The Crown, Book 1

The Boo Who Will Be King

Boo Woods

1928

The past twelve years had been kind to Boocien. His friendship with the fifteen Boos had strengthened, and the other Boos began taking him more seriously. Also, he continued working on his illusions, following his friends' advice and beginning small before expanding on each illusion. Following his trick with the door, nobody dared laugh at or mock him, and everyone wanted him to play on their team when it came to sports like volleyball, basketball and even dodgeball. The apologies came fast and fierce, and luckily for them, Boocien was a forgiving soul, for the most part. He had no time to think about what had been done to him, anyway, because now, there were goals waiting for him to reach.

On this particular day, Boocien and his friends were at the annual Boo Fair. They'd made it their mission to ride every ride and play every carnival game, but right now, they were taking a little break. Floating along together, giggling among themselves with ice cream cones in their appendages, the Boos came across a fortune teller's tent and paused.

"What do you think?" asked Booigi. "Wanna give it a shot?"

"Why not?" grinned Boocien. "I like to live dangerously."

"We'll wait outside," said Boosephine.

"Thanks," said Boocien before floating into the tent.

The fortune teller stood across from Boocien, her back to him. "Please, sit," she said. "Put your money on the table, and we'll begin."

Boocien flipped a couple of coins onto the table as he sat back.

The fortune teller turned around, revealing herself as a beautiful woman clothed in fine silk, a scarf obscuring the lower half of her face. "Welcome," she said. "I'm Madame Clairvoya."

"I'm Boocien."

"Nice to meet you, Boocien," said Madame Clairvoya. "Would you like to know your fortune?"

"Yes, please."

Madame Clairvoya sat across from Boocien and placed her hands on a crystal ball, which began to glow light blue. "If you have a specific question," she said, "then hold it inside your mind."

"Okay—I just don't know what to ask," said Boocien.

"Take your time," said Madame Clairvoya.

Boocien sat there, deep in thought. Then, he spoke up.

"Is there anything big ahead of me?" he asked.

"Well—let's look into my crystal ball and see," said Madame Clairvoya.

The aforementioned ball's glow changed from light blue to purple.

"Ah," said Madame Clairvoya. "Purple. The color of royalty—and madness."

"Royalty," Boocien repeated. "Will I eventually serve the Boos' royal court?"

"Is that what you desire?" asked Madame Clairvoya.

"I desire—power," said Boocien. "Power and respect. I'm underestimated due to my small size, you see. I've grown a little in the past twelve years, but I'm underestimated all the same."

"Take my hand, Boocien."

Reaching over, Boocien obliged.

"Rest assured, you won't be estimated for long," smiled Madame Clairvoya. "The Boos will grow to—admire you."