King Friday was not happy. Not happy at all. His crown was missing and he couldn't find it anywhere. Before he went outside to greet the neighbors, he took a shiny bowl and put it on his head.
"Lady Aberlin, I presume?"
"Correct as usual, Uncle Friday," Betty Aberlin replied with a curtsy. Then she noticed the bowl on his head. "Uncle Friday, what happened to your crown?"
"This is not a crown. This is a bowl I am using instead of my crown," The King said, sadly.
"But why, Uncle Friday?"
"Oh Lady Aberlin…Today is a sad, sad day…" he lamented. "This morning when I woke up, my crown was gone. It was stolen by somebody in this neighborhood."
Betty Aberlin bit her lip before slowly answering. "Is Lady Elaine Fairchilde behind all this?"
King Friday shivered. "Lady Elaine Fairchilde…is a MONSTER!"
"Now that's a little harsh, don't you think, toots?" said a familiar voice.
King Friday spun around quickly to see Lady Elaine Fairchilde standing right behind him. "Oh, Fairchilde!" He cleared his throat, feeling slightly embarrassed at what she had heard him say. "Fairchilde, I'd like a word with you."
"Uncle Friday, wait a minute…," Betty cut in. "We don't know for sure Lady Elaine stole your crown."
"But of course I did!" said Lady Elaine, proudly. "While he was asleep I used my Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang and I now I have the crown all to myself, hehe!"
King Friday was horrified. "I command you return my crown to my head IMMEDIATELY!"
"Not today, Friday!" Elaine smirked.
"Lady Elaine, you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you," said Betty Aberlin.
"Well, I have it hidden and you'll never find it! Never!" Elaine said. Then she disappeared.
King Friday turned to Betty with a sad look. "We must not rest until my crown is back on my head!"
"Where do you think Lady Elaine hid it?"
"We'll have to catch her and make her tell us!" King Friday exclaimed.
"I just don't know," Betty Aberlin sighed. "How would you do that?"
"I wish I knew! But in the mean time, I'll be searching for my crown. It must be in the neighborhood somewhere!" With that, the King ducked down back into the castle, leaving Betty alone.
Lady Aberlin shook her head as she walked off. Why does Elaine keep doing things like this? She really needs to learn a lesson.
OoOoOoOo
Back at the Museum-Go-Round, Lady Elaine was congratulating herself for being so clever.
"They'll never find that crown! I hid it too well! Hehe, and I'll never tell Friday where it is. Him and his old crown…Silly old king!" She sang happily.
"Lady Elaine?! Are you home?" It was Betty Aberlin's voice.
"Oh, now what?" Elaine grumbled to herself. Then she popped up with a cheerful, "Hello, toots!"
"Lady Elaine, I really wish you would tell us where you hid Uncle Friday's crown," said Lady Aberlin.
"I told you before…My lips are sealed," Elaine put her tiny hands over her mouth to prove her point.
"But he's the king," Betty said.
"He's square as a chair if you ask me," Elaine sniffed. "Besides, if he wants his crown so badly, he can just come over here and shake it out of me himself!"
"Lady Elaine, please!"
"I'll hear no more about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a nap." And with that, Lady Elaine disappeared back into her Museum-Go-Round.
Betty shrugged her shoulders in defeat. She had come over, hoping to talk some sense into Elaine but it was useless.
"They can't make me talk," Elaine told herself as she climbed into her little bed for a nap. She had put the King's crown into a hat box and then hid it inside her closet. She went over to the closet to check on it. After making sure it was still safely tucked away, Elaine got back into bed. She was still wearing her red dress as she lay down. Soon she fell asleep.
"Where am I?" Lady Elaine suddenly found herself in a dark dungeon. There was a single beam of light pouring down on her from a very high window. "What's going on? Why can't I move?" Elaine soon realized she was tied down on a bed with her hands down by her sides. Her small bare feet were propped up on a pillow. There was another pillow under her head. She was quite comfortable except for the fact that she couldn't move.
"Oh Fairchilde…Fairchilde…," Came a voice from somewhere close by.
"I'm here! Who is it?" Elaine looked around but saw no one.
Suddenly, King Friday came into view. He was standing at the foot of her bed and looked very sad.
"What's going on here, Friday?" Elaine demanded. "Why am I here?"
"I want my crown back, Fairchilde. Tell me where it is!"
Lady Elaine snorted. "My lips are sealed! Now let me go or I'll have to use my Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang!"
"Oh…You mean, this one?" King Friday raised his arm to reveal a certain object in his hand. He was holding Elaine's Boomerang.
Lady Elaine gasped. "You took my Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang! I want it back!"
"Not until you tell me where my crown is!" King Friday boomed.
Lady Elaine was frightened now. She was powerless.
"If you don't tell me, I will have to get violent with you, Fairchilde," The King said in a tone that sounded suspiciously playful.
"Never! Ever!" Elaine was defiant.
"Very well then," King Friday sighed. Then he picked up a long feather and began stroking it along the bottoms of Elaine's exposed feet.
"Hahahaha! STOP! Whahahahat are you doing?! Hahahahaha!" Elaine laughed and giggled as King Friday tickled her feet.
"Tell me! Where's my crown?"
"I-I won't tell! Hahahahaha! Never! Hehehehahaha! Ever!" she cackled.
King Friday ran the feather up and down her soles, then all the way up to her toes.
Lady Elaine's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red than they already were. She was laughing harder than she ever thought she could laugh.
"OH STOP IT! HAHAHAHA! I REALLY CAN'T STAND IT!"
"Where did you hide the crown?"
"I-I DON'T REMEMBER!"
King Friday rolled his eyes. "Well, that's really a shame, isn't it? Now then…Tickle…Tickle…,"
"NOHAHAHAHAHAHA! Y-YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! AAHHH! LEAVE MY FEET ALONE! OKAYOKAYOKAY! YOU WIN! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK!"
Lady Elaine woke up with a jolt. She was breathing and shaking with fear. "Oh dear, what an awful, horrible, terrible nightmare!" She grabbed her Boomerang, gave it a kiss, and held it tight. "I have to give that crown back to Friday right away!" Then she waved her Boomerang and transported the crown back to King Friday's head.
"There. That's a load off my mind," Elaine said, knowing that she had learned an important lesson…at least for now.
The End
