image [https://i.imgur.com/OfwlhxT.png]
Chapter 13
Sophie, the Magical Girl from Nibelheim
image [https://i.imgur.com/orzzHKF.png]
In a little village at the foot of a mountain, there lived a young girl named Sophie. She was fast asleep in her soft, warm bed and the sun was just beginning to peek through her window. It would have been a very pleasant morning to sleep in. Unfortunately, there was a cat in the house who felt differently.
“Meow . . .” he muttered. “What is this?” The cat had fluffy white fur and was exceptionally plump. He struggled to pull himself onto the girl’s bed. “The sun’s up and she’s still sleeping? Unbelievable—the things I have to put up with!”
He climbed on top of her and wiggled. The whole bed shook with him. “Girl! Ahem! I say, girl! Awake this instant! I am ready for my breakfast!” But it didn’t work. “Hello? Anyone home?” He crept up to her head and nudged it. Still nothing. “Hmph, very well then . . . you’ve left me no choice. Feel my razor-sharp claws!” He drew them and gently combed them down her cheeks. “There, how do you like that? More? Okay . . .” Finally, she began to stir.
The girl was very pretty. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes and large, round spectacles. Every morning, she had to reach for them to see.
“Oh, hello Samson!” she sighed dreamily with a yawn. “Good morning!”
“Good morning?” the cat whined. “What’s so good about it? It would be a lot better if I had eaten by now. Look at me! I’m practically starved!”
“Hmm . . . did you have strange dreams, too?”
“What? Dreams? No! Are you listening to me? Read my lips, girl! Food!”
“MmmHmm . . . MmmHmm . . . I see,” replied Sophie, very interested. She patted him on the head and scratched his chin. Then, she reached forward and gave him a great big hug.
“Ugh! Unhand me! Help!”
“Oh, Samson! I wish I knew what you were really saying,” the girl sighed, squeezing him. “Hey, maybe I could finish your portrait today. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
She rolled out of bed and picked him up.
“No! NO!”
Then she hauled him across the room and plopped him on a pedestal.
image [https://i.imgur.com/l37a2Mk_d.png?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high]
“There, that’s better. Alright, now hold still!”
She gave him a treat to distract him while she put on his costume.
“Here is your hat!” she sighed. “And here is your sash! And don’t forget your little sword!”
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He posed handsomely in the hopes of earning another kibble.
“Perfect!”
The whole bedroom was covered with portraits of Samson. In one, he was dressed as a knight in shining armor. In another, he was a scholar with a monocle. The funniest of all was Samson the king. Beside them, were shelves of books she’d written. Though only ten years old, Sophie had already authored hundreds of stories. There were mysteries, romances, fairy tales and even scripts for plays. Every year, she put one on at the village festival.
There were two desks she did this at, each with a great bay window. The larger of the two faced the farmyard. The other overlooked the village and ocean. The rest of her room was buried under props, costumes and even more books.
“There! Finished!” she declared triumphantly. “Well, what do you think?” She turned it around so he could see. “I call it—Samson the Swashbuckler!”
But the cat just glared at her.
“Hideous!” he meowed indignantly. “Look at the double chin you’ve given me! And those beady little eyes! I don’t look like THAT! Why can’t you paint me the other way?”
The only portrait he liked was the one depicting him as a ferocious snow lion. She gave him extra big muscles and laser eyes. Beneath the painting, it read: “The Delight and Terror of the Universe.”
“Now, THAT’s me!” he said pointing. Then he dove off, hitting the ground with a great thud, and waddled away.
But of all the books in Sophie’s room, there was one that was most precious to her. It was precious to everyone in the village. So precious, that it was simply called “The Book.” Her people believed it was written by the Creator of the whole world. It contained descriptions of this Creator, an explanation of how and why He created it, lists of rules He wanted people to follow, as well as biographies, poetry, stories and famous letters of people who had done the best job at following those rules.
It was the tradition of everyone in the village to spend some time in the morning not only reading this book, but singing little songs and praying to the Creator as they made beautiful, decorated copies of it they could share with strangers. Sophie herself had a whole shelf of them which she poured her heart into with every pen and needle stroke. As she worked, she’d daydream about all the people who might read them—and their smiles!
But on this morning, young Sophie couldn’t help feel a little sad as she approached her desk, for something terrible had recently happened.
An evil king who’d arisen in those lands had made another new law. Book-giving journeys, invitations to Book-giving parties and even mailing them away was now strictly forbidden. No one was allowed in or out of any village. If anyone was caught disobeying, he’d send his armies to destroy them.
Sophie sat down where, out of the corner of her window, she could see his mountain fortress. Black smoke rose from it. Every year, it grew bigger and scarier. She put her hands together and closed her eyes.
image [https://i.imgur.com/XJ7dGjE_d.png?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high]
“God . . .” she sighed worriedly. “Please help us. Please deliver our people from the Dragon King.”
Little did she know, her Creator already had a plan—and she was going to be a part of it!
In the last book, we learned about the young hero of our story: the battle in the Life Tree . . . the journey through the treacherous tunnel to Snake Mountain . . . the betrayal of his friend, Henry the Bear . . . and his tragic fall. He had been left broken and battered on an icy cave floor. It was there, he had the idea for his biggest adventure yet—an adventure to the world beyond the horizon. This book is all about our heroine and how she got involved in that adventure too.
Sophie was very different from our hero. Far from being raised by a wolf in the wild, she grew up in a comfortable well-ordered village with a happy family. She never had to eat bugs, fight or kill anyone. Having things like soap, hairbrushes and toothpaste, she looked and smelled much nicer too! But the biggest difference was the power she had. If the hero of our story had “super-strength,” then you could say our heroine had a “super-mind.” A mind that endowed her with certain special abilities.
Unfortunately, these powers were very hard to control and tended to spook people. So, much of her time growing up was spent learning how to conceal them. As he was swinging through the branches—galivanting with apes and trying to get stronger—she was at home in her armchair doing quite the opposite: practicing how to focus and be sneaky. It wasn’t always easy, but by now she was an expert at it! As we follow her along throughout her day, why don’t we see if she can conceal them from you too? Watch our heroine very closely, reader. See if you can guess what her powers are.