The Rainbow Opal (2 page)

Chapter Two

The Royal Photo

Summer reluctantly followed her mum into the palace drawing room. Dark-red sofas stood at one side of the room and velvet curtains hung at the windows.

The photographer, who had a bristly moustache and a smart bow tie, had already set up the camera on its stand. He was busily polishing the camera lens with a small yellow cloth.

“My dear princess!” The photographer bowed low and his yellow cloth swept the
floor. “I’m Bill Fleck and I’m absolutely delighted to meet you. It’s like a dream come true!”

“Er … thanks.” Summer curtsied back. She hoped he would take the photo really quickly. Then she could go back outside with her friends. “Where shall I go? Over here by the sofa?”

“Just a moment, Summer.” The queen hurried forwards. “We need to organise this carefully. After all, this is a very important photo.”

“Yes, that’s right!” Bill nodded. “It’s your tenth birthday picture. So it’ll be shown to the whole kingdom and hung in the Royal Picture Gallery.”

Summer sighed. “Yes, I know! But—”

“So you have to look absolutely perfect,” her mum broke in. “I’ve prepared some things that will help.” She bustled over to a wooden chest and pulled the lid open.

Summer’s mouth dropped open as her mum took out a red robe with a white furry lining and a chunky gold crown. “Do you really want me to wear those?”

The queen smiled. “You’ll look wonderful! But first of all you need to pop upstairs and put this on.” She took down a dress that had been hanging on the back of the door. It had orange and lime-green stripes all over it, even across the sleeves. Worst of all, it had lacy frills around the huge skirt.

Summer stared at it in horror. She couldn’t imagine wearing anything yuckier. “But I won’t be able to walk in that! And I won’t look like
me
any more!”

“Don’t be silly!” said her mum, handing her the dress. “Of course you’ll still look like you. Go and put it on, please.”

Summer took the dress and trailed out of the room. She passed her dad in the
hallway and the king’s eyebrows rose when he saw the frilly dress.

“Are you getting ready for the photo?” he asked.

Summer nodded. “Mum wants the picture taken right now.”

“I see.” The king frowned a little. “I think I’ll go and see what your mum has in mind.”

Summer dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom. She changed into the awful dress and looked at herself in the mirror. The thought of the whole kingdom seeing her like this made her stomach turn over. The top of the dress was too tight and the skirt tangled around her ankles. The frills were horribly itchy, scratching her legs in a really annoying way.

She had much nicer dresses, which were short and easy to run and climb in. Why couldn’t she wear one of those?

To cheer herself up, she got out the small green jewellery box which had her favourite opal necklace inside. At least she would put on one thing that she liked!

But before she could get out the necklace, there was a knock at the door. Summer swallowed. That would be her mum wanting her to hurry up.

The door opened and Lottie bounded in. “We’ve come to find you! Your mum said you were changing into something special for the … oh!” She stopped short as she noticed Summer’s dress and then snorted with laughter.

“I know! It’s horrible, isn’t it?” said Summer. “I look like a frilly fruit salad.”

“It
does
look a bit like a fruit,” Lottie said, chuckling. “I think it’s all the green and orange.”

Rosalind and Maya followed Lottie inside and they all stared at Summer’s dress.

“That is
really
disgusting!” said Rosalind.

“Did you tell your mum that you don’t like it?” asked Maya.

“I tried to,” said Summer gloomily.

Just then, the Queen of Mirrania came in. “Oh, you look lovely, Summer! That dress really suits you!” She paused. “But I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. Mr Fleck’s discovered that his camera broke on the journey and he needs to get it mended. So he can’t take your photo till tomorrow. What a shame!”

Summer smiled. “Oh, that’s OK! I don’t mind!” She quickly pulled off the frilly dress, tossed it on to the bed and put her other clothes back on again.

The queen frowned. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you pleased with the dress
I gave you?”

“Well, um …” Summer hesitated. “It’s just that I’d like to wear something more like this.” She pointed at the simple red outfit she was wearing.

“Oh no,
that
would never do! You don’t look royal enough. This photo is much too important for ordinary clothes.” Her mum picked up the orange-and-green dress and hung it carefully inside Summer’s wardrobe, smiling as she smoothed the frills. “I’ll put this in here ready for tomorrow.”

When her mum left, Summer sat down on her bed and sighed.

“We’ll help you wear what you want in the photo!” said Lottie firmly. “We just need to think of a plan.”

