The Rescue Princesses #2: Wishing Pearl (6 page)

The following morning, the sun blazed down from a clear blue sky.

Everyone hurried around the palace, making things perfect for the enormous banquet that would follow the Royal Regatta.

Some of the flower garlands needed mending, but other than that the storm had caused very little damage.

The princesses asked for Ally’s help to get the treasure out of the lagoon, as the chest was half full of sand and really heavy.

“So that’s where the treasure’s been hiding all these years!” said Ally as she helped pull it to the shore.

“Was this the most famous lost treasure of all?” asked Emily.

Ally shook her head. “No. The most famous treasure is the Onica Heart Crystals. Those crystals are rarer than diamonds.”

“I know about them,” said Jaminta, who came from the kingdom of Onica. “They belonged to my grandfather, but they disappeared before I was born.”

“What happened to them, Ally?” asked Clarabel. “You must know all about it because of your old job.”

“Yes, tell us! Were they lost or stolen?” asked Emily.

“I did work on that case for a while, but it was all very secret,” said Ally mysteriously.

“Please tell us!” the princesses pleaded. But Ally shook her head and wouldn’t say any more.

Jaminta rigged up a small wooden cart with wheels and a rope so that they could get the treasure up to the palace. They got stuck on some of the sand dunes, but finally, after a lot of tugging and heaving, they made it into the palace garden.

They arrived just as the empress began to speak to a crowd of all the kings, queens, princes, and princesses who had gathered together on the lawn.

“It gives me great pleasure to declare that this Royal Regatta has begun,” announced the empress. “Now, let’s walk down to the harbor, where the boat race will start, and —”

She stopped as she took in the strange sight of the princesses wheeling a treasure chest up the sloping lawn.

The empress walked through the crowd to meet them.

“The lost treasure of the
Rising Gull
! My dears, I’ve been waiting years for someone to uncover it. I should have known it would be you four princesses!”

Her wise eyes moved from one princess to another. “How did you find it?”

“We found it by accident — well, a dolphin helped us, really,” Clarabel blurted out.

“How strange!” said the empress. “But, I have always thought that they’re very clever creatures. So what do you plan to do with all this gold?”

Clarabel curtsied. “Your Majesty, we would like to give the treasure to you, because we truly believe it belongs to Ampali Island now.”

Prince Samuel burst through the crowd with a loud cry but was yanked back by Queen Trudy.

“We think it should be used to support the wildlife zone and all the creatures in it,” added Clarabel. “Especially the dolphins.”

The crowd broke into cheers and applause, making Clarabel blush. Her parents, the king and queen of Winteria, came to the front.

“What a lovely idea, Clarabel,” said her mom, smiling. “We’re so proud of you.”

“Wow! So that’s why you were so busy,” said Prince Olaf, looking at the chest full of coins and gold bars.

“Very busy! And you still managed to make the flower garlands, too!” said the empress.

The four princesses curtsied and the empress smiled. “You must take something from the chest to remember your great achievement,” she added.

“But … but … that’s not fair!” whined Samuel, not noticing the sudden silence. “I was looking for it first, so it should be
my
gold.”

The empress frowned. “So was it you who took the map from my private bookcase two days ago?”

Prince Samuel flushed. “
I
haven’t got a map. Maybe
they
took it.” He pointed at the princesses.

All the kings and queens turned to stare at Clarabel, Emily, Lulu, and Jaminta.

“Squawk!” went a little blue parrot landing on Samuel’s shoulder. Samuel gave a screech and stumbled backward. As he fell over onto the lawn, the old map fell out of his pocket and lay there on the grass.

“It
was
you, Prince Samuel,” said the empress sternly. “You took the map without asking and then lied about it. We will have to find you a suitable punishment. I know! You will feed and clean up after all the palace pets for the rest of the week.”

Samuel pouted and slunk back toward the palace. Queen Trudy followed him, scolding in a whisper.

The empress turned back to Clarabel. “You must take something. I insist!”

