Astro-Knights Island (3 page)

Chapter Four

The Mordred Museum

“The Knights of Arturus have been defeated,” Alice said. “At least, that's what the gossips in the mill are saying.”

“They don't know what they're talking about,” Simon insisted. “The knights will come through, I just know it.”

But even as he said the words, Simon felt a twinge of doubt. The knights had been gone for days now. Every day, he stared up at the sky, waiting for them to return. And every night, he fell asleep disappointed.

The two friends were sitting on a fence by the stables, underneath that same blue sky. As peasants, they very rarely got a day off, and when they did, they tried to spend it together.

“So what do you want to do today?” Simon asked.

“Well . . .” Alice said slowly. “I was thinking we could go to the Museum of Mordred.”

Simon made a face. “You know I don't care about that guy. All those stories are a bunch of nonsense.”

“But they're an interesting bunch of nonsense,” Alice countered. “And, anyway, I think you need to take your mind off those knights. I can tell how worried you are.”

Simon hopped down from the fence. “I am
not
worried,” he lied. “But since it's your turn to pick what we do, I'll go.”

Alice jumped down, landing next to him. “Cool! You won't regret it, Simon.”

They walked toward the Castle, heading away from the stench of the stables and the muddy field. As they made their way along the grassy path they jumped over jagged craters in the dirt, still fresh from the attack. On the main road in the village, the shingled walls of the Crop Circle Inn were singed and the Planetarium next door had a broken window.

When they got to the museum, a small stone house with a wood roof, Simon suddenly realized something.

“Hey, we can't go here,” he said. “Doesn't it cost a coin to get in?”

“No problem,” Alice said. “There are always coins in the fountain.”

She ran to the elaborate granite fountain that Mordred's fans had constructed next to the museum. The fountain's base was round, with another round pool on a platform rising up from the center. And rising from the second pool was a spacecraft carved from stone, with a twisted trail of smoke connecting the craft to the fountain. Water flowed into the pool from three small tubes at the end of the craft.

Alice jumped into the fountain and began to splash around, looking for coins.

“So what is this thing supposed to be?” Simon asked.

“Mordred's worshippers call it a rocket,” she said. “They say it's what he used to escape to the stars.”

Simon shook his head. “Ridiculous.”

“I thought so, too,” Alice said. “Until we got attacked from the sky. Hey, two coins!”

She flipped a coin down to Simon and jumped out of the fountain. Simon sighed.

“What a waste of a perfectly good coin.”

“It'll be fun,” Alice said, dragging him by the arm. “Come on!”

Inside the museum, the curator greeted them with a sneer of disdain. A pale man with a neatly trimmed red beard, he was dressed in fine purple trousers and a matching velvet hat. He clearly had no time for peasants.

“Sorry,” he said. “You need one coin to enter.”

“Not a problem,” Alice said with a grin, handing him her coin. Simon reluctantly turned over his as well.

“So do we get to see Mordred's secret stuff?” Alice asked eagerly.

The curator rolled his eyes. “This is not Mordred's laboratory. This is his home.”

“Before the king imprisoned him, you mean,” Simon mumbled.

The curator ignored him. “What you see is what you get. Enjoy your visit.”

Alice began to walk around the first floor, which held a bunch of books, a lot of cobwebs, and Mordred's old computer—which would have been interesting if it could work. Nothing worked anymore since the power went out.

“Wow, this is fascinating,” Simon said sarcastically. “Definitely worth the price of admission.”

He quickly felt bad for saying it when he saw Alice's disappointed expression.

“Hey, maybe there's something cool upstairs,” he said, pointing to a loft overhead. Alice grinned.

“Let's climb up!”

But in the loft they found only more cobwebs, more books, Mordred's old bed, and a lot of dust.

“Okay! You were right! This is boring,” Alice admitted. “Let's get out of here and go hang out by the creek or something.”

They climbed down from the loft. Simon felt bad for his friend. As they headed to the door, he walked over to a table full of books.

“Hey, these could be interesting,” he said. “Maybe we can borrow one and read it by the creek.”

The curator quickly stepped up to him. “No, no, I'm very sorry. The books cannot leave the museum.”

Simon was feeling frustrated. He spotted a slip of paper sticking out of one of the books. It was an old library slip with Mordred's signature on it.