“We could use ninja moves, just like we’ve done in our other Rescue Princess adventures,” suggested Rosalind. “We
could sneak outside with the frilly dress and hide it under a bush.”

Summer managed a smile. “It’s nice of you to help but I don’t think we should.”

Maya picked up the small green jewellery box that Summer had got out earlier. She opened it and took out the necklace inside. “Wow! This is beautiful!”

A round jewel filled with many colours hung on the end of a gold chain. Red, blue and green shone deep inside the heart of the gem, with specks of bright gold and dark purple.

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” said Summer. “It’s called an opal.”

“It looks just like a rainbow!” said Lottie.

“That’s what I call it – my Rainbow Opal,” said Summer. “The best jewel-smiths in our kingdom made the necklace for me when I was born. Opals are a
special jewel in Mirrania. Some people say that they were made when a rainbow touched the earth.”

“It’s so pretty!” Maya handed the necklace to Summer, who fastened it safely round her neck.

There was a tap on the window and a flash of bright wings, followed by a squawk.

Summer ran to the window and opened it carefully. “Hello, Kanga! Do you want us to come outside and play with you again?”

Kanga nudged Summer’s hand fondly and squawked again.

“I think that means yes,” said Lottie, grinning.

The four girls raced down the stairs and went straight outside. Summer’s rainbow necklace bounced as she ran. By the time they reached the gate that led to the
wood, they were pink-cheeked and out of breath. Kanga, who had flown alongside them as they ran, landed on Summer’s shoulder and folded his wings.

Summer closed the gate and breathed in the fresh forest smell. There were insects buzzing and swooping bird calls in the treetops. The four girls went straight to the tree where they’d seen the koalas earlier.

“I can’t see the koalas any more,” said Rosalind, staring at the tree with blue-grey leaves. “I wonder where they went.”

“They probably climbed down and went up a different tree,” said Summer. “I bet they’re not far away.”

They checked the trees nearby but there was no sign of the koalas anywhere. Then a bush rustled near Rosalind’s foot. “Oh, look!” she said. “There’s the possum again.”

A grey furry ear poked out from among the leaves.

Summer’s eyes widened. “That’s not a possum. That’s the baby koala!”

Chapter Three

The Koala That Got Left Behind

The bush shook again and the baby koala looked out at them with frightened eyes.

“Is he there by himself?” said Lottie in surprise.

Rosalind knelt down and reached out her hand, but the little koala shrank back. “I think so. I can’t see his mother.”

“Do you think something bad has happened?” Maya twisted her plait worriedly.

“I don’t know,” said Summer, “but he
shouldn’t be apart from his mum. He’s much too young.”

Lottie’s green eyes lit up. “It’ll be fine! He’s got us – the Rescue Princesses – to help him! We can find his mum right away.” Her tiara slipped sideways on her red curls and she grabbed it before it fell off. “Maya, why don’t you stay with the baby while the rest of us look for the mother?”

“We’ll have to hurry,” Summer told them. “My mum could call us in for lunch at any minute.”

Maya crouched down and spoke soothingly to the baby, while the others spread out to search for the mother koala. Kanga flew from tree to tree as if he was helping them.

Summer pushed back her golden hair and scanned the tree tops. It was really unusual to see a little koala without its
mum. She couldn’t help thinking that there must be a reason. Had the koalas been scared by the noisy motorbike earlier? Maybe it had frightened them so much they’d wanted to hide.

“I can’t see anything grey and furry in any of these trees,” called Rosalind.

“I think I can see something,” said Lottie.

Summer ran over and peered up at a dark lump near the top of a tree, almost hidden by leaves. “I’m not sure that’s a koala. I’ll go up and look.” She swung herself easily on to a low branch and then pulled herself up the tree.

“Don’t get too close and scare it,” called Lottie.

Rosalind tutted. “Lottie! I’m sure she knows what to do!”

Summer held tight to the trunk as the wind swept through the branches,
making the tree sway. “I can see it now. It’s just part of the tree trunk and not an animal at all.” She climbed down again.

In the distance they heard the queen calling. “Girls! It’s lunchtime!”

“But what about the baby koala?” said Maya. “We can’t just leave him here.”

The princesses gathered round the bush where the joey was hiding. He peered out at them, before sneezing quietly.

“Bless you!” cried Lottie. “Even his sneezes are cute!”

