by Jordan Quinn
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Hide-and-Seek
Chapter 2: Spoiled
Chapter 3: Penalties
Chapter 4: In a Pickle
Chapter 5: Farewell
Chapter 6: Snowball!
Chapter 7: Gumlock
Chapter 8: Hard Labor
Chapter 9: Obstacle Course
Chapter 10: Showstopper!
‘Beneath the Stone Forest’ Excerpt
About Jordan Quinn and Robert McPhillips
Hide-and-Seek
* * *
* * *
Whoosh! Flames swirled from Ruskin’s mouth and torched a giant block of ice. It hissed and melted into a puddle. Prince Lucas and his best friend, Clara, scurried behind another stack of ice and crouched.
The friends had been playing hide-and-seek in the larder all afternoon. Stacks and stacks of enormous ice blocks filled the room, which was located beneath the kitchen in the castle cellar. The ice kept the royal food cold. The larder was also the perfect place to play a chilly round of hide-and-seek. This had become their favorite game.
Lucas and Clara poked their heads above a stack of ice blocks and waggled their tongues at Ruskin. The dragon scampered toward them. Whoosh! He blasted another fireball at a huge wall of ice blocks. The wall melted, but there was no sign of Lucas or Clara. They had already found a new hiding spot. Ruskin splashed across the cellar floor in search of his friends.
Clang! Clang! Clang! The royal cook stood on the cellar stairs, banging together pans. Ruskin yelped and hid behind a stone column. Lucas and Clara stayed out of sight behind the last tower of ice.
“Stop the madness!” shouted the cook. “You’ll spoil my food!”
Lucas and Clara peeked at the royal cook from their hiding place. The cook had ruddy cheeks, bushy black eyebrows, and a round middle. He wore a starched white hat with many pleats. Each pleat stood for an outstanding recipe and was awarded by the king and queen of Wrenly. The cook’s real name was Berwick, but everyone called him Cook.
Lucas had never heard Cook sound so angry.
“Maybe if we stay hidden, he’ll go away,” whispered Lucas.
Clara nodded and squeezed her eyes shut.
“I know you’re in here!” Cook shouted.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Water dripped from the thawing food onto the floor. Lucas and Clara stayed perfectly still.
“You’d better surrender, Prince Lucas!” said Cook. “Or I’ll report you and your naughty dragon to your father, the king!”
“What should we do?” whispered Clara.
“I guess we’d better face up to Cook,” Lucas whispered back.
Lucas and Clara slowly stood up and came out from behind the ice blocks. They squeezed sideways between a leg of lamb and a side of beef that hung from the rafters. Cook glared at the children.
“Uh-oh,” whispered Lucas. “Cook looks like he’s about to explode.”
Spoiled
* * *
* * *
“My meats! My poultry! My pies and custards! All my food is going to go bad!” cried Cook. “How can I make the royal meals with spoiled food?”
Lucas had to admit, he hadn’t thought about the food spoiling. It had been fun to hide behind the ice blocks, and Ruskin had just as much fun melting the ice with his fiery breath. This had been the best game of hide-and-seek they’d ever played.
“Can’t we just order more ice?” asked Lucas as he, Clara, and Ruskin followed Cook upstairs to the kitchen.
Cook wheeled around on the steps and stared at Lucas.
“No, we cannot!” shouted Cook. “We had our ice delivery yesterday morning. The giants deliver ice from Flatfrost only once a month!”
Cook shook his head. “I don’t know which is more spoiled,” he went on, “my food—or you!”
Lucas hung his head and Ruskin cowered behind his master.
“Do you children know what the giants have to do to bring ice to the palace?”
Lucas and Clara shook their heads. They had no idea, but they had a feeling they were about to find out.
“Each and every block of ice is hand-cut from one of Flatfrost’s high mountain lakes. It’s very hard work. The giants haul the harvested ice down the mountain by horse-drawn sleds. At the bottom of the mountain, the ice is transferred onto wagons. Then the ice is brought over rocky dirt roads to the castle.”
“Oh,” Lucas said.
He and Clara had occasionally seen the wagonloads of ice arrive at the castle, but they’d never really given it much thought.
Then Cook shook a fat finger in the children’s faces. “Ice is a luxury!” he declared. “It involves hard work—something you two know very little about.”
Lucas and Clara nodded. What else could they do? They felt terrible that they had upset Cook.
Cook squeezed his pudgy hands into fists. “Just wait until your father hears about this!” he ranted. “He will not be pleased.”
And with that, Cook marched out of the kitchen to find the king.
Penalties
* * *
* * *
“I’d better go,” said Clara.
“Okay,” Lucas said. “I’ll see you later.”
Clara hurried out the kitchen door and down the steps.
Lucas turned to Ruskin.
“Get ready for another lecture,” said Lucas.
