Castle in the Air

Castle in the Air Plot Summary

Introduction

The carpet merchant Abdullah never expected his life to change when he purchased a threadbare magic carpet from a mysterious stranger. His days in Zanzib had been unremarkable – selling rugs in his modest booth by day and retreating into elaborate daydreams by night. In these fantasies, he was not a common merchant but a long-lost prince, kidnapped as a child and destined for greatness. Then the magic carpet carried him to an enchanted night garden where he met the beautiful Flower-in-the-Night, a sheltered princess who had never seen any man besides her father. Their meeting sparked a romance that would soon be violently interrupted by a dark djinn, setting Abdullah on a desperate quest across lands both familiar and strange. As he navigated through treacherous deserts, royal palaces, and finally a castle suspended in the clouds, Abdullah would discover that the line between dreams and reality was far thinner than he had ever imagined.

Chapter 1: The Merchant's Dream: Abdullah and the Magic Carpet

Abdullah's modest carpet booth stood at the northwest corner of the Bazaar in Zanzib, a far cry from the central emporium his father had once owned. The rest of that inheritance had gone to his father's first wife's relatives, leaving Abdullah with just enough to establish his small business. Though his circumstances were humble, Abdullah's imagination was boundless. In his daydreams, he was the kidnapped son of a mighty prince from a land far to the east, stolen by the villainous bandit Kabul Aqba. On a fateful day, as Abdullah was lost in visions of his imaginary princess with her seven domed palace, a tall, dirty stranger approached his booth with a dingy carpet slung over his shoulder. "You buy carpets for selling, son of a great house?" the stranger asked, bowing briefly. His manner was shockingly abrupt for Zanzib, where buyers and sellers always spoke in the most formal and flowery way. Abdullah, annoyed at being pulled from his daydream, answered with deliberate coldness. The stranger made no effort to match Abdullah's elaborate courtesy, and their exchange grew increasingly terse as the man claimed his threadbare rug was magical. "It flies," said the stranger flatly. "It flies wherever the owner commands, O smallest of small minds." To prove his claim, the stranger stepped upon the carpet. At that precise moment, a commotion erupted at the fried food stall next door. Despite the distraction, Abdullah kept his eyes on the man and saw his lips move. The carpet rose smoothly and hovered about level with Abdullah's knees. After testing the carpet himself, Abdullah was convinced it was genuine. They haggled fiercely, and eventually the stranger departed with 210 gold pieces, leaving Abdullah the delighted owner of a flying carpet – though he still suspected there must be some trick involved. Fearing the carpet might slip away in the night like trained animals in similar scams, Abdullah carefully tied it around one of the poles supporting his booth's roof. That night, Abdullah fell asleep upon the carpet. When he awoke, he found himself lying in a garden more beautiful than any he had imagined, with the carpet still beneath him. Moonlight painted the scene in silver, while golden lamps hung from trees dispelling shadows. He wandered through an arcade of creepers where flowers breathed out heady scents, following the sound of trickling water. At the fountain, he encountered a lovely girl who approached him with curious eyes. "Are you a new kind of servant?" she asked. "No, masterpiece of my imagination," he replied. "Know that I am really the long-lost son of a distant prince." The conversation that followed revealed the girl's sheltered existence. She believed all men looked like her father – old, fat, bald and bearded. When Abdullah explained he was indeed a man, she examined him with frank curiosity. This was Flower-in-the-Night, and she had never seen any man besides her father.

Chapter 2: Flower in Moonlight: A Princess Behind Garden Walls

"I'm not allowed outside these walls," Flower-in-the-Night explained as she sat beside Abdullah at the edge of the fountain. "My father has arranged for me to marry a prince from Ochinstan. Until then, I must stay inside." Abdullah was struck by the injustice of her confinement. In Zanzib, wealthy men often kept their daughters and wives like prisoners, but facing this practice directly made him uncomfortable. As they talked, Abdullah realized this was no dream. He had somehow been transported to this garden while he slept. The carpet had carried him to the night garden of a sultan's daughter. Flower-in-the-Night proved remarkably intelligent despite her sheltered upbringing. When Abdullah promised to return the next night with pictures of men so she could see the variety of male appearances, her face brightened with genuine interest. "That would be very instructive," she agreed. "At least it would give me an excuse to see you again." The next day, Abdullah sought out an artist in the Bazaar. "I want drawings of every size, shape, and kind of man that you have ever seen," he requested. The artist, though mystified by this strange commission, agreed to create the portraits. That night, the carpet again transported the sleeping Abdullah to Flower-in-the-Night's garden. She examined each of the 189 portraits he'd brought with serious concentration, studying the faces intently. "It is just as I thought," she finally declared. "I prefer you to every single one of these. Some look far too proud of themselves, and some look selfish and cruel. You are unassuming and kind. I intend to ask my father to marry me to you, instead of to the Prince in Ochinstan." Abdullah was stunned by her declaration. He explained that her father, who was clearly a wealthy and powerful man, would never allow her to marry a mere carpet merchant. "My father is only concerned with the prophecy," she told him. "It was foretold that I would marry the first man, apart from my father, that I saw. That's why I've been kept isolated all these years." As they spoke, Abdullah realized he had fallen in love with this perceptive, sheltered princess. They agreed to elope the following night, planning to escape on his magic carpet before her father could force her to marry the prince. "Tomorrow," Abdullah promised as they parted, "I will come for you, and we shall fly away together."

