Gotta Warn the Unicorns!

by Nancy Krulik

  The old unicorn looked at Fortune, but did not leap to his feet to greet him as the others had. Princess Pulverizer doubted he could. He looked so tired and frail.

  “I wonder how long he’s been sitting there,” Dribble said.

  Princess Pulverizer figured it was possible he’d been there all along—even when they’d first brought Fortune here to look for his blessing. He blended in so well with the willows, it was impossible to see him.

  The other unicorns gathered around the old unicorn. They moved in, blocking him from sight.

  Protecting him.

  But they couldn’t keep the old unicorn safe here forever. Sooner or later, the knights would find their way out of that corn maze and come back here—to where Gordon must have first spotted the old unicorn.

  And while Princess Pulverizer, Lucas, and Dribble had the power of three, so did Gordon, Filippo, and Humphrey. To make matters worse, they were already knights, with more weapons than the princess and her pals had. That was not a battle Princess Pulverizer could win.

  But the princess was not giving up. She would save all the unicorns. There had to be a way. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what it was.

  Yet.

  Chapter 10

  How can we get the old unicorn moving?

  Princess Pulverizer was struggling to come up with an idea. But so far not a single plan had come into her head.

  “Do you think our mace would heal him?” Lucas wondered.

  Princess Pulverizer knew Lucas was talking about the huge mace they’d received as a gift from the king of Yabko-kokomo. It had the power to heal the wounds of anyone on the side of all that was good and right.

  “It’s worth a try.” Dribble lifted the heavy golden mace and waved it over the unicorn.

  Then they waited.

  And waited.

  And waited.

  “Nothing’s happening,” Lucas said finally.

  “Maybe this unicorn isn’t a good guy?” Dribble wondered.

  Princess Pulverizer shook her head. “I don’t think being a good guy has anything to do with it,” she said. “The problem is, he isn’t injured. He’s just old. Even a magic mace can’t change that.”

  “Too bad we can’t just put him in a giant carriage and give him a ride,” Lucas said.

  “Lucas, you’re a genius!” Princess Pulverizer exclaimed.

  “Thanks,” Lucas replied proudly. Then he paused and thought for a moment. “Wait. Why am I a genius?”

  Princess Pulverizer didn’t answer. She was too busy rolling a thick fallen log toward the middle of the meadow.

  “What are you doing?” Dribble asked her, confused.

  “Building a carriage,” Princess Pulverizer responded. “Well, probably more like a sled. For the old unicorn.”

  “A sled?” Dribble repeated, still confused.

  “Yup!” Princess Pulverizer rolled another old log over.

  “Don’t you think he’s a bit too old to go sledding?” Dribble asked. “And I don’t see any snow on the ground.”

  “It’s more like he’s going to go sliding,” Princess Pulverizer explained. “We’ll get the old unicorn on the sled. Then the rest of his blessing can pull him someplace safe.”

  “How do you propose we build a sled?” Dribble asked her.

  “We’ll use strands of ivy to tie logs and branches together,” the princess replied.

  “Are unicorns powerful enough to pull a sled?” Lucas wondered.

  “According to Unicorns from A to Z, they are strong enough to defeat elephants,” the princess answered. “So I imagine so.”

  Dribble went over to a large tree. He leaped up and grabbed on to a thick branch. Then he hung there in midair, his feet dangling.

  “What are you doing?” Princess Pulverizer asked him. “We don’t have time for you to practice your pull-ups.”

  “I’m not exercising,” Dribble said. “I’m—”

  Crack! The branch broke off from the tree and Dribble landed hard on the ground.

  “—helping you,” Dribble continued, dragging the thick branch over to where the princess was building her sled. “How much more wood will we need?”

  * * *

  “Push harder!” Princess Pulverizer ordered. “We’ve almost got him on the sled.”

  “I’m trying,” Dribble replied as he pushed hard on the unicorn’s back end. “Unicorns are heavy.”

