Bella had been walking for hours, and there hadn’t been a single trace of Glimmer. It was moments before dusk, and soon Bella would have to turn back to meet her friends. The new boots that Bella had so eagerly laced up this morning had rubbed blisters into her heels and big toes. Sweat trickled down her forehead and soaked the collar of her T-shirt.
Bella’s crystal hadn’t vibrated once. She had even taken it out of her pocket to see if she had missed a vibration, but the crystal remained clear. No one was having any luck.
Glimmer’s definitely not in my section of the castle grounds, Bella thought. But how did she escape the royal guards? Did she just walk across the drawbridge? Surely she could not have swum through the moat without being seen by guards.
Bella forgot how lucky she and her friends were that none of them had been spotted by the royal security team. They would have to lie about what they were doing, and Bella hated lying. But this was for a good reason.
The princess took a few more steps and stopped as she reached the creek in front of her. Bella had taken the front left quarter of the castle grounds. Ben, Ivy, and Clara had each taken another quarter of Crystal Castle’s grounds. Bella’s section included a creek that had a small waterfall at the start. Even though her instinct told her that Glimmer couldn’t have made it across the moat, she knew she had to try.
This is the last place left to look, Bella thought. Then I have to get back.
She sat down on the grass near the creek bed and undid her boots. She tugged off her socks, rolled up her pant legs, and stepped into the cool water. The creek bottom was covered in a bed of smooth brown and black stones—none sharp enough to cut or bruise Bella’s feet.
Teensy minnows and tadpoles swam away from Bella as she carefully walked up the creek toward the waterfall. The ankle-deep water felt good on her blisters. The princess squinted and bent down, the setting sun visible in the water’s reflection. Something had disturbed the rocks. The entire creek had been smooth and now there were—one, two, three, four—spots of rocks smushed into the ground. Bella stuck her hand in the water, tracing her finger over a U-shaped imprint.
Glimmer’s shoe!
“Glimmer!” Bella called. She forgot that she wasn’t supposed to be calling for the unicorn in case someone heard. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Are you here?”
Bella stayed hunched over and followed the hoofprints as they went along the creek bed, then vanished. Steps away from the loud waterfall, she looked from side to side, trying to pick up the trail.
“The grass!” Bella said out loud. She sprinted through the creek, her footsteps spraying water up her legs. She put her bare feet in the spots of trampled grass—almost like playing hopscotch. The four diagonal prints zigzagged away from the creek and headed for the property line that divided Crystal Castle from the rest of the kingdom.
Bella slipped her fingers around her crystal. She needed to tell her friends to meet her here. The princess took a few more steps, and the hoofprints became harder and harder to spot. A shiny screen that looked like plastic wrap was inches from Bella’s face. The palm-size screen signaled the end of Crystal Castle land. Bella slowly put a foot through the screen spell, causing it to ripple.
“Princess? Princess Bella!”
Bella yanked her foot back as if it had touched scorching lava. She stifled a shriek and turned to the deep voice that had called her name. She released the crystal, leaving it in her pocket, glad she hadn’t called her friends.
One of the members of the royal security team approached her. His sword gleamed at his side, and he was dressed in all black with a pin of the castle’s seal on his lapel.
“Um, hi!” Bella said. She hurried away from the hoofprint trail and tried to scuff away the rest of the prints with her feet as she approached the guard. I don’t want him to see any of Glimmer’s tracks, she thought.
“Are you all right?” the guard asked after bowing to Bella. “It’s not safe for you to cross the property line, Princess. The other guards and I only patrol the castle grounds unless the king instructs us otherwise.”
Bella smiled. “I know. I was playing in the creek and then saw a”—she swallowed—“butterfly, and I chased it. I’d never seen one like it before. Thank you for calling to me before I went too far over the line.”
The guard nodded, smiling back. His green eyes looked around as if searching for evidence of the butterfly. But he didn’t seem to pick up on the princess’s lie. “Of course, Princess. Do you need an escort back to the castle?”
“Oh no, thank you,” Bella said. “I know my way from here. Thanks!”
Before the guard could say another word, Bella gave him a tiny wave and trotted away. She dashed across the creek, put on her boots, and darted across the grounds, hurrying back to the stables.
That was way too close! Bella thought as she jogged. I have to be more careful. Her stomach sank as she reached the stables. Ivy and Clara stood empty-handed and were covered in streaks of dirt. Ben came around the other side of the stables, red-faced and sneakers covered in mud.
“I knew that no one had found Glimmer,” Bella said, reaching her friends. “But I’d hoped my crystal had missed a signal.”
The four of them plopped onto the floor of the tack room. Bella reached over and pulled a blade of grass from Clara’s long hair.
“We don’t have much time,” Ivy said. “I have to be home really soon or my parents will worry.”
“Mine too,” Clara said. “I’m sorry, Bella. I looked everywhere in my section. I didn’t find a thing.”
Ivy and Ben nodded, their eyes downcast.
“At least you guys didn’t get stopped by guards,” Bella said.
“What?” Ben asked, sitting up straight. He’d been slouching against a wooden cabinet.
“I was in the creek and I found hoofprints,” Bella said. “I know they’re Glimmer’s.”
“Oh! Why didn’t you message us?” Ivy asked. She swiped at sweat on her forehead.
“I started to,” Bella said. “I got caught up following the prints. They led me to the castle line. I was halfway through the screen when a guard saw me.”
Clara’s mouth formed a giant O shape. “What did you do?”
“I had to lie,” Bella said. “I told him that I was chasing a butterfly, and I ran off before he could ask me anything else.”
Ben’s brows knitted together. “Did he believe you?”
“Yes,” Bella said. Her chest tightened a little. “I hated lying, but I had to.”
“You did the right thing,” Ivy said. She stretched her legs out in front of her. The knees of her jeans were grass stained.
“Now we know that Glimmer isn’t on the castle grounds,” Bella said. “The hoofprints pointed in the direction of the Dark Forest.”
The mention of the Dark Forest caused everyone to fall silent.
“Guys,” Bella added. “No one has to go in but me. I have to go—Glimmer’s my unicorn. I understand if you don’t want to go.”
Ben shook his head. “No way. I’m going too.”
Ivy and Clara nodded in solidarity.
“What if we start by searching around the castle after school?” Ivy said. “I’ll tell my parents that I’m staying over for a while.”
“I’ll do the same as Ivy,” Clara said. “If we don’t find Glimmer tomorrow, then we’ll go into the Dark Forest the next day.”
Bella thought for a minute. “That’s a good idea. Maybe we should be in pairs this time.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ben said, looking at Bella. “If that’s all right.”
“Sure. Thanks, Ben,” Bella said. “Ivy and Clara, are you okay going together?”
The two girls looked at each other and high-fived. “Team Clivy!” Clara said, giggling.
The overhead lights went from dim to bright. Bella looked out of the small window in the tack room. The sun was almost completely gone.
“You and Ivy still have to get home,” Bella said. “I missed dinner, and I don’t want Frederick to come looking for you, Ben. We will mess up this entire plan if we all get in trouble on the first day.”
“You’re right,” Ben said. “Everyone needs to go.”
“Tomorrow,” Bella said. “Snapdragon Garden at two thirty.”