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Prince Iggy and the Kingdom of Naysayer (The Adventures of Prince Iggy Book 1)
by Aldo Fynn
All Iggy Rose wants is for the kids at the Naysayer Academy to like him, and one special girl in particular. But instead, he gets teased and taunted. Every day, he eats alone in the cafeteria and gets beaten up after school on the playground. But when a cruel prank leads to Iggy’s escape from the academy, a wild, unimaginable adventure begins.
Why is King Naysayer offering a hefty reward for Iggy’s capture? When Iggy joins forces with an eclectic cast of characters, he discovers the answer. But before he can escape from the kingdom of Naysayer, Iggy must first reclaim what is rightfully his. Does this sad, lonely boy have the courage to battle the biggest school bully, a mean headmistress, and a greedy, cruel king? Will Iggy finally believe in himself and discover his true destiny?
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Enjoy Our Free Excerpt:
About Prince Iggy and the Kingdom of Naysayer
All Iggy Rose wants is for the kids at the Naysayer Academy to like him, and one special girl in particular. But instead, he gets teased and taunted. Every day, he eats alone in the cafeteria and gets beaten up after school on the playground. But when a cruel prank leads to Iggy’s escape from the academy, a wild, unimaginable adventure begins.
Why is King Naysayer offering a hefty reward for Iggy’s capture? When Iggy joins forces with an eclectic cast of characters, he discovers the answer. But before he can escape from the kingdom of Naysayer, Iggy must first reclaim what is rightfully his. Does this sad, lonely boy have the courage to battle the biggest school bully, a mean headmistress, and a greedy, cruel king? Will Iggy finally believe in himself and discover his true destiny?
Chapter 1
In the kingdom of Naysayer there was a large, gloomy building. The building was painted black, like the darkest night, and had many towers that spiraled high into the air. Ugly, thick iron bars covered every one of its many windows, and an imposing ironstone wall circled its vast courtyard. This building had such a miserable air, and was so dreary in its appearance, that even the sun refused to shine down on it. Instead, every day of the year, a dark thundercloud hovered over the building’s tallest tower, turning everything down below or inside the color gray.
This horrible building was called the Naysayer Academy. This was where all the boys and girls of the kingdom of Naysayer were forced to live and study. Once admitted to the academy, the children of Naysayer could never leave. They spent every single day walking the academy’s long, dreary halls to class.
It was a very sad way for a child to grow up…but it was the saddest of all for a young boy named Iggy.
Chapter 2
Iggy looked down at the cold, lumpy porridge Ms. Heavybody plopped into his bowl, and began to feel sick.
“Take your porridge and move on!” shouted the cafeteria lady.
In the Naysayer Academy, children were fed porridge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—every day of the year. Although the porridge was always cold and very lumpy—and on some days even a strange brownish-green color—most students were usually too hungry to complain.
“What’s wrong with you?! Take your porridge and move on already!” shouted the wart-covered Ms. Heavybody, annoyed that Iggy was holding up the line.
“It’s—it’s just that yesterday’s porridge made me really sick,” Iggy finally said. “Is there any chance I could just get some toast? The toast can be all burned up, moldy, and stale. I don’t care. I just think if I have any more porridge I might…I’m afraid I might die.”
Suddenly Ms. Heavybody reached over her counter and picked Iggy up by one arm. “I’ll let you know something, you little good-for-nothing,” she snarled, showing her many rotten teeth. “My porridge hasn’t killed anybody since October of last year. Now either you eat my porridge or you don’t eat anything at all!”
Iggy looked away. Ms. Heavybody’s porridge may not have killed anybody since October, but he wasn’t so sure about her breath.
“Stop being so annoying, Iggy! We’re hungry!” shouted one of his classmates.
Iggy turned his head. A long line of hungry kids stared at him as they waited their turn to eat.
Iggy sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll eat the porridge.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Ms. Heavybody as she dropped him back on the ground. “Next in line!”
Iggy picked up his tray and stepped away from the counter. He walked toward a long table where all the Naysayer children sat and ate. He watched as his fellow students greedily scooped up mouthfuls of porridge from their tiny bowls.
As usual, Iggy scanned the long, crowded table for a place to sit.
“Keep walking, stink head.”
Iggy turned around and saw Teddy. Teddy was the largest kid in school and definitely the meanest. “We don’t need you stinking up our table,” he said, disgusted.
“I don’t stink,” said Iggy. “I washed myself three times last night to make sure.”
