Rescue Princesses #4: The Stolen Crystals (5 page)

The two princesses stared at the jewel.

“It’s a star!” cried Jaminta.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” said Clarabel.

The gem glowed, filling the water with light. Then the brightness faded.

Jaminta waded back in and lifted out the Star Crystal just as the sun rose over the tops of the mountains. She held it up to the sun’s first rays and caught her breath. The jewel was now as clear and sparkling as a diamond, and right
in the center there was a beautiful flickering fire.

“Is there supposed to be a flame inside it?” said Clarabel, looking alarmed.

“Yes! That’s exactly how the Heart Crystals look in all the old pictures.” Jaminta turned the Star Crystal over in her hand. Grandfather was going to be so happy with his present. “I wonder if it still makes a singing sound, like it did before,” she added thoughtfully.

“You’re not taking it up the mountain, are you?” Clarabel gasped. “What if something bad happens?”

“It won’t,” Jaminta said calmly. “I believe in this jewel. The power inside it is good.”

Clarabel looked doubtfully at the Star Crystal, which shone in the growing sunshine.

Just then, a huge black-and-white shape
came out of the bamboo forest on the other side of the river. The mother panda lumbered down the slope and stopped for a moment, pointing her nose toward the two princesses. Then she took a few more strides down to the water and bent her head to drink.

“I’ve never seen her come right down to the river before,” said Jaminta.

“Where’s Lucky?” wondered Clarabel, peering hopefully at the forest.

The panda cub sprang out of the trees and ran across the grass toward his mother. He drank from the river for a second, then sat back on his bottom and scratched his furry white stomach with one paw. A bumblebee flew past his nose and he half stood up to swipe at it, but fell over backward instead. His little legs waved wildly in the air.

Jaminta and Clarabel giggled.

“I wish we could stay and watch him all day. He’s so cute.” Clarabel sighed.

Jaminta put her new Star Crystal into her pocket. “We should probably find the others, though —” she began, but she broke off when her emerald ring lit up brightly. Clarabel’s sapphire ring started to glow as well, and a faint voice came through.

“Jaminta? Clarabel? It’s Emily! Can you hear me?” Emily’s voice sounded worried.

“We can hear you,” said Jaminta. “What is it?”

“The earl and his servant are heading your way. Try to follow them,” said Emily. “We had to stay away from them because they spotted us and —” Emily’s voice crackled and broke off.

Jaminta pressed the emerald on her ring, but the light had vanished.

“Look, Jaminta! Here’s the earl,” hissed Clarabel.

Two figures came striding out of the back gate and down the hill toward them. The girls pretended to be looking for fish in the river. The man in front was tall and thin, with a crooked mouth and a red cloak that swirled behind him. It was definitely Earl Scrant.

“The servant’s got a shovel,” muttered Clarabel. “They must be planning to dig for the Heart Crystals right now.”

Jaminta tried to glance at them quickly so that they didn’t see her looking. She saw the earl’s swirling red cloak out of the corner of her eye and it reminded her of something. She’d seen a glimpse of that red cloak before, by the bridge yesterday after they’d visited the pandas.

Earl Scrant climbed onto the curved
bridge and stopped to glare at the two princesses.

“Hey, look, Clarabel!” Jaminta pointed at the water and spoke loudly, her heart thumping. “I just saw some fish.”

Both girls leaned over the water, pretending to look.

“Come on, Drudger! Get a move on!” snapped the earl.

The other man followed the earl across the bridge, carrying the shovel balanced over one shoulder. As they reached the other side, the mother panda walked back into the forest, leaving the cub still playing on the riverbank.

Jaminta and Clarabel tiptoed forward. They crept across the bridge, being careful not to make a sound. The two men stopped next to the trees and unfolded a large map.

The princesses edged closer, listening.

“We’ll turn right after the rope bridge,” said the earl. “Then I’ll look for more landmarks.”

Jaminta crept a little closer, but her shoe caught on a twig and it broke beneath her foot with an enormous
crack
.

The earl swung around, his eyes bulging. “You silly princesses! How dare you follow me?”

