Elisa the Royal Adventure Fairy

  The fairies are planning a magical ball,

  With guests of honor and fun for all.

  They’re expecting a night full of laughter and cheer,

  But they’ll get a shock when my goblins appear!

  Adventures and treats will be things of the past,

  And I’ll beat those troublesome fairies at last.

  My iciest magic will blast through the room

  And the world will be plunged into grimness and gloom!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  A Ghostly Surprise

  Behind the Bookcase

  Jewel Trackers

  Rachel at Risk!

  Tricky Fairies

  A Sense of Adventure

  Teaser

  Also Available

  Copyright

  “I wonder what adventures Louis and Caroline have planned for us tonight,” said Kirsty Tate, smiling across the grand banquet table at her best friend, Rachel Walker.

  It was spring vacation, and they were staying at the Golden Palace for the Royal Sleepover Camp, a special week-long event for kids. Louis and Caroline were two of the palace’s camp directors, and they had been looking after the kids all week, making sure the activities were fit for princes and princesses.

  “I’m sure they’ve planned something wonderful,” said Rachel, scraping the last bit of strawberry ice cream from her silver bowl.

  The grand banquet hall looked very beautiful, decorated with lots of twinkling candles and lights. Kirsty gazed thoughtfully out the large round window at the end of the hall. It was twilight, but she could still see the silhouette of the palace’s crumbling old tower. It looked majestic against the purple sky, and it was the only place that the campers were not allowed to go.

  “I wish they would let us climb all the way up to the top of the tower,” Kirsty said. “I’d love to explore up there!”

  “It sounds kind of scary to me,” said a girl named Victoria, who was sitting next to Kirsty. “I’m not very adventurous.”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a secret smile. They’d already had plenty of adventures that week! They had been helping their friends the Princess Fairies get their magic tiaras back from Jack Frost and his goblins. So far, they had found the tiaras that belonged to Princess Hope the Happiness Fairy, Princess Cassidy the Costume Fairy, and Princess Anya the Cuddly Creatures Fairy. But there were still four more tiaras to find.

  Each of the Princess Fairies looked after a special kind of fairy magic. Without the magical tiaras, things would go wrong in both the human and fairy worlds. Jack Frost and his mischievous goblins had stolen the tiaras during a ball at the Fairyland Palace, then brought them to the human world. Queen Titania had not been able to stop them from taking the tiaras, but she had used her magic to make sure that the magical crowns would be hidden at the Golden Palace. Now the fairies were depending on Rachel and Kirsty to help them find the tiaras.

  Just then, Victoria gave a cry of surprise. “Look!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t we notice that before?”

  There was a tall vase in the center of the banquet table, containing long-stemmed pink roses. But Victoria had noticed that there was something tucked among the roses — a mysterious scroll. She leaned forward for a closer look and read:

  To our Royal Sleepover Campers

  “Ooh, it must be about tonight’s activity!” said Rachel excitedly. “Quick, open it!”

  Victoria pulled the scroll from the vase, being careful not to damage any of the rose petals. She unrolled it and everyone gathered around her to see what it said. The instructions were written in large gold letters.

  Meet us where adventures flow

  Among the pages white as snow.

  A room containing tales of glory

  Within each bound and printed story.

  “That sounds pretty complicated,” said a boy named Arthur.

  “I hope it isn’t anything too hard,” said Victoria.

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a surprised glance. The other kids had seemed to enjoy their activities and adventures. But now they weren’t even interested in solving the riddle!

  “Pages and printed stories,” said Rachel. “What room contains those things? Oh, I know! The library!”

  “You’re right!” said Kirsty. “Come on, I’ll bet they’re waiting for us there.”

  The kids left the banquet hall and walked across the polished entrance area to the foot of the main staircase. Flickering candles lit their way as they walked slowly up toward the library. Suddenly, Victoria and Arthur stopped in their tracks. Arthur turned white, and Victoria raised a trembling hand to point to a shadow on the wall.

  “It’s a g-ghost!” she squeaked.

  Everyone except Kirsty and Rachel shrieked at one another. The girls caught a fleeting glimpse of a dark shape, but then it vanished.

  “Did you see that?” asked Kirsty.

  Rachel nodded. “I couldn’t tell what it was, though,” she said. “It disappeared too quickly.”

  “It was a ghost,” said Arthur in a terrified whisper. “A ghost of a king from long ago who used to stay here.”

  “I’m sure it couldn’t really have been a ghost,” said Rachel sensibly.

  “It was probably just a weird shadow from the candle flames,” Kirsty added.

  They both felt a little surprised that the other kids were so scared!

  “Let’s run the rest of the way!” cried Victoria in a shaky voice.

  They all hurried up the stairs and darted into the library. It was lined with bookcases made of polished oak, and the lamps around the room were burning brightly. On a rug in the middle of the room, a large cloth covered a mysterious pile. But the palace camp directors were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where are Louis and Caroline?” asked Kirsty, looking around.