“Well, you should have made it four. Now keep walking! You know this isn’t your table.” Teddy then bumped his tray against Iggy’s.
Not wanting to get into another fight, Iggy turned and walked toward a small, empty table in a far-off corner of the cafeteria. He sighed deeply as he put down his tray and took a seat. Iggy did not know why, but nobody at the Naysayer Academy liked him. At first, he thought it was because he wasn’t as smart as everybody else, but then he realized the other kids also made fun of the way he looked.
“Watch out! Here comes vomit face!” some of the kids would shout as he walked past them in the hallway.
But that wasn’t all. The kids also made fun of the way he smelled. And thiswas something he had tried very hard to change. As Iggy had just informed Teddy, every night, while all the other children in the academy were sleeping, he would step out of bed and tiptoe across the cold marble floor toward the boys’ bathroom. There, in the middle of the night, he would scrub his entire body with soap—sometimes even two or three times—until he was positive there was no way he could smell bad. But no matter how many times he washed himself, the next morning, somebody would always tell him he stank.
“Maybe there isn’t areason why the other kids don’t like me. Maybe they just don’t like me because of who I am. But I can’t change who I am,” Iggy thought to himself. “Although I really wish I could.”
Iggy pondered his loneliness. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something squirm in his bowl of porridge. He took a closer look and saw little black tentacles swirling about. He reached down and gasped as he pulled a big black cockroach out of his porridge. He held the insect up by its twisting feelers and watched as it tried to break free. As he examined the cockroach, he had an interesting thought…He wondered if the cockroach had a mother and father. He then wondered if perhaps the cockroach was like him, and didn’t know whom its mother and father were. He then wondered if the cockroach was just like him and was also very lonely. Perhaps the cockroach was so lonely it might even want to be his friend. Iggy held the cockroach up close to his face.
“Okay, Mr. Cockroach. I’m going to put you down on the table and let you free. I would also like to extend my offer of friendship. I think you and I could have a lot in common.”
Sadly, the second Iggy placed the cockroach down on the table and let it loose, it quickly darted off the table, plopped onto the floor, and scuttled toward a crack in a nearby wall. “I guess I wouldn’t want to be my friend either,” Iggy muttered as he watched the cockroach disappear.
“Hey, butt face!” somebody shouted.
Iggy looked up and saw Teddy hovering over him. As usual, he did not look happy.
“I’m going to beat you up after school!”
“Why this time?” asked Iggy, sighing.
“Because you’re ugly and stupid and I say so, that’s why!”
“That’s what you said last week,” said Iggy.
“Well, nothing’s changed!” Teddy yelled.
Teddy then snatched Iggy’s bowl of porridge and took it back to the other table. Iggy sat there, hungry, and watched as Teddy shoved a huge spoonful of porridge into his mouth. Then, as Teddy licked the last helping of porridge from his spoon, Iggy noticed the other children sitting at the table pointing and laughing.
Iggy wished he had left the cockroach in his porridge after all. “Then again,” he thought, “Teddy probably eats bugs for breakfast. And that wouldn’t be a nice thing to do to the cockroach.”
Chapter 3
Iggy sat by himself in the back of the classroom. Going to class made him nervous because he had a hard time keeping up with the other students. Often he would get so frustrated he would spend most of his time just staring out the window. Today, however, something blocked his view. A black crow had perched itself outside the window near his desk. Iggy felt like the crow was studying him very closely. Then he noticed the crow had a silver chain wrapped around its black feathery neck. From the chain hung a bright red amulet.
“Well, that’s rather odd,” Iggy thought as he looked at the amulet around the crow’s neck. Then Iggy looked down at his hand. On his right hand, he wore a silver ring with a red stone in the center. The stone was the same exact color as the amulet around the black crow’s neck.
Iggy’s ring had always been a mystery. He had no idea how he got it. Perhaps his mother and father had given it to him, but he couldn’t be sure since he had no memory of his parents. All he knew was that none of the other kids had rings. This was probably another reason they didn’t like him.
Last year, Teddy had tried to take his ring, but Iggy bit Teddy’s ear until he gave it back. That’s how much the ring meant to him.
Iggy leaned over his desk and took a closer look at the shiny red amulet around the bird’s neck. Suddenly, the bird crowed, flapped its wings, and took to flight. Iggy leaned farther over his desk and watched the crow soar high into the sky, then disappear into the dark, gray cloud that hung over the academy.
Startled, Iggy heard a loud SMACK!
“Iggy, pay attention!” screeched Miss Spitfire.
