The Rascal of the Mischief Gang ran his hand through his black hair and winked at the others. “So, boys, ready for a little adventure?”

  They stood in the dark at the edge of the harbor. Faint light sketched the outlines of ships before them. They had managed to slip out of the palace where they’d been staying during the tournament. True street kids through and through, they’d climbed out an open window and let themselves down on a makeshift rope.

  “Of course,” Bones replied, trying to balance on one foot atop a wooden barrel.

  “I’m a little scared,” Moose admitted, glancing back nervously.

  “Moose, we’ve been over this,” the eldest Rascal soothed. He’d come up with the whole plan. “With Prince Kelen’s ankle all twisted, who knows when we’d get a chance to sneak off with him otherwise? We’ve got all the time in the world. Perfect chance to ease Qelmar’s coin burden.”

  “Yeah, he must have plenty,” Curls muttered. “After what he did with us on that trip, it’s like he has a donkey shedding coins like fleas.”

  “We’re just here to take a look,” Curls added, leaving the sentence hanging, but everyone knew what he meant. Then he added to calm the frightened Moose: “No one’s going to rip our heads off for sneaking around.”

  “Enough talk,” the Rascal cut in. “Let’s scout.”

  The four boys crept through the harbor, using every shadow and obstacle along the way, until they reached Prince Qelmar’s ship.

  “S-I-L-V-E-R C-O-I-N,” Bones whispered, spelling out the name of the ship.

  “That’s it. The whole Qelmar, just as we know him,” the Rascal muttered, scanning cautiously. He darted across the gangplank and melted into the shadows on deck. His friends followed. Moments later, a night guard passed nearby, unaware of them.

  They searched the deck, but found nothing. Moving below, they discovered only crates, trunks, sacks—typical ship supplies. Frustrated, they dared even the officers’ cabins, but still, not a single coin.

  “This can’t be real,” Curls hissed. “So much stuff everywhere, and not a single coin.”

  “We’ve been everywhere,” Bones objected.

  “Don’t tell me,” the Rascal snapped, annoyed by the lack of success.

  “He must be carrying it,” Moose guessed. “Probably even under his pillow. The stingy little miser. Couldn’t leave us a thing.”

  “That’s what we were hoping for, but he beat us to it. Still, we gave him quite the scare on that trip,” the Rascal chuckled. “Come on, boys, no point sticking around.”

  They left the cabin and moved across the deck, slipping from shadow to shadow. Halfway along the gangplank, the rhythm of heavy boots reached them. Instantly, they froze. The Rascal, leading, peeked cautiously around. Then he spun and hissed at them: “Quick, hide! They’re coming.” Every boy flung himself behind the nearest barrel, trunk, or pile of sacks.

  Footsteps on the gangplank grew closer. The boys held their breath, each spying from their hiding spot.

  “This is the second and last time I’m carrying you, Kelen. You may not look it, but you’re heavy. First it was for the princess, now for that ankle, so you don’t slow us down.”

  “Prince Qelmar,” Moose whispered, recognizing the man’s voice.

  “And Prince Kelen,” Bones whispered back. The two of them pressed behind a barrel, inseparable as ever.

  “You’ll help me, Meradan? I’ve been carrying him the whole time. All that talk about doing it for the good of the realm, and you can’t even carry him for a bit? Too busy with your royal duties, royal advisor…” the prince scoffed. “Loyal to the grave, that’s you.”

  “I’m loyal to the realm,” Meradan snapped. “I do it for the good of Dusughbarah. What’s one life to save tens of thousands? Someone has to do it.”

  “Whatever… The main thing is it all works out. Can’t wait to see those Terresian lands,” Qelmar mused.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Kelen squirmed, tied up with a gag in his mouth. “Ah-ah, I don’t suppose you want me to say something?” the advisor interrupted, kicking him in the leg.

  “I’ll lock you both up!” Kelen shouted once the gag was removed.

  “Just lock you up, huh?” the advisor mocked.

  “I’ll personally execute you,” Kelen growled.

  “Don’t laugh at me,” Meradan chuckled. “You couldn’t even point a finger to accuse someone of stealing alabaster dust.”

  “I’ll personally execute you,” Kelen ground out again through his teeth.

  “That’s enough,” Qelmar scoffed. “We need to set sail. My men’ll be here soon.” He stood and stretched. “We’ll stash him in the cabin.”

  Meradan and the prince grabbed Kelen and vanished into the officers’ cabin.

  The four boys stayed hidden for a few moments after the door closed. Then the Rascal whistled softly. Heads popped up. “Time to vanish,” he hissed. One last cautious glance around, then he sprinted for the gangplank. In a few steps, he was on the pier, crouching in the nearest shadow. His companions did the same, and as soon as they were all off the ship, they ran out of the harbor. They stopped far from the Silver Coin, panting. Moose asked, catching his breath, “Now what?”

  “We’ve got to get to the palace,” the Rascal said, still winded.

