by Lou Kuenzler
“Oh dear,” said Izumi. “Those clouds don’t look good.”
The sky above them was silvery gray now.
“We better hurry,” said Scarlet.
“Don’t worry,” said Grace. “It won’t rain. I’m sure of it.”
Ten minutes later, they were soaked to the skin. It wasn’t just rain either. There were hailstones the size of diamond rings, drumming on their riding hats and sliding like chips of ice down the back of their necks.
By the time they had ridden home and put the unicorns in their stables, they were dripping like soggy dishcloths.
Grace had never seen Scarlet and Izumi look so bedraggled before. Water was squelching over the top of Izumi’s boots, and Scarlet’s lips were blue.
“But it was so much fun,” they all agreed as they dashed across the courtyard and flung open the door to the Dormitory Tower.
Precious was coming down the stairs.
“Just look at you three,” she sneered. “Grace’s untidiness must be catching. Now there are three Princess DisGraces instead of one.”
“It’s only water.” Grace shrugged, ignoring her meanness.
“We’ll soon dry off,” agreed Izumi.
“You really shouldn’t spend so much time with Grace,” said Precious, grabbing Scarlet by the arm. “You might become as hopeless as she is. You wouldn’t want that, would you? She’s more like a scarecrow than a princess.”
“Come on,” said Grace. “Let’s go up to the dormitory.”
But Scarlet had flushed bright red. Raindrops were running off her nose, and she had a look of fury on her face that Grace had never seen before.
“I’ve had enough of this. How would you feel if someone spoke to you like that, Precious?” she said.
Precious just laughed.
“In half an hour, we will be dry and clean,” said Scarlet, her voice shaking as she spoke. “But you will still be mean and spiteful. You say such terrible things to Grace. I don’t know why. If you only took the trouble to get to know her, you’d find out how lovely she is.”
“Well said,” cheered Izumi.
Grace wanted to hug them both. She knew how much courage it must have taken Scarlet to speak out like that. And she was right about what she said. Grace tried not to show it, but Precious’s constant bullying beat against her like a storm of hailstones every day.
Precious poked her finger in Scarlet’s face.
“How dare you speak to me like that?” she shrieked. “Little Miss Shy, who isn’t brave enough to curtsy to a knight. None of you are even good enough to look at me. I am the best student in the whole class. I am the Golden Princess. I—”
“Be quiet,” said Scarlet.
Precious raised her hand.
THWACK!
She slapped Scarlet across the cheek.
“Ow!” Scarlet yelped and stumbled back-ward.
“Stop!” cried Grace. She tried to grab her cousin’s arm.
There was a clatter as the string of beads around Precious’s neck broke.
The floor was covered with rolling pearls.
“Now look what you’ve done!” screamed Precious. “That necklace belonged to Granny. It’s worth more than your father’s whole kingdom.”
The door to Flintheart’s office swung open, and the fairy godmother stepped out. Lady DuLac was with her.
Flintheart folded her arms. Her face was like thunder. Grace gave Scarlet a reassuring hug.
“It was all Grace’s fault,” whined Precious. “Scarlet and I had a little bit of a fight. I was only trying to hug and make up. But Grace was clumsy and got in the way as usual. I ended up knocking Scarlet’s cheek by mistake. I didn’t mean to hit her. It was only because Grace bashed my arm. And now my valuable pearls are broken.” She held out the handful of beads that Izumi had gathered from the floor and given her.
“That’s not true. That’s not how it happened!” cried Scarlet.
“You slapped Scarlet on purpose,” said Izumi. “Grace wasn’t anywhere near you. And the pearls can be mended easily,” she added.
“It’s all right,” said Lady DuLac, stepping forward and wrapping her own shawl around Scarlet’s shivering shoulders. “Fairy Godmother Flint and I heard the whole thing.” She patted Scarlet’s arm and smiled. “You showed great bravery defending your friend when you thought that someone else’s words would hurt her. That takes a different sort of nerve than curtsying to a crowd. Standing up for what is right is the most important sort of courage of all. I am only sorry that you got hurt trying.”
