“The Ruby Princess?” Pip asked as he returned with the wet cloth.
Applesap nodded miserably. “I was giving it to the great wizard Gallivant. He was to place the ruby in it and crown our princess.”
Roxanne’s heart went out to the little gnome. “Dear Mr. Applesap,” she said as she gently cleaned his wound with the wet cloth. “You can make another crown, just as nice as the first one.”
“And I can fly you to the Jewel Palace,” Hapgood offered.
“But I can’t go to the palace empty-handed,” Applesap said. “What would the princess think?”
“She would think you were a very sweet man who’s had an awful experience,” Roxanne replied. “And she would invite you to have a nice cup of wildroot tea with her.”
Applesap laughed. “I wish.”
“But you don’t have to worry about that,” Pip cut in. “The princess has disappeared. Run away.”
Marigold shook her head. “That’s not true. We saw the princess crossing Buttercup Meadow.”
“What?!” Roxanne and Pip gasped.
“Marigold’s right,” Applesap said. “The princess was traveling in a beautiful glass coach. She was dressed all in red.”
Marigold pointed to the hem of Roxanne’s dress peeking out from under her cloak. “Like your dress there, miss.”
Roxanne leaped to her feet. “Are you sure about this?”
“Cross my heart,” Marigold said.
“I even heard a knight in coal-black armor cry, ‘Make way for the Ruby Princess!’ ” Applesap said.
Roxanne turned to Hapgood. “We have to go to the palace right now.”
“But why?” Hapgood asked.
Roxanne tilted her chin high and declared, “Because that princess is an impostor!”
Roxanne stared at the dragon and the two little gnomes. None of them had moved a muscle.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” she repeated. “That princess is not a real princess.”
“How—how do you know that?” Marigold asked.
“Because … because …” Roxanne turned to Pip for help.
“Because she is a friend of the princess’s,” Pip explained quickly.
“That’s right.” Roxanne nodded. “We’re the best of friends.”
“And,” Pip continued, “she knows that the princess ran away.”
Applesap squinted one eye shut. “But why would the princess want to run away?”
Roxanne took a deep breath. “You see … the princess told me she doesn’t feel ready to rule a whole land. She doesn’t know how.”
Marigold and Applesap looked at each other and back at Roxanne.
“But I thought she was trained for that sort of thing,” Applesap said.
“She was.” Roxanne tore another strip of cloth from her petticoat as she explained, “The princess had her own teacher. They studied the Sad Times.”
“Ah, yes.” Hapgood nodded. “When Lord Bleak and the Dreadlings ruled our kingdom.”
Roxanne tied the bandage tightly around Applesap’s leg. “The princess learned geography and science, too. She studied the kingdom’s lands and the creatures that live in them.”
“Did she learn to dance?” Marigold asked. “I love dancing.”
“Oh yes!” Roxanne giggled. “And how to sing, too.”
“How nice.” Marigold nodded pleasantly.
“She studied math, and different languages, and the way the world works,” Roxanne finished. “But no one taught her how to rule.”
Marigold shrugged. “If you ask me, ruling is very simple.”
“All we ask is that our princess have a keen ear and a kind heart,” Applesap said.
“So that she might hear our problems and help us solve them,” Marigold added.
“That’s all?” Roxanne asked. “That just sounds like being a friend.”
Marigold and Applesap smiled.
“That’s right,” Marigold said. “We would like the Ruby Princess to be our friend.”
Roxanne looked confused. “But that’s easy.”
“For some,” Hapgood observed. “But not for everyone.”
Pip fluttered anxiously overhead.
“I hate to break up this tea party,” he cut in. “But someone must go to the palace. We have to stop them from crowning the wrong princess.”
“I’ll go!” Hapgood cried, rising up on his hind legs. “And I’ll take all of you with me. Hop on my back.”
Marigold helped Applesap to his feet. The two gnomes climbed carefully onto the dragon’s shoulders.
Roxanne frowned. “There really isn’t room for all three of us.”
“Then I’ll stay,” Applesap declared. “And you go. My leg feels much better, thanks to you.”
