Rescue Princesses #3: The Moonlight Mystery (2 page)

Forgetting all about the danger, Lulu jumped out of the truck and raced over to the rock. Hiding behind it was one little lion cub. He looked at her and gave a mournful yowl. Lulu thought he had the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen.

“You poor little thing!” she said to the cub. “Are you all alone?”

The cub meowed and lifted up one paw.

Lulu turned to Walter with a determined look in her eye. “We have to take him back with us,” she said firmly. “He’s too young to take care of himself.” She picked up the tiny cub and stroked him soothingly.

Walter raised one bushy eyebrow. “If you take him, he’ll be your responsibility until we find his family. Do you really want to feed him and look after him?”

“Of course!” cried Lulu.

“Where will you put him?”

“He can sleep with me in my bedroom — that way I can look after him carefully.”

Walter sighed and gave in.

They wrapped the lion cub up in a blanket, and he rode back to the palace on Lulu’s lap. He squirmed a lot. His ears stayed pricked up and his inquisitive little eyes watched the grasslands rush past him out the window.

“I’m going to call you Tufty,” said Lulu, scratching the tufts of fur that stuck up from his ears. Tufty purred deeply and nudged Lulu’s hand, closing his eyes blissfully.

The truck slowed down as they approached the gates and the high tangerine walls of the palace came into view. Behind the palace loomed the huge black shape of Shimmer Rock, the only mountain in the kingdom.

When she got inside, Lulu sneaked Tufty, still hidden under the blanket, up to her bedroom. She knew her parents wouldn’t like her taking care of a lion cub, but she was sure he was too young to be dangerous. She wasn’t going to tell Prince Olaf, either. He was sure to tell on her to the grown-ups. How she wished the other Rescue Princesses were here to help!

She set the little cub down on her bed. He scampered across her duvet, trying to catch a fly with his tiny paws. The fly got away and Tufty rolled over onto his back, waving his legs in the air like he was pretending to swim.

Lulu chuckled. “You’re so funny! I know Emily, Clarabel, and Jaminta would love you so much.”

Tufty rolled back onto his stomach and looked at her with his big brown eyes.

She stroked his furry ears. “I bet you miss your brothers and sisters, but don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. Everything will be all right. Walter and I will find your family as soon as we can.”

But that evening brought some bad news. Lulu was tiptoeing through the hallway to the kitchen to fetch milk for Tufty, when one of the kitchen maids walked past and saw her.

“Oh, good evening, Your Majesty!”

The maid curtsied. “Walter asked me to give you this.” She handed Lulu an envelope.

Lulu tore it open and read:

Her heart sinking, Lulu climbed back upstairs. She sat down in front of the mirror and stared at the streaks of reddish dust on her face. Who was going to help her find the missing lions now?

She heard softly padding paws behind her. Tufty let out a low meow, leapt into her lap, and curled up, purring.

“Oh, Tufty!” she said. “I forgot your milk!”

But Tufty just closed his eyes and purred. With a sudden ripple of excitement, Lulu knew what she had to do. She didn’t have to fix this problem by herself. It was time to call the other Rescue Princesses! They would find the lions together.

She looked in delight at the yellow topaz ring on her finger. Each of the four princesses had their own ring made from a different kind of jewel. But they weren’t just ordinary rings. The princesses could use them to call one another for help with an animal rescue. Jaminta had shaped the jewels perfectly to bring out the magic inside them.

Lulu smiled. Now she could find the missing lions
and
see her friends again. She lifted the ring to her lips, pressed the yellow topaz and spoke clearly into the jewel.

“Calling all Rescue Princesses! This is Lulu in the kingdom of Undala. There are animals in trouble here. I repeat: There are animals in trouble.”

The yellow topaz glowed brightly for a second. Then a voice came from far away. “This is Jaminta in the kingdom of Onica. I’m on my way to help you.”

“Hello, Lulu,” came a second voice. “This is Clarabel in Winteria. I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

There was silence. Lulu waited hopefully.

“This is Emily in the kingdom of Middingland.” The third voice sounded very faint. “I wouldn’t miss this rescue for anything!”

The yellow topaz glowed once more and the voices were gone. Lulu beamed. She felt like doing hundreds of cartwheels all around the room. But Tufty was sleeping peacefully on her lap, so she contented herself with giving his soft ears another pet.

“The Rescue Princesses will be here soon,” she whispered to him. “They’ll come as fast as they can.” Her heart thumped with excitement.

