Rescue Princesses #5: The Snow Jewel (3 page)

The princesses tiptoed down the stairs just after the clock struck half past eleven.

Freya’s eyes shone with excitement as she crept after the others.
The grown-ups must be fast asleep
, she thought. The castle lay in deep silence.

A faint orange light shone across the hallway, made by the glowing coals in the fireplace of the Great Hall. The princesses crept over to the coat stand.
They hurried into their coats, then sneaked out of the front door and closed it carefully behind them.

Snowflakes dropped softly onto their heads.

Jaminta took a beautiful emerald bracelet out of her pocket. It cast rays of light across the garden, turning the dancing snowflakes green.

“That’s awesome,” whispered Freya, admiring the magical bracelet.

“Thanks.” Jaminta smiled.

“Jaminta makes most of the jewels that we use,” explained Emily. “She comes from the kingdom of Onica, where they know how to shape each gem to make it magical.”

“Let’s take this with us.” Lulu picked up a large snow shovel that was leaning up against the castle wall. “If the snow gets deep then it might come in handy.”

Freya led them across the garden.

They walked silently, their boots sinking into the snow. After several minutes, they came to a wooden shed with small windows. Lulu cleared the snow away from the bottom of the door with the shovel. Then Freya unbolted it and held it open for the other princesses. Behind her, she could see the falling snow already filling up their footprints.

She stepped into the shed and switched on the light. Seven pairs of cats’ eyes blinked at her from a box in one corner.

“There you are!” Freya rushed over and stroked each kitten in turn.

The box, with its lining of soft sweaters, was sandwiched between a wheelbarrow and a towering mass of plant pots. Some of the kittens began meowing when they saw Freya. Minky stood up, scrabbling at the air with her white paws.

“The king was right,” said Jaminta. “There’s plenty of water and cat food here.”

“It does feel cold, though.” Emily shivered.

Freya put her hand above the little heater to check for warmth. “The heater’s running.”

“Look!” Clarabel pointed at a pile of snow on the other side of the shed. “There’s snow coming in over here.”

There was a plate-sized hole in the roof that gave them a glimpse of the night sky. Snowflakes were slowly drifting through it, adding to the rising mound on the floor. As they looked up at the hole, a gust of wind blew the swirling flakes sideways into their faces.

“We can’t leave the kittens here with that hole in the roof,” said Lulu. “If the snow keeps falling like this, it will be really cold and wet by morning.”

They all looked at Freya, who was twisting one blond braid anxiously around her finger.

“We can’t take them back to my bedroom — my dad would be so mad,” said Freya. “But maybe we could hide them in the laundry room. The only person who goes in there is our maid, Greta, and she won’t tell if I ask her not to.”

“Great idea! King Eric will never find them in there!” said Lulu.

“But how do we get them back inside?” asked Jaminta doubtfully. “If someone sees us, they’ll know right away what we’re doing.”

“How about we hide the kittens under our coats?” suggested Clarabel. “That way we’ll keep them warm and well hidden.”

“We’ll have to go there and back twice, I think,” said Freya. “There are six kittens
and their mom that have to be moved and it’ll be too difficult carrying more than one at a time.”

So Freya, Emily, Clarabel, and Lulu picked up one soft black kitten each. The little cats blinked at the girls and meowed pitifully about being taken away from their mother’s warm fur. But they were soon snuggled up in the princesses’ coats with only their eyes, ears, and little pink noses showing. Jaminta held the shed door open for them and shone her emerald bracelet across the snow to light the way.

They hurried into the castle and down the stone passageway that led to the laundry room. Inside, they found an empty laundry basket. They padded it with a soft towel and popped the four kittens into it. Then they returned to the shed to fetch the next batch of kittens.

This time Emily took the mother cat, Clarabel took another black kitten, and Lulu picked up the box they had been living in.

Freya looked around for Minky. She half laughed and half sighed when she found her. The little black-and-white kitten was climbing up the towering heap of plant pots. Her tiny front claws gripped the sides of the pots as her back legs began to slip.

“Minky! We don’t have time for that!” said Freya, picking her up and slipping her into the top of her coat.

“Meow?” said Minky, fixing her blue eyes on Freya just like she was asking a question.

“We’re taking you somewhere better,” replied Freya. “You’re so little. You need to stay somewhere warm.”

“Meow!” Minky agreed.

