“Oh!” Kirsty replied, surprised to see their fairy friend. “Hi, Juliet. You’re just in time. We’re about to catch the goblins!”
“I think it’s going to take a minute. Juliet is feeling kind of sad,” Rachel explained.
Kirsty glanced toward the main building, and then looked at Juliet’s pale face. She took her foot off the bike pedal and frowned. “Juliet, is there anything we can do?” she asked.
Juliet looked up at Rachel. “Can you explain to Kirsty?” she asked in a tiny voice.
Rachel nodded and lifted her chin. “Juliet is sad because no one is enjoying Valentine’s Day,” Rachel began. “Not only that, but people aren’t being good friends or working together.”
Kirsty looked at her friend and thought she saw a hint of a smile. She was sure that was Rachel trying to make a point. “Are you saying that I’m not being a good friend?” Kirsty asked, her voice getting higher. “I’m just trying to help!”
“You could have waited for me,” Rachel responded quietly. “We always track down the goblins together!”
“It’s not my fault that you can’t bike as fast as I can,” Kirsty shot back. “And it’s not like you always think about my feelings. You gave my Valentine’s card to the goblins!”
Suddenly, Juliet flew up from Rachel’s shoulder, shaking her head and waving her arms. “No, no, no!” she cried. “This is just what Jack Frost wants! Please think of all the sweethearts and friends who need your help,” the fairy begged.
Rachel and Kirsty stared at each other. They both knew it was important to put aside their differences and help Juliet, but it didn’t make the bad feelings go away.
“This spell is strong,” Juliet said, her eyes serious. “I can’t stop Jack Frost’s magic on my own.”
A light wind blew down the lane and through the trees.
“We’ll work together,” Rachel said. “All of us.”
Kirsty nodded firmly.
The color returned to Juliet’s cheeks as she swooped down between the girls. “Let’s shake on it,” she said, reaching her small hand out in front of her. Kirsty quickly placed a finger on top of Juliet’s hand, and then Rachel put her finger on top of Kirsty’s.
The fairy grinned. “When best friends make a pact, may their friendship stay intact,” she recited.
Kirsty waited for a burst of heart sparkles to leap from Juliet’s wand, but nothing happened. “Was that magic?” she asked.
“Yes,” Juliet replied. “The purest magic of all — true friendship.” She smiled at Rachel and Kirsty. “With the two of you on my side, I know we can save Valentine’s Day!”
Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other.
“Well, we’d better get going,” Rachel declared. “I think Kirsty was right. Those kids with green thumbs must be the goblins.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Juliet asked with a giggle.
“Let’s go through this row of greenhouses,” suggested Kirsty. “Maybe we can cut them off!” She climbed on her bike and pedaled over the bumpy cobblestone path, pausing to make sure Rachel was right behind her.
As they came to a clearing, Kirsty spotted the main building with its beautiful Victorian house. She scanned the paths for a sign of the goblins.
Juliet flitted off of Rachel’s shoulder and high into the air. After a quick search, she let out a cry.
“There! Just over that hill!” she said, pointing. Kirsty and Rachel took off at once. From the top of the hill, they could see a band of goblins, all dressed like old-fashioned farmers with checked shirts, overalls, and straw hats. Each goblin had a wagon filled with pails of red roses.
“They look kind of sweet,” said Rachel, watching the goblins pull the wagons down the steep, dusty hill.
“Sure, if you forget that they stole Juliet’s rose!” Kirsty said.
“And that they want to take it back to Jack Frost,” Juliet added.
“Well, that’s true. So let’s get them!” Rachel declared, thrusting her fist into the air. All at once, she lost her balance and fell onto the handlebars, and her bike rolled forward. A second later, Rachel was barreling down the hill!
“Help!” Rachel yelled as her bike sped faster and faster toward the bottom of the hill — and the goblins. A thick cloud of dust rose into the air behind her.
“What’s that?” yelped the goblins, glancing up the hill. “Watch out!”
