The Lost Stone Read online

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: A Secret Mission

  Chapter 2: Lucas the Brave

  Chapter 3: Kindness Is King

  Chapter 4: “Hear Ye! Hear Ye!”

  Chapter 5: A Royal Adventure

  Chapter 6: Rainbow Frost

  Chapter 7: Hambone

  Chapter 8: Olaf

  Chapter 9: Mermaid Magic

  Chapter 10: Scallop

  "The Scarlet Dragon" Excerpt

  About Jordan Quinn and Robert McPhillips

  A Secret Mission

  * * *

  Prince Lucas raced up the spiral stone staircase in the castle to his bedroom. He kneeled on the floor and then pulled a pile of clothes out from under his bed. There was a pair of worn trousers, a shabby shirt, a felt hat, scruffy leather boots, and a wool cloak.

  Lucas had gotten the clothes for a handful of coins from a boy in the village. Now the prince stood before a mirror and tried on the hat. This outfit will make me look like a normal eight-year-old boy, he thought. Nobody will ever know that I’m the prince of Wrenly.

  And that was the problem. Lucas had grown bored of being a prince. Most kids would think, He must be CRAZY! Lucas had everything a boy or girl could wish for: a cozy goose-feather bed, toys fit for a prince, the best cooks in the land to make his meals, and a view of the sea from the top of his turret. Lucas even had his very own horse, named Ivan. But there was one thing the prince did not have. . . .

  Friends. Lucas wanted a friend more than anything in the world.

  He’d had a friend once—a pretty, green-eyed girl named Clara Gills. Clara’s mother, Anna, made dresses for Lucas’s mother, Queen Tasha. Anna always brought Clara when she came to the castle. Clara and Lucas had played hide-and-seek and twirled on the swings in the royal playroom. But not anymore. Lucas’s father, King Caleb, had forbidden it. He had said a proper prince does not play with village children. Lucas had cried until his nose got stuffy. So day after day Lucas watched the village children walk to and from school. Sometimes they stopped at the bakery for breadsticks. In the afternoons Lucas watched the children climb trees and play tag in the meadows. How he longed to laugh and play along with them!

  And now maybe I can have friends, he thought. Because I, Prince Lucas, have a magnificent plan!

  But Lucas had to hurry. It was time to go. He stuffed the worn clothes into a sack and then slung the sack over his shoulder. Next he tied a thick rope to the windowsill, crawled onto the ledge, slid down the rope, and ran to the stables where he saddled Ivan. Then Lucas checked to see if anyone was around. All clear, he thought. He hopped onto Ivan, gave him a soft kick, and galloped away on his secret mission.

  Lucas the Brave

  * * *

  Lucas dashed over a bridge and down into the village. Chickens squawked and scattered to get out of his way. The villagers bowed and tipped their hats as he rode by.

  Clang! Clang! The school bell rang down the lane. Lucas slapped the reins and hurried toward the sound of the bell. As he drew near, he leaped over a stone wall and came to a rest. He hopped from the saddle and quickly changed his clothes.

  Lucas tucked his curly red hair inside the felt hat. Then he grabbed a handful of dirt and smudged his cheeks. He tied Ivan to a low tree branch, and hung the sack with his princely clothes from the saddle.

  “Well, Ivan,” he said, “here goes.”

  Lucas climbed over the stone wall and stood in front of the schoolhouse. A swirl of smoke curled from the chimney. Lucas took a deep breath. Today I am Lucas the Brave! he said to himself. Then he marched up to the schoolhouse and slowly pulled open the doors. Creak!

  The children sat in front of the teacher on benches. Everyone turned to stare at Lucas. A girl with a thin braid crowning her brown hair gasped and cupped her hand over her mouth.

  “Good morning, boy,” the teacher said. “Are you here to join us?”

  “Yes,” said Lucas. “I’m new in town.”

  “Please have a seat,” she said. “I’m Mistress Carson. What’s your name?”

