“There you are,” said Myth as she sat beside me. “I missed you at dinner.”
I had felt so glum after dinner that I had retreated to the sanctuary of my lean-to. There I had passed some time by fussing over the mementos that I kept in my cherrywood keepsake box. Reliving the memories that each item invoked cheered me slightly, but I was still quite upset…
Sorry, Buster, but this is not the right moment for me to say too much about my keepsake box. Do not worry, though. I will tell you about it eventually.
Anyway…
My dolly, Mythie, was keeping me company…
Buster, do you remember Mythie—the dolly that Mr. Knee-Biter had given me back in Narrows? Good. I figured I had better ask just in case you had forgotten her.
So…
Mythie was lying beside my copy of Nigel Wonker’s Handy Tips for the Adventuring Soul. I had checked to see what Mr. Wonker had to say about pixies a bit earlier. Yes, Bumble was such a headache that I had decided to seek an expert’s advice…
I can hear what you are thinking, Buster: Get back to the story, Izzy.
Okay, I will. I was just providing some background. There is no need for you to become so agitated.
Now, where was I? Oh, Myth sat down beside me…
“Hi, Myth,” I said, my voice sounding as glum as I felt.
“Hey, Mythie,” said Myth. She reached over and patted my dolly’s head.
“Mythie doesn’t like Bumble,” I declared.
“Really?” replied Myth.
I shook my head. “No. She thinks that he’s vulgar. And she hates how he treats you.”
Myth chuckled. “Well, thank you for your concern, Mythie.”
Picking up Mr. Wonker’s book, I said, “I even consulted Mr. Wonker, hoping he could help Mythie deal with that pixie.”
“Oh, no,” Myth groaned, “not Nigel Wonker again, Iz.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Don’t worry, Myth. Surprisingly, Mr. Wonker didn’t have any good advice for dealing with pixies. See for yourself.”
I handed the book to Myth.
Aloud, she read the one sentence entry that Mr. Wonker had written about pixies: “Don’t deal with pixies.”
Myth closed the book. “That’s actually some really good advice for once.”
I grabbed the book from her. “But it doesn’t get rid of Bumble!”
Myth rubbed my shoulders. “He’ll be gone soon enough.”
“I should slap him,” I muttered. “Then he would behave himself.”
“Just ignore him, Iz,” said Myth. “But, um, there is something I want to ask you, and it’s not about Bumble.”
I looked at her and said, “What?”
Myth took a deep breath. “Well, um, are you mad at me?”
“Mad at you,” I said, hardly believing I had heard her correctly. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“It’s just”—Myth paused long enough to sigh—“you always sit next to me at dinner—except tonight. I-I was worried that you were mad at me. And I spent the whole meal trying to figure out what I had done to upset you.”
Ha! Take that, Bumble, I shouted in my head. Myth wants me to sit beside her at dinner. She does enjoy my company. Why, she was even worried—
Oh! Foolish Izzy, I scolded myself. I’ve made Myth feel bad, all because I listened to that vulgar pixie.
Well, I will make it up to her now.
Clasping Myth’s hand, I assured her, “I’m not mad at you, I promise. If anything, you should be upset with me for acting so strangely at dinner. I’m sorry that I made you feel bad. I was just annoyed with Bumble.”
Myth smiled at me. “Whew! Good, because I couldn’t think of anything I had done to anger you. And that worried me even more. Because I began to wonder if you were becoming obsessed with the treasure like Bard and Bumble are.”
“What!” I exclaimed. Then I gave her arm a gentle slap. “You know me better than that, Missy. I don’t care about the treasure—I never have. I just wanted us to have fun—that’s my idea of treasure. And I’ve had a great time following Black Bart’s clues with you. But it would have been even more fun if it was just the two of us—no Bard and definitely no Bumble.”
Myth stood up. “Okay, Izzy”
She held out her hands towards me and said, “Come on.”
I grabbed hold of her hands and let her pull me onto my feet. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a beautiful night,” said Myth. “Let’s find a quiet spot away from those fools and stargaze—just the two of us.”