Star's Gaze, page 1
The Pegasus Princesses series
Mist’s Maze
Aqua’s Splash
Flip’s Fair
Star’s Gaze
The Unicorn Princesses series
Sunbeam’s Shine
Flash’s Dash
Bloom’s Ball
Prism’s Paint
Breeze’s Blast
Moon’s Dance
Firefly’s Glow
Feather’s Flight
The Moonbeams
The Wing Spell
For Phoenix and Lynx
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
“ It definitely needs another stripe,” Clara Griffin said, picking up a black marker from her family’s living room carpet. She pulled off the cap and stepped toward the spaceship she and her younger sister, Miranda, had made from a giant cardboard box. Balancing on her tiptoes, Clara colored in a thick black stripe that started at the tip of the rocket’s pointed nose and ended just above a triangular, tinfoil fin.
“That looks perfect,” Miranda said, taking a few steps back to admire the rocket.
“This stripe is magic,” Clara explained. “It gives the astronauts inside the spaceship x-ray vision. And this star,” Clara continued, outlining a five-pointed star with the marker, “gives the astronauts the ability to speak Gonglepondilglish.”
“What’s Gonglepondilglish?” Miranda asked, raising her eyebrows.
“It’s the language that the Gongles speak on Planet Pondilg,” Clara said. “What color do you think we should use to fill in the star?”
“How about pink?” Miranda suggested.
Clara nodded. She put the cap back on the black marker and surveyed the rest of the markers scattered on the floor. She saw red, orange, yellow, green, blue, teal, brown, and purple markers, but no pink. And then she remembered why. The day before, Clara had collected every pink marker in the house, taken them up to her bedroom, and used them to build a space station for her Popsicle-stick pegasus figures.
“I’ll go get the pink markers,” Clara said.
She dashed out of the living room, galloped up the stairs and down the hall, burst into her bedroom—and nearly tripped over a drawer she had emptied out and filled with a playground for her pegasus figures. She had made a swing set from a bent metal clothes hanger and string, a merry-go-round from a kitchen salad spinner, and a seesaw from two avocado mashers taped together and balanced on top of a saltshaker. Clara leaped forward over the drawer playground and stepped over a stack of papers covered in pictures of pegasus astronauts. She kneeled in front of a giant silver moon she had made by wrapping three layers of tin foil around her mother’s exercise ball. On top of the moon was the space station, built out of pink markers and masking tape. Clara grabbed up the markers and peeled off the tape. As she turned to leave the room, she heard a high-pitched humming noise.
Clara paused. At first she thought the noise might be her father running the blender in the kitchen or her mother turning on the lawn mower outside. But the noise was softer and higher than the blender or the lawn mower. And it was coming from somewhere much closer: underneath Clara’s bed!
Clara grinned with excitement. She reached under her bed and pulled out a shoebox she had decorated with paint, glitter, and sequins. She flipped open the box. Inside was a large silver feather. The feather hummed louder and louder. Glittery light shot up and down its spine. The feather had been a gift from the pegasus princesses—eight royal pegasus sisters who ruled over the Wing Realm, a magical world in which all the creatures had wings. Each pegasus princess was a different color and had a unique magical power. Silver Princess Mist could turn invisible. Teal Princess Aqua could breathe underwater and make magic bubbles. Peach Princess Flip could do a special somersault and turn into any animal. Black Princess Star had extraordinary senses. Pink Princess Rosetta—Rosie for short—could speak and understand any language. Green Princess Stitch could sew, knit, or crochet anything. Purple Princess Dash could instantly transport herself anywhere in the Wing Realm. And white Princess Snow could make winter weather and freeze any liquid.
When the pegasus princesses wanted to invite Clara to the Wing Realm for a special occasion, they made the feather hum and shimmer—just the way it was humming and shimmering now! To visit the Wing Realm, all Clara had to do was bring the feather to a special clearing in the woods surrounding her family’s house.
