Magic Ballerina 13-18

by Darcey Bussell

  Chloe nodded, and the two girls warmed up until they were called into the studio.

  “This is it!” whispered Chloe, going in first.

  “Good luck!” mouthed Holly.

  Then she gasped as she followed Chloe through the door. It was as though the studio had been transformed into the Land of Snow, with glistening scenery. Across one wall was a backdrop of icy silver and blue, covered with bright white snowflakes like stars.

  In a flash, Holly felt herself transported back to the theatre where she’d seen The Nutcracker all those years ago.

  I’m going to make you proud, Mum, she said to herself, lifting her chin and feeling determination rush through her as she walked to her place.

  “How do you think it went?” asked Chloe, clutching Holly’s hand outside in the corridor when the audition was over.

  Almost immediately, they were surrounded by other students. “What was it like? Did it go well?” they wanted to know.

  Holly was going back over the audition in her head. She thought it had been all right, but you could never be sure.

  “I took your mum’s advice and focused on the music like mad,” said Chloe, as she set off back to the changing rooms with the others.

  Holly stopped in her tracks. It was as though she was glued to the spot. She’d just realised something awful. She’d been concentrating so hard on the steps and the expression, and feeling the icy atmosphere, that she hadn’t even noticed the music. How could she have forgotten such an important thing? Especially when her mum had particularly drawn attention to it. She dropped her head sadly at her stupid mistake and immediately got another shock.

  Her red shoes were glowing! That could only mean one thing – she was about to go to Enchantia. Right now!

  The glow was turning to swirls of colours, getting faster and brighter, and suddenly, Holly was swept up amongst them.

  Where am I? she thought, a few moments later.

  The field where she had landed was completely deserted. There weren’t even any trees in it, which was a shame, because the sun was beating down furiously and Holly was dying for a bit of shade. Her friend the White Cat was nowhere to be seen either, but he’d arrive at any moment, she was sure. He usually did.

  I hope he gets here soon, thought Holly, as the heat started to make her feel a bit faint. Thank goodness she was still in her Snow Maiden outfit or she’d boil over. Even the grass was wilting and beginning to turn brown.

  Just when Holly thought she’d melt if she didn’t find some shade, a familiar voice sounded just behind her.

  “Hello! Hello!”

  The White Cat was leaping towards her. Holly could tell he was happy to see her, but it was also clear he was anxious about something.

  “Oh, Cat!” she said, shaking his paw gently. “Sorry, too hot for hugs! Whatever’s going on?”

  “Big problem!” said the White Cat, fanning himself with his tail. “Terrible magic afoot.”

  Holly knew that the shoes only brought her to Enchantia if there was something the matter, and wondered what on earth could be making her friend sound so worked up.

  “You see that palace up on the hill over there?” he went on, a bit breathlessly.

  Holly followed his gaze. She could just make out the most enormous building surrounded by snow clouds, far in the distance.

  “That is the home of King Rat,” explained the White Cat.

  Holly turned sharply at the sound of the name. She had heard of an evil King Rat from The Nutcracker. “He set his army of mice on to the Nutcracker Prince, didn’t he?” she said.

  The White Cat nodded. “Those mouse guards of his are very fierce, with sabre swords and lashing tails. And King Rat himself is really disliked here in Enchantia. He doesn’t like dancing, you see, so he’s forever spoiling things for us.”

  Holly’s eyes widened as she looked back at the hill in the distance. “And that’s where he lives?”

  “Well,” said the White Cat. “He actually lived in a grey stone castle until recently. But he is so vain and selfish, and absolutely has to have whatever he wants. So his latest evil trick has been to capture the magic powers of the Winter Fairy from Cinderella and use them to transform his castle into an Ice Palace!”

  Holly was shocked. “I’ve met the Winter Fairy,” she said. “And the Summer Fairy too. They were at the christening of Cinderella’s little baby, Pearl, weren’t they?”

