The Ruby Princess Runs Away Read online

  For Dash and Skye

  The Shining Jewels in Our Lives

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  1. Roxanne Runs Away

  2. Strangers on the Road

  3. Hapgood the Dragon

  4. Applesap and Marigold

  5. Impostor on the Throne!

  6. The Mysterious Forest

  7. Fly to the Palace!

  8. A Princess at Last

  Sneak Peek

  About the Authors

  The Jewel Kingdom Series

  Copyright

  “I can’t do it,” Roxanne whispered from her hiding place in the royalberry tree. “I can’t be a Jewel Princess. I’m not ready.”

  Today was the day she and her cousins would be crowned in a coronation ceremony.

  It was also the day they would leave the Jewel Palace, where they had grown up.

  As the Ruby Princess, Roxanne would have to move to her new castle in the Red Mountains. The mountains lay in the far corner of the Jewel Kingdom.

  “I always knew this day would come,” she murmured. “I just didn’t think it would come so soon.”

  Roxanne stared glumly down at the palace courtyard. Creatures from every land were gathering there.

  Nymphs with blue skin and green hair chatted with goat-footed fauns. Richly dressed lords and ladies bowed to pointy-eared elves who rode on the shoulders of smiling giants.

  “There you are!” A little red bird with a rainbow plume on his head fluttered onto the limb next to Roxanne. It was Pip, the royal secretary.

  “The king and queen have been looking for you everywhere!” Pip squawked.

  Queen Gemma and King Regal ruled the Jewel Kingdom. Today they were giving four of the kingdom’s lands to the princesses.

  “Don’t tell the king and queen where I am, Pip,” Roxanne pleaded. “I can’t face them. Not yet.”

  “The ceremony is about to begin.” Pip tapped Roxanne’s hand with his long yellow beak. “Everybody from the Jewel Kingdom is here.”

  Roxanne’s big brown eyes widened. “Everybody?”

  “Everybody who’s anybody.” Pip ticked off the names of the guests on one wing. “There are the gnomes, the craghoppers, and the pixies from the Red Mountains.”

  Roxanne gulped.

  “Then there are all those creatures from the Greenwood, Blue Lake, and the White Winterland.”

  Those were her cousins’ lands.

  “Then there are the young knights of Bronze, Silver, Iron, and—”

  “Stop!” Roxanne pinched Pip’s beak closed. “If you’re trying to make me nervous,” she whispered, “you are doing a very good job.”

  Pip shook his beak free from her grasp. He hopped to the limb above Roxanne’s head.

  “You shouldn’t be nervous,” Pip said. “You should be excited, like your cousins.”

  Roxanne’s cousin Emily had been up since dawn, chattering about being crowned the Emerald Princess.

  Demetra, the Diamond Princess, had spent the entire week in front of her mirror nervously brushing and brushing her shiny black hair.

  Sabrina, the Sapphire Princess, was usually the quietest of the four. But even she had rattled on about sprites and striders and all of the new friends she would make at Blue Lake.

  Every princess but Roxanne was happy.

  “I just don’t feel like a princess,” she said with a huge sigh. “In fact, I feel very ordinary.”

  “Careful!” Pip glanced nervously at the palace windows. “Someone might hear you.”

  “But, Pip, look at me.” Roxanne stood up in the crook of the tree. “I’m just a regular girl. I like to climb trees, ride horses, and go swimming.”

  “That will change,” Pip murmured.

  “I don’t like dresses.” Roxanne gestured to her beautiful red-velvet gown. “I’d rather wear pants.”

  Pip winced. “Heaven forbid.”

  “And how can I rule and protect the people of the Red Mountains when I can’t protect myself?”

  Roxanne showed Pip her leg. Her stockings were torn. And a very large lump had formed on her shin. “I banged my knee on the palace wall when I climbed up here.”

  Pip fluttered in circles around the tree. “Oh dear, oh dear!”

  Roxanne tilted her head. “How does a person rule, anyway?”

  “How should I know?” Pip ruffled his feathers. “You just order people around.”

  “Order people around.” Roxanne wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound like fun.”

