The Awfully Angry Ogre (2 page)

T
HREE DAYS LATER
T
ANSY WATCHED FROM HER
tower bedroom for the princesses' arrival. When she spotted a flying carpet skimming over the trees, she raced outside to greet her friends.

Fatima landed the carpet on the grassy lawn in front of the castle, and the princesses all hopped off. After they'd hugged one another and exclaimed over how excited they
were to be together again, Fatima rolled up her carpet and strapped it onto her back. She was beautiful, with dark skin and long black hair. At twelve, Fatima was also the oldest of the four girls.

“What a fantastic flight,” Fatima said, brushing a speck of dirt from her pink blouse and smoothing down her purple pantaloons. “It was clear and sunny the whole way.”

Lysandra looped her wavy blond hair behind her ears. She was ten, just a year older than Tansy. “We could see everything down below. We even saw whales spouting when we flew over the ocean. It was wonderful!”

“And we passed by the most beautiful birds,” eleven-year-old Elena added.

“Sounds great,” said Tansy, as she led her friends up to the castle's front doors.

She hoped the flight wouldn't turn out to be the best part of their trip; her friends were
bound to be disappointed by the drabness of her family's castle. Tansy crossed her fingers that they wouldn't be too uncomfortable there. And then there was the matter of her brothers. She could only pray they'd be on their best behavior while her guests were visiting.

But no sooner had the girls entered the Main Hall than Cole and Ethan, Tansy's two
younger brothers, sprang out from behind a large potted fern.

“Boo!” they shouted, making the princesses jump.

“Bats and bullfrogs!” Fatima exclaimed.

Cole grinned. “Scared you, didn't we?” He was seven, and Ethan was eight, but the two of them looked so much alike with their red hair
and blue eyes that they could've passed for twins. Laughing, the boys ran off without even waiting to be introduced.

Tansy rolled her eyes. “Those were Cole and Ethan,” she said. “I'm sorry to say they're my brothers. I did warn you that I have
six
, didn't I?”

Elena smiled. “You did.”

Tansy's parents rose from the couch when the princesses entered the Sitting Room. Raising his shaggy eyebrows, King Albert declared, “These must be the young ladies we've heard so much about.”

“Please make yourselves at home,” Queen Charlotte said cheerfully. “We're so pleased to meet you at last.”

After some pleasant conversation, the girls bid Tansy's parents farewell. As they climbed the narrow, winding staircase to Tansy's room,
Fatima said, “I like your parents. They seem very nice.” Tansy noticed her friend didn't say anything about Cole and Ethan.

“Wow, your room is really high!” Lysandra exclaimed halfway up the stairs. Elena didn't say a word, but Tansy could hear her huffing and puffing behind them.

“Sorry about the climb,” apologized Tansy. “I wanted to be as far away from my brothers as I could get.”

At last they arrived at her room. Lysandra kicked off her shoes and sank onto Tansy's bed. Stretching out her legs, she exclaimed, “Ah! That feels
so
good!”

Elena walked around the room, examining every painting. “We flew over that mountain,” she said. “What's it called?”

“Mount Majesta,” said Tansy.

“Did you paint these?” asked Elena.
“They're very good.”

With pride, Tansy said, “My brother Jonah painted them. As brothers go, he's not so bad. Better than the rest, anyway.”

“What a fabulous view!” Fatima exclaimed suddenly, staring out the window.

Tansy went to stand beside her. In the distance Mount Majesta rose tall and regal, clothed in a forest-green cloak and wearing a hat of snow. “It
is
beautiful, isn't it?” she said. She felt glad that at least the view from the castle was grand. Perhaps to impress Fatima even more, she added, “You know, there's an ogre living halfway up the mountain.”

Fatima's mouth dropped open. “You're kidding!”

“Really?” Lysandra and Elena exclaimed.

Tansy grinned. “It's true.” She plopped onto her bed next to Lysandra and invited the
others to do the same. It was a good thing her bed was wide since they'd all have to sleep together during the visit!

Tansy told her friends everything she knew about the ogre, including the rumors that he stole sheep and set fires. She'd just finished telling them about the eight young men who'd been turned into stone when there was a loud knock at her door.

The princesses jumped, then laughed at themselves for being so startled. Tansy hopped off her bed and scraped open the door.

Jonah stood in the doorway, panting and holding the handles of several large bags. “These just arrived,” he said, dumping them inside the room. He glanced over at Tansy's friends. “I guess none of you believes in traveling light, do you?” But he was smiling as he said it.

Tansy introduced Jonah to everyone.

“Thanks for lugging our things upstairs,” Fatima said. “I had to send them by carriage. They never would've fit on my carpet.”

“Plus, our bags are so heavy, she probably couldn't have gotten the carpet off the ground,” added Lysandra.

Tansy patted her brother's arm. “Good thing you're so strong.”

Jonah tried to flex but only managed a small bump. “Not at all like Edward's,” he said sadly.

“Who cares?” said Tansy. “Edward may have bigger muscles, but you've got a bigger
brain
.”

“You're right, of course,” Jonah said with a grin.

“I love your paintings,” Elena said softly.

Jonah blushed to the roots of his ginger hair. “Thanks.” He started to leave, then turned back again. “Forgot to tell you. Mom said dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.”

At dinner the princesses met Tansy's other brothers: Edward, James, and twelve-year-old Matthew. To Tansy's relief, Edward and James
made an effort to have better table manners, eating more slowly than usual and asking for things instead of lunging across the table.

Elena and Jonah, who were sitting across from each other, got into a discussion about poetry and art. At the other end of the table, James chattered away with Fatima. Even shy Matthew, seated beside Lysandra, became quite talkative during the meal.