Roxanne was torn. She knew she should go to the palace immediately. But Applesap was hurt. They couldn’t leave him on the road. What if the Dreadlings came back?
“Applesap, you’re hurt,” Roxanne finally said. “You should ride. And, Marigold, you should go with your husband. I can follow on foot.”
“Then I’ll travel with you,” Pip said, hopping off Hapgood’s neck.
“I’ll take Applesap and Marigold to the palace,” the dragon said. “But how can we stop the coronation?”
“You don’t need to stop it,” Roxanne said. “Just delay it. I’ll bring proof that she’s a fake.”
“We’ll do our best.” Hapgood unfolded his mighty red wings. “Be careful, Lady Roxanne of the Rushing River.”
Roxanne placed one hand over her heart. “I’ll be very careful.”
With a swoosh, Hapgood rose into the air. “And if anything unpleasant happens, use the magic shield.”
Roxanne waved at the gnomes clinging to the dragon’s neck. “I’ll see you both at the Jewel Palace.”
Hapgood wheeled in a circle and ordered, “Take the shortcut. You’ll save time.”
“Where is it?” Pip called.
The dragon boomed a reply that Roxanne did not want to hear.
“Through the Mysterious Forest!”
Roxanne and Pip followed a winding path deep into the Mysterious Forest. It was darker and colder than Roxanne had imagined.
“Pip?” Roxanne whispered.
“Yes, Princess?” Pip whispered back. He was riding on her shoulder.
“I’m scared.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Pip replied, “so am I. Look.” He held up one red wing. “All of my feathers are shaking.”
The trees in the forest were twisted. The bushes were covered with long thorns. The smell of rotting leaves hung in the air.
A thorny branch reached out and tore Roxanne’s skirt.
“Help!” Roxanne squeaked. “That bush tried to grab me.”
“I wish we’d taken the long route,” Pip muttered. “I don’t like this place one bit. It feels evil.”
“It is,” Roxanne said with a gulp. “You said there is a secret path here that leads directly to Castle Dread. But where is it?”
“I don’t know. That’s why it’s called a secret path.” Pip pecked Roxanne on the top of the head. “Walk faster, would you?”
Roxanne tried to go faster. But every step was hard. Thick roots tripped her feet. Tangled vines dropped from above and pulled at her hair.
Suddenly, she stopped dead.
“What is it?” Pip asked. “Why are we stopping?”
“Voices,” Roxanne whispered. “I hear voices. Just around the blackthorn bush.”
“I’ll go see.” Pip left Roxanne’s shoulder. He flew to the bend in the path.
All of Pip’s feathers stood on end. He opened his beak, but no sound came out.
“What is it, Pip?” Roxanne whispered, creeping up beside him.
“Those Dreadlings!” he croaked. “The three from the bridge. They’re camped ahead. Turn back!”
“We can’t, Pip. We have to get to the palace.”
“But the Dreadlings,” Pip cried. “They’ll stop us.”
&n
bsp; Roxanne remembered the shield Hapgood had given her. “Not if they can’t see us.”
“What do you mean?” Pip asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Roxanne held up the shield and smiled. “We’ll hide, Pip. Hop on my shoulder. We’ll be invisible.”
Once Pip was on her shoulder, Roxanne held the shield in front of her and murmured the words Hapgood had taught her:
“Magic shield with power so bright,
Hide us from all others’ sight.”
“Now let’s go,” she whispered.
Pip tapped her cheek. “Be careful, Princess.”
Three Dreadlings in black capes were huddled around a map.
Roxanne started to tiptoe past, but something they said stopped her.
“Our plan is working perfectly,” the leader said in a deep voice.
“Can you believe our good luck?” the shortest one snorted. “We were supposed to kidnap Princess Roxanne, but she saved us the trouble by running away.”
The third one laughed hoarsely. “With the real Roxanne out of the way, we can put our own princess on the throne.”
“Our princess is already at the palace. I sent the carriage there myself,” the shortest Dreadling declared.
