Free Rescue Princesses #5: The Snow Jewel by Paula Harrison Page B

it.”
    “They’re lovely.” Clarabel stroked the head of one little kitten. “Look at their tiny ears!”
    Freya picked up the kitten with fourwhite paws and kissed her. “I call this one Minky. She’s the naughty one. She’s always bouncing around the room and hiding under the bed.”

    Minky gave a tiny meow and looked at the girls, as if she knew they were talking about her.
    “Hello, Minky,” said Jaminta, gently shaking one soft white paw.
    Minky meowed back and swished her little tail.
    “What are all the others named?” asked Lulu.
    “The mother cat’s Carla, and these are Dusky, Fluffles, Velvet, Coco, and Daisy,” said Freya, pointing to the kittens one by one.
    “Aw! Aren’t they beautiful!” cried Emily.
    The girls huddled around the box to stroke the kittens, who woke up and filled the room with their little meows.
    “Tell me about the Rescue Princesses. I want to know everything.” Freya sat down on the bed and hugged her kitten tightly. Minky flicked out a little pink tongue and licked her cheek.
    “We met at the Mistberg Grand Ball, and there were some deer in trouble in the forest nearby,” began Emily.
    “So we rescued them all and we made a secret promise that we would always help any animal in trouble, even if it was dangerous,” continued Lulu.
    “And since then we’ve found lots more animals that have needed rescuing,” said Jaminta. “And we use special rings to call each other if we’re apart.” She showed Freya her emerald ring and pressed it to make it glow.
    “Wow!” breathed Freya. “And you do it all without any grown-ups helping?”
    Emily nodded. “We train ourselves in things like climbing and balancing so that we can get better at the rescues.”
    “I can’t believe you’ve done all of that. I’m hardly ever allowed to do things on my own,” said Freya wistfully. “It all sounds amazing.”
    “So what should we do?” said Lulu, turning to the others. “Do we want Freya to join us?”
    Freya watched them longingly. These weren’t just girls the same age as her; they were girls who had adventures. She just had to join them!
    “What is it that you want, Freya?” asked Clarabel.
    “I would love to become a Rescue Princess, too … if that’s all right?” Freya clasped her hands together hopefully. If only they would let her!
    The others exchanged looks and smiled.
    Lulu nodded. “If you really, really want to, then you should become a Rescue Princess. I bet we’re going to have some awesome adventures together!”
    “We haven’t even told you about the ninja moves yet,” said Emily, grinning.
    “Ninja moves?” squeaked Freya.
    Her squeal woke up Minky, who had been quietly snoozing. The little cat wriggled and got her paw caught in a pale blue ribbon that hung around Freya’s neck. Finding her paw stuck, she wriggled even more.
    “Hold still, Minky! You’re making it worse.” Freya untangled the kitten’s paw and then put Minky down on the floor for a moment so that she could unknot the twisted ribbon.
    “That’s a lovely jewel.” Jaminta steppedcloser to look at the beautiful white stone hanging on the end of Freya’s ribbon.
    Freya held up the roughly shaped gem. It dangled there, sparkling like a drop of snow. “This is a snow-quartz jewel. My mom left it to me. She died when I was a baby. My dad says she used to wear it all the time. I don’t really remember because I was so little, but I’m glad she wanted it to be mine because it’s so pretty.”
    “It’s beautiful.” Clarabel smiled.
    “Thanks!” Freya tucked the blue ribbon away again. “My mom left me a note about it as well. It says my jewel is special and can protect me against ice and snow —”
    “Hang on!” Emily interrupted. “Can anyone see Minky? I’m sure she was here a minute ago.”
    “Oh, not again! She scampered away yesterday, too. It took me forever to find her.” Freya looked at the door and noticed it was half open. “We really should have