Chapter 3: Wings of Darkness: The Djinn's Abduction

The next evening, Abdullah waited anxiously in his booth for nightfall. His heart raced with anticipation as he settled on the carpet and drifted into sleep. When he awoke in the moonlit garden, he stood up and called to Flower-in-the-Night, who came running eagerly across the lawn. "You're here!" she called. "I was quite worried!" "Are you ready to leave?" he called back. "Jump on beside me." Just as she reached for his outstretched hands, enormous black leathery wings descended silently from the darkness above. Great arms with long, claw-like fingernails wrapped around Flower-in-the-Night, snatching her away. She managed only a single, frantic scream before a taloned hand clamped over her mouth. Abdullah found himself staring into the hideous face of a massive djinn with a gold ring through its hooked nose and cruel, slanting eyes. Then the creature was aloft, Flower-in-the-Night dangling helplessly in its grasp as it vanished into the night sky. "After it! Follow that djinn!" Abdullah commanded the carpet. The carpet began to rise but then sank back to the ground, unmoving. Before Abdullah could try again, shouts and running footsteps approached through the garden. Guards with swords and crossbows rushed toward the commotion. Abdullah had no choice but to flee. "Back to the booth!" he whispered desperately, and the carpet shot away. The next morning, Abdullah's misery was interrupted when soldiers of the Sultan stormed his booth and dragged him in chains to the palace. He was thrown at the feet of the Sultan, who held up Abdullah's nightcap. "Do you deny that this is your nightcap?" the Sultan demanded. "It was found in my daughter's room, along with portraits of common men. Do you deny that you crept into my night garden and stole my daughter away?" Abdullah desperately tried to explain about the djinn, but the Sultan refused to believe him. "I shall entertain myself by inventing new ways to kill you," the Sultan promised. "At the moment I favor impaling you upon a forty-foot stake and then loosing vultures to eat bits off you." Faced with torture and certain death, Abdullah remembered the prophecy made at his own birth: that he would be "raised above all others in this land." A forty-foot stake would certainly raise him above everyone else, but surely that wasn't his destiny. That night, as Abdullah languished in the Sultan's dungeon, an unexpected visitor arrived – Jamal's dog, somehow carrying the magic carpet. The dog must have accidentally spoken the command word in its sleep. Abdullah seized his chance, escaping on the carpet with the chains still binding him.

Chapter 4: Companions of Fortune: The Soldier, the Genie, and the Cats

The carpet carried Abdullah far into the desert, where he collapsed beside a small oasis. When he awoke, he found himself surrounded by a band of desert robbers led by none other than Kabul Aqba – the very bandit from his daydreams. "Who are you?" demanded Kabul Aqba, pointing a silver-mounted pistol at Abdullah. Abdullah recognized an opportunity. "I am, like your noble selves, one who is outcast and oppressed," he declared. "I have sworn revenge on all Rashpuht." The bandits did not believe him. As they debated whether to kill him, Abdullah noticed a blue bottle half-buried in the sand. When one of the bandits uncorked it, mauvish vapor poured forth, forming into a towering genie. "I made a vow!" the genie howled. "The one who lets me out shall suffer!" With a gesture, the genie transformed two bandits into toads. Abdullah seized his chance during the chaos, wishing for his chains to be removed. Reluctantly, the genie granted his wish. Abdullah escaped with the genie's bottle, staggering northward through the desert. His second wish was for the genie to transport him to someone who could help him find Flower-in-the-Night. The genie delivered Abdullah to a foreign land called Ingary, depositing him near a roadside inn. There he encountered an old soldier – a weathered man with dishonest lines on his face and a pigtail down his back. The genie had whispered that this man was dishonest but could help him. "I'm from Strangia myself," the soldier explained as they shared a meal. "Turned loose on the world with a bounty after Ingary beat us in the war." When constables arrived searching for the soldier, they fled together. During their escape, the genie transformed them both into toads to avoid capture. Once restored to human form, they encountered a small black cat who took a curious interest in them. The soldier adopted the kitten, naming it Whippersnapper, while the mother cat, Midnight, attached herself to Abdullah. As they traveled together, Abdullah learned that the soldier was hoping to marry a princess as reward for his assistance. When Abdullah admitted his quest to rescue Flower-in-the-Night, the soldier agreed to help. "The genie said you could help me find her," Abdullah explained. "And if you did, said the angel, your reward would be that you would marry another princess yourself." The soldier nodded thoughtfully. "Not sure what I could do to help, but if there's a princess in it for me, I'm in."