Clara stood up and jumped with excitement. Holding the feather in one hand and the pink markers in the other, she sidled around the moon, hopped over her drawings, and took a giant step over the drawer playground. She was halfway through her bedroom doorway when she looked down and realized she was still wearing the astronaut costume she and her sister had made out of bubble wrap, some garbage bags, and silver duct tape. Clara loved her space suit, but she didn’t want to wear it to the Wing Realm, where it might get torn while she rode on the backs of the pegasus princesses, ran, climbed, and even sometimes swam.
Clara carefully took off her space suit. Underneath she was wearing pink corduroy pants decorated with black stars, a white T-shirt with the silhouette of a silver moon on the front, and bright orange socks. Clara slid her feet into her light green canvas sneakers, tucked the magic feather into her pants pocket, and grabbed the pink markers again. She sprinted out of her room, along the hall, down the stairs two steps at a time, and into the living room.
Clara handed her sister the markers and said, “I’ll be right back.” Time in the human world froze while Clara was in the Wing Realm, so even if she spent hours with the pegasus princesses, Miranda would think she had been away for only a few minutes.
Miranda frowned. “Why did you take off your spacesuit? Aren’t we still playing astronauts?” she asked.
“We are definitely still playing astronauts,” Clara said. “I just need to collect some pebbles from the woods to use as buttons for the inside of the rocket. I’ll put my spacesuit on again as soon as I’m back.”
Miranda nodded. “See you in a minute,” she said, turning to the star on the side of the spaceship and coloring it in with a bright pink marker.
Clara raced out the back door, across her yard, and into the woods. She leaped over the creek where she and Miranda liked to make potions. She pulled the magic feather from her pocket and jogged down a hill and into a clearing with a large pine tree.
Glittery light swirled in front of her. A green velvet armchair with large silver wings on its back appeared. The armchair jumped into the air and did a somersault.
Clara giggled. “Hello, chair,” she said. “It’s nice to see you too.”
The chair hopped from side to side. It leaped to Clara, nudged her two times, spun in a circle, and fluttered its wings as it waited.
Clara patted the chair’s back and slipped the silver feather into her pocket. She sat down and said, “Take me to Feather Palace, please.”
The chair jumped onto a pine tree bough and bounced up and down. It soared upward, skidded across the top of Clara’s house’s brick chimney, and sprang straight up into the sky. Clara clutched the chair’s arms as everything went pitch black and the chair began to spin, faster and faster. Then Clara and the chair landed with a clatter on a tile floor.
Clara sucked in her breath as she admired the front hall of Feather Palace. Painted portraits of the eight pegasus princesses and their pet cat, Lucinda, hung on the magenta walls. Chandeliers cast sparkling light on the black tile floors. Pegasus fountains spouted rainbow water. Pegasus sculptures reared up, wings outstretched, from pedestals. In the center of the room, arranged in a half-circle, were the pegasus princesses’ eight thrones. Lucinda’s sofa—silver with a back shaped like a cat head—was pushed up against Star’s throne. And on it Lucinda lay curled in a tight ball, fast asleep.
Clara looked around the front hall for the pegasus princesses. And then she spotted them next to an open window, huddled around what looked like a purple telescope with eight eyepieces. For a few seconds, Clara watched her friends. And then she called out, “Hello!”
The pegasus princesses jumped in surprise and turned around. As soon as they saw Clara, they reared up, whinnied, and galloped over to her.
“I’m thrilled you’re here,” Star said, hopping from side to side. “You’ve arrived just in time.”
“Welcome back, human friend,” Mist said, trotting in a circle around Clara.
“We’ve been hoping you would come,” Aqua said.
“We have a fun afternoon planned,” Dash whispered.
Rosie nodded.
Flip winked.
Stitch and Snow swished their tails.
“I can’t wait to tell you what we’re doing this afternoon,” Star said in a soft voice. “But I’m going to have to whisper it into your ear so someone—” Star paused and glanced over at Lucinda, who was still asleep, “doesn’t hear. Every once in a while, she pretends to be asleep.”
