“Yes, I think you should,” replied Lady Malika. “And you as well, Prince Olaf.”
The girls trooped upstairs, said good night, and closed their doors. Lulu waited until she’d heard Olaf’s bedroom door click shut and her aunt’s door close, too. Then she opened hers a tiny crack. Emily, Clarabel, and Jaminta were peeking out of their rooms as well. Quietly, with their very best ninja steps, they prowled downstairs and out into the garden.
“I just hope this works on that lock,” murmured Jaminta, tucking the fork she’d borrowed into her pocket.
The princesses reached the garden shed in seconds and crouched down next to the door in the ground. The rectangle of wood was easy to see now that its covering of earth was swept to one side. Jaminta wiggled one prong of the fork inside the lock. She twisted and jiggled, until finally there was a low clunk.
“I think I did it,” she said. “Let’s try the handle again.”
Lulu and Emily grabbed the handle together and yanked it toward them. The rectangle of wood swung up with an enormous creak. A hole opened up in front of them, with broad stone steps stretching down into darkness.
“Where do you think it leads?” asked Clarabel.
“There’s only one way to find out,” replied Lulu, climbing down the steps. “But we have to be really quiet, in case a lion is loose down here.”
Clarabel gulped, then she and Emily followed Lulu carefully down the steps.
Jaminta found a wheelbarrow and parked it in front of the hole.
“It won’t hide the hole from close up,” she explained to the others, “but at least it’ll keep anyone from seeing it from far away. I don’t want to pull the door shut in case we can’t open it from the inside.”
“Good idea,” said Clarabel, shuddering at the thought of being trapped underground.
“We should have brought flashlights,” Lulu called back.
“I brought my light bracelet. You take it, Lulu.” Jaminta pulled an emerald bracelet from her pocket and passed it forward. The jewels lit up the tunnel with a bright green glow.
“Thanks!” Lulu held the bracelet in front of her and continued down the stone steps, followed by the others.
It seemed like a long way down. But when the stairs ended, they stood in a narrow tunnel with a floor of reddish earth. The air smelled musty.
They tiptoed through the passageway, finding their way by the light from the bracelet. At first the tunnel sloped down, until gradually it began to slope uphill again. The tunnel wall felt cool beneath Lulu’s fingers.
“I wonder how far we’ve gone,” murmured Emily.
“Hold on!” whispered Lulu. “I think I hear something.”
They stopped and listened. A faint sound of meowing drifted down the tunnel.
“It sounds like Tufty when he wants some milk,” said Clarabel.
Lulu’s heart beat faster. “It must be the missing lion cubs!”
Running silently, the princesses followed the sound. The tunnel twisted and turned, and the meowing grew louder.
At last, Lulu stopped at a bend and held up her hand to signal the others to wait. Breathing fast, she peered around the corner. Half of her wanted to find the missing cubs quickly and hug them all tight. The other half of her knew that if the lioness was nearby, then they were all in danger. Terrible danger.
At first, Lulu couldn’t see anything except darkness. Determined to be brave, she lifted up the bracelet and cast emerald light around the corner. Ahead of her stretched a cavern so vast that she couldn’t see across to the other side. The light from the jewels only just reached the high ceiling.
Something moved on one side of the cavern, and her heart missed a beat. “Oh no!” she cried. “The poor cubs!”
“What’s wrong?” asked the others, crowding behind her.
A small metal cage stood on the earthen floor, with the lioness and four cubs trapped inside it. The cubs moved restlessly, tumbling over one another and meowing. The lioness lay still, her eyes staring into the darkness.
Lulu ran toward the cage. But as she got close the lioness stiffened, then sprang up and snarled. Lulu stopped and backed away a little.
“She doesn’t know we’re trying to help her,” said Clarabel.
Lulu’s eyes flashed. “Whoever did this doesn’t care about animals at all! How could they put wild lions into a tiny cage like that?”
“The poor cubs look so unhappy,” said Clarabel, her blue eyes sad.
