“Spread out please, Your Majesties! We don’t want anyone to get hurt,” called the woman at the piano. “Is everyone ready for the final part of the dance?”
Lottie ended up moving next to the garden door as everyone tried to spread out. She could see more and more of the garden now. Beyond the tulips was a long row of fountains, and beyond that was a field with a sandy-colored horse. Maybe it was the same one she’d seen when they arrived. She looked closer. The horse stood next to the fence, staring at the palace, as if it wanted to gallop across the garden and dance with them.
Lottie giggled at the thought of the horse joining in. She wished she could run over and pet it.
She turned around to look at the dancing kings and queens. Maybe she could? No one had spotted that she was standing right by the door. If she sneaked out before the music stopped, then no one would notice her leaving. But she would have to be quick!
Her heart began to thump. She shot one last look at the dancing royals, and then dived through the open doorway. The bright sunlight was dazzling, and her crimson dress billowed out around her legs as she ran. She passed the flower beds, where patches of red and gold tulips swayed in the breeze. She passed the row of carved fountains, where arching jets of water scattered spray over her head. The music from the hall faded behind her.
She stopped at the fence and tried to catch her breath. But the horse wasn’t there anymore. It was trotting away across the field.
“Come back!” called Lottie, but the horse tossed its mane and continued trotting.
Lottie ran beside the fence until she got to a gate. The horse slowed down as it reached a long brick building with a low roof. Lottie counted seven more horses inside, their heads looking out over their stable doors. Opening the gate, she walked across the rough grass toward the building. She smiled as she walked inside. It was dark in here and it smelled of hay. It reminded her of the stables at home.
The sandy-colored horse stopped and turned back to nuzzle her shoulder.
“You’re very friendly! What’s your name?” asked Lottie softly, stroking the animal’s nose.
“She’s called Honey,” said a voice from the shadows. “And you shouldn’t be here.”
Lottie spun around to see a boy leaning on the end of a broom and frowning at her. She recognized him as the boy she’d seen earlier, leading the horse up the drive. He looked even grumpier than before. But Lottie didn’t mind that.
“It’s OK! I’m sure the grown-ups won’t notice that I’m gone.” She grinned widely at him. “This is a great stable. How many horses are here?”
The boy’s frown disappeared. “We have twenty-five of them. Actually twenty-six now, because one was born two weeks ago.”
“A foal!” cried Lottie. “Where is it?”
The boy jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Her name is Twinkle.”
Lottie hurried up to the stall and peered over. A mare and her foal were lying down together on the hay. The foal was chocolaty brown with a white star on her forehead. She looked at Lottie and her soft ears twitched.
“She’s lovely!” breathed Lottie. “She’s the most beautiful foal I’ve ever seen!”
“I’m Lottie, by the way,” said Lottie.
“You mean, Princess Lottie,” said the boy, looking at her tiara and her crimson dress, which now had bits of straw sticking to it. “And I’m Peter.”
“Why don’t I give you a hand grooming the horses? I’m sure you could use the help.” Lottie grabbed a body brush and a mane comb from a shelf nearby.
Peter grunted, which Lottie took as a yes. She brushed and combed the horses until their coats gleamed. She had just gotten a bucket to rinse the brush in when she heard hooves drumming on the ground outside.
She went to see which horse was galloping so fast. But Peter appeared and shooed her back into the stable.
“It’s Lady Slyden!” he hissed. “Don’t come out or we’ll both be in trouble!”
Lottie wanted to argue, but he seemed really anxious, so she didn’t. She hid inside an empty stall and peeked through a narrow gap in the wooden boards.
“Quickly, boy! I haven’t got all day!” said a high-pitched voice.
“Yes, My Lady,” mumbled Peter.
There was a loud neighing.
“Lazy animal! It was far too slow,” snapped Lady Slyden. “I’ll take a different one for a ride tomorrow morning. It can be that large black horse over there.”
