The Shimmering Stone Read online

  For Beatriz and Tessa, who have the Rescue Princess spirit!

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER ONE: The Royal Wedding

  CHAPTER TWO: The Pompous Prince

  CHAPTER THREE: The Wildlife Hospital

  CHAPTER FOUR: The Fruit Sellers

  CHAPTER FIVE: The Cub Hunt

  CHAPTER SIX: Hiding Sizzle

  CHAPTER SEVEN: The Special Bracelet

  CHAPTER EIGHT: The Magic Inside the Stone

  CHAPTER NINE: Danger in the Night

  CHAPTER TEN: A Midnight Feast

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Secret Key

  PREVIEW

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  COPYRIGHT

  Princess Amina tiptoed into the palace courtyard and peered out from behind a pillar, clutching her binoculars in one hand. Her long black hair hung loosely over her turquoise dress. On her arm she wore a bracelet with a golden-brown stone that shimmered as she moved.

  She looked around carefully. Rows of tables were laid out in the center of the courtyard, ready for the banquet tonight. There was nobody here. If she was quick, maybe she could reach the garden without being seen! She cast one last look around before darting out of her hiding place and running across the courtyard. She’d almost reached the other side when she ran straight into her cousin Princess Rani, and tumbled to the ground.

  Rani, who was much older and taller, helped her up. “Hey!” she said, laughing. “What’s the hurry? Is there a wild animal chasing you?”

  “Oh, sorry, Rani! I didn’t see you!” gasped Amina.

  “Don’t worry, I’m all right!” said Rani. “But why are you in such a rush?”

  “I was looking out my bedroom window with my binoculars and I’m sure I saw a tiger outside the palace wall!” explained Amina. “It was walking through the long grass next to the river. I was just going to take a closer look.” She held out her binoculars. “Oh no!” She stopped and looked at them more closely.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Rani.

  “One of the lenses is broken. I must have knocked it against the ground when I fell.” She showed her cousin the crack in the glass on one side of the binoculars. Her heart sank. She used her binoculars nearly every day. They were so handy for seeing all the Kamalan wildlife.

  “What a shame!” said Rani sympathetically. “I know how much you love them. Come and show me the tiger — we can close one eye and look through the side that isn’t broken.”

  “All right, then.” Amina turned toward the archway that led out to the garden.

  “Rani! Amina! Where are you?” A loud voice came from inside the palace.

  Amina froze. Her aunt, Queen Keshi, had been hurrying around the palace all morning. With the royal visitors due to arrive that day, there was lots to do.

  “Mom wants us,” said Rani. “We’ll have to look for your tiger later.”

  “But he might be gone by then!” Amina looked longingly at the archway. If only she could get through before her aunt came along. She wanted to see the tiger so badly!

  “You go, then,” said Rani. “Mom probably wants me to try on my wedding dress for the hundredth time! You should go and have some fun.”

  Amina grinned. Even though Rani was much older, she was a perfect cousin — kind and funny. Amina was so happy that she was going to be her bridesmaid the next day!

  “There you are!” Queen Keshi climbed down the steps to the courtyard, wearing a purple sari and a gold crown.

  “Rani, you must try on your wedding dress one more time. Amina, I have some jobs for you to do. The royal guests are already starting to arrive and I am determined to make this the best wedding ever held in the kingdom of Kamala!”

  “But, Aunt!” began Amina. “Could I go out into the garden first because —”

  Queen Keshi waved her hands. “Amina! There isn’t much time! We need to get the table decorations right and then we have to make sure that the guests’ rooms are ready.”

  Amina’s shoulders drooped. She wished she could go and see the tiger first. She’d seen deer and monkeys near the palace before, but never a tiger.

  Rani noticed her disappointed face.

  “Maybe Amina could pick some flowers from the garden to decorate the tables?” she said. “Maybe some of those pink and white lilies.”

  Amina perked up. If she was picking flowers in the garden, then she could sneak a look over the wall with her binoculars at the same time. She looked hopefully at her aunt.