Scarlet lifted her head and smiled.
Lady DuLac turned toward Precious. “You have been warned not to show off about your role as Golden Princess, and yet you did. But worse than that, today you behaved in a cruel and most un-princess-like way.”
“It wasn’t my fault,” growled Precious, kicking her pointy gold shoes against the tiles.
“I am afraid you leave me no choice but to take away your role of Golden Princess,” said Lady DuLac. “Someone else will have that honor at the tournament.”
“You can’t do that!” cried Precious. She was actually stamping her feet now. “I’ll tell my daddy!”
Grace, Scarlet, and Izumi glanced at each other in shock.
“Perhaps we should think of another punishment, Headmistress,” said Flintheart, panic rising in her voice. “There is so little time before the tournament.”
“But my golden dress has been made and everything!” wailed Precious. “What are you going to do? Get someone stupid like Grace, who can’t even curtsy properly?”
Flintheart gasped. “Don’t be silly!” she cried. “Grace could not be the Golden Princess.”
But Lady DuLac held up her hand. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She began to pace up and down, drumming her fingers together as if she was trying to make up her mind. A slow smile spread across her face.
“Why not?” she said. “Princess Grace has worked hard and tried her very best since the moment she first arrived at Tall Towers. It is a wonderful idea, Precious. Grace thoroughly deserves to be our new Golden Princess.”
“Are you joking?” groaned Precious.
“Me?” Grace nearly collapsed on the ground. “You want me to be the Golden Princess, Lady DuLac?”
The next few days passed in a haze.
Precious thumped around in such a rage that nobody dared to go near her. The other princesses were shocked when they heard how she had slapped Scarlet. Most thought it was right that she was no longer the Golden Princess. But Grace knew they were worried about how she would do at the tournament instead.
“Just try not to be too clumsy,” squealed the twins.
Grace shuddered. She would have to lead the whole parade and then curtsy to the winning knight. She was representing the First Years in front of the entire school and their parents.
Flintheart’s gray face became white with worry. Grace spent every waking minute practicing her curtsy. She almost had it perfectly…until she remembered that she would be wearing a long golden dress.
Grace hadn’t even had a chance to try the dress on. Fairy Godmother Pom had attempted to let the hem down, but there just wasn’t enough material; Grace was so much taller than Precious. In the end, Fairy Godmother Pom had to send to the mainland for fabric and start all over again.
While Scarlet practiced doing Grace’s hair, Izumi spent hours in the Sewing Tower helping to cut and measure and sew.
“It is going to be a beautiful dress,” she told Grace. “The train is as long as the tables in the Dining Tower.”
“Really?” Grace gulped. “I trip over my dressing-gown cord. How am I going to manage with a golden train long enough for thirteen princesses to eat their breakfast off of?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” said Scarlet.
On the night before the tournament, Grace stood in her long white nightdress, and Izumi pinned a bedsheet to the hem and spread it out behind her.
“Hmm. It�
��s not quite as long as the golden dress,” she said, checking it with her tape measure. “But it’s very close.”
“Imagine I am my cousin Wilbur.” Scarlet giggled, tucking her ponytail into her collar to make herself look more like a boy. “He has red hair just like me. Now try to curtsy, Grace.”
“Congratulations on winning the joust, Sir Wilbur,” proclaimed Grace in a booming voice that made Scarlet jump.
“I don’t think Wilbur will actually win,” she laughed. “He’d probably die of fright if he did.”
“Sir.” Grace bowed her head, as if Scarlet really was a knight, and stepped backward at the same time, dipping her knee low.
There was a horrible ripping sound.
“Oops,” said Grace. “I think I put my foot through the sheet.”
“Don’t worry.” Izumi rushed forward with more pins. “Try again. Take a smaller step back. Nobody will see your feet because of the long dress.”
“Like this?” asked Grace, bobbing down a second time.
