Chapter 1

NANCY KRULIK vvatCH tHat witCH！ art by Justin Rodrigues *"Very funny series —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Chapter 1 "Step, step, lunge!" Lucas said as he took two steps to the right and then brandished a butter knife in the air. "Step, step... whoops!" Bam! Princess Pulverizer put her hand over her mouth with surprise as she watched her pal trip over a rock. "Sorry," Lucas apologized to the rock. Princess Pulverizer's cheeks turned purple. Her eyes began to tear up. She thought she might explode. But she refused to let out even a teeny tiny giggle. That wouldn't be nice. And Princess Pulverizer was trying hard to be nice these days.

"You're definitely getting better," Lucas's best friend, Dribble the dragon, assured him. "You really think so?" Lucas wondered as he scrambled to his feet. "You should try the riposte next," Dribble said. "You almost had that move down yesterday." Princess Pulverizer knew what a riposte was —a counterattack against an opponent who had just lunged against you while you were fencing. Only there wasn't anyone lunging at Lucas. He was fencing against empty air. With a butter knife. And he was still losing. Lucas held out the knife and gave it a quick thrust. The knife flew out of his hand and landed squarely in the middle of a pear hanging from a nearby tree.

The princess bit her upper lip to keep from laughing. "Sir Lucas is the winner!" Dribble announced to an imaginary audience. "He has defeated his opponent! Huzzah!" "What opponent?" Princess Pulverizer wondered.

"The tree, of course," Dribble replied. He picked the pricked pear from its branch. "This one's almost ripe. It will be delicious with a grilled gouda sandwich." Princess Pulverizer licked her lips. That did sound yummy. "I've never met anyone who tries harder than you," Dribble complimented Lucas. "You're going to be an amazing knight one day. They might even make you a king." The dragon bowed deeply. "All hail King Lucas! Long may he reign!" The princess couldn't hold it in anymore. She laughed so hard, she snorted. Drip. Drip. DROP! Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, it began to rain. And not just little droplets. This was a major rainstorm! A dragon-size rainstorm. "I think you actually made it rain," Lucas told Dribble.

"I didn't mean to," Dribble said. "I was talking about the other kind of reign. Like when a king rules over his people." "We knew what you meant," Princess Pulverizer told him. "But they didn't!" She pointed to the dark rain clouds in the sky. Plink. Plank. Ker-PLUNK. The raindrops were falling faster now. "We have to find shelter," Princess Pulverizer shouted as she ran off in search of a place to get out of the rain. "Yeah," Lucas agreed. "I don't want my armor to get any rustier." He took off after the princess. "Hey! Wait for me!" Dribble called to his pals. "I'm right behind you."