Astro-Knights Island (11 page)

Chapter Twenty

Two Knights to Remember

Simon moved to the right as the laser beam struck the chain holding up the chandelier. He safely jumped to the floor as the chandelier came crashing down—right on top of the Mordred Mecha-Bot!

The glowing green globe tumbled from the top of Mordred's dome. With no more power, the robot began to shake and steam.

On top of the platform, the green light in the base of the cylinder holding the Princess went dead. The green liquid drained, and Alice was easily able to open up the cylinder, setting the Princess free.

Mordred jumped out of the ruined mecha and raced toward the big green orb.

“The orb is mine!” he yelled.

“I don't think so!” shouted Princess Elyana.

With an angry look on her face, she jumped down from the platform, crashing right on top of Mordred. Then she flipped him over her shoulder, leaving him dazed on the floor.

Stunned, Simon and Alice ran up to her.

“Mordred deceived us all,” the Princess said. “He would have succeeded in his plans if it weren't for you two. Thank you for finding me.”

Simon was staring at the Princess. He had never been this close to her before. She was so pretty—and so tough at the same time.

Alice nudged him. “You should see what she looks like when she eats a jelly doughnut,” she whispered. “What a mess!”

Princess Elyana touched the orb. “This orb will restore power to Arturus. Without it, Mordred will be trapped here forever.”

“Then let's get back to Arturus,” said Simon. He gave a slight bow. “Our rocket ship awaits you, my lady.”

“Just one second,” Alice said. “I'm not leaving without Merlin.”

Hoot! Hoot!
The robot bird flew up and landed on Alice's shoulder. Merlin looked battered but okay.

“
Now
we can leave,” Alice said.

They returned to the rocket with Princess Elyana and the orb. She tearfully greeted the three knights. Simon motioned for Alice to take the pilot's seat.

“Your turn,” he said.

Alice grinned and took the controls, easily finding the coordinates for home on the control screen. The rocket was a lot more crowded than when they had started, but it wasn't a long trip. As they zoomed through space, Simon and Alice told the Princess the story of their amazing journey.

Alice steered the rocket to a smooth landing right in front of the Castle. As the passengers climbed out, curious villagers began to gather, chatting with excitement.

“The knights have returned!” someone shouted. “And the Princess is with them!”

A huge cheer went up from the crowd as the Castle guards ran to fetch the King and Queen. They soon came running down the stairs, breathless. The Queen let out a cry when she saw her daughter.

“Elyana! You are safe!”

The King and Queen hugged the Princess, sobbing.

“Three cheers for the knights!” someone yelled. “Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!”

Sir Gawain, Sir Cador, and Sir Pelleas climbed to the top of the Castle stairs and waved, grinning. Simon and Alice began to get caught up in the fast-growing crowd, getting pushed and shoved.

“I guess they forgot about us,” Simon said glumly.

“It's not fair!” Alice fumed. “I am
not
going back to that kitchen!”

Suddenly a green glow fell over the crowd, and the villagers hushed. Princess Elyana broke away from her parents and held up the orb.

“Not only have I and the knights returned safely, but power will be restored to Arturus!” she announced. “And while our knights traveled far and were indeed brave, they are not our only heroes today. Let us cheer for my rescuers, Simon of the Stables and Alice of the Kitchen!”

There was a confused murmur in the crowd, but Princess Elyana persisted. She motioned for Simon and Alice to stand by her.

The friends pushed their way through the crowd and stood next to the Princess.

“These two brave hearts traveled into the fabric of the sky, battled monsters, and defeated Mordred to save me!” she said. “They are worthy knights of Arturus, if my father shall grant them that honor.”

“Indeed I will,” the King said. “In fact, I promised that I would. Simon and Alice, kneel before me.”

Trembling, the two friends knelt before the King. He touched each one on the head with his royal scepter.

“I hereby knight you, Sir Simon and Sir Alice of Arturus,” he said.

“I will protect the kingdom with my life,” Simon promised.

“As will I,” Alice said.

“Then stand and let your kingdom greet you!” the King said happily.

Sir Alice and Sir Simon stood and faced the crowd that was now cheering for them as loudly as they had cheered for the other knights.

“Is this really happening?” Alice asked.

“It is,” Simon said. Then he grabbed her hand. “Come on, let's go to the stables.”

“I thought you never wanted to go back there?” Alice wondered.

“Not to shovel manure,” Simon said. “But for another reason.”

“What's that?” Alice asked.

Simon grinned. “Now that we're knights, we get to have horses of our own!”

“Huzzah!” Alice cheered, and the two friends ran off, ready for their next adventure.

Chapter One

Pirates

“Ahoy there, mateys,” Owen Christopher said as he peered through a spyglass toward the port town of Fort Ridley. In the distance, he could barely make out the buildings of his hometown through the thick black clouds that filled the sky.

It had been months since he had signed on as cabin boy of the zeppelin
Aurora
, and Owen was feeling a bit homesick. Since they were scheduled to pass by his home of Fort Ridley, he had put in for shore leave—more accurately, land leave, as the
Aurora
spent all its time soaring through the skies.

“Are you sure you want this time off?” Captain Arthur McCrea asked. “Fort Ridley looks to be a bit”—McCrea hunted for the right words—“down at the boot heels.”

Owen leaned over the side of the bow as the airship approached the edge of the black clouds. “That's smoke,” he said. “I thought there was a storm brewing.”

“Smells like gunpowder to me,” McCrea added. “Someone's been firing off cannons.”

“I can't see anyone down there,” Owen said. “And it doesn't look like there are any ships in port. I wonder what happened to the navy.”

Captain McCrea pointed further out into the harbor. “There's one ship down there. And she's flying the Jolly Roger.”

“Pirates?” Owen asked. “There haven't been pirates in Fort Ridley since before I was born. Quick, let's get to the port. I have to find out what's going on.”

“I can't take the
Aurora
through that smoke cloud,” McCrea said. “We're not getting anywhere near that port.”

“But, sir,” Owen pleaded. “That's my home. I have to get down there.”

McCrea puffed out his chest and placed his hands on the ship's iron railing. After a moment, he shook his head and let out a small sigh.

“Okay,” the captain relented. “I can make a quick pass over the pier, but we can't stick around. Once you're out, you're out.”

“I understand,” Owen replied. He was anxious to get down to Fort Ridley.

“There's just one more thing,” McCrea added. “And you're probably not going to like it . . .”

McCrea was
right
, Owen thought as he shimmied down the long stretch of rope and into the black smoke cloud.
I don't like this one bit.
He could hear the wind whipping past him as the
Aurora
made its descent into the skies above Fort Ridley. The zeppelin would only be able to stay in the cloud for a few moments, so Owen had to be ready to let go of the end of the rope and jump off as soon as they were over the piers.

Owen held his breath to avoid inhaling the soot from the cloud as he lowered himself one hand after another. He couldn't make out the docks or even the end of the rope.

“All right, son,” McCrea called out from above. “It's now or never.”

Below him, Owen saw only darkness mixed with the occasional swirl of grayish light. He tried to focus on something. Anything. For a brief moment, he thought he saw the wooden planks of the pier below his feet. Knowing this was his only chance, he let go of the rope.