Tales From Beyond the Rainbow by Pete Jordi Wood

Author:Pete Jordi Wood [Wood, Pete Jordi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241545447
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
Published: 2023-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

Darshan forced a smile. ‘I will help you to find her, and to her heart be wed.’

It broke his own heart to make this promise, but Darshan knew there was no antidote to such a spell. His friend was bound to love the fairy princess until his dying day. And should he not find her, he would likely lose his mind.

The prince felt reassured by Darshan’s words, and so they ate, and then, at the prince’s urging, continued on their journey. But not long after, just as night set in, they met a pair of men on the road.

‘It’s late,’ said the men politely, ‘and there is not another village for miles. Stay with us in our home until the morning.’

The prince was keen to accept their invitation, even though Darshan encouraged him to decline it.

‘These men are clearly not to be trusted!’ Darshan warned, but the prince rolled his eyes.

‘You’re always so serious,’ he said, following the men into the forest, Darshan reluctantly following behind.

But Darshan was right to be cautious. The men were from one of the most notorious families of robbers in the area, and lived in a tower upon a hill. Their practice was to trick those unfortunate enough to meet them into staying with them, offering shelter and kindness. But beneath the tower was a deep pit, into which they threw the bodies of such unlucky travellers, having first stolen everything from them.

And so it was only an hour later that the boys found themselves locked in a room into which they had been led with the promise of a meal and a warm fire. The prince groaned, his head in his arms, as Darshan sighed.

‘There’s no point moaning about it,’ he said, by now quite used to the prince leading him into such situations. Darshan loved Kavin’s trusting nature, but had to wonder when his friend would realize that being a prince made him a target for those who wished to benefit from his riches.

Instead of panicking, Darshan tried to think of a way for them to escape. Climbing to the window, he looked down at the ground, too far below to jump without being hurt. But a nearby wall seemed just within reach – if he had the courage to make the leap.

‘Wait here – I’ll be back soon,’ Darshan told the prince. Then, taking a deep breath, he leapt across to the wall and climbed down to the foot of the tower.

Sneaking through the courtyard as the thieves slept, he discovered the housekeeper, a wrinkled woman at least a hundred years old, washing laundry. Darshan smiled, a new plan forming in his head.

Soon, with the help of the housekeeper, Darshan had obtained the keys to the prince’s cell and freed him.

‘How did you convince her to help us?’ asked Kavin in amazement as the housekeeper handed them back their stolen belongings.

‘I told her you’d marry her,’ joked Darshan, much to the prince’s horror.

The housekeeper led the boys to where their horses had been stabled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.