The Enchanted Ruby

by Paula Harrison

  “Poor little thing!” said Zina. “That boat really scared him.”

  Scarlett crouched down and held out her hand. “Sparky, are you all right?”

  Sparky limped out of the bush and gave a sad yelp. He was holding one of his front paws against his furry tummy as if it was hurting.

  “He’s injured!” Zina crouched down too.

  “Maybe the waves from the boat knocked him on to a rock,” Lily suggested. “He needs his family but they’ve all run away.”

  “Let’s find them!” said Scarlett. “Be careful though. We don’t want to scare them all over again.”

  The princesses crept around the island, looking behind bushes and patches of reeds. Scarlett even checked inside her den but there was no sign of the otter family. She ran back to check on Sparky. “Maybe the otters were so scared that they ran a really long way,” she said to the others.

  Lily nodded. “That’s what I’m afraid of … and Sparky can’t look after himself, especially with an injured leg.”

  “We can’t stay here much longer though,” said Zina quietly. “What time is the banquet?”

  “Five o’clock.” Scarlett glanced at the setting sun. Time had flown by while they were playing in the den and now it was getting late. Sparky nudged her hand with his nose and gave a soft little squeak.

  Scarlett knew she couldn’t leave Sparky alone on the riverbank. “Let’s take him back to the castle with us. We can feed him and keep him warm. Then tomorrow we can come back and look for his family again.” She smiled. “That’s exactly what a Rescue Princess would do!”

  “What’s a Rescue Princess?” Lily asked eagerly.

  Scarlett gently picked up Sparky. His brown fur was soft against her arms. “I’ll tell you all about it on the way. We’d better hurry!”

  The princesses went back to the stepping stones and crossed the river. The setting sun shone over the meadow, turning the tall grass golden.

  Scarlett explained to Lily and Zina everything she knew about being a Rescue Princess. She told them about her cousin’s adventures and how Ella had sent her some jewel-making tools for her birthday.

  “Magic jewels!” Lily’s blue eyes widened. “Have you made any yet?”

  “No, I only opened the parcel just before you arrived,” said Scarlett. “But I really want to make one soon!”

  “It all sounds so exciting!” said Lily.

  Zina nodded eagerly. “And helping animals is really important.”

  Scarlett knocked on the castle gate. She was a little worried about what the guard would say when he saw the otter, but he was too busy talking to another guard to notice. Sparky wriggled in her arms as they crossed the garden and climbed the castle steps. Scarlett held him tighter. Her arms were really starting to ache.

  “Here – I can help you!” Zina ran inside and pulled her cloak down from the coat peg. Then she took the little otter from Scarlett, wrapping him up in the cloak so that only his face was showing.

  “Your Royal Highnesses!” Mr Ellis, the butler, came into the hallway and bowed. “Queen Ruth asked me to remind you that the banquet begins in fifteen minutes.”

  Scarlett sprang in front of Zina, blocking the butler’s view of the baby otter. “Thank you, Mr Ellis. We’ll go and get ready straightaway.”

  Zina blushed. “Did he notice anything?” she whispered when the butler had gone.

  “I don’t think so,” said Lily, giggling.

  “Mr Ellis hates mess.” Scarlett warned them as they climbed the stairs. “If he’d noticed Sparky he might have told us to leave him outside.” She pointed to some suitcases in the corridor. “Look, your cases have been brought up. I’m glad your rooms are in the tower next to mine.”

  They went into Scarlett’s bedroom and Zina sat down on the bed with Sparky. Lily rushed straight over to the jewel-making tools, which Scarlett had left on her dressing table, and picked up each one in turn.

  Crouching down, Scarlett looked at Sparky’s injured paw. “There’s a thorn in it! That must be why it’s hurting.” Gently, she pulled out the spiky thorn. “There you go! Now we just need to find you somewhere to rest.” She took a toy box and tipped all the teddies on to the floor, before filling it with woolly jumpers.

  Zina carefully lay Sparky on the jumpers and stroked his furry tummy. The little otter sniffed at his new home before curling up and closing his eyes. “What do otters eat?” she asked suddenly. “Maybe we can save him some of our dinner.”

