Princess Juniper of Torr Read online

  Also by Ammi-Joan Paquette:

  Princess Juniper of the Hourglass

  Princess Juniper of the Anju

  PHILOMEL BOOKS

  an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014

  Copyright © 2017 by Ammi-Joan Paquette.

  Lower Continent map © 2015 by Dave Stevenson.

  Torr Castle map © 2017 by Dave Stevenson.

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  Philomel Books is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Paquette, Ammi-Joan, author.

  Title: Princess Juniper of Torr / Ammi-Joan Paquette.

  Description: New York, NY : Philomel Books, [2017]. | Series: Princess Juniper ; 3

  Summary: “Princess Juniper must rescue her father and kingdom from outside invaders”—Provided by publisher. | Identifiers: LCCN 2016030433 | ISBN 9780399171536 (hardback)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Princesses—Fiction. | Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction. | Adventure

  and adventurers—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Royalty. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.P2119 Pt 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016030433

  Ebook ISBN 9780698190948

  Edited by Jill Santopolo. Design by Siobhán Gallagher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Jacket art © 2017 by Erwin Madrid

  Cover design by Kelley Brady

  Version_1

  Contents

  Title Page

  Also by Ammi-Joan Paquette

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Map

  The Game Plan and the Players

  Things I Have Learned as the Ruler of Queen’s Basin

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Acknowledgments

  For Jill Santopolo:

  for making all of this possible

  The Game Plan and the Players

  Core Team

  Princess Juniper Torrence: Ruler of Queen’s Basin, excessive planner, sometimes-worrier, unafraid of a hard day’s work (new life skill!).

  Erick Dufrayne: Queen’s chief adviser, incurable bookworm, deep thinker, knows a little bit of everything there is to know (and can find the rest in his volumes).

  Alta Mavenham: Head guard of Queen’s Basin, supremely skilled soldier, fearless, loyal to the core.

  Tippy Larson: Queen’s maid, life of every party, eager young prankster, frolicking and playful always.

  Wildcards

  Cyril Lefarge: Son of King Regis’s traitorous chief adviser, former bully who is lately turning into a pretty decent fellow.

  Jessamyn (Jess) Ceward: Recast from an uppity layabout into an energetic young spymaster—a skill she learned from her father, Rogett Ceward, spy-for-hire (now imprisoned in the castle).

  Root Bartley: Cyril’s best friend and former henchman, now solidly loyal to Queen’s Basin; boy-of-all-trades and invaluable helper.

  Oona Dell: Middle Dell sibling, who made some poor choices in the past but recently settled down and became part of the team again.

  Support Staff

  Paul Perigor: Master of all green and growing things; soulful character; creative in all ways.

  Leena Ogilvy: A true lady-of-the-foods; runs the kitchen with energy and flair; pretty much the most important person around, all things considered.

  Roddy Rodin: Master woodworker and craftsman; if you pair his crafting skill with Erick’s creative mind for inventions, what can they not do?

  Toby Dell: The eldest of the Dell siblings; has a magic touch with the animals and has taken charge of their care.

  Sussi Dell: Youngest of the Dells; easygoing and friendly in nature; doer of all that needs doing.

  Filbert Terrafirm: The much-needed brawn of the group; lends his strength and bulk wherever it’s needed.

  External Contacts

  Zetta of the Anju: Newly minted ruler of the Anju tribe; my recent rival; a fearless and honorable girl I am proud to call my friend.

  Mother Odessa: An elder of the Anju and my long-lost grandmother; spending more time getting to know her is something I plan to do as soon as possible.

  Eglantine Ceward: Our mystery contact within the palace; elder sister of Jessamyn; ignored by the invaders due to her youth and deafness; our key ally in the plan to retake Torr Castle.

  Things I Have Learned as the Ruler of Queen’s Basin

  by Princess Juniper Torrence

  #1: It pays to dream big!

  It was little more than a month ago that I set out to build a country of my very own, high in the Hourglass Mountains: just me and my thirteen subjects. Now our tiny kingdom of Queen’s Basin is thriving and we are ready to take on our next challenge.

  #2: Being queen is harder than it looks.

  Maybe thriving isn’t the best word. We have had some huge setbacks, including a challenge to my throne (which I neatly took care of) and most recently a devastating flood that destroyed much of the work we’d done in building up our settlement.

  #3: True friends are worth their weight in berries.

  Despite the difficulties, Queen’s Basin is now stronger than ever, and that is all thanks to its wonderful citizens. We’ve grown ever so close—instead of the obstacles pulling us apart, each one we’ve faced has only made us a tighter group. Every person here has become a true friend!

  #4: Worry never disappears, but keeping busy helps.

