“Look!” Juliet cried from her perch on Rachel’s shoulder. “In the bike basket!”
Rachel reached into the straw basket and pulled out a piece of paper. When she unfolded it, she saw a note in Kirsty’s handwriting.
I WILL FIND THE CANDY HEARTS!
SEE THE TEAL QUEENS!
HEAR NO BERRY GHOST!
Rachel read the note again and again. The last two lines didn’t make any sense, but the first line upset her. “I can’t believe that Kirsty went to find the candy by herself!” Rachel pouted. “Do you think she’s still upset about the red rose?”
“I don’t think so,” Juliet replied, giving her head a small shake. “She understands that a lot of things are mixed up because of Jack Frost’s magic.”
Rachel sighed. “I’m tired of bickering best friends and mixed-up messages,” she muttered.
“Mixed-up messages!” Juliet gasped. “Let’s read that note again!” Rachel held the paper up so Juliet could see it. “The last two lines make no sense,” the little fairy said.
“It seems like they’re scrambled,” Rachel agreed. “Just like the sign to Greenhouse Gardens!” She took a deep breath and looked around the square.
“But why would Kirsty have run off and only left a note?” Juliet wondered.
“Because of the goblins!” said Rachel. Juliet followed Rachel’s gaze to see a flash of green near the stage. “They must have mixed up Kirsty’s note with their wand,” Rachel guessed. “I’ll bet she wrote the note to warn us about the goblins. Then she had to hide from them.”
“We should find her,” Juliet said. “And if the goblins are here, I’ll bet the magical candy hearts are close by, too!”
Just then, a boy stepped onto the stage at the center of the square. He looked like he was about seven years old, and he seemed nervous. “Welcome to Evening Street School’s Valentine’s Day Pageant,” he said, standing on his tiptoes to reach the microphone. “Mrs. Bowlus will lead the second-grade choir in songs, and Mr. Barrymore will direct the dancers.”
The boy let out a sigh of relief, and a woman with short, curly hair led a group of children onto the stage. They walked in a long line and wore red and pink shirts. The audience clapped loudly. Next a tall, thin man stepped on the stage, followed by girls wearing white shirts, wispy skirts, and ballet shoes. Finally, a group of boys dressed like Cupid appeared. After the graceful dancers, they seemed clumsy with their big feet clomping on the stage.
“Hmmm,” Juliet murmured. “Do they really need seven boys to play Cupid?”
“It’s very strange,” Rachel agreed. “And why are they . . . green?” Then she and Juliet looked a little closer. They burst into laughter. The boys dressed as Cupid — and wearing little more than diapers — were the goblins!
Rachel and Juliet watched the stage closely. The singers, dancers, and goblins were all elbowing one another and frowning.
“No one is getting along!” Juliet sighed. Rachel turned and looked at the fairy perched on her shoulder. Juliet seemed tired . . . and sad.
Rachel and Juliet watched as Mr. Barrymore, the dance teacher, tried to direct the show. The goblins were not only bumping into one another, but they even knocked over one of the ballet dancers! Each time one of the goblins made a mistake, the others grumbled and scowled at him.
“They’re horrible,” Rachel admitted, “but the audience thinks they’re funny.” The people in the audience laughed as the goblins tried to leap through the air while holding large hearts made of red construction paper.
“Those Cupids are hilarious,” said a man sitting in the back row. He put his hand on his belly as he chuckled.
“Well, at least the pageant is keeping the goblins busy,” Juliet pointed out. “This is our chance to find Kirsty and the candy hearts!”
Rachel took off, jogging around the growing crowd. The choir began singing “All You Need Is Love,” and the audience joined in. Rachel passed the bandstand and then stopped to peek around the back corner of the stage. At once, she saw Kirsty. Her best friend was elbow-deep in large shopping bags full of candy heart boxes.
Rachel was about to join Kirsty when she saw something move on the far side of the bandstand. The goblins!
“Kirsty,” Rachel whispered loudly, trying to alert her. “Kirsty!”
Kirsty looked up, delighted to see her friend. She waved for Rachel to join her.
“Watch out!” Rachel yelled, pointing to the line of goblins coming around the back of the stage. Kirsty glanced over her shoulder and immediately straightened up. She darted off behind a hot dog cart.
The best friends exchanged worried glances from afar as they watched the goblins scurry over to the bags of candy. “Come on, you slowpokes!” demanded a long-nosed goblin. “We have to hurry. The magic candy hearts are in here somewhere!”
“You’re not the boss!” argued the goblin with extremely large feet. “We don’t have to listen to you.”
“Why is everyone whining and yelling?” cried the goblin who had given Kirsty the red rose at the gardens. “You’re all annoying me more than usual!”