Chapter 5: Castle Among Stars: The Kingdom of Captured Princesses

After days of travel, Abdullah and his companions reached the city of Kingsbury. That night, as they watched the sunset from their inn window, they saw a strange silhouette in the clouds – a castle floating in the sky. "I've been thinking," said the soldier. "You get a wish from your misty blue friend tomorrow. You should wish for that magic carpet back." But before Abdullah could make his wish, disaster struck. A mighty djinn descended from the sky, its wings spreading darkness over the city. Bells rang in alarm as the creature snatched the King of Ingary's young daughter, Princess Valeria, and flew toward the castle in the clouds. In the commotion, Abdullah returned to his room to find both the soldier and the genie bottle missing. Realizing he had been betrayed, he rushed to the home of Wizard Suliman, the Royal Wizard of Ingary. There, to his astonishment, Midnight the cat transformed into a woman named Sophie, the wife of another wizard named Howl. The little kitten Whippersnapper was actually their son Morgan, who had been turned into a cat by a spell. "The djinn stole our castle," Sophie explained. "And my husband with it." With Sophie's help, Abdullah used the magic carpet to reach the castle in the clouds. They passed through a barrier of ice into a surreal golden world – islands and bays of mist floating in an endless sky. The castle stood on a cloudy headland, its towers constantly shifting and reforming. As they approached, they discovered the castle was guarded by angels – strange, cloudy beings with moonstone eyes. Abdullah bowed to each pair of angels as they passed, making their way to the garden entrance. Inside, they found Princess Valeria throwing a spectacular tantrum before two djinns – one massive and dark, the other pale and beautiful with golden hair. "What is all this noise about?" came a rasping voice. A crowd of women appeared – thirty princesses of every age and appearance, led by a solidly-built woman in riding clothes. This was Princess Beatrice, who promptly slapped the screaming Valeria and handed her to the other princesses to comfort. "You have not paid your wizard's dues to the University for fifteen years," Querida told him. "This gives me the right to exact penalties." "I sent you a griffin's egg," Derk protested. "It was addled," replied Querida. "As I am sure you knew."

Chapter 6: The Hidden Life: Finding Hasruel's Secret Power

Among the princesses stood Flower-in-the-Night, as beautiful as ever. When she saw Abdullah, her face lit up with recognition and joy, but then quickly became formal and distant. She bowed politely but kept her distance, confusing Abdullah deeply. The taller of the two djinns introduced himself as Hasruel, explaining that his brother Dalzel had stolen his life and forced him to kidnap princesses. "My brother is of a birth so mixed that no female among djinns will countenance him," Hasruel explained. "He is forced to resort to mortal women. But since he is a djinn, naturally only those females of the highest blood will serve." As the princesses retreated to their quarters with the crying Valeria, Abdullah discovered that the soldier – now disguised as one of the princesses – was actually Prince Justin of Ingary. More surprising still, the genie was none other than the Royal Wizard Howl, transformed and imprisoned in the bottle by Hasruel. When Abdullah finally managed to speak privately with Flower-in-the-Night, he discovered the reason for her coldness. "Princess Beatrice says that men who do nothing but make fine speeches make very poor husbands," she told him. "I think I want to know why you found me too unattractive to be worth kissing." "I didn't find you unattractive!" Abdullah protested. "If you must know, I had never in my life kissed a young lady, and you are far too beautiful for me to want to get it wrong!" With their misunderstanding resolved, they rejoined the others to plan their escape. The princesses revealed that Dalzel had hidden Hasruel's life where no one would think to look – in the gold ring that pierced Hasruel's nose. "Hasruel can't see it, and he is a djinn," Dalzel had boasted. "So what hope have you?" Abdullah devised a plan. He would challenge Dalzel to a guessing game, while the princesses created a distraction with the young Princess Valeria. When the moment came, Abdullah stood before Dalzel, pretending to guess where Hasruel's life was hidden. "Your brother's life is one of your teeth," Abdullah guessed wrongly. "Wrong!" trumpeted Dalzel. "Hasruel, roast him!" At that moment, Valeria began screaming at the top of her lungs, demanding her "doggy." Simultaneously, baby Morgan woke and began roaring in fury. The cacophony drove the djinns to distraction. In the chaos, the soldier tackled Hasruel while Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night grabbed his ears. Jamal's dog, seeing the struggle, leaped at Hasruel's nose and caught the golden ring in its teeth, swallowing it before anyone could stop it. Hasruel howled in pain, but as his blood dripped between his fingers, he was finally free from his brother's control.