Then she was struck by a sudden thought. How was she going to explain to her mom and dad that she’d invited her friends to the palace, and that they were already on their way?

Lulu frowned, trying to work out what she was going to say to the king and queen. How could she tell them that she needed her friends to visit without giving away their secret? She had to think fast.

Lifting up the sleeping lion cub, Lulu laid him down carefully on her pillow and sneaked out of her room. There were lights on downstairs, so her parents were probably still awake. She hurried down, determined to persuade them to let her friends stay.

The Great Hall was empty, but there were voices outside in the courtyard.

“It’s difficult running a circus.” Lady Malika’s voice was sharp. “It’s hard to find new acts that people want to watch.”

“Yes, but I think using animals would be the wrong thing to do,” said Queen Shani quietly. “A circus really isn’t a suitable place for a wild animal to live.”

Lulu took a deep breath and marched into the courtyard. Her parents and Lady Malika were sitting next to the fountain, enjoying a cup of Undalan tea.

“Goodness, Lulu!” laughed Lady Malika. “You’re up late!”

Queen Shani rose from her seat, her silver crown glittering. “What’s the matter? Are you feeling ill?”

Lulu shook her head. “I wanted to ask you something important.”

“You’re very dusty!” Lady Malika’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been out into the grasslands today?”

“Yes, I went in the truck with Walter to check on the animals,” Lulu replied.

“What was it you wanted to ask, Lulu?” said the king, his golden turban gleaming in the lamplight.

“I’d like you to invite my friends, princesses Emily, Clarabel, and Jaminta to visit us soon.” She hesitated. “Actually, I, er, sort of already told them they could come.” She crossed her fingers and hoped her parents wouldn’t ask exactly how she’d invited them. She really couldn’t give away how the secret rings worked.

“Lulu!” exclaimed Queen Shani. “You really must think a little harder before you rush off and do things like that. Now I shall have to telephone their parents to explain.”

Lady Malika stared at Lulu, her head tilted to one side. “Sister!” she said. “Maybe it would be a good idea to invite these girls to stay. Then they can do princess things together, rather than roaming around the grasslands.”

Lulu stared back at Lady Malika. She was grateful that her aunt agreed with her. She just wasn’t sure why her aunt had spoken up like that. It was hard to tell what Lady Malika was thinking behind her sharp eyes and half-smiling mouth.

The queen’s brown eyes were thoughtful. “Well, it
would
be nice for you to have some friends here,” she said at last. “As long as their parents are happy to let them come.”

“I’m sure they’ll come if you send a proper royal invitation, sister,” said Lady Malika.

The king and queen exchanged glances. “All right, then,” said Queen Shani. “The other princesses can come and visit.”

“Thank you!” cried Lulu.

The queen raised her hand to quiet her daughter. “But only if you promise us something in return.”

“Anything!” said Lulu, her dark eyes lighting up. “I’ll do anything.”

“The princesses can come as long as you are nicer to Prince Olaf,” said the queen.

Lulu groaned. Being nice to Olaf would be really hard work.

“And we want you to take some lessons with Madame Rez,” added the king.

“What? Why? Who is she?” asked Lulu.

The queen sighed. “Do try to speak gently, my dear.”

“But who is she?” said Lulu.

“Madame Rez is your new etiquette teacher,” said the king. “She’s here to help you learn proper princess manners.”

Lulu made a face. That all sounded very dull, but what choice did she have? “All right, I’ll be nice to Prince Olaf and do the new lessons.” She dropped into a wobbly curtsy.

Bouncing back upstairs, she forgot all about the promises she’d just made to her parents. The important thing was that the other princesses were coming, and together they would find Tufty’s family.

She was about to climb into bed when she heard a noise outside. Padding over to the open window, she looked out into the darkness. The moon was hidden, but the stars made a pattern across the sky like scattered jewels. She began to turn away when a glint caught her eye. Something winked at the far side of the garden, next to the old gray wall near the gardener’s shed.

Holding the fluttering curtain still, she stared hard at the spot. But nothing else happened. Maybe it had been a firefly, or the eyes of a lizard.

Lulu gazed at the little lion cub curled up on her bed. His soft tummy rose and fell as he breathed quietly in his sleep. “Don’t worry, little Tufty,” she whispered. “The Rescue Princesses are coming. We won’t let you down.”

Lying her head on the pillow, she closed her eyes and thought of Emily, Clarabel, and Jaminta. The sooner they got here, the sooner all the lions would be back together and happy once again.