Just then, Mr. Barrymore appeared backstage. “Cupids, there you are,” he announced. “The pageant is almost over. It’s time to hand out the candy hearts to the audience.”
“But we were just —” began the long-nosed goblin.
“No buts,” Mr. Barrymore declared. “It’s Valentine’s Day. Now go give those boxes of candy to the crowd! All of you.”
The goblins glared at one another. They each picked up a bag and trudged off, grumbling all the way.
Kirsty and Rachel watched the goblins head into the audience with the bags of candy hearts in tow. Both girls ran into the crowd, chasing different goblins and hoping to spot the box with the sparkly red ribbon. Juliet stayed hidden on Rachel’s shoulder, so no one would spot her.
After a few minutes, Kirsty spotted Rachel across the square and caught her eye. Rachel frowned and shook her head. Kirsty did the same. Neither one of them had found the magic candy yet!
Kirsty was dizzy and tired from racing around and scanning the crowd.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of green dashing toward the other side of the square. Kirsty raced after it as fast as she could.
“Wait!” she called. “Please wait! I need your help!” Kirsty was surprised when the goblin skidded to a stop.
“You need my help?” the goblin questioned.
Kirsty nodded, recognizing him as the goblin who had given her the rose. He seemed to recognize her, too. “I think you have something I need.” As she said it, she peeked into the goblin’s bag and glimpsed a sparkle of red.
“But I need it, too,” said the goblin. “Why should I give it to you?”
“Well,” Kirsty began, “the truth is, it’s not for me. I want to give it to my best friend. Ever since the magic presents went missing, we’ve been arguing. I hope that if I give her the candy hearts, things will go back to normal.”
The goblin looked Kirsty in the eye. He reached into his bag and pulled out the box. The red ribbon shimmered in the afternoon sun. “You think these hearts will magically make you friends again?” he asked.
Kirsty paused. “We’re still friends,” she tried to explain. “But I think the hearts will help us remember how important our friendship is. See how the hearts all have friendship phrases on them? This one says FRIENDS FOREVER, and this one says BEST BUDS.”
The goblin bit his lip, and his chin trembled. Then, to Kirsty’s surprise, he began to sob! “My friends and I have been fighting, too!” he cried. “I want to give them candy hearts. I want them to remember that we’re best buds!”
Kirsty quickly searched her pockets and handed the goblin a tissue. He blew his nose, which blared like a trombone. She put her hand on the goblin’s shoulder. “I think I can
help you,” she assured him. “Have a seat on this bench. I’ll be right back.”
Kirsty headed into the crowd again, searching for Rachel and Juliet. When she found them, she told them her plan. They all rushed back to the bench, and the goblin greeted them with a hopeful smile.
“Juliet has something for you,” Kirsty said. With a whirl of her wand, Juliet created six small boxes of candy hearts. Each box was shaped like a big heart! They gently floated down and landed on the bench next to the goblin.
“If you let us have Juliet’s magical candy hearts, you can have these — there’s a box for each of your friends,” Rachel explained.
The goblin still clutched the magical candy in his hands. He leaned over and looked at the candy hearts Juliet had made. “THE GOBLIN GANG,” he read aloud from one piece of candy. “GREEN IS GREAT.” A smile spread across his face. “It’s a deal!” He hastily placed the magical candy hearts in Rachel’s hand. “Your friend wanted to give these to you,” he said. Then he gathered the six boxes in his arms and scurried off toward the stage.
Rachel, Kirsty, and Juliet all cheered.
“Soon all friends will be able to truly celebrate Valentine’s Day, thanks to both of you,” Juliet said. When Rachel handed the box with the sparkly red ribbon to Juliet, it immediately shrunk to Fairyland-size. “Off I go!” Juliet exclaimed with a wide grin. She disappeared in a twinkling of heart-shaped sparkles.
Kirsty and Rachel both let out big sighs of relief and sank down on the park bench. “I’ve never been so happy to see a fairy return to Fairyland,” Rachel said.
“It’s hard to believe, but I think the goblins are glad, too,” Kirsty said. She pointed across the square to where the whole gang was sitting in a circle, reading and eating candy hearts.
“And we can’t forget all the happy sweethearts,” Rachel said, pointing to a couple walking and looking dreamily into each other’s eyes.
“That’s my parents!” Kirsty realized, a blush coloring her cheeks. Rachel giggled.
All at once, there was a burst of sparkles, and a red, heart-shaped velvet box appeared on the bench between the girls. Rachel and Kirsty opened the box together. Inside was a handwritten note.
Thank you for being such good friends.
