Moonlight on the Magic Flute: A Merlin Mission (4 page)

A
nnie was laughing so hard that she could barely stand up. “What—what happened to you in there?” she said. “After I curtsied, I left. When I looked back in the room, you were still bowing!”

“She didn’t say ‘rise’!” said Jack.

“Yes, she did, dummy!” said Annie.

“Well, I didn’t hear her!” said Jack. He turned away from Annie and started walking as fast as he could. He strode through one elegant room into another. He didn’t know where he was.
These rooms all look the same,
he thought angrily,
with
stupid velvet furniture and stupid gold-trimmed walls.

“Jack, wait!” Annie called. She hurried after him.

Jack kept walking, desperate to get far away from the scene of his disaster. Finally he came to a door that led outside. He opened it and stepped out onto a long marble terrace overlooking the back of the palace. Bright silvery light from a full moon shone on a huge garden.

Jack stood in the chilly air, trying to calm down. He took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to run back to the tree house and go home.

“Jack!” Annie slipped out to join him. “I’m sorry I called you a dummy,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t hear her say to rise,” said Jack. “And the flute fell out of my coat and my hat came off … and my wig … and I sneezed and I slipped…. Come on, let’s leave. We can go down these stairs.”

“No, we can’t leave now,” said Annie. “ We have
a mission from Merlin. Don’t feel bad. Hardly anyone saw what you did.”

“Yeah, except Her Imperial Majesty and all those imperial kids,” said Jack. “They all laughed at me.”

“They weren’t being mean,” said Annie. “You were funny. Here, give me your wig.”

Jack handed Annie his wig, and she put it back on his head and straightened it.

“Your hat,” she said.

Jack gave her his hat, and she placed it over his wig. “Hide the flute,” said Annie.

Jack stuck the silver flute back into his pocket. “I don’t know what we need this flute for,” he said. “There’s nothing dangerous here. I don’t get this whole mission.”

“We’ll figure it out. Let’s just go back in,” said Annie. She pulled Jack back inside the palace.

“So what do we do now?” asked Jack.

“We should find the party we were invited to,” said Annie. “That must be what Merlin wanted us
to do.” She pointed across the room. People were streaming through a set of doors into another room. Loud party noises came from inside: the chatter of guests, tinkling china, and harp and violin music.

Jack pulled back. But Annie took him by the arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll bet there are hundreds of people in there,” she said. “We’ll get lost in the crowd.”

“But what about all those kids and Her Imperial Majesty?” Jack asked.

“They don’t care about us,” said Annie. “They have too many other guests to think about. Come on.” Annie led Jack through the double doors into the party room.

“Whoa,” breathed Jack. He and Annie stopped and stared.

The party room was the size of a football field. Grand paintings covered the towering ceiling. Everything was trimmed in gold. The glossy white walls and tall mirrors reflected the glow of at least a thousand candles.

Musicians played harps and violins while hundreds of guests stood around long dinner tables, chatting and laughing. Women fanned themselves, their diamonds and rubies flashing in the candlelight. The air smelled of perfume, powder, and roses.

“Okay! Let’s talk about our mission,” said Annie. “ We have to help a brilliant artist get on the right path to bring joy to the world.”

“Yeah, but first we have to find one …,” said Jack.

“Right, so let’s look around,” said Annie.

Jack and Annie started drifting together through the huge room. Jack gazed at the grownups. Dressed in their finery, they all looked pretty much the same.
What does a brilliant artist look like?
Jack wondered.

“Jack of Frog Creek!” came a high little voice.

Oh, no!
thought Jack. He whirled around.

The boy with the tiny sword was grinning up at him. “I have been looking all over for you!” he said.

“Hi!” said Annie. “What’s your name?”

“Wolfie,” said the boy.

“That’s a funny name,” said Annie.

“So is Jack of Frog Creek!” said Wolfie. His eyes shone as he looked up at Jack. “Are you a clown?” he asked.

Annie giggled.

“Yeah, that’s right, I’m a clown,” said Jack.

“How old are you, Wolfie?” said Annie, changing the subject.

“Six!” the little boy said.

“Six?”
said Jack. This kid looked more like a four-year-old, he thought, five at the most.

“And I’m eleven,” a girl said.

For the first time, Jack noticed the girl standing behind Wolfie. She wore a white dress with red roses. She was the girl who had helped them in line!

“Hi!” said Annie.

“Hello again,” the girl said in a soft, lovely voice. “I am Wolfie’s sister.”

Jack felt his face grow red. The girl must have seen him make a fool of himself.

“My name is Nannerl,” said the girl.

“Nan-nerl?” said Annie, trying to pronounce her name.

The girl smiled. “You can call me Nan if you like,” she said. “Wolfie and I enjoyed your performance in the Great Rosa Room, Jack. You must be very proud. Her Imperial Majesty does not laugh easily.”

Jack shrugged and scratched his wig. He wondered if the girl was joking. But she looked serious, so he decided not to tell her he hadn’t
meant
to be funny.

“Do you call your mother ‘Her Imperial Majesty’?” Annie asked Nan.

Nan looked confused. “No.”

“ We call her Mama!” said Wolfie.

“But you just said Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t laugh much,” said Annie.

“Oh, Her Imperial Majesty is not our mother!” Nan said. “Our mother is back home in Salzburg. We are just visiting the palace.”

“Then why was Wolfie sitting on Her Imperial Majesty’s lap?” asked Annie.

“Because she likes me very much!” Wolfie piped up.

Oh, brother,
thought Jack.

“Wolfie, be modest,” said Nan, shaking her head. “Actually, Wolfie jumped in her lap when we presented ourselves. I tried to grab him, but Her Imperial Majesty wanted him to stay with her.”

