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

later King Froptoppit’s majestic palace came into view, glowing purplish pink in the early-morning sunlight. I couldn’t help thinking back to the night I’d first come here with Bip and Bop, how nervous I was, and how ignorant of what was to come. It seemed so long ago, almost as though I’d been a different person then.

    Spuckler steered the ship right up to King Froptoppit’s quarters and parked it at a grand marble entrance nearby. Within seconds the area was swarming with excited guards and members of the King’s inner circle. A moment later King Froptoppit himself arrived, strutting forward so that he could be the very first to greet us.
    As soon as the hatch was opened, Prince Froptoppit ran out and leaped into his father’s arms. I’d imagined this moment for a long time. It was hard to believe it was finally coming true.
    “There’s my boy!” King Froptoppit said, a single tear running down his cheek, his arms firmly locked around the Prince. “I
knew
Akiko would bring you back to me! There was never a doubt in my—”
    He stopped in midsentence, his eyes having fallen upon Alia Rellapor. She had just stepped out of the ship and was standing nervously between Spuckler and me. She looked very ill at ease, as if she wanted to hide under the nearest rock.
    The King jumped to his feet, drawing the Prince protectively behind him.
    “Arrest her, men!” he shouted, pointing a quivering finger at Alia. “This heinous crime will not go unpunished!”
    A half dozen or so of King Froptoppit’s guards stepped forward. Spuckler and Gax moved quickly in front of Alia, stopping the guards in their tracks. Poog also floated over until he was positioned just a few
inches from Alia’s shoulder. It looked as if there was going to be a standoff.
    “Your Majesty, Your Majesty,” Mr. Beeba said, dashing over to King Froptoppit’s side, using a very practiced diplomatic tone. “I’m afraid there are a great many things you don’t know about Alia. I would strongly recommend a bit of
debriefing
before you take any action against her.”
    King Froptoppit’s look of anger dissolved into an expression of mild confusion.
    “Yes, yes, I see,” he whispered to Mr. Beeba, never taking his eyes off Alia. “Let’s hear it, then.”
    Mr. Beeba stepped into an area between all the
parties concerned and began a very calm and measured explanation of events as he understood them. He was like a lawyer making his case before a jury, raising first one hand and then the other, underlining the importance of certain words with the stroke of a finger, squinting his eyes nearly closed at times and throwing them open wide at others. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so . . . well, so much
in his
element
before. He was clearly enjoying himself.

    He told King Froptoppit how Alia had been bewitched by Throck, who was the last surviving member of an evil society called the Mulgari. Obsessed with power and preaching a doctrine of rule by force, they were the worst sort of cowards and were absolutely terrified of the responsibilities of leadership. They used their spells and trances to manipulate others into doing their dirty work for them, while they stood safely in the shadows.
    Mr. Beeba finished his presentation by leading King Froptoppit into the hull of the ship and showing him Throck’s frozen stone body, explaining how Poog and I had managed to save the Prince in the end. The King thanked both of us graciously and then turned at last to the woman he had long believed was his foe.
    “Alia,” King Froptoppit said, walking slowly and somewhat sheepishly over to her. “It seems I owe you an apology. . . .”
    Without a word Alia stepped forward and threw her arms around King Froptoppit’s neck. All at once they seemed a very happy couple, just as they must have been long ago.
    “And here I was thinking you’d turned against me because of that little spat we’d had,” I heard King Froptoppit say.
    “What spat?” I