The Wizards of Bellmore Castle

When the world was covered with forests and castles dotted the land, and the art of wizardry was a magic little understood, Bellmore, a gentle kingdom, was known for its wizards' marvelous great magic. The most famous, sought-after, expert wizard in the land, Tarlic, had come to the Wizard Woods 77 years ago to apprentice under Barble. Although he studied for years, real magic eluded him until the end of his life. His wizardry was mostly foolery. But when five-year-old Danny arrived as Tarlic's apprentice he already had the real magic: he could dream of the future, make objects move and let his own mind float out of his body. Old Tarlic loved him, nurtured him, and often reflected on his own relationship with Barble as Danny grew.

The king of Bellmore was away when Princess Blue was born, when the queen died, and for 15 years thereafter while the princess was in Tarlic's charge. Returning from a quest to discover a daughter and a quiet kingdom, he quickly sets about converting Bellmore to a cosmopolitan center bustling with courtly life. Mistrusting the king, for he knows that he had been "resting" rather than "questing," Danny distances himself by performing medical and other wizardry about the kingdom.

Two more years pass. It is time for the princess to choose a husband at the ball. It is time for Danny to uncover his feelings for Blue. The ensuing comedy of Danny's disguise and misreading of Blue's signals is priceless. Blue knows perfectly well what is going on, but second-guesses Danny because he is, after-all, clueless about their relationship. With Tarlic's death, the wizard's library of diaries passes to Danny. Reading through Tarlic's volume, he begins to understand relationships and human nature and things about love and magic-believing that one exists at the expense of the other. Grieving for Tarlic, sure that Blue is lost to another, and disliking the king, Danny leaves the palace to perform wizardry elsewhere. With no options left, incognito, Blue follows Danny and forces a dialogue and a chase after which they resolve that love is the true magic. The novel's epilogue wittily reports, "...in the land of Bellmore lives a wizard with magic powers beyond compare. He rules with a queen, and they have a daughter, who they named Itworked..."