Julianna's Quest: The Rescue of Queen Catherine

By Brigid Lawrence and Kevin Lawrence

Queen Catherine of Bellwood has been kidnapped! Her daughter, Julianna, is determined to rescue her, and with the help of her friends, she sets off to foil the plot of the horrid Duke, Dorrance DeWitt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 29, 2001
• ISBN: 9781469714141

Brigid Lawrence

Kevin Lawrence lives in Kenmore,NY with his daughters. He enjoys softball, reading and the New York Yankees. Brigid Lawrence is a ten year old fifth grader at St. John the Baptist School. She loves reading, animals, and exploring the great outdoors.

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All Rights Reserved © 2001 by Kevin M. Lawrence

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

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ISBN: 0-595-19540-7

ISBN 978-1-4697-1414-1 (ebook)

Contents

Chapter One The Grend

Chapter Two In the Larder

Chapter Three The Queen on the Road

Chapter Four Greycloak

Chapter Five A New Partner

Chapter Six The Ransom

Chapter Seven To Fredericksburgh

Chapter Eight The King’s Gift

Chapter Nine At the Inn

Chapter Ten Quentin and Lusa

Chapter Eleven A Proclamation

Chapter Twelve Into the Castle

Chapter Thirteen Out of the Castle

Chapter Fourteen Catherine of Bellwood

About the Author

To Rob Trabucchi, for his dragons and dungeons, and for Brigid, for imagination and fire.

The Authors Would Like To Thank–

Rick Harrington, for suggesting it in the first place, and for Rome, Lyndy Branton, for finding things, both big and small, Dawn Wertz, for making it look so good, Murtha Lawrence, for a sense of humor and perspective, Rosemary Trabucchi for potatoes, and, always, Nancy.

CHAPTER ONE

THE GREND

In the quiet of the very early morning, she waited. Julianna knew the only way she had any chance to catch the creature would be to surprise it. And so, from the cover of a rather wide, friendly oak, she hid.

The sun was just beginning to turn the forest shapes into things she could recognize. To her right, she could see the tree line end at the steep hill that ran down to the Western River. Ahead, the trees grew denser, and the underbrush was thicker. There were more trees to her left, and behind her, from where she had come, the grassy meadow that separated the forest from her home, the Castle Bellwood.

Julianna peeked her head around the left of the oak tree. Almost twenty feet away was a small, three-legged animal, munching on red berries growing on a bush. It was a grend, an extremely fast dog like thing, known to remain forever loyal to a human captor. But that was just the problem. Catching one was almost impossible.

While the grend ate, Julianna slipped her rope off her shoulder and carefully played out large circles at her feet. Near the end of the rope she had tied a loop to act as a lasso. She knew that she would only have one chance, and that her aim would have to be perfect. She thought of her hours of practice with her friend, Sam.

*          *          *

Jules, get your arm up!" yelled Sam.

For most of the afternoon he had been yelling at her, and Julianna’s patience was wearing out. She was doing her best to throw the rope where she wanted it to go, but it just wasn’t going there. Each time she threw, he had some other piece of advice to give. And, he wasn’t being very nice about giving it. Sam was not a kindly teacher.

Can’t you see I’m trying? she whined.

You’re throwing it sideways, he said.

I am not! she countered, although it looked as though she were, she knew that. But if she admitted it to herself, she was afraid she’d never get the hang of this.

Sam walked to her side, and for the umpteenth time, he raised her left hand almost straight up, next to her ear.

Let it go from here, Sam said.

He held her hand in his, and pushed forward. It was beginning to really hurt when he did that, and she caught her breath.

Are you all right, Jules? he asked.

I’m fine. Fine! she said, maybe a little too loudly.

We can stop whenever you-

No! she cried. We’re doing this! I’m doing this, until I get it right! If you want to go, just go, I’ll do it myself!

Hey. I’m not going anywhere, Sam replied.

They began again, with Sam standing just beyond a tree stump, which served as Julianna’s target. Julianna, some forty feet away, wrapped her rope for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was probably close to that. With almost fifty feet of rope coiled loosely in her right hand, she brought the opposite end up almost to shoulder height. She twirled the loop, once, twice, her arm rose higher, three times, and let the rope fly.

Sam’s eyes grew as large as horseshoes, and he quickly took two steps back from the stump as the rope descended directly at him. The loop fell, and settled perfectly around the stump. She had done it!

Well done, Jules! Well done! Just like Harrison! said Sam.

This was high praise, she knew, comparing her throw to that of Edward Harrison, perhaps the best trapper in the kingdom. She understood that she was far from that good, but inside, her pride was welling, and it felt wonderful.

Thank you, Sam, she said quietly. She began reeling the rope in, so that she could throw again.

*          *          *

Julianna could not believe her luck. The grend, which stood almost three feet high, still was completely unaware of her presence, even as she ever so slowly began to raise the rope out, away from her left side.

She sidestepped, to get out from behind the shelter of the oak, and let fly. She wasn’t ever sure if it was her movement or the small grunt she made exhaling as she threw, but the grend saw or heard something. It twisted its smallish head around and looked directly at Julianna. Then, too late, it picked its head up, to follow the motion of the already descending lasso. The animal turned, and reared onto its back leg. The lasso settled over its head.

Julianna’s grip tightened around her end of the rope just in time.

The grend leapt forward, heading for the Western River, and, it thought, freedom. Julianna was pulled forward ferociously, and as her right shoulder banged angrily into the oak, she screamed.

Ooowww!–and then she hit the ground, flat on her stomach.

If anyone had seen this happening, they would have found it very funny. A small, tan, three-legged grend, hopping through the edge of the forest, with a noose around it’s neck, trailed by a twelve year old girl, now bouncing over the ground and low bushes, getting muddy and scratched.

Stop! Stop! she yelled.

But it seemed the grend had no intention of stopping. It ran on, now reaching the last of the trees at the top of the hill that led to the river.

Here, it slowed, giving Julianna a chance to scramble to one knee, and set her foot. She pulled, with all the strength she could gather. The lasso tightened around the grend’s neck. It balked, bucked once more, and then stood still, just at the top of the hill. Julianna began to gather in the rope, being sure as she walked toward the animal that her grip never really loosened.

I won’t hurt you, she said, as she got within a few feet of the grend. She could now see that it was a male, probably only five or six years old, young adulthood for a grend, similar,

actually, in age to Julianna herself.

It’s alright. It’s alright, she soothed.

Alright for you, the grend said. You’re not a captive.

It’s not going to be like that, said Julianna. I want to be your friend. I want you to be my friend.

You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you? You just threw a rope over my neck!

Julianna realized the grend had a point. She needed to do something to make this situation better, and quickly. She was well used to talking with animals, most domestics could. Cats were quite chatty. Dogs were friendly and talkative. Cows were rather dull; horses slow, but