  “They like fish a lot,” began Scarlett, but she was cut short by a loud clanging noise from downstairs. “That’s the dinner bell. We’d better hurry!”

  Lily and Zina dashed to their rooms. Scarlett glanced in the mirror. Her dress was still damp in places, with mud along the hem, and her shoes were wet too. Her parents would be disappointed if she didn’t look smart for the royal banquet.

  She changed into a dark-green dress edged with velvet ribbon. Then she brushed her curly dark hair at lightning speed, before putting on the sparkling emerald tiara that matched her dress. Slipping her feet into some green shoes, she dashed out into the hallway.

  “I’m ready!” Lily ran down the corridor holding a silver tiara on top of her fair hair. Her blue dress swirled round her legs. “I got changed really fast.”

  Zina hurried out of her room wearing a white dress and carrying a tiara dotted with diamonds. “I’m here! Can someone help me put this on? It’s so fiddly.”

  Scarlett took the diamond tiara and pinned it into Zina’s hair. “There – you look great!” She took one last look at Sparky. He was asleep on his back with his paws curled over. His eyes were shut and his pale tummy rose and fell peacefully. “I don’t like to leave him by himself, but at least he’s asleep so he won’t miss us.”

  The dinner bell started up again, making the girls jump.

  “Quickly! We must be really late – they never ring it twice.” Scarlett dashed down the winding stairs.

  Lily and Zina rushed after her, their skirts floating out behind them. Scarlett skidded to a halt outside the banquet hall and tried to catch her breath before walking in. The hall was lit by large golden lamps. The long dining table was set with rows of sparkling glasses and white plates with golden edges.

  The kings, queens, lords and ladies all turned to look at the princesses and Scarlett felt herself blushing. “Sorry we’re late.” She curtsied. “We were just talking upstairs.”

  “Don’t worry! We haven’t started yet.” Her father, King Philip, smiled broadly. “Come and sit down. Did you show the other princesses the meadow by the river, Scarlett? It’s so pretty at this time of year.”

  “Yes, it was really warm and sunny outside.” Scarlett hurried over to the empty seats at the far end of the table. She was two seats along from the king with the beard – King Bruno from Lidvia – and she saw him glance darkly in her direction. Maybe he really hated people being late to dinner.

  A moment later the butler came round with bowls of chicken soup and soft buttered rolls. Harry, the young prince, spilled soup on his shirt and Queen Ruth hurried to find him another napkin.

  “That was lovely!” Scarlett put down her spoon. “I bet the next course will be great too! Is it fish?”

  Lily and Zina giggled. They knew exactly why Scarlett was asking about the next course. Fish would be perfect to take to Sparky!

  “Actually we’re having roast beef,” said King Philip. “And we have cheesecake or chocolate ice cream sundaes for dessert.”

  Scarlett’s face dropped. “Oh! That sounds nice, I guess.”

  The banquet carried on and Scarlett tried to wait patiently as each course came and went. At last, everyone had finished dessert and the grown-ups went to the parlour to drink coffee.

  The princesses curtsied and said goodnight. When they were out of sight, Scarlett led the others towards the kitchen. “We’ll have to search for some fish. Sparky will be hungry by now.”

  “Are you sure your parents won’t mind?” asked Zina.
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  “They’ve always told me that animals should be properly looked after,” said Scarlett. “The only thing is our cook, Mrs Linny, doesn’t like people coming into her kitchen. We’ll have to try not to be seen.”

  Lily nodded. “Don’t worry – we’re right behind you!”

  Scarlett crept down the passage, stopping in the kitchen doorway. Her heart beat faster. This was her first chance to try some ninja moves, just like in Ella’s stories about the Rescue Princesses!

  On the right was the refrigerator where the fish was kept, but Mrs Linny was washing up at the sink and more servants could come back at any moment.

  “You go!” Lily whispered in Scarlett’s ear. “I’ll distract her.”

  Scarlett sneaked inside, keeping as low as she could. On tiptoes, she crept behind a worktop.

  “Excuse me!” Lily said loudly. “Are you the cook? I just wanted to thank you for the delicious meal we had tonight.”