  “That’s right,” said the White Cat, nodding. Then his anxious look returned. “The trouble is,” he went on, wiping his forehead with his paw, “it is the joint powers of the Winter Fairy and the Summer Fairy that control the temperature and the seasons in Enchantia. Now that the Winter Fairy’s powers have been snatched away, the Summer Fairy’s powers have taken over. The whole land can hardly breathe, it’s so hot. The two sets of powers balance each other out, you see. That’s just the way it works.”

  Holly had been trying to take in all that the White Cat was saying, but it wasn’t easy when she felt as though she was about to faint from the heat.

  “We have to get the Winter Fairy’s powers back,” she said, trying to sound stronger than she felt. “We must go to the Ice Palace immediately!”

  Her friend nodded. “You’re absolutely right!”

  But his anxious expression quickly returned. “We mustn’t get too close, though. You’ve no idea how strong King Rat’s powers are, especially in his own territory. I’ll magic us to somewhere nearby, just to be safe.”

  Holly nodded and watched, as her friend drew a circle with his tail, swishing it through the long dry grass. Then she stepped inside the circle. The last thing she saw of the field was a cloud of golden sparks that whirled in a haze, lighting the tips of the blades of grass.

  “This is as close as I dare to get,” said the White Cat.

  Holly didn’t answer. She was too busy staring in awe at the magnificent ice palace in front of them. Its turrets and towers glowed and gleamed in silver brilliance, and, through the tall ice-spiked gates, she could see a winter garden full of ice sculptures.

  “They’re not real sculptures,” the White Cat whispered, following Holly’s gaze. “They’re people that King Rat has turned into statues with his evil magic.”

  Holly gasped. Anger flared up inside her at this nasty cruel rat, but she was puzzled too. “What were these people doing here in the first place?” she asked.

  “They each came to try and rescue the Winter Fairy,” said the White Cat. “Everyone is so alarmed about how Enchantia is heating up that they’re desperate to restore the natural balance of the seasons. But see what’s become of them!”

  “No, look, they’re not all ice statues!” said Holly, suddenly spotting a young man who had appeared from round the side of the garden. He was looking furtively this way and that, as he dodged behind one ice statue after another.

  “He’ll be searching for the Winter Fairy,” said the White Cat, in a low voice. “Just like the others.”

  “Oh, dear, I hope he manages to keep himself hidden, so he doesn’t get turned into a—”

  But Holly never had a chance to finish her sentence. Instead, she gasped because the man was halfway between two statues when the front door of the palace was suddenly flung open, and there stood King Rat himself. His beady red eyes stared out from beneath grey bushy eyebrows. Whiskers sprouted from all over his face. And on his head perched a tall golden crown, which Holly thought looked ridiculous.

  Spotting the intruder, his face turned purple with anger and he began yelling a chant as he swiped his sword through the air.

  “Once I swish again and twice.

  Now turn this mad fool into ice!”

  In a flash, the man became a statue, and Holly shivered at the terrible sight.

  “He still looks real!” she said through chattering teeth as she drew closer to her friend.

  The White Cat nodded grimly. “You see what I mean about King Rat’s powers,” he whispered.

  Holly shivered again,
which made her “Yes!” come out louder than she’d intended. Her hand flew to her mouth as King Rat turned sharply, scanning the grounds with his beady eyes.

  “Don’t let him see you!” hissed the White Cat, pulling Holly down behind one of the ice fir trees at the gate. And there they crouched, listening to King Rat’s angry voice, coming from much closer to them now.

  “I tell you, you’re useless! No good to me at all!”

  Holly wondered for a moment if King Rat was talking to her, but she knew he couldn’t possibly be, and strained her ears for the sound of a reply. But there wasn’t one.

  “You’re supposed to have all this special power, so use it, you dim-witted drip!”

  Again there was no reply.

  “How can it have run out? Answer me!” he went on, his tone getting crosser with every word he uttered.

  “Who’s he shouting at?” Holly whispered tremulously.

  Keeping very low, the two of them cautiously popped their heads around the side of the tree. There was only King Rat to be seen, however, and he wasn’t looking in their direction. It was a struggle for Holly not to giggle now she could properly see his outfit. He was wearing a tight, sequined skating suit of vivid red and gold, and tottering