“I think we should take him with us,” said Rosalind. “Then after lunch we’ll search for his mum again.”

“Let me pick him up,” said Summer. “A wildlife expert once taught me how to hold a koala properly. I’ll show you.”

She tucked her rainbow opal necklace out of the way. Then she carefully leaned over the bush and picked up the little
koala. She held him close to her shoulder and his soft furry ears tickled her chin. “Don’t worry, little joey,” she told him. “We’ll take care of you.”

Kanga flew down to a nearby tree and watched the princesses curiously. Then the girls heard the queen calling again. They hurried back towards the palace, leaving Kanga pecking at some fruit that he’d found dangling from a branch.

Luckily the king didn’t mind having an extra furry guest at the dining table and told Summer that she could keep the little koala on her lap while she ate. The queen frowned a little, especially when the baby animal sneezed again.

“You must return him to his mother as soon as you can,” said the king, looking at his daughter over the top of his glasses. “He’s a wild animal, not a pet.”

Summer dug her spoon into a bowl of cherry pie and custard. “Don’t worry. We’re going to look for her straight after lunch.”

She lifted the pudding to her lips. Suddenly the little koala leaned towards the spoon and took a lick of warm custard. Then he blinked and smacked his lips as if he wasn’t quite sure he liked it.

“Hey!” said Summer. “That’s my pudding!”

The other princesses giggled and the koala looked so funny licking his lips that Summer had to laugh too.

“This is what comes of having an animal at the table!” said the queen crossly. “Finish quickly, please, Summer, and take him back outside where he belongs.”

The king looked amused. “He’s an inquisitive little thing! But koalas only
eat eucalyptus leaves so I don’t think he really means to steal your pudding.”

After lunch, Summer carefully handed the koala to Maya because her arms were getting tired. The princesses thanked the king and queen for lunch and headed back outside.

“We should think of a name for him,” said Maya, stroking the koala’s furry coat.

“How about Fuzzy? Or Flumpy?” suggested Lottie.

“I think we should call him Custard,” said Rosalind, grinning. “It was so funny when he took a lick of your pudding.”

They all agreed that he should be Custard the koala from now on.

The princesses searched all afternoon for Custard’s mother, looking up into every tree top and underneath every bush. Kanga came to watch them with
his bright black eyes but didn’t join in this time.

Each girl had a turn at carrying Custard, who seemed much calmer now. While Lottie was holding him, he rested his head on her shoulder, closed his eyes and went to sleep. The princesses carried on searching. They saw plenty of possums and a kangaroo leaping away into the distance, but there was no sign of the little koala’s mother.

“We’re getting nowhere. I’m really hot and thirsty, and there are scratches all over my legs from these spiky bushes.” Rosalind rubbed her knees grumpily. “How big is this wood anyway?”

“It’s really big. It stretches all the way to the nearest farm thirty miles away,” said Summer. “I just didn’t expect the mother koala to have gone very far.”

The wood lay before them, just miles
of branches and leaves. Summer’s heart sank and she twisted her opal necklace. What were they going to do if they didn’t find Custard’s mother? He was too young to look after himself.

“I think we should go back to the palace,” said Rosalind.

“Let’s search one more place,” Summer said quickly. “The river’s quite close to here. Maybe that’s where the mother koala went.” She hurried down a slope and the other girls followed her. Twigs crunched under their feet. Another possum poked his head out to investigate the noise.

They reached the river a few minutes later. It was a wide creek edged with trees whose branches dangled right over the blue-green water. The girls looked along the riverbank and the baby koala woke up and gazed around too. Then he shivered.

“This is Rainbow Creek,” said Summer. “The water’s quite high because there’s been a lot of rain lately.”

“It’s a rainbow river – like your rainbow necklace!” said Maya.

“Actually my opal was found here. It was picked up from the bottom of the river and made into a necklace.” Summer held her opal up to the light and all the colours sparkled.

“I still don’t see the mother koala,” said Rosalind with a sigh.

The princesses looked all around but there was no sign of another koala. Custard squeaked unhappily and then sneezed.

“Poor Custard! You must be hungry by now,” said Lottie, stroking his fur.

Custard sneezed again and gave a little shiver.

Maya looked alarmed. “He’s not hungry, Lottie. He’s ill. Just look at how he’s shivering!”

Summer’s eyes widened. “You’re right! He doesn’t look well at all. Quick, we have to take him back to the palace!”