‘Please be as good inside,’ Charlotte said under her breath, as she closed her eyes tightly.
She opened her eyes and followed Molly into the building.
Inside was roomy with wooden floors and mauve walls. It was dusty but it wasn’t damp and there was a homely feel to the place.
‘This is perfect,' Molly clapped her hands excitedly.
‘Flame is going to love it.’
‘We could put his bed over there,’ she pointed to the corner of the room. ‘And maybe change the color.’
‘It's so much cozier than the dungeon,' Charlotte smiled.
‘Good find Charlotte.’
‘Thanks. I’m really glad we’ve found somewhere great for Flame...but is there any chance we can go to bed now?’ she yawned again.
‘Yes, Charlotte. That sounds like a very good idea,’ Molly smirked.
***
The next few days were spent sprucing up Flame’s new home. Molly and Charlotte put down a mattress and a blanket for him to sleep on. They hung colorful fairy lights around the room that lit-up and sparked at different intervals and Molly used magic to make the walls rainbow-colored.
Flame’s new home was ready and they knew that it was time to show it to him. They waited until the rest of the Academy was asleep and then Molly gently shook a snoring Flame.
‘Flame, wake-up. We’ve got a surprise for you.’
Flame opened one eye but closed it again and went back to snoring.
‘Flame,’ Charlotte stood in front of him. ‘I’ve got a treat for you,’ she held out an apple.
He opened one eye and then the other and sniffed at the air before he lunged forward and gobbled up the apple.
‘Food, of course, the sure-fire way to get Flame’s attention,’ Molly rolled her eyes.
‘Come on Flame, I know a place where there are loads more apples.'
At the mention of ‘apples’ Flame pricked up his ears. He eagerly followed Charlotte and Molly out of the room and along the silent Academy corridors.
When they stepped outside, Molly tied a piece of rope around his neck so that he could fly alongside her. They made their way towards the woodland area and flew downwards. Molly and Flame landed on the side of the stream where the house was but Charlotte landed on the other side of the bridge.
‘Charlotte, you’re on the wrong side.’ Molly groaned, as she flicked her four-strand braided hair behind her back.
‘I know,’ Charlotte blushed. ‘I just really wanted to cross the bridge.
‘Fine! Hurry up then, we haven’t got all night.’
Molly and Flame watched on as Charlotte clutched her broom in one hand and her wand in the other, and carefully made her way across the wood and stone bridge.
She was unable to hide her smile as she scurried over to them.
‘Happy now?’ Molly smirked.
‘Yes,’ Charlotte blushed again.
‘I don’t see why you get to have all the fun,’ she untied the piece of rope from her broom and led Flame towards the bridge.
She had to tug at the rope to get a cautious Flame to cross the bridge, but eventually he followed her over it. When they reached the other side he rushed back to cross it again, dragging a startled Molly behind him.
‘Flame likes it too,’ Charlotte giggled.
Flame rushed over to her (still dragging Molly behind him) and rubbed his head against Charlotte’s side.
‘Right, let’s stop messing around and get on with this.’ Molly huffed, as she took a firm grip of the rope and led Flame through the canopy of trees.
Fairies twinkled from tree-to-tree and filled the air with their soft singing.
Flame was so fascinated by them that he almost walked into a tree.
They all came to a stop in front of the yellow door of the wooden house.
‘Flame, welcome to your new home.’ Molly smiled.
She led Flame into the building and untied the rope. He flew up into the air and excitedly swooped around the room before he landed on his bedding and snuggled up on it.
‘Do you like it Flame?’ Charlotte asked.
Flame stuck his tongue out at her before he stretched out his wings and flapped them. Charlotte sat down next to him and gently patted his head.
‘I take that as a yes,’ she chuckled. ‘It’s safe here Flame and you have space to move around and fly.’
‘Just try not to set anything on fire,’ Molly smirked.
‘We'll come and visit you every single day and bring you food and apples. Lots of apples.’
Flame’s ears pricked up and he panted excitedly.
‘Catch,’ Molly threw an apple into the air.
