4 A Case of the Jitters

CHAPTER 4

A Case of the Jitters The line of contestants wrapped all the way around the palace grounds—twice! Clara stood behind her not-so- favorite squire, Gilbert. She wanted nothing more than to ignore him, but she decided to give him a chance. Who knows, she thought. Maybe he's gotten nicer. "Hey, Gilbert," she said casually. "Oh, h-h-hi, Clara!" he stammered.

Gilbert sounded nervous, so Clara smiled warmly. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "I'm a little nervous too, but I'm also excited!" Gilbert acted as if being nervous was the farthest thing from his mind. "I'm not nervous," he said. "A real Knight Spire never gets nervous." But Clara noticed that Gilbert now had beads of sweat on his upper lip, too, and his neck had grown red and splotchy. He was hiding his fear. "Being nervous is a good thing," Clara told him. "You can't be brave without being afraid first, because then you would have nothing to be brave about." Gilbert's jaw dropped at Clara's clever answer. At the same time, a shadow swept over both of them. Gilbert jumped at the sudden darkness. When Clara turned around, she had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. It was Tublock. The giant cast a large shadow over them as he blocked out the sun.

"Hey, Tublock!" Clara said. "Are you here to compete?" Tublock nodded happily. "Well, at first I came to watch," he said. "But when I heard about the prophecy, I had to sign up."

该页暂无翻译

Clara bumped fists with Tublock and introduced the giant to Gilbert. Gilbert shook Tublock's hand uncertainly. Then the three contestants moved through the line until they got to the check-in desk. King Caleb and Prince Lucas greeted them. "Hello, friends!" Lucas said, showing them where to sign in. Clara and Gilbert bowed before the king and the prince, and then they signed the ledger. Tublock signed in too. No giant had ever entered the competition before. The king complimented him on being the first. As the threesome approached the arena, the Horn of the Knight Spires sounded nearby. This signaled for everyone to be seated. The competition would soon begin. A rumble came from outside the stadium. The sound grew closer and closer. Soon three knights galloped into the arena, each riding a different beast—one on a lion, another on a tiger, and the third on a bear. The one on the lion sounded the horn again. BALOOOOO! The Knight Spires of Wrenly had arrived.