Belissima scanned the great hall for the princess, but she didn’t see her. When she spotted Zenia’s parents she trotted up to them. “Where is the princess?”

“We thought she was with you,” the queen said.

The king sighed. “She must be off on another one of her adventures.”

“Adventures?” Belissima asked, surprised.

“Yes, that daughter of mine is a wild child. She hates getting dressed up and performing her royal duties. She promised to be on her very best behavior while she was here. I thought by choosing such a well-groomed, beautiful pony like you, she was finally settling down, making a good choice,” the queen said.

“The princess doesn’t like getting dressed up?” Belissima asked, shocked.

The king laughed. “The queen has had hundreds of gowns made for her, hoping that she might become interested in something other than tromping through the woods and catching frogs.”

“I figured she was trying to find herself a prince, but no. She was trying to find the best jumper in the land.” The queen rolled her eyes.

“Princess Zenia likes to explore?” Belissima asked.

“That’s probably what she’s doing now. Do you have any idea where she might be?” the king asked.

Belissima looked down, feeling horrible. She’d been complaining about no one seeing beyond her appearances, and she’d done the very same thing to Princess Zenia! “I’m afraid I upset her.” Belissima explained what had happened. “I don’t know where she went. She was dressed for dinner; I thought she’d come here.”

“I’ll send my guards to look for her,” the king said.

“I’ll check the river. We visited there earlier today.” Belissima tossed off her cape, raced out of the great hall, and galloped across the fields to the forest. “Princess Zenia?” she cried. “Princess Zenia!”

There was no sign of her when she got to the river. “Marina! Please rise!” She was too upset to sing.

Marina quickly came to the surface. “What’s wrong? Where’s your princess?”

“I don’t know. She’s missing. Did she come back here?”

Marina shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen her.”

“Thanks, Marina.” Belissima raced back to school, uncertain what to do. She searched all the places they’d visited on campus, but there was no sign of her.

As the sun set, Belissima stood outside Earth barn. Big tears trailed down her cheeks. This was all her fault.

A silvery orb popped open next to her. “Belissima!” It was Headmaster Elegius, the only teacher on campus who could teleport. “You’re needed in the healing center. Princess Zenia is very sick. Go at once!”