Flame immediately leaped upwards and caught the apple in his mouth.
‘We need him on our Save the Princess team,’ Charlotte smiled.
‘No, your team won their last match. I need him on my team, we’ve lost the last two games. Miss Moffat was furious when we lost our last match to Witchery College,’ Molly shuddered at the thought.
‘I think Miss Moffat would be even more furious if you added a dragon to the team.’
‘We could stick a uniform on him and a wig, she’d never notice,’ Molly smirked.
‘The scales might be a giveaway.’
‘I could tell her it was a gone wrong spell.’
Charlotte burst out laughing and Molly joined her. Flame looked at them both oddly as they continued to laugh.
He curled up into a ball on his new bedding and yawned.
‘I know the feeling Flame,’ Molly yawned. ‘Let’s leave him to settle in.’
Charlotte nodded before she gave Flame a goodbye pat on the head and then jumped up onto her feet.
‘I’ll come by tomorrow morning before breakfast,’ Molly said but Flame was already fast asleep.
They left the house and Molly put a spell on the door so that only her or Charlotte could open it.
‘Well, he seems to like it,’ Molly said.
‘He loves it.’
‘I know he does, it’ll just be strange not having him curled up at the end of my bed.’
‘I know,’ Charlotte put her hand on Molly's shoulder. ‘But we'll still visit him everyday.’
‘I guess you’re right, it’s for the best.’
‘True. Besides, if you ever get lonely you can always have Alice as your roommate,’ she grinned.
‘No thanks!’ Molly chuckled.
‘Come on, let’s get going,’ Charlotte hopped onto her broom.
‘I’m coming,’ Molly nodded.
She stepped onto her broom and gave one last glance at the yellow door before she flew up into the sky.
Chapter Two
‘Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore.’ Alice sang into her wand, as she danced around the bedroom.
Charlotte was sitting cross-legged on her bed, a spells textbook in hand. She didn’t have her headphones on, as the silence was only tolerable for so long. Besides, she had to admit that although hearing the same song over and over again was irritating, Alice’s singing had improved. She was no pop star but at least she now sang in tune...mostly.
‘Let it go, let it go....’
‘Alice, you’ve been singing for the last hour. Can’t you just shut-up?’ Stef growled at her.
‘I don’t care, what you say,’ Alice sang out, as she pointed over at Stef’s headphones that were on her bed.
‘I can’t wear them any longer, I feel like I’m in a bubble.’
‘Let the storm rage on. You never bothered me anyway.’
Stef huffed her way over to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Charlotte and Gerty exchanged knowing looks and Alice continued to sing her way around the bedroom.
A few minutes later, Stef returned from the bathroom, humming the chorus as she walked into the room. On realizing what she was doing, she stopped abruptly and told herself off.
Charlotte and Gerty both giggled and Stef shot them stern looks.
‘Come on Idina Me
nzel, we’re going to breakfast,’ Charlotte shouted.
She put down her book, stood up and walked alongside Gerty, a sulking Stef walking behind them.
‘Okay, I’m coming,’ Alice sang.
‘Her singing has definitely improved,’ Gerty whispered.
‘Yeah, it has.’
‘It’s still terrible though and that song is horrendous, I’ve heard it a thousand times!’ Stef grumbled.
‘I think she’s good,’ Gerty said.
‘Stef, she’s definitely not terrible,’ Charlotte added.
‘Okay, so she's not awful anymore but I still wouldn't buy her record.’
‘Hurry up, I have morning practice after breakfast and I don’t want you lot to make me late.’ Alice sang, as she danced up alongside Stef.
‘Whatever,’ Stef rolled her eyes. ‘I’ll be glad when this stupid competition is over with.’
‘It’ll be nice if we won though,’ Gerty smiled.
‘Of course we’ll win, I’m singing,’ Alice sang.
‘Miss Moffat would be happy if we did. She might even throw us another party,’ Gerty said.
‘I wonder if Charlie’s a good singer?’ Charlotte thought out loud.
‘Probably, he’s good at everything else,’ Stef said.