The other seven pegasus princesses grinned and nodded.
Star leaned up to Clara’s ear and whispered, “Today is Lucinda’s birthday, and I have organized a surprise party for her. Would you like to join us?”
“Yes!” Clara whispered in a voice that was a little too loud. Clara blushed. She had never been good at whispering.
Star laughed. “I had a feeling you’d say yes,” she said. “Are you ready for the best part?”
Clara’s eyes widened. She nodded.
“We are holding the party with Lucinda’s six cousins, the mooncats, on the Catmoon,” Star whispered.
Clara raised her eyebrows. “What is the Catmoon?” she asked.
“It’s the Wing Realm’s very own moon. We were just looking at it through the octogoloctoscope,” Star said, now using her normal voice. “Would you like to see it?”
“Definitely,” Clara said.
“Come right this way,” Star said, and she trotted over to the instrument Clara had thought looked like a telescope. “We used to have a normal monogoloctoscope with just one eyepiece,” Star explained. “But my sisters and I spent so much time arguing over whose turn it was to use it that we decided to get this one. Pick any eyepiece and look through it.”
Clara leaned toward one of the octogoloctoscope’s eyepieces. She closed her left eye and looked through it with her right eye. Clara sucked in her breath with delight. Hanging against a dark lavender backdrop was a silver ball with two mountains that looked like cat ears and two giant green lakes that looked like cat eyes.
“Do you see it?” Star asked.
“Yes,” Clara said. “I had no idea the Wing Realm even had a moon.”
Star leaned toward Clara’s ear and whispered, “We told Lucinda we’re all traveling to the Catmoon this afternoon to help her cousins clean their castle. She’s irritated she has to do chores on her birthday. She’ll be surprised when she discovers we’re throwing a party for her instead.”
“Clara?” a sleepy voice purred. “Is that you?”
Clara turned away from the octogoloctoscope and skipped over to Lucinda, who was stretching and yawning. “Happy birthday, Lucinda,” Clara said, kneeling next to Lucinda and scratching behind her ears.
“Thank you,” Lucinda said, purring. Then she sat up and frowned. “Can you believe the pegasus princesses and my cousins are making me clean on my birthday?” she sniffed. “It’s bound to be the worst birthday ever.”
“That sounds miserable,” Clara said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known it was your birthday I would have tried to convince the pegasus princesses to at least hold a small party for you.”
“They say they’re too busy for a party,” Lucinda said, flashing an annoyed look at Star.
“I’m sorry, Lucinda, but the mooncats’ castle is dirty,” Star said. “We just can’t wait another day to clean it.”
Rosie shook her head. “We’ll be cleaning for hours. There’s no time for a party.”
Stitch, Snow, and Dash nodded.
“It’s too bad we can’t celebrate your birthday this year,” Aqua said.
“Next year, maybe we can try to have a party,” Mist said.
Lucinda frowned. “What I’d really like is a guessing game birthday party,” she said. “I’ve told you that a million times. But no one seems to have listened.”
“What did you say?” Star asked.
“See?” Lucinda said, looking at Clara. “No one listens to me. At least you’re here to make things slightly more festive.” Lucinda grinned. “Will you play a guessing game with me? Please?”
Clara looked at Star. “Is there time for one guessing game before we go clean the castle?” she asked.
“In just a minute, Clara and I have to leave for the Catmoon to get all the brooms, mops, and feather dusters organized,” Star said. “But there’s time for one quick game.”
“How about,” Lucinda suggested, “if I guess your favorite fruit in three guesses.”
“Okay,” Clara said.
Lucinda flew into the air, did a somersault, and touched her cool, pink nose to the tip of Clara’s nose. “I’ve got it!” she said. “Is it lurdivicto?”
“I have never had lurdivicto,” Clara said.
