Free The Song of the Winns by Frances Watts Page A

as Sourian children. We have no time to waste with pointless questions and quibbling.” He glared at Alex. “Do I make myself clear?”
    Alex gulped. “Yes, sir.”
    â€œThen let’s begin.” Moving to the left of the whiteboard,Solomon Honker tapped his ruler three times to indicate the three maps tacked to the wall. The first was a map of Shetlock, which was a common enough sight in a Shetlock classroom. To the right of this was a map of Souris, with a purple and silver flag in the top right-hand corner. They had studied Sourian history and geography at school, and Alice recognized the diamond shape of Shetlock’s neighbor across the Sourian Sea. She knew that the capital, Grouch, was roughly in the middle, just south of the Eugenian mountain range. She turned her gaze to the third map. The long, thin strip of land was a mere fraction of the size of Souris. It had a coastline running down the western side along the Cannolian Ocean, and a small part of the eastern side abutted the westernmost curve of the Sourian Sea. Along the eastern side it bordered Souris—Alice could just make out the Cranken Alps in the northeast—and its southern tip bordered Shetlock. Although she had never seen it before, Alice knew this must be a map of Gerander. It was odd to think that she had lived all her life in a country bordering Gerander—it was closer even than Souris—yet knew nothing about the place. Staring at the sliver of land, Alice wondered why exactly the Sourians were determined to occupy such a small country.
    Solomon Honker tapped the ruler on a large red dot in the west of Gerander. It was marked “Cornoliana.” This, she supposed, was the Gerandan capital.
    â€œCornoliana,” Solomon Honker said. “Does that name sound familiar? Think of your history classes.”
    Alex raised his hand. “Is it something to do with Queen Cornolia?”
    â€œWho was . . . ?” prompted the rusty-orange and white mouse.
    Alice raised her hand and said, “She was the Queen of Shetlock, ages and ages ago.”
    â€œJust the Queen of Shetlock?” queried the teacher.
    â€œOh!” Alex’s hand shot up.
    â€œRaz?”
    â€œShe was the Queen of Souris too. She was Queen Eugenia’s great-grandmother. No, wait, her great-great-great . . .” He shook his head. “I can’t remember.”
    But Solomon Honker was nodding. “Almost,” he said. “Queen Cornolia, of the House of Cornolius, was the great-great-grandmother of Queen Eugenia. So she was the Queen of Souris and of Shetlock. But what do you make of this?” He tapped the red dot of Cornoliana again.
    Why would Gerander have named its capital after the Queen of Shetlock and Souris? Alice wondered. Unless . . .
    She thrust her hand into the air. “She was the Queen of Gerander too!”
    â€œCorrect.” Solomon Honker tapped the ruler on the desk. “Queen Cornolia ruled all three kingdoms, though at the time they were all one kingdom called Greater Gerander. When Queen Cornolia died, Greater Gerander was divided into three lands, one for each of her children; they were triplets you see.”
    â€œLike us!” said Alex.
    â€œAh yes,” said Solomon. “So you are. The young gingerfellow with the scarf, he’s your brother, isn’t he?”
    â€œThat’s Alistair,” Alex confirmed. Alice wondered how Solomon knew their brother.
    Bang!
    The ruler crashed down on Alex’s desk, and he jolted backward in his chair. Alice made a mental note not to get too comfortable around Solomon Honker, even when he appeared to be approachable.
    â€œWhat’s your name?” the teacher demanded.
    â€œR-raz,” said Alex.
    â€œAnd are you a triplet, Raz?”
    â€œI-I don’t know,” said Alex.
    â€œYou’ll find out soon enough,” said Solomon Honker. “Until then, don’t assume.”
    â€œYes, sir,”