  Scarlett opened the refrigerator door as quietly as she could. On the top shelf was a pack of white fish. She grabbed it and tucked it under her arm. Lily finished thanking the cook and the princesses hurried away again.

  “That was quick thinking,” Scarlett told Lily, as they ran up the spiral stairs.

  “Thanks!” Lily wrinkled her nose. “Wow, that fish smells strong!”

  Scarlett laughed. “I’m sure Sparky won’t mind about that! I wonder if he’s still sleeping.” She pushed her bedroom door and it swung open before she’d even turned the handle. Hadn’t she closed it properly?

  “Sparky?” Zina called. “Are you awake?”

  Scarlett hurried across the room and looked into the box where they’d left the little otter. Her stomach twisted. The toy box was empty and Sparky was gone.

  Scarlett rummaged in the box, desperately hoping that the little otter was underneath the jumpers, but there was nothing there. “He’s gone! What shall we do?”

  “Maybe he’ll come out if he smells food.” Lily took the fish parcel and undid the paper. “Sparky! We’ve got something for you.”

  Scarlett gazed around, hoping to see a cute little face peeping out with bright eyes, a round black nose and whiskers. Crouching down, she looked under the bed, behind the wardrobe and under her dressing table.

  Lily and Zina began searching too. Zina lifted up the bedcovers, while Lily looked under the pile of cuddly toys lying on the floor. There was still no sign of Sparky.

  “We should check along the corridor,” said Scarlett. “Oh, I wish I’d shut the door properly!”

  Zina bit her lip. “He might have gone to explore and got lost. I hope he’s not frightened.”

  Scarlett ran out into the passage. The castle was huge. How would they ever find the baby otter? “Quick, we have to start searching!”

  The three girls hurried down the corridor, looking in every corner. Scarlett even opened the laundry basket to peer inside. Luckily, most of the doors along the corridor were shut.

  “I don’t think we need to check those.” Lily pointed to a row of closed doors. “Otters can’t reach door handles.”

  Finding no sign of Sparky, they hurried down to the floor below. The sound of voices drifted up from the parlour. Scarlett heard her parents’ voices among them. Her heart raced. She knew most of the royal guests had rooms on this floor. She hoped the grown-ups didn’t decide to go to bed early!

  There were more rooms to check this time and many of the visitors had left their doors ajar. To save time, the girls worked out a quick way to test whether the otter was in each room. Lily would open the door and Zina would call Sparky’s name, while Scarlett wafted the fish around in the air. Then they would wait a few seconds and listen for rustlings and squeaks.

  They checked ten rooms like this, but when they reached the eleventh there were noises inside.

  “This is my parents’ room and my dad often has a bath after dinner,” Scarlett told the others. “I think I can hear the water running – wait for me here!”

  She knocked on the door before going in. There were sounds coming from the bathroom. Scarlett knew that Mr Ellis, the butler, usually ran the bath for the king. Then he would turn off the taps and tell her dad that the bath was ready.

  Scarlett began to back away. She didn’t want the butler to find her searching the room and ask her what she was up to.

  Splish-splash! Splish-splash!

  Scarlett froze. Why was Mr Ellis making those splashing noises? What was he doing?

  Lily opened the door and whispered, “Scarlett, we have to hurry! The butler’s coming up the stairs.”

  “Really! I thought he was in here.” Scarlett looked over the bannister and spotted Mr Ellis carrying a pile of towels.

  Splish-splash! The noise came again. If Mr Ellis wasn’t making the sound and her dad was still downstairs, then who was in there?

  Putting a finger to her lips, Scarlett beckoned Lily and Zina into her parents’ room. Together they crept towards the bathroom and peered around the door.

  Sparky was paddling up and down the bath and diving under the water cascading from the taps as if it was a little waterfall. He climbed up the side of the bath and sniffed at the king’s lavender soap and crown-shaped sponge before jumping right back in with a splash. He squeaked when he saw the girls and shook the water from his whiskers.

  Scarlett smiled, kneeling down beside the bath. “Sparky, what are you doing? We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

  “He must have followed the sound of running water,” said Lily.

