Pumpkin Patch Princess

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Frog Dive

She nodded. "And if she does, it will be you. I thought it would be a grand idea to make that your certifying exam. We need to start early," she explained. "December will be busy. I have to prepare for my defense in front of the Council, so I'm counting on you. What do you say?"

I didn't hesitate. "I say yes. One hundred percent."

Muffet looked at me with awe. "You're going to be a real fairy godmother, Noelle. Just think of all the strawberry yogurt you'll be able to buy me."

"That's pretty much the only reason I agreed to this assignment," I told him.

Maud laughed. "That settles it. We'll take care of our client in Heliotropia and stop quickly in Citria. Then it'll be back to headquarters for me and off home to Indigo for you."

"And Noelle will probably also want to go back to the Tented Market at some point," the cat remarked, giving me a sly look.

Alfonso caught Muffet's eye and made a strange ribbit.

"Why?" Maud asked.

"Don't listen to them," I said hastily. "I don't need to go there. For any reason."

The cat and frog had just broken into odd noises that sounded like wheezing laughter.

My trainer chuckled. "Oh yes, Muffet told me about your new friend. Kit, was it?"

I glared at the cat, who gazed innocently back at me. "There's nothing wrong with making new friends, Noelle," he said.

My face must have been as red as it felt, because Maud tactfully changed the subject.

Everyone but me fell asleep on the two-hour journey east to Heliotropia. I was too keyed up to sleep, thinking about my new assignment . . . and about Kit, if I could admit that to myself. I did want to go back to the market. I had never really liked any boy in Indigo. At least, not in the way I liked Kit . . . and thought – no, hoped – he liked me. I remembered how his hazel eyes had twinkled down at me, and the warmth of his hand on my arm . . .

Beside me, Muffet snorted and I jumped, my ears burning, but he merely rolled over and continued snoring.

I decided to write home to take my mind off Kit's smug grin. I thanked my parents for the package, but didn't quite know how to explain that I had just helped my trainer avert a crisis in Viridian involving waltzing goblins and a subterranean death trap. So I stuck to basics. "I'm having a good time." "I miss you guys." That sort of thing.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in Heliotropia, an ivy-covered kingdom filled with deep, shady woodlands. The castle was beautiful and more along the lines of Irisia Palace, with pinkish stones that glimmered in the sun.

"Are there twelve princesses here, too?" I asked warily, as we pulled in front.

Maud giggled. "The king and queen have three children. A pair of small twin boys and a daughter, Daphne, who is my client."

Alfonso hopped onto the ledge by the window and began knocking his legs against the wall, his eyes bulging even more than usual. He paced back and forth.

"What's wrong with Alfonso?" I asked. "He's been acting weird all day. He hasn't even glared at me once."

On cue, the frog turned and glared at me, but only for a few seconds before resuming his odd behavior.

"He's just happy to be here," Maud said, unconcerned.

A girl with long black hair came out to greet us. She looked about eighteen and had a round, plain face. I couldn't help noticing that she had very chapped lips, which she kept biting.