The Awfully Angry Ogre (5 page)

I
T WAS NEARLY DUSK BY THE TIME
F
ATIMA
landed the carpet near the castle. Tansy's two younger brothers were playing outside, lunging at each other with toy swords. They came running toward Tansy as she climbed off the carpet.

Cole planted himself in front of his sister. “You're really in big trouble,” he said. “You didn't tell Mother and Father where you were going!”

“Yeah,” echoed Ethan. “You just disappeared.”

It was true, Tansy admitted. But how could she have known what would happen? She'd thought they would find Edward and James right away.

Color was returning to Edward's face now that they had landed. “Clear off, you two,” he growled at Cole and Ethan.

Laughing, the two boys ran off.

Fatima rolled up her carpet and strapped it onto her back. As everyone headed toward the castle, James whispered to Tansy, “Maybe Father will forgive us when he finds out what we've learned about the ogre—I mean, the
ogress
.”

Tansy hoped so. But she didn't think King Albert would be pleased that his two oldest sons had disobeyed his orders. What if the ogress
hadn't
had a magical powder to restore James and Edward to life?

Queen Charlotte met them just inside the Main Hall. For once she was not her usual cheerful self. Wrapping Edward, James, and Tansy in a big hug, she sobbed. “Thank good
ness you're home. We were so worried about you! How did you manage to escape from the horrible ogre?”

Tansy frowned.
Escape?
It was true Edward
and James had been turned into statues, but the ogress had helped to free them in the end. She'd been nothing but kind to the princesses.

Edward stroked his straggly beard. “How did you know where we'd gone?”

“We didn't, for sure,” said Queen Charlotte. “But when your horses came back without you, and we couldn't find the girls, we talked to Jonah. He told us the princesses had asked him where you'd gone and had flown off soon afterward. He guessed they'd left to search for you, thinking you'd gone to find the ogre.”

The queen gazed at Tansy and her friends tearfully. “We feared the ogre had captured and eaten you all. Ogres like princesses, I've been told. They think royal girls taste sweet.”

Fatima made a face. “Why should princesses taste
sweet
? I'm sure
I'd
taste as nasty
as skunk cabbage!”

Popping up from behind the large potted fern, Cole grinned. “Tansy would probably taste like a smelly old
shoe
!”

Tansy rolled her eyes. “Who cares what we'd taste like!” She quickly explained all that had happened that day and what they'd learned about the ogress.

Queen Charlotte listened carefully. Her eyes widened when Tansy mentioned finding Edward and James as statues. When Tansy finished, the queen cried, “But this is
terrible
!”

“
What's
terrible?” asked Tansy. “Don't you see? The ogress didn't do any of those horrible things she was accused of. She only wants to live with us in peace.”

“No,” said her mother, shaking her head. “You don't understand. What's terrible is that your father rode off with Jonah and Matthew
and about a dozen village men a few hours ago. Your father didn't want to believe the rumors, but when Edward's and James's horses came back without them…” She sighed. “They're planning to sneak up on the ogre tonight while he—I mean,
she
—is asleep…and set fire to her shack!”

Tansy felt as if she'd just been punched in the stomach. “Oh no!” she moaned.

“We've got to save her!” cried Lysandra.

Elena nodded in agreement.

“We'll fly back on my carpet,” said Fatima. “With any luck, we'll be able to reach the men before they reach the ogress's house.”

“Yes,” said Tansy. She didn't want to think about what might happen if they
weren't
lucky.

“I'm coming too,” declared James.

“So am I,” said Edward, turning white as
he eyed the magic carpet.

Before they left, Tansy asked her mother for a bolt of gauzy white fabric the queen had been saving to make curtains. “What do you want it for?” Queen Charlotte asked as she handed it to Tansy.

“I'll explain later,” Tansy said hurriedly.

“Be careful, and come home safely!” the queen called to them as they ran outside. The princesses, along with Edward and James, climbed onto the carpet and rose into the sky.

Night had fallen, but the moon was almost full, casting a glow that lit their way. Clutching the bolt of fabric, Tansy anxiously scanned the forest and meadows below for signs of horses and men. But she couldn't see any torches gleaming among the trees, and she couldn't hear voices, or hooves beating the ground.

“Where could they be?” Elena finally asked, voicing the question on all of their minds.

When at last they reached the well, there was still no sign of the men or their horses. The ogress's shack stood a short distance away, seemingly untouched. Tansy sighed with relief. Perhaps her father and the villagers had decided not to harm the ogress after all. Seeing the statues gone, they might have realized the young men had been set free. Or perhaps they'd even met up with a few of them returning home and learned the story of their release. If so, King Albert and his men might be headed back to the castle this very minute.

