The Pinkies march the trio through a gate, passing the pink marble walls protecting the city.
Inside the city walls, Sgt. Rik, Tara, and Bobo look around, as the Pinkies continue their forced march. The houses are big and substantial, all round in shape, with domed roofs and circular windows and doorways. The street on which they march is the only street, and it winds like a corkscrew to the center of the city. It is paved with pink marble, and between the street and the houses that line both sides of it are gardens filled with pink flowers and pink grass lawns shaded by pink trees and shrubbery. The Pinkies inhabiting the city all come out to stare at the strange trio. Many of them get out their pointed sticks in case the strangers attack them or break away from their guards. A few, bolder than others, follow on at the tail end of the procession.
The trio is marched to an open, circular space at the center of the city. All around are two rows of large, pink statues, life-sized and beautifully sculpted. They are statues of former Kings and Queens of the Pink Country. At the very center of the public meeting space is a small, low house, domed like all the others but built of coarse pink stone rather than marble and lacking any ornamentation. Coralie halts the procession before the little stone building.
"Here is the palace of Tourmaline, our Queen," announces Coralie.
"This dump?" asks Tara.
"Did you suppose a palace would be like one of our handsome residences?" asks Coralie.
"Better than this," observes Tara.
"Come!" commands Coralie. "You three must follow me to the presence of Tourmaline."
Coralie enters the humble palace followed by Sgt. Rik, Tara, and Bobo. Tourmaline, a young girl, sits darning a pair of stockings. She is beautiful, slender, and not at all like the other Pinkies. Her complexion is not a decided pink, but a soft rosy tint not much deeper than that of Tara's skin. Instead of a silken gown, she wears a plain robe. Across her brow, however, is a band of rose gold, in the center of which is set a luminous pink jewel which gleams like a diamond. She looks up from her work with an expression of resignation.
"What is it, Coralie?" asks Tourmaline.
"Here are three strange people, Tourmaline, who say they have entered our country through the Fog Bank. They tell a tale of an escape from the Blueskins, so I decided to bring them to you, that you may determine their fate."
Tourmaline listens with patience and resignation, as Sgt. Rik finishes telling of the events.
"…And then the big frog helped us, and we got through all right."
"But what can you do here?" asks Tourmaline. "You are not like my people, the Pinkies, and there is no place for you in our country."
"That's true enough," agrees Sgt. Rik, "but we had to go somewhere, and this was the likeliest place we could think of."
"In all our history, you are the first people from outside our borders who have ever stepped foot in our land. We do not hate you, as you say the Blueskins do, nor are we savage or cruel, but we do not want you here, and I am really puzzled what to do."
"Isn't there a law to cover this case?" asks Coralie.
"I do not remember any such law," notes Tourmaline." There is a law that if any of the Blueskins break through the Fog Bank, they shall be driven back with sharp sticks. But you are not Blueskins, so this Law does not apply to you. Therefore, in order to decide your fate, I will summon a Council of twelve of my people, who will vote as to whether you shall be permitted to remain here or not."
Pink clouds gather ominously in the sky above the city center where many of the inhabitants crowd around the statues of past rulers. Tourmaline sits on a common rocking chair with the Council of Pinkies beside her, six men and six women. Sgt. Rik, Tara, and Bobo stand surrounded by Pinkies. Tara steps forward.
"What we'd like is to stay here until we can find a way to get home to the Earth again," pleads Tara. "Your country is much nicer than the Blue Country, and we like you from what we've seen of you, so if you'll let us stay, we won't be any trouble for you."
"How strangely light her color is, which is in her favor," observes the First Pinky Counselor. "But her eyes are of a dreadful tint which prevails in the other half of Sky Island, while her dark hair is a color unknown to us. She is not like our people and would not harmonize with the universal color here."
"That's true," notes the Second Pinky Counselor. "The three strangers are all inharmonious. If allowed to remain here, they would ruin the color scheme of the country."
"In spite of that," argues Coralie, "they are harmless creatures and have done nothing wrong."
"Yes, they have!" retorts the Third Pinky Counselor. "They have wronged us by coming here."