“Have you taken care of the shape-changing mask?” the leader asked.
“Yes, Princess Rudgrin is wearing it. She is now Roxanne’s mirror image.”
“Rudgrin?” Roxanne whispered to Pip. “Isn’t she the daughter of Lord Bleak? I thought she and her father were banished from our kingdom forever.”
“They were,” Pip replied. “And the evil Dreadlings were, too. But it looks like they’re back.”
“With Rudgrin securely on the throne in the Red Mountains,” the Dreadling leader said, “we can then replace the other Jewel princesses, one by one.”
Roxanne’s eyes widened. “They are planning to take over the Jewel Kingdom!”
“Oh dear! Oh dear! We have to keep them from leaving the forest,” Pip fretted. “But how?”
Roxanne looked around the Dreadlings’ campsite.
Two giant roothogs and a gray-winged gorax were tied at the edge of the clearing. The roothogs were pulling up the roots of some blackthorn bushes with their tusks.
“I’ve got an idea,” Roxanne said.
“What is it?”
“Those two roothogs and that gorax must be their rides,” Roxanne whispered. “If we can tie the bird and the hogs to one another, then we can stall the Dreadlings.”
“And that will give us enough time to run to the palace for help,” Pip whispered.
“Exactly,” Roxanne replied. “But we better hurry. I don’t know how long this shield will hide us.”
Roxanne slipped as silently as she could through the thick brush, grabbing a rope from beside the Dreadlings.
She tied the first roothog’s reins to the other roothog.
Then she made a large loop and swung that over the gorax’s head.
Grrawk! The bird shrieked as the rope tightened around its neck.
Roxanne froze.
“What was that?” The tallest Dreadling spun to look at the bird.
For the first time, Roxanne got a glimpse of a Dreadling’s face.
She was surprised at what she saw. His face was absolutely normal. But his eyes were frightening. Two lifeless holes that looked like shiny black stones.
Roxanne shivered. What if the Dreadlings really did take over the Jewel Kingdom? They would make it a horrible place to live. And it would be all her fault!
“I won’t let that happen!” she declared to herself.
“What’s that?” the leader asked the other Dreadlings. “Did one of you speak?”
“It must have been the gorax,” the short Dreadling replied. “She hasn’t been the same since we crossed the Dismal Sea.”
“Back to our plan,” the leader said, rolling up the map. “With Rudgrin safely on the throne, there is only one thing left to do: find the real Ruby Princess and take her back to Castle Dread.”
“Never!” Roxanne blurted out.
The Dreadlings turned just as the shield’s magic wore off.
“Well, look who’s here!” the leader hissed. “We’re in luck!”
“Pip,” Roxanne cried. “We’re no longer invisible!”
“Run!”
“Seize her!”
Two Dreadlings lunged for Roxanne. She fell backward into the gray-winged gorax.
“Pip!” Roxanne cried. “I have an idea.”
She leaped onto the gorax and nudged its sides with her heels.
“Fly!” she ordered.
The gorax croaked. With a heavy flapping of its gray wings, it lifted her off the ground.
“Stop!” the Dreadlings shrieked, leaping onto the roothogs.
“The bird is tied to the roothogs,” Pip cried. “It’s lifting them off the ground!”
“Higher!” Roxanne urged the gorax. The great bird dragged the hogs and riders into the top branches of a tree.
“They’re all tangled up!” Pip reported with glee.
“Cut the rope!” Roxanne ordered. “Or we’ll be pulled back down.”
“Leave it to me!” With a sharp rat-a-tat of his beak, Pip sliced the rope in two.
“Yes!” Roxanne cried as the gorax flew out of the trees. She prodded the gorax with her heels and commanded, “To the palace!”
“Well done!” Pip cheered as they swooped out of the Mysterious Forest and flew toward the palace.
Roxanne wanted to smile. But she couldn’t.
“We can’t celebrate yet, Pip. We still have to stop Rudgrin!”
When they reached the palace gates, Roxanne saw two tiny figures waving frantically.
“It’s Applesap and Marigold!” she shouted. “Down, gorax!”