“Well, I think we deserve at least a souvenir after what we paid,” he argued. “Can we take this old library slip?”

The curator sighed. “Very well. If you promise to be on your way.”

“Oh, we promise,” Simon said. “Come on, Alice, let's go.”

When they got outside, Simon handed the slip to Alice.

“See? It's got Mordred's autograph on it,” he said.

“Excellent!” Alice said with a grateful smile. “Sorry if I ruined your day. Let's go to the creek.”

“Sure,” Simon said, stepping forward. Then he stopped. “Hey, what's that?”

Two mysterious figures in hooded purple robes were approaching the fountain. The hoods were pulled low, covering their faces.

“Bandits?” Alice whispered. “We should be careful.”

The two friends flattened themselves against the front wall of the museum, hoping the robed figures would pass by without seeing them. But after a few seconds, there was no sign of the figures. Curious, Simon peered around the wall.

The figures were gone.

“That's weird,” Simon said. “Where did they go?”

“It's almost like they disappeared inside the fountain,” Alice remarked. She walked up and started to examine it. “But I don't see a door or anything.”

“No, there's just this plaque,” Simon said. Carved into a plaque mounted on the second pool were the words: “In Memory of Mordred, Who Brought Technology to Our Land, but Went Astray.”

“If he went astray, then why build him a statue?” Simon wondered.

“Some people don't agree with the King,” Alice said. “He thought Mordred's experiments were evil. But Mordred's fans thought the King was being close-minded. They thought Mordred was a genius.”

“Do you think those people in the purple robes were Mordred worshippers?” Simon wondered.

“Maybe,” Alice said. “It's definitely weird.”

Simon nodded in agreement. “Definitely!”

Chapter Five

Simon Steps Up

Simon's day off seemed to fly by. Before he knew it, he was back in the stables, shoveling manure again. Tobias, as usual, was singing his mucking song.

“I need someone to take a message to the Castle for me,” Edmund said late that afternoon, stomping up to the stables. He looked Tobias and Simon up and down, and must have decided that Simon looked slightly cleaner. “Here you go, Simon. Don't be long.”

Simon gratefully put down his pitchfork and took the scroll of paper with a nod. It didn't take very long to get a message to the Castle—he'd usually just hand it to a footman and leave—but he was hoping to make the errand last as long as he could.

He slowly meandered along the path, whistling a tune until he reached the Castle steps. Then he smoothed down his hair, plucking out a few strands of hay, and climbed the steps.

Only then did he realize how strange things were—normally, the Castle guards would have stopped him before letting him enter, and the footman would have greeted him. But it was like the Castle had been frozen in time since the day the Princess was kidnapped. A cold breeze blew through the holes the invaders had blasted in the walls. The few servants he could see walked around like zombies, sad and distracted. He tried to approach one of them, but the man walked away, ignoring him.

What now?
Simon wondered. If he didn't deliver the message, Edmund would surely yell at him and probably give him extra duties. He couldn't fail. So he made his way up to the second floor, waiting for a guard to stop him.

But he entered the throne room without anyone giving him a second glance. The once-grand room was in shambles. Sunlight streamed through a huge hole in the wall, and the King and Queen sat on their thrones, with the Princess's empty throne between them. The Queen looked like she had been crying for days.

“Ex-excuse me,” Simon said nervously. “But I have a message from Edmund the stable master for you.”

“Message?” the King asked absently. “Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Simon cautiously approached the throne and handed the scroll to the King. The poor King and Queen looked so heartbroken that something moved Simon to speak.

“Excuse me, Your Highnesses, but is everything all right?” he asked.

“Of course it's not all right!” the Queen wailed. “My daughter is gone! Gone to the fabric beyond the sky!” Then she began to sob.

“But surely the knights will rescue her,” Simon said.

The King shook his head. “It has been many days since the knights left. I fear they are lost. We shall never see Elyana again. If only some brave soul would step up to follow them and find our daughter!”

“Surely one of the Castle guards will do it,” Simon suggested.

“There is no one brave enough,” the King replied dismally. “That is why my servants and guards hide in the shadows. They are afraid I will send them into the sky.”

Something welled up inside Simon at that moment, and the words were out of his mouth before he realized he was saying them. “I will do it,” he offered. “I will rescue the Princess!”