Free Wizard at Work by Vivian Vande Velde Page A

unsurpassed beauty—beauty to leave young men breathless
with admiration. They are
not
supposed to have freckles, and they are
not
supposed to bite their fingernails, and they are
definitely not
supposed to loom over prospective suitors like a ... a..."
    "Like an older sister," the queen said, "who's better at riding, and archery, and tracking in the woods..." She was counting these things off on her fingers.
    "And who won't give in during an argument—"
    "And
doesn't have time
to learn how to do ladylike things such as embroidery and cooking—"
    "Here we go!" Teddy burst into the room, using her foot both to push open the door and to shut it behind her. She placed the dish she was carrying on the short table before them. "Baking is not my strong point," she explained to the wizard, "but Mother insisted that I whip up something special because you were coming."
    The wizard stared at the red-white-and-green mound of crumbs on the platter before him. The thought that came to his mind was
Pastry Attacked by Demented Baker.
    "I had a little bit of trouble getting it out of the pan," she explained when the three of them didn't move and only sat there staring. Finally, she explained, "It's peppermint cake, with pistachio icing."
    The queen pulled a lacy handkerchief from her sleeve and leaned back on the sofa, covering her mouth.
    The king gulped down the last of his cold tea and looked away.
    The princess slid a piece of the cake onto a silver plate and handed it to the wizard. "I suppose they've told you they're having no luck in marrying me off."
    "Really, my dear," the queen said from behind her handkerchief.
    "No, it's quite all right. I understand. Princes come to visit, but we never hit it off well. I always think they're young and silly, and they always suddenly remember urgent business elsewhere. Mother and Father are frantic. Here I am, their only child, the heir apparent to one of the nicest realms in the area, and I haven't had a
single offer. My friends are all married already. The
younger sisters
of my friends are all married already. I've become an embarrassment." Teddy sat on the floor, cross-legged, and leaned her elbows on the coffee table, her chin on her hands. "So. What's the plan?"
    The wizard avoided her steady gaze. He concentrated, instead, on his cake. He tried to hide the fact that his fork was unable to put a dent in it. "Well...," he said.
    "Can you work some sort of spell to improve my looks? To make me less..." She gestured helplessly, "...less like me and more like what a princess should be?"
    The wizard bore down on his fork, and a piece of cake broke away and skittered off the plate, hitting his teacup with a loud
ping!
    Princess Teddy stared at the cup. "Know any nearsighted princes," she asked softly, "who are on diets?"
    "Now look here." The wizard put his fork down emphatically. He looked from princess, to king, to queen, back to princess. "You are a
perfectly fine princess as you are." He held up a finger so no one would interrupt. "All we need here is just a little something extra. A sense of mystery! Adventure! Quest! A prize hard-won!"
    "I beg your pardon?" the queen asked.
    "A test?" Teddy said. "Are you talking about some sort of test?"
    "Exactly." The wizard stood up and began to pace the room. "We'll announce that only the man who can pass the test will be worthy of the princess's hand. Once we whip up their competitive spirit—"
    "Ah, yes, I can see it!" the princess interrupted. "We'll have the next poor fool who wanders into the kingdom perform some incredible feat, like touch his toes twice or balance a book on his head for seven seconds, or maybe we can pose him a riddle, like asking what's his name and where he's from—and if he answers correctly, then he's got to marry me."
    "Well," agreed the king, "more or less."
    "No," the wizard said firmly. Then he repeated it for emphasis. "No." He looked directly at the princess. "That would be demeaning."
    Now she looked