Star polishing 11/11

The next morning she was woken by the smell of frying eggs and bacon. She had a quick wash to freshen up, then went down to the dining room for breakfast. Everything here was very different from both her own home and the Three Tuns. Esme and Dulce had what ever they wanted to eat using magic. They made a terrible mess wherever they went but didn’t seem to care.

When everyone had finished eating, Esme produced a packed lunch for the beach, while Dulce tried to find the right spell for the size of bucket and spade she wanted to make her sandcastle. At last she produced exactly what she wanted.

“Yers, ‘sright size.”

“Does she ever say anything else apart from ’yers’.”

“Dulce, say something else to Jennifer Jane will you, she doesn’t think you know any other words!”

Dulcibella grinned and intoned in a beautifully modulated voice. “Invest in the knowledge of the future, have your fortune told by madam Esmerelda, know your fate for only one silver sixpence,”

“Golly, that was wonderful; I didn’t know you could talk like that!”

“Ho Yers,” smaned Dulce.

At last they were all ready to leave, Esme wiggled her fingers, making the cottage become neat and tidy. Once on the beach, Jennifer Jane was allowed to help Dulce dig out a well for the day’s sandcastle, while Esme marked out the boundary for the outer walls.

With the three of them working hard, it wasn’t too long before the castle keep was finished and they could begin the much larger outer defence works. At this point Esme moved in with her lolly stick and began shaping the battlements and arrow slits in the walls.

All too soon for Jennifer Jane, she spotted the Black Cat approaching. She thanked the two witches for their hospitality, and then stood at the water’s edge waiting to be picked up by the ship’s boat. Esme and Dulce waved until she was aboard the schooner, before turning back to work on their latest creation.

The return voyage was uneventful. Much to the admiration of Jonah and his crew, Jennifer Jane flew off the Black Cat as soon as they’d passed through the transport fog and magic was able to work again. Once back at the Witches’ Home, she found Abigail and explained the reason for her latest absence. Then at last she was able to return home.

Nobody came out to meet her as she walked along the garden towards the house. She could see her parents in the kitchen washing up the crockery but they just gave her a small wave as she approached. They didn’t seem to be at all worried by the fact that she’d been missing for four days.

Mum gave her a cup of tea and then they all sat down to hear what had happened during her latest adventure.

“Well,” said dad when she’d finally described her voyage home on the Black Cat, “I’ve said it before and I daresay it won’t be too long before I say it again, but you certainly have some lucky escapes from all your adventures. Do you know, I think one day I might even write a book about them all.”