Free Akiko in the Castle of Alia Rellapor by Mark Crilley Page A

For the first time in a very long time, I felt as if I could just relax.
    The Prince and I ran back to the base of the platform. The wind was a little less strong there, but it was still pretty cold. Prince Froptoppit took off his white cape and gave it to me to wrap around myself. He was very shy about it, but also very gentlemanly. I pulled the cape tightly around my arms, thanking the Prince.

    After a few minutes Poog returned with Spuckler, Mr. Beeba, Gax, and Alia Rellapor. When Alia saw the Prince, she hugged him as though she hadn’t seen him in years.
    It was then that it really hit me: We’d done it. We’d rescued the Prince. Not only that—we’d rescued his mother at the same time!
    There was a brief discussion about what should be done with Throck.
    “I say we should just push him off th’ platform,” Spuckler said, staring angrily at the strange white statue that Throck had become, “and watch him smash into a million kajillion pieces.”
    “I appreciate your sentiments, Spuckler,” Mr. Beeba replied, “but we must keep in mind that Throck is still very much alive, immobilized though he may be in his current state.”
    “Maybe we should just leave him where he is, then,” I said.
    “No, Akiko,” Mr. Beeba replied. “The spell you’ve cast upon him won’t last indefinitely. I believe we should take him back with us to the palace. He must be carefully preserved and allowed to atone for his transgressions. With any luck, he may eventually learn his lesson and renounce his evil ways.”
    “So how are we going to
get
back to the palace?” I asked. “Don’t tell me we have to go back and climb the Great Wall of Trudd again!”
    “Oh dear, Akiko,” Mr. Beeba replied, scratching his head and pacing back and forth. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “With all due respect,” said Alia Rellapor, “I believe the answer is right before our eyes.” She pointed a finger in the direction of Throck’s escape ship, still hovering at the end of the platform.
    “I was kinda hopin’ you’d say that, Alia,” Spuckler said with a sly grin as he trotted across the platform to take a better look at the ship. “I’ve always wanted to get behind the wheel of one of these!”
    The only thing left to do was to carry Throck from the end of the platform into the hull of the ship. Together Spuckler, Mr. Beeba, the Prince, and I had just enough muscle to get Throck’s stony mass on board.
    Once we were all inside the ship with the hatch closed, everyone seemed to relax into a celebratory mood. Spuckler got the ship moving, and soon he and Mr. Beeba were bickering about one thing or another, just as they always did, only this time they really seemed to be
enjoying
themselves. Alia and the Prince chattered happily about all the good food they’d have once they got back to the palace. Poog sang a little tune for us, a cheerful melody that seemed to chase away any fears or worries that might have remained. I sat back in a heavily padded chair in the back of the ship, closed my eyes, and almost immediately nodded off to sleep.
    It had been a
very
long day.

 Chapter 19 

    The flight back to the palace took many hours—all night long, in fact—but it was mercifully uneventful. I woke to the sound of Mr. Beeba and Poog talking to one another in excited but hushed tones. They were evidently at the end of a very long and intense discussion.
    “So
that’s
why Alia acted so strangely,” said Mr. Beeba, rubbing his forehead thoughtfully. “I can’t believe I never saw it before. It all seems so
obvious
now.”
    Spuckler called back to us from the cockpit, announcing that we were a mere half hour away from the palace.
    “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Mr. Beeba sneered, sounding as if even
then
he wouldn’t believe it. And who could blame him? We’d experienced so many setbacks during the past week that it hardly seemed possible our journey could end so smoothly.
    But sure enough, about half an hour