  “No one will believe us. Nobody knows us; they won’t take us seriously.”

  “Only the princess,” Curls suggested.

  “Get to her now, in the middle of the night?” Moose said. “We don’t even know where her rooms are. And she’s asleep—we can’t disturb her, or we’re in big trouble.”

  “If we want to save Prince Kelen, we have to get back the way we came and find the princess’s chamber. We know the wing, just not the door. We’ll have to search. Then we wake her and tell her everything. She’s the only one who’ll believe us. Are we in?” the Rascal asked.

  They all nodded and set off running again, their speed carrying them down street after street of Ghurmaka. Back at the palace, climbing ropes through an open window was no challenge for nimble street kids like them.

  Still, all four were glad the hardest part was over. Now came the grueling search, needing extreme caution to avoid discovery.

  They debated quietly where to start, eventually agreeing on the right part of the palace and moving there silently.

  They scoured the first floor with no luck, then rushed up to the second.

  “This is the floor,” the Rascal whispered.

  “Look, a crown is carved here,” Curls whispered, having gone ahead past a few doors. He pointed to the princess Belara’s door, a small crown etched into the wood.

  “Who goes first?” Moose asked.

  “Does it matter?” Bones replied.

  “I’m scared. Breaking into the princess’s room at night—this is basically asking for a dungeon.”

  “I’ll go,” the Rascal decided. “I’m the oldest.”

  “Go on, then,” Curls nudged him closer. “I’ve got goosebumps. We’re standing here like lambs for slaughter.”

  The Rascal turned the handle, pushed it open, and stepped inside. He glanced around and spotted a canopied bed in the corner. He approached it. One by one, Curls, Bones, and finally Moose followed. Moose, trembling with fear, tried to close the door quietly but slammed it a bit, making a small bang. The boys froze, startled.

  “What are you doing?” Bones whispered. “Clumsy as a half-asleep calf.”

  “Slipped out of my hands,” Moose defended himself.

  “You’re hopeless…” Bones started, but never finished.

  The bang roused Belara. She sat up, staring at the four street kids, wondering if she was dreaming.

  The Rascal, closest to her, began rattling off everything in a rush. “We were on the Silver Coin. The royal advisor was there… They kidnapped Kelen… The Silver Coin is a ship… It belongs to Qelmar… They took Kelen…”

  “His name was Meradan,” Curls interrupted. “They kidnapped Kelen, want to sail off with him.”

  “What?” the princess asked, confused. She still couldn’t believe she was awake and her head was spinning.

  “They kidnapped Prince Kelen!” Moose squeaked from the doorway.

  Belara absorbed it a moment, then erupted. “You little pests! I’m a princess, you rascals! Waking me in the middle of the night with this joke?”

  “They kidnapped Prince Kelen!” the Rascal shouted. “Don’t you get it?”

  “Why would anyone do that?”

  “Qelmar and the advisor Meradan were there. He said it was for the good of the realm…”

  At those last words, it finally clicked for Belara. She stared, mouth open, for a second. Then she tossed the covers off, grabbed a small bell from her nightstand, and started ringing it frantically.

  Her personal maid arrived first, then another, followed by the night guards. Jhalen, whose room was at the end of the same floor, was last in the first wave.

  The boys watched as Belara issued orders, rousing the whole palace. Once the diplomat grasped the situation’s gravity, he pulled the four aside, interrogated them thoroughly, and got all the answers. After briefing the princess, the diplomat dashed out to rouse Admiral Sharad and prepare a ship to pursue.

  As the first wave of chaos subsided, the boys had to leave the chamber so Belara could change.

  Before leaving, the princess ordered them back to their beds. “You’ve done enough. The adults will take over now.”

  Alone in the hallway before the crown-etched door, the boys stared at each other.

  “We did it. We pulled it off,” Moose praised himself and the others.

  “And you had to slam the door like that,” Bones teased.

  “Seriously, do we want to sleep now?” Curls asked.

  “Well… no one will be watching us,” the Rascal said.

  “So, what now?”

  “I want to see them chase Qelmar. Don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Moose agreed.

  “If we hurry, maybe we can still sneak aboard the ship.”

  “But we don’t know which one,” Curls objected.

  “Ah…” the eldest waved his hand. “I’ll bet my worn boots it’s the Queen of Agility. Fastest, and the only one fixed up after the last naval battle.”

  “Then let’s try,” Bones decided.

  “Let’s go, boys,” the Rascal commanded, and they ran through the palace.

  They truly managed to sneak into the Queen of Agility’s hold. Shortly after, the ship weighed anchor and set sail.

  The chase for the Silver Coin involved Admiral Sharad, Jhalen, and the princess, along with heavily armed royal guards and the ship’s crew.

  As they sailed into the open sea, Belara stood at the bow, staring ahead, wondering if they could catch the treacherous pair of Qelmar and Meradan and free Prince Kelen.