Magical Mayhem

by Titania Woods

  The girls leaned forward. ‘Inexact wishes and how to reverse them,’ read Teena. Holding back a shout of delight, she bounced on her mushroom seat. ‘Oh, Summer, that’s it, that’s it! Now I just have to do the spell, and everything will be all right again.’

  ‘But –’ started Zuzu, frowning.

  Teena was already scanning the instructions. ‘And it’s an easy one as well. All I have to do is say it out loud, and imagine what outcome I want. Perfect!’

  ‘Well, do it in a hurry – Mrs Stamen will notice us in a minute,’ urged Summer.

  Zuzu tapped her wings together. ‘Wait a minute, you two! There’s something we’ve forgotten about –’

  ‘Zu, we haven’t time!’ said Teena. Quickly committing the little rhyme to memory, she closed her eyes and imagined that her wish had never happened.

  She began to speak. ‘If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride, but a foolish wish one must deride. If a horse is a beggar and the beggar’s a horse, then the wish must be reversed, of – MMPH!’

  Teena spluttered to a stop as something clamped over her mouth. Her eyes flew open, and she pushed her friend’s hand away. ‘Zuzu, what are you doing?’ she cried. ‘I almost had it!’

  ‘Yes, and what would have happened then?’ demanded Zuzu. ‘Tee, Miss Shimmery told us not to do any magic. And that’s because all the spells are going wrong! So why do you think this one would go right?’

  Horror prickled at Teena’s wings as she saw what Zuzu meant. ‘Oh!’ she gasped. ‘If this spell went wrong too, then –’

  ‘Yes, exactly!’ said Zuzu. ‘Things might get even worse than before!’

  Summer hurriedly shut the book. ‘Oh, Zu! I’m so glad you thought of that – Teena and I were being a pair of wasp brains!’

  ‘Then that means we can’t do anything at all,’ said Teena slowly. Except tell the teachers the truth, she thought. But that was still too awful to contemplate, and she went on in a rush, ‘So – so I suppose we’ll just have to wait, and hope that the teachers can –’

  She stopped as an unfamiliar noise came from outside.

  ‘What’s that?’ said Zuzu, her eyes wide.

  The three friends flitted to a nearby window. Teena’s mouth fell open as she saw that two humans were coming up the hill. Humans! But no humans had ever been here before – the tree and its surrounding area were protected by magic!

  Teena’s heart hammered in her chest as she watched the humans approach. There was a man and a woman, both wearing boots and carrying walking sticks. They seemed to be arguing.

  ‘You see?’ came the man’s voice. ‘I told you you’re not reading the map properly. You didn’t even know this hill was here, did you?’

  ‘It’s not! Here, look for yourself.’ The woman thrust a folded-up piece of paper at him. The two of them consulted it.

  ‘Well, that’s strange,’ said the man. ‘We should be in Parson’s Field now! How on earth did this hill and that wood get here?’ He squinted up at Glitterwings, and Teena shrank back against the window.

  ‘See, I told you!’ laughed the woman, taking the folded-up paper back. ‘Less about my map-reading skills next time, hmm? It must be a printer’s error or something.’

  Teena’s head swam dizzily. Humans, here – and it was all her fault! Beside her, Zuzu and Summer looked just as stunned and frightened as she felt. The humans began walking up the hill towards the school, talking and laughing.

  ‘What’s that noise?’ said a second-year student. Suddenly a small crowd had joined them at the window – and a moment later, there was chaos.

  ‘Mrs Stamen! Mrs Stamen! There are humans out there!’ shrieked a purple-haired fairy.

  ‘What?’ The librarian hurried out from behind her mushroom desk. ‘Oh!’ she gasped.

  Teena felt herself jostled from all directions as everyone clustered around the windows to see. Dozens of wings stirred the air as fairies took to the air to get a better view.

  ‘Oh, it’s true!’ cried another girl. ‘They’re coming this way! Mrs Stamen, what should we do?’

  ‘Teena!’ hissed Zuzu, shaking Teena’s arm. ‘You have to tell now – you just have to!’

  Teena nodded weakly. But before she could get the words out, Mrs Stamen had flown into action. ‘Get away from those windows!’ she shouted, clapping her hands. ‘The library’s closed – I have to go and find Miss Shimmery immediately.’