“That’s it!” cried Scarlet as Grace managed a perfect curtsy. “The sheet didn’t even bunch up behind you. It will look beautiful with the golden dress.”
Grace beamed. “Do you really think it will be as easy as that?” she asked.
“I don’t see why not,” said Izumi. “Your curtsies are elegant now.”
Grace practiced ten more times, and each one was perfect.
“I could never have done it without your help,” she said, grabbing Scarlet and Izumi by the hand.
“Try to get a good night’s sleep,” said Izumi as she unpinned the sheet from the back of Grace’s nightdress. “You have nothing to worry about now.”
“I’d still be far too nervous to sleep.” Scarlet gulped. “Just think of all those people who’ll be watching you tomorrow.”
“Scarlet, that is not helping,” whispered Izumi.
But Grace just laughed. “I won’t sleep a wink,” she said, leaping into bed. “But not because I’m scared. I’m excited. I can’t wait to see the huge horses and watch the knights joust. Thanks to my two wonderful best friends, everything is going to be perfect at the tournament. I am going to be the most princessy Golden Princess ever….”
In fact, Grace fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.
“Wake up!” cried Scarlet in the morning.
“It’s time to get out of bed,” said Izumi.
“Out of bed?” Grace sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You mean I didn’t fall out in the night.”
She looked down at the hard floor where she woke up every morning.
“I can’t believe it!” she said, leaping to her feet and bouncing up and down on her mattress. “This is the first night in my whole life I didn’t fall out of bed. Maybe now that I have learned to curtsy, my clumsiness is cured forever.”
She sprang down and curtsied low to the floor.
“I think you’re right,” said Scarlet. “It’s a sign.”
“And it’s a lovely, bright day with a gentle touch of frost. Everything will be perfect,” agreed Izumi. “Just so long as you get dressed in time.”
“Oh no. You both look beautiful already,” said Grace, gesturing to the shimmering silver dresses Scarlet and Izumi were wearing.
“Come on,” said Izumi. “I can’t wait to see you in the golden dress at last.”
They all ran across to the Sewing Tower, and Fairy Godmother Pom welcomed them inside.
“Close your eyes tight, Gracie. No peek-ing,” she said as she opened the wardrobe where the dress was hanging. “I’ve been up half the night putting the finishing touches on it.”
There was a rustle of material, and Grace felt the fairy godmother pull the dress down over her head.
“It’s a perfect fit!” cried Izumi.
“Don’t open your eyes yet,” warned the fairy godmother as she fussed with the long gold train.
“You really do look lovely,” said Scarlet. There was a tug as she pulled Grace’s hair into a tight ballerina’s bun.
“Ready?” Fairy Godmother Pom clapped her hands. “You can look now, Gracie.”
Grace opened her eyes and stared into the mirror.
The dress was long and straight, with a dropped waist and scooped sleeves. It had a fluffy winter collar, and the hem was trimmed with golden velvet.
“It’s gorgeous,” she gasped. “Thank you. I never dreamed I could look like this.”
Grace remembered standing here all those weeks before, the first time she had seen herself in the white school pinafore. Then she had truly felt like a princess. Today, she didn’t even feel like a princess. She felt like a queen or an empress in the beautiful golden dress.
“Princess Izumi designed most of it,” said Fairy Godmother Pom.
“Thank you, Izumi. You’re so smart. And my hair looks great too,” she said, hugging Scarlet.
“You all look very elegant,” said Fairy Godmother Pom as the three girls stood in front of the mirror together. “But you’d better hurry along. The parents will be arriving soon, and you aren’t supposed to be seen before the parade.”
“Yes, we mustn’t be late, or old Flintheart will have a fit,” said Grace, gathering up her dress in great armfuls and secretly wishing that the train wasn’t quite so long. “Thank you for everything, Fairy Godmother Pom.”
Scarlet and Izumi helped her down the steps of the tower.
“Look. That must be Visalotta’s boat,” said Izumi as they dashed across the courtyard, holding Grace’s golden train high off the ground.