  “M-maybe the ghost has taken them to the tower,” stammered Arthur. “M-maybe they know that it’s haunted, and that’s why we’re not allowed up there!”

  A squeaking sound made them jump, and then one of the bookcases began to move. It spun around and everyone shrieked . . . then burst into laughter. Caroline and Louis were right in front of them!

  “Sorry to scare you all,” chuckled Louis. “We thought you might like to see one of our secret hiding places!”

  “How does it work?” asked Rachel in excitement.

  Louis showed them a vase on one of the shelves.

  “This isn’t really a vase at all,” he explained. “It’s a secret lever!”

  He tipped the vase toward him by its neck, and the bookcase spun around again, taking Louis with it. They heard him laugh on the other side of the bookcase, and then it turned and brought him back into the library.

  “It’s a wonderful trick,” said Kirsty. “I wish we had one of those at home!”

  “I hope we didn’t scare you,” said Caroline.

  “It’s just that we had a fright on the main staircase,” Victoria explained.

  When the directors heard what the kids had seen, Caroline shook her head with a smile.

  “I promise you,there’s no such thing as ghosts,” she said. “What you saw was probably the shadows of clouds moving across the moon.”

  “We thought that the ghost might have taken you to the tower,” Arthur whispered. “We guessed it was haunted.”

  “The tower isn’t haunted,” Caroline assured him. “But it’s very old and some of the steps are missing, so that’s why we ask you not to go up there.”<
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  “Now,” said Louis in a cheerful voice, “get into pairs, everyone.”

  Rachel clasped Kirsty’s hand. They watched as Louis and Caroline pulled away the cloth on the rug. Underneath was a pile of party bags.

  “Help yourselves. One bag per pair,” said Caroline.

  Rachel and Kirsty excitedly chose a bag and peeked inside. It contained two flashlights, a small scroll, and two crowns.

  “All the crowns are missing their jewels,” Louis explained. “Tonight’s activity is a treasure hunt around the palace to find the jewels!”

  The kids gave little gasps of excitement, and Louis grinned at them.

  “You’ll find some clues on the scrolls,” he said. “By following the clues, you will find the missing jewel stickers to complete your crowns. The clues for each pair are different, so you will be spread around the palace. The first team to collect all their jewels and return to the library is the winner. Good luck!”

  The children headed out into the corridor. Rachel and Kirsty felt very excited, but everyone else looked kind of down.

  “I’m not very good at solving clues,” they heard one boy mutter.

  “I wish I could read a book instead,” Victoria said.

  “Well, I can’t wait to get started!” said Rachel. She pulled out the scroll and read the first clue to Kirsty. “Look for something that protects a knight in battle, then search behind the lion.”

  “Something that protects a knight in battle,” Kirsty repeated. “It must be some kind of armor.”

  “Remember the armory we visited on the first day?” Rachel said eagerly. “Let’s start our search there.”

  Rachel and Kirsty hurried to the armory. Inside, suits of armor stood at attention, all in a row. The walls were hung with heavy tapestries that told the stories of ancient battles. In the center of the room was a display of antique shields, all painted with brightly colored pictures.

  “Kirsty, I think our clue is telling us to look behind a shield!” said Rachel. “A shield protects a knight in battle. I bet that one of these shields has a lion painted on it!”

  The girls rushed forward to examine the shields one by one, looking carefully at all the pictures.

  “A unicorn . . . a bear . . . an eagle . . .” said Kirsty, moving along one side of the display.

  “A wolf . . . a panther . . . a LION!” exclaimed Rachel. “Here it is!”

  Together, Kirsty and Rachel looked behind the shield for a jewel sticker.

  “There isn’t anything there,” said Kirsty, disappointed. “We must have read the clue wrong.”

  Rachel looked all around the armory.

  “There’s nothing else here with a lion on it,” she said. “I don’t understand.”

  “Come on,” said Kirsty. “Let’s go back to the library and ask Louis and Caroline if we made a mistake.”

  They walked out of the armory and bumped into Arthur and Victoria, who were looking very frustrated.

  “Hello,” said Rachel. “Did you find your first jewel yet?”

  “No,” Arthur said angrily. “These clues are silly.”

  “We solved the clue, but we couldn’t find the jewel sticker,” said Victoria.

  “Same here,” Kirsty told her.

  “I’m not sure I want to keep doing the treasure hunt if it’s going to be this hard,” said Victoria with a sigh.

  “Don’t give up yet,” said Rachel. “I’m sure we just have to think about the clues again. After all, treasure hunts aren’t supposed to be too easy.”

  “OK,” said Arthur, looking a little more cheerful. “Come on, Victoria, I have another idea.”

  He hurried down the wide corridor, and Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other.

  “It’s strange that everyone seems so ready to give up, isn’t it?” said Kirsty thoughtfully.

  “Everyone except us!” Rachel replied with a grin. “Come on, where should we look next?”

  They headed down the hall in the opposite direction. Night had fallen, and small lamps jutted out of the thick stone wall, giving off a warm orange glow. There was a narrow window cut into the wall ahead of them, and the light there seemed to be flickering.