  “Who said being a princess was fun?” Pip squawked.

  Ta-ra ta-ra ta-ra!

  The trumpets sounded at the front gate. The palace guard announced, “Presenting the great wizard Gallivant!”

  “Gallivant!” Roxanne gasped, nearly falling out of the tree.

  The wizard was very old and very powerful. Just hearing his name made Roxanne weak in the knees.

  “There he is.” Below her, Roxanne could see the big white plumes of the horses that pulled the wizard’s gleaming glass coach.

  Pip flew to a ledge in the courtyard to get a closer look. He called to the princess, “Gallivant is carrying the Great Jeweled Crown!”

  The crown held the royal jewels of the kingdom. Four jewels from this crown would be given to the princesses today.

  Roxanne watched everyone in the courtyard bow low as the wizard passed.

  “Soon they’ll be bowing to me,” Roxanne murmured. “I’ll be in a coach with the Ruby Crown on my head. The coach will take me far away from my family and friends. And there I’ll sit all by myself in some lonely old castle …”

  Roxanne’s voice trailed off. The palace gates were standing wide open.

  Her eyes widened. I don’t have to be crowned today, she thought. I could just leap out of this tree and run away.

  Pip flew back to her. “Hurry, my lady. You must join the king and queen and your cousins. They’re about to greet the wizard.”

  Ta-ra ta-ra ta-ra!

  The trumpets sounded again.

  “It’s now or never,” Roxanne said, keeping her eyes fixed on the open gate.

  Queen Gemma and King Regal stepped onto the marble steps of the palace. A cheer rang from every creature in the courtyard.

  Roxanne gathered her skirts around her, took a deep breath, and leaped. “Now!”

  “Princess, stop!” Pip cried.

  He flapped his wings, trying to keep up with Roxanne as she raced down the mountain. “You must come back to the palace!”

  Roxanne ignored Pip. She was too busy trying to run and put on her cape. She had grabbed the cape from one of the ladies-in-waiting as she raced through the palace gates.

  “If you won’t come back, then I’m coming with you!” Pip declared, flying in front of her.

  “Suit yourself,” Roxanne huffed. “But I want you to know that I won’t be going back. I’m through with being a princess.”

  “Do you know where you’re headed?” Pip asked. “I mean, after all, you’ve never been far from the palace before.”

  Pip was right. Roxanne had only left the grounds twice. Once, when she and her cousins visited Gallivant’s Cave. And another time on a butterfly-watching trip with Queen Gemma.

  “I’ve seen maps!” Roxanne declared. She pointed to a glistening ribbon of water that ran across the fields in front of them. “I know that’s the Rushing River.”

  “It moves very fast and is often difficult to cross,” Pip said.

  Roxanne pointed to a gloomy stand of trees. It crept across the pastures like a big dark shadow. “That is the Mysterious Forest.”

  “Oooh.” Pip shuddered. “You want to stay away from there.”

&
nbsp; “Why?” Roxanne asked. “I’ve always been warned to keep away from the Mysterious Forest but no one has ever told me why.”

  “Because …” Pip landed on her shoulder and whispered into her ear. “Because there is a secret passage in there. It leads straight to Castle Dread.”

  Roxanne’s eyes widened. “Across the Dismal Sea? Where Lord Bleak and the evil Dreadlings were sent?”

  Pip nodded.

  Roxanne had often heard terrible stories of Lord Bleak. He had once ruled the Jewel Kingdom. But that was in the Sad Times, before Roxanne was born.

  “Then I don’t think we really need to go in the Mysterious Forest,” she said in a shaky voice. “I say we head west.”

  “West is good,” Pip said, glancing nervously back toward the dark woods. He wanted to get as far away from them as possible.

  Roxanne walked toward the Rushing River. “There should be a stone bridge just over that rise. I remember it from the maps in King Regal’s study. We can cross the river there.”

  But as they reached the bridge, two figures in hooded black capes suddenly emerged from beneath it. They carried walking sticks and their hoods covered their faces.

  “Who are you and where are you going?” one of them asked in a crackly voice.

