Sally and the Buccaneers: Trunk of Alexia, #1

By Judy Lunsford

While in her grandmother's attic, 10 year-old Sally finds a trunk that transports her to a hidden kingdom. There she discovers the kingdom is about to be attacked by pirates. With the help of a fairy, Sally must unravel the mystery of who she really is and the secrets contained in the Trunk of Alexia, while fending off pirates and saving the royal family. But the true question is, will Sally be able to get back home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judy Lunsford
• Release date: Aug 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781393341352

Judy Lunsford

Born and raised in California, Judy now lives in Arizona with her husband and Giant Schnoodle. Judy writes with dyslexia and a chronic illness & is a breast cancer survivor. She writes mostly fantasy, but delves into suspense, horror, romance, and poetry. She has written books and short stories for all ages. You can find her books and short stories at your favorite online retailers.

Book preview

for Trent

for encouraging me to believe

CHAPTER 1

THE TRUNK & THE PRINCE

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Sally was downstairs watching TV. She couldn’t find anything she wanted to watch, so she clicked off the television and wandered upstairs. She peered into her room and sighed. It was only nine o’clock in the morning and she was bored already. She and her mother had moved back in with her grandmother at the beginning of the summer and Sally was already missing her friends. She was dreading starting the sixth grade alone at a new school.

Sally wandered down the hallway and saw a thin rope hanging down from the ceiling. She looked up to see what it was attached to. She pulled the rope gently and the ceiling opened up to expose a ladder that emerged from the attic and slid down into place in front of her. She looked up in to the dark hole. Tentatively, Sally climbed the steps up the ladder and peered into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she could see another string hanging in front of her at the top of the ladder. She pulled the string and several light bulbs illuminated the attic.

Sally stepped up into the attic and looked around in the dim light. There were only a few things scattered here and there. A couple of cardboard boxes marked Christmas were stacked in the far corner along with the box that held her grandmother’s fake Christmas tree. An old mannequin stood in another corner covered with dust. A few paintings were leaned up against the far wall, their frames broken and cracked. But in the center of the attic was a large Trunk. A full-length mirror was standing next to it, propped up against a support beam.

Curiously, she walked over to the Trunk. It was made of old wood and had a simple design that looked like a braided rope embellishing the edges. A seven-pointed star looked like it had been burned into the top. Sally ran her fingers over the design and felt the grooves in the wood.

She leaned over and pulled opened the Trunk. She stood staring at its contents before she removed any items. She had never seen any of these things before. There was a pirate’s eye patch, a sword, a princess gown, fairy wings, a pair of lace up shoes and a few other things she could dress up in. She pulled a few things out of the Trunk to look at them and then decided on the long floor length gown. It was pale blue with lace and pearls around the neck and sleeves. She smiled happily and pulled it on over her jeans and t-shirt. She spun around in front of the full-length mirror and watched as the gown billowed out around her. As she looked down, she lost her footing and fell backwards into the Trunk. She landed on the remainder of its contents with a thump and the lid slammed shut.

She was frightened for a moment, sitting there in the darkness with the smell of old clothes and mothballs around her. She struggled up and gently lifted the lid. She gasped as she looked out from the crack between the lid and the Trunk as she saw a tree in front of her. She lifted the lid a little more to discover that she was in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by a forest.

A voice from behind her suddenly called, Abigail!

Sally turned to see four men dressed in red uniforms on white horses galloping towards her. They slowed to a stop when they saw her.

Young Highness, what are you doing out here in the woods standing in a Trunk? a young man with blonde hair asked, sounding confused.

I don’t know, she said, looking down at the Trunk.

We have search parties spread out all over the kingdom to find you.

What? she wasn’t sure why anyone would be looking for her.

The man that had been speaking dismounted and approached her. He seemed friendly enough. He was tall with shaggy blonde hair and