Lottie caught a glimpse of Lady Slyden as she climbed off the horse. She had a haughty look in her eyes and her mouth sat in a straight line, as if she never smiled. She wore cream riding pants and a navy jacket, and had her hair twisted into a bun. She stared suspiciously at the stable for a moment and then stalked away, cracking her whip against the ground. Climbing into a large car, she drove off down a narrow lane.
Peter came back inside. “I don’t like lending her horses. I know she whips them too hard when she gets angry.” He shuddered. “But Queen Sofia lets her borrow them, so there’s nothing I can do.”
“That’s horrible!” cried Lottie. “If I see her using the whip too much, I’ll go and tell the queen right away.”
A smile crept onto Peter’s face. “You’re not afraid of what anyone else thinks, are you?”
“I’m not scared of telling Queen Sofia what I see,” said Lottie firmly. “Especially if it means I’m looking out for the horses.”
“Well, thanks for helping me groom them,” said Peter.
Lottie grinned. “It was really fun! Now I think the foal needs some fresh air.”
Peter let her open the door of the stall where the mother and foal lay resting. The mare nuzzled the baby until she stood up on her wobbly little legs. The white star on her forehead showed clearly despite the dim light of the stable.
“Come on, Twinkle,” said Lottie softly.
“I’m going across the fields to get some more hay,” called Peter. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Lottie waved good-bye to Peter and watched the foal follow her mother out into the yard. Her little tail swished with excitement when she reached the grass. Then she galloped away, leaping around the meadow with her mane flying.
Lottie laughed and went over to pet her. The foal whinnied and tried to nibble her ear.
“So you’re name is Twinkle,” said Lottie. “You’re very good at galloping for a foal that’s only two weeks old.”
Twinkle shook her mane and whinnied, as if she agreed with everything Lottie said.
As Lottie scratched between the foal’s ears, a movement caught her eye. A lime-green hat appeared, bobbing along near the tulips. Queen Sofia was walking through the garden, leading a whole group of kings, queens, princes, and princesses.
Lottie froze. While she’d been grooming the horses, Queen Sofia’s guests must have finished their dancing and come out for a walk. She couldn’t be seen with hay on her dress and mud on her shoes. She’d get in lots of trouble.
The queen’s voice drifted over. “These are the best tulips for miles around! Have a good look at them and then I’ll take you to see my wonderful fountains.”
Lottie began to run back to the stable to hide, when she noticed its gate. Her heart skipped a beat. The gate was wide open and swinging gently in the breeze. Had she left it like that? She didn’t remember closing it after walking into the field. She frowned, angry at herself for being so forgetful.
Had any horses wandered out through it? She scanned the gardens. Two large horses stood by a fountain, bending their heads to drink from it. One was a dappled gray and the other was Honey, the sandy-colored horse. She had to get them back into the field quickly. Soon all the kings and queens would turn the corner and see what was happening. Queen Sofia would not be pleased to find horses trampling her flower beds.
Lottie dashed over to the fountain. Peter was still getting hay, so she would have to figure this out on her own.
“There’s one more flower bed of tulips to show you,” said Queen Sofia. �
Lottie looked up, her heart racing. But no one appeared. Phew! The queen must have taken them in a different direction. Hopefully that would give her more time to catch the horses.
She reached the dappled gray horse and patted his side, urging him down the path and back into the field. Quickly closing the gate, she headed toward Honey, who was trotting farther into the garden.
“Come back, Honey!” hissed Lottie, starting to chase her.
But Honey kept going.
Lottie heard footsteps and turned to find the princess with the dark curly hair and yellow dress running toward her.
“I’ve come to help you,” panted the princess in yellow. “I’m Isabella. Don’t worry; no one else has noticed that horse. They’re all still looking at the tulips.”
“Oh, good!” said Lottie. “It’ll be much easier to catch her with your help. If you run one way and I run the other, then we can make her go back toward the gate. Ready?”