  “My name is Flynn,” fibbed the prince as he sat down on a bench at the back of the classroom.

  “Welcome,” Mistress Carson said. “Class, please say good morning to Flynn.”

  “Good morning, Flynn,” said the class.

  “Now all eyes on me,” said the teacher. “We’re going to work on subtraction.”

  The children turned toward the teacher, all except the girl with the braided crown. It was Clara, Lucas’s old friend from the palace. She looked at the prince and raised an eyebrow. The prince winked at her. She smiled and quickly looked away. Nobody seemed to notice.

  Mistress Carson wrote some sums on a large slate at the front of the classroom. “Now, who would like to solve a problem at the board?” she asked.

  The prince’s hand shot up. He loved to add and subtract. His father had taught him math at home. Mistress Carson called Lucas up to the board. The children watched as the new boy walked to the front of the class.

  I’m going to have lots of friends! Lucas thought. Then he began to work on one of the problems. The room was quiet, except for the chalk tapping on the board, until . . .

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Someone began to pound on the doors of the school. The children jumped in their seats. Lucas froze. His heart began to thump. The teacher hurried to the back of the room and opened the doors. Two burly men burst in.

  Lucas dropped his chalk on the floor. Oh no! he thought. The palace guards! He wanted to run, but the doors were blocked.

  “There he is!” shouted one of the guards as he pointed at Lucas. “That’s the prince of Wrenly!”

  Mistress Carson and the children gasped.

  The other guard ran toward the prince, grabbed him by the arm, and led him toward the doors.

  Clara waved as Lucas walked by. Lucas hung his head.

  Now I’ll never have any friends, he thought.

  Kindness Is King

  * * *

  King Caleb threw Lucas’s peasant clothes into the fireplace. They burst into flames.

  “What were you thinking?” cried King Caleb. “You are a royal prince. You must behave like one. Peasants are not equal to royals.”

  “But, Father, I have no friends,” said Lucas. “I’m bored out of my royal britches.”

  “You should spend more time with my knights,” suggested the king. “You can train with them.”

  “It’s not the same,” said Lucas. “I’m lonely, and I need a friend my own age. I want somebody to talk to, and most of all, someone to go on adventures with me.”

  The king sighed. He hated to see his son so unhappy, but he couldn’t allow him to be friends with the peasants. Even they would think it was strange. He looked to Lucas’s mother, Queen Tasha, for help.

  “Your father is right,” said the queen as she brushed her long red hair. “But you are also right, Lucas. You do need a friend.”

  She looked at her husband.

  “Anna Gills is like family to me,” said Queen Tasha. “And her daughter, Clara, was like a sister to Lucas. Perhaps we should allow them to play together once in a while.”

  King Caleb rubbed his blond beard thoughtfully. He was a mighty king, but he had a kind heart.

  “All right then, Lucas,” he said, “I suppose you may be friends with Clara. But you’re not to make friends with every peasant child in the kingdom of Wrenly.”

  Prince Lucas ran to his father’s arms.

  “Thank you, Father,” he said. “I promise.”

  “Hear Ye! Hear Ye!”

  * * *

  Lucas couldn’t wait for Clara and her mother to arrive at the palace. So he didn’t. He snuck out and raced all the way to the bakery.

  Clara always went to the baker
y after school. Her father, Owen Gills, worked there.

  Lucas peeked down the lane. The school children are coming! he thought. He didn’t want them to see him, so he pressed himself against the wall alongside the bakery. Then he listened to what they were saying.

  “Why on earth would the prince want to go to school with us?” asked a boy named Albin.

  “Maybe he’s lonely,” Clara said. “I feel sorry for him, cooped up in the castle all day.”

  The children laughed at Clara.

  “How can you feel sorry for the prince?” asked a girl named Sophia.

  “The prince has everything!” said another girl, named Ashley.

  “Not everything,” said Clara. “He doesn’t have a single friend. He’s not even allowed to play with me when I visit the palace with my mother.”

