Rescue Princesses #5: The Snow Jewel (2 page)

Lulu dived under the bed, while Clarabel and Emily peered inside the dressers. Jaminta ran to the half-open door and looked down the hallway.

“Minky? Where are you?” called Freya.

Suddenly, there was a scrabbling noise and a large lump popped up underneath Freya’s quilt. The lump started zigzagging across the bed in all directions.

“Minky! What are you doing?” Freya giggled. “How did you get under there?”
She lifted up the quilt and a little whiskery face poked out. Minky stuck out one white paw and then dived farther under the covers again.

“She’s definitely an adventure cat!” said Lulu, grinning.

Freya scooped up Minky, who meowed in protest.

“Well, you can’t stay under there!” said Freya, kissing the top of Minky’s head.

Jaminta came back inside and closed the door. “Does she get into a lot of trouble?”

Freya nodded. “Now that she’s growing bigger she likes to climb things and —” She broke off suddenly and listened.

A deep voice rumbled down the hallway, followed by footsteps and a knock on the door.

“Freya, are you there?” asked a man’s voice.

“That’s my dad,” said Freya, looking startled. She hurriedly put Minky back in the box with the other kittens, ran to the door, and opened it.

King Eric stood in the doorway. He had fair hair that was turning gray at the sides, and he wore a blue robe. On one foot he wore a brown slipper, but on the other he wore nothing but a stripy sock.

“Good morning, princesses,” he said, with a small bow.

The princesses curtsied. “Good morning!”

The king turned to his daughter. “Freya, my dear, something awful has happened. Can you tell me anything about this terrible disaster?” He held up a large brown slipper, which obviously matched the one he was wearing.

“What’s wrong with it, Dad?” asked Freya.

King Eric turned the slipper over to show her the bottom, which had a big round hole in it. “
This
is what’s wrong! Something has destroyed my slipper completely. It’s been nibbled until it’s beyond repair and I bet one of these animals did it.” He walked over to the box of kittens and peered at them disapprovingly. Then he noticed the sweaters inside the box. “Freya! Are you using your sweaters as a pillow for these cats?”

“They’re only old sweaters,” said Freya hurriedly. “And maybe it wasn’t the kittens that nibbled your slipper. Maybe it was a mouse.”

“A mouse!” exclaimed King Eric. “We do not have mice wandering around this castle. No, I’m sure it must have been one of these creatures.”

“They seem like very sweet kittens, Your Majesty,” said Emily.

Lulu and Clarabel nodded in agreement.

“My dear princesses, I understand why you like them,” said the king, smiling at the girls, “but I cannot have animals making a mess everywhere.”

Minky wiggled excitedly and bounced right out of the box. She skipped across the carpet to the king’s feet and pounced on the slipper he was wearing as if it were a giant brown mouse. Meowing gleefully, she dug her little claws into the slipper and held on tight.

“You see! This is probably the very animal that made the hole,” said the king, shaking his foot to try and dislodge the kitten. “Off you get now — silly cat!”

Minky gave the big brown foot mouse a friendly little nip before leaping away. Then she ran around and around the king’s legs in a circle until he looked very dizzy.

“Stop it, Minky!” said Freya.

“Kittens should
not
be kept in bedrooms,” said King Eric sternly. “In fact, they shouldn’t be kept anywhere in the castle. What if they start chewing our guests’ clothes and shoes? They
have
to be moved.”

“Oh, no, Dad!” cried Freya, grabbing the scampering Minky. “Please don’t move them. I’ll make sure they don’t ever leave my bedroom. Then they can’t ruin anyone’s clothes.”

“No, Freya. I am not happy with them living here. They will be moved to the shed. They will be all right in there. I’ll ask one of the servants to take them and to make sure that they’re left with plenty of food and water.” The king walked away, but stopped and turned around when he reached the door.

“I saw you sledding from the window, Freya,” he added. “I don’t want you doing anything dangerous. If you must play on a sled, then please do so inside the castle garden.” He marched away down the corridor.

“But there are no hills to slide down inside the castle garden,” said Freya softly.

But King Eric had already gone.

Freya sat down on her bed, hugging Minky tightly. The kitten had now fallen fast asleep, and her tiny pink nose twitched, as if she was dreaming of pouncing on another brown foot mouse.

Clarabel sat down next to Freya and put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure they’ll be all right in the shed. Your dad said they would be given plenty of food and water.”

“But it won’t be the same!” Freya’s eyes filled with tears. “I won’t be able to wake up in the morning and hug them right away, or let Minky play on my bed.”

“Let’s cuddle them now, before they have to go,” said Lulu, picking up one of the furry black kittens.

Emily and Jaminta picked up a kitten each, and then Clarabel hugged the last two.

“They’re so warm and soft.” Freya nuzzled Minky’s black ears. “I hate to think of them out there in the castle shed surrounded by ice and snow.”

That evening, there was a royal banquet in the Great Hall. The fire roared and golden flames reached up to the top of the fireplace. The long table was decorated with candles and sprigs of holly. A delicious roast dinner was served, but Freya was too worried to enjoy it.

