“Oh wow,” Delphie breathed.

The King, Queen and Princess all clapped.

The toad princess’s tongue shot out and she caught a fly.

Sugar giggled and came down off her pointes and dropped into a graceful curtsey. “I am pleased to present Princess Priscilla from the mysterious land of Toadonia,” she said, with a grin. “And now all the princess needs is a horse-drawn sleigh!”

A little while later, Delphie sat on the front seat of a beautiful silver sleigh that was being pulled by two white horses that Sugar had conjured up from a pumpkin and two white mice just like in Cinderella.

The horses had green and gold plumes on their harnesses and gold bells hung from the leather reins. Griff was driving. Priscilla sat behind Delphie, a white fur rug across her knees. She looked so beautiful, it was almost impossible to believe she was the toad until she opened her mouth and a croak came out.

Even Sugar’s magic couldn’t make her speak!

“I think I’ll have to put a spell on her so she stays silent,” said Sugar, shaking her head as Priscilla croaked again. Sugar turned a pirouette and pointed her wand. Priscilla opened her mouth but no sound came out. The toad princess looked very surprised.

“Here, Priscilla,” Sugar said. She magicked a bag of dried flies and handed them to the toad. “You can have these to make up for not being able to speak.” Sugar looked at Delphie. “You’d better get going.”

“OK! See you later!” Delphie said, pulling the warm rugs around her.

And so the sleigh set off. As the horses cantered away, their hooves sent up clouds of sparkling snow and their breath looked like steam in the frosty air. The wind rushed through Delphie’s hair and she laughed in delight as Griff urged the horses on and the countryside raced by.

About twenty minutes later, a dark castle loomed up in the distance. “King Rat’s castle,” Delphie breathed, remembering it from before. She wondered if Skye had got there and passed around the news about the princess. She didn’t have long to wait to find out.

Six of King Rat’s mouse guards were standing on the roadside, dressed in leather waistcoats with swords hanging from their belts. They were each as tall as Delphie. One of them stepped out into the road and held up his paw, bringing the sleigh to a halt. “Who are you?” he called. “Declare your names!”

Delphie’s heart beat faster as she stood up in the sleigh. Would they believe her? What if they realised it was all a trick? Their swords looked very sharp. She took a deep breath and hoped her voice wouldn’t shake. “This is Princess Priscilla of Toadonia!” she declared. “And I am her Royal Assistant.”