Chapter 33
“It’s not here!” Angela groaned impatiently, slumping onto the floor with a huff of frustration. She stretched her legs out in front of her as she sighed, completely deflated.
“It’s here somewhere,” Rafi countered, fisting his tiny hands on his hips in a favorite pose of his father’s.
Laith dropped down next to Angela, leaning his head against the wall. “We’ve looked everywhere.” He glanced over at his twin brother. “Read it again? Maybe we missed something.”
Rafi pulled the small piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “Amongst the tapestries old and grand, your next clue rests, waiting to be found."
Zayn squatted down in front of his cousins, not really interested in the hunt. He just liked being with the older cousins. Still, he pretended to search. He’d found a suspicious something a while ago, but since he was just starting to read, he wasn’t sure if it was important. But because his cousins were so frustrated, he pulled the piece of paper out and offered it to Laith.
“Could this help?” he offered.
“Where did you get that?” Laith demanded, leaning forward eagerly.
“Over there,” Zayn replied, indicating a small tapestry enclosed in glass. “It was just laying there on the floor, so I didn’t think it was what we were looking for.”
Rafi, Angela and Laith leaned in, their heads bowed as they read the next clue. “ Venture to the palace gardens fair, where floral scents fill the air.”
Angela’s eyes widened. She hadn’t put the green makeup on her nose today, tired of how the makeup made her face itch. But she continued to channel her favorite hero regardless.
“The gardens!” she gasped.
The children leapt to their feet, rushing to the door. Carefully, they peeked out into the hallway, looking both ways to ensure the coast was clear. The guards, alerted to their success by their charges’ eager voices, had already backed away, hiding behind the door and in the surrounding rooms so that the kids could head to the gardens unhindered.
One of the guards muttered into his microphone, “It’s one hundred and ten outside. Should we contact His Highness and ask for a distraction?”
“Affirmative,” the lead guard agreed.
Five minutes later, the foursome settled in the palace kitchen, eating chocolate cupcakes. Instead of green on Angela’s nose, she sported a chocolate smear and all was good with the world. For the moment.