  ‘Mrs Stamen, I – I mean, there’s something –’ stammered Teena.

  ‘Hurry, Teena!’ urged the librarian. ‘Go back to your own branches, all of you!’ she called out. ‘Go, go!’

  The fairies streamed out of the doors in a flurry of different-coloured wings. ‘Mrs Stamen!’ cried Teena, close to tears. ‘Please – I have to –’

  ‘Not now!’ The librarian swept Teena and her friends out of the library and into the trunk, banging the doors shut behind her. ‘There’s no time – the humans might –’

  ‘AAAGGGHH!’ screamed a voice.

  Whirling about, Teena saw a fourth-year student pointing at a window in the trunk. ‘There’s an eye up there! Something’s looking in!’ The girl burst into tears, and Mrs Stamen flew quickly to her, shepherding her away.

  ‘You girls! Go to Snowdrop Branch this instant!’ she called over her shoulder as she sped off.

  Teena hovered in place, staring in frightened fascination at the blue-green eye peering into their school. As she watched, the eye vanished – only to reappear at another window further up.

  ‘Isn’t it amazing!’ said the man’s voice.

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ said the woman’s from the opposite side of the tree. ‘Why, the windows go all the way up!’

  ‘Oh!’ yelped Zuzu, whirling about. ‘They’re on both sides! There’s another eye up there, a brown one!’

  ‘We can’t fly past them to Snowdrop Branch,’ gasped Summer. ‘Quick, you two – in here.’ She pulled Teena and Zuzu behind a large knothole. They hovered together, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

  Peering around her, Teena saw that they weren’t the only ones hiding. Frightened fairies had taken refuge in every knothole and bend of the trunk. As a terrified stillness fell over the tree, the humans’ voices could be heard more clearly.

  ‘But what is it?’ said the man. Teena winced as a banging sound reverberated around them like thunder. The man was knocking on the school with his fist! ‘Listen, it’s hollow,’ he said. ‘But the tree’s alive! How can that be?’

  ‘Maybe – maybe it’s some sort of art installation,’ suggested the woman doubtfully. ‘You know, like something in a gallery.’

  ‘But the hill wasn’t on the map!’ said the man, sounding frustrated. ‘And see here, Martha – there are doors at the bottom. Look how tiny the hinges are!’

  Peeking downwards, Teena saw one of the front doors open. She held back a shriek. The man’s finger was in their school!

  ‘There’s a floor – and it’s polished,’ he said. ‘I can feel how smooth it is! I don’t know what we’ve found, but . . .’ He trailed off. To Teena’s great relief, his finger disappeared, though the door stayed open.

  ‘I . . . I don’t know either,’ said the woman. ‘Frank, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that something actually lives here!’

  There was silence. Risking another peek, Teena saw that the windows were all clear now. Were the humans gone at last? But then the man’s voice came again.

  ‘Typical – I’ve left my mobile in the car! We’ll have to go back. We need to get the press out here, pronto.’

  ‘You mean, ring the papers?’ said the woman, sounding surprised.

  Press? Papers? Teena strained to hear.

  ‘Of course!’ said the man. ‘This should be studied. If there really are – well, fairies, or pix
ies, or something – then the public deserves to know!’

  ‘I suppose you’re right,’ said the woman. ‘How exciting!’ Their voices began to fade. ‘I wonder how much we’ll get for selling our story to them?’ she said . . . and then they were gone.

  Almost immediately, the magpie’s call rang through the school – three long, urgent caws. Up above, Miss Shimmery appeared, diving down the trunk with the other teachers behind her.

  ‘To the Great Branch!’ shouted Miss Shimmery as she flew past. ‘Everyone to the Great Branch, hurry!’

  .

  Chapter Six

  Twink and her friends had been in the third-year Common Branch when they first heard the humans’ voices – and had stared down in horrified fascination as the couple prowled about the tree.

  ‘Humans – oh, what could be worse!’ moaned Sili.

  Twink bit her lip. By mistake, she had stayed in a human house for over a week the previous winter, and had learned that humans really weren’t that bad. Some of them, like the little girl Twink had befriended, were lovely – though it was true that the adults could be a bit dense sometimes!

