THE PALACE LIE 2 - by Ibrahim Haruna Madison

THE PALACE LIE 2 Chika walked very fast along the smooth stone road that led to the grand palace. She could see the tall golden walls shining under the bright afternoon sun. Her heart was beating very fast, but she was not scared at all. She was very excited because she had the Queen's precious diamond ring hidden inside her right hand. She felt like she was the smartest girl in the entire world. She had let her brave sister Adora do all the hard work of climbing the giant oak tree and finding the ring, and then she had taken it away for herself. She did not feel sorry for Adora at all. She did not care that Adora was bleeding in the cold mud. She only thought about the great rewards she was about to get from the royal family. She wanted to be rich. She wanted to be famous. Chika arrived at the palace doors, smoothing out her clean dress and wiping a tiny speck of dust from her shoes. She stood outside the big entrance for a long moment to look at herself. She wanted to make sure she looked completely perfect before the royal guards saw her. Her dress was made of beautiful pink and white cloth, and it did not have any holes or dirt on it. She used her hands to flatten the skirt so there were no wrinkles at all. Then she bent down and used her fingers to clean her shiny leather shoes. She saw a tiny bit of grey dust on the side of her left shoe. She wiped it away quickly until her shoes looked brand new again. She smiled because she looked beautiful. She took a deep breath and put on a fake, tired face. She knew that if she looked too happy and clean, the clever Queen might not believe her long story. She wanted to look like a poor hero who had suffered a lot to save the kingdom. She pulled a few pieces of her long hair forward so they fell across her face. She made her big eyes look wide, wet, and sad. She forced herself to look like she was about to cry from heavy exhaustion. She practiced her sad expression in her mind before she took another step toward the large entrance. She was ready to play her wicked game. The guards opened the heavy doors, and she marched straight to the Queen. The doors were made of thick brown wood and shiny gold bars. They made a loud creaking sound as they opened up wide for her. The palace inside was very beautiful and grand. The floor was made of clean white marble that looked like clear ice. There were large golden lamps hanging from the high ceiling, making everything sparkle. Chika did not look at the beautiful decorations around the room. She kept her eyes fixed on the golden throne at the end of the long hall. She walked with big, slow, heavy steps across the clean floor to show how tired she was. The good Queen was sitting on her high golden throne, looking very sad and lonely. She was wearing her royal crown, but her face was pale and full of sorrow. She was thinking about her lost diamond ring, which was a gift from her parents. Chika did not care about the Queen's sadness, but she knew this was her big moment to get rich. She walked right up to the front of the royal steps. She made sure every single person in the big room was looking at her. The lords, the ladies, and the servants all went completely silent to watch the young girl. "Your Majesty!" Chika cried out, falling to her knees in a dramatic way. She threw her arms up in the air and let her body drop hard onto the cold white floor. She made a loud gasping sound so that it seemed like she was completely out of breath and energy. She knelt there with her head bowed down low to the red carpet. She wanted the Queen to think that she had run for miles through the wild woods without resting for a single minute. She stayed on her knees and began to speak in a loud, trembling voice that sounded like she was about to faint. "I have found your ring!" Chika shouted so that everyone in the palace room could hear her clearly. She lifted her head and looked straight into the Queen's surprised eyes. She made her voice sound very shaky and weak, like she was very hungry. "I spent three days and three nights in the dark forest, fighting off wild animals and searching through the thorns just for you." She told this grand lie with a very straight face, pretending that she was the bravest girl in the entire village. She wanted all the praise for herself. "The Great Forest was so dark and scary," Chika lied, shaking her shoulders to look like she was freezing from the cold night air. "There were big, angry wolves with sharp teeth that tried to bite my legs. There were giant snakes that crawled around my feet in the grass. The sharp thorns on the big bushes scratched my skin and tore at my clothes, but I did not stop walking. I kept looking because I love my good Queen so much. I did not sleep for a single minute. I did not eat any food or drink any fresh water for three whole days because I wanted to bring your treasure back home to this palace." The Queen gasped and leaned forward as Chika held up the sparkling diamond ring. The Queen placed her royal hands over her mouth in total surprise. Her golden crown moved slightly on her head as she tilted her body forward to see better. Chika slowly opened her small fist. The bright afternoon sun came through the high palace windows and hit the clear stone. The ring began to flash with a brilliant light. It sent beautiful little sparkles of blue and white light across the walls and the golden pillars of the throne room. It was truly the missing royal treasure. The Queen’s eyes filled with