Escaping the Prince (Bedlam in Brandydook Book 1)

by Lorraine O'Byrne

  He ran his fingers through his hair. Buttercup was lying on her side. If he didn’t get help soon she probably wouldn’t survive. The bushes rustled. Leaves parted and out stumbled his old friend Chico. Morgan ran to him and threw his arms around his neck. The dragonfly buzzed happily. With one arm around the pixie, the prince helped Buttercup up on to the dragonfly’s back and then sat behind her.

  ‘Home, Chico.’

  The dragonfly didn’t need to be told a second time. He zigzagged into the sky, nipped over the falling rapids, down river and on to Brandydook stream. Morgan stared around him in growing horror. He was too late. Brandydook was unrecognisable. All the trees had shrivelled. Some were almost dead altogether. Frost had turned every leaf, bush and grass to blades of ice. The pixie homes were buried under heaps of snow. As he whizzed towards the palace his mouth dropped open in shock to see Pixie Cookinpot standing in the centre. He had turned into a stone statue. What of his parents? Buttercup’s family? He pulled his cloak tighter around him and descended to the palace garden.

  Prince Morgan jumped off the dragonfly and rushed over to the garden. A single bluebell was all that remained of the beautiful flowers. He touched the petals. Most of them were brittle and ready to fall at any moment. He didn’t have much time. He ran back to Chico and gathered Buttercup in his arms. He entered the palace. His mother would know where to plant the seeds and how to make Buttercup better.

  The palace was deathly silent. No sound of running feet or raised voices. And it was just as cold as outside. Morgan pushed open the drawing room doors.

  ‘Mother, Father! I found Buttercup.’

  His mouth dropped open in shock. Queen Tulip and King Rufus were in exactly the same position he’d left them, but frozen solid, as were the rest of the staff in the palace.

  Morgan placed Buttercup gently on the floor and with a cry of alarm ran over to examine his parents. Tears filled his eyes. He was too late. Someone touched his shoulder. He jumped, startled, to see Goodwin standing over him.

  ‘Your Majesty, we must hurry, I know where to plant the seeds.’

  Morgan wiped away his tears. ‘Goodwin, I’m so happy to see you,’ he said, giving the pixie a bear hug.

  Goodwin blushed in surprise, immediately taking back all the unkind things he thought about the prince.

  ‘But how come you’re not frozen like all the rest?’

  ‘I don’t know. Perhaps it has something to do with Brandydook stream. Aluna and I were in the water and so was Buttercup. And none of us turned to ice.’

  ‘Now that I think about it,’ said the prince, ‘there’s an old legend that states “Should the kingdom ever be at risk, Brandydook stream contains a magical substance that will protect the pixie’s body from the deadly winter elements until nature is restored once again.” I’m sorry I didn’t pay heed on it before, now it could be too late.’

  Buttercup turned on her side and moaned. Her brow was shining from the fever which had now taken over her body.

  ‘What happened?’ Goodwin asked.

  ‘I’ll tell you later. Come on. I need your help to plant these seeds.’

  Chapter 21

  ‘Hurry.’

  ‘I’m going as fast as I can.’

  The two of them stood in the royal garden. Goodwin was darting nervous glances at the one remaining petal on the bluebell. Morgan was on his knees digging a hole to sow the seeds. Every now and then his fingers would become stiff and his joints ached. He wondered if he was getting the same fever as Buttercup.

  Goodwin watched in horror as ice slowly crept up along the prince’s feet and legs. It was too late to get the protective magic from the stream, they wouldn’t make it on time. Morgan’s movements were getting slower and clumsier. He seemed unable to hold on to the pendant. It kept slipping in his fingers.

  ‘Let me,’ Goodwin offered. His voice shook. He fumbled with the catch on the pendant but it refused to budge. The pixie picked up a stick to break the lock but nothing worked.

  ‘Why can’t you open it?’ Morgan’s teeth chattered. The ice had risen waist high. He could no longer move his legs.

  ‘Your Majesty,’ cried Goodwin appalled.

  ‘Keep trying!’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ someone said from behind.