Lulu walked carefully around the cage until she found the side with the door.
“Stop, Lulu!” cried Emily. “The lioness could hurt us if we let them out. We need to find another way to do this!”
Lulu put her hands on her hips. She knew Emily was right. Walter had talked to her about safety many times.
“Look at this!” said Jaminta suddenly, touching the wall and gazing at her hand. Her fingers were covered with sparkling crystals.
“I know where we are!” Lulu gasped. “We’re inside Shimmer Rock. The stories about the mountain being hollow must be true.”
The princesses gazed around them. Instead of reddish earth, the walls of the cavern were studded with millions of little crystals, just like the ones that shimmered when moonlight struck the mountain.
“There are more cages over here.” Jaminta took the emerald bracelet from Lulu and shone it all around the cavern, revealing more metal cages, all standing empty. “Here’s another tunnel. I bet it leads out to the grasslands. That’s how someone brought the animals in here.”
Lulu looked at the metal bars of the lions’ cage. “We need to find a way to let the lions out that still gives us time to get away.”
“I know something that might work,” said Emily, shaking back her red hair. “Remember how looking at the purple amethyst gem made us feel sleepy? We could see if it has the same effect on the lions.”
“Do you really think that will work?” asked Clarabel.
“Maybe,” said Jaminta thoughtfully. “If they fall asleep, we can open the door safely. When they wake up again they can leave the cage by themselves.”
“That’s a great idea!” cried Lulu, making the lioness growl again. “Then they’ll find their way to the tunnel that leads to the grasslands. Lions have a really good sense of smell.”
“Lulu and I can go get the jewel,” said Jaminta.
“We’ll hide here and keep watch in case the lion stealers come back,” said Emily, and Clarabel nodded in agreement.
Lulu and Jaminta ran from the cavern, their feet thudding through the black tunnel. They’d left the emerald bracelet with Emily and Clarabel, so they kept a hand on the wall of the passageway to steady themselves. Dashing up the steps, they climbed out of the hole and ran across the garden. The full moon hung above the palace, and the call of a leopard drifted over from the grasslands.
Upstairs, they began searching for the amethyst in Jaminta’s bedroom.
“I’m sure I put it in here,” whispered Jaminta, opening a drawer and pulling out a small velvet bag.
Lulu held out her hand and Jaminta dropped the amethyst into it. Turning it over in her fingers, Lulu noticed its hexagonal shape and its heart of deepest purple. She yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand.
“The jewel works really fast,” she muttered to Jaminta, quickly putting it back in the velvet bag before she became any sleepier.
They were rushing out of Jaminta’s room toward the stairs, when Lulu noticed her own bedroom door standing wide open. Her stomach turned over. The door should be shut. She knew she’d closed it, so that Tufty didn’t get loose.
“Oh no, where’s Tufty?” she hissed, running inside. “Tufty! Where are you?” Her eyes flicked anxiously around the room.
“Maybe he’s hiding,” said Jaminta, looking behind a dresser.
Lulu pulled back her bed sheets, looking in her bed and then underneath it. Then she searched her closet, her drawers, and everywhere else she could think of.
Tufty was nowhere.
The creak of a floorboard made her turn around. Olaf was standing in the doorway.
Lulu leapt up. “Did you come in here tonight? Did you leave my door open?” she said fiercely.
Olaf’s spiky hair looked silvery in the moonlight. “It wasn’t me, but I did see somebody come in here. I watched them through a crack in my door. But it was too dark to see who it was.” He pushed up his baggy pajama sleeves.
“Did you hear anything strange?” asked Jaminta.
“There was a noise that sounded like an animal,” said Olaf.
“Tufty!” said Lulu sadly. “He’s a lion cub who lost his family.”
Olaf chuckled. “Were you taking care of him? I thought that you princesses were up to something! I guess that’s what the baby bottle was for, then?”
Lulu nodded, a hollow feeling growing inside her. She missed Tufty already.