The princesses took one last look at the thick snowflakes coming in through the hole in the roof. Then they closed the door and left the shed behind. The snow was falling faster now. The girls bowed their heads, trying to protect the kittens from the cold as much as they could. The trek across the garden seemed longer this time and Lulu had to grab Clarabel’s arm to keep her from falling into a snowdrift.

When they reached the castle, they shook the snow from their hair. Jaminta tucked her glowing emerald bracelet in her pocket and they stepped inside.

The hallway was almost dark now. The glow from the fire had died away.

“At least we didn’t have to hide from Lottie,” whispered Emily. “I was sure she would try to stay awake to see what we were doing. She’s such a nosy little sister sometimes!”

Just then, the stairs creaked and the princesses froze.

Freya peered up into the darkness, aware of little Minky hidden beneath her coat. What would she say if her dad came down to the hallway and saw them? They had come so close to saving the kittens from the cold. Surely nothing could spoil it now?

The creaking grew louder, as if there were lots of pairs of feet on the stairs. The princesses were caught by a beam from a flashlight. Voices whispered in the shadows.

“Who’s that?” hissed Lulu, hiding the cat bed behind her back.

Footsteps came toward them, and three princes appeared. The prince at the front was tall, with a ruffled mop of blond hair. Freya remembered him from when she and her dad had greeted their guests the day before.

The blond-haired prince pointed his flashlight at them.

“Stop it, Olaf! I can’t see!” snapped Lulu.

“Oops! Sorry Lulu!” said the prince, lowering his flashlight.

“I met you yesterday, didn’t I?” said Freya.

The blond prince nodded. “That’s right! And this is George and Dinesh.” He pointed to the other princes, who stood behind him in their slippers and pajamas.

“What are you doing down here?” asked George. “We thought you were one of the grown-ups.”

“Have you been outside?” asked Dinesh, looking at their soggy coats.

The snow on their clothes was melting and water dripped down onto the floor.

“We just went out to look at the snow,” Freya said quickly. As she spoke, Minky began to wiggle under her coat.

Olaf frowned. He looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Lulu butted in. “What are
you
doing here? And why are you sneaking around with a flashlight?” she asked fiercely.

The princes grinned at one another.

“We’re going to the kitchen to find some chocolate cookies for a midnight feast,” said Olaf. “Do you want to come with us?”

Freya could see a pink nose and a little set of whiskers quivering over the top of Clarabel’s coat. She gave her a nudge.

“What’s the matter?” asked Clarabel. Then she caught sight of her kitten and tried to hide it with her scarf.

Minky, who was tired of sitting still, let out a loud meow.

The princes stared at Freya in astonishment. Olaf lifted his light and pointed it toward her.

“Uhh!” Freya pretended to yawn to disguise another loud meow. She could feel Minky wiggling again. Any moment now, she half expected the kitten to jump out of her coat and gallop around the hallway.

Hearing her kitten, the mother cat stuck her nose out of Emily’s coat and started meowing, too.

“Eeeh!” squealed Emily, quickly changing it to a pretend yawn to match Freya’s.

The princes exchanged puzzled looks.

“Are you feeling all right?” Olaf asked Emily.

“Oh, yes! I’m just a little tired,” explained Emily.

Then all the princesses joined in, putting their hands over their mouths and yawning loudly.

“Sorry! We’re too tired for a midnight
feast,” said Jaminta cheerfully. “Good night!”

Then the girls rushed away down the stone passageway, keeping their hands over their mouths to stop their laughter.

“I couldn’t believe it when the kittens all started meowing!” said Clarabel as they reached the laundry room.

“I’ve never tried to yawn so loudly before!” giggled Emily. “I was sure they would figure out that we were hiding something!”

Lulu found a quiet corner to put the cat bed in. Then, one by one, they settled the mother cat and the kittens inside it. The kittens snuggled up to the warmth
of their mom. Even Minky seemed happy to curl up and close her eyes after all the excitement of rushing through the snow while half hidden under Freya’s coat.

The princesses tiptoed back to their rooms as fast as they dared and whispered good night to one another. Freya lay down in her bed feeling much happier than before. The kittens would be warm and comfortable in the laundry room. She would explain it all to her maid, Greta, in the morning.

The next day, she jumped out of bed as soon as she woke up. Opening her wardrobe, she rummaged around for a thick sweater and pants. They were all going to skate on the ice rink today, so she needed warm clothes.

