The Castle in the Attic

In the attic, William puts out his hand, and the knight crawls out of the pouch onto it. Sir Simon turns and helps Mrs. Phillips out. She seems to trust the knight but stands sadly, as if disappointed. Sir Simon fishes her suitcase from the pouch; he scolds William for his unsteady hand and for not telling Mrs. Phillips about their plan.

William sets them down and opens the castle entrance. Sir Simon escorts Mrs. Phillips into the castle, pointing out the place’s details. He seems years younger. She seems comfortable with him, which makes William feel oddly unsettled. He tries to talk to her, but she walks away. Sir Simon says she refuses to speak to him until he returns her to her full size. He whispers that they can’t; the knight says telling her that will be one shock too many for her.

William goes to Mrs. Phillips’ old room and sits. Aloud, he tells himself she’s still here. His father, home early, asks after Mrs. Phillips; William says she left. For dinner, they make waffles and omelets. His father says he’ll be home earlier from now on, and they’ll need more meal ideas. He pulls out a wok and a Chinese cookbook: It’s an early birthday gift for William. The boy likes it but says it’s an odd gift from a father, since most men give their sons footballs and such. He decides on beef with broccoli for Thursday.

He finishes his homework. As he heads for bed, his father says he wants to measure the castle for a moat. Realizing that Sir Simon and Mrs. Phillips would be caught off-guard, he says not to worry about the moat. Lying in bed, he realizes he isn’t visiting the castle because he can’t face Mrs. Phillips’s disapproval. Aloud, he says, “I’m sure she’ll change her mind by tomorrow” (77).

Sir Simon reports that William’s father entered the attic and took measurements of the castle. William says it’s for a new moat. He also says Mrs. Phillips isn’t eating well and she paces a lot.

William brings Mrs. Phillips tiny bits of her favorite breakfast, makes curtains for her castle bedroom, and helps Sir Simon light a fire in its fireplace, but nothing works. She refuses to speak to him until, says the knight, “you come in and get her” (79). She means that he needs to see what’s it’s like to be trapped there.

Sir Simon says they shouldn’t have captured her against her will. He has an idea, and they meet at the front of the castle, whose wall contains the riddle about the lady and her needle. It mentions a squire whose presence will move the castle’s story forward. The squire, implies the knight, is William.

William asks Jason what he’d do if a bully fought William but Jason’s glasses got knocked off. Jason says he’d try to help anyway. William wants to tell his friend the castle secret, but he knows he can’t until he returns from helping Mrs. Phillips. He realizes he’s already made the decision to miniaturize himself.

A couple of days later, William’s father calls him to the basement, where he shows off a platform for the castle and a rectangle of wood around it to make a moat. His dad picks up the platform and heads for the attic. William grabs the moat rectangle and hurries after him. They lift up the castle and set it on the platform—William sees Sir Simon hanging on for dear life in the stable—and place the moat rectangle around it. The drawbridge fits perfectly into a slot on the rectangle.

William’s father adds a small wooden wedge, saying, “Now the returning victorious army can get up the ramp” (85). William says this is the first project they’ve ever finished together, and he thanks his father. His dad says the castle seems magical. He notices the smell of smoke in the attic, decides he’ll need to install a smoke detector, and leaves.

Sir Simon scolds William for the castle shake-up. The boy apologizes but says there was nothing he could do to stop it. The knight admits that the moat and drawbridge ramp are assets. He warns, though, that Lady Elinore is upset. William asks what happens to a person who wants to be miniaturized after they are restored to their proper height. Sir Simon says they return to the moment in time when they were first taken.

William packs for the journey he’s about to take. He includes plenty of food—including tea and Marmite for Mrs. Phillips—along with matches, binoculars, and clothes. That night, when his mom says good night to William, he hugs her extra-hard.

The next afternoon, William tells Sir Simon to miniaturize him. Sir Simon is pleased. William stands at the drawbridge and closes his eyes. He feels a small breeze, then tells Sir Simon to hurry up. The knight says it’s already done. William opens his eyes and looks up at the castle. The drawbridge drops, and he steps up onto it. Sir Simon welcomes him: “Enter, young William” (92).

William crosses the bridge. Sir Simon embraces him and declares, “You are a courageous person, a squire with the heart and soul of a knight” (93). They enter the castle grounds, and Sir Simon lowers the portcullis, whose chains creak until it hits the ground with a thud. They cross the courtyard, walk through the kitchen, then enter the great hall, its floors strewn with animal rugs and its walls hung with colorful banners. They climb the stairs of the adjacent tower, cross the wall walk, and arrive at the entrance to the master chamber, which the knight has given to Mrs. Phillips while he sleeps in the kitchen to guard the fire.

Sir Simon leaves William alone. The boy knocks on her door, then enters. She rises from a seat at the fireplace. She’s wearing medieval clothes. He says he was wrong to trap her, and he’s there to find the token that will return them to their normal size. They hug. He gives her the jar of Marmite, the tea bags, and the bread. She says the castle is well provisioned with clothes and kitchen supplies.

They eat together in the courtyard. Sir Simon again pronounces William courageous. He announces that the next day will be the start of the boy’s training.

In the morning, the knight outfits William in squire’s clothing. As he does so, he intones ancient words. William asks what they mean. Sir Simon says they’re the duties of a knight—compassion, frugality, humility, truthfulness, cheerfulness, and mercy. Mrs. Phillips adds, “Be ever loyal in love” (98).

Sir Simon trains William in various forms of combat, while Mrs. Phillips oversees his practice at gymnastics, chess, backgammon, and playing the recorder. This becomes a daily routine. During gymnastics practice, William admits that his dishonest treatment of Mrs. Phillips affected his floor routine for the worse. She tells him to change the ending from a dive roll to a front flip. He tries it and falls down. She spots him, telling him to concentrate, and with her help, he does it perfectly. He asks why the change; she says he can’t rely on strength against the wizard but must use his mind to outwit him. Also, the front flip is quicker during battle.

At the end of a week, Sir Simon announces that they’re ready. That evening, William visits Mrs. Phillips, who’s doing needlework by her fireplace. Her needlework shows an image of a boy and a man venturing through a forest. She reminds him of the riddle on the castle wall and says she’s the lady with the needle: “My weapon is the needle and thread” (103).

William asks if he’s ready. She asks if he thinks he is. He realizes that he’s prepared and willing. She says his greatest asset is that he has the heart and soul of a knight inside a boy’s body. That evening, he sleeps on a pallet next to the fireplace in her room.

In the morning, William finds Sir Simon praying at the chapel. They go outside, and the boy helps dress the knight in his elaborate armor, topped by a silver tunic with a lion-and-cross coat of arms. Mrs. Phillips lowers the drawbridge, then blesses the knight’s sword with a prayer for their protection. He asks for a keepsake; she ties her scarf around his arm. In return, he hands her the Janus token. They gaze at each other and he kisses her hand. She kisses William on the forehead.

Knight and squire cross the drawbridge. William notices real water in the moat.