Chapter One
Medieval Magic
âGood people of River Heights!â Mayor Strong announced. His suit of armor creaked as he threw his arms up into the air. âI, Sir Mayor the Strong, welcome thee to the Dragonâs Breath Fair!â
Eight-year-old Nancy Drew cheered with her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne. It was the start of the Dragonâs Breath Fair, a medieval festival that came to the girlsâ town every fall.
âWhat is âmedieval,â anyway?â Bess asked.
âIt was a time hundreds of years ago,â Nancy explained. âWhen there were kings, queens, jestersâand knights in shining armor.â
âAnd dragons!â George said, her dark eyesflashing. âDonât forget about dragons.â
âOh, no!â Bess gasped. âWhat do we do if we run into a fire-breathing dragon here at the fair?â
âRoast marshmallows!â George joked.
The girls turned back to the mayor. He was telling the crowd the fun they would have.
âThere will be jugglers, games, hearty food, and puppet shows,â Mayor Strong boomed. âAnd the most thrilling challenge of allâthe joust!â
âI know what a joust is,â George said to Nancy and Bess. âItâs when two knights on horseback try to knock weapons out of each otherâs hands.â
âOf course, I would love to be in the joust myself,â Mayor Strong told everyone. âBut first I need a horse!â
The visor on the mayorâs helmet fell in front of his face with a
clunk
.
âHe needs a horse
and
a new helmet,â George whispered.
The mayor raised his visor and shouted, âI hereby declare the Dragonâs Breath Fair open!â
After a big cheer the crowd scattered in alldirections into the fairgrounds. Nancy didnât know what was more colorful, the striped tents and banners hanging everywhere, or the red, yellow, and gold leaves on the trees.
âDo you think they had detectives in those days?â Bess asked. âDetectives like us?â
Nancy smiled at the thought. She, Bess, and George were good at solving mysteries. So good that theyâd started their own detective club called the Clue Crew.
âSure, they had detectives,â Nancy decided. âSomebody had to figure out who stole the queen of heartsâs tarts!â
âAnd speaking of stuff thatâs yummy for the tummy,â George said, nodding in the direction of the food stalls, âthereâs my mom.â
Nancy could see Mrs. Fayne stacking jumbo cookies on the ledge of a food stall. Mrs. Fayne ran her own catering company and was in charge of the food at the Dragonâs Breath Fair. She was also in charge of bringing Nancy, Bess, and George to the fair every day that weekend.
âWhat should we do first?â Bess asked, rubbing her hands together. âPlay a game or eat one of those cookies?â
Nancy wanted to watch the archery contestâuntil she noticed a wooden sign stuck in the ground. It had a red arrow and the words THIS WAY TO WIZARDLY WOODS .
âWhatâs Wizardly Woods?â Nancy wondered.
âThereâs only one way to find out,â George said.
The girls followed the path until they reached more colorful tents, their flaps wide open. Inside were men and women selling jewelry, candles, and scented oils. Outside a blue tent decorated with silver stars stood a rack holding dried flower garlands.
Bess grabbed a garland and placed it over her long blond hair. âDoes this make me look princessy?â she asked.
âYou mean
prissy
!â George said, and smirked.
âVery funny,
Georgia
,â Bess replied, and smirked back. âSometimes I canât believe weâre cousins!â
George gritted her teeth. She hated her realname, Georgia, even more than she hated wearing dresses and skirtsâa major difference between Bess and George.
Bess was about to look for a mirror when a voice
Lee Thomas
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