"They could not help doing that," answers Coralie, "and it is their misfortune that they are here on Sky Island at all. Perhaps if we keep them with us for a while, they may find a way to return safely to their own country."
"We'll fly through the sky / by-and-by--ki-yi!" squawks Parrot.
"Is that true?" asks the Fourth Pinky Counselor.
"We would if we could," answers Tara.
"Perhaps if we pushed them off the edge, they could fly down again," offers the Fifth Pinky Counselor. "Who knows?"
"We know," answers Sgt. Rik. "We'd tumble, but we wouldn't fly."
"They'd take a fall / And that is all," add Parrot.
"We are ready to vote as to your fate," says Tourmaline. "We have decided there are but two things for us to do. Either permit you to remain here as honored guests or take you to an edge of the island and throw you over the bushes into the sky."
Silence and stillness color the faces of Tara, Bobo, and Sgt. Rik.
"Oh, what a dump! Oh, what a jump! / Won't we all thump when we land with a bump?" moans Parrot.
"If we do, none of us will know it," says Sgt. Rik.
"Who votes to allow them to remain?" asks Tourmaline. Six of the Pinkie Counselors raise their hands. "Who votes to throw them over the bushes?" The remaining six Counselors raise their hands. "We seem evenly divided on this matter."
"But as Queen, you have a deciding vote, don't you?" pleads Tara.
"Since I have asked these good people to advise me, it would be impolite to side against some of them and with the others. I must ask someone else to cast the deciding vote," says Tourmaline.
"Who will that be?" asks Tara.
"I shall call upon Rosalie the Witch. She is wise and honest and will decide the matter justly." All the Pinkies in the City Center nod their heads in agreement with Tourmaline.
Tourmaline rises from her chair, takes a small, pink parcel from her pocket, and pours from it a fine pink powder into the palm of her hand. The powder billows into a large pink cloud that envelopes all the space around the rocking chair. When the cloud clears, Rosalie the Witch sits there.
Tara glances from side-to-side and sees the Pinkies bow their heads. Rosalie nods her head in a dignified salutation. She is taller than and not as fat as the Pinkies, and her hair, skin, and eyes are all of a rosy color, and her gown is of spidery web gauze. Her features are smiling and attractive. Tourmaline approaches.
"I have summoned you here that you may cast the deciding vote," says the humble Queen. "What shall we do, Rosalie? Allow these strangers to remain here or toss them over the bushes into the sky?"
After casting her gaze over the assembly of Pinkies and Earth people, the Witch speaks. "Before I decide, I must see who these strangers are. I will follow their adventures in a vision to discover if they have told the truth." And with that, she closes her eyes and bows her head.
"Rock-a-bye, baby, on a treetop; / don't wake her up, or the vision will stop," chides Parrot.
A pink mist forms in the air around Rosalie, and in the mist a vision begins to appear: first, the flight of Tara, Bobo, and Sgt. Rik; the arrival at Sky Island; and the meeting with the Boolooroo. Tourmaline and the Pinkies look at the vision. The vision shows the Boolooroo testing the umbrella and in a fit of rage casting it into a corner underneath the cabinet. Bobo turns
side-to-side to Tara and Sgt. Rik and gestures to the vision revealing why he could not find the umbrella. The vision ends with the trip through the Fog Bank on the back of the Frog and tumbling on the grass of Pink Country. Rosalie lifts her head with a smile of triumph at the success of her witchcraft.
"Did you see clearly?" asks the Rosalie.
"Oh, we did, O Wonderful Witch," exclaims the Queen.
"Then there can be no doubt in your minds that these strangers have told you truth."
"None at all."
"What arguments are advanced by the six Counselors who voted to allow them to remain here as guests?" asks Rosalie.
Coralie steps forward. "They have done us no harm, therefore we should, in honor and justice, do them no harm."
"What arguments have the others advanced?"
"They interfere with our color scheme and do not harmonize with our people," complains the Second Pinky Counselor.
"I think I now fully comprehend the matter, and so I will cast my vote," says Rosalie. "I vote in favor of taking the Earth people to the edge of the island and casting them into the sky."
As pink rain clouds gather above, Sgt. Rik pulls Tara and Bobo close to him.
