been eavesdropping? "Fine," Jenna said. "Go ahead."

I followed Syrah out into the sun of the Marram Marshes. She asked me how things had been and if I was ok. She also asked me questions about Magyk. And a few seemed to be about Septimus, but she tried to hide it. I couldn't even mention his name without feeling really angry, so she dropped the subject of Magyk altogether. We went back inside.