Akiko in the Castle of Alia Rellapor (10 page)

 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 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 asked.

“Oh, it was just a silly little misunderstanding, Akiko,” Alia explained with a smile. “I’m sure we can hardly even remember what it was about now, can we, dear?”

“Indeed,” the King agreed, chuckling. “A laughably trivial matter, as I recall.”

“Now hang on a minute, here,” I said, planting my hands firmly on my hips. “We’ve gone through an awful lot of trouble to get the two of you back together. I want some details on this little spat of yours.”

“Yes, well . . . ,” King Froptoppit began, turning to Alia with a look of mild discomfort, “. . . correct me if I’m wrong, dear, but it was something about my last name not being quite
good
enough for you, wasn’t it?”

“Come now,” Alia answered very matter-of-factly, turning to address everyone present, “I’m sure you’d all agree that ’Alia Froptoppit’ doesn’t have nearly the same
lilt
as ’Alia Rellapor.’”

“I think ’Froptoppit’ has an
abundance
of lilt,” the King answered with an angry snort.

“Okay, okay, I get the general idea!” I said. “Look, you two have got to
watch
it with these little spats. That’s when guys like Throck step in and turn everything upside down!”

King Froptoppit walked toward me, dropped down on one knee, and placed his hands on my shoulders.

“You’re quite right, Akiko,” he said very solemnly. “
Quite
right. Alia and I owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid. Indeed, you’ve done more than just reunite our family. You’ve saved the planet Smoo from tyranny!”

He stopped and took several big sniffs with his oversized nose.

SHNIFF SHNIFF SHNIFF.

“Ahem,” he coughed, rising to his feet. “Now don’t take this personally, but I’m ordering all of you to the royal bathhouses to be, er,
freshened
up
a bit.”

Mr. Beeba, Spuckler, and I all stared at each other and blushed. Let’s face it: Five days without a bath doesn’t do much for a person’s body odor. We were all
seriously
stinky.

“When you’re done with that, we will reconvene in the royal gardens,” King Froptoppit announced, his voice now filled with gleeful anticipation. “Today there will be a celebration in this palace the likes of which you’ve never seen!”

 Chapter 20 

The rest of
the day was a bit of a blur. I was escorted to the royal bathhouses by a team of heavyset women who led me from one scented, steamy pool to the next. One of them washed my hair, another scrubbed my feet, and yet another filed my nails. Finally they just let me soak for a while in a hot tub that swirled gently around me like a slow-motion whirlpool.

While I was in the baths, someone had washed and pressed my T-shirt and jeans and all my other clothes (they even replaced my shoelaces!), so when I got dressed I felt as clean and fresh as the night I’d left home. Even cleaner, really, if you want to know the truth.

I was then led out to the royal gardens, which were every bit as gorgeous as Prince Froptoppit had said. There were trees of every size and shape and flowers of every color. In the middle of the garden was an enormous yellow tent stretched over table after table of
delicious-looking food. A large band of musicians was making beautiful but very unusual music, like a symphony slowly being played backward.

In the center of everything stood a big round table for the guests of honor. Spuckler was there, having
evidently just received a shave and a haircut. He looked very handsome but very embarrassed to be so clean! Mr. Beeba was dressed in some sort of official robe, with matching gloves and a very scholarly-looking hat. Gax had been polished up as clean as they could make him. (Actually I couldn’t see much of a difference, but at least they’d tried.) And of course Poog was there too. I don’t know if he’d been given a bath or not, but he certainly looked happy and very proud.

The gates of the gardens were thrown open so that all the people of Smoo could join in the festivities. The
band played tune after tune, songs that flowed seamlessly from one melody to the next. Couples danced and children played games. Royal stewards brought tray after tray of hot food and sparkling juices in dozens of colors. I ate and ate until I couldn’t eat another bite.

King Froptoppit, Alia Rellapor, and the Prince came by our table to thank us again and again. The King invited me to stay a few more days on Smoo, but I told him I thought it was really time for me to go back home.

Home! I’d been so busy with everything I’d almost stopped
thinking
of home. Would I really be able to go there soon?

As the evening sun went down, the party continued, but I asked King Froptoppit if I could leave early.

“I’ve had so much fun today, King Froptoppit,” I told him, “but I need to sleep in my own bed tonight, if you know what I mean.”

“I understand, Akiko,” he answered with a sad-
looking smile. “But you must promise to come back soon. We’re all going to miss you terribly, you know.”

All my friends from Smoo walked along with me as I headed toward the ship that would take me home. It was a little round blue-and-red-and-yellow ship, just like the one that had brought me here.

“Don’t forget to write,” Mr. Beeba said, not bothering to explain how I was supposed to send a letter all the way from another galaxy.

“An’ don’t work too hard at school,” Spuckler advised, drawing an angry glance from Mr. Beeba.

“
YOU
WILL
COME BACK TO SEE US AGAIN, MA’AM, WON’T YOU
?
”
Gax asked, his squeaky mechanical voice sounding unusually emotional.

“Definitely, Gax” I answered. “This isn’t the last you’ll see of me, I promise.”

Alia Rellapor and the Prince thanked me one last time for everything I’d done. So did Spuckler and Mr. Beeba and everyone else. By the end of it I was just about ready to cry. My throat felt all choked up and my hands were shaking. I gave everyone a hug, one at a time, and finally made my way to the back of the ship.

I climbed aboard and waved goodbye to everyone as Bip and Bop revved up the engines. The little ship rose from the platform, and soon I was presented with a dazzling view of the palace just as the sun sank behind the horizon. Everyone waved to me from below, and I kept my eyes on them for as long as I could before they disappeared from sight.

I sank into the backseat as we continued rising into the air, and I sighed deeply. Only then did I realize Poog was there beside me.

He smiled at me, saying goodbye in his own quiet way. I leaned over and gave him one last hug. I must have held him next to me for more than a minute. Then I let go and watched him float back from me a foot or two. He blinked once or twice, smiled again, and then zipped away into the cool evening air. I watched him go back toward the palace in a long slow arc. Soon the entire planet was visible from our little ship; then it grew smaller and smaller and finally became indistinguishable from the all the stars around it.

I was on my way home.