“Princess, I have come to save you.”

This chapter is very brief, but significant.

The Princess Pea hard her name. She looked up.

“Despereaux,” she whispered.

And then she shouted it, “Despereaux!”

Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.

Nothing.

For Despereaux, the sound was worth everything: his lost tail, his trip to the dungeon, and back out of it and back into it again.

She was the reason Despereaux was sent to the dungeon in the first place, and for him, this was all worth it.

But Roscuro, baring his teeth, blocked the mouse’s way.

The princess cried, “Oh no, rat, please. Don’t hurt him. He is my friend.”

Mig said, “Don’t worry, Princess. I will save the meecy.”

She took the kitchen knife. She aimed to cut off the rat’s head, but she missed the mark.

Next time: Eucatastrophe…