Tangled [Hariana]

Chapter 5

"Give me that!" Jack yelled as Maximus finally sank his teeth into the satchel. Man and horse engaged in a tug-of-war until Jack used all his might to pull the satchel free, flinging it well out of reach. It landed at the far end of a fallen tree that was rooted in the side of the cliff and stretched across the top of the deep ravine.

Panting, Jack and Maximus immediately sized up the situation. Not used to having a competent rival, Jack leaped from the horse's back and scrambled to get to the tree first. Maximus followed. Jack grinned to the tree slipped along the underside of the tree and inched toward the satchel. No horse would dare step out on a tree overhanging a cliff.

No horse except Maximus.

The horse walked out onto the tree, trying to stomp on Jack's hands with his hooves. Jack could not believe it. The massive horse was practically tiptoeing along the top of the horizontal tree.

"Ha-ha!" Jack yelled at last. Triumphantly, he clung to the end of the tree, hanging on to a branch that simply could not hold the horse's weight. Jack held up the satchel to show Maximus that he had won.

Maximus glared at Jack.

Crack! Now they both froze as they heard the deep sound of the tree roots pulling away from the ledge. Jack and Maximus fell, screaming and neighing, as the tree broke from the cliff.

Maximus landed hard. Quickly, he got to his feet and shook off the dust. He was all right! But Jack was nowhere to be found. The horse sniffed around, trying to pick up Jack's trail.

Carefully and quietly, Jack moved along a steep rocky wall. He had the satchel. He had the crown. Now he just had to get rid of the crazy horse! Seeing some bushes, he plunged his hand into them and parted their branches. He peered into the darkness and saw a cave. Perfect! He slipped into the entrance just as Maximus trotted by, sniffing like a bloodhound.

That horse is relentless! Jack thought as he held his breath. Turning, he saw that the cave had an opening on the opposite side. He was so desperate to get away from the horse that he plunged farther inside without a second's thought, and found himself in a tunnel. When he emerged from the tunnel, he stopped short.

Before him lay a beautiful valley. The ground was covered in lush green foliage. A waterfall glimmered in the sunlight as it tumbled down the rusty-red, rocky walls surrounding the valley and splashed into a clean, fresh pond. A sparkling bright blue stream burbled along a winding path amid fields of flowers.

And in the middle of the valley, a tall tower reached toward the sky. Stunned by the valley's beauty and awed by this hidden world, Jack simply stared for a moment. He had discovered something truly marvelous.

Jack could faintly hear Maximus at the far end of the tunnel. Groaning, Jack realized that he had to do something fast to get away—something that Maximus would never be able to do. Jack raced to the tower. He pulled out some arrows and used them to hoist himself up. It was a grueling effort, but he had to find refuge. Grimacing all the way, Jack plunged arrow after arrow into the cracks in the tower's exterior, pulling himself ever higher.

Moments later, Jack climbed through the window at the top of the tower.

"Alone at last," he said, heaving a sight of relief. He had finally found a safe harbor where no royal guard or royal horse or Sheeran brother would ever find him.

BANG! Something hit Jack in the back of the head. Then his world went black.