“Rats!” Lucinda said. “Lurdivicto is a very good fruit. You should try it sometime. How about poppletoppleberries?”
“I haven’t had those, either,” Clara said.
“Double rats!” Lucinda said. She zoomed in a circle and landed on Clara’s sneakers. “I’ll get it this time. How about crapplegrock?”
“I haven’t tried crapplegrock, either,” Clara said. “I’m afraid the answer is mango.”
“Triple rats!” Lucinda said. “What in the world is mango?”
“It sounds more like the name of a dance than a fruit,” Star said.
“Or the name of a special hat,” suggested Snow.
“Or even the name of a flying scooter,” Dash added.
“But definitely not like a fruit,” Mist said.
The pegasus princesses and Lucinda shook their heads in wonder. Clara giggled. “I’d love to try lurdivicto, poppletoppleberries, and crapplegrock some time,” she said.
“Well,” Star said with a stern face. “You absolutely will not be able to try them this afternoon. We have a job to do on the Catmoon, and there will be no opportunities for fun or snacks. Clara, let’s go get to work.”
Clara bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Star kneeled, and Clara climbed onto her back. Star looked at her sisters and said, “I’ll meet you at the mooncats’ castle in two hours.”
“I’ll come a little early to help organize the mops,” Rosie said.
Lucinda looked at Star and Clara. “Can I come with you?” she asked. “I’d love extra time with Clara and my cousins.”
The pegasus princesses exchanged nervous looks.
“Um, well,” Star began, “I’d love for you to join us but there might not be room in the rocket for the three of us.”
“I could sit on Clara’s lap,” Lucinda suggested.
“It’s just that—” Star began.
“Lucinda,” Aqua said, smiling enthusiastically, “I have plenty of room for you to ride to the Catmoon with me in my rocket. We can leave really soon. But first, want to play ten guessing games? I’ll give you thirty guesses for each one!”
Lucinda purred with delight and scampered over to Aqua.
Star winked at her sisters and galloped toward the front doors of the palace. The doors swung open to reveal a clear blue sky and an ocean of green treetops below. Star leaped out through the doors and soared into the sky.
For a moment, Clara turned around and admired Feather Palace. The castle, which looked like two silver wings, sparkled in the sun.
“I feel a little bad that Lucinda is so unhappy about her birthday,” Star said. “But she loves surprises and she loves guessing games. I think she’ll be ecstatic when she sees what we have planned.”
“Will there be guessing games at the party?” Clara asked.
“Oh yes,” Star said. “The mooncats and my sisters and I all worked together to get Lucinda a special gift that’s perfect for anyone who loves guessing games. It’s a gromplesnocker. There will be as many guessing games as Lucinda and her cousins want to play.”
Clara was about to ask what a gromplesnocker was when Star said, “If you look straight up, you can just make out the rocket launch cloud.”
Clara looked upward and squinted. Sure enough, she saw a black, glittery cloud. The cloud grew bigger and bigger as Star flew higher and higher. “In the human world, do you keep your spaceships on a cloud, too?” Star asked.
Clara giggled. “I don’t have my own spaceship in the human world,” she said.
“What?” Star said. “Really?”
“Really,” Clara said.
“Do you just borrow someone’s when you need one?”
“Actually,” Clara said, “I’ve never been in a spaceship before, and I don’t know anyone who has.”
Star paused in stunned silence. “What do you do when you need to visit a moon?”
“This will be my first time going to a moon,” Clara said.
“That is incredible,” Star gasped. “Well, in that case, I feel honored to host your first rocket trip. Luckily, we’re almost to the launch cloud.”
Star flew up to the black glittery cloud and landed right next to a line of eight pegasus-sized spaceships. There was a silver spaceship that said MIST on its side, a teal spaceship that said Aqua, a peach spaceship that said Flip, a black spaceship that said Star, a pink spaceship that said Rosie, a white spaceship that said Snow, a green spaceship that said Stitch, and a lavender spaceship that said Dash on its side.