The beast obediently glided to a halt near the waiting gnomes.
“Thank heavens you’re here,” Applesap cried as he limped forward. “Marigold and I tried to delay the crowning but they wouldn’t listen to us.”
“We told them about the Dreadlings stealing our crown,” Marigold wailed. “But they insisted they already had the crown.”
“And they do!” Applesap said. “The one the Dreadlings stole from me.”
“Where’s Hapgood?” Roxanne asked.
“He went back to look for you,” Marigold said.
Ta-ra ta-ra ta-ra!
“Trumpets!” Pip gasped. “They signal the coronation of the princesses. Oh no! We’re too late!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Roxanne leaped off the gorax and dashed up the palace steps.
When she reached the throne room, Roxanne clasped the jeweled door handles with both hands and took a deep breath. “Here goes!”
She threw open the doors. The great wizard Gallivant had already crowned Roxanne’s three cousins. Now he was presenting the Ruby Crown to Princess Rudgrin.
Roxanne’s velvet gown was torn. Her hair was tangled with blackthorns. But she knew who she was and announced it in a loud, clear voice.
“I am Princess Roxanne, the Ruby Princess of the Jewel Kingdom, ruler of the Red Mountains,” she cried. “And I command you to stop!”
The Emerald Princess, the Sapphire Princess, and the Diamond Princess turned and stared.
Friends and family from all four kingdoms, including the young knights, stared.
Even King Regal and Queen Gemma were staring.
First at Roxanne. Then at the girl who sat on the throne.
“They’re identical!” Queen Gemma cried.
“That girl is an impostor!” Roxanne declared. “Her name is Rudgrin. She’s the daughter of Lord Bleak from Castle Dread.”
Princess Sabrina and Princess Emily gasped at the mention of the Dreadling lord. Princess Demetra looked shocked.
“If this is true, why does she look like the Ruby Princess?” King Regal demanded.
“Because Rudgrin is wearing a mask,” Roxanne replied.
“Guards!” Rudgrin sh
rieked. “Arrest her.” She pointed at Roxanne. “She’s the impostor.”
Roxanne put both hands on her hips. “You are a liar.”
“Oh dear,” Queen Gemma cried. “What are we going to do?” She turned to Rudgrin. “This young lady certainly looks like Roxanne.”
Then the queen faced Roxanne. “But this girl, with the torn dress and messy hair, acts like Roxanne.”
Gallivant stepped forward. “There is only one way to find out who is the true Ruby Princess.”
“How?” King Regal asked.
Gallivant fixed his stern gaze on Roxanne and Rudgrin. “Which of you bears the sign?”
“Sign?” Rudgrin repeated. “What sign?”
“The mark of the Jewel Princess,” Gallivant boomed. “It is something every princess is born with.”
Roxanne smiled first at her cousins and then at the wizard.
“I bear the mark,” she said, stepping forward.
She raised her right arm and carefully turned back the cuff of her sleeve. There, for all the world to see, was a ruby teardrop on her wrist.
“The birthmark in the shape of her ruby!” Gallivant declared. “She who bears the mark will wear the crown.”
Then Emily, Demetra, and Sabrina raised their wrists. They, too, had a mark in the shape of their jewel.
Suddenly, their crowns began to gleam.
“Look!” a lady-in-waiting gasped. “The jewels! They’re glowing.”
Pip, who had been hiding behind Roxanne, fluttered to Rudgrin. “You fake! Take off your mask.”
“Noooo!” howled Rudgrin as Pip peeled the mask off her face with his beak.
The court gasped when her face was revealed. She had the same blank eyes and face as the Dreadlings and looked nothing like Roxanne.
In the blink of an eye, Rudgrin was whisked out of the throne room by the palace guards. And Roxanne was ushered to the king and queen.
“I am so sorry,” Roxanne said, hugging the queen tightly. “I nearly ruined everything.”
Queen Gemma smoothed Roxanne’s hair. “We’re just glad to know you’re safe.”
The Ruby Princess Runs Away Page 2