Kirsty dropped her bike. She ran after Rachel. She could hardly see through all the dust in the air! Juliet flew right next to her. Kirsty’s mind raced, trying to come up with a plan.
“Run for your lives!” yelled a goblin. “Get out of the way!”
The goblins started to scramble in every direction, their wagons slamming into one another.
Suddenly, the screech of brakes rang through the air. With a giant crash, wagons tipped over and pails of roses spilled onto the dirt path.
When the dust cleared, Kirsty was relieved to see that Rachel had landed in the soft grass. The goblins were not so lucky. They were in a muddy mess in the middle of the path.
“Something’s pricking me!” a goblin with large feet screeched. “Yeouch!”
“Me, too,” whined another goblin. “Silly, thorny roses.”
Rachel stood up carefully and dusted off her knees, glancing over at the goblins.
Juliet fluttered over to make sure that Rachel wasn’t hurt. Then she quickly took shelter in the bike basket, so the goblins wouldn’t see her.
Rachel and Kirsty grinned at each other as they listened to the goblins whine and moan. “Oh, it hurts!” yelped another one. “Get those roses off me!”
Just then, Kirsty had an idea. “You poor goblins,” she said, kneeling down next to them. “Do you need some help?”
“Oh, yes please. Get these horrible, thorny roses off of us!” they cried.
“Of course,” Kirsty kindly agreed. She delicately pulled the roses away one by one. She handed each rose to Rachel, who stood by her side.
“It’s too bad that these beautiful roses have so many thorns,” Kirsty said, plucking flowers from the goblins’ green skin.
When she came to the last goblin, she sighed sympathetically. “This thorn in your side looks very painful. Should I pull it out for you?”
“Of course,” the goblin grumbled. As she gently reached for the rose, Kirsty spotted something dangling from its long stem: a sparkly red ribbon! Kirsty smiled with glee as she handed the rose to Rachel. Without a word, Rachel carried it over to Juliet in the bike basket. The goblins were all too busy moaning and groaning to notice!
Kirsty pulled one last thorn off the goblin. “That’s it,” she announced.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” the goblin asked, rubbing his side and peering at Kirsty. “Wait! You’re one of those pesky girls!”
“Pesky?” Kirsty questioned. “I just pulled thorns off you and all of your friends. That doesn’t seem very pesky to me.” Kirsty put her hands on her hips.
“You weren’t trying to steal Jack Frost’s rose?” the goblin asked, leaning so close to Kirsty’s face that his long nose touched hers.
“Of course not!” Kirsty insisted. “I would never steal something that belonged to Jack Frost.”
Kirsty chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to tell a lie, even to the goblins. But the rose didn’t belong to Jack Frost. It belonged to Juliet!
The goblin squinted his eyes. “Fine, then. You can go.”
Kirsty took a deep breath. She’d gotten the magic rose back, but she needed one more thing. “Could I have just one rose? I’ll let you choose which one I take.” She bit her lip.
The goblin paused and looked over at his friends. They were all huddled together, arguing over whose cuts and scrapes were the worst. “Go ahead,” one grumbled. “Those roses are a pain, anyway.”
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The goblin with the big feet bent down and reached for a beautiful red rose that was in full bloom. He brushed a speck of dirt from one of the leaves and handed the rose to Kirsty.
“Thank you,” Kirsty said sweetly, nodding at the goblin.
She walked over to Rachel and dropped the rose gently in the bike basket. Rachel wheeled the bike next to her, and the girls headed up the hill together before the goblins had time to notice that the magic rose had disappeared.
“Juliet already went back to Fairyland with the magic rose,” Rachel whispered. “She thought it was the safest thing to do. She said to tell you an extra-special thank you.”
Kirsty smiled at her best friend. “Is it okay if we head back to the town square now?”
“Oh yes,” agreed Rachel. “We should tell Lillie that there are plenty more red roses for the shop.”
