Chapter One
Bea’s Secret Pets
Bea was woken as usual by a tiny rustling under her bed. Kneeling down, she reached for the cardboard box hidden underneath and carefully lifted the lid. A pink, whiskery nose poked out of the straw inside, and two black eyes peeped up at her.
“Morning, Fluff!” Bea smiled at the little mouse. “Shall I fetch you some more cereal for breakfast?”
The little mouse scrambled out of the hay and ran around and around in circles.
Bea laughed. “You must be hungry.” She heard a creak outside the bedroom door. “Back soon!” she whispered, pushing the box under the bed and jumping to her feet.
The door swung open, and her older sister stomped into the bedroom. Natasha was wearing a blue satin dress, and her hair was perfectly smooth and neat. “It’s late!” she snapped. “You should have been up ages ago.” She pulled open the curtains, and sunlight poured in.
Bea glanced out the window. The truck that brought hay for the horses was driving away from the royal stables. A cloud of seagulls swooped and wheeled in the sky. Beyond the palace wall there was a glimpse of the sea, glittering like blue treasure.
Bea shrugged. It was annoying when Natasha acted as if she was in charge. “It can’t be that late. Anyway, I am up!”
Nine-year-old Bea (which was short for Beatrice) was the middle child of the three royal children. They lived at Ruby Palace with their father, King George, and all the royal servants. Their mother had died from a fever when their brother, Alfie, was little.
“You’d better hurry up, Bea!” Natasha’s frown deepened. “You know breakfast is at eight o’clock.”
“I’ll come down in a minute.” Bea hesitated. Had she put the lid back on Fluff’s box properly? She sneakily tried to feel under the bed with her foot.
“What are you doing?” asked Natasha. But before Bea could answer, a small boy in red pajamas burst through the door.
“I dreamed I rode a dinosaur!” said Alfie. “A T-Rex with giant teeth. Did you know the largest T-Rex tooth ever found was almost a foot long?”
Natasha sighed. “You’re not dressed, either! Well, I’m not waiting for you two.” She marched away down the corridor, and Alfie dashed after her.
Bea shut the door and knelt down by the bed again. “Sorry, Fluff!” She settled the lid of the mouse’s box into place. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Bea was mad about animals, and her bedroom walls were covered with cute animal posters and pictures that she’d cut out of magazines. She’d spent months and months asking her dad to get her a pet. But after begging in vain for hamsters, guinea pigs, and even a goldfish, Bea began to despair. King George’s reply was always the same: Beatrice, the royal palace is no place for a pet.
Since then she’d begun secretly looking after any animal that needed a home. It had started with Crinkly, the spider she’d found in the royal kitchen. Bea had saved him from Mrs. Stickler, the royal housekeeper, and found him a home in her bedroom drawer. Then she’d taken Fluff from a lonely hole behind the piano in the dining room.
Her biggest rescue so far was saving a little kitten who’d gotten stuck in a tree. Tiger now slept in the laundry room and played in the palace stables during the day.
After pulling on jeans and a yellow T-shirt, Bea hurried to breakfast. Halfway down the stairs, she heard feet thudding behind her.
“Race you!” cried Alfie, dashing past.
Bea rushed after her brother, overtaking him as she reached the last step. “I won!” she gasped, flinging herself through the dining room doorway.
“No, you didn’t!” Alfie grabbed her arm.
Suddenly Bea realized that her father was sitting at the dining table, looking very annoyed. This was bad luck! The king was normally hard at work on royal business by now. She skidded to a halt, her heart thumping. Alfie ran straight into her, and they tumbled to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
“Beatrice! Alfred! I expect you to arrive for a meal in a graceful manner.” King George frowned, his thick eyebrows squeezing together. “Beatrice, you’re older and you should be setting your brother a good example.”
“Sorry!” Bea tried to sit down at the table gracefully.
Mrs. Stickler brought in a tray of boiled eggs and toast. She set the tray on the table and poured apple juice into three crystal glasses.
“Children, I have something important to tell you…,” began the king. “Lord and Lady Villiers are coming to dinner this evening, so you must be on your very best behavior. They want to find somewhere to live along the cliff top—somewhere with a nice view.”
Bea looked up. The cliff top above Savara was where her best friend, Keira, lived. Her parents ran the Sleepy Gull Café, which served the best spring rolls in Savara. Bea often went there to play.
“Natasha and Beatrice—I’d like you to sing the Neravian national song for our guests,” continued the king. “Please practice it today so you’re note-perfect.”
Mrs. Stickler coughed. “Their best clothes have become a little worn, sire, so perhaps I should fetch the dressmaker. With Mr. Wells away, there’s plenty of time for clothes fittings.”
Bea’s heart sank. Mr. Wells, their royal teacher, was on vacation, which meant there were no lessons. She’d hoped to spend the morning playing with Tiger in the stables, not having dress fittings.
“Thank you, Mrs. Stickler.” The king straightened his crown. “Perhaps you can help the prince and princesses with their deportment, too. Beatrice and Alfred need to practice proper royal manners.”
“Deportment! What’s that?” asked Bea.
Natasha looked smug. “It’s how to act like a princess, silly! You learn how to walk elegantly and that kind of thing.”
Bea sighed. She didn’t want to be elegant. She just wanted to spend more time with her pets. Sneakily, she gathered a handful of breakfast cereal and hid it down her sock, ready to give to Fluff.
“I’d be happy to help, sire.” Mrs. Stickler turned to the children. “Come to the parlor in half an hour, please.”
Suddenly Bea heard the faint sound of barking. She looked out the window eagerly. Was there a dog outside the palace wall?
The housekeeper bustled out of the room and the king left, too, muttering about all the royal business he needed to attend to. The barking came again, ending in a sad whine. Bea listened hard. It sounded as if the dog might be hurt.
Alfie stopped halfway through dipping toast into his boiled egg. “Did you hear that?”
Bea frowned at her brother and gave a tiny shake of her head. She was desperate to get outside and look for the animal, but she didn’t want Natasha guessing where she’d gone. “Yes, it sounds really windy out there. I heard the wind blowing, too.”
“No, I heard a—” Alfie gasped as Bea kicked him under the table.
Text copyright © 2019 by Paula Harrison. Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Olivia Chin Mueller