Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess

“I don’t know about that. But even if that is the case, I can still learn a lot from them.”

Krosp had opened a door and removed a covered plate. He lifted the lid and discovered a wheel of buttery yellow cheese. He sniffed approvingly, and bit off a sizeable chunk. Agatha swatted the back of his head in disgust as she scolded him. “Krosp! Manners!” The cat blinked resentfully, but carefully took a knife and cut a thick wedge off of the unbroken side of the cheese. He passed it to Agatha and went back to gnawing away at the rest. “The problem is that because they’re trying so hard to appear harmless, they’re vulnerable.”

Agatha was thoughtful. “Yes, they can’t carry around anything unusually powerful without giving themselves away. Hiding really big stuff would be hard.” She paused for a moment as an idea percolated in her mind. “Hmmm... I’ll bet I could do it.”

Krosp’s ears flattened with alarm. Agatha didn’t notice. “Yesssss—” her voice intensified, “With the tools and materials available, why, I could build defenses that would keep them safe from anyone! ”

Krosp waved his paws. “Whoa, whoa! Without being obvious? The whole idea is to look innocuous, remember? Anyway, they probably won’t want to let you mess around with their stuff!”

Agatha was excited now. “Plans!” she declared.” I’ll draw up plans and they can see what I can do.”

Krosp considered this and nodded grudgingly. “That should give them some warning, anyway. Hold on...” He opened an upper cupboard and returned with a stack of paper and some pencils.

Agatha snatched them from his paws and began sketching furiously. “When I’m done,” she declared, “we’ll be the most normal-looking circus on the face of the earth!”

Krosp rolled his eyes. “Very reassuring.”

Hours later, the first subtle hints of dawn began to appear. Krosp was curled up inside an earthenware bowl that a few hours ago had contained a black pudding. Now, the pudding was contained within Krosp. Agatha was still hunched over the table. Beside her, the lamp guttered, and with a final puff, went out. She blinked and sat back, her back popping faintly. She stretched mightily, and looked slightly astonished at the blizzard of paper strewn about the little room.

With a sigh, she began collecting the papers, pausing to examine each one as she picked it up. Hearing her chuckle, Krosp came awake with a grunt, stretching all four legs upward in a huge yawn. “Done?” he asked.

Agatha nodded proudly. “Uh-huh. Want to see?” She held up a page covered with intricate drawings.

Krosp’s brow furrowed. “What is this? A nutcracker?” He tilted the page slightly sideways, and realized that the “nuts” in the picture actually had tiny screaming faces. “AAAAHHH!” He shrieked and flung the paper away.

Agatha looked surprised. “What?”

Gingerly, Krosp picked up another page and examined it. He frowned and waved the page at Agatha accusingly. “A merry-go-round that can level a small town seems a bit... overboard for ‘self defense.’”

Agatha examined the plans. She didn’t remember drawing that one—it was pretty horrible. Still, she was rather pleased at how she’d drawn the fleeing townspeople.

“Well...” she hazarded, “It could be a really evil town...” She saw Krosp glaring at her. “Okay, okay.” She shuffled all the papers together with a touch of regret. “I doubt I’d need anything this extreme anyway.” A colossal yawn caught her by surprise. She looked out the window and, for the first time, noticed the predawn light. She glanced at Lars—he had slept soundly all through the night.

“I believe I am now ready to get some sleep,” she confessed. She turned in her seat and pain exploded throughout her frame. She froze—suddenly remembering the grueling workout Zeetha had put her through the day before. “Acetylsalicylic acid!” she gasped.

The cat looked around. “Where? I don’t see the acid.”

Agatha would have glared at him, but even her eyeballs ached. “No,” she said patiently, as she carefully hobbled forward, “I have to find some.” The wagon door swung open and there stood Zeetha, leaning on a sturdy crutch. She grinned when she saw Agatha.

“You’re awake! Eager for training, eh? Well, I’d heard Sparks were tough.”

Agatha realized that there was only one door to the wagon, and thus, no escape. “No,” she whispered.

Zeetha laughed and dragged her into the clear morning air. “No more mollycoddling!”

The wagon door shut. Krosp stared at it for a moment. Unfamiliar feelings surged through his tiny, feline heart. “Why, this must be pity,” he thought in wonder.

A snort from behind announced Lars’ return to consciousness. “Is someone here?”

Krosp leapt onto the bed and stood on Lars’ chest. “That would be me.” Lars looked up at him owlishly. “This is when you offer to feed me,” Krosp suggested helpfully.

Lars nodded fuzzily and pushed Krosp aside. He climbed out of bed, freshened up at a washbowl, and began looking through the cupboards. A frown crept across his features as he peered into one empty container after another. “Where’d Agatha go?” He asked as he upended an empty pitcher. “Off to bed? I’ll bet she was pretty beat.”

A faraway bleat of pain caused Krosp’s ears to twitch. “She will be.”

To Krosp’s horror, Lars then noticed the stack of paper on the table. “Wow. She was busy.” He picked up the top sheet and frowned. “Is this some sort of cherry pitter?” He tilted the page slightly sideways—

“Hey! I smell food!” Krosp yowled, grabbing at Lars’ pants. “Open the door! Let me out! Hey! Hey! Open the door! Hey!”

Lars paused. A tantalizing aroma was indeed coming from somewhere outside. He tossed the paper back onto the table and opened the door.

“Is that breakfast I smell?” Lars called out cheerfully as he marched through the tall grass outside the camp. Abner looked up from beside the embers of the fire. A few glowing bones poked out of the pile of ash.

Lars stopped dead and looked sick. “Er—I sure hope not.” he muttered.

Abner grinned. He was enveloped by a huge quilt, the remains of a leisurely picnic strewn at his feet. Still asleep, but cuddled close up against him, was Pix.

“Mornin’, Lars,” Abner said softly. He nodded in the direction of the pyre. “Doesn’t look so scary now, does it?”

Lars looked askance at the fire. “That depends. What’s for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal—”

Lars looked relieved.

“A la monster!” Abner crowed.

“Half-wit.” Lars growled.

His friend shrugged modestly. “It’s a gift.”

Lars agreed that indeed it was. Pix made a small contented sound in her sleep and snuggled in closer to Abner.

Lars raised an eyebrow. “Pix sure looks happy.”

Abner smiled at her tenderly. “We sat up all night watching this thing burn.”

Lars looked impressed. “Wow. And I thought I knew how to show a girl a good time.”

Abner shrugged. “Well, we had a good long talk.”

Lars looked stern. “Just talked?” He asked skeptically.

“Just talked.”

“Hmph. You look pretty happy for a couple who ‘just talked.’”

Abner grinned again in a way that had Lars rolling his eyes. “Guess we liked what we heard.”

Master Payne strolled up. “Good morning, all. Ready to go, Lars?”

Lars gave a small bow. “I can eat in the saddle, so all I have to do is find some breakfast and my partner in crime, and we can set out.”

Payne nodded. “Excellent. Augie has been ready to go for the last half hour. He’s waiting for you near my