Tourmaline steps forward. "The case is decided. The strangers shall be taken at once to the edge of the island and thrown over the bushes into the sky."
"May I ask why you have decided to murder us in this cold-blooded way?" demands Sgt. Rik.
"I did not decide to murder you," answers Rosalie calmly.
"To throw us off the island will be murder."
"Then they cannot throw you off.
"The Queen says they will," argues Sgt. Rik.
"I know," says Rosalie, "but I am quite positive her people can't do it."
"Why not?" asks Tourmaline.
"It is evident to me that these Earth people are protected by a special power. If you think upon it carefully, you will realize that the umbrella has no power in itself, but it is enchanted so that it is made to fly and carry passengers through the air. This being the case, I do not think you will be allowed to injure these favored people in any way."
"But why vote to have us thrown off?" pleads Tara.
"I am curious to see in what manner this special power will defend you," answers the Witch.
Suddenly, pink rain begins to fall. The Pinkies remove gossamer rain coats from their pockets and quickly slip them on. The rain begins as a sprinkling, but it quickly becomes a shower.
Tourmaline shouts, "To the bushes!"
Chapter Eleven
Regime Change
In the downpour, as Rosalie and Tourmaline lead the way, the Pinkies with their sharpened sticks force march Sgt. Rik, Tara, and Bobo to the edge of the country. As the procession advances, the Pinkies' feet sink out of sight in the pink mud.
Tara leans toward Sgt. Rik. "Will you ever forgive me?"
"What are you talking about? It's a walk in the rain," says Sgt. Rik, as his legs sink out of sight in the mud. Tara and Bobo help him out, and they move forward.
Parrot bounces on Tara's shoulder. "The rose is red, the violet's blue, / the Pinkies are a beastly crew!"
The procession approaches a row of bushes at the edge of Sky Island. The rain subsides, and the pink clouds begin to open up. Arriving at the bushes, Tourmaline holds up her arm, and the procession halts. Tourmaline turns toward the Pinkies.
"Two of you seize the girl. Two others seize the boy. It may take four of you to seize the man."
"More than that, your Majesty," says the tough veteran.
The Pinkies move to seize the trio, but as they do the light on their faces and fat bodies grows quickly bright, so much so that they stop and look up. Sgt. Rik, prepared to defend himself, also looks to the sky.
An immense rainbow appears between the separating pink clouds. It is perfectly formed and glistens with a dozen superb tintings that are vivid, brilliant, and perfectly blended. Tara, Bobo, Tourmaline, Rosalie, and all the Pinkies at the edge of the island look up enraptured. The end of the rainbow steadily descends until it rests on the pink field at the feet of the Pinkies.
Rainbow Empress in a fleecy robe of rainbow tints descends to the end of the bow but without stepping off of it.
Tourmaline looks up in amazement. "Rainbow Empress!"
Rosalie whispers to her, "What did I tell you?"
Rainbow Empress bends down to the Earth boy. "Bobo. What have you gotten yourself into now?
"It started out as an adventure, but it's gone awfully wrong, and now these people want to kill us," says Bobo.
Rainbow Empress rises and steps off the bow, which quickly lifts into the sky. She turns to the Pinkies. "Why do you want to kill these innocent people?"
"They do not harmonize with our color scheme," answers Tourmaline.
"That is utter nonsense," says Rainbow Empress. "You are so dreadfully pink here that your color has become tame and insipid. What you need is some contrast to enhance the charm of your country, and to keep these three people here would be a benefit rather than an injury.
En masse, the Pinkies drop their heads in shame.
"But the Great Book of Laws says our country shall harbor none but Pinkies," counters Tourmaline.
"Where is this Book of Laws?" asks Rainbow Empress.
The First Counselor steps forward holding the Great Book of Laws. Rainbow Empress leafs through it until she stops on a particular page. "Here is a Law which reads as follows: 'Everyone in the Pink Country is entitled to the protection of the ruler and to a house and a good living, except only the Blueskins. If any of the natives of the Blue Country should ever break through the Fog Bank, they must be driven back with sharp sticks.' Have you read this Law, Tourmaline?"
"Yes," replies Tourmaline, "but how does that apply to these strangers?"
