THE ROYAL CROWN WARS

Chapter Three

No! It wasn't possible. The Queen and King's crown jewels stayed locked away and under constant watch. No one could've stolen them. Especially not the King and Queen of Seninno.

Dean snatched up our not-finished plates off the counter and threw them in the sink. The plates clinked together loudly. "You two have to leave. Now!"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "But what about my mom's-"

"That's for the adults to worry about right now," Dean interrupted. "The two of you need to go back to Jamie's room now."

Lizzie and I glanced over at each other, but neither of us moved. How did they expect us to leave after what we heard?

Sighing, Dean walked over to the shelf in the corner and opened the secret passageway. He pointed down the pitch-black hallway. "Goodbye, girls!"

"We're not going back down there," I said matter-of-factly.

"You can't make us," said Lizzie.

He scoffed. "Either the two of you are going willingly or so help me. I'll drag you down the passageway myself."

I didn't know if he would drag us down the passageway, but I knew he could.

Pouting, I slid off my chair and waited for Lizzie to join me.

Lizzie jumped off her chair and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. With a couple swipes, she turned on the flashlight. Glaring at Dean, she pointed the flashlight down the passageway. "Jamie is going to be Queen one day, and you'll regret treating her like a child."

His brow rose. "Possibly, but she's not Queen yet. The Princess may return to her room before her parents find out where she's really been."

Quickly, I grabbed Lizzie's hand and yanked her into the darkness. "Come on, let's go. If someone stole the crown jewels, they're probably losing their minds."

The passageway door slammed shut, leaving us in the darkness. Lizzie brought up her flashlight and pointed it down the hallway. The smell of a wet dog made my stomach churn. The puddles of old water soaked into my nearly dry socks. Ugh! Why did I agree to come in the first place?

Lizzie and I huddled together in the secret passageway.

"Jamie?" Lizzie asked softly. "Do you think someone stole your mom's crown jewels?"

"It's not something that's misplaced. You can't leave them anywhere."

I would know. Last year at an international meeting, I'd set my crown down just for a few seconds to fix my hair, and Dad freaked out. For the rest of the night, I wasn't allowed to leave his sight. He wouldn't even let me go play with the other kids.

"Why would someone want the crown in the first place? It's not like they'll become Queen."

"I don't know," I said. "It could be a rumor. Kings and queens leave so many times before the dinners happen. Mom and Dad have left more times than I could count before we could have dinner with some other country. They usually had something else to do."

Of course, they'd never mention what those other things were. How am I supposed to run a country someday if no one would tell me what was going on? They kept telling me I'd learn those things when I was older, but they had been telling me that my whole life.

"When you're Queen, send Dean to the dungeon."

"I don't even think we have a dungeon anymore," I said. "He's not wrong. Our parents would freak out if they knew where we were. They'd ground us for the rest of our lives."