Desert Sheikh vs American Princess Read Free Page A

hanging out with me.
    Did Bonnie just sniffle there? Did the voice inside her head sound hurt, on the cusp of tears?
    Noelle fell backward on the bed. The mattress gave a soft whump. I've only been kidnapped for a few hours and I'm already losing it.
    You won't be here long. Bonnie sounded back to her normal brash self. I'm getting you out of this.
    In case you haven't noticed, I'm being held hostage in a palace.
    Exactly the job for a pirate princess. Too bad I don't have my trusty sword.
    Her sword. Wasp, named for its sting. Ha. It had just been a branch that she'd carved into a vaguely pointy shape, but she'd loved that "sword" more than the room full of Barbies everyone kept giving her. Barbies she would routinely make to swab the deck and walk the plank.
    But this wasn't her playroom, and the women with guns outside her door weren't dolls.
    Bonnie, I don't see how. The door is guarded and there's no other way out , she told her friend. Her imaginary friend. Who lived in her head. Oh man, this was so weird.
    Noelle could practically see Bonnie, red handkerchief tied around her head, frayed jeans cut off at the calf, over-large shirt stolen from her dad's closet, stick out her chest with pride. There's always a way out for a pirate princess.
    And then, as if Noelle didn't will it, her attention turned to the sliding doors that led to the balcony.
    You have got to be kidding me , she protested.
    Ahoy, matey, we're going over the side. Yarrgh! she yelled, a battle cry Noelle hadn't heard since she was twelve.
    One that filled her with dread.

    *****

    If she fell, Noelle told herself, she probably wouldn't die.
    Probably. Her room was only on the third story, she figured. Could have been worse.
    Okay, so maybe it was the fourth.
    She held tighter to the "rope" she'd made by ripping apart thousand-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and tying them together. To her relief, the rope had reached all the way to the ground when she'd tied it to the balcony railing and thrown it down.
    Now she dangled in midair with nothing but the rope and her own strength to hold her up. She really should have added upper body training to her running. It was okay, though. Her muscles barely burned, or so she told herself. Her triceps weren't on fire with the white heat of the nuclear center of a thousand suns or anything.
    A breeze blew, cooling the sweat on the small of her back.
    Feel that, raved the pirate princess. This is freedom. This is adventure. Remember when we fought the notorious outlaw pirate Smith together?
    That wasn't real. I could actually die here , Noelle complained, as she let herself down another few feet.
    But the night surrounded her, hid her from the view of the boring, dull people of the world. It had been years since she'd felt this alive.
    Nah, pirate princesses never die. It's only another two stories. To freedom!
    Right. Freedom. Actually, we'll still be stuck inside the palace grounds. There's still a huge wall between us and freedom , Noelle pointed out.
    We'll escape, you'll see , Bonnie assured her.
    Noelle grunted as she tried not to think about how she was dangling in midair. If they did get out, they'd still be stuck in the middle of a foreign country where they didn't speak the language, with no passport and no money.
    You used to be fun, pouted Bonnie.
    Well , she thought, for some reason eager to have the voice inside her head approve of her, there's the U.S. embassy, I suppose.
    Bonnie practically rubbed her hands together in anticipation. A friendly ship. We just need to get there.
    From all the tree climbing and jumping off roofs when she was a kid, Noelle knew one thing at least. How not to look down. Instead, she concentrated on the rope, letting herself down hand over hand, trusting that she made good progress. Trying not to let her sweaty grip slip. Looking down wouldn't get her to the bottom faster.
    Well, it might, but the wrong way.
    The clear night gave her lots of light to work with. Above her