joy, and she reached out to take her treasure back. All the deep sadness left her royal face in an instant. She smiled a very big, happy smile. She could not believe her eyes. Her favorite ring, which had been missing for so long, was finally right in front of her. She stood up from her high golden throne and took a few quick steps down the royal stairs. She stretched out her long, thin fingers toward the sparkling piece of silver metal that Chika was holding up. She wanted to hold her beautiful treasure once again. "Oh, thank you, brave girl!" the Queen said. Her royal voice was full of deep emotion and happiness. She looked at Chika with so much respect and love. She thought that Chika was the best girl in the whole country. "You must have worked so hard to find this in such a dangerous place." The Queen turned her head to look at all the lords and ladies standing in the palace. "Look at this wonderful child! She went into the dark woods where even my strongest soldiers were afraid to go. She is a true hero for our kingdom!" Chika nodded quickly, a greedy smile hiding behind her fake modesty. She bowed her head again so the Queen could not see the real expression of triumph on her face. Inside her heart, Chika was laughing. She was laughing at the Queen for being so easy to trick with a simple story. She was laughing at her poor sister Adora, who was probably still crying in the dirty mud puddle in the forest with bleeding knees. Chika felt very proud of her big lie. She could already taste the delicious food and imagine the rich life she was going to have. The Queen turned to her servants and told them to bring the house keys and the bags of rice. These were the grand rewards that the palace had promised to give to anyone who found the missing ring. The house keys would give Chika a beautiful new home with a big garden in the center of the village. The big bags of rice would mean that her family would never be hungry again for the rest of their lives. Chika's eyes grew very wide and bright as she listened to the Queen's commands. She could not wait to grab the heavy keys. The palace servants moved very quickly to obey the royal orders. They walked into a side room and brought out a large silver tray. On the tray sat a heavy ring of golden keys that shone brightly in the light. Behind them, two strong guards were carrying three large white bags full of the finest royal rice. They walked across the marble floor and stopped right next to the Queen's throne. Chika stretched her fingers out a little bit, ready to snatch her grand prizes. She felt like she had finally won the entire game. But just as the head servant reached for the keys, the Queen paused. The head servant stopped his hand in the middle of the air. The whole room went completely silent. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The happy smile slowly faded away from the Queen's royal face. Her sharp eyes became very small and focused. She did not look at the sparkling diamond ring anymore. Instead, she looked very closely at Chika's body. She noticed something strange about Chika’s appearance that didn't match her long, scary story. The Queen was a very smart woman. The Queen looked at Chika from her head down to her toes. She looked at Chika's hair, which was perfectly smooth and shiny without a single leaf or twig in it. She looked at Chika's pink dress, which was totally clean and bright without any mud or tears from the sharp forest thorns. She looked at Chika's smooth hands, which did not have any scratches or cuts from fighting off the wild animals. And lastly, she looked at Chika's clean leather shoes, which were totally free of dirt. The Queen realized that Chika looked like someone who had just stepped out of a beautiful garden, not someone who had spent three dangerous days in the dark woods. The Queen stood up from her seat and walked down to where Chika was kneeling on the floor. She leaned down and looked closely at Chika's face. There was no sweat on Chika's forehead. There was no dust in Chika's eyes. Everything about Chika looked like she had just come out of a beautiful room, not a dark and scary jungle. The Queen looked at the grand ring in her hand and then looked back at Chika's clean white fingernails. If a person digs in the dirt for three whole days, their nails will be very black and broken. But Chika's nails were perfectly clean. The Queen frowned deeply because she knew a big lie was being told right inside her palace. Oh my goodness! The clever Queen has noticed something very fishy! Chika's big palace lie might be in huge trouble! We want to know what you think about this exciting moment. Please write your answers in the comments section below: What do you think the Queen will say to Chika when she asks about her perfectly clean dress and shiny shoes? Do you think Chika will try to make up another big lie to explain why she does not have any mud or scratches on her body? Meanwhile, what do you think is happening to poor Adora back in the forest? Will she find a way to get to the palace and tell the truth? If you were the Queen, what kind of test would you give Chika right now to find out if she is telling the truth or a giant lie? Do you love this high-suspense story of secrets and lies? Do you want to see if Chika gets caught in her big palace lie, or if she finds a way to escape with the prize?Do not miss the next thrilling episode of this grand mystery! See you in Episode 7 for the next big shocker!

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