The other man scowled. “That’s four of them. If you count the ones we saw in the garden, hiding behind that statue.”

The earl ground his teeth. “Stay away from me or I’ll make you regret it!”

“We were just leaving.” Jaminta went pale. “We won’t disturb you.” She and Clarabel started backing away, their hearts thumping.

But the earl wasn’t paying attention. He had caught sight of the panda cub scampering by the river. He strode over to
Lucky and snatched up the little cub with one gloved hand.

“I know what will stop your meddling,” he snapped. “See this pathetic creature that you were cooing over when you crossed the bridge yesterday? Well, if you follow me or if you tell anyone at the palace where I’ve gone, then you’ll never, ever see him again!”

Jaminta’s heart turned cold. He was threatening poor Lucky!

The earl’s face twisted into a horrible smile. “Do you understand? If you tell or if you follow me, something bad will happen to this animal.” He tucked the cub under one arm. “And there are some very steep drops on the mountainside, if you know what I mean.” Chuckling to himself, the earl marched into the bamboo forest, with his servant behind him.

Clarabel turned to Jaminta, tears in her
eyes. “What are we going to do? He’s taken Lucky and it’s all our fault.”

Lulu and Emily came sprinting across the wooden bridge.

“What happened?” Lulu panted. “We saw Earl Scrant talking to you. What did he say?”

Jaminta brushed tears from her eyes. “He picked up Lucky and took him away. He said if we followed him, we’d never see Lucky again.”

“Oh no!” Emily put her hand over her mouth.

“But we can’t leave Lucky with him. He’s a dangerous man,” cried Clarabel.

Lulu frowned furiously. “I brought some rope in this backpack. Maybe we can capture the earl and tie him up.”

“No, he’s too big. We’d never be able to do that. We’ll have to think of something else.” Jaminta gazed up at the mountain,
a feeling of calm settling over her. Suddenly, she knew exactly what she had to do. “I know how we can get Lucky back. All we have to do is offer Earl Scrant something he really wants in exchange.”

“What do you mean?” asked Emily.

Jaminta drew her hand from her pocket and showed them the beautiful star-shaped jewel. “We give him this. We give him the Star Crystal.”

“But, Jaminta!” cried Clarabel. “It’s your new jewel. You wanted to give it to your grandfather for his birthday.”

Jaminta sighed. “I know. But keeping Lucky safe is more important than anything else in the world!”

“Did your lump of crystal really change into that?” Emily’s eyes widened.

Jaminta nodded. “When the earl sees it, I know he’ll want it.”

“But are you sure it’s safe to take your jewel up there?” asked Lulu. “You know what happened last time.”

“I’m totally sure,” said Jaminta firmly.

“Quick! Or we’ll never find Lucky,” urged Clarabel.

The four princesses flung themselves into the forest. Jaminta took the lead, stopping to listen now and then, checking the direction of the men crashing through the bamboo trees up ahead. She leaped over a pile of stones and ran on. It was hard trying to be fast and quiet at the same time, but they had to make sure the earl didn’t hear them until the very last second.

They stopped at the edge of the rocky ravine.

“This is where we crossed the valley yesterday,” said Lulu. “But where’s the rope bridge?”

Jaminta pointed down into the ravine, her cheeks flushing angrily. The rope bridge dangled down against the rocky cliff. “It’s broken. Earl Scrant must have crossed over and then cut through the rope on the other side.”

“What are we going to do?” said Clarabel. “We can’t climb all the way down there. It’s way too steep.”

Jaminta bit her lip. “We have to try something. We have to get to Lucky.”

Lulu took off her backpack, reached inside it, and pulled out a long coil of rope. “I’ll climb over. Then I can tie one end of this rope to a tree and throw the other end across to you.”

The princesses looked across the ravine. The biggest tree on the other side had sturdy branches, strong enough to swing from.

“Will you be able to do it?” Emily looked down at the steep cliff.

Lulu grinned. “Of course! I love climbing!”

She clambered carefully down the rock face, finding handholds and footholds in the rough cliff. Little by little, she lowered herself down.