  A chill ran down Roxanne’s spine. She pulled her cape shut to hide her fancy red dress.

  “That’s none of your business!” Pip squawked from his perch on her shoulder.

  “What an unusual creature,” the other cloaked figure rasped. It stretched one bony finger toward Pip. “The rainbow plume. Aren’t those the palace colors?”

  “Yes,” Roxanne said quickly. “We’re on our way to the coronation.”

  “Oh, really?” The other stranger hobbled forward. “But the palace is behind you.”

  “Excuse me.” Pip pecked at Roxanne’s shoulder. “Excuse me!”

  She raised her hand to swat at the bird. “Pip, please stop that!”

  The hooded figures gasped. Roxanne realized they were staring at her gown.

  One hissed to the other, “The Ruby Princess!”

  Pip tugged Roxanne away from them. “Th-th-these strangers,” the bird stammered. “I think they may be D-d-dread— Awk! ”

  His voice was cut off as a third stranger appeared from the woods and grabbed him.

  “You let go of that bird!” Roxanne ordered.

  “Come and get him,” the figure whispered.

  “Run!” Pip coughed. “Run!”

  Before Roxanne could make a move, a black shadow darkened the sky above them.

  Roxanne looked up.

  A huge green creature with red scaly wings swooped toward her. It was breathing fire.

  “By the Great Jeweled Crown,” Roxanne cried as the creature plucked her off the ground with its claws. “A dragon!”

  “Permit me to introduce myself,” the dragon said when they were far away from the hooded creatures. He gently placed Roxanne on the ground. “My name is Hapgood.”

  Roxanne was still a little rattled from the quick flight through the air. “Hapgood?”

  The big green dragon nodded. He tucked his wings into his body and blinked his enormous dark blue eyes.

  “But you may call me Happy,” he said in a very deep, very formal voice.

  “My name is—” Roxanne’s hand flew to her mouth. She couldn’t tell this dragon who she really was: Roxanne the runaway princess.

  But she didn’t want to lie to him, either. After all, he’d just rescued her from the hooded strangers. So she said, “I am Roxanne. Of the Rushing River.”

  The dragon held out one claw. She shook it—carefully.

  “Pleased to meet you, Roxanne,” Hapgood said. Then he added, “Of the Rushing River.”

  Roxanne couldn’t help staring at the marvelous creature.

  “I’ve only met one dragon before,” she explained. “He was very fierce and spent a lot of time breathing fire. He burned up trees and chairs—anything made of wood. Are you fierce?”

  “I can be fierce when I want to be. But only when I meet creatures I don’t like.”

  Roxanne looked back toward the bridge where the hooded strangers had tried to grab her. “I didn’t like them at all.”

  Hapgood’s smile vanished, and his eyes glowed red. “Those were Dreadlings. Sent by Lord Bleak. It’s a bad sign when they appear in our kingdom.”

  “I wonder if King Regal knows about them,” Roxanne murmured.

  “Roxanne!” Pip squawked above them.

  The little red bird was out of breath. His feathers were ruffled. One of his rainbow plumes was bent.

  He fluttered onto a limb beside Roxanne’s head. “I thought you’d been kidnapped!”

  “No, Pip!” Roxanne laughed. “I’m quite safe. Meet Hapgood.”

  Pip turned up his beak at the big green dragon. “We’ve met.” He sniffed. “He nearly burned off half my feathers with that flame of his.”

  Hapgood bowed his head. “Please accept my apologies. I was aiming for the Dreadlings.”

  Pip’s little black eyes widened. “I knew they were Dreadlings. Oh, this is not good. Not good at all.”

  Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The sound of hoofbeats filled the air.

  Roxanne looked up to see a man wearing the rainbow colors of the Jewel Palace galloping toward them.

  “It’s Armstrong, captain of the palace guards!” Roxanne cried.

  He’ll recognize me for sure, she thought.

  “Hide me!” she pleaded, darting behind the dragon.

  “Why? What have you done?” Hapgood asked.

  Roxanne bit her lip, trying to think of something. “I, um … er, I …”

  “She stole a banner from the palace courtyard,” Pip cut in quickly. “She wanted to have a souvenir of the coronation.”

