[https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1256499000/images/17310fb03bf018bb425055896049.png]

There were no suits on armor in this particular hallway. Sophie was just hoping that those suits really were the 'knights' that could help her find the library, but she couldn't be sure. Fiff and Trom had hurried down the hallway as soon as the bell rang, so now she was on her own again.

There was nothing else for it. She'd have to go back the same way she'd come. She'd passed by several suits of armor back there, so maybe one of those could help her.

Walking back, she thought about her encounter with Drim and thought back to the last time she'd been faced with a bully like him. It had been a long time ago, actually. At her previous schools, it wasn't just the bullies who had come after her because of the way she behaved. Everyone else wanted her to act normal and not step out of line too. So that had killed a lot of her fighting spirit.

But this school wasn't like all the other ones.

She walked back into the hallway where musical instruments covered the walls. Standing near one of the walls was a fairly regular-looking suit of armor. Sophie walked over to it.

I wonder how I get it to wake up? she thought. Maybe there's a magic word?

She hoped not. The only magic words she knew were "abra cadabra" or "alakazam" or "open sesame", but she doubted that any of those would work.

"Um... Hello?" she ventured.

No reaction.

She tried again. "Can you help me find my way somewhere?"

Still nothing. She knocked on one of the legs of the suit of armor. It sounded hollow and completely empty.

So, the suits of armor couldn't be the knights that Fiff had mentioned. But then why did the school have all these suits of armor standing around? Could there be something inside them?

Sophie grabbed the leg of the armor and carefully tried to pull it off. It worked. The suit of armor still stood on its other leg, and Sophie examined the inside of the leg she was holding. It was empty. She turned her attention towards the rest of the armor and peeked up through the leg hole, looking inside the armor. This time she saw something. A small, blue light was hovering around inside the armor near the chest.

The blue light started to glow more brightly and began to spread throughout the entire armor. The suit of armor began to shake. Sophie took a step back.

Two glowing blue eyes became visible through the helmet's eye slits [https://img.wattpad.com/3e878194c35822b03d8922d52b74e68d2ac34327/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4c5a65632d6169574c53534e59413d3d2d313235363439393030302e313730396239346538336164393939353430323037303535373230332e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Two glowing blue eyes became visible through the helmet's eye slits.

"What-ho! Now have no fear, for I awaken! 'Tis I, Sir James, who'll help thee on thy pa... Aaarrrgh!"

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The armor had started to move but, still missing one of its legs, fell headfirst and landed on the floor.

"By Jove, what's this?" the knight exclaimed. "My leg, it has been pilfered! Some devil must have wished to walk with three!"

The knight now spotted Sophie who was still holding the leg in her hands.

"Sorry about that! I didn't know you needed it."

"To need both legs to wander is most common! I see that thou doth walk on two thyself."

She handed the leg back to the knight, who easily reattached it and got back on his feet.

"And how may I now help thee, troubled maiden? Doth thou mayhap need guidance on thy way?"

Sophie nodded. "Can you show me the way to the school library?"

"At once! Upon my trusty legs, I'll guide thee," the knight said enthusiastically and immediately darted down the hallway. "Now follow me and soon shall we arrive."

Sophie had to walk as fast as she could just to keep up with the knight.

"Um... Mister Knight?"

"Not Mister Knight – Sir James is what they call me," the knight said proudly.

Her next question was perhaps not the most important out of all the questions that were swimming around in her head, but it was still something she wanted to know.

"Why do you talk like that?"

Sir James gave her a puzzled look but didn't break his stride as they kept rushing down the corridors.

"The way I speak? Is this what does confound thee?"

"Yeah, you talk kinda weird."

"I speak the only way that seems me proper. Thy own tongue, I'll admit it, seems me odd. You see: The time I hail from is another."

A dozen new questions popped into Sophie's head.

Another time? Does that mean he was a real medieval knight? But before she could ask any more questions, Sir James stopped in front of a door.

"And thus we do arrive – here is the entrance! Behind this door the library will be."

There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about the door itself. It looked like most of the other doors that Sophie had walked past, apart from one thing: The door handle, which was perfectly shaped like the head of an owl. She admired the beautiful craft that had gone into making it.

How did they get the owl head to look so realistic? she wondered.

"Tell me, young lady," the door handle suddenly said. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to enter? I do have other things to do, you know."

Sophie jumped backwards, startled at the speaking door handle.

"Then again, I suppose it isn't every day that you see a door handle as beautiful as me," the owl door handle added.

"Then again, I suppose it isn't every day that you see a door handle as beautiful as me," the owl door handle added [https://img.wattpad.com/c4f9b3071a7437f2e588b5e96038d359607a53e4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f56612d632d374b6f3450354142673d3d2d313235363439393030302e313730396239363638333239633235333337343130313833373235362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"Handle 888!" boomed a loud voice from the other side of the door. "Are you keeping the students from entering again!?"

"Oh, can I help it if the students want to admire me? I am quite the thing of beauty, you know!" Handle 888 yelled back.

"Nonsense! There's not a door handle in the world that's so interesting that it'll keep bright young minds from pursuing new knowledge. Now let in the student, or I'll have you replaced!" the threatening voice behind the door chided.

Handle 888 huffed indignantly and then let the door glide open.

What a weird conversation, Sophie thought. It reminded her a bit of the way her grandparents would sometimes bicker.

She stepped into the library while Sir James remained standing by the door. It looked like a pretty normal library. Tall, wide bookshelves made of old wood and filled to the brim with books were lining the rounded walls, all of them pointed towards the center of the library.

As Sophie was looking at the bookshelves, she suddenly heard the sound of a lot of books falling down.

Sophie was lying in her bed with the duvet pulled up over her head [https://img.wattpad.com/8c8906bfb2eff326a3f9cd52b86ce8ec6d8acc52/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f767862706948304a73664a7570673d3d2d313235333934313835302e313733663230616534623765333861363936343636313337343032322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

- Next chapter Friday the 23th of December