“I heard it was made of real rubies, but I never believed it,” said Scarlet.
Grace turned her head to see a sparkling red yacht coming into the harbor below the school. In the winter sunshine, the water twinkled as if it was on fire, but it was only the glow of the jewels.
“Hurry,” said Izumi. “We’re supposed to be in the waiting room outside the Ceremonial Hall before our parents arrive.”
There were other boats close to the island too—white schooners and silver rowing vessels.
Grace heard the roar of an engine and saw her aunt and uncle’s huge golden speedboat skim into the harbor behind Visalotta’s yacht.
“Quick,” she said. “Let’s go.” The last thing she wanted to do was bump into Precious’s parents right now.
But halfway across the courtyard, she heard a booming voice she recognized instantly.
“Grace? Is that you all dressed up?”
She spun around to see her father striding toward her in his best fur cloak and yak-skin boots. His long beard was flying out behind him. Grace had gotten used to how tall and broad he was at home, but here he seemed like a giant.
“Papa!” she cried, running to him in spite of the golden dress.
Grace’s little sister, Pip, was there too, trotting after the king, her dark chocolatey hair gathered into two stiff little bunches sticking out from each side of her head. She had a pretty, round face with dimples in her chubby cheeks and a big gappy smile where she had lost one of her baby teeth at the front. Apart from their hazel eyes, the two sisters looked nothing alike.
“Goodness! Golly! Gosh!” Pip dashed forward and flung her arms around Grace’s waist. “You look like a real, proper princess,” she gasped.
Grace laughed, then picked Pip up and spun her round.
“I’ve been asked to be the Golden Princess today. It’s a special job at the tournament.” She hugged her father too. It was so good to see them both after so long.
“And these are my two best friends,” she said, turning to Scarlet and Izumi. She had told her father all about them in the letters she wrote home every week.
“Princess Izumi and Princess Scarlet, I presume,” said the king, bowing low as the girls curtsied.
“Golly!” said Pip again. “They’re so sparkly.” She took hold of Grace’s hand and stared up at Scarlet and Izumi as if they had stepped off the pages of a storybook.
“We have to go, or we’ll be in trouble with our
teacher,” said Grace, trying to pry Pip’s fingers away. “We’ll see you right after the tournament. I’ll show you my unicorn, Billy.”
“I wish I was at princess school,” sniffed Pip, still clinging to Grace’s hand. “I wish I had a golden dress as lovely as yours.”
“You’ll be a student at Tall Towers soon,” said Scarlet.
“And you look lovely already,” said Izumi, pointing to the little blue-and-white polka-dot frock that Pip was wearing. Grace remembered that it used to belong to her, but it suited Pip much better.
“Gosh!” Pip was so pleased and shy, she grabbed hold of Grace’s knees and hid in the folds of her dress.
“We really do have to go,” said Grace helplessly.
“Take a bit of fudge first,” said her father. “Cook made it specially.” He opened his handkerchief to reveal a pile of fluffy sweets. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I think they might have gotten a little hairy in the pocket of my cloak.”
Grace could see Scarlet and Izumi trying not to giggle as they remembered the midnight feast on their very first night at Tall Towers. With perfect princess politeness, they each took a piece of the furry fudge from the king’s enormous handkerchief.
“Delicious.” They smiled.
“Just don’t think about hairy caterpillars…or dragon dung,” Grace whispered as they turned toward school. But before she could walk away, her father caught hold of her sleeve.
“Wait.” He put his arm around her shoulders as the others ran inside.
“I am so proud of you, Grace,” he said. “You look so elegant and graceful in that golden dress. You’re growing up to be a proper princess. I know it can’t always be easy without your mother around. But she would be so happy if she could see you today.”
Grace felt a glow inside her. Her father normally talked to her about yak farming. Or he held her upside down and tickled her. Or he told her gory legends about Cragland’s past and the terrible bloodthirsty creatures that had lived and died there long ago. He had never actually given her a compliment before. It made her blush as red as Visalotta’s ruby boat.