"WHA?!!" Abigail cried out in shock.
Amy shushed her 9-year-old daughter. "Keep it down, Abby! You'll wake up the whole palace!"
Abby frowned and continued her conversation with Denise, Raye's daughter. She was the same age as Abby, with sparkling green-brown eyes and auburn hair that spilled down to just barely past her shoulders. Everyone said that she looked much more like her dad than Raye. Denise's looks strongly contrasted with Abby's, who had bright blue eyes and shoulder-length black hair with blue streaks. Nevertheless, the two girls sat on the end of Abby's bed, gossiping about Arrow's whereabouts the day before.
"Really? He was?" Abby tried to contain her giggles.
Arrow was, of course, Denise's guardian. Each of the soon-to-be Scouts had a bird companion. Denise had Arrow, a large blackbird that was eager to go anywhere, and Abby had Coral, a small blue sparrow. The two other girls, Holly (daughter of Mina), and Krissy (daughter of Lita), each had guardians, too. Holly's was a small, golden falcon, while Krissy had a powerful hawk. Their names? Given to them by the girls, Holly's falcon was titled Valor, for his willingness to save everyone and everything, and Krissy appointed her winged friend Shadow, for he could never be seen until he was two feet in front of you.
These loyal birds did not have the ability to speak, but each shared a special "connection" to their owner. The girls knew exactly what their bird-friends were thinking, so there was no need for communication. The bond worked both ways. The guardians could also tell what was on the girl's mind, and all they had to do to respond was think out the reply, and the girls understood perfectly.
"Yeah! I saw Arrow outside the palace yesterday with another blackbird! She seemed really interested in him, too." Denise grinned.
Abby laughed. "Oh man! I didn't think Arrow would do that!"
Giggling, Denise replied. "Me neither! Hey, do you wanna go get Holly and Krissy?"
Her friend nodded and turned to the door leading into Amy's bedroom. "Hey Mom! We're going outside with the others!"
"All right Abby!" Amy called back, deep in an old novel. "But be back for lunch! Lita's making a pie today!"
"OK!" Abby turned to Denise. "I hope it's apple..."
Denise smiled. "Me too! Now, let's go see what the others are up to."
The two crept down the hall, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the maids. The King and Queen were obviously awake, along with everyone else. Denise turned the corner leading into the West Wing, and knocked softly on the Aino's door. Holly answered it, and smiled when she saw her friends.
"Hey Holly!" Wanna come outside with us?" Abby said with a grin.
"Sure hang on a sec." Holly replied, rushing to her Mom.
Mina responded quickly, writing up a recipe for Lita. "OK, dear, but..."
She was cut off by her daughter. "Be back before lunch. I know!"
Her mother laughed. "Go ahead Holly!"
Holly smiled. "Thanks Mom!" she said, running back to the door.
The young girl was the mirror image of her mother, except for the fact that she wore her long blond hair in two pigtails, held back by red bows. She was also quite the tomboy, unlike Mina. Right now Holly was wearing a blue T-shirt, underneath a red windbreaker, plus blue short-shorts and red hi-tops. Her favorite colors? Blue and red, of course!
Next, the three girls made their way over to the South Wing. Lita opened the door, and called for her daughter, giving her permission to go with her friends. The girls watched as Krissy thanked her Mom quietly. Lita had a concerned look on her face as she shut the door behind the sullen-faced brunette. Krissy's hazel eyes avoided her friend's gazes, and instead focused on the brown ponytail that hung low on her neck. Her hands went deeper into the pockets of her green jacket, accompanied by a pink spaggehtti-strap tank-top and green shorts.
"Krissy, what's wrong?" Abby asked her nervous-looking friend.
Holly put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Krissy...this is the day you have to take your Soldier Test, isn't it?"
Krissy nodded. "Yeah..."
All the girls knew what happened if you failed that test. Work, work, and more work, which none of them liked. The Soldier Test was taken by the young daughters of the Scouts at the age of nine, to see if they could handle various enemies. If you failed, every second of the day between eating and sleeping was spent training until you could pass.
Krissy was the youngest of the girls, having just turned nine. Holly, Abby, and Denise had all taken the test already, each one barely passing.
"It's not that hard, Krissy," Abby comforted. "Don't worry."
The young girl still wasn't convinced. Her friends exchanged worried glances, then silently agreed that a walk outside would surely help Krissy.
Denise took a step forward. "C'mon, Kris, we're going outside!"
Holly giggled. "Yeah, hurry before our feathered pals catch us!"
A slow smiled spread across Krissy's face. "Well then...race ya to the door!"
Back to Chapter One
Chapter Three
