4 What a stink

Chapter 4 What a stink The Spartan prince marched furiously over to the Prince of Athens. "You're behind this!" he snapped. The Athenian Prince said sharply, "I would never steal." The Prince of Sparta whirled around to the officials. "He either stole my crown,

or got someone else to do it! What else could have happened?" A brief fight broke out, and the crowd was in an uproar. Groups of Spartans shook their fists at the Athenians, and it seemed as if everyone was yelling. "Athenians are cheats!" "Spartans are liars!"

Only the Timekeepers knew what was really going on. "DeLay's the thief," Rosa said grimly. "He's used a Time Crunch to steal the wreath-and look at the chaos it's causing!" Tempo was sitting on Rosa's shoulder, covering her head with her wings. "She doesn't like the noise," said Kingsley. "It's OK, Tempo." "By all the gods, it was NOT me!" roared the Prince of Athens. Tempo was so startled that she flew off, squawking. "Look!" cried the Spartan prince. "That bird! It is a bad omen! There is thievery and cheating at these Games!"

Kingsley watched Tempo in alarm as she flew out of the arena, the crowd gaping and pointing at her. "I hope she's okay." "She's a smart bird," Rosa said. "She'll be back when things quiet down. In the meantime, if we can find that wreath, the Spartans and Athenians will stop fighting. If we can't, and if a fight breaks out, the Olympic Truce will be broken. There could be a war." Kingsley nodded. "And if the city- states can't trust each other to compete fairly—well, there might never be another Olympic Games!" "What a terrible thought," said Rosa, with a shudder. The Olympics were where the best athletes competed against

each other, but she knew it had also become one of the greatest expressions of cooperation and common values among the nations of the world. Kingsley noticed that the priest had taken the angry princes aside. "He's trying to make peace-" He stopped. Rosa was staring toward the athletes' tunnel entrance. "Hello? Earth to Rosa?" said Kingsley.

"Sorry! I'm sure I saw DeLay," she said. "Look, over there..." The villain was slinking into the tunnel. "He's leaving the stadium," said Kingsley. They ran across the arena. No one stopped them—everyone was either too busy arguing, or too busy watching the princes, who were standing opposite each other now, both red with fury. The priest had his hands out, trying to keep them apart. As the Timekeepers entered the tunnel, DeLay glanced back and spotted them. "Bye, losers!" he shouted as he vanished through the exit.