  A shudder ran through Twink as she remembered how Lindsay’s parents had thought she was a moth at first, and tried to swat her. What would happen if these humans realised that they’d found a whole school full of ‘moths’?

  Sooze had opened a window and was half-hanging out of it, listening to the conversation down below. ‘They’re leaving!’ she cried. ‘But they’re talking about coming back with something called the press. What’s that, Opposite? Do you know?’

  Twink shook her head as everyone crowded anxiously around her. ‘No, I’ve never heard of –’

  The magpie’s call rang through the school, interrupting her. ‘That’s the signal for us to go to the Great Branch!’ cried Pix. ‘Come on, everyone, hurry!’

  ‘I am afraid that the situation is now grave,’ announced Miss Shimmery once the entire school was assembled. Almost two hundred frightened fairies stared back at her, not moving so much as a wing tip between them.

  ‘Sadly, the other teachers and I were unable to mend the tree’s protective spell, and now humans have found us,’ said Miss Shimmery. Twink gulped as she saw the HeadFairy’s expression. She had never seen her look so sorrowful, or so serious.

  ‘This leaves us with only one choice,’ continued Miss Shimmery. ‘We must evacuate the school immediately.’

  Alarmed murmurs broke out. Miss Shimmery went on, raising her voice. ‘Stay with your year groups, and go immediately with your year heads to the wood. From there, we will send word to your parents to come and collect you.’

  Bimi raised her hand. ‘But Miss Shimmery, what will happen to Glitterwings?’ she cried.

  ‘Yes, the humans were talking about something called the press,’ burst out Sooze. ‘What is the press? What are they going to do?’

  This was what the whole school had been wondering. Unconsciously, every fairy in the Branch leaned forward, their faces tense.

  Miss Shimmery took a deep breath. ‘The press is the humans’ communication system,’ she told them. ‘The two humans who found our school are planning to tell the rest of their kind about us.’

  A horrified gasp ran through the Branch. Every human, knowing about Glitterwings? Perhaps even coming to see it for themselves, poking and prying about? Twink’s heart turned to ice as she imagined it.

  ‘As to what will happen to our beloved school . . .’ Miss Shimmery’s voice wavered, and then she straightened her rainbow wings firmly. ‘We cannot say yet – and we have no time to discuss it. Quickly, girls, we must leave! Go with your year heads. And do NOT return to your branches for any belongings first – time is of the essence!’

  Bimi’s face looked pinched and anxious as everyone scrambled up from their mushroom seats. ‘Twink! I’ve got to go and get Chirpy,’ she whispered. ‘He’s not a belonging, he’s a creature – I can’t just leave him!’

  Twink nodded. ‘Come on,’ she said, grabbing Bimi’s hand. ‘We’ll go and tell Miss Twilight; she’ll understand.’

  The third-year head was a tall, imposing fairy with silver hair and purply-grey wings. Despite the urgency of the situation, she listened carefully as Twink explained about Chirpy.

  ‘Yes, go on – but be quick!’ she said. She was standing on one of the mushroom seats, counting the third-year class. ‘Go together, the pair of you, and then come to the wood immediately.’

  As Twink and Bimi flew out of the Great Branch, a voice called, ‘Twink! Twink, wait!’

  Twink whirled about as her little sister came speeding up. ‘Teena, what are you doing?’ she demanded. ‘You heard Miss Shimmery – go to the wood with the rest of your year!’

  Teena looked close to tears. ‘I know, but – oh, Twink, you don’t understand! I tried to tell Mrs Lightwing, but –’

  ‘Teena Flutterby!’ Mrs Lightwing herself appeared, bobbing beside them with a face like thunder. ‘You must come along this instant – we’re leaving!’ Behind her, the first-year students were already exiting the Great Branch, flying out in a double-line formation.

  ‘Yes, but –’ Teena got no further. Mrs Lightwing took her by the shoulders and firmly propelled her out of the Branch.

  ‘You girls hurry, too!’ she ordered over her shoulder. ‘Flitter-flutter, get a move on!’ She and Teena went through the doorway, disappearing from view.

  Twink and Bimi looked at each other. ‘What do you suppose Teena wanted to tell me?’ asked Twink worriedly.