Clarabel leaned over the treasure chest. She didn’t want any gold — that should be used for the wildlife zone. But there, in one corner, was a gleam of purple. She picked out a shimmering stone and turned it over in her fingers.

“A purple amethyst!” whispered Jaminta. “Good choice, Clarabel.”

“And now, Your Royal Highnesses,” said the empress, “we will have a short break while the treasure is taken inside. Everyone will meet at the harbor in one hour, and then the boat races will begin!”

The princesses rushed inside to get ready for the Royal Regatta. Clarabel asked if they were allowed to take a rowboat out on the ocean to watch the race close-up.

“As long as you’re very careful,” said the queen of Winteria, her blue eyes serious. “It’s really hard work rowing those little boats, even on a calm sea. I don’t think you realize how tricky it can be.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We’ll be careful,” said the princesses, trying not to giggle.

“If only they’d seen us in that storm,” Lulu said after the queen had gone.

“It’s a good thing they didn’t!” Clarabel laughed.

Because the Royal Regatta was such an important occasion, the girls put on beautiful dresses and their favorite tiaras.

Clarabel’s dress was pale blue and her hair shone like gold. Her tiara was decorated with sparkling sapphires, and on her wrist she wore the sapphire bracelet with the single pearl that had healed the dolphin. The purple amethyst from the treasure chest was stored safely in her jewelry box.

“Ready?” asked Emily, swishing her pink silk dress. On top of her red curls rested a tiara made to look like golden leaves.

“I am!” Lulu somersaulted past in her yellow dress, holding her gold crown in one hand.

Jaminta nodded. She looked beautiful in a dark-green dress and a tiara sparkling with Onica crystals.

Laughing so hard they almost fell over, the princesses raced down the hill to the harbor to find the boat.

Clarabel reached the little rowboat last and stopped, breathless. Jaminta untied the rope and the girls climbed in and picked up the oars.

Lulu ran along the narrow harbor wall with the sea far below her. Then she flipped head over heels onto the jetty before climbing into the boat.

Clarabel dipped her oar into the water as the boat began to move. “I wish I could do all that.” She sighed. “But I’m just not good at that kind of thing.”

“What kind of thing?” said Emily.

Clarabel chewed her lip. “You know, climbing and acrobatics, like the somersault Lulu just did. All the skills you need to rescue animals. I don’t think I’ll ever be very good. I wish I could help more.”

Lulu put down her oar and stared at Clarabel in astonishment. “Clarabel, I think you must be the silliest princess alive,” she said, shaking her head.

Clarabel’s eyes widened.

“Who got into the sea in the middle of the storm to help the dolphin?” asked Lulu.

“I did,” said Clarabel. “But —”

“Who could hear him calling by listening to the pearl?” said Jaminta. “If you hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have found him.”

“You can understand animals,” said Emily. “That’s an amazing talent!”

“Squawk!” The little blue parrot flew down from the harbor wall and landed on Clarabel’s shoulder, eyeing her beadily.

Clarabel grinned and stroked the parrot’s feathers. “I guess you’re right.”

“Climbing and somersaults are only part of it,” said Emily. “We all have different gifts. That’s why we make such a good team.”

“And I’ll teach you the somersaults,” added Lulu, her eyes gleaming. Clarabel had to laugh.

Rowing hard, they left the harbor for the calm blue ocean beyond. In the distance, the white sails of the racing boats whisked across the water.

Four magical rings gleamed on the princesses’ fingers: one ruby, one sapphire, one emerald, and one topaz.

The girls linked arms and settled down to watch the boat race, knowing that whatever adventure came along, they would always be the Rescue Princesses.

Text copyright © 2012 by Paula Harrison

Interior illustrations copyright © 2012 by Artful Doodlers

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Nosy Crow Ltd.

SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. NOSY CROW and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd.

First printing, June 2013

Cover art by Sharon Tancredi

Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll

e-ISBN 978-0-545-50927-5

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