Isabella nodded.
They crept down the path, trying to catch Honey. But the horse seemed to understand their plan and trotted away even faster, past a duck pond and a row of trees covered in blossoms.
“Well, that didn’t work!” said Lottie, pausing to catch her breath.
“Maybe one of us should distract her, while the other sneaks up behind her?” said Isabella.
Lottie nodded; it sounded just like a ninja move. “That’s a great idea. You get her attention and I’ll sneak around.”
Isabella started talking to Honey and snapping her fingers. Honey pricked up her ears and took a step closer.
Meanwhile, Lottie slipped to the side of the horse, patting her on the rump to make her walk forward. Finally, they managed to coax her back down the path. As they rounded the last corner, the princess with the long black hair and turquoise dress was standing by the gate. She smiled and opened the gate to let Honey walk through.
The princess with short blonde hair stood there, too, watching with her hands on her hips. “For goodness’ sake!” she said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t let horses wander around Queen Sofia’s garden?”
“Of course I know that Queen Sofia doesn’t want horses in her garden!” said Lottie. “It was just an accident.”
The princess with the blonde hair shrugged.
Lottie gave Honey one final pat and closed the gate behind her.
“Thanks for helping us,” Isabella told the princess dressed in turquoise.
“That’s OK!” she replied. “We slipped away from the grown-ups when we saw what you were doing.”
Isabella smiled at her. “I’m Isabella, by the way. I’m from Belatina, a kingdom of tropical rain forests.”
The princess in turquoise smiled back shyly. “I’m Amina from Kamala, by the Eastern Sea.”
Lottie grinned. “And I’m Lottie from the kingdom of Middingland.”
The princess with blonde hair took her hands off her hips and sighed. “I’m Princess Rosalind, from Dalvia in the cold North. We’d better get out of this mud and join the others before Queen Sofia notices we’re missing.”
“Just a minute,” said Lottie. “I have something to tell you. Actually, it’s an awesome princess secret and it will lead to big adventures.” She paused dramatically.
“Ooh, what is it?” asked Isabella.
The sound of voices grew louder. Queen Sofia was just around the corner.
“I can’t tell you yet.” Lottie fixed them with her green eyes and lowered her voice mysteriously. “People might hear us. But if you come and meet me at nine o’clock tomorrow morning under those trees, I’ll explain it all.” She pointed at the trees covered with blossoms.
“It had better not be boring,” said Rosalind.
“It’s not boring!” snapped Lottie.
“I’ll come,” said Isabella, pushing her dark curls over her shoulders.
“I will, too,” said Amina.
“Oh, all right, then.” Rosalind rolled her eyes. “I’ll come, too.”
“Great! It’s going to be fantastic! You’ll see,” said Lottie.
Queen Sofia marched into view, followed by a crowd of kings and queens. Lottie quickly stepped behind Amina so that they wouldn’t see the mud splatters and hay on her dress.
“Are you looking at the horses, girls?” asked the queen kindly. “There are lots of lovely horses in my stable. Some are very valuable because they’re racehorses and they’ve won a lot of prizes. That little foal might become a racehorse one day, just like her mother was.”
The princesses nodded and curtsied and then the group moved on.
Lottie beamed at Isabella, Amina, and Rosalind. These girls just might make perfect Rescue Princesses. Isabella seemed really friendly and Amina seemed nice, too. She wasn’t quite so sure about Rosalind.
The girls hurried over to join the back of the group, which was now heading toward the fountains.
“Oops! Sorry!” cried Isabella as she tripped over a stone and knocked over three princes.
Lottie frowned. She hoped that the girls would be able to climb and run and balance. Her sister Emily’s animal rescues had involved a lot of that kind of thing. Lottie was sure she could do it all (probably better than her sister). But what about the others? She crossed her fingers hopefully. Tomorrow she would find out what they could do.
