Set Me Free Read Free

Wiggler’s Creek, where they were not supposed to go, especially not when dusk was coming on fast.
    Despite Victor’s valiant attempts to avoid the game, once coaxed to play, he made a very convincing king of the fairies. His
     upper lip, brown and earnest, was beaded with sweat that shone in the light when Amelia squinted. She could imagine him sprinkled
     in fairy dust, with a crown of apple blossoms, commanding an army of sprites. He seemed to be having a good time, which was
     whyshe decided to lead him farther down the creek bed, away from where the older kids might be playing or spying. She knew that
     any distractions would keep Victor from agreeing to something like this again. She’d felt herself losing him for some time
     now. So Amelia waved the wand she’d made from a juniper twig and declared that Victor was the mightiest king in all fairydom,
     and entreated him to walk on into the forest of Aragon and make of it what he could.
    The forest of Aragon, in this case, was a stand of aspens planted on the Rudolph ranch, which lay just on the other side of
     Wiggler’s Creek, over the fence, and in the next field. Anything on the other side of Wiggler’s Creek was off limits. There
     was a real risk of being caught by one of Rudolph’s farmhands or seen by a well-cast eye from the school. But Amelia didn’t
     care. She knew that there was no such thing as fear of authority when one was lord of all the enchanted world. She also knew
     that if she commanded Victor, he might well go. She needed him to prove it to her: all the loyalty she hoped he had. So she
     said it again: “I entreat you, good king, walk on into the forest of Aragon and make of it what you can.”
    Victor ducked his head and thrust his hands into his pockets, and for a moment she thought she’d lost him for good. But then
     his neck straightened and his smile gleamed. “For you, my queen, I shall do this bidding,” he said, and her heart skipped.
     Within an instant he had leaped Wiggler’s Creek and was bounding up the other side of the embankment. She watched his skinny
     body squeezing through the wires of the fence and saw him uncurl on the other side and wave before sprinting off toward the
     stand of tall green trees. His blue T-shirt got smaller and smaller as he ran from her, and she beamed with pride until he
     stopped short ten steps from the forest.
    She waited for him to move on. But he stood frozen in a tangle of sagebrush, looking down. He looked like a statue, and she
     knew then that only the sound of her voice could break his spell. They could both get into lots of trouble for being off campus.
     “Go!” shewhispered, hoping him forward. She should have gone herself. Victor wasn’t brave enough for discovering new places.
    “Amelia!” Victor’s voice rang out across the open meadow. Too loud. They would get caught for sure. She squatted so she was
     closer to the ground. But now she couldn’t see him, and she started to wonder what was going on. Was it a rattlesnake he had
     discovered? He knew what to do around a rattler. But what if it was a nest? What if they were surrounding him, winding around
     his ankles, shaking their tails? Her heart started to pound, and then he called her name again.
    Amelia launched her body across Wiggler’s Creek and crept a few steps up the embankment. “What is it?” she called in as quiet
     a yell as she could.
    “Come quick!” He wasn’t moving. She looked behind her, at the school, but she didn’t see anyone. She’d have to risk it.
    Soon she’d pulled herself through the wire fence and was running to Victor. “What is it?” she hissed again. The bushes were
     as high as her face, and she had to dodge them so they didn’t scratch her. When she got to Victor, she wanted to hit the back
     of his head for ruining their game. But then he stepped aside and pointed.
    All her body went numb and buzzy at the same time. “What is it?” she asked a third time, but quietly,