Love,
Juliet
Under the note, the girls found two matching heart-shaped lockets that read FAIRY FRIENDS FOREVER. They took turns putting the necklaces on each other. “They’re beautiful,” Kirsty said.
“Yes,” Rachel agreed, linking arms with Kirsty. “They really are.” The girls were ready to share the rest of Valentine’s Day together — like true best friends!
Don’t miss Rachel and Kirsty’s other magical adventures! Join them for more sweet, sparkly fun as they help
Mia
the Bridesmaid Fairy!
Take a look at this special sneak peek. . . .
“Isn’t it exciting that we’re going to be Esther’s bridesmaids?” Rachel Walker said happily.
“Yes — I can hardly wait for next Saturday!” replied Kirsty Tate, smiling at her best friend. “And it’ll be twice as much fun with you here!”
The girls were in Kenbury, the pretty little village where Kirsty’s cousin Esther had grown up. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was perfect wedding weather!
Esther, Mrs. Tate, and Aunt Isabel, Esther’s mom, were in the nearby wedding dress store. The girls had popped outside to look at the pretty church where Esther was going to get married.
“Oh, Kirsty, look!” cried Rachel. “There must be a wedding today!”
People were arriving in their best clothes, carrying cameras and little boxes of confetti.
A cream-colored car pulled up in front of the church, and a chauffeur jumped out and opened the back door. Inside, the girls could see a woman wearing a beautiful white dress.
“It’s the bride!” Rachel exclaimed as she and Kirsty walked back to the wedding store.
“I love the dress in the window!” said Kirsty.
“Me, too,” Rachel agreed.
Under an archway of roses, an exquisite wedding dress was surrounded by handfuls of real flowers.
“Bella’s an amazing dressmaker!” Kirsty said, with a happy sigh.
Just then, Aunt Isabel popped her head out of the store’s front door.
“Girls, come back inside,” she said with a beaming smile. “Bella is ready for you to try on your dresses.”
Rachel and Kirsty hurried to the room at the back of the store. Bella held up two amazing dresses, and the girls’ eyes widened.
“Oh, they’re beautiful!” Rachel whispered.
The two best friends quickly got changed, giggling with excitement. Then they stood in front of the long mirror.
“Oh, girls, you look fabulous!” cried Aunt Isabel.
“Just like princesses!” Esther added.
The dresses were pale blue, and they shimmered and sparkled with hundreds of tiny silver beads. Soft frills made the gowns swirl around the girls’ legs, and the sleeves were made from fine blue silk. They fluttered when the girls moved their arms.
“They’re just like fairy wings!” Kirsty whispered to Rachel.
Bella checked that the dresses fit properly, and made some small alterations.
“Thank you, girls,” she said eventually. “You can get changed now.”
“Our dresses are just gorgeous,” sighed Rachel, smiling at Bella. “We love the one in the window, too. Is it waiting to be picked up?”
“No,” said Bella. “It’s a copy of one of my favorites, which I made a long time ago. I just couldn’t bear to part with it, so I made another!”
“Wow, you must have made hundreds of dresses,” said Aunt Isabel. “And I bet you know everything there is to know about weddings!”
“I’ve learned an awful lot,” agreed Bella. “I love all the old traditions, and bridesmaids are one of the oldest traditions of all! It’s their job to help everything go smoothly for the bride.”
Rachel and Kirsty exchanged happy looks.
“What other wedding traditions are there?” Rachel asked.
“Do you know what a bride is supposed to carry up the aisle to bring her luck?” asked Bella. “ ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a penny in her shoe’.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a little extra luck,” said Esther, who had been trying on tiaras in front of the mirror. “Girls, will you be in charge of finding me those four ‘somethings’ and a penny?”
“We’d love to!” Rachel said eagerly.
“Oh look, Rachel!” Kirsty exclaimed. “Let’s start by looking over there!”
At the front of the store, along the window, was a low table filled with wedding accessories.
The girls dashed over to it, while Mrs. Tate, Esther, and Aunt Isabel stayed at the back of the store.
“Look at these little bride and groom figures,” said Kirsty. “They must go on the top of wedding cakes!”
“And here’s a little bridesmaid figure!” cried Rachel in delight. “Oh, Kirsty, I can’t wait to be a bridesmaid!”
“Me neither,” Kirsty agreed.
“How about if Esther borrows the pretty dragonfly pin your mom’s wearing for the ‘something old’?” Rachel suggested.
“That’s perfect!” agreed Kirsty. “It’s been in the family for years, so it’s definitely old enough! Now we just have to think of something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”
“And the penny for her shoe,” Rachel reminded her. “Oh, Kirsty, look!”
She gave her best friend a nudge that made her squeak in surprise. The bridesmaid figure on the table had started to glow!
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-31062-8
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