Lottie woke up early the next morning, feeling full of energy. She took out the four magic rings, slipped the ruby one onto her finger, and put the others in her dress pocket. Somehow it just seemed right for the ruby ring to be hers. She really hoped that something special would happen today and the jewels would start working. What was the point of having magical rings if they didn’t do anything?
Tiptoeing carefully, she went downstairs to the dining room and out through the glass doors into the garden. Little white clouds chased one another across the blue sky, and even the gray turrets on top of the palace looked bright and cheerful.
When she reached the blossom-covered trees, Lottie discovered that Amina and Rosalind were already waiting for her. Rosalind was wearing a short blue dress, and her blonde hair gleamed in the morning sunshine. Amina shifted from one foot to the other, her black hair swaying.
“Go ahead!” said Rosalind, not even bothering to say hello. “Tell us this amazing Big Secret.”
Lottie looked at her sharply. “Where’s Isabella? I want to wait until everyone’s here.”
With the sound of hurrying footsteps, Isabella broke through the trees. “Sorry! Here I am!” she panted.
“I think we should go a little farther away,” said Lottie. “Follow me.” She led them past the duck pond and around the edge of the horses’ paddock.
Twinkle the foal came galloping across the field and stuck her head over the fence right next to them.
“Hello, Twinkle,” said Lottie, stroking her velvety nose.
Twinkle shook her head and whinnied a greeting.
“What a cute foal,” said Amina. “She reminds me of my horse back home.”
“She’s very pretty with that white star on her forehead.” Rosalind reached up to scratch between her ears.
Twinkle nibbled at Lottie’s curly hair, making her giggle.
“She really likes you!” laughed Isabella.
Lottie saw Peter up at the stable yard and waved to him. “Let’s keep going,” she said. “We can always come and see Twinkle again on the way back.”
They walked across the next field and into the narrow lane where Lady Slyden had driven her car the day before.
“Are we stopping soon? My feet hurt,” said Rosalind.
“Let’s go a little farther,” said Lottie, leading them down the lane.
The fields on either side were full of sheep. Lambs frolicked across the grass, shaking their little woolly tails. The lane twisted and turned. Rounding a corner, the princesses found themselves by a stream with steep banks. Water tinkled along the stony riverbed.
Lottie stopped and turned to face the others. “OK, we’re far enough away from the palace now. But I need to ask you all something really important before we start.” She paused, looking at them. “Do you love animals?”
Isabella, Amina, and Rosalind nodded eagerly.
“My sister, Emily, started a secret club with her friends to rescue animals in trouble,” said Lottie. “And when she went away to the Royal Academy for Princesses, she handed it over to me. It’s Top Secret and for princesses only. No princes or grown-ups allowed!”
“I love secret clubs!” said Isabella, her eyes sparkling. “It would be great to rescue animals without any grown-up help.”
Lottie grinned. “We’ll be called the Rescue Princesses! If you want to join, you have to show me what you can do.”
“What do you mean?” asked Amina. “Will it be hard?”
“We’ll be climbing trees and doing acrobatics and stuff like that. We’ll do lots of training,” said Lottie. “But for the tryouts we just need to find somewhere to test your skills.”
“So what animals have you rescued so far?” asked Rosalind.
“Only a bumblebee!” Lottie frowned at her. “But I’ve only just started.” She glanced over at the stream. “Look! We can use that log over there to balance on!”
The log bridged the gap between one side of the stream and the other. The banks were high and there was a long drop from the log down to the water.
“All you have to do is walk across and back again.” Lottie walked confidently along the log, placing one foot in front of the other. Halfway across, she suddenly realized how far she would fall if she lost her balance. But she held her breath and kept walking.
“See? It’s easy!” she told the others. “Now it’s your turn.”
Isabella, Rosalind, and Amina looked at her doubtfully.
“What if we fall off?” said Isabella. “My mom will be mad if I get wet.”
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