Rescue Princesses #6: The Magic Rings (2 page)

The opening ceremony was held in a hall with a high ceiling. The walls were covered in spears and shields made from polished metal. Kings and queens clustered around, sipping tea and nibbling cake. Lottie followed her parents to the front of the hall and managed another curtsy to Queen Sofia, who was still wearing her lime-green hat.

While her parents chatted, Lottie scanned the room excitedly. This was her
first chance to look for princesses to join her — princesses who wanted adventure.

She spotted one girl standing in a corner, wearing a long turquoise dress. The girl had brown eyes and straight black hair that fell down to her waist. Lottie stared at her for a moment, but the other girl looked shy and turned away. She seemed nice, Lottie thought, but maybe she was too nervous to be a Rescue Princess.

Then she noticed a second princess. This girl had dark hair that hung in loose curls, a floaty yellow dress, and eyes that sparkled with excitement. She looked much more adventurous. But just then she bumped into a table, sending a pile of cherry cakes cascading to the floor. People ran forward, hurrying to pick them up. Lottie frowned; would a
princess who was so clumsy really be good at animal rescues?

She scanned the room one more time. Her eyes stopped on a princess in a dark blue dress with short blonde hair. But this girl was arguing with the boy standing next to her, pointing her finger straight at him and scowling. Lottie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn’t realized it would be so tricky finding princesses that seemed just right.

Just at that moment, Queen Sofia clapped her hands. “Your Royal Highnesses! Welcome to Peronia, and here’s to a wonderful Dance Festival. Now we’ll finish the opening ceremony with our first dance!”

Lottie’s eyes sparkled. A dance! What would it be?

“Let’s perform the Bobbing Dance,”
continued the queen. “Please form two straight lines.”

Lottie stifled a groan. The Bobbing Dance was the one that her mom had made her practice before they left home. It was a long dance set to dull, slow music. All you did was bob up and down and curtsy to the other dancers. It made her yawn every time she practiced it. Why couldn’t they choose something more exciting?

The kings, queens, princes, and princesses arranged themselves into two long lines facing each other. Lottie stood at one end, near an open door that led out into a garden. Through the doorway, she could see green lawns and large flower beds full of tulips. She gazed out at them longingly.

A woman started to play a tune on the piano. The royal dancers began to bob
up and down, and Lottie reluctantly did the same. But the hall was small for so many dancers. Two kings bumped into each other. Then the princess in the yellow dress stepped on Queen Sofia’s toe, making her hop around holding on to her foot. The music stopped for a moment.

“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. “Do come this way.”

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?”