The Turtle and the Bird

Chapter 10

Two days later, Turtle and Bluebell stood in the front yard of the mansion. Everyone was there to say goodbye, and it was a few minutes before they could get into the little ice cream truck to go to the airport. They boarded the Squinkie Jet again, this time headed to the capital of Fantinova.

Even though he'd never been, Turtle wasn't excited. He didn't want to know what was going on. He just wanted out. Then again, that was probably the only way to get out. He sighed.

The jet landed the next morning. Turtle ran out of the airport yelling "I'm free!" with Bluebell flying close behind him. The checked in at a hotel and went up to their room. Turtle was happy that they got a small room; everything was just his size. He flopped onto the bigger bed.

Bluebell was primping herself. "We need to look professional if we're going to request an audience with the princesses," she said to her dozing companion. He was only half-listening to her. "Good thing I brought that indigo shirt Teresa gave me." She reached into her pack and slipped the shirt over her head, and then swayed in front of the mirror. "Hmm... something's not right." She reached into her pack again.

Turtle fell asleep.

He opened his eyes. The darkness swelled before him. Then an old man appeared. "The wishes," he said, "and I'll let her go."

Turtle awoke to see Bluebell in a beautiful indigo dress that was long in the back and shorter in the front, with capped sleeves and a ruffled collar. It had a fitted top and a long, loose skirt. She smoothed it.

Turtle watched her and thought about what the past few days would have been like if he hadn't found her.

Bluebell finally seemed satisfied with her appearance. She turned around. "Get up Turtle. We have to go."

Turtle put a pillow over his face. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

Bluebell rolled her eyes. "You can sleep later. We don't know if William and J. are here or not. The sooner we do this, the better."

He peered at her. "Do what?"

"Talk to the princesses."

"What would we tell them? 'Hey, we think some evil people are plotting against you'?"

"Fine," Bluebell said. "If you don't want to go, I'll go by myself." She walked out.

Great, Turtle thought, returning the pillow to his face. She's mad at me again. He fell back asleep.

The old man was smiling. He gave Turtle chills. "The wishes," he said again, "and I'll let her go."

"Who?" Turtle asked, his voice coming out as a squeak.

The man laughed. "Who is the center of your life? Your flower? The one you would do anything for?"

Turtle woke with a start. He was sweating. Bluebell, he thought. Where's Bluebell? He panicked. What had they done to Bluebell?

"I wish Bluebell was here with me," he said anxiously. There was a flash, and then Bluebell appeared in front of him.

She was quiet for a moment, and then softly asked, "How did you know?"

Turtle was uneasy. "Um...."

Her eyes widened. "Did they contact you?"

"They wanted the wishes. I used the second one to get you back."

"The three most powerful parts of Fantinova," Bluebell said absent-mindedly. "They're in the three most powerful parts."

"What?" Turtle asked, confused.

"If they corrupt the Three Kingdoms, Squinkieville, and the capital, all of Fantinova will be in turmoil." Bluebell's eyes were closed. "They could just step in and take over."

"Yeah, but why?" Turtle asked. "Everyone who does evil things has a motivation. What's theirs?"

"Maybe the other girls are jealous of the capital princesses," Bluebell guessed. "They probably get more attention, and they have a bigger castle."

"And I'm going to guess and say that J. used to be a criminal, and that's why he's going against Fantinova," Turtle added. "But I don't think William is French. When I saw him in the aquarium he was speaking with a Fantinovian accent."

"I wonder why Arianna and Ashley are in this mess." Bluebell's beak twitched. "They seem like they're in a tight-knit community."

Turtle shook his head sadly. "This doesn't make any sense."

Bluebell went into the bathroom. "We don't have to look super nice to see the capital princesses," she said, her voice muffled by the dress she was pulling over her head. "In fact, we don't even have to go see them anyway." She walked back into the main room. "I say we look it up."

"Look what up?" Turtle turned his head towards the window, which was now streaked with water. Rain pattered soothingly on the roof. He yawned.

Bluebell clapped sharply. "Wake up!"

Turtle sighed. "I haven't been able to relax since I saw J. for the first time."

Bluebell pulled an umbrella from her bag. "How about we take a walk?"

"Or a nap," Turtle offered.

Bluebell looked at him sternly. "Walk."

The rain was falling at a moderate pace when they headed out.

Bluebell stayed under the umbrella, and Turtle trotted out in the open along the wet streets. Lots of people were out, however, so they kept being disturbed by passing cars. The rain was falling harder, too. By the time they were at the corner, it was coming down in thick sheets. Turtle joined Bluebell under the umbrella.

Lightning split the sky, and thunder rumbled across the air, shaking the city. Turtle and Bluebell huddled together against the howling wind. "M-m-maybe we sh-should g-g-g-go back inside," Turtle said, his teeth chattering. Bluebell agreed, and they turned around.

Oddly enough, the rain softened once they were in their room. "Told you we shouldn't have taken a nap." Bluebell tapped the window. "Someone wants us to."

"But who?" Turtle asked.

"Maybe it was that man," she suggested.

"I say we go back to the castle." Turtle put on a sweater. "They won't hurt us, because we have something they want."

"True," Bluebell agreed, slipping on her own sweater. "The castle's not that far off."

They headed out again, and the same things happened. They managed to get across a few streets before the storm let out at its fullest.

It was like walking through a waterfall. The sky seemed to glow with all the flashes, and the wind had reversed the umbrella, rendering it useless. The streets looked like rivers; the gutters roared.

Turtle lifted his foot above his eyes and peered through the lashing curtains of rain. He could just barely make out the outline of the castle. They continued moving forward.

A few minutes later, the castle loomed before them. Bluebell knocked on the door.

"We're sure this is the right one?" Turtle asked.

She nodded.

A girl in a purple dress with long blonde hair opened the door. "Hello," she said, smiling. "What can I do for you?"

"Um...." Bluebell didn't seem so sure of herself now. "May we see the capital princesses?"

"Come in," the girl said, holding the door open. Turtle and Bluebell hesitantly stepped inside. A mop walked over to clean up the water they had dripped on the floor.

The girl led them into the dining room, where a group of girls were sitting. They all looked up and smiled. There were six in total, including the one who had let them in. There were six in total, including the one who had let them in.

Turtle realized with a start that these weren't the capital princesses. They were the girls who were supposed to live in the other castle.

So where were the capital princesses?