“You can’t give up on him now,” said Olaf. “Here, take my flashlight and this chocolate. When the kings and queens wake up, I’ll tell them that you and your friends went for an early drive across the grasslands with Ally. That’ll give you lots of time to find him.”
Lulu stared at him. “You’d cover for us? After the way I’ve been really grumpy with you?”
“It would be my pleasure!” said Olaf, bowing grandly.
Lulu bit her lip to stop a smile. He looked so funny bowing in those baggy pajamas. But underneath, she felt awful about how she’d treated him. He’d seemed annoying, but now she could see he was actually very kind.
“Thank you, Olaf,” said Jaminta, taking the flashlight.
Lulu put the chocolate bar in her pocket and patted Olaf on the shoulder. “I’m really sorry I’ve been so snappy with you. When all this is over, you can use my gymnastics equipment as much as you want!”
Olaf smiled and bowed again. “Good luck, princesses!”
Lulu and Jaminta crept back out into the courtyard, pausing by the fountain.
“The person who stole Tufty must be the same person who captured the other lions,” cried Lulu. “They could be driving away with him right now!”
“I know,” said Jaminta. “But I think we should take the amethyst gem to Emily and Clarabel, and tell them what’s going on.”
They climbed down into the hole and turned on Olaf’s flashlight. Going down the steps and along the passageway would be much easier now that they had a light. They sprinted down the tunnel, the light bouncing as they ran. Turning the corner, they stopped inside the vast cavern with its walls of glittering crystals. Emily and Clarabel hurried over to meet them.
“Did you find the amethyst?” asked Clarabel.
Lulu held it out to show them, as she tried to catch her breath. “Don’t look at it for too long,” she warned them. “It makes you sleepy really fast.”
“We explored the cavern and found another way out,” Emily told her. “There’s a wider tunnel that leads to the foot of the mountain.”
“We’re sure that the lioness will catch the scent of the grasslands and escape that way,” added Clarabel.
“Great! After we’ve released these lions, we have to go and look for Tufty,” said Lulu, and she explained how Olaf had seen someone take the little cub from her room.
“Poor Tufty! There’s no time to lose!” said Emily. “Let’s see if the amethyst works.”
Lulu crept toward the lions’ cage with the amethyst hidden in the palm of her hand. The little cubs took no notice of her. But as she came closer, the lioness began a long, low growl. Crouching down slowly, Lulu laid the amethyst next to the bars of the cage. The lioness stared at it and the cubs bounced over to look, spellbound by its sparkling purple shape.
Lulu hurried back to the others and made them turn away from the jewel.
“If we’re not careful, we’ll end up staring at it,” she hissed. “Then we’ll fall asleep, too.” She nudged Clarabel, who was taking a sideways peek at the amethyst.
The minutes seemed endless as they waited. Finally, when the cave felt very still and quiet, Lulu dared to peek around.
“It worked!” she whispered.
All the lions were still, their furry golden bodies stretched out peacefully. Even the lioness had laid her head on the ground, her eyes shut tight.
Clarabel smiled. “The cubs look even cuter when they’re sleeping.”
“We have to be quick,” said Jaminta. “We don’t know how long they’ll sleep for.”
Lulu strode up to the cage door. But just as she was about to open it, footsteps came from the other end of the cave. She turned Olaf’s flashlight toward the sound, and a figure emerged from a tunnel, carrying a bundle.
Lulu’s mouth dropped open. It was Lady Malika.
When she saw the girls, Lady Malika stopped, her face twisting furiously.
“I don’t believe it!” whispered Emily.
But Lulu couldn’t speak. How could the thief be her aunt? It didn’t make sense. Then she remembered how her aunt had wanted the princesses to come and visit her, so that they would stay away from the grasslands. Her aunt had been awake last night, too, and could easily have taken Tufty.
“What are you nosy girls doing here?” snapped Lady Malika, her voice echoing around the cavern. “These are my beasts! I captured them and brought them here in my truck, ready to be put to work in the circus. I won’t have you meddlesome princesses getting in my way!”
