Astro-Knights Island by Tracey West Read Free Book Online

so that the arrow was aimed a little higher.
    â€œLooks good,” Simon agreed. He pulled the arrow back a second time.
    Ziiing!
The arrow whizzed through the air and landed securely in the wood door. Now the rope stretched from the Castle right to the tower. Perfect!
    â€œHuzzah!” Simon cheered. He walked over to the rope and pulled himself on top. “I’ll search her room and try to find out the connection between her and that secret order.”
    He slowly stood up on the rope, balancing. Then he took one careful step after another, trying to keep his balance like a circus performer. When he reached the mysterious door, he pushed it open and jumped inside.

    The Princess’s room contained a pink carpet, a pink bed, and a dresser with a crown carved into the mirror. The invaders’ bombs had left the place a wreck, just as they had the rest of the Castle. There were tattered posters of stars and planets on the walls, just like the ones he and Alice had seen in the order’s secret hideout.
    Simon wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for, but he figured he would know when he saw it. There was a bunch of jewelry, a hairbrush, and some fancy clothes in the dresser.
    Then he opened up a wood chest at the foot of the Princess’s bed. Inside, he found an interesting scrap of paper that had been damaged by the attack. A smile spread across his face as he read it.
    â€œWait until Alice sees this,” Simon said. He tucked it into his pocket and made his way back outside, across the rope, and then jumped down to the platform.
    â€œThank goodness! I kept imagining you falling off the rope,” Alice said with relief.
    â€œGosh, nice imagination,” Simon said sarcastically. He handed her the scrap of paper. “Anyway, I found something. Read this.”
    The order believes the Great Inventor kept many of his secrets under his bed, but the order dare not come out of its hiding place to seek them. I will do my best to aid them in their search because I believe Mordred is alive! I’ve detected a beacon on a faraway planet, and I believe it must have been sent from him. I have sent a return signal and . . .
    Alice’s eyes grew wide. “It sounds like the Princess liked Mordred . . . you know,
liked
him.”
    â€œGross,” Simon said, making a face. “But I thought the King said Mordred was all evil and stuff. Why would the Princess like him?”
    Alice sighed. “It’s a girl thing. You wouldn’t understand. But, anyway, this proves that Mordred really
did
escape to outer space, and the Princess was contact with him.”
    Simon was more confused than ever. “Okay. So Mordred escaped to a faraway planet. Someone from outer space kidnapped the Princess. But if Mordred and the Princess were friends, why would he kidnap her?”
    â€œMaybe he didn’t kidnap her,” Alice replied. “Maybe he rescued her.”
    â€œRescued her?” Simon asked.
    â€œFrom her strict parents,” Alice said, getting a dreamy look in her eyes. “It’s so romantic! For years, Princess Elyana searched the skies, waiting for her true love to return. Then one day, Mordred swooped down from the heavens and swept her away.”
    â€œAfter blowing up a bunch of stuff,” Simon pointed out. “So if that’s true, wouldn’t the knights have come back and told us that by now? It doesn’t make sense.”
    â€œGood point,” Alice admitted. “I guess there’s only one way to find out the truth.”
    Simon nodded. “That’s right. We still need to find a way to get to outer space!”

Chapter Ten
    Finally . . . a Flying Machine!
    â€œWe should go back to the museum and look under Mordred’s bed,” Alice suggested. “The Princess said he kept secrets under there.”
    Simon shook his head. “Are you forgetting about the windmill? We’ve got to get there