Lord of the Rink

The Search for Hugo

Hugo was a having a lot of fun, and it felt very good to ice-dance again. But there was one very big problem: Hugo was having so much fun that he'd forgotten all about the time. He turned to the clock tower and saw that it was already 11:58—only two more minutes until the spell would break.

"Oh, it's almost midnight!" Hugo gasped. "I have to go. Good night, Princess Sophina, and thank you for the dance!"

Hugo then raced right out of the rink.

"Hugo, wait!" Sophina called, chasing after Hugo.

Hugo quickly put his shoes on and took off to the coach. But he was in such a rush that he left his black skates behind. Sophina found Hugo's skates and chased after him. But it was too late—Hugo had already gotten into the coach and taken off much to Sophina's dismay.

Just before Hugo got home, the clock started chiming. By the time Hugo got back into the garden, the clock struck 12. The coach turned back into a pile of wood, the coachman turned back into a squirrel, and the footman turned back into a bird. Hugo's tuxedo turned back into his usual clothes. Hugo was dismayed that it was over, but it was fun while it lasted.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Sophina told her parents that the mysterious ice-dancer had disappeared and left his ice-skates behind. She was madly in love with him, and she had to find him.

"We have to find Hugo," Sophina said. "We have to try these skates on every gentleman in the kingdom. Once the skate fits, we need to determine if that gentleman is Hugo. Once we find Hugo, he shall be my groom!"

For the entire night, Sophina tried the skates on every gentleman in the kingdom, but the skates didn't even fit any of the men. By morning, there was only one house Sophina hadn't gone to: Hugo's chateau.