Lilli could not believe her good fortune. Kammy had left her backpack sitting on the window seat! Maybe there was still a way, Kammy was always well prepared.
Lilli unbuckled the flap on the backpack, she began removing the items inside: a small first aid kit, sunglasses, a notebook, colored pens, a tee shirt, a bright red ball cap, socks, a pair of jeans, and something Lilli really was very happy to find, a camera, that might come in real handy.
Tucked in the side pocket Lilli found a bottle of water, a sandwich (which she quickly threw away), a pack of Fig Newton cookies, some dried fruit, and much to Lilli’s amusement several packages of bubble gum! Lilli was sure Kammy’s mother had not packed that.
Lilli was very grateful for her lucky windfall. Somehow she would have to do something very special for Kammy to show her gratitude.
Princess rule #7:
A princess never fails to acknowledge acts of kindness.
Lilli felt confident that all of the pieces of the puzzle were in place, now she just had to wait two days to make it happen.
Lilli sat on the vanity bench and gazed into the large oval mirror, she wished she could speak to either Ruth or Flora. What advice would they give her? What did they decide about sharing their secret, and what had they found?
Lilli was so lost in thought, she did not even hear Miss Prudy explaining the schedule for the next day as Lilli climbed into bed. She felt a twinge of guilt for not telling Miss Prudy about her secret plan. If she did would she be betraying Ruth and Flora? After all they had went to great lengths to make sure only a princess found the secret.
Lilli decided at least she should ask Miss Prudy about the two women that had become such a large influence in her life.
Miss Prudy’s answer gave Lilli a new sense of pride. “From what I have been told you are much like Flora, and she was a very great Queen. As for Ruth she was never queen, but her actions helped the ladies of that time achieve great things. Ruth was very well respected. You can’t go wrong if you choose to follow in their footsteps. Now get to sleep you have a busy day ahead.”
Miss Prudy gave Lilli her bedtime hug and “Sweet dreams” and left Lilli tucked in for a good-night’s sleep.
However as Miss Prudy left, Lilli was wondering, had Miss Prudy just given Lilli approval for what she was about to do? It sure sounded like it to Lilli.
Chapter 8
Through the Door
Miss Prudy was absolutely correct, Lilli was up and out of the castle very early for a day filled with royal duties. She had little time to think about what tomorrow might bring. Lilli was too busy meeting with the village children and the Summer Festival Committee to get their ideas for the “Practically Perfect Pretend Parade.” The sun was beginning to set as the limousine driver opened the car door returning the Princess and Miss Prudy home to the castle.
It had been a very long day. As Miss Prudy said her goodnight, the message of “Ring me when you want breakfast. For a change you can sleep in.” fell on deaf ears as Lilli was already asleep.
Not for long though, the night seemed to pass in an instant, as Lilli was awake before sunrise and getting ready for her big adventure!
She hardly recognized herself as she looked in the mirror. But she did have to admit she looked kind of cute in the jeans, tee shirt, and her hair tucked up into the red ball cap that she had found in Kammy’s backpack.
Lilli placed Flora’s locket around her neck, then she had second thoughts what if she lost it? She removed the locket and placed the gold chain through the belt loops on her jeans, then placed the locket into her pocket. There it would be safe.
The last item she put on was the watch she found in Kammy’s backpack to keep track of the time. Setting the alarm to go off twenty minutes before her three hours in the Land of Shenanigans would be up and she had to return home.
It seemed like forever as Lilli sat looking out her window watching for the first rays of sunrise to come up the side of the mountain and into her window.
Lilli’s head was a jumble of thoughts; excited, scared, and worried that she might not be prepared.
It was now or never, no changing her mind now. The first peek of sunshine was through the window shining directly onto Ruth’s mural, lighting up the golden hands with a brilliant glow.
Lilli forgot all her doubts and fears. She placed her hands on the mural and repeated the special words that had been written in Ruth’s book hundreds of years before,“The magic will not be granted to all, but when I place my hands upon this wall, like a hundred years before, let a special Princess of Zen pass through this magical entrance once more!”
In a blink of an eye, Lilli was standing on a garden path, as if she was transported in to a glorious painting, one created by a great master painter, like the paintings she had seen on a visit to the great art museum. The path was lined with beautiful flowers, the fragrance that drifted up from the flowers was magnificent. Lilli felt a strong sense of security that wrapped around her like a soft warm blanket.
Lilli knew she had arrived in the land Ruth and Flora had discovered all those years before. The Land Of Shenanigans!
Chapter 9
In The Land Of Shenanigans
Princess Lillian had never had to make her own choices, her life was always planned by others. Here in the Land of Shenanigans she was alone, so what ever happened the decisions and results were her responsibility.
As scary as it might be, Lilli knew the answers could not be found until she started the search and her time was limited. Without the golden key Lilli knew her visit to the Land of Shenanigans could only last three hours. That was fact number one on the important information list she had found in Flora’s satchel.
Lilli began the walk down the path that stretched like a shiny gold ribbon over the rolling hills and down in to a beautiful valley. What was she to discover at the end, and who would be there when she arrived?