  Goodwin and Morgan turned to stare at Buttercup. Like Goodwin she hadn’t turned to ice but her face was deathly pale. White streaked her blue hair. Ribbons of sweat ran down her cheeks and she staggered when she walked. She took the pendant out of Goodwin’s hand and with trembling fingers prised open the lid with her nail.

  Morgan was now covered in ice and frozen to the spot. ‘Throw the seeds into the hole,’ ordered Goodwin.

  Buttercup opened the pendant and let the seeds fall into the hole, except one. The last she rubbed along the wound on her leg. Too weak to stand any longer she let Goodwin carry her back into the palace.

  ***

  Day turned into night. Goodwin watched, helpless to do anything as the entire kingdom of Brandydook became frozen in time. At the break of dawn however, warm sunlight filtered through the palace windows and so began the first stirrings of life. Bluebells, roses, crocuses and many more sprang to life in the garden. Buds emerged on twigs and leaves returned to the trees. The sun melted all the frost and snow and the prince and the pixies were restored to life once again. Bird chorus erupted in Brandydook and animals awoke from early hibernation. Nature had finally been restored.

  Buttercup flexed her arms and legs. The pain was gone and so was the fever. She didn’t know what had just happened but suspected it had something to do with the powerful seeds. The ice was falling from the king and queen, forming a puddle around them. She didn’t want to be around when they were fully recovered but on the other hand she ran away before and look what happened then. She thought about the prince and everything he had risked to find her. He had shown great courage. Now it was her turn. Time to face the music and tell the truth. Her heart beat so fast she thought she would faint.

  The queen was the first to stir, followed by the king then the palace guards. She saw Buttercup immediately and frowned. ‘What are you doing here? Do you know the entire kingdom has been out searching for you?’

  Buttercup reddened. ‘I’m deeply sorry – I shouldn’t have taken the flowers.’

  ‘You did what?! Guards!’ King Rufus bellowed, ‘Arrest this pixie at once.’

  There was a stamping of feet, followed by weapons being drawn. Tears rolled down Buttercup’s cheeks as she was being led away.

  ‘Wait! Father!’ the prince yelled. ‘We did as Mother Brandydook advised and planted the seeds. Everything is going to be okay.’

  ‘It still doesn’t excuse what Buttercup did, son,’ the king replied, touching Morgan’s shoulder. ‘Not only did she run out on your wedding and make a laughing stock of this entire family but she also stole flowers from the kingdom and put everyone’s lives in danger. It is my duty to see to it that Buttercup Hickleberry will be banished and never return to Brandydook again!’

  ‘He’s right,’ whispered Buttercup to the prince. ‘I should have told you the whole truth, I’m sorry. I deserve to be punished.’

  ‘No, you do not,’ said the prince firmly.

  Buttercup glanced up at him in surprise. Suddenly, there was a loud commotion outside the drawing room as Elga and Silas pushed their way inside to confront the culprit. They were immediately followed by Buttercup’s parents.

  ‘Look what she put us through!’ shrieked Elga, ‘she is not fit to be princess of Brandydook.’ Turning to Silas she murmured, ‘Didn’t I tell you she was no good?’

  ‘Oh shut up Elga,’ snapped Flora who like the others had eventually recovered from her illness. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’

  ‘Well I never – ’ exclaimed Elga. ‘Like mother like daughter.’

  Flora went for the plump pixie with fists raised until Peblo pulled her back. ‘This is what she wants,’ he hissed, ‘don’t give her the satisfact
ion of seeing two Hickleberry’s been dragged away by the guards, please.’ Itching for a fight Flora glowered at Elga and then at her husband for stopping her.

  Prince Morgan continued, ‘You’re right, Father, Buttercup shouldn’t have taken the flowers, but she knows now what she did was wrong and she won’t do it again. Do not blame her. This pixie is the strongest and bravest pixie I know.’

  Buttercup’s mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes sparkled with tears of gratitude.

  The queen regarded her son with admiration and pride. ‘Let her go.’

  ‘What?!’ sputtered the king. ‘You cannot be serious!’

  ‘I said, let her go. A pixie should not be punished for her innocence.’

  Rufus looked at his wife. Her mouth was set firmly. He shook his head, drummed his fingers on the table then sighed. ‘You heard what your queen said.’

  The guards released Buttercup and then one by one left the room.