After dinner King Albert and Queen Charlotte excused themselves to talk with a group of villagers who were upset about the latest ogre rumors. Tansy's brothers left too—except for Jonah and Matthew, who stayed to clear the dishes from the table. The other princesses must have been surprised that there weren't any servants to do the job, but they jumped up to help too. Tansy's face went warm. “We can do this by ourselves. You can go relax.”

“Nonsense,” said Fatima. “It'll be fun.”

“Matthew and I can stack and carry the plates,” said Lysandra.

“And I'll help Jonah with the drinking glasses,” added Elena.

Tansy filled the sink with soap and water, and they all took turns scrubbing and rinsing the dishes. They slopped most of the water on themselves but had a great time.

Later that night, the princesses wearily climbed the stairs to Tansy's room to get ready for bed. Lysandra brushed her wavy blond hair. “Your brothers are much nicer than I thought they'd be,” she told Tansy. “I think Matthew's really sweet.”

Elena pulled her nightgown over her head. “Jonah's going to let me watch him paint sometime.”

Tansy grinned. “I hope you like getting up
early, then.” She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, polishing her wooden flute with a rag. The flute was magical, and Tansy carried it with her everywhere. Whenever she played it, the thoughts of anyone near could be heard as if spoken aloud. Her flute often helped her uncover the mischief her brothers were up to. But so far their behavior had been better than she'd expected. Even Cole and Ethan hadn't been too awful, in spite of the scare they'd given the girls earlier that day.

Tansy was also glad that her friends didn't seem to care that the castle was in bad shape. They'd even thought clearing the table and doing the dishes was
fun
!

Fatima kicked off her sandals and hopped onto Tansy's bed. “James said he and Edward are going on a hunting trip tomorrow.”

“Oh?” said Tansy. She wasn't very surprised. Her two oldest brothers often hunted
for deer and rabbit.

“He said they might be gone a couple of days. Then he added something else kind of odd.” She paused, as if remembering. “He said, ‘This time we'll be hunting for
really
big game.'”

Tansy stopped polishing her flute, suddenly alert. “Did he say what he meant by that?”

Fatima shrugged. “I asked him if he meant elephants, but I was joking, of course. I know there aren't any elephants around here. Anyway, James just smiled and said, ‘Much bigger game than that.' You don't suppose he was talking about that ogre, do you?”

Tansy hugged herself worriedly. It was
exactly
what she thought.

“Y
OUR BROTHERS WOULDN'T REALLY GO AFTER
an ogre, would they?” asked Elena. Her hazel eyes shone with concern.

Tansy bit her lip. “They want to go after it. But my father forbids them.”

“You don't think they'd go anyway, do you?” Fatima asked.

“I don't know,” said Tansy. “I hope not, but who can tell with those two?”

“I bet James was just talking big,” said Lysandra. “Boys do that, you know.”

Lysandra was probably right, thought Tansy. But even so, she found it hard not to worry.

The next morning, when the girls went downstairs for breakfast, Queen Charlotte and Matthew were already eating. Matthew blushed when Lysandra sat down beside him.

“Have Edward and James left to go hunting yet?” Tansy asked.

Her mother nodded. “They left before your father and I were up,” she said, passing around a basket of apple tarts. “They promised last night they'd bring back some rabbits for dinner.”

The princesses exchanged worried looks. James had said they might be gone a couple of days. And rabbits certainly weren't “big game.”

“When did they leave?” Tansy asked.

“I'm not sure,” her mother replied. “But Jonah might know.”

After the girls finished breakfast, they went outside to search for Jonah. Matthew came too. Walking alongside Lysandra, he told her the names of all the trees and wildflowers growing near the castle. He loved studying nature.

They found Jonah in the field behind the
castle, finishing a painting of Mount Majesta. As usual, he'd been up with the sun.

“How did you make the snow on the mountain look so real?” Elena asked, admiring the picture. “I can almost
feel
how cold it is.”

Jonah beamed, obviously pleased at Elena's interest. He started to launch into an explanation of his painting techniques, but Tansy interrupted. “Did you see Edward and James
go off this morning?”

“Sure did.” He rubbed his freckled nose, leaving a smudge of blue paint. “They left about two hours ago. Their poor horses were loaded down with so much stuff, it looked like they were going off to war!”

This news alarmed Tansy and her friends. Excusing themselves, they started back to the castle.

“I imagine we're all thinking the same thing,” said Elena.

Tansy nodded. “We've got to stop them! If we took your flying carpet, could we catch up to them, Fatima?”

“Of course,” she said.

“Then let's go!” said Lysandra.

Soon the four princesses were sailing over the forest toward Mount Majesta. Tansy had thought it would be easy to spot Edward and James from the air, but the trees were so thick
and leafy, it was impossible to see the ground.

“Where does the ogre live?” Lysandra asked.

Tansy pointed north, toward a clearing about halfway up the mountain, and Fatima steered the carpet in that direction. When they neared the ogre's camp, the princesses saw a stone well in a meadow. Tansy counted eight granite statues surrounding the well. She
sighed with relief. At least there weren't any
new
ones.

The ogre was nowhere in sight.

“Where now?” Fatima asked after they'd circled the meadow a couple of times.

“I don't know,” Tansy admitted.

The princesses finally landed at the edge of a small lake. Tucked between the trees, but
close to the shore, stood a trim white cottage.

“Let's ask whoever lives there if they've seen my brothers,” Tansy said.

Fatima rolled up her carpet and strapped it onto her back. As the princesses approached the cottage, they heard someone singing in a dry, raspy voice. It sounded like a key rattling in a rusty lock. When they knocked on the door, the singing stopped. Then the door creaked open, and a wrinkled and bony old woman stared out at them.