“Were all those other kids imperial children?” Annie asked.

“Oh, yes,” said Nan. “Papa taught me all their names before we came here: Leopold, Ferdinand, Maximilian, Joseph, Maria Antonia, Maria Caroline, Maria Josepha, Maria Amalie, Maria Elisabeth, Maria Christina, Maria Johanna, and Maria Anna.”

“Hmm,” said Jack. “Maria’s a popular name around here.”

Nan laughed. Jack liked making her laugh.

“Hey, look at me!” said Wolfie. He pulled off his wig. He pretended to sneeze and then fell to the floor. “I’m Jack the Clown!” he said.

“Ha-ha. Very funny,” said Jack, forcing a smile.
He’d had just about enough of Wolfie.

“Nan, we have a question for you,” said Annie. “Do you know if there are any brilliant artists here at the party?”

“I haven’t really been in Vienna long enough to meet many people,” said Nan. “But Papa told me that artists do live—”

“Wait!” Wolfie broke in. He jumped to his feet. “I know someone here who is
very
brilliant.”

“Who?” asked Annie.

“Me!” said Wolfie. And he bowed.

“Wolfie,” said Nan, shaking her head.

“Right,” said Jack. He turned back to Nan. “What were you about to say?”

But Wolfie broke in again. “Nan and I are
both
brilliant!” he exclaimed in his high voice. “Our papa teaches us math, history, writing, reading, geography, music, drawing, riding, fencing, and dancing.” Wolfie raised his arms over his head and did a little dance step.

Annie laughed.

“Wolfie, stop!” said Nan.

Yeah, cool it, kid,
thought Jack.

“Do you want to go outside and play in the garden?” Wolfie asked Jack and Annie. “ We can
all
dance!”

“I don’t think so, Wolfie,” said Jack. “But thanks.” He turned back to Nan. “So! What were you going to tell us about artists?”

“Oh, yes,” said Nan. “Papa told me that Her Imperial Majesty often invites artists to live in the palace and work here.”

“Perfect!” said Jack.

“Do you think any of them are here at the party now?” asked Annie.

“I don’t know,” said Nan. “The palace is very big. Papa told us that more than fifteen hundred people live here. Why are you looking for brilliant artists?”

“Oh,” said Annie, “we’re on a mission to—”

Jack interrupted her. “… to party with brilliant artists,” he finished. “That’s our mission.”
Then he laughed because he knew he sounded stupid.

Nan laughed, too. “I see,” she said. “All right then, at dinner I will ask Papa where the artists stay.”

“Thank you!” said Jack.
Finally,
he thought, they were starting their Merlin mission!

A
servant rang a bell. Other servants began carrying in large silver bowls, platters, and trays.

“It is time for dinner now,” said Nan. “ We must go, Wolfie. We have to find Papa.” She helped her little brother put his wig back on.

“But I want to stay with Jack and Annie,” whined Wolfie. “I want to play with them in the garden.”

“Not now,” said Nan. She grabbed Wolfie’s hand. “It was nice to talk to you,” she said to Jack and Annie. “And I hope we can see you perform again someday, Jack.”

Jack forced a smile. “Uh … yeah, thanks. Hey, let us know what your dad—I mean, your
papa
— says about the brilliant artists living in the palace,” he said. “Maybe you can meet us later by those double doors?”

“Yes, after dinner, we will meet you,” said Nan.

“And then we will play in the garden!” said Wolfie.

“No, you and I will have other things to do, Wolfie, remember?” said Nan. “Come along now.” She pulled her little brother away.

“But I want to play with Jack the Clown!” Wolfie wailed.

Jack and Annie watched Wolfie and Nan disappear into the crowd.

“I am
not
a clown,” Jack said darkly.

“Don’t worry about him,” said Annie. “He really admires you.”

“Lucky me,” said Jack.

The bell sounded again. People started moving toward the dinner tables.

“Where should we sit?” said Annie.

“Anywhere,” said Jack, “as long as we’re out of the way.” He still wanted to hide from the imperial children. “What about that table at the end of the room? Near the door?”

“Sure.”

Jack led the way to the table at the far end of the room. “Let’s grab seats while we can,” he said to Annie.

As grown-ups hovered near the table talking and laughing, Jack and Annie sat down in two chairs. Steaming platters of food lined the middle of the table: beef stew, mashed potatoes, sausages, dumplings, cabbage, spiced apples, and gingerbread.

Jack’s mouth watered. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. “Okay, here’s our plan,” he said to Annie. “We’ll eat first. Then Nan will tell us where all the artists live, and we’ll get to work.”

“Excuse me, young man and young lady,” someone said in a snippy tone.

Jack and Annie turned around in their chairs. An elderly couple stood glaring at them.

“The empress herself designed the seating plan,” the man said. “And I can assure you these are
not
your seats.”

“Furthermore,” said the woman, “
no one
sits until Her Imperial Majesty is seated.”

Jack and Annie jumped up from their chairs.

“Oops!” said Annie.

“Sorry!” said Jack.

“Our mistake,” said Annie. “Excuse us.”

Jack and Annie walked away from the table. “That was bad manners,” Annie said to Jack.

“Who, us or them?” said Jack.

“Us,” Annie said. “I wonder where
our
seats are.”

“I have a feeling we’re not a part of the empress’s seating plan,” said Jack. His face felt hot again. His wig itched like crazy.

Suddenly a hush fell over the room. The harp and violin music stopped. Everyone stopped talking.

Her Imperial Majesty had entered through the main doors. The imperial children followed her. Her Majesty led them to the table in the middle of the room. Everyone else stood silently, waiting for the imperial family to sit down.