“And we know someone who wanted just one rose,” said Kirsty, thinking of the man who had visited the florist that morning. As the girls looked at the single rose in the bike basket, magical red and pink hearts swirled around the petals. When they disappeared, the flower seemed to glow. It was even more beautiful than before. Sweetheart love was safe again!
“I can’t wait to give this rose to him,” Kirsty said. She grinned at Rachel. “I think it’s going to be a very happy Valentine’s Day, after all!”
Loose Ends
Best Friends Bicker
One More Mixed-up Message
Cupids and Candy
Goblin Goodies
“The magical red rose must be back in Fairyland by now,” Rachel Walker guessed, glancing around the town square. “There are couples everywhere!”
Rachel’s best friend, Kirsty Tate, nodded. It was the afternoon of Valentine’s Day, and people were walking their dogs, flying kites, and drinking coffee — two by two. Couples held hands and laughed. Sweetheart love was blooming all around Wetherbury!
“Now we just have one more Valentine’s present to find,” Kirsty said, watching as two workers put up a stage in the center of the grassy square.
“The box of candy hearts,” Rachel added. The final present was especially important to Kirsty and Rachel. After all, the candy hearts stood for the love between friends! Juliet the Valentine Fairy needed to get the box of candy hearts back to Fairyland right away. It was the only way to make sure that friendship love was safe from Jack Frost.
Kirsty and Rachel knew just how strong Jack Frost’s magic could be. Even though they were best friends, they had been arguing with each other — a lot.
“I don’t have a clue where we should start looking,” admitted Rachel.
“Then let’s tie up some loose ends. We can go to Full Bloom Flowers and talk to Lillie,” Kirsty suggested. “We’ll tell her that there are a lot more red roses at Greenhouse Gardens, if she needs them.”
“That’s a good plan,” Rachel agreed. “Maybe the magic will come to us while we’re there!”
As the girls headed across the town square, Kirsty carefully carried the single red rose from Greenhouse Gardens. It was beautiful. She could hardly wait to give it to the man with the wire-rimmed glasses that they’d met earlier in the day.
When the friends entered the flower shop, it seemed like a different place. The store was crowded with customers, and the phone was ringing nonstop. Lillie was wrapping a large bouquet behind the counter. “Here are your daisies,” she said to an older man with a feather in his cap. “She’ll love them.” Kirsty and Rachel looked at a nearby display case. It was empty! They hurried to the counter.
“Excuse me,” Kirsty said.
Lillie looked up, and her jaw dropped. “A red rose,” she whispered. “Where did you get it?”
“We just came from Greenhouse Gardens,” Rachel told the florist. “They should have plenty more to send your way.”
“Really?” Lillie questioned. “That’s wonderful, but I haven’t been able to reach the greenhouse by e-mail or phone.”
Rachel looked at Kirsty. How could they explain that those problems had disappeared as soon as Juliet returned the red rose to Fairyland? “Maybe you should give it one more try,” Rachel suggested.
Lillie looked first at her empty display case and then at all the customers in the shop. She reached for the phone and crossed her fingers. After a minute, Lillie’s eyebrows raised. “Gwen? I’ve been trying to reach you all week!” She paused. “Absolutely! I’ll take them all.” Lillie smiled as she hung up the phone.“Thank you so much!” she gushed to Rachel and Kirsty.
“Of course,” Rachel said, smiling.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Kirsty added. The girls waved before walking out the door and down the shop’s steps.
The sun was bright, and Kirsty lifted one hand to shield her eyes. In the other, she still clutched the red rose.
“Oh! Look who I see!” Rachel cried, pointing up ahead.
As Kirsty scanned the town square, she felt something slip through her fingers. Rachel had taken the rose! The next thing Kirsty knew, her friend was running across the street. Kirsty rushed after her, but by the time she reached the crosswalk, the light was red and she had to stop.
She watched Rachel stride toward a wooden bench — right up to the man with the wire-rimmed glasses!
