The Daughters Daring (The Daughters Daring & The Enchanted Forest Book 1) (3 page)

Chapter 4

     “No, the question is: Who are you?” Emily countered, ready to launch another rock at the army of gnomes surrounding them.

     The old gnome grunted and said, “We're the forest gnomes. My name is Randolph, I am the leader of the forest gnomes. Well, we don't actually have titles of authority, but I am the “unofficial” leader as it were. It all started one day when the gnomish high council got together and realized that we had no official leadership. Even the high council was just a gathering of any gnome who chose to show up to meetings, which was usually any gnome who wasn't already engaged elsewhere. Say, those eyes are familiar, by any chance are you related to Duke Daring?”     

     Elizabeth stepped forward, amazed that the gnome had stopped to take a breath. “Yes, he is our father. We are the Daughters Daring. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

     Randolph looked surprised and all the gnomes behind him began to whisper quietly to each other. It had been a while since gnomes had actually talked to humans, let alone two who were related to Highcynder’s most famous hero!

     “Yes, Daughters Daring,” Randolph answered. “Your suspicions are correct. We have been watching you today.”

     “And you helped us at the gate?” Elizabeth asked.

     “Yes, that was our doing.” Randolph said.

     “Why?”

     Randolph hesitated a moment and scratched his little white beard. Emily thought he looked quite distinguished for such a peculiar little fellow.

     “We need your help, Daughters Daring,” He answered. “We thought at first your people had taken all the sweetberries and left none for ourselves. We see now that we were wrong.”

     “When we saw your plight,” Randolph continued, “we realized it was something worse.”

     “You mean the goblins?” Emily asked.

     “Yes, and no,” he said. “We discovered the goblins took the sweetberries, but they are not acting alone. They have a plan, which they couldn’t have come up with by themselves.”

     “Who then?” Elizabeth asked.

     “The ogre king,” Randolph said.

     Several gnomes gasped at the name. Emily and Elizabeth had heard of him, as well, through their father’s stories. The fiercest and meanest of all the ogres, he was said to be as tall as two men, and ate horses for snacks. He had been banished to the Craggy Mountains, almost a decade before, by Duke Daring and a band of adventurous knights.

     “Why would the ogre king take our sweetberries?” Emily asked. “He must know we will find him out and our king will send more knights to defeat him.”

“This time, he is aided by a witch,” Randolph said. “Our scouts have not seen her, but we have recognized her dark presence. Sweetberries add a certain potency to any magical concoction they are mixed with, especially sleeping potions. That would make them valuable to her.”

     “How would sweetberries play any part in a sleeping potion?” Elizabeth asked.

     Emily stood quietly thinking it over. She had set her backpack down to relax her shoulders. “Well, Liz, are you sure it’s impossible? It does seem like every time I eat sweetberry pie I am sleepy afterward. Maybe the witch is magnifying their ability to make you relaxed and sleepy.”

     Elizabeth looked surprised, as if this was the last thing she expected Emily to say.

     “Don't look at me that way, Elizabeth! I can be just as smart as you are.”

     “I didn't say anything!” Elizabeth said defensively. “Any way, of course you know everything that has to do with food.” She snickered at her own retort, while Emily stuck out her tongue in response.

     Meanwhile, Randolph was standing with crossed arms and was impatiently tapping his foot. Several other gnomes had started exploring their surroundings, picking up rocks and examining flowers. Two of them were in an argument about how many goblins it would take to light a candle. This joke seemed very strange to Elizabeth, as she had not heard it before. It was apparent to her that gnomes were very easily distracted.

     “This is wasting time!” Randolph growled. 

     “All right," Emily responded, "if the ogre king has the sweetberries, where do we find him so we can get them back?"

     “It won't be so easy,” Randolph said. “You may have your father's courage, but the ogre king is a fierce creature! Knights have fallen before him."

     “Hmmm,” Emily considered. “Perhaps we should go to Father and—."

     “Fierce creature my boot!” Elizabeth interrupted boldly. “He has yet to cross paths with the Daughters Daring! Besides, we're not going to confront him openly, anyway.”

     “We're not?” Emily asked, not quite getting the whole idea, but she could tell her sister was up to something.

     “Of course not,” answered Elizabeth, glad to have everyone’s attention. “Ogres may be fierce, but they're not the sharpest swords in the scabbard, as Father would say. They're actually not very bright at all. We are going to sneak in and take the sweetberries right out from under his ugly old nose!"

     “Sneak in?” Emily was beginning to think her sister might have fallen on her head, back in the cave. “We'll more likely be captured and eaten with that plan! That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard of!!"

     Emily's words stung Elizabeth. Sometimes sisters could be your best friend, and other times say some of the meanest things. Elizabeth prided herself on her wits and felt her anger growing. She was especially hurt that her sister would say such a thing in front of the gnomes.

     “Is not!” Elizabeth shot back. “You’re just jealous that you didn't think of it first! You're jealous that I am smarter than you!"

     “I am not jealous!” Emily yelled. “You are jealous that I am older and have more privileges. And I’m better at sports!”

     “You're better at sports because you act like a boy. It's no wonder Father calls me his little princess! You have the poise of a farm boy!”

     “Take that back!” Emily cried. Her sister's words had found their mark. Her eyes were starting to sting with tears.