Iggy turned and saw Miss Spitfire, the tall, thin headmistress of the academy, standing in the front of the classroom. She firmly clutched her wooden walking stick in her wrinkled hand. Next to Miss Spitfire stood a short, pudgy man dressed in a red robe and wearing a golden crown. “This is no way to behave in front of King Naysayer,” hissed the headmistress.
Iggy quickly dropped back into his chair. Miss Spitfire grimaced as she pushed her glasses up her crooked nose. She turned to the short king standing beside her. “I’m afraid, Your Highness, that young boy is one of our more challenged students. He’s not all there, to put it mildly.”
Iggy had forgotten that today King Naysayer, the ruler of the kingdom of Naysayer, was visiting the academy to see how his students were progressing. Iggy noticed the king’s round, fleshy face had a thin, peculiar mustache, and the king was staring straight at him.
“If you don’t start paying attention, Iggy, I’ll add one more lump to the back of your head,” snapped Miss Spitfire.
“Yes, Miss Spitfire,” said Iggy as he sat straight up in his chair. Iggy felt a cold shiver run through his entire body.
“Now, class, tomorrow, as we all know, is the king’s forty-fifth—”
“Uh-hum,” coughed King Naysayer.
“I mean, twenty-fifth birthday.”
“That’s better,” said King Naysayer.
“And as a special birthday present, I thought we would show Our Royal Highness all the wonderful things you have learned here at the academy. Let’s start with you, Teddy. Can you tell King Naysayer why it’s not good to share?”
Teddy’s pimply face broke into a smile. “That’s easy, Miss Spitfire. It’s not good to share because if you share, it means you get less.”
“Good job as usual, Teddy.”
“Now, how about this one?” continued Miss Spitfire. “Can anyone tell me when you should be honest?”
All the children—that is, all except Iggy—eagerly raised their hands. Iggy always found it difficult to remember the answers to Miss Spitfire’s questions. It was like his brain was telling him one thing, but his heart was saying another. He had a hard time deciding between the two.
“How about you, Clarisse?” said Miss Spitfire as her crooked finger pointed to a pretty girl with blonde hair sitting in the first row. “Can you tell King Naysayer when you should be honest?”
Iggy thought Clarisse was the prettiest girl in school. He watched as she nodded yes to Miss Spitfire, looked at King Naysayer, and nervously smiled. “You should only be honest, Your Highness, when you know being honest means you will get something in return. If you won’t get anything in return, then being honest isn’t worth it. Lying is always the best policy.”
Iggy watched the short king waddle to Clarisse’s desk. The king raised himself onto the tips of his toes so he was eye level with the pretty young girl.
“Good job, young lady,” said King Naysayer. “I see a very bright future in store for you.”
Iggy noticed Clarisse blush as she lowered her eyes.
“Now, whom should I ask next?” said Miss Spitfire as she skimmed the sea of raised hands with her crooked index finger. “How about…”
“This boy,” interrupted King Naysayer as he wobbled down the center aisle of the classroom, heading in Iggy’s direction. Iggy pushed his body farther back against his chair as he watched the king approach.
“What’s his name again?” asked the king as his piercing dark eyes honed in on Iggy.
“Iggy, Your Highness, our worst student,” said Miss Spitfire as she hurried behind the king, rapidly tapping her walking staff on the floor. Then she whispered into the king’s ear, “He’s the one who washed up on our shores all those years ago.”
“Ah yes,” said the king as he eyed Iggy. “I remember you. A baby sent out to sea. You must consider yourself rather lucky to have wound up in Naysayer?”
Miss Spitfire whacked Iggy’s desk with her staff. “Answer, boy!”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Iggy said.
“I thought so,” said the king. “Well, according to Miss Spitfire, you are the worst student in the academy. Is that true?”
Iggy looked down at his desk. He felt his hands get clammy and beads of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.
“I—I—I guess so.”
“Well, that’s not something you should be proud of, is it?” said the king with a giggle.
“I guess not,” Iggy said softly.
Then, the king’s eyes began to sparkle.
“Oh my…what’s this?” he said rather excitedly.
Iggy felt King Naysayer’s cold, pudgy hand suddenly touch his. The king had noticed Iggy’s ring. The ring began to sparkle. Iggy watched as the king’s eyes widened.
“I want that!” said the king as he tried to pull the ring off Iggy’s finger. Iggy quickly pulled back his hand. The king hadn’t expected that.