Lilli had only traveled a few minutes, when everything changed and the rest of her adventure finally began.
Lilli felt a shiver of excitement, someone or SOMETHING was coming up the path towards her. Lilli did not recognize the sound. It was not like anything she had heard before. Why was the lovely aroma of the flowers becoming so unpleasant? The louder the sound the stronger the odor. Hoping to stay hidden Lilli stepped into the field of sunflowers lining the path. Here was her best chance of seeing whatever it was she was about to encounter before it saw her!
She caught a glimpse of something a lovely shade of green. Just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone.
Again Lilli heard that strange noise and the strong odor filled the air. Time seemed to stand still. How long would it take for that thing to decide to continue it’s journey up the path?
Lilli could not contain her curiosity any longer. She summoned all of her courage and stepped out onto the path! She whistled one of Miss Prudy’s tunes hoping to convince herself and any others that she was in complete command of the situation. Lilli was totally surprised that she could do it, and even more surprised that it sounded pretty good! Lilli continued along the path and as she topped the hill she saw it. Her very first sighting of a dragon!
Not an ordinary dragon, but one with a very bad case of hiccups!
With each hiccup he spewed out a flash of flame, leaving a trail of singed flowers all along the path.
Lilli did not wish to be unsympathetic to his predicament, and she really did not want to reveal her presence. However Lilli could not stop laughing. A very startled dragon turned to look at her. The expression on his face made Lilli ashamed of her insensitivity. She started the conversation with a friendly, “Hello”. She had to use caution, if the dragon hiccuped too closely and shot out flames, she could be toast! How would she ever attempt to explain that when she got back home?
She gave him water to drink, it did not help. She made scary faces to frighten him, that did not help either. Lilli wished she had a spoonful of sugar, that always helps. Lilli giggled as she pictured how
large the spoon would have to be to hold enough sugar for a dragon! Lilli realized her every move was being watched with curiosity as she went through Kammy’s backpack, looking for anything that might be useful.
The bubble gum! Why not, it couldn’t hurt! Lilli unwrapped a piece of gum for herself, after a few chews she blew a bubble.
Then she offered several pieces to the dragon. After some hesitation he accepted the gum, and was chewing away. The bubble gum seemed to help. Each hiccup was quieter and each flame smaller, until they had all stopped. Lilli and the dragon began to clap and dance around.
Suddenly the dragon stopped. He emitted a noise like rolling thunder. He blew the largest bubble imaginable, with a blue hot flame right in the center. Lilli sat down wide eyed as he continued to blow. Then the bubble burst with a HUGE POP! scaring them both half out of their wits. As Lilli sat on the ground howling with laughter, both realized they had each made a new friend.
BEST OF ALL NO MORE HICCUPS! . . . And, just as importantly, this is how Lilli earned her nickname, “The Bubblegum Princess”!
Chapter 10
Getting to Know One Another
Lilli found it humorous that as a princess she was being trained to handle every conceivable situation. She had read dozens of books on etiquette and protocol, none of it had prepared her for today.
What do you do, or not do, when you find yourself dealing with a very large, green, and yellow dragon? That was a question Lilli needed answers to right now. If this would have been mentioned on the list of important facts, it would have made things easier.
Lilli mustered all of her courage and in a very soft voice explained what she was doing, as she cleaned the bubble gum residue off her face. Lilli hoped she was being understood because now it was the dragon’s turn.
Her new friend grimaced in pain as he took the towelette being offered. For the first time Lilli noticed the burns on his hands. As Lilli removed first aid supplies from the backpack, she continued asking the type of questions that you might ask any new acquaintance: Did he have a name. How old was he? Was he the only dragon around or were there others? However the dragon remained silent.
After treating and bandaging his burns Lilli was concerned about touching his face to remove the gum residue, but it went with out a problem.
Once the task was finished as she began returning the ointment and bandages to the backpack, Lilli heard, “Thank you, that is much better”
Lilli heard herself saying out loud what she was thinking, “I must be hearing things”
Once again Lilli heard the sound of the same deep voice, “ Well Kammy, I saw your name inside of your funny looking knapsack. I know your name so I guess it is time to share mine. I am Cadet Shenanigan O’Toole of His Royal Majesty’s Dragon Patrol.”
Lilli could hardly utter the words, “WOW, you can talk?”
With an ornery little grin on his face Shenanigan replied, “Sure can, but if you think that is surprising, wait till you hear me sing!” This time it was Shenanigan howling with laughter!
When the laughter ended, Lilli decided not to bring up the misunderstanding of her name.
She and Shenanigan chatted like old friends, as they munched on the Fig Newtons. Shenanigan found them quite delicious.
Shenanigan shared important information about himself and life in Land Of Shenanigans.
Lilli panicked, there was very little time left before the visit would end and she had no idea of how to get back home! That problem made it difficult to concentrate on what Shenanigan was saying.
One thing did catch Lilli’s attention, Shenanigan explained that his name was not just Shenanigan, his name was Shenanigan O’Toole.
Shenanigan was a proud family name, handed down to the first born grandson. There had been a Shenanigan O’Toole guarding the kingdom for centuries. He was a proud member of Prince Oden’s royal guard, under the command of the Major General.