She thought about the kittens as she got dressed. What if her dad found them in
the laundry room? He didn’t usually go in there. But what if he heard a noise and went to look? She had to try to talk to him about it. Not this morning — he would be too busy with his royal guests. But soon. Maybe she should hide the kittens a little better and wait for a good time to tell him.

She raced downstairs and into the laundry room. The mother cat was wide-awake and grooming her babies with her long pink tongue. Minky didn’t seem to like being cleaned and jumped out of the box and scampered across the floor.

“No, Minky!” said Freya gently. “You can’t run away.” She picked up Minky and put her back in the box. Then she padded the sides with an extra towel to make it harder for the kittens to climb out.

A row of washing machines stood along one wall, with piles of folded sheets
stacked on top. Freya picked one sheet off the top and hung it over the clothesline that stretched from one wall to the other. Quickly, she found two clothespins and pinned the sheet in place. She stood back and smiled. Now the sheet made a sort of screen to hide the kittens. No one who glanced in would notice them at all. Carefully, she closed the door to keep the kittens safe inside.

“Don’t forget to take your gloves with you when you go ice skating, Freya,” said King Eric, when Freya reached the Great Hall.

“Yes, Dad, I’ll remember,” replied Freya, hurriedly brushing black and white cat hairs off her sweater.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and muffins, the kings, queens, princes, and princesses put on their coats and
headed outdoors. Freya found Emily excitedly pulling on her snow boots.

“I’ve never been ice skating before,” Emily said excitedly. “Is it hard?”

“You have to get used to the ice,” said Freya. “After that, it’s really easy.”

They held hands and ran across the castle garden and down the snowy hill together. They stopped at the bottom, laughing as they tried to catch their breath. The ice rink lay ahead of them, shining like a mirror in the sunshine.

King Eric clapped his hands. “Listen, please, everyone,” he called. “This ice rink is perfectly safe, but you must
not
skate over there on the river.” He pointed to a glittering river beyond the farthest end of the rink. “The river ice is thin in some places and that makes it
very
dangerous. Does everyone understand?”

Everyone looked at the river in the distance and nodded.

Jaminta, Lulu, and Clarabel came running over to Freya and Emily.

“I can’t wait to put my skates on!” cried Lulu. “This is
so
exciting!”

“Look at me!” yelled Prince Olaf, who was already out on the ice. He tried to spin around and around, but lost his balance and crash-landed on his bottom.

The princesses giggled.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” he said, picking himself up and grinning.

Freya found them all ice skates to wear. Then she helped a nervous Clarabel onto the ice.

“Show us how to ice skate, Freya,” called Jaminta.

Freya smiled. She loved skating. She glided into a clear space and performed a perfect figure eight. Then she showed
them her backward skating and finished off with a long pirouette.

“That was awesome!” said Lulu.

“Thanks!” Freya smiled.

The ice rink filled up with skaters. The younger princes and princesses held on to their mom or dad to help them balance. All except Emily’s sister, Lottie, who skated into the middle of the ice and spun around fearlessly.

“Look, Emily!” said Freya. “Your sister’s really good at this.”

“Really?” said Emily in surprise. “I hope she doesn’t start showing off.”

Lottie smiled as she glided past them and performed another spin.

After a while, large snowflakes began drifting slowly down. The grown-ups called everyone off the ice rink. The princesses took off their skates and climbed the hill back to the castle.

“I bet my dad will have mugs of hot chocolate ready for everyone,” said Freya, smiling.

“I love hot chocolate!” said Emily.

The princesses rubbed their cold hands together and climbed a little faster. They reached the castle door ahead of everyone else.

But as the door swung open, there was no delicious hot chocolate smell and no roaring fire in the Great Hall. There was only a rumbling noise coming from the direction of the kitchens.

It was her dad’s voice, Freya realized, and he didn’t sound very happy.

King Eric burst through the kitchen door into the hallway.

“Where did it go?” He looked around wildly. “I’ll catch it right now! I won’t have that furry little pest running around everywhere.”

“What happened?” whispered Clarabel.

Freya stared at her dad’s angry face. Suddenly, she knew exactly what was going on, and her heart sank.

One of the kittens must have escaped from the laundry room, and that meant she and the kitten were both in very deep trouble.