  Queen Keshi nodded. “Just make sure you pick plenty, and don’t forget to put them in water, so that they last until the wedding. And don’t get dirt under your fingernails!” She swept back up the steps.

  Rani gave Amina a quick grin and followed her mom.

  Amina hurried through the archway, grateful that Rani had found her a reason to be out in the garden. She was also glad that the queen hadn’t noticed her binoculars because she would have wanted to know what Amina was up to.

  She walked down to the side gate and climbed the stone steps that led up to the top of the high wall. There was a walkway there that the guards used when they were patrolling. Amina leaned her elbows on the stone and lifted the undamaged part of the binoculars to one eye.

  The palace of Kamala stood on top of a hill. The countryside spread out below, full of grass and rocks and bushes. A sparkling river wound its way through the middle and purple mountains rose in the distance.

  Amina scanned the tall grass near the river. At first, she couldn’t see the tiger and she began to wonder if it had disappeared among the bushes. Then a sudden movement caught her eye.

  A large tiger with bold black stripes walked proudly along the riverbank and lifted its head to look around. It had a white mark on its nose.

  For a moment, Amina wondered if she should have told her aunt about the tiger. Queen Keshi loved animals and had even set up a wildlife hospital on the far side of the palace grounds so that any sick animals could be cared for. But lately it had been difficult talking to her aunt because she was so busy thinking about Rani’s wedding.

  As Amina watched the beautiful tiger, she noticed a patch of long grass beginning to quiver. Two more animals with orange and black stripes sprang out and galloped down the river bank. These tigers were much smaller. They chased each other playfully and tumbled into the grass.

  Amina grinned widely and her hands shook with excitement. She couldn’t believe there were tiger cubs so close to the palace!

  The biggest tiger turned around and gave a short growl. Instantly, the little cubs jumped up to follow their mother. Amina watched them for several minutes, loving the way the cubs skipped through the grass. She hoped she could show them to her friends, Princesses Lottie, Isabella, and Rosalind. They loved animals just as much as she did, and soon they would be arriving with their families for the wedding!

  “What are you doing?” asked a voice from below.

  Amina spun around to see who it was.

  A boy stood by the steps to the wall, looking up at her. He must be one of the first wedding guests, Amina thought.

  Remembering her manners, she climbed down the steps and curtsied to him. “Hello, I’m Princess Amina! I’m Princess Rani’s cousin and I live here,” she told him. “Did you just arrive?”

  “Yes, I’m Prince Henry from the kingdom of Guldania,” he said. “I thought your palace would be a lot bigger. Ours is about ten times the size of yours!”

  Amina thought this was a little rude, but maybe he didn’t mean it to be. “I’ve just seen something amazing with my binoculars. There’s a tigress and two cubs playing near the river. I can show you if you want.”

  “Fine, I’ll look!” said Henry, snatching the bin
oculars from her hand.

  Amina let Prince Henry climb up the wall in front of her. Even without the binoculars she could still see the tiger walking next to the river with two small fuzzy shapes bouncing along behind.

  “One side of the binoculars is broken, so just look through the other side,” she told him. “There they are! They’re just like big stripy cats!” She pointed at the cubs.

  Henry frowned darkly. “There’s nothing out there that looks like a cat! I think you’re making it up.”

  “Look!” said Amina. “They’re just next to that bush by the river.”

  Henry thrust the binoculars back at her. “Well, I can’t see them and I don’t think you know anything about tigers. I don’t want to use your silly binoculars anymore!” He marched down the steps.

  Amina watched him go, wondering why he’d gotten so mad. She thought everyone liked watching animals. She hoped the other wedding guests would be friendlier than he was. Then she remembered that her aunt needed flowers to decorate the tables, so she hurried to pick some.