Ruskin whimpered. The prince stroked his dragon’s swept-back horns. The two of them had gotten into a lot of trouble lately, especially Ruskin. Ruskin had developed a fire-breathing problem. He breathed fire like most children like to blow bubbles. Poor Ruskin. He hadn’t meant to cause any harm, but the damage had begun to add up.
Ruskin had scorched the castle walls inside and out. He had torched Queen Tasha’s favorite tapestry of the royal family crest. He had charbroiled the royal swing set—not to mention the royal teeter-totter and tree fort. Not only that, Ruskin had set the royal apple orchard on fire. The king had lost four of his prized apple trees. And now Ruskin had melted almost all the ice in the larder.
Lucas heard footsteps in the hallway. Stefan, one of the king’s men, entered the kitchen.
“Prince Lucas, the king will see you in the library,” he said.
Normally, Stefan didn’t address Lucas in such a formal way. This is not a good sign, thought Lucas.
“Come on, Ruskin,” he said to his dragon. “Let’s go.”
“Not so fast,” said Stefan. “Ruskin must go straight to his lair.”
Then Stefan tied a rope around Ruskin’s neck and led him away. Ruskin squawked and whined.
“It’ll be okay, buddy,” said Lucas as he walked into the hallway.
Lucas wasn’t sure if it would be okay or not, but he would soon find out. He entered the library. The king and queen sat next to the fireplace in gilded chairs. His father had his arms folded. He didn’t look happy.
“Son,” began King Caleb.
Lucas hated it when his father began with the word “son.” It rarely ended well.
“This time, you and your mischievous dragon have gone too far,” said the king. “You have destroyed Cook’s ice and possibly all the food in the larder. Tell me, how could you be so thoughtless?”
Lucas looked at his boots.
“It has become clear that the castle is no place for a dragon,” the king went on. “I never should have allowed it.”
King Caleb then looked to Queen Tasha for support. The queen nodded for him to go on.
“You have given me no choice,” said the king. “Ruskin will have to return to Crestwood for proper training.”
Lucas lifted his head and stared at his father in disbelief.
“No, Father! Please don’t take Ruskin away!” he crie
d. “I promise I’ll be better about training him.”
The king’s face did not soften. “I’m afraid you are both in need of training,” he declared. “As punishment for your reckless behavior, you and Ruskin will go to Flatfrost first thing in the morning.”
“Flatfrost!” cried Lucas. “But why?”
“Because I want you to apologize to the giants,” said the king.
“For what?” questioned Lucas.
“You have caused them more work,” said the king. “Therefore you will apologize, and you will also help harvest more ice for Cook.”
“But, Father!” protested Lucas.
“No buts,” said the king. “You must learn to fix your own mistakes. And when you return, Ruskin will go to Crestwood for training.”
Lucas frowned at his father. Then he ran to his room and slammed his door as hard as he could.
In a Pickle
* * *
* * *
Lucas punched his pillow. He didn’t want to go to Flatfrost—and, even worse, what if Ruskin had to go to Crestwood for a long time? How will I live without him? Lucas wondered. His dragon had become his faithful companion. Lucas loved to spend time with Clara, too, but she was often busy. Clara had school most days, and then she had to make bread deliveries with her father.
But Ruskin was always there for Lucas. Lucas buried his face in his pillow. What if Ruskin can’t be trained? he thought. What if he never comes back? Lucas stared at the ceiling. A few minutes later he was called for dinner, but he didn’t feel like eating. He yawned, and soon he fell fast asleep.
In the morning, sun streamed through the turret windows and Lucas’s eyes popped wide open. His mother sat on the edge of the bed.
“I brought hot chocolate,” she said, setting the mug down.
Lucas sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he remembered his father’s punishment.
“Oh, Mother!” wailed Lucas. “Do I really have to go to Flatfrost?”
“Yes,” said the queen as she gently stroked Lucas’s forehead with her fingertips. “You and Ruskin must learn to respect people and their work.”
Flatfrost was in the mountains, where it snowed year round. Lucas had passed by Flatfrost on horseback, but he’d never traveled into the mountains.
“Clara will also go with you,” his mother went on. “Her parents would like her to apologize to the giants too.”
“How long will we have to be there?” asked Lucas.
“Until the ice is cut.”
“And how long will that take?”
“A few days,” the queen said.
“I don’t want to go,” Lucas complained. “I don’t want to leave you and Father for that long.”
“I don’t want you to go either. But it will be good for you. You may even like it.”
Lucas sniffled, and his mother handed him a handkerchief.
“Right now you need to get dressed,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “Then you may join us for breakfast before you go.”
Lucas flopped back down on his pillow and moaned.
“Come on now,” said the queen, ruffling his hair. Then she got up and left the room.
Well, at least Clara and Ruskin will be with me, he thought.
Farewell
* * *
* * *
“Time to go, Prince Lucas,” said Stefan. “Miss Clara has arrived.”
