The Magykal Papers (16 page)

MY HORSE

Today I got a
horse
! I love her—she is called Domino and she is beautiful. Here’s what she looks like:

She is pure white, apart from six black spots where the saddle goes. Her mane and her tail are white too and really long, so I am learning how to keep them brushed and braided. I have a horse instructor—Mrs. B—from the farm where Dad bought Domino (good old Dad!). Mrs. B is staying with us for a month and teaching me everything about how to look after Domino and how to ride properly too. We go for a ride every morning before school and people wave to us, which is fun.

THE QUEEN’S ROOM

T
OP
S
ECRET
. D
O NOT READ
!

This is secret! The Queen’s Room is in the turret in the east end of the Palace, but only the True Queen and her descendants can see the door that leads to it. I found it because I am the Princess. I was able to open it with the key Aunt Zelda gave me, but Sep couldn’t see the door at all!

The door to the room is gold with all kinds of patterns in it. There is a big keyhole right in the middle and only my key can open the door, which comes down like a drawbridge. Sep says that when I go into the Queen’s Room, it looks like I’m walking straight through a wall and disappearing.

The room is smaller than you would expect and is surprisingly cozy. There is a fire burning in the grate, and a comfortable armchair is in front of it. I thought the chair looked like a really good place to sit, but I didn’t. It was strange—I felt as though someone was already sitting there. Someone nice.

But the best thing about the Queen’s Room is the cupboard. It has
UNSTABLE POTIONS AND PARTIKULAR POISONS
written on it—just like Aunt Zelda’s! If you go into it and close the door so that it clicks shut, then open the right drawer, it takes you straight to Aunt Zelda’s own
UnStable
Potions and Partikular Poisons cupboard. How amazing is that? That is how the Castle Queens have traveled to visit the Dragon Boat, and that is why it is called the Queen’s Way.

HOMEWORK NOTES FROM

OUR CASTLE STORY

Queens: the Good, the Bad, the Crazy and the Slightly Nervous

THE GOOD

Chapter Ten:
T
HE
F
IRST
Q
UEEN

• Name: Not known, but some people call her Queen Eleanor the Wise.
  
• Age when succeeded to Throne: She did not succeed to the Throne—she arrived one morning in the Royal Barge. According to legend she was twenty-one at the time.
  
• Length of reign: According to legend it was one hundred and one years long.
  
• Known for: Being the first and founding the Palace. Also for being very beautiful. And good.
  

Chapter Eleven:
T
HE
Q
UEEN AND THE
D
RAGON
B
OAT

• Name: Queen Miranda
  
• Age when succeeded to Throne: Twenty-two.
  
• Length of reign: Thirty-one years.
  
• Known for: Miranda asked Hotep-Ra to stay in the Castle and build the Wizard Tower. She was the first Queen to visit the Dragon Boat.
  

Chapter Twelve:
A C
ASTLE
W
ITHOUT
A
LE

• Name: Queen Daniella (The Dry)
  
• Age when succeeded to Throne: Twenty-three.
  
• Length of reign: Five years.
  
• Known for: Closing all the Taverns in the Castle.