  My biggest worry, every single day, is for the fate of my father and the kingdom of Torr. The night our group left for the Hourglass Mountains, Torr Castle was invaded. My father was captured and put in prison, along with the whole of his guard and all the loyal castle subjects. My father ordered our group to stay hidden up here, and we have done so until now. But that is about to change.

  #5: Planning and list making are extremely valuable assets.

  Torr has been invaded by the Monsian army. We are a group of fourtee
n kids. We are small, but we are mighty. I . . . do not have a complete plan yet. But figuring one out is the very next thing on my schedule.

  #6: It’s never too late to learn something new.

  The newest thing in my life has been getting to know the Anju, my mother’s people, who live the next mountain over from us. After some adventures, we have forged a sort of alliance with them. I suspect they will be quite essential as we move to reclaim Torr.

  #7: People really can change, sometimes in the most surprising ways.

  A great surprise of the last few weeks has been the transformation of my cousin Cyril. A lifelong bully of my childhood, he was caught up in his father’s plot to betray King Regis and aid the Monsian invasion. Recently he has shown an entirely new side, however, and he and I have found common ground at long last.

  #8: Fiery dracos are real. (I know, right?!)

  Zetta, the newly appointed teenage leader of the Anju, has managed to befriend an enormous fire salamander—better known as the fire-breathing draco of legend. She’s called him Floris, and he’s quite tame to her, but let any others cross him at their peril!

  #9: There’s not much that a good dance party can’t cure.

  Finally: I started Queen’s Basin because I wanted a place where every person could find their own glow, could be who they truly wanted to be. I am a princess, and a queen, but I’m also a girl. And sometimes there’s nothing that fits the moment better than putting on your dancing slippers, cranking up the old Musicker, and pumping out some tunes till the moon goes dark. Our next big party, I hope, will be held in the safety of the reclaimed walls of Torr Castle.

  1

  LEAVING QUEEN’S BASIN WAS PROVING HARDER than Juniper had expected.

  She’d spent a little over a month as queen of her very own tiny mountain country, ruling over the best group of young subjects around. Even the superheated flash flood that had swept through just days ago had not beaten them. Their settlement wasn’t yet rebuilt—that would take time, which they didn’t have right now—but though a little scruffier and more pockmarked than before, it was still their bowl-shaped, sun-dappled valley home.

  It was still Queen’s Basin.

  Now, though, it was time to turn their minds to bigger things: Time to face the enemy head-on. Time to save King Regis. Time to head back to Torr.

  Their saddlebags were stuffed with the last of their food supplies, and the horses they’d gotten back from the Anju were rested and raring to go. Two days ago, an early scouting team of Alta and Jess had ventured down the mountain to see what they could learn about the state of Torr. The scouts were due back any time now; if all went as planned, the whole group would head out tomorrow morning.

  Around Juniper, the valley was quiet in the dim evening light. But she could hear a buzz of activity coming from just up the mountain. With a grin, Juniper scrambled along the cliffside path. She pushed through the hanging bluevines into the Great Cave. There they all were: her fellow citizens of Queen’s Basin. Her friends. Nearly a dozen kids were jumbled in the giant cave room, each one bright-eyed and yammering as they went about their tasks: packing and repacking, triple-checking, all desperately busy on this last night before the big departure.

  “Princess Juniper!” called a deep voice to her left. It was Root, looking anxious. “Have you seen Cyril?”

  “Cyril?” Juniper frowned. Since their return from the Anju adventure, her cousin had reformed his bullying ways and had stopped spying for his traitorous father and the invading Monsians. He’d joined the group for meals and done chores alongside the others. But when was the last time she’d seen him? “Not since breakfast,” she said slowly.

  “Nor I,” said Root. “He said he wanted some time alone—I didn’t think anything of it. But now . . .”

  Juniper felt her stomach clench. Root was Cyril’s best friend. If he didn’t know where Cyril was, what did that mean?

  “Come on,” she said. “Let’s figure this out.”

  Against the far wall, Erick stood under a flaming wall sconce, completely absorbed by a clothbound volume entitled Treatise of the Stone: Lower Continental Maneuvers and Outmaneuvers over the Centuries.

  “We might have a problem,” Juniper called out. Looking up and seeing them, Erick whipped the book behind his back, clearly ashamed to be caught reading at such a busy time. Actually, though, anything else from him would have been weird. Nearby, Leena stopped brushing her horse and moved in closer to see what was going on.

  “Have either of you seen Cyril since breakfast?” Juniper asked them.

  Erick and Leena exchanged a look. Both shook their heads.

  “Could he have gone climbing and met some accident?” asked Erick.

  “Not likely,” said Root. He cleared his throat. “The thing is, his horse isn’t where it ought to be. He keeps it tethered right next to mine. His saddlebags are gone, too.”

  “You think he’s left us?” Erick said incredulously.