“You’re doing great!” Jaminta called softly as Lulu reached the bottom and began climbing up the other side.

At the top, Lulu tied the rope firmly to a tree and threw the other end across to them.

Jaminta caught it. “Who wants to go first?”

Clarabel’s face turned pale. “I can’t! It’s too far.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll help you.” Jaminta put the rope into her hand. “Ready?”

Jaminta and Emily stood behind Clarabel. With a huge push, they swung her across the ravine to Lulu, who caught her safely on the other side. Clarabel hugged Lulu in relief and waved to the others.

Emily swung across next. Then Jaminta stood alone on the edge of the cliff. She took the rope, trying not to look down. There was no one left to push her. She
would have to jump hard enough to swing herself all the way across. She lifted her chin. Lucky was probably really scared by now. She would do it for him.

She jumped. The ravine opened out below her, a steep drop filled with jagged rocks. She swung closer to the other side, and just as she wondered if she would make it, three pairs of arms grabbed her.

“Wow!” she gasped, her feet thudding on the ground. “That was pretty scary.”

“Right, let’s keep going,” said Lulu. “We don’t want to lose track of the earl.”

They hurried on, slipping in and out of the trees, and at last they heard the men moving up ahead. The earl sounded even grumpier than before.

“Hurry up, Drudger!” he snapped. “I want to dig up my jewels and then escape from Onica as fast as possible. But
you
are slowing me down!”

“The shovel is heavy, Your Grace,” came the panted reply.

“Shovel! Just be thankful you’re not carrying this wretched, squirming animal,” said the earl. “If it wriggles again, I’ll drop it off the mountain. I’d drop it right now if I could be sure that those frilly princesses aren’t following us. But they’re tricky! They may have found another way around that ravine.”

“But, My Lord? Do you know the right way back to the palace now that you’ve cut the rope bridge?”

There was a pause.

“I brought you here to dig, Drudger, not to think. I can figure out the way back myself.” The earl coughed uneasily. “This is the right place. I’m sure I buried my lovely Heart Crystals here. Start digging at once!”

The princesses crept forward and peered through the bamboo trees into the clearing. The earl still held Lucky carelessly under one arm. The little cub twisted anxiously and let out a tiny whimper. Jaminta longed to hug him and make him feel better.

“I wish we could tie up that nasty earl,” hissed Lulu.

“Isn’t this where we came before? When we first saw Lucky and that rockslide happened?” whispered Clarabel.

Jaminta glanced around the clearing and nodded. The skin on the back of her neck tingled. Something important was about to happen here. Somehow, she just knew it was.

“Do you really think you should take the crystal in there?” said Emily.

Jaminta drew the Star Crystal from
her pocket. Inside its diamond-clear shape, the flame burned brightly. “This is the only thing I’ve got that the earl will want in exchange for Lucky.” She took a deep breath. “Ready, everyone?”

The others nodded. Together, they stepped out of their hiding place into full view.

“You again!” yelled the earl. “This time you will be sorry —”

But Jaminta interrupted him. “Stop! We’ve come to ask for the panda cub in exchange for this crystal.” She held the Star Crystal out for him to see.

The earl’s eyebrows rose. “What? Where did you get that from?”

“Never mind where we got it!” said Jaminta, her voice trembling. “It’s a Star Crystal and you can have it if you hand over the cub right now.”

The earl strode toward her and snatched the Star Crystal out of her hand,
dropping Lucky on the ground without a second thought.

Jaminta ran to Lucky, gathering the little cub into her arms and feeling his soft black-and-white fur against her cheek. “Lucky!” she whispered. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

Lucky squeaked happily and snuffled into her ear.

The earl’s face broke into a twisted smile of delight as he gazed at the sparkling Star Crystal. “This will truly make me rich!” He turned to his servant. “Now, Drudger! Tie up these nosy princesses!”

But the other man wasn’t listening. He dropped his shovel and looked around with wide eyes. A sound began to rise above the bamboo trees, clear and sweet. The Star Crystal had started to sing.