  “Is one of the lamps going out?” Rachel wondered.

  The girls hurried over to the window and had a wonderful surprise. Princess Elisa the Royal Adventure Fairy was hovering in the opening! Dressed in her silky pants and a sparkly tank top, she looked even more beautiful than they had remembered.

  “Hello, Rachel! Hello, Kirsty!” she said in a tinkling voice. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Princess Elisa,” said Kirsty eagerly. “We’re in the middle of a treasure hunt, but I think something has gone wrong. We were supposed to find jewel stickers for our crowns, but they’re not where the clues say they should be.”

  Elisa nodded sadly. “I know,” she said. “The treasure hunt has gone wrong because my tiara is still missing. That’s why I came here tonight — we must find the tiara, or it won’t just be the treasure hunt that goes wrong.”

  “What do you mean?” Rachel gasped.

  “My tiara helps me protect everyone’s sense of adventure,” Elisa explained. “If I don’t get it back, no one will ever want to do anything brave or try anything new again!”

  “That explains why the other boys and girls aren’t very excited about the treasure hunt,” said Kirsty.

  “And they were all really scared by the shadow on the staircase in the main hall,” agreed Rachel. “But Elisa, why aren’t we affected? Kirsty and I feel just as adventurous as ever!”

  Elisa pointed to the lockets that hung around the girls’ necks.

  “Your lockets contain magical fairy dust,” she said. “That has protected your sense of adventure. Plus you have already helped three of the other princesses, so their magic protects you, too!”

  Just then, something on the floor sparkled and caught Rachel’s eye.

  “Look, a jewel sticker!” she cried, stooping to pick it up. “It’s a ruby. This must be one of the missing stickers for the crowns!”

  “Something else is sparkling over there,” said Kirsty, hurrying forward. “Yes, it’s another jewel sticker! An emerald.”

  Suddenly, the lamps flickered and went out. The only light came from the moon that was shining through the narrow window.

  “Rachel, weren’t there some flashlights in the party bag?” asked Kirsty.

  Rachel pulled out the flashlights and handed one to Kirsty. They switched them on and pointed them at their floor. The yellow beams picked out another sticker sparkling a few steps away.

  “It’s a trail,” said Elisa eagerly. “Let’s follow it!”

  The girls walked forward slowly, with Elisa fluttering between them. Their flashlights picked out another sticker, and another, and another. Sparkling diamonds, amethysts, and sapphires led them down a long passageway, through a tiny door and out onto an outdoor walkway that ran along the front of the palace. Stars glimmered in the indigo sky as they followed the stickers to the foot of a narrow, winding staircase. Rachel and Kirsty looked up and saw that they were standing beneath the crumbling tower.

  “Why did you stop?” asked Elisa.

  “We’re not allowed to go up there,” Kirsty explained. “The steps aren’t safe to climb.”

  The girls were very disappointed, but Elisa smiled.

  “You can fly up instead,” she said. “Then you won’t have to touch the steps at all!”

  Elisa waved her wand, and a shower of silvery fairy dust sprinkled over the girls. Shimmering wings appeared on their backs and they shrank to fairy-size, as did their flashlights and party bag.

  “Thank you!” said Rachel, fluttering into the air and twirling around in delight. “Now we can explore the tower withou
t breaking the rules!”

  Eagerly, the girls and Elisa zoomed up the winding staircase. Then, suddenly, a strange shadow loomed over them!

  “Quick, hide!” cried Elisa.

  They ducked into an arrow-slit cut into the wall and held their breath.

  The ghost came closer and closer . . . and then a green foot appeared on the stairs above them. It wasn’t a ghost — it was a goblin trudging down the stairs!

  “More jewel stickers,” he was grumbling under his breath. “I’ve spent all day looking for jewel stickers, and now Jack Frost wants even more! He gets to play King of the Golden Palace and boss us around all the time. It’s not fair!”

  “So the tower isn’t haunted,” whispered Rachel as the goblin stomped past in a huff. “Jack Frost and his goblins are hiding up there!”

  “Do you think your tiara could be there, too, Elisa?” asked Kirsty hopefully.

  “We have to find out!” said Elisa in a determined voice. “Come on!”

  They darted out of their hiding place and zoomed up until they reached a heavy wooden door. On the other side, someone was making a lot of noise.

  “I recognize that voice!” Elisa whispered to the girls.

  “So do I,” said Rachel, sounding concerned. “It’s Jack Frost!”

  Kirsty noticed another arrow-slit farther along the wall.

  “Let’s fly outside the tower and try to find a way into the room,” she suggested.

  They flew out through the arrow-slit and saw that one of the walls had almost completely crumbled away. They flicked off their tiny flashlights and peered over the rubble.

  The room was faintly lit by three candles in a candelabra, and Jack Frost was sitting on a moth-eaten throne in the center. He had one leg crooked over the arm of the throne, and a beautiful tiara sat on top of his spiky head. It was much too small for him. As the girls watched, it slipped sideways and he shoved it back in place.