‘You’ll get to see him soon,’ Gerty grinned.
‘I know,’ Charlotte smiled. ‘I just hope that Margaret doesn’t try to cause trouble.’
‘Talking of Margaret, I haven’t seen much of her lately,’ Stef said.
‘I saw her yesterday, she was studying in the library,’ Gerty added.
‘I saw her sitting out in the courtyard, she was reading a book. Suspicious if you ask me, I reckon she’s up to something,’ Stef said.
‘Maybe she’s just lonely. She hasn't got Demi anymore and she doesn’t talk much to anyone else,’ Gerty said.
‘Good, it’s her own fault she’s lonely. She’s the one who’s been horrible to everyone for no reason,’ Stef snapped.
‘You should all be resting your voices for singing practice,’ Alice sang out.
‘Like you can talk,’ Stef snorted.
‘I am an experienced singer, you are amateurs.’
‘I hope there are pancakes,’ Gerty weaved her arm through Charlotte’s and they walked together into the great hall.
Charlotte nodded. She thought that Margaret's behavior was odd; it wasn’t like her to be quiet. She just hoped that Margaret wasn’t up to something.
***
It was the evening before the Eisteddfod competition and Alice was continually singing her song, over and over again. All the other girls had their headphones on with fed-up looks on their faces, including Gerty who kept on lifting her headphones up to scratch at her ears.
There was a knock at the door but no one heard it. There was another knock followed by the door creaking open. Molly put her head around the door and then she stepped into the room. Still, no one heard or saw her.
‘Tacet,’ she aimed her wand at Alice and she immediately went silent.
Alice waved her hands angrily at Molly. The others saw what was going on and took off their headphones.
‘Hi Molly, sorry I didn’t hear you come in,’ Charlotte said.
‘It’s okay, Charlotte.’
‘You could have used that spell weeks ago and saved us all from this constant headache,’ Stef groaned.
‘Alice, I’m going to remove the spell but first I want to tell you a story. My Great-Great-Great-Great-Aunt Mildred was a singer. She sang everywhere, around her house, up the street and even while she was at work.
Then, the night before she was to be the star performer at a magical gala she sang so much that she lost her voice. She couldn’t do the gala and worse, she never found her voice for the remainder of her life...she never spoke again.
I suggest that you save your voice for the rest of the evening. After all, it would be such a shame if our star singer lost her voice the night before the competition.’
Alice looked terrified. She perched on the edge of her bed as she processed Molly’s words.
‘Dicere,’ Molly aimed her wand at Alice.
Alice let out a sigh before she instantly clasped her hands across her mouth.
‘Night Alice. Girls,’ Molly gave Charlotte a wink before she walked towards the door. She stopped abruptly and then turned around. ‘Oh, Charlotte, I almost forgot. Can I have a quick word with you please?’
Charlotte nodded and followed Molly outside the room.
‘Was that story you told Alice true?’ Charlotte whispered.
‘Mostly, although I may have embellished it slightly,’ Molly smirked. ‘Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll visit Flame alone tonight. You can rest your voice for tomorrow.’
‘Are you sure, I don’t mind coming with you?’
‘Take the night off and enjoy the silence. You deserve it.’
‘Thanks Molly,’ Charlotte smiled.
‘No problem.’
‘Molly, I was thinking about Margaret. She’s not caused any trouble in ages and she’s keeping to herself. Do you think this is odd?’
‘I wouldn’t worry about it. Maybe she’s finally learned from her past mistakes and has grown-up, it took her long enough,’ Molly sniggered.
‘I guess,’ Charlotte tried to hide the doubt in her voice.
‘Trust me, everything will be fine,’ Molly smirked. ‘Now, I’ve got a dragon to check on. Enjoy your singing free night.’
‘Thanks. Give Flame a hug from me.’
‘Will do,’ Molly gave her a wave before she walked off down the corridor.
Charlotte tried to push her concerns about Margaret to the back of her head, maybe she really had changed? She knew that she should stop worrying and be excited. Not only did she have an Alice singing-free night but tomorrow she would get to see Charlie.