  “Well, I’d trade places with him any day,” said Albin. “I’d love to live like a prince.”

  “I know it sounds like the perfect life,” said Clara, “but a palace, fine clothes, and delicious food aren’t everything.”

  Bells jingled as the children stepped into the bakery. Moments later, each child carried a roll of warm butternut bread to the bench outside. Lucas’s mouth watered. How he wished he could join them! As he waited, he heard horses whinny. Then someone began to shout.

  “Hear ye! Hear ye!” he cried. “The queen of Wrenly has lost her prized emerald stone! The king has offered a grand reward to anyone who finds it!”

  The villagers began to hurry about to spread the news.

  Oh no! thought Lucas. I must get back to the palace!

  Lucas left his hiding place and ran all the way home, being careful to stay in the shadows.

  A Royal Adventure

  * * *

  Queen Tasha sat at her dressing table, dabbing her eyes with a silk handkerchief. Lucas put his hand on his mother’s shoulder. He knew the emerald meant a lot to her. It had belonged to her great-grandmother.

  “Don’t cry, Mother,” he said. “I’m going to find your emerald.”

  His mother smiled weakly. Then she picked up the gold chain from which her stone no longer dangled.

  “It could be anywhere,” she said sadly. “I’ve been all over the kingdom these past two days.

  “Where have you traveled to?” Lucas asked.

  The queen thought for a moment. “I went to Primlox, Burth, and Hobsgrove,” she said.

  Lucas sighed.

  “You’re right. It could be anywhere,” he said. “But have no fear; I’m going to find it. I’ll need help though.”

  “What kind of help?” his mother asked.

  “Clara’s help,” said Lucas.

  The queen smiled and nodded. “All right,” she said. “You have my permission.”

  “Thank you, Mother,” said Lucas. “I will find your emerald.”

  Later that afternoon Clara and her mother arrived at the palace. Lucas grabbed Clara by the hand, and they raced to the royal playroom. Then he told her his idea.

  “We’d search for the missing jewel together?” Clara asked.

  “Exactly,” replied Lucas.

  “But will your parents allow it?” asked Clara with a frown.

  “They already have after what happened today,” said Lucas.

  “What do you mean?” Clara asked.

  “After I got caught at the schoolhouse, my parents agreed to let us be friends again.”

  “You mean you didn’t get into trouble?” questioned Clara.

  “No,” said Lucas. “I think they felt sorry for me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have no friends,” Lucas said.

  Clara sat on the swing and looked at Lucas.

  “Is it hard being a prince?” asked Clara.

  “No, it’s D-U-L-L being a prince,” said Lucas. “And lonely. I can’t even be friends with ordinary children.”

  “That royally stinks,” said Clara.

  Lucas laughed. “Well, at least we can be friends,” he said.

  “That’s great news,” Clara said. “So, when do we start our search?”

  “Right now,” said Lucas. “And our first adventure will be epic.”

  “I love epic adventures!” said Clara.

  “Then let’s make a plan,” said Lucas.

  Lucas laid out a map of the great kingdom. Then they marked all the places Queen Tasha had been over the past two days. Clara knew the kingdom of Wrenly well. She had delivered bread to all the lands with her father.

  “I’ll be your guide,” Clara said.

  “I can hardly wait,” said Lucas. “How about we meet outside the carriage house after breakfast.”

  “There’s no school tomorrow so I’ll be there,” said Clara.

  “Can I ask for a small favor?” said Lucas.

  “Sure,” Clara said.

  “Will you bring some butternut bread from the bakery?”

  Clara laughed. “Only if you bring me some yummy sausage from the royal pantry,” she said.

  “Deal,” said Lucas.

  Rainbow Frost

  * * *

  Wrens, the small brown birds that gave the kingdom its name, twittered in the treetops as Lucas and Clara boarded a royal carriage. They would travel through Flatfrost and over the bridge to the island of Primlox. Lucas stuffed his map of the kingdom in his back pocket—just in case they needed it.