  The old unicorn let out a small moan.

  “Careful. You don’t want to break him,” Lucas said.

  “I don’t think you can break a unicorn,” Dribble replied. “Besides, he’s on the sled now.”

  “Great!” Princess Pulverizer exclaimed. “I’ll hand the reins to the other unicorns, and they can get pulling.”

  “How are we going to get them to understand that we want them to pull?” Dribble asked her.

  Princess Pulverizer frowned. “No idea.”

  “Maybe we could show them how to do it,” Lucas suggested.

  “That’s a good idea,” Princess Pulverizer agreed. “I’ll pretend to be the old unicorn, and you two can pull me.”

  The princess sat down and held tight to the ends of two vines. “Now, you guys take the other ends and pull.”

  Dribble and Lucas each pulled hard on the vines. The princess slid along on her bottom.

  The unicorns didn’t move.

  “They don’t get it,” Princess Pulverizer said. “Maybe you guys should prance—you know, like unicorns do.”

  “Are you kidding?” Dribble bellowed.

  “Come on, Dribble,” Lucas pleaded. “For Fortune and his friends.”

  “Fine,” Dribble grumbled. He and Lucas began to prance while Princess Pulverizer scooted around on her rear end.

  Fortune and his friends looked at them strangely. And then . . .

  The unicorns began to prance!

  “They understand!” Princess Pulverizer exclaimed. “This is going to work!”

  * * *

  As she fastened one end of the reins securely around Fortune’s middle, Princess Pulverizer whispered into his ear. “Stay safe.”

  Fortune nuzzled against her. Then he turned to the others in his blessing and let out a powerful shout. In a flash, the team of unicorns was off, pulling the sled that carried the eldest of them deep into the woods.

  “Will they be okay?” Lucas wondered.

  “Unicorns have been hiding for a very long time,” Dribble assured him.

  “I’m going to miss Fortune,” Princess Pulverizer admitted. She blinked hard.

  “Are you crying?” Dribble asked.

  Princess Pulverizer wiped her eyes. “No,” she lied. “It’s these flowers. You’re not the only one who can have allergies.”

  Dribble smiled. “We did a very good deed,” he assured her.

  “Only we didn’t get a token of gratitude,” Lucas told Princess Pulverizer. “This good deed won’t help you on your Quest of Kindness. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Princess Pulverizer said with a shrug. “Fortune’s blessing got away safely. That’s what’s important. Let’s go into the city and buy some fresh supplies so we can move on.”

  As Princess Pulverizer headed back toward Leononia, Dribble and Lucas stood there, staring at her.

  “Boy, she’s really changed,” Lucas said.

  “Definitely,” Dribble agreed.

  “What are you waiting for?” Princess Pulverizer demanded. “I swear, from now on, I’m going to call you two Slow and Poke!”

  Dribble rolled his eyes. “Or, maybe not,” he grumbled as he followed the princess down the road.

  Chapter 11

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU COULDN’T FIND THAT UNICORN?”

  King Harvey’s squeaky voice hurt Princess Pulverizer’s ears as she stood near
the castle gates, hidden behind a group of hungry people who had gathered to cheer the knights’ return.

  The king, too, had been waiting at the gate, eager to greet his knights when they returned with a unicorn horn. But they’d returned empty-handed.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Humphrey apologized. “We tried, but the unicorns have disappeared.”

  “I want a unicorn horn!” King Harvey began jumping up and down like a toddler having a tantrum. “I want one! I want one!”

  Princess Pulverizer laughed so hard she snorted. Loudly.

  The people around her moved away quickly. No one wanted to be near anyone who laughed at King Harvey.

  “I know you!” King Harvey shouted as he spotted the princess. “You’re that know-it-all. And . . . YIKES! Is that a dragon?”

  “Yes,” Princess Pulverizer answered. “But you don’t have to worry about Dribble. He’s . . .”