  ‘We would like a word in private with our son,’ said Queen Tulip to Elga, Peblo, Flora and Buttercup.

  ‘Of course, Your Majesty,’ they replied together.

  Flora and Peblo curtsied and left the drawing room, followed by Buttercup.

  ‘You do realise,’ said the queen when they were alone, ‘that you still have to marry by the time you reach your sixteenth birthday, which by my calculations is tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes Mother,’ said Morgan with a sigh, slumping back in his chair.

  ‘You must choose a bride and fast,’ his father said gruffly, ‘and choose wisely this time.’

  Morgan’s face clouded over. They wouldn’t like it, but he knew what he had to do. ‘Mother, Father, there is something I need to talk to you about.’

  ***

  When Buttercup got home everything was the same. Only this time nobody fussed over her and both of her parents were silent, glaring at her.

  ‘I’m sorry for shaming you,’ she murmured when they were alone.

  ‘Can’t say I’m proud of what you did,’ began her mother, ‘but I do understand your reasons behind it.’

  ‘I don’t,’ said Peblo, staring at his laced fingers. He glanced up. ‘Don’t look at me like that Flora Hickleberry, I’ve every right to be annoyed with all the trouble she’s caused.’

  ‘I’ve let you down, Father. I know how much you wanted to be a member of the royal family.’

  He grunted and gave no reply.

  Buttercup sighed and went up to her room where she found Aluna sitting on her bed. She turned to walk back down. ‘Wait, I want to talk to you,’ Aluna said.

  ‘I’m not in the mood for another lecture.’

  To her surprise, Aluna rushed over and enfolded her in a huge bear hug. ‘Oh, I was so scared. I was sure they were going to banish you. Don’t ever do anything like that again. Promise me.’

  ‘Okay, I promise.’ Buttercup frowned. ‘What’s brought all this on?’

  ‘Goodwin and I went searching for you down by Brandydook stream, we thought something had happened.’ She flicked a tear from her eye. ‘I thought you’d drowned.’

  ‘Oh, you silly goose. Tough as nails, me.’ Buttercup swallowed a lump in her throat. ‘Guess you get your wish after all.’

  ‘What wish?’

  ‘To marry the prince. At least it will make Father happy.’

  Aluna locked her hands with her sister’s and said, ‘Father will get over it in time. But Prince Morgan wants to marry you. And I’m sure you do too. You should have seen the way he looked at you in the palace and all those things he said. He really meant them.’

  ‘But I thought you – ’

  ‘Me! No,’ she snorted, ‘I was just being mean… and jealous.’

  ‘You were jealous of me?!’

  ‘Never mind that now. I’m just glad you’re back here with us again and Brandydook is safe.’ Her expression turned fierce. ‘But I’ll kick your butt if you ever do anything like that again. I mean it!’

  Buttercup thought back to the night when it all went wrong and suddenly remembered something. ‘Goodwin likes you, you know.’

  Aluna went red. ‘I guess he’s a good pixie as far as pixies go.’

  ‘Goodwin’s mad about you. You know it was he who told the prince where to look for me, he also carried me back into the palace when I was sick and Morgan was all frozen over. And it was he who told Morgan where to sow the magic seeds. I’d say he’s quite a catch!’

  Aluna leaped up.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Ooh, I’ll tell you later,’ she giggled. Then she leaned over and kissed her sister on the cheek.

  ‘What’s that for?’

  ‘For opening my eyes.’

  Chapter 22

  WENDY

  Wendy jumped up and down, stamped her feet and bawled.

  ‘Come on now Wendy honey, Daddy will get you a new dolly.’

  ‘I want a fairy,’ she screamed. ‘I want a fairy now. Mommy!’ She galloped down the stairs. ‘My fairies are gone. Someone took my fairies.’

  Clarissa picked her daughter up. ‘No one took your dollies Wendy you just lost them that’s all.’

  ‘They’re fairies,’ she scowled, ‘and they ran away.’

  ‘Let’s have another look in your room,’ she cooed. ‘They’re probably under your bed somewhere.’

  ‘Yeah,’ she brightened up, ‘maybe they’re hiding and I’ll catch them.’

  ‘You bet,’ smiled Clarissa.