"Why, being in the Pink Country, as they surely are, and not being Blueskins, they are by Law entitled to protection, to a home, and a good living. The Law does not say 'Pinkies,' it says any who are in Pink Country."
Parrot chatters, "The rose is red, the violet's blue, / The law's the thing, because it's true!"
Tourmaline steps forward. "I am indeed relieved to have you interpret the Law in this way. I knew it was cruel to throw these people over the edge, but that seemed to us the only thing to be done."
Rainbow Empress looks skeptically at Tourmaline. "Here is another Law which you have also overlooked. It says, 'The person, whether man or woman, boy or girl, living in Pink Country who has the lightest skin shall be the Ruler--King or Queen--as long as he or she lives, unless someone of a lighter skin is found, and this ruler's commands all the people must obey.' Do you know this Law?"
"Oh, yes!" answers Tourmaline. "That's why I am Queen. You will notice my complexion is of a lighter pink than that of any other of my people."
"Yes," affirms Rainbow Empress, "when you were made Queen without doubt you had the lightest-colored skin in all the Pink Country. But now you are no longer Queen, Tourmaline."
Astonishment flashes across the faces of all the assembled Pinkies. Rainbow Empress extends her hand to Tourmaline. "Give me that circlet from your brow, Tourmaline. Because here is one lighter in color than yourself." Rainbow Empress points to Tara. "This girl is, by Law of the Great Book, the rightful Queen of the Pinkies, and as loyal citizens you are all obliged to obey her commands."
Tourmaline removes the rose-gold circlet with its glittering jewel and hands it to Rainbow Empress, who, in turn, places it on Tara's brow.
"Greet your new Queen, Pinkies!" announces Rainbow Empress.
En masse, the Pinkies kneel before Tara. Sgt. Rik shouts, "Long live Queen Tara!"
The Pinkies shout jubilantly, "Long live, Queen Tara!"
Bobo turns to Rainbow Empress. "Thank you! This will fix us all right."
"I have done nothing," responds Rainbow Empress. "It is the Law of Pink Country. Isn't it surprising how little people know of the Laws?" She turns and calls out to the crowd. "Are you all c
ontented?"
The Pinkies respond with an approving shout. Tara steps forward. "Does this mean I have to wear one of Tourmaline's outfits?"
"Yes, you must follow the customs of the country, absurd as they may be."
Rosalie approaches Tara and Rainbow Empress. "Rainbow Empress, I will faithfully devote myself to Queen Tara as long as she will need my services."
"Thank you, Rosalie." Rainbow Empress takes one of Tara's hands, while Rosalie the Witch takes the other. As they raise Tara's arms, the Pinkies shout approval.
Parrot squawks, "We're in the sky and flyin' high; / We're goin' to live instead of die, / It's time to laugh instead of cry; / Oh, my! Ki-yi! Ain't this a pie?"
The rainbow suddenly appears and drops its end nearby. Rainbow Empress kisses Tara on the cheek then turns and nods with a smile at Rosalie and then Sgt. Rik. Bobo steps up to Rainbow Empress, and she kneels to him.
"We still need to get back to Earth," says Bobo.
"Don't despair whatever happens, Bobo," says Rainbow Empress. "For behind the clouds is always the Rainbow."
Rainbow Empress kisses Bobo on his cheeks, rises, and steps lightly on the colored arch. The Pinkies wave farewell. The bow lifts Rainbow Empress into the sky and slowly dissolves itself among the scattered clouds.
Tara turns to Bobo. "So, how do you know her?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, we've got a long time."
"No," answers Bobo, "we've got to get home. Our families will be worried about us, and Earth's the best place to live."
"The rose is red, the violet's blue / The umbrella's stolen by the Boolooroo," reminds Parrot.
"And we have to get it back," says Sgt. Rik.
"If you had your umbrella," asks Rosalie, "could you fly home again safely?"
"Of course, we could," replies Bobo.
"And would you prefer going home to remaining here?"
"We would indeed," answers Sgt. Rik.
"Then why not get the umbrella?"
"How?" asks Tara.
"You must go into Blue Country and force the Boolooroo to give up your property," says Rosalie.