However, his family and friends had given him a nickname that he did not particularly like. He would have much rather had a fierce sounding nickname. Face it, no one would ever be scared away by a dragon called “Toodles.”
Scaring intruders was what he was supposed to do. That was why he was patrolling in this territory. He was supposed to be watching for any princesses and notify the castle should one appear.
It now occurred to Toodles he had not notified the castle. Before he could continue he was suddenly relieved, like a light going off in his head, it was not a problem. He was to alert them if a princess arrived, and this newcomer was certainly not a princess, it was a fella!
Lilli had to chuckle, however, before she could explain the truth to her very confused friend. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of galloping horses.
Toodles was frantic as he saw the Major General and Prince Oden coming up the path. Maybe he was wrong! Perhaps he should have blown his horn to alert the castle.
Toodles quickly instructed Lilli to hide in the field that stretched down to the lake. If she were to lay flat behind the large bed of flowers, she would be out of sight. Lilli, grabbed her backpack and ran, she didn’t realize she could run so fast.
Her ball cap went flying in the air as she fell to the ground. It landed right at the very edge of her hiding place. Out in plain sight! Without the cap, the long brown hair that had been neatly tucked inside now fell down around her shoulders. Lilli thought about retrieving the cap but it was too late. The two people on horse back were already talking to Toodles.
Lilli tried to listen to the conversation, but it was out of ear shot. For a few minutes it looked as though every thing was going to be alright. The Major General and the Prince were leaving. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax.
Lilli needed to move. Her locket, was quite uncomfortable to lay on. She wiggled around so she could reach into the pocket of her jeans. No wonder it was painful, the locket was open with the chain caught between the front and back. There was no way possible it could be closed. Hoping to give her beloved treasure some protection Lilli cupped her hand around it. Her thumb rested directly on the key inside. She began thinking about her other dilemma. How was she going to get back home, time was running short.
Lilli was jolted back to the present by a loud beeping. Realizing that horrible noise was coming from the watch on her wrist, she quickly used her chin to hit the button and stop the alarm. Lilli now had only ten minutes left of her visit.
She just hoped that she had been the only one alerted, but no such luck. Prince Oden was getting off his horse to investigate. He had heard the unusual noise and now noticed the ball cap. He was walking directly towards the bed of flowers that had been providing her cover.
She was going to be discovered in just a matter of minutes. What was she going to do? There was no way he would think she was a “fella”. If they found out she was a princess, what then?
He was now close enough to look across the flower bed and down to the lake. For several minutes he scanned the perimeter of the lake searching for the owner of the ball cap, and the source of the sound that he had heard.
If Lilli had been panicky before she was now completely terrified. Lilli’s fingers tightened around the locket. The Prince started to walk around the bed of flowers, in order to get a closer look at the lake. Lilli felt every muscle in her body growing more tense with his every step. Her heart was beating so fast she worried that he could hear it pounding! She was never going to get back to her castle. Any second the Prince would see her!
Lilli was gripping the locket so tight her thumb was putting more and more pressure on the key. At first she thought she had imagined it, but she had felt the key trying to move. Lilli immediately lifted her thumb off the key, it made a strange clicking sound, and began to spin. When the spinning and clicking ended Lilli understood the importance of Flora’s magnificent gift, she was HOME!
Chapter 11
Guess Who’s Visiting
With trembling hands Lilli unclasped her locket from the belt
loop of her jeans, gave it a little kiss and gently placed it back into her music box. She quickly changed in to her pjs, picked up her favorite teddy bear, that had sat long forgotten on the window seat, before she headed to bed. To her amazement the sun was still just starting to peek over the mountain. Time had stood still!
Lilli snuggled down under her covers and pulled them up over her head, hoping that might stop her mind from reliving the scary moments of her morning. It was quite awhile before Lilli drifted off to sleep.
Lilli was awakened by a knock on her door and the sound of Miss Prudy, “Wake up sleepyhead you can’t sleep all day lots to do. The Montanzian Royals come tomorrow.” With that Lilli was up and wide awake. She did have things to do, the Summer Festival was only days away.
With such a busy day Lilli had little time to think about the Land of Shenanigans.
However at the end of the day that was all she could think about! Lilli needed to make sense of the last few days. The events kept going round in her mind.
What had she been so afraid of? Prince Oden did not appear to be threatening? Surely Ruth and Flora would not put her in danger. Confused and curious, she had to go back as soon as possible! But how could she with the Royals of Montanzia arriving tomorrow for their two week visit? She and Grammy were the welcoming committee.
For the next two weeks she would not be alone, and then the magic time would be over. But this was too important, she was going to have to find a way.
She could barely contain her excitement as she waited for the plane to land. It had been over a year since The royals Of Montanzia had been to visit. When the plane landed, Lilli had to fight the urge to run and give everyone a hug, that would have definitely been a breach of etiquette.
The formal ceremony to welcome Queen Beth and King David of Montanzia and their grandchildren seemed to last forever.
The Royal Search for Shenanigans Page 3