     “I will not!” Elizabeth answered, defiantly. “Why don't you just go back home; I can clearly do this without you getting in the way!”

     “Fine!” Emily screamed. “I hope the goblins get you and take you away! My life was much better before you showed up!”

     Both sisters now felt the sting of harsh words. Elizabeth threw up her shoulders with a “hmmph,” and turned down the trail past the goblin cave. Emily turned the other way, practically knocking over several gnomes as she picked up her pack and stormed off into the forest.

     “This is not good,” Randolph fretted. “Not good at all.”

Chapter 5

     Emily was walking farther into the forest, down another path she had found, angrily kicking stones and not paying much attention to where she was going. She was thinking of the mean things Elizabeth had said to her. Little sisters could be so disagreeable! Emily was just as capable and smart as she needed to be, and smart enough to know when one of Elizabeth's schemes was too dangerous for them.

     The thought of danger had just started her thinking about the forest, again, when she heard a soft crunching sound behind her. She turned around but saw nothing, and the noise stopped.

     She had only taken a few steps when the noise returned. “Who's there?” She demanded, whirling around but still finding no one there. She gripped her staff more tightly.

     “Hullo,” said a small voice. Again, it sounded like it came from behind her. Emily spun around, determined to confront whoever was following her. The path was bare.

     “Where are you?” Emily asked, still annoyed with her sister and growing impatient with this voice.

     “In here,” the voice said. Now it sounded somewhat muffled, but very close to her ear.

     Realizing where it came from, Emily removed her backpack and opened it. Inside she found a tiny gnome helping himself to some of her snacks. This gnome had red shoes and a noticeable pot belly, probably from eating other people’s snacks.

     “Hey! How'd you get in there?” Emily demanded.

     “Oh, terribly sorry,” the gnome answered, "but after the ruckus with the goblins, I was fatigued and hungry. This looked like a comfortable place to enjoy a quick nap, and I was so delighted to find that you had food in here, as well!”

     “And I see you helped yourself to it,” Emily said, a little perturbed. “Who are you, anyway? And, if I may ask, why are you so much smaller than the other gnomes?”

     “Apologies again, Miss Daring. My name is Periwinkle!” he said, bowing as well as he could from his cozy spot among her snacks. “And I am a garden gnome! We’re not as big as our forest gnome cousins, but we are quite resourceful.”

“I see. Well, hello, Periwinkle. Would you mind getting out of my backpack?” Emily was trying her best to be cordial.

"Hmm?” Periwinkle responded, while absently munching on a biscuit. “Oh, actually, I'm quite comfortable in here, and was hoping I could stay a while.”

     Emily frowned and was ready to dump him out, when she heard a scream in the distance.

     “My sister’s in trouble!” Emily took off running toward the scream, tossing her backpack, and the small gnome in it, onto her back in one quick motion. “Hang on Liz,” she called out as she ran, “I'm coming!”

     Emily cut through the forest now, leaving the path and her earlier annoyance behind. She did not know that leaving a path in the Enchanted Forest was never a wise choice. Though plenty of paths lead safely, this way and that, once off the paths, it was easy to become lost, or worse.

     She had run in the direction of her sister's screams, but it seemed the sound was moving farther away. She stopped and turned around, but nothing in the forest seemed familiar. Something was not right, she thought. Even the trees seemed to move whenever she looked away.

     Emily heard the scream again, and was sure of the direction, this time.  A wall of vines hung between her and her sister. She plunged straight in, hoping to push her way through to the other side, but the vines would not budge. Even worse, they started wrapping around her, ensnaring her arms and legs and actually lifting her off the ground until she was bundled like a package and hanging in mid-air.

     And then came the goblins.

     “Here's another fine mess Elizabeth has gotten me into,” she muttered to herself, as they carried her away.



     Elizabeth had been dealing with her own problems since leaving her sister and the bothersome gnomes. First, she had wasted her time on a trail that seemed to lead in endless circles. She had also failed to find any more clues, not even a single dropped sweetberry! Worst of all, she could hear her sister yelling in the distance, calling her name at the top of her lungs. What was wrong with her? Did she want to alert the entire goblin army of their location?

Elizabeth’s boldness increased as she walked. She didn't really need her sister along to solve the sweetberry mystery, but her mother would be very cross if she came home alone, even if she single-handedly saved the kingdom, which she was sure would be the outcome. For now, she would just have to rescue her bumbling sister and hope that she did not get in the way.

     Elizabeth headed in the direction of her sister's loud yelling, but much as Emily had experienced, she found the voice hard to pinpoint. She wandered this way and that, sure she was getting closer, until the direction of the voice changed again.

     She stopped and tried to remember the tales about the Enchanted Forest, which was known for magical mischief on unsuspecting wanderers. She closed her eyes, let out a deep sigh, and tried to use all of her senses. She felt a light breeze on her skin, could hear a bird chirping in the distance, and she smelled—something putrid.

     It was the smell of goblins.

     Elizabeth had no sooner readied her bow with an arrow than several goblins popped out of the forest, surrounding her. As they threw a small hunting net over her, she screamed for her sister, but it was too late. They bundled her up, and two of them carried her away over their shoulders.

     “This is all Emily's fault,” she complained to herself, as they carried her down into another entrance to the cave.