  “You’re a spy!” King Harvey declared. “Not only have you returned accompanied by a knight ready for battle, you’ve brought a dragon to burn down my castle.”

  “I’m only a knight-in-training,” Lucas said. “Or I used to be, before some mean kids laughed me out of Knight School.”

  “And I don’t burn down castles,” Dribble insisted. “I make grilled cheese.”

  “Bring the enemies to my quarters!” the king ordered. “I’ll question them myself.”

  * * *

  “When we met, you seemed to know a lot about unicorns,” King Harvey reminded Princess Pulverizer a few minutes later. “You must know where they are hiding.”

  “I have no idea,” Princess Pulverizer replied.

  The sword of truth lay still by the princess’s side. She really didn’t know where Fortune and his blessing had gone.

  “Tell me,” King Harvey insisted, “or you will all spend the rest of your days in my dungeon.”

  “Oh dear.” Lucas looked as though he might cry.

  Princess Pulverizer didn’t blame him. That sounded pretty dismal. She struggled to think of some way to make the king happy. But before she could come up with anything, there was a knock at the door.

  “Who goes there?” a guard demanded.

  “Professor Coggin-Noggin of the Royal University. I must speak to the king about unicorns.”

  Princess Pulverizer and her friends exchanged nervous glances.

  “Enter!” King Harvey squealed excitedly.

  “Your majesty, you can end your search for the unicorns,” Professor Coggin-Noggin declared as he hurried into the room.

  “Why would I do that?” King Harvey demanded.

  “Because unicorns do not exist,” Professor Coggin-Noggin replied. “They’re only found in fairy tales. I’ve done my research. And I am the smartest person in Leononia.”

  “I beg your pardon?” King Harvey squeaked angrily.

  “Other than you, of course,” Professor Coggin-Noggin corrected himself.

  Princess Pulverizer rolled her eyes. If Professor Coggin-Noggin was the smartest man in Leononia, this place was in trouble. Because unicorns did exist.

  But she didn’t say that. She’d learned her lesson. The unicorns were safer if folks thought they were make-believe.

  “Now that the unicorn question has been settled, we’ll be on our way,” she said instead.

  “You aren’t going anywhere!” King Harvey told her. “You’re still in trouble. You came to my banquet under false pretenses. You’re no princess.”

  “She is,” Lucas insisted. “She’s just a different kind of princess. She’s more like a knight.”

  “She’s more like an enemy,” King Harvey corrected him. “I don’t trust any of you. So I’m going to keep you where you can’t hurt me—in the dungeon!”

  A bead of nervous perspiration dripped from the princess’s upper lip.

  Oh no! She’d broken one of her father’s knights’ most important rules: Never let your enemies see you sweat.

  The princess started to wipe her face with her hand, but Dribble kindly handed her his handkerchief. The princess used the cloth to wipe away the beads of sweat that had formed just below her nose.

  Suddenly she smelled flowers—Queen Anne’s lace, lavender, yarrow, and foxglove.

  How strange. There wasn’t a single blossom in the room.

  But there were flowers outside the castle walls. By holding Dribble’s magic handkerchief near her nose, Princess Pulverizer was able to smell things that were far away.

  If only King Harvey weren’t so afraid all the time. If only he could just relax. Take a little time to smell the . . .

  Flowers!

  “That’s it!” Princess Pulverizer shouted out excitedly. “You don’t need a unicorn horn. You can protect yourself just by visiting flower shops.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” the king scoffed.

  “It’s not,” Princess Pulverizer insisted. “Some people say that flowers have mystical powers—like the ability to protect against evil. I learned about it in Lady Frump’s flower-arranging class.”

  At the time, Princess Pulverizer had thought learning about flowers was really silly. But that knowledge actually might come in handy now.

  “There’s columbine, flower of loyalty,” she continued. “Violets safeguard against evil. Queen Anne’s lace is a symbol of a safe space, and yarrow is the symbol of good health.”