  Four magical islands surrounded the mainland of Wrenly. Primlox was ruled by the fairies. Hobsgrove was known as the island of wizards. The king’s dragons roamed the island of Crestwood, and Burth belonged to the trolls.

  All the islands were protected by the kingdom of Wrenly, but each island was a smaller kingdom unto itself. King Caleb had to work very hard to keep the lands united. Sometimes there was trouble, but for now all was well.

  As the carriage entered Primlox, Lucas and Clara saw the fairy queen, Sophie, floating before her castle. Queen Sophie had shimmering gold wings and a rainbow-jeweled tiara. All the fairies wore clothes made from ferns, feathers, acorns, and flowers. Clara could tell they had used enchanted thread to sew their clothes, because all their outfits sparkled.

  Thousands of smooth pebbles formed Queen Sophie’s castle. The roof was shingled with shells, and the windows were made of sea glass buffed by the Cobalt Sea. The fairies fluttered toward the carriage.

  “Welcome, Prince Lucas,” said Queen Sophie.

  “Thank you,” said Lucas. “This is my friend, Clara. We’ve come in search of my mother’s lost emerald. She said she visited Primlox just yesterday.”

  “I’m saddened to hear of her loss. Follow us, and we’ll help you retrace her steps.”

  Lucas and Clara followed the fairies along a path. They crossed over an arched bridge and into the Garden of Strawberries. All the fruit in the kingdom of Wrenly was grown in Primlox. But Primlox was also known for its sweet orange blossom honey.

  In the middle of the Garden of Strawberries, Clara saw little round tables carved from tree stumps. Braided twig chairs and red-and-white-dotted stools made of mushrooms surrounded each table.

  “Queen Tasha had mint tea and berries in the garden,” Queen Sophie said. “She sat over there.”

  Clara and Lucas began to search for the emerald. They looked around the tables, under the chairs, and throughout the whole garden. But the only thing they found was a ladybug.

  “Ladybugs are a sign of good luck,” said Queen Sophie with a smile.

  “We could use a little luck,” said Lucas.

  “Follow me,” said Queen Sophie. “Your mother also strolled through the Maze of Hedges.”

  “What’s the Maze of Hedges?” asked Clara.

  “It’s a maze formed by many rows of trimmed bushes,” Queen Sophie explained.

  Lucas and Clara stepped into the maze. They followed a path between the hedges. They couldn’t see over the tops of the bushes, but that didn’t matter since they had to keep their eyes on the ground.

  They zigzagged through the narrow dirt paths in
search of the emerald. Sometimes the path led to a dead end. Then they had to turn around and go another way. Sophie and her ladies-in-waiting flew overhead to help guide them. They wound their way to a fountain at the center of the maze. There was no sign of the emerald. They searched the other part of the maze until they reached the exit. Still no emerald.

  Lucas and Clara sat down on some mushroom stools to rest. Four fairies greeted them with a tray of lemonade. A small, nervous-looking fairy named Rainbow Frost fluttered up to Lucas and Clara.

  “I may have a clue to finding the lost emerald,” said the fairy in a high-pitched voice.

  “What is it?” asked Sophie.

  “I saw a lovely green stone in the Citrus Grove yesterday. I was going to pick it up, but my hands were sticky from collecting honey. I washed them in the fountain, but when I returned, the stone was gone.”

  “Did my mother visit the grove?” asked Lucas.

  “I’m afraid not,” said Sophie. “But it’s possible that a bird may have mistaken the stone for food and dropped it there.”

  “Oh no!” cried Clara. “That means another bird could have carried the stone anywhere.”

  “That’s true,” Rainbow Frost said. “But I’m not sure that’s what happened.”

  “Why not?” asked Lucas.

  “Because I saw a big troll in the citrus grove,” Rainbow Frost said. “And everyone knows trolls cannot resist treasure.”