  “Why, that leech-faced lout!” Leena exclaimed. “I knew his goodsy turnabout was too neat to be true! Once a traitor, always a traitor, that’s what I say.”

  “Hold up, now,” Juniper said. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Cyril’s made some bad choices in the past, but that doesn’t mean he’s not changed. There might still be a reasonable explanation for this. He could have gone . . .”

  There was an awkward silence. Juniper met Erick’s eye. Where could Cyril have gone, with his horse and loaded saddlebags, and the group’s departure just around the corner? And with no word to anyone of what he had in mind?

  “There’s nowhere he could be that he ought to be,” said Erick quietly. “We move out as a group—that was always the plan. We all agreed.”

  Juniper thought of Cyril as he was weeks ago: hectoring, challenging, conniving. She thought of their recent exchanges, how he’d grown to be almost more of a brother than a cousin.

  There must be some explanation. There must.

  “We just hammered out our starting plan last night, didn’t we?” said Leena. “Set up the details for how and when we’d get in to the castle: legging it with the crowds until Summerfest, then sneaking inside the walls during the open celebration. Well? No sooner did he hear the news but that boy saw his chance and skedaddled.”

  “No,” said Juniper.

  Seeing their next steps all set out in the open, had Cyril reconsidered what he owed his father, the traitorous Monsian ally Lefarge? Or, worse, had Cyril been lying to them, to her, all along?

  Had Cyril ever truly been on their side?

  “I don’t like to doubt him,” said Erick. “Maybe there’s another explanation.”

  Leena snorted, and even Root looked pained. Juniper didn’t like it, either. Over the last few weeks, across the Anju Trials and all the difficulties there, Juniper had grown closer to Cyril than she’d ever thought possible. She’d seen a different side of her cousin than he had shown during their childhood. It seemed impossible to imagine him out there now, spilling their plans to the Monsians, bulking up the defenses around the captive king, and preparing Torr Castle against their incursion. Yet what else could explain him sneaking away without a word to anyone?

  The more they discussed and looked at all the angles, the clearer the plain facts stood out. Cyril was gone, along with his horse and his travel gear and up-to-date knowledge of how they planned to get inside Torr Castle.

  Oh, the cut went deep! Juniper clenched her fists and stared at the wall, while the others muttered around her.

  She’d been a fool to trust him. She saw that now. They just had to face the facts.

  Cyril had betrayed them again.

  2

  WITH EFFORT, JUNIPER PULLED HERSELF together. She squeezed her churning emotions into a hard ball and flung them to the back of her mind. From now on, she wouldn’t spare that blackguard one further thought.

  Next to her,
Erick was watching with a half grin.

  “What?” Juniper said, startled out of her funk. “What’s that gleam in your eye?”

  Leena, too, cracked a smile. “Only you’re that predictable, Princess Juniper,” she said.

  Erick nodded. “It’s like a whole three-act play just unfolded across your face. We’re now at the stage where our intrepid hero has settled upon a firm course of action and dives into it with verve and vigor.”

  Despite herself, Juniper laughed. “I wouldn’t say my course is at all firm right now. But I’m hanged if I’m going to let Cyril botch up everything we’ve been working for. Let’s get the rest of the team together, shall we? An emergency meeting is in order.”

  “Calling a meeting without your indispensable scouting party?” came a voice behind them. “I see we’ve made it back just in time.”

  “Why, ’tis our own Alta, alive and in the flesh!” Tippy’s shrill voice trumpeted up from suspiciously nearby. Apparently she’d been lurking in their conversation. Now, though, her voice was loud enough to bring over the rest of the group as she bounded toward the new arrivals.

  Alta was leading her magnificent stallion, Thunderstar, with Jess and the fine-boned Lady clattering close behind. The girls’ eyes were bright and their cheeks flushed from the long tramp through the cave tunnels. With a squeal, Tippy launched herself at Alta, who reached down to enfold the younger girl in a full-body embrace.

  “Well met,” Juniper said to the scouts, once the hugfest was done. “Your timing could not be better.”

  “We’re all packed up for tomorrow’s out-leaving, only just awaiting your return, and also we’ve had Cyril gad off us, so he’s a traitor all over again,” Tippy summarized, all in a rush.

  This was met with alarm from the larger group. Juniper waved her arms in the air. “All right, then, the news is out: It seems Cyril’s gone and left us without a word. We don’t know his reasons, but I think it’s safe to assume the worst.” Juniper sighed. “Still, we’re set to head out tomorrow at dawn, and there’s no way to push that any sooner. The scouts and their mounts need a night’s rest, and we can catch up on their news meanwhile. Plus, we’ve some powerful planning to do. Which, as with anything, is better done with food near at hand. Shall we regroup at the dining area?”