  “Why have I never heard of the power of flowers?” King Harvey wondered.

  “Because you never went to the Royal School of Ladylike Manners, I suppose,” Princess Pulverizer replied.

  “What do you think of this, Coggin-Noggin?” King Harvey asked.

  “A cup of lavender tea did soothe my stomach after I ate brussels sprouts at supper last Sunday,” the professor said. “I hate brussels sprouts. They smell like feet.”

  “Feet that haven’t been washed,” Princess Pulverizer added.

  Ahem. King Harvey cleared his throat. “Can we get back to my problem?”

  “I suppose there is some proof that flowers can protect humans from ailments,” Professor Coggin Noggin told him. “Perhaps even illnesses brought on by poisoning.”

  “Fine,” the king said. “I shall send my knights out to pick all the wildflowers in the countryside.”

  “NO!” Princess Pulverizer shouted.

  “Why not?” the king demanded.

  The princess did not want the knights going anywhere near wildflowers. They might stumble upon the unicorns eating.

  “Those wildflowers are helping keep your subjects in the countryside safe,” the princess said, thinking quickly. “As a good king, you want that, right?”

  “Um . . . of course,” King Harvey replied. But he sounded less worried about his subjects than himself.

  “Why not purchase flowers from shop owners?” Lucas added. “It would help their businesses. If you buy flowers, everyone will.”

  “I am a trendsetter,” the king agreed. “Guard, send my knights out to all the florists. Tell them to come back with the biggest bouquets ever seen.”

  As the guard left to deliver the message, King Harvey shot Princess Pulverizer and her pals a stern look. “This had best not be a trick,” he warned. “Or you will be sorry.”

  Chapter 12

  This better work. Princess Pulverizer’s mind raced nervously as she watched King Harvey take a bite of his three-bean salad. If the king thought for one moment he was being poisoned, she and her friends were in big trouble.

  AAACHOOO! Dribble let out a massive sneeze.

  “Silence!” King Harvey shouted at him.

  “I can’t help it,” Dribble replied. “There are so many flowers here.” AAACHOOO!

  Lucas patted his friend on the back and bit his lip nervously. Being brave didn’t come naturally to Lucas.

  Princess Pulverizer looked around the b
anquet hall. No wonder Dribble was sneezing. There were an awful lot of flowers.

  Gladioli for faithfulness.

  Heather and foxgloves for protection.

  And giant sunflowers for health and vitality. The king had taken the princess’s advice very seriously.

  This better work.

  “Your chamomile-flower tea, sir.” The butler poured steaming yellow tea into the king’s cup.

  “This better work,” King Harvey told the princess.

  Exactly what I was thinking, she agreed silently.

  The king took a sip of the tea. Immediately his face turned beet red and his eyes began to bulge.

  Princess Pulverizer’s heart started pounding. Had King Harvey really been poisoned?

  “Too hot!” King Harvey shouted.

  Phew. Is that all?

  “Tea is best served hot, your majesty,” Professor Coggin-Noggin reminded him. “Perhaps you should blow on it.”

  “Very wise, Professor.” The king blew on the tea and took a big sip.

  “Do you feel ill, your majesty?” Professor Coggin-Noggin asked.

  The king touched his stomach.

  He wiggled around in his seat.

  And opened his mouth as if to burp.

  But not a single sound came out of him.

  “I feel quite well!” the king announced happily. “The flowers protected me from being poisoned.”

  More likely the chamomile tea had settled the gas in his stomach. But Princess Pulverizer was willing to let the king believe anything he wanted, as long as she could leave Leononia. She was a know-it-all no more.

  “Right,” Princess Pulverizer told the king. “Now that you’re safe, we’ll be going. Nice to have met you.”

  The princess hurried toward the door, with Lucas and Dribble following close behind.

  “Guards! Stop them!” King Harvey ordered.