Smiling she skipped her way back to her room, eager for tomorrow to arrive.
***
The day of the Eisteddfod competition dawned and with it, the Academy fell into a mad frenzy. As soon as Alice woke-up she began singing...she claimed that she needed to warm-up her vocal cords. And a yawning Molly ordered everyone about, as she tried to get the great hall ready for the competition.
Chairs were moved about. Mr. Bumble was watching on as a group of second-years dusted the entrance hall and a long table was placed at the far end of the room that was going to be used for snacks and drinks.
A giant banner with witches singing soundlessly was placed on the back wall of the stage. It had taken Molly hours of repositioning with her wand to get the banner placed to her liking. On top of all this, they had their last singing practice session.
They even had to have their lunch and dinner as picnics on the courtyard so that the great hall set-up wasn’t disturbed.
By the time evening arrived and brought with it the beginning of the competition...the majority of the girls and staff were eager for it to be over with.
Stef, Charlotte, Alice and Gerty were all dressed in their uniforms, witches’ capes and hats. They stood waiting by the entrance to the Academy; a nervous Charlotte chewed on the side of her lip and fiddled with her wand. She longed to see Charlie but she was also worried. What if he didn't like her anymore?
Charlotte looked over at Margaret, who was standing next to Melody and Patricia. They were chatting away to each other but Margaret wasn’t joining in the conversation. Margaret’s eyes were locked on Charlotte and she gave her a sly smirk, one that made Charlotte shiver. In that one look, Charlotte saw the old Margaret.
She toyed with the idea of reading Margaret’s mind, but she wasn’t standing that close to her, so she worried that it might not work? Also, nearly the entire Academy were out here awaiting their visitors, so she knew that the flood of thoughts would have been difficult to block out.
Her thoughts were distracted by a flash of color in the sky. The crowd cheered as the wizards from Alexander’s College landed their brooms.
Charlie zoomed down and halted in front of her. He hopped off his broom and quickly wrapped his arms around Charlotte.
‘I've missed you so much,’ he said before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
‘Me too,’ Charlotte blushed.
Charlie gave her a smile before he hurried over to his friends.
‘That was so sweet,’ Gerty cooed.
‘He lovveeessss you,’ Stef grinned.
‘We should all be focusing on the competition,’ Alice sang out.
‘Stop being a misery guts,’ Stef glared at her.
‘I am doing no such thing,’ Alice snapped. She realized that she hadn’t sung it and coughed to clear her throat.
‘I just care about this competition, unlike certain people,’ she sang out, her eyes focused on Stef.
‘Whatever,’ Stef rolled her eyes.
Charlotte looked over at Charlie and watched as he chatted to his friends. He was so handsome and funny and she felt her heart thud. Turning her head she caught Margaret’s gaze, her eyes were alive with fury. She quickly looked away from her, but she felt unsettled.
Margaret may have fooled Molly and the others but Charlotte hadn’t fallen for her act, not one bit.
Molly led the wizards into the great hall and Charlotte and the others were left outside awaiting the arrival of Witchery College.
‘They should be disqualified for being late,’ Alice sang out.
‘Give them a chance, they’re only a few minutes late,’ Gerty replied.
‘It’s rude,’ Alice sang completely off key.
‘My poor ears,’ Stef clasped her hands over them.
‘Like you can talk. I heard you singing in the shower and it was worse than a snarling snotten,’ Alice sang.
‘How dare you, you’re the worst singer I’ve ever heard.’
‘I know you are from a much lower class family to me but there’s no need to be vulgar,’ Alice sang.
Stef lifted up her wand and aimed it at Alice.
‘No!’ Charlotte pulled down Stef’s arm. ‘She’s not worth it.’
‘Fine,’ Stef grumbled.
Stef turned her back on Alice. Charlotte and Gerty exchanged knowing looks as she both tried not to laugh.
‘What’s a snarling snotten?’ Charlotte whispered to her.
Books for Girls - WITCH SCHOOL - Books 2-6: Book 1 is FREE! Page 34