Chapter 7: Homeward Winds: Ambassadors of Two Worlds

With Hasruel's life now safely within Jamal's dog (at least until nature took its course), the balance of power shifted. Hasruel banished his brother Dalzel to a remote island that appeared only once every hundred years, sending Abdullah's fat nieces – whom he had rescued from the Sultan's prison – along as Dalzel's brides. "I shall have to find some place of exile in the far deeps," Hasruel said sadly. "I have been wicked. I cannot again join the ranks of the Good Djinns." Wizard Howl, now freed from the genie bottle, suggested another solution. "Why not go to another world? There are many hundreds of other worlds, you know." Hasruel departed through a portal Howl created, and the castle began its descent to earth. As it sank, it shrank from its cloud-palace proportions back to a modest moving castle. The King of Ingary was so grateful for Princess Valeria's return that he created two new posts called Ambassadors Extraordinary and gave those positions to Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night. Their wedding made history, with fourteen princesses as bridesmaids and the King himself giving the bride away. Prince Justin married Princess Beatrice, having fallen in love with her practical nature and straightforward manner. Sophie and Howl returned to their moving castle with baby Morgan, now restored to human form. Jamal became the royal cook in High Norland, his dog elevated to royal guard. When the angels departed with Hasruel's life the next morning, the dog stopped scratching at last. As for Abdullah's father's prophecy that he would be "raised above all others in the land," it had come true in an unexpected way. As Ambassador Extraordinary, he now represented Ingary throughout the known worlds. Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night built a modest house in the Chipping Valley with gardens that soon became one of the wonders of the land. It was said that Abdullah had help in their design from at least one of the Royal Wizards, for how else could even an Ambassador have a bluebell wood that grew bluebells all the year around?

Summary

The carpet merchant who once lived on daydreams found his life transformed beyond imagination. Abdullah's journey took him from a humble booth in Zanzib to flying carpets, desert bandits, and castles in the air. Along the way, he discovered that the line between dreams and reality was far thinner than he had imagined. What began as a desperate rescue mission culminated in international diplomacy, with Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night becoming bridges between kingdoms. The prophecies that had shaped their lives – that Abdullah would be raised above others and that Flower-in-the-Night would marry the first man she saw – came true in ways neither could have predicted. In the bluebell-filled gardens of their home in the Chipping Valley, Abdullah no longer needed daydreams. The reality he had found with Flower-in-the-Night surpassed any fantasy. They traveled the world as ambassadors, introducing princesses to their homelands and forging alliances between kingdoms. And sometimes, on clear evenings, they would watch the sunset paint the clouds in gold and ruby, remembering the floating islands and cloud castles where their greatest adventure unfolded. In those quiet moments, with Flower-in-the-Night's hand in his, Abdullah understood that the most fantastical journeys often lead us to the place we truly belong.

About Author

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Diana Wynne Jones

Jones synthesizes intricate fantasy worlds with elements of science fiction and humor, creating an influential body of work that continues to captivate readers. Her narratives often explore parallel universes and magical realms, reflecting her deep engagement with fantastical storytelling. Among her renowned works, "Howl's Moving Castle" stands out for its innovative approach, while the Chrestomanci series and "The Dalemark Quartet" showcase her ability to weave complex plots with rich character development. By juxtaposing whimsy and critique, as seen in "Dark Lord of Derkholm" and "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland," Jones challenges conventional fantasy tropes and invites readers to question the boundaries of the genre.\n\nHer books have gained popularity alongside the Harry Potter series, drawing comparisons that highlight her impact on modern fantasy literature. Her writing not only entertains but also influences aspiring writers and fantasy enthusiasts. The vivid and often satirical worlds she creates encourage readers to embrace imaginative exploration and critical thinking. As a celebrated author, she received numerous accolades, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, cementing her legacy in the literary world. Her work resonates with a wide audience, from young adults to seasoned fantasy readers, who find both escapism and reflection within her stories.\n\nJones's unique approach was shaped by her academic experiences at Oxford, where she attended lectures by notable figures like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. This foundation, combined with her lifelong dedication to writing, is reflected in the depth and variety of her works. "The Islands of Chaldea," her final book completed posthumously by her sister, encapsulates her enduring influence on fantasy literature. Through her inventive narratives and insightful critiques, Jones continues to inspire a diverse readership, fostering a deeper appreciation for the genre's potential.

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