  Hapgood pulled a red-and-silver shield from under his wing. “Put this on your arm. It will make you and anyone you touch invisible.”

  Roxanne didn’t ask any questions. She quickly strapped the shield to her arm. Then Pip hopped onto her shoulder. Hapgood whispered the magic words.

  “Magic shield with power so bright,

  hide them from all others’ sight.”

  Roxanne and Pip disappeared from view.

  “You there, dragon!” Armstrong called, pulling his horse to a stop. “The Ruby Princess has disappeared from the palace grounds. She was dressed all in red. Have you seen her come this way?”

  Roxanne squeezed her eyes shut tight. Did Hapgood see my dress? she wondered. If he did, he’ll know I’m the Ruby Princess.

  “No one has passed by me,” Hapgood replied. “Do you think the princess was kidnapped?”

  “The queen and king are certain of it,” the captain said. “Queen Gemma is beside herself with worry.”

  Roxanne felt guilty. She hadn’t meant to upset the king and queen.

  “I think I saw a young girl in red clothes fishing by the stone bridge,” Hapgood said.

  “Thank you for that,” Armstrong barked. “I’ll check the bridge.”

  Holding her breath, Roxanne listened to the fading sound of hoofbeats as the guard galloped away. Then she removed the shield and reappeared.

  “It really works,” she gasped to the dragon. “The captain didn’t see me or Pip.”

  “No, he didn’t,” Hapgood replied. “But it wouldn’t have mattered. He was looking for the Ruby Princess. And you aren’t the Ruby Princess.” He put his face right up to hers. “Are you?”

  Roxanne swallowed hard. “No. I have not been crowned the Ruby Princess,” she declared straight to Hapgood’s face. “I am Roxanne of the Running River.”

  “Didn’t you say, Rushing River?” Hapgood asked, raising one eyebrow.

  “I mean, the Rushing River,” Roxanne said quickly. “I’m just a little nervous right now.”

  “Well, the captain has gone to look for the princess at the river’s edge,” Pip pointed out. “You don’t have to worry about him.”
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  “Hopefully, he’ll see the Dreadlings and tell the king about them,” Roxanne murmured to Pip.

  She handed the magic shield back to Hapgood. “Thank you for the use of this wonderful shield.”

  Hapgood held up one claw. “Keep it. You may need it again. Remember, it has the power to make you invisible—but only for a short time.”

  “Someone’s coming!” Pip squawked. “Put on the shield.”

  Roxanne spun around as two squat figures hobbled toward them.

  One was a little woman with fuzzy red hair and a round face. The other was a tiny man with a long gray beard. He was limping.

  “Are they Dreadlings?” Roxanne asked Hapgood.

  The dragon shook his head. “These are gnomish folk from the Red Mountains.”

  He frowned. “And they appear to be in trouble!”

  “My name is Applesap,” the little bearded gnome said. “And this is my wife, Marigold.”

  “We need help,” Marigold cried. “We’ve been attacked.”

  “You’re hurt!” Roxanne cried, kneeling beside the little man. “Your leg has a bad gash on it.”

  Roxanne tore a strip of white cotton from her petticoat and handed it to Pip. “Take this to the Rushing River. Dip it in the water and hurry back.”

  “Right away!” Pip flapped off as fast as his wings would carry him.

  Marigold had a scarf tied over her flaming-red hair. Her cheeks were dirty and streaked with tears.

  “They came out of nowhere,” she cried, burying her face in her hands. “And took everything we had.”

  “Who did this?” Hapgood boomed.

  “Dreadlings,” Applesap moaned.

  “They’re terrible creatures,” Marigold said with a shiver. “Just terrible.” She put her arm around her husband’s shoulder and cried. “Poor Applesap.”

  Roxanne frowned. “Does your leg hurt much?”

  “It’s not my leg,” Applesap said, slumping down on a rock by the side of the road.

  “It’s his heart,” Marigold murmured. “It’s broken.”

  “You see, I’m a goldsmith,” Applesap explained. “I was given the great honor of forging the crown for the princess of the Red Mountains.”