  She arranged the flowers neatly and filled the vases with water before hurrying back to the wall again. Maybe her friends would arrive soon. She was sure Lottie, Isabella, and Rosalind would love seeing the tiger cubs and would agree that they were the cutest baby animals they’d ever seen!

  But as the morning went on and guests from north, south, east, and west arrived, her friends still hadn’t come. As she waited at the front window, Amina remembered how she’d met them a few months ago at a Royal Dance Festival. Lottie had told them all about her older sister, Princess Emily, who had rescued animals in danger with the help of her friends.

  The girls had been so excited by this idea that they promised to do the same. Then they had used their new skills to rescue a little foal. They were called the Rescue Princesses.

  Amina grinned. Being a Rescue Princess was so much fun! Together they practiced running and climbing and balancing. Sometimes they used ninja moves to move around without anyone seeing them. They even had rings with magic jewels that let them call one another whenever they needed help.

  She touched her sparkling emerald ring. A few weeks ago, they had rescued a baby monkey from serious danger in the depths of the tropical rain forest. It had been an adventure. It was a shame that they would be so busy with the wedding this weekend that there wouldn’t be time for animal rescues.

  “Come on, Amina! There’s still a lot to do!” said Queen Keshi, noticing her staring out the window.

  “Yes, Aunt!” said Amina.

  Just then, a car pulled up outside and a princess with tight red curls climbed out.

  “Lottie!” cried Amina, running outside and giving her friend a hug.

  “Hello, Amina!” Lottie gave her usual grin and her green eyes sparkled. “Are the others here yet?”

  “Not yet,” said Amina. “But when they get here, I have something awesome to show you!”

  Queen Keshi came gracefully down the steps to greet the king and queen of Middingland, Lottie’s mom and dad. Just as they were all bowing and shaking hands, two more cars pulled up with princesses inside. One princess had long, curly brown hair and wore a yellow dress. She climbed out of her car and waved at Amina and Lottie.

  “Isabella! You’re here at last!” cried Amina, waving back.

  A girl with short blond hair climbed out of the other car with a frown on her face. “I don’t see why I had to wear this long dress today,” she said, twitching her blue velvet skirt. “It’s too hot. It would have been better to wear shorts!”

  “But, Rosalind!” said her mom weakly. “We had to arrive looking nice. This is a very important occasion!”

  Amina hurried over to the blond-haired princess. “Hello, Rosalind! Would you like to come inside for a cold drink?”

  Rosalind’s frown lifted a little. “Yes please! I’m really thirsty. Do you have any ice cubes? I love drinks with ice cubes.”

  “I think so. Follow me!” Leaving the grown-ups to finish their royal greetings, Amina led her friends inside. Then she got glasses of lemonade for them with ice cubes and straws.

  “So is it your sister who’s getting married tomorrow?” Lottie asked Amina.

  “No, Rani’s my cousin,” explained Amina. “My parents died of a fever when I was little, and my aunt and uncle have taken care of me ever since. Rani’s much older than us, she’s twenty.”

  “You’re so lucky to be a bridesmaid,” said Isabella. “Do you have a special dress?”

  Amina nodded. “It’s a turquoise sari, decorated with gold thread. I can’t wait to show it to you!” She pushed back her long hair and the golden-brown stone on her bracelet shimmered. “I have something else to show you, too! This morning, I saw a tigress with two cubs near the riverbank. It was so exciting! I’ve never seen tiger cubs before.”

  “Let’s go and look at them right now!” Lottie leapt up, her red curls bouncing.

  “Yes, let’s!” said Isabella. “Come on, Rosalind.”

  “But first we have to look for the lost Book of Ninja,” said Rosalind.

  “The lost what?” asked Isabella.

  Rosalind rolled her eyes. “Don’t you remember? It’s the book that shows you every single ninja move that’s ever been invented. No one’s seen it for years. We talked about it last time we met up and you said that your palace had a huge library, Amina. Then you promised that you’d look for it in there.”

  “Oh! I do remember now!” cried Amina. “Everything’s been so busy with the wedding that I completely forgot to look for it. Sorry, Rosalind!”