  Bimi shook her dark blue head. ‘I don’t know. Come on, let’s go and get Chirpy! We’ll see Teena in the wood; she can tell us there.’

  The two friends sped out of the Great Branch and up the trunk. The upper part of the tree felt empty and abandoned. Below them, long lines of fairies raced downwards, leaving the school as fast as they could.

  Barely even pausing to land on the Violet Branch ledge, Twink pushed open the door and they rushed into the room, half-flying and half-running to their beds. Bimi’s cricket-clock sat on her bedside table as usual, looking anxious.

  ‘Chirpy! Oh, you poor darling – were you terrified?’ cooed Bimi, sweeping him up in her arms. He chirped in relief to see her, snuggling into her embrace.

  Twink grabbed Chirpy’s cage. ‘Come on, hurry!’ she said.

  Bimi carefully put Chirpy into his cage and fastened the latch. Though she knew she shouldn’t, Twink took her favourite drawing of her family from her bedside mushroom.

  ‘Let’s go,’ she said, tucking it into her petal bag. ‘The others are probably long gone already!’

  The two fairies sped down the length of the trunk. It felt even quieter than before, and Twink realised that apart from herself and Bimi, the tree was deserted.

  ‘Oh, Twink, I’m scared!’ breathed Bimi, clutching Chirpy’s cage to her chest.

  Twink swallowed. ‘I know – me, too,’ she said. ‘But we’ll be with the others in a few minutes, and – oh!’ She broke off as a sudden horrible thought came to her. ‘Bimi!’ she gasped. ‘What about Sal? He’ll be so frightened – I’ve got to go and get him, too!’

  Bimi’s eyes widened. ‘But Miss Twilight told us to go straight to the wood –’

  ‘Yes, but I can’t leave Sal,’ insisted Twink. ‘And what about the other animals in the Creature Kindness log? I have to check that they’re all right!’

  They flew through the double doors and out into the cold winter day. Bimi nodded. ‘OK, but I’m coming with you – Miss Twilight said to stick together!’

  The two friends jetted down the slope to the Creature Kindness log, the icy wind whistling past their wings. Twink landed with a hop, and pushed open the door.

  ‘Mr Woodleaf!’ she exclaimed. The green-haired teacher looked up distractedly as he fastened a lead on to a m
ouse’s harness. Several sixth-year girls were bustling about the log as well, obviously getting the animals ready to leave.

  Twink felt herself relax. She should have known that the Creature Kindness teacher would never abandon his beloved animals!

  ‘Twink! Bimi! What are you two doing here?’ Mr Woodleaf flitted over to them. As always, he sounded much more confident when he was with his animals. ‘You need to get to the wood with the rest of the school!’

  Twink nodded. ‘I know, sir – I was just worried about Sal.’ The salamander was watching Twink longingly from his pen. Noticing this, Mr Woodleaf opened the pen door and Sal scampered out, frisking delightedly around her.

  ‘Here,’ said Mr Woodleaf, attaching Sal’s lead and handing it to her. ‘He’ll be happier with you, and I know you’ll keep him safe. Now hurry, both of you – the humans might come back at any time!’

  The wood was only a short distance away, but their flight was agonisingly slow. Once out of the log, Sal seemed excited by something over the next hill, and kept tugging sideways on his lead.

  ‘Sal, stop it!’ gasped Twink, yanking him back again. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

  The salamander whined, his short legs pedalling the ground.

  ‘Bimi, you go on ahead!’ said Twink desperately. ‘There’s no need for both of us to be out here.’

  ‘Don’t be silly. Of course I’m not going to leave you!’ Tucking Chirpy’s cage under one arm, Bimi grabbed Sal’s lead as well, pulling on it hard. ‘Move, Sal – we’re in danger, don’t you understand?’

  Suddenly Twink saw something: a thin, wavering mist rising up against the blue sky. It was the same mist she had seen once before, from the Creature Kindness log. ‘Bimi, look! What is that?’ she said.

  Bimi gave it a hurried glance. ‘I don’t know – is it smoke? Hurry, Twink; you’re as bad as Sal!’

  Twink gazed down at the lizard-like creature. He was staring back at her, imploring her to understand. ‘Sal . . . is there something important about that smoke?’ she asked. He jerked against his lead in answer, trying to drag her closer to it.