  Davey Brown came down the stairs and rolled his eyes. ‘Still going on about those fairy dolls?’

  Clarissa nodded and gave a long sigh. ‘Hey, you haven’t seen Bruno, have you? He wasn’t there this morning at feeding time.’

  ‘I’ll go search for him. He can’t have gone far.’

  Clarissa nodded and traipsed up the stairs after her young daughter. She was tired and fed up with her tantrums. They tried under the bed, the presses and in amongst her toys but found nothing.

  ‘How about going to the shop and getting a new one? Hmm? You’d like that.’

  Wendy’s wail shook the foundations of the house.

  ***

  Two days later there was still no sign of the mysterious fairies and Bruno still hadn’t returned.

  ‘Come inside Wendy, it’s cold darling.’

  ‘Just ten more minutes Mommy.’

  Wendy’s sister had given her money so her father had bought her a sand pit and bucket and spade to take her mind off the dolls’ disappearance and also to get her out from under her mother’s feet. Clarissa couldn’t stand moping at the best of times and the child was beginning to drive her crazy with her frequent, unexpected tantrums.

  ‘Hey, look what I’ve got,’ said her father dragging a frightened, dripping wet Bruno across the yard.

  ‘Where’d you find him?’ asked Clarissa drying the suds from her hands.

  ‘Cowering behind the hedge over there.’

  ‘I’m making coffee. Do you want some?’ she asked.

  Wendy was too young for that black stuff and anyway it tasted yucky.

  ‘Sure,’ he said bending to clasp the lead on to the dog. ‘What’s this you have here boy?’

  A piece of blue hair had gotten caught in his collar where Buttercup had been clinging on to him.

  Wendy jumped up and ran over to her father. ‘Let me see. Let me see.’

  ‘It’s nothing, Wendy. Just a blue piece of hair that’s all.’

  When Bruno saw the young girl approach he twisted out of Davey’s grasp and tore off back in the direction he came, the dog lead flying behind him. He hoped this time he wouldn’t lose his way. ‘Come back here!’ Davey shouted.

  ‘Are you coming in for that coffee honey?’ called his wife from the porch.

  ‘Darn dog’s gone again.’

  ‘Let him go,’ grumbled Clarissa.

  He glanced around. ‘Hey, where’s Wendy?’

  ‘Took off after Bruno, I expect.’ She sighed. ‘You’d better go after her love.’

&n
bsp; Chapter 23

  Buttercup flitted down to Brandydook stream. Pickle had done a great job with her wing. He said to come back again to tighten the last few stitches but the wing worked as good as new. And she really didn’t want to put him to anymore trouble.

  Her thoughts and feelings were in a muddle. On the one hand she was really growing to like the prince and he did say that she would not be entirely without her independence as the laws of Brandydook could be changed but on the other hand she still felt a little anxious.

  ‘What! Am I crazy? There’s no way the king and queen would want me to marry their son after what happened.’ She lobbed a stone across the water and watched it hop along the stream. Then she lay down on the soft grass to watch the clouds go by. She tried to make out their different shapes, anything to get her mind off things.

  ‘I would say that one’s a bird.’

  ‘No I think it’s a – ’ She sat up. ‘Oh it’s you.’

  ‘Who were you expecting?’ Morgan was wearing a white frilled shirt, black pants and a silver chain around his neck.

  ‘No one.’ Buttercup pulled at her hair, feeling self conscious all of a sudden.

  ‘I can see why you come here, it’s so peaceful,’ he murmured stretching out on the grass beside her, hands behind his head. ‘No one to bother you.’

  ‘Why did you stick up for me? I thought you would be furious I took the flowers,’ she sniffed, ‘Brandydook could have been lost forever because of what I had done.’

  ‘You didn’t know what you were doing and for that I can forgive.’

  ‘But if I had gone to my class and studied the laws of Brandydook as I should have, none of this would have happened,’ she said wiping her nose with the sleeve of her green tunic.

  ‘Don’t distress yourself, all is well. I don’t want to hear anymore about this, and that’s an order. Understood?’

  Buttercup smiled shakily. ‘Yes, Your Highness.’

  ‘My parents and I have been talking.’ He took a deep breath, ‘I don’t have to get married straight away. We could get to know each other first. There’s no pressure.’