  “Now that we’re here we can all look together,” said Lottie. “But let’s see the tiger cubs first. I bet they’re so cute!”

  They all looked at Rosalind, who noisily sucked up the last drops of lemonade through her straw. “I guess it would be cool to see the tiger cubs,” she said at last.

  Amina beamed. “Great! I know you’re going to love them!”

  Amina ran upstairs to get her binoculars from her bedroom. Then she led her friends through the courtyard into the garden and up the stone steps to the top of the wall. But just as they reached the top and looked down at the countryside below, a white van painted with a green cross came roaring out of the main palace gates. It raced down the winding road and stopped near the river. Four figures jumped out.

  “What’s going on?” asked Isabella, wide-eyed.

  “I don’t know.” Amina bit her lip. “That van is the one that belongs to the wildlife hospital on the other side of the palace. They pick up injured animals and take them to the hospital to get better.”

  The vets opened the back doors of the van, pulled out a large white stretcher, and carried it down to the edge of the river.

  “It must be a big animal to need a stretcher that size,” said Rosalind.

  Amina’s heart began to thump. She looked through her binoculars to try to see what was going on. She hoped the tiger cubs weren’t hurt.

  A few moments later, the vets carried the stretcher back to the van. The animal they carried had orange and black stripes but it was much bigger than the cubs.

  “I think it’s a fully grown tiger,” she told the other princesses. “But I can’t really see it because of all the people crowding around it.”

  “Poor thing! I wonder how it got hurt,” said Isabella. “Is that the same tigress you were talking about, Amina?”

  “I’m not sure.” Amina twisted her bracelet anxiously. What if it was the same tigress? And where were the cubs? Had they been hurt, too?

  “This is awful! I have to find out what’s going on!” She hung the binoculars around her neck and raced back down the steps and along the path that led to the wildlife hospital. The other girls ran after her.

  The white van with the green cross drove past them and pulled up outside the redbrick hospital. The girls rushed after it, reaching the van just as the vets climbed out. Two men and two women dressed in white coats opened the back of the van and pulled out the stretche
r. Amina only caught a glimpse of the animal, but she knew right away that it was the tigress she’d seen that morning.

  “It is the same one — she’s the cubs’ mother,” Amina told the others. “I recognize that white mark on her nose.”

  The tigress made a snuffling noise and one of her paws twitched. “Dr. Patel?” Amina called to one of the vets. “Can you tell us what happened to the tigress?”

  The vet turned around. “She has a broken leg. We think she was probably injured while hunting for food. We’ve given her an injection to help her sleep and now we’ll see if we can heal her leg.” She closed the van doors and then followed the stretcher inside.

  “At least the cubs didn’t get hurt,” said Isabella.

  “But this is almost as bad,” Amina burst out. “The cubs are little! They’re too small to survive on their own without their mother. What if they find themselves in danger?”

  “You should tell the vets,” suggested Rosalind. “They could look after the cubs until their mom is better.”

  Amina knew instantly that Rosalind was right, so she ran up to the door and knocked quickly.

  A man came to the door and stared at the princesses in surprise. “Yes, what is it?”

  “It’s just …” Amina stumbled over her words. “I mean, I saw some tiger cubs out there near the river and I’m very worried about them….”

  “It’s all right!” said the vet. “It’s a fully grown tiger that’s been hurt. There are no injured cubs here. Now I must go, there’s a lot of work to do on the tigress’s leg.” He began to shut the door.

  “No, that’s not … I didn’t mean that!” said Amina desperately, but before she could explain, Lottie, Isabella, and Rosalind all started talking at once.

  “We have to save the cubs!” said Lottie.

  “There are two sweet little tigers….” added Isabella.

  “This is an emergency!” snapped Rosalind.

  “Princesses!” The man held up one hand, frowning. “I have to go and help the other vets.” Amina’s heart sank as he closed the door on them firmly.