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.Her quarters had no balcony or terrace, a precaution against an important elf bride's attempting to throw herself to her death, and Tinsel had locked the door with magic so that she couldn't wander off while he slept.Sable had never been locked inside anything before.She found it completely unnerving.Even though her elf senses told her it was day outside, she paced her luxurious quarters like a caged animal, unable to sleep.She wanted to get a drink and wash her face and hands, and she stood for several minutes in front of the shallow basin in her dressing room, unsure about what to do.Tinsel had shown her how the shiny metal knob made water gush out, but Sable was afraid of that fast-flowing water.Even if she had enough power to deal with it, she hadn't had a single magic lesson yet.What if she was able to start the water but not stop it? Perhaps the cave would flood.So she went back up the pathway and washed her face in the ornamental pool instead, while all the silver fish huddled in the shadows of their stone lily-pads.A thumping noise startled her, and she scrambled to her feet.Someone was banging nearby.Sable crept noiselessly to the locked door of the apartment and found that the thumping came from it.She wished with all her heart that Tinsel were there with her, but he was still sleeping, and she was afraid to wake him up."Hello?" said a woman's voice through the door.It wasn't Irina's voice or Emily's.Sable breathed very quietly."Sable, are you there?" the voice continued."I'm the goblin King's Wife.May I come in?"The goblin King's Wife.She was the other elf."I—yes—I don't know," stammered Sable."I can't open the door.""I can open it," answered the voice."Is that all right? Are you dressed?""I think so," said Sable.She was wearing a long robe.Tinsel had thrown her rags away that morning.The door opened, and a blond woman stood in the doorway, an elf Sable had never seen.She gave Sable a bright smile, and Sable managed a little smile back.Then a boy stepped past her, a goblin boy.She stared at him with wide eyes."May we come in?" asked the elf, and Sable backed up.She looked past the boy and gave a gasp.A large, hairy gray dog stood in the doorway."It's all right," the elf woman reassured her, and she turned to the big animal."Helen, you'd better stay out in the hall." The dog put back her ears and wagged ingratiatingly."No, she can come, too," said Sable bravely, backing up farther and looking at the crowd that assembled in her apartment.The dog sat down, panting.The strange boy walked right up to Sable.He had short hair of two colors, dark blond and pale beige, the colors mixing in patches and streaks all over his head.He was watching her keenly with one blue eye and one green eye.She found it hard to look at him, but then she found it hard to look away."This is my son, Catspaw," said the elf woman, and Sable realized quite suddenly that the goblin boy did have a paw."I'm going to be the goblin King," announced the boy, planting himself before her and rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes.He waited for Sable to say something appreciative, but she didn't."You're scared of me," he went on, watching her critically."Why are you scared of me?""Catspaw," explained the woman, "Sable's only just come here, and she's been taught to be afraid of goblins.You'll have to show her that the goblin King's son can be a gentleman." The monster boy pondered this instruction for a few seconds, wearing a thoughtful frown."And my name is Kate," continued the elf, smiling at Sable again.Sable glanced down, startled, as her hand was clasped.She hadn't been taught to shake hands."Is she a goblin, too?" she inquired timidly, pointing.Kate turned and looked.Helen gave a thump of her tail."Oh! No, she's just a dog," said Kate."Could be a goblin, though," declared the young prince supportively."See?"There was a bright shimmer, and a half-grown wolf whelp stood on four feet where the boy had been.Three of the puppy's feet were gray, but the right front foot was still a golden lion's paw.A second shimmer, and the boy was back.Kate eyed Sable's shocked face with unease."Catspaw, you're not to do transformations unless Father's here," she reminded him firmly."Why don't you have a seat and play with your mirror instead." The boy obediently sat down on the mat beside the fish pool, and Kate turned back to Sable."Did the dresses not fit?" she asked."Dresses? I don't have one," Sable replied distractedly."Tinsel did something with mine, and I can't find it."Kate looked at the black-haired woman.She considered all the horrible things Marak had told her, and she noted the lost, frightened look in those dark blue eyes."Come with me," she said kindly, taking Sable's hand, and she led the elf to the dressing room.Once there, she began pulling on knobs.The astonished Sable saw panels in the wall swing open and slide out to reveal all sorts of hidden cubbyholes.Kate stepped confidently to the basin and brought warm water gushing into it.Then she taught Sable how to wash her face with soap and a cloth, how to clean her teeth, and how to trim her nails.She sat her down before the mirror and brushed out that long hair with a hairbrush, and she showed her how to pull it back with hair combs.She went to the drawers and closets and dressed the bemused elf woman in one undergarment after another, stockings, and slippers
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