Lucas pushed out his chair from the breakfast table and followed Stefan to the front hall. Clara was already examining the huge pile of traveling clothes that were left out for them: lovely fur coats and fur hats, along with fur-lined gloves and boots. Lucas also found woolen undergarments, a shirt, trousers, socks, and underpants.
“This is what you’ll wear on the trip,” Stefan said.
Clara tried to imagine being cold enough to wear fur coats.
“Please put on the woolen undergarments and the boots for the first part of the journey,” Stefan continued. “We’ll put on our outer clothes when we get to the mountains.”
After Lucas and Clara got changed, they helped Stefan load the wagon with supplies. Cook had made several enormous loaves of bread to take to the giants. Once the bread had been loaded and one of the king’s men had gotten Ruskin from his lair, they climbed aboard the horse-drawn wagon.
The large wagon was led by two horses. Stefan said they would need the extra room to carry the ice back to the castle. Then the king and queen and Clara’s mother saw them off.
“Be a good boy,” said his mother with a warm smile.
“Do some good thinking,” said the king.
“Mind your manners,” said Anna, Clara’s mother.
Lucas and Clara waved good-bye.
I can’t believe our parents are sending us away, thought Lucas.
Snowball!
* * *
* * *
The wagon bumped along the dirt road to Flatfrost. Clara and Ruskin rode in the back, and Lucas sat up front with Stefan.
Stefan patted the prince on the back. “This trip will be good for you,” he said.
“What makes you think so?” mumbled Lucas.
“Because it will help you grow into a better person,” Stefan replied.
“But what about Ruskin?” asked Lucas.
“Ruskin will grow too,” said Stefan.
“And what if he doesn’t? Then he’ll have to go to Crestwood for training.”
“He’ll come back,” said Stefan.
“But what if he can’t be trained?” questioned Lucas. “Ruskin can be stubborn. He doesn’t always listen to commands.”
“Tell me, how many dragons have you trained?” asked Stefan.
“None.”
“Exactly,” said Stefan. “But André and Grom have trained dozens of dragons.”
“But not scarlet dragons,” Lucas protested.
“True,” Stefan said. “But they’ll do their best, and you must do your best to correct your own mistakes.”
“I know, I know,” Lucas said.
Soon they arrived at a stable at the bottom of a mountain. Snowflakes drifted from the gray sky. They changed into their warm fur clothes and transferred the supplies from the wagon to a sled. Stefan cracked a whip, and the horses began to head up the mountain. Lucas and Clara watched snowflakes land on their mittens.
“They look like frosty jewels,” noted Clara. “I wish I could take them home with me.”
“Me too,” said Lucas.
Ruskin squawked and tried to catch the snowflakes on his forked tongue. Lucas and Clara laughed. They began to feel a little better about being sent away.
In the late afternoon Lucas spotted a cave in the distance. Then he noticed something roll from the mouth of the cave toward them. It began to pick up speed.
“What’s that?” shouted Lucas.
Clara and Stefan looked where Lucas was pointing.
“Oh my!” Stefan cried. “It’s a great ball of snow!”
“And it’s getting bigger!” warned Clara.
The snowball thundered down the mountain. Lucas and Clara put up their arms like a shield.
“LOOK OUT!” Stefan shouted.
Gumlock
* * *
* * *
Whoosh! Ruskin blew a great ball of fire at the oncoming snowball. It melted instantly. At the same time, Stefan jerked the reins. The horses whinnied and came to a stop.
“That was close!” said Lucas.
“A little too close,” agreed Stefan.
“Good boy, Ruskin!” Clara said, patting his head. “You saved us from getting smashed.”
They sat quietly for a moment and heard laughter. Lucas saw three giant children standing at the mouth of the cave. The children wore shaggy fur clothes and had long, knotted hair. They laughed and pointed in the direction of the snowball. Then two grown giants with stern faces appeared beside the children. Suddenly the giant children became very serious.
Lucas had seen giants before, but he’d never met one in person. His father
had told him the giants of Wrenly were not to be feared. They were very strong beings with troll-like faces, but they were also ice harvesters, fishermen, and ice sculptors for the kingdom. Still, Lucas shuddered at their great size.
The grown-up giants began to walk toward the sled. The children skipped along close behind.
“Hello, Stefan,” said the biggest giant, looking down at them. His wife stood nearby him with their three children. The oldest boy looked about Lucas and Clara’s age. The middle child was a girl, and the youngest was a boy.
“We’re so sorry about the snowball. The children were playing a game, and it got away from them,” the biggest giant went on. “What brings you to the mountains of Flatfrost?”
“Hello, Gumlock,” said Stefan, who knew the giant from his ice deliveries. “We’re here on a mission.”
“What kind of mission?” asked Gumlock.
“The children and the young dragon have gotten into some trouble,” explained Stefan.
Lucas squirmed in his seat, and his face grew hot.
“These must be the young troublemakers,” observed Gumlock.
Stefan nodded and introduced the culprits.