She rushed away as soon as dinner was over, not even bothering to have any dessert. As she climbed the stairs, her long, pale blue dress floated out
around her ankles. She wore her favorite tiara, which was shaped like glittering snowflakes made of silver. The snow-quartz pendant hung on its long blue ribbon around her neck.

Freya opened the door to her bedroom and found the place quiet and empty. The mother cat and all the kittens had been moved. Sitting down on the bed, she gazed at the bare corner where the box had been. She knew her dad was angry about the hole in his slipper, but taking the kittens just seemed so unfair. Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped them on the back of her hand.

There was a knock at the open door and Clarabel’s head peeked around. “Can we come in? We’ve got something that might cheer you up.”

Freya nodded, trying to smile.

Clarabel came in, followed by Lulu,
Emily, and Jaminta. The princesses’ colored dresses swirled around them as they sat down on the bed. Their tiaras shone in the soft lamplight.

“We brought strawberry zingers.” Lulu showed Freya a paper bag full of sugary red sweets.

“And fruit snacks and chocolate,” added Jaminta.

“We thought a midnight feast might keep you from feeling sad,” explained Emily.

Freya smiled gratefully. “You’re all so nice. I’m all right. I know my dad thinks the kittens will be safe and happy in the castle shed. It’s just …” She bit her lip.

“What’s wrong?” asked Emily.

“I don’t know if the shed will be warm enough. The gardener keeps a little heater in there, but it doesn’t work very well. I don’t think my dad realizes that.” Freya’s forehead creased with worry.

A light pattering began on the window pane. The girls twisted around to look at the pale snowflakes falling past the glass.

“Have some chocolate to cheer you up,” said Lulu, handing Freya a whole bar.

“I think we should go down to the shed and check on the kittens,” said Clarabel, curling her golden hair behind her ear. “That way we’ll know they’re all right in their new home.”

Lulu’s eyes gleamed. “If we wait until everyone’s in bed, then no one will see us….”

“And we can use ninja moves!” said Jaminta.

“Great! That’s decided, then,” said Lulu, and she popped a strawberry zinger into her mouth and crunched it.

“What
are
your ninja moves?” asked Freya, nibbling a corner of her chocolate bar.

Emily grinned. “It’s easier to show you!” She took four fruit snacks and put them in Freya’s hand. “Just wait here and keep your eyes open!”

So Freya sat and waited, with four gummies in the palm of her hand, while the other princesses disappeared from the room. The falling snow grew heavier against the window. Then Freya suddenly felt something brush her hand lightly — Emily was standing there in her pink dress, holding one of the treats!

“How did you do that?” cried Freya. “I didn’t see or hear you come back in.”

“Well, that’s the whole point.” Emily grinned. “Ninja moves let you go anywhere without people noticing. Let’s see how the others do.”

Next, Jaminta appeared in her green silk dress, followed by Clarabel, wearing dark blue. Neither of them made a sound,
and two more candies disappeared from Freya’s hand.

Finally, Lulu came into the room, but she ruined her perfect ninja move with a sneeze.

“Oops!” she laughed, tugging her wavy black hair. “That wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“You were all fantastic! I wish I could do that,” said Freya.

“We’ll teach you how to do it,” Emily promised. “My maid, Ally, used to be an undercover agent who caught jewel thieves, so she taught us these ninja skills. We’ve been practicing ever since.”

“One more thing,” said Clarabel. “Now that you’re a Rescue Princess, you’ll need one of our magical rings.” She took off her sapphire ring and gave it to Freya.

“Really? You want me to wear it?” Freya gazed at the dark blue jewel.

Clarabel smiled. “We don’t have time to make another ring for you right now, so you can borrow mine.”

“Thank you!” said Freya, sliding it onto her finger.

“Let’s stay awake until all the grown-ups are asleep. Then we can meet in here before we go out to see the kittens,” said Jaminta.

“Great idea —” began Emily. But she broke off as a scuffling noise came from behind the bedroom door.

The princesses all looked at one another. What was going on? Surely it couldn’t be King Eric coming to speak to them again. Emily raced over to the door and pulled it open.

A small princess stood in the doorway, staring at them intently. She had tight red curls and inquisitive green eyes. Freya thought she looked a bit like Emily.

“What are you all doing in here? Do you have candy?” said the younger princess.

“Lottie! This has nothing to do with you! Mind your own business!” burst out Emily. “Here, have a strawberry zinger and
don’t
tell Mom and Dad that we had candy in the bedroom.”

Lottie popped the zinger in her mouth and looked at them thoughtfully. Then she went away down the hall.

“That’s my little sister, Lottie.” Emily sighed. “We’ll have to be careful. If she sees us sneaking out later she’ll want to come, too. She’s too young
and
she’ll make lots of noise.”

“I can’t believe we’re really going out to see the kittens tonight,” said Freya. “I wish it was bedtime already!”