Lulu recovered her voice. “You’re not taking them anywhere, and we’ll tell the king and queen unless you leave right now!”
“Dreadful princesses!” screeched Lady Malika. Then she dropped her bundle on the floor, turned on her heels, and fled back into the shadows.
Lulu breathed in sharply. Was the bundle what she hoped it would be? She raced across the cavern. Scooping it up, she kissed the furry ears and wriggly body of a little lion cub.
“Tufty! It’s really you!” She beamed at him in delight.
Inside the cage, the lioness rolled over with a grunt but didn’t open her eyes.
“Quickly, Lulu!” whispered Jaminta.
Holding Tufty under one arm, Lulu undid the latch of the cage and pulled. But the door didn’t budge.
“There’s a second latch, really high up,” said Emily, pointing at it.
Lulu put Tufty into Clarabel’s arms and stretched up to reach the other door latch. “I — can’t — get — to — it!” she said between clenched teeth.
Looking around, she noticed a piece of rock jutting out of the wall near the cage. She scrambled up onto it and looked down on the metal bars below her.
“Wait, Lulu! You aren’t going to jump, are you?” called Clarabel.
“I have to,” replied Lulu. Keeping her eyes on the metal roof, she made an enormous leap off the rock to land on the top of the cage with a bang. The lioness below her opened her eyes, then shut them again.
Holding her breath, Lulu crawled to the edge of the bars, stretched over, and flicked open the latch. Then she stood up, backflipped off the roof, and landed gracefully on the ground.
Jaminta swung the cage door open. Clarabel handed Tufty back to Lulu, who kissed him one more time and placed him gently in the cage. He scampered up to his brothers and sisters and lay down next to them with a happy meow. Lulu left the cage door open and backed away.
“Ready?” asked Jaminta, preparing to grab the amethyst.
Lulu looked at Tufty. She didn’t want to leave him, but she knew she had to give him this chance to be a wild cub again. “Yes, ready!” she said.
Jaminta grabbed the purple gem and they tiptoed out of the cavern. They crept around the corner into the narrow tunnel and broke into a run. Clarabel stumbled over a loose rock, but Lulu helped her up. Sprinting hard, they didn’t stop until they reached the bottom of the stone steps that led to the palace garden. A square of yellow light at the top told them that the sun would soon be rising.
The princesses paused, trying to catch their breath.
A deafening roar swept down the tunnel, making the floor and walls tremble.
“The lioness!” cried Lulu. “She woke up.”
They climbed as fast as they could and scrambled out of the hole at the top. Then together they heaved the old wooden door shut and pushed a wheelbarrow right on top of it, just to be sure that nothing could get out that way.
“We did it!” Emily bounced up and down. “We freed all the lions!”
“And Tufty got his family back again,” said Lulu.
As Jaminta tucked the amethyst sleep jewel away in her pocket, Clarabel noticed something else in her hand. “What’s that you’re holding, Jaminta?” she asked.
Jaminta held out one hand to show them dozens of sparkling stones. “I picked up some crystals inside the cave. I’m going to try making powerful jewels with them. If the Onica Heart Crystals were made from stones like these, they must be really special.”
A golden sun peeked over the horizon, sending a warm glow across the palace garden. The princesses sat down on the ground, their legs aching.
Lulu fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the chocolate that Olaf had given her. She broke off big pieces and handed them around. The chocolate tasted especially sweet after all that running down the tunnel.
“What a strange mystery that was,” said Emily. “The lions were hidden under the mountain all this time.”
“Not anymore.” Lulu smiled, her eyes sparkling. “I bet they’re already heading back to the grasslands, where they belong.”
The princesses stumbled, yawning, into breakfast that morning. They’d changed out of their dusty clothes into long silk dresses and their favorite tiaras, hoping that the kings and queens wouldn’t notice anything different.
Lulu shook back her curly black hair as she sat down at the table. She felt so sleepy, but a large helping of pancakes and syrup began to make her feel better.
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