Secret Rescuers Read Free Page B

girls left the tiny hidden valley and followed the path to town. Blyford was a largeplace with bustling streets and a town square in the middle.
    Sophy gazed round. “I’ve never been to a town this big before! You must be used to all this because of travelling around on the boat. You live an amazing life!”
    “You live in the royal castle!” said Maya. “That’s pretty awesome!”
    “Well, I do like polishing the queen’s tiaras,” said Sophy, laughing.
    Maya giggled too. She couldn’t help liking Sophy. She was so chatty and had a warm smile. There were lots of questions she wanted to ask her, like how many tiaras did the queen have? And how had Sophy rescued the little dragon? And when Sophy was flying on Windrunner’s back, wasn’t she afraid of falling off?
    She was just wondering what to ask first when she saw a man in silver armour on the other side of the town square. “That’s the man who chased the unicorns!” she said to Sophy.
     
    “Is he your horrid knight?”
    Sophy shivered. “Yes, that’s Sir Fitzroy. I wonder what he’s up to.”
    The girls crossed the square, weaving in and out of the fruit sellers and stalls full of shoes and hats. A tall lady dressed in a dark-red cloak came out of a grand building and walked down the steps to shake the knight’s hand.
    “That’s the leader of Blyford walking out of the Town Hall,” muttered Maya. “Her name’s Dame Gibson.”
    Maya and Sophy edged closer to the steps and then stopped to look at a hat stall. They pretended they were interested in buying a purple hat. It gave them the chance to listen to Sir Fitzroy’s conversation.
    “Greetings, Sir Fitzroy,” said Dame Gibson. “We haven’t seen you in Blyford for many years. What brings you to our town?”
    “I’m hunting down every magical beast in this kingdom,” snarled Sir Fitzroy. “Her Majesty,Queen Viola, was nearly killed by a dragon attack on her own castle two days ago. It’s time we sorted out these disgusting creatures once and for all.”

Chapter Five
Mr Inigo’s Show Begins
    Maya glanced over her shoulder at Sir Fitzroy, who was still talking to the town leader. “Was there really a dragon attack?” she murmured to Sophy.
    â€œNo!” Sophy whispered back. “There was one poor baby dragon who wanted to go home.”
    Dame Gibson shook her head. “I’m shocked, Sir Fitzroy! Here in Blyford we’ve always loved magical animals. Many creatures like sky unicorns roam the Emerald Plain. I can’t believe they deserve such harsh treatment.”
    â€œYou can say what you like but you’ll have to obey Royal Orders like everyone else,” growled Sir Fitzroy, unrolling a scroll of paper with the mark of a crown. “Now, where do these sky unicorns live? I saw them yesterday but the wretched things sneaked away. I command you to show me where they are.”
    Dame Gibson shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t. People say that the sky unicorns have favourite places where they like to graze, but there are lots of little valleys on the Emerald Plain. They could be anywhere!”
    Someone coughed just behind Maya. Turning her head, she thought she recognised the man behind her, but he disappeared into the crowd before she could be sure.
    â€œLook, Maya!” Sophy nudged her. “Is that your travelling troupe?”
    A murmur of excitement ran through the town square as Mr Inigo swept in wearing the multicoloured patchwork cloak that he put onfor each show. Behind him were the acrobats, as well as Maya’s brothers – the jugglers – and the dancers, Floella and Daisy.

    Maya suddenly remembered that she was supposed to have put up posters for the show. She quickly ran to pin them on the nearby walls.
    â€œRoll up! Roll up!” called Mr Inigo, twirling his moustache. “Come and see some acts from our show for free. Then buy tickets for our spectacular Grand Show tonight!”
    â€œMaya, we need