  “He loves it in there.” Zina smiled.

  “We can run a bath for him upstairs instead. We have to get him out of here before Mr Ellis comes back.” Scarlett pictured how the butler would look if he saw a river otter in the king’s bath. He would probably call for the guards! “Come here, Sparky.” She tried to lift the baby otter out of the water but Sparky squeaked naughtily and slipped out of her hands.

  “Use the fish!” hissed Zina. “I’ll distract the butler.”

  Lily turned off the taps while Scarlett held the smelly fish above the water. Sparky stopped paddling, his whiskers twitching. “Come on – this way!” Scarlett coaxed, edging towards the bathroom door.

  “Sorry to bother you!” Zina’s voice floated in from the corridor. “I think I forgot to pack my toothpaste. Do you have any spare?”

  “Yes, I think so,” the butler replied. “I’ll just turn off the bath taps and then I’ll—”

  “It’s all right, Mr Ellis, I’ve turned them off already.” Scarlett hid the fish behind her back and poked her head around the door. “I heard the bath running and I didn’t want it to get too full.”

  “Right! Well, actually I never let it get too full.” Mr Ellis frowned. “But thank you anyway. I’ll find you that toothpaste now, Your Highness.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Scarlett heard Zina say. There was a pause before she whispered. “It’s all right – the butler’s gone!”

  Scarlett felt Sparky’s wet fur brush against her ankles. The little otter jumped up, trying to reach the fish. Then he shook his fur, splattering water everywhere. Lily giggled and tried to catch the baby otter but he slipped through her fingers.

  Scarlet knelt down and gave Sparky the fish before scooping him up into her arms. The baby otter lay there happily, gobbling his food.

  “It’s lucky we found you before Mr Ellis did,” she told him, laughing. “I think you enjoyed your castle adventure!”

  Scarlett crept back to her bedroom, holding Sparky tightly. Zina helped to dry him with a towel and they settled him down on the jumpers in the toy box again.

  When the baby otter had fallen asleep, Scarlett went to the kitchen to fetch three mugs of hot chocolate, which she carried upstairs on a tray. The princesses sipped their drinks and talked about how they planned to search for the otter family in the morning.

  “Tell us some more about the Rescue Princesses, Scarlett!” said Lily. “It sounds so exciting. Are there really princesses who help anim
als in trouble?”

  “Yes, my cousin Ella joined them after starting school at the Royal Academy for Princesses. She began by saving a little lost rabbit.” Scarlett took out Ella’s letters, which she kept in a drawer. “But if I tell you any more, you have to promise to keep it a secret. Ella says only girls who really love animals are allowed to join the Rescue Princesses.”

  Lily and Zina gazed back with solemn faces. “We promise not to tell,” they said.

  “And we REALLY love animals!” added Zina.

  Scarlett smiled and unfolded one of the letters. “Ella tells me all about their adventures. This one began with a naughty bunny called Daisy and a secret passageway inside the castle…” She read out the letter, enjoying her friends’ spellbound faces.

  “What other animals have they helped?” Lily asked eagerly after Scarlett had finished.

  Scarlett looked through the letters. “The first one was a little baby deer – that’s when the Rescue Princesses was invented. Since then they’ve rescued dolphins, lion cubs, pandas and snow leopards as well as a kitten and a puppy! They’ve had lots of adventures in different lands and more princesses have joined along the way.”

  “And what about the ninja moves?” asked Zina. “They sound awesome.”

  Scarlett turned over more pages. “Ella hasn’t told me very much about them but we could probably make up our own ninja moves. It’s all about making sure the baddies don’t see you.”

  “We’re already really close to being Rescue Princesses!” said Lily happily. “We’re looking after Sparky.”

  “All we need now are some magic jewels to help us.” Scarlett sat down at her dressing table and touched the smooth, oval-shaped ruby. The jewel gleamed a beautiful, warm red colour. She had been ready to try shaping it with the jewel-making tools this morning before the royal visitors had arrived. So much had happened since then!

  Lily and Zina crowded round her.

  “Go on, Scarlett,” urged Lily. “Let’s see what happens!”