Kirsty bit her lip. She couldn’t believe that Rachel had taken the rose right out of her hand!
From across the street, she could see Rachel talking to the young man. His face lit up. He took the rose from Rachel and gave her a quick hug before rushing off, practically skipping across the square.
Just then, a flurry of fairy dust fell on Kirsty’s nose. She looked up to see Juliet fluttering overhead. The tiny fairy darted to Kirsty’s shoulder and ducked under her scarf.
“Kirsty, I’m sorry,” Juliet said softly. “I saw the whole thing. But you know Rachel didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, right?”
Kirsty heard the fairy’s kind voice and nodded, but her feelings were still hurt. She suddenly realized that Jack Frost’s magic must be even worse for other people. They didn’t know that the goblins were mixing up messages, or that Jack Frost’s spell was keeping friends from getting along. How horrible!
“We’ll find the magic candy hearts. We can do it if we all work together,” Juliet vowed.
The crosswalk light changed, and Kirsty headed across the street. Rachel ran to meet her.
“He was so excited!” Rachel exclaimed, clapping her hands. “He said it was the most beautiful rose ever. He couldn’t wait to give it to his girlfriend. I wish you could have seen his face.”
“Yeah, I do, too,” mumbled Kirsty, looking down.
“What?” Rachel asked, leaning closer. “Sorry that you missed it.”
Kirsty shrugged. “Juliet’s here,” she said, changing the subject. Kirsty tilted her head so Juliet could peek out from beneath her scarf. The fairy gave Rachel a small smile.
“Hi, Juliet!” Rachel said brightly. “Sweetheart love is safe. Now we can focus on finding the last Valentine present.”
“Rachel?” Juliet’s voice was quiet. “Did you know that Kirsty wanted to give the man the rose, too?”
Rachel paused. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” she admitted.
“I wish you had waited for me,” Kirsty said, looking down at her shoes. “Everything is more fun when we do it together.”
“It’s not a big deal,” said Rachel with a shrug. “We can find the candy hearts together now.”
“Okay,” Kirsty said, feeling a little better. “How about we check out all the stores that sell candy? There’s Poppy’s Gifts, The Sweet Shop, and Mr. Baxter’s Market.”
Rachel sighed. “Why can’t we just let the magic come to us? Let’s stay here and watch the Valentine’s Day Pageant.”
The workers had finished putting up the stage. Now they were placing
chairs in rows for the audience. Families were beginning to arrive.
All at once, Juliet and the girls heard an awful screech. They turned to see two boys tugging at a scooter. There was another scream as two girls nearby fought over a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. In fact, when the three friends glanced around, they saw small groups of kids quarreling everywhere!
“All of those best friends are fighting,” Juliet worried.
“We can’t just stay here,” Kirsty insisted. “We have to find the candy hearts fast!”
“Okay,” huffed Rachel. “But I have to go to the bathroom first — and I think Juliet should come with me. She isn’t hidden well enough on your shoulder. Someone could see her!”
It was true. Juliet could hide better behind Rachel’s long hair, but she obviously felt bad leaving Kirsty.
“You should go,” Kirsty said to the fairy. “I’ll stay on the lookout here. We can meet by the bikes.”
Juliet flitted over to Rachel’s shoulder and waved.
Kirsty headed toward where she and Rachel had locked their bikes. Suddenly, she gasped. She searched for a pen and paper and quickly scrawled out a note for Rachel.
THE GOBLINS ARE HERE!
IN THE SQUARE!
WE’LL FIND THOSE CANDY HEARTS YET!
When Rachel and Juliet came back a few minutes later, Kirsty was not by the bikes. They didn’t see their friend anywhere!
“I thought she told us to meet her by the bikes,” said Rachel, peering around the square. “I hope she didn’t go off on her own again.” Rachel didn’t really want to hunt all over town for the candy, but she also didn’t want Kirsty to do it without her!
Juliet the Valentine Fairy (9780545310628) Page 3