“I guess they're not here,” said Lysandra. “Do you think we should wait, just in case we missed them somehow?”

Everyone started talking at once. Suddenly Edward held a finger to his lips. “Shh,” he
whispered. “I think I hear something.”

They all grew quiet. For a minute the only sounds were the wind in the trees and the flapping of bats' wings. But then Tansy heard something else—the soft whinny of a horse. Glancing at the others, she knew they'd heard it too. All at once bright orange flames shot up from the roof of the shack, and a group of riders—bursting from behind the ogress's home—galloped away.

H
ORRIFIED,
T
ANSY WATCHED AS FLAMES
spread from the roof of the shack down the sides. “Halt!” shouted Edward as the riders thundered up to the well. They stopped abruptly, their horses rearing up in confusion.

“Edward?” King Albert's eyes darted from him to James to the princesses. “We thought the ogre had killed you all! What happened?
How did you escape?”

Tansy tugged at Edward's sleeve. “If we don't act fast, the ogress and her daughter will be burned alive!”

“You're right!” Edward exclaimed. “We've got to save them and put out the fire!”

King Albert frowned.
“Ogress? Daughter?”

“Ask James,” Tansy said. Tearing two strips from the bolt of gauzy fabric, she threw one to Edward, then tied the other around her own eyes. “Here,” she said, tossing the bolt to Elena.

With Jonah's help, Elena made sure everyone had a blindfold so they could face the ogress without turning to stone. After they were all fitted, they formed a line behind Fatima. She was already at the well, hauling up buckets of water to throw on the fire.

Meanwhile, Tansy and Edward raced
toward the burning shack. As Edward forced open the door, Tansy pulled out her flute and began to play. Flames licked the wooden house. Tansy wiped sweat from her forehead. When the door was finally open, smoke rolled out and Edward disappeared inside. Tansy heard a loud roar as the ogress awoke.

Don't be alarmed,
Edward thought.
We're here to help you.

I smell smoke,
thought the ogress.

It's a fire!
thought Edward.
You must get out quickly!

Seconds later the ogress and her daughter crawled from the shack, coughing. They were
followed by Edward. He sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Tansy bent over him. “Are you okay?” she asked anxiously.

To her surprise, he reached up and hugged her. “You're a wonder with that flute,” he said. “Who would've thought we'd make such a good team?”

Tansy smiled and hugged him back.

By now buckets of water were being passed hand over hand down the long line that stretched from the well to the shack. Lysandra and Matthew were nearest to the fire, working together to heave water at the flames.

Slowly the ogress stood, her fearsome figure towering over everyone. Some of the men gasped, and Tansy remembered how frightened she'd felt the first time she saw her. But
when the ogress hugged her daughter tight—tears streaming down her face—the men relaxed. Perhaps they could see she was only a mother, and when it came right down to it, not so very different from their own.

Finally, after much work, the raging fire was quenched. Roaring sadly, the ogress and her daughter stared at the charred remains of their home. King Albert motioned for Tansy to play her flute so the ogress could hear his thoughts. As Tansy played, her father faced the ogress, but his thoughts drifted out to everyone.
I am so sorry
.
We were afraid of you, and we let our fear get the best of us.

Still holding her daughter, the ogress rocked back and forth, moaning.
Not all ogres are monsters,
she thought.
We only want to live in peace
.

King Albert hung his head.
That's what we
want too
.
If you'll let us, we'll help rebuild your home. We'll be your friends.

At this, the ogress's thick lips stretched upward into what could only be a smile.

Edward, James, and some of the other men volunteered to stay behind to rebuild the ogress's shack. Meanwhile, King Albert, the rest of the men, and the princesses prepared for home.

“Can Jonah and I ride on your flying carpet?” Matthew asked Fatima shyly.

“Sure,” Fatima replied. “But what about your horses?”

“I don't think they'd fit,” Jonah joked. “But they can follow Father back to the castle.”

When everyone was seated, the carpet lifted high into the air. As they glided away from the mountain, Jonah looked back and gave a whoop. “Now
this
is the way to travel! I'm going to have to paint a picture of how
Mount Majesta looks from the sky!”

Tansy smiled. Having brothers wasn't so bad, she decided. Of course, they didn't always behave the way you wanted them to. But sometimes, like Edward, they could pleasantly surprise you.