“Well, well, well…” he said. Then, with a devilish grin, the king turned to Miss Spitfire. “Miss Spitfire, I have a question for this young boy.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” said Miss Spitfire, nodding. She smacked Iggy’s desk and turned to the other students. “Class, let’s hope Iggy answers correctly, because if he doesn’t, none of you will get any porridge for dinner tonight.”
Iggy’s classmates murmured in annoyance.
“You better get this right, Iggy, or I am going to beat you ten times over!” shouted Teddy from the front of the classroom.
“Silence!” yelled Miss Spitfire. “Well, it looks like today is your lucky day, Iggy. What’s your question, Your Royal Highness?”
“My question is this,” said King Naysayer. Suddenly he jumped onto Iggy’s desk and pointed to the ring on Iggy’s hand. “To whom does this ring belong?”
“You’re a real idiot if you can’t get this one,” muttered Teddy as he turned in his seat with disgust.
“Silence,” shouted Miss Spitfire again. “Go ahead, Iggy. Answer King Naysayer’s question.”
Iggy watched King Naysayer lick his wet lips as his body twitched with anticipation. He eagerly rubbed his hands together as he asked again, “Well, boy, to whom does this ring belong?”
Iggy looked down at the bright red ring on his finger. The palms of his hands were soaking from sweat. He looked out the window. He wished he was like that black crow and could fly up into the big sky. He knew the answer to the question. The ring belonged to him. It was the only thing that belonged to him.
“Time’s up!” squealed the king as he bent down and grabbed Iggy’s hand. Iggy tried to pull his hand back, but the king would not let go. The king’s face was now inches from his own, and he could see his nervous reflection in the king’s eyes.
“I’ll ask you one last time, boy!” shouted the king. “To whom does this ring belong?!” The king yanked on the ring, trying to dislodge it from Iggy’s finger.
Iggy pulled in the other direction.
“It—it—it belongs to me!” shouted Iggy.
WHACK! A sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of Iggy’s head.
Iggy felt the ring slide off his finger.
After hitting him with her walking stick, Miss Spitfire said, “Wrong, as usual…”
Iggy closed his eyes and fought back the tears. When he finally opened them, he looked up and watched King Naysayer cram the bright red ring onto his pudgy finger. The king marveled at it and began giggling with glee. Then he jumped off Iggy’s desk.
“It’s quite beautiful, I must say. I’ll consider this an early birthday present from you to me,” said the king as he admired the ring. Then he looked straight at Iggy. “Do you know what the right answer to that question was, young boy?”
“No,” said Iggy as he looked back down at his desk, rubbing the back of his head and wishing he could just disappear.
“Me. The ring belongs to me,” said the king. “Everything in this kingdom belongs to me.”
King Naysayer pulled on the lapels of his robe, took one more look at his shiny new ring, and then motioned to Miss Spitfire. “Well, I think I’ve seen enough here, Miss Spitfire. Good job turning this young group of children into well-rounded members of our society. I trust I’ll see you at my birthday celebration?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” said Miss Spitfire.
“Good, till then.”
King Naysayer quickly waddled out of the room. Just as he left, a bell rang, signaling the end of class. The students quickly got up and shuffled past Iggy’s desk, each one giving him a cold, deadly stare.
“Remember, children!” shouted Miss Spitfire. “Because of Iggy, you won’t get any dinner tonight.”
Iggy was rubbing the back of his head, trying to relieve the pain, when he noticed Clarisse—the pretty young girl with blonde hair—standing next to his desk. Two other girls stood behind her. For the past year, Iggy wanted to invite Clarisse to eat lunch with him, but he could never muster the courage. Now, as he looked into Clarisse’s bright blue eyes, he noticed a strange feeling in his stomach.
“Tell him,” said one of the girls to Clarisse.
Clarisse looked at Iggy. Iggy felt the strange feeling in his stomach now move up to his chest.
“You know what, Iggy?” Clarisse finally said.
“What?” Iggy asked, awkwardly smiling.
“You really stink,” Clarisse softly muttered, as she lowered her head and walked away. The two girls standing behind Clarisse stuck their tongues out at Iggy and then followed her.
Iggy sighed. He was the only person left in the room. The pain from his head had started to pass. He wiped a tear from his eye. He sighed again and looked at his right hand. The one thing in his lonely world that belonged to him had been taken away. After a few moments had passed, Iggy slowly raised his tiny, thin body up from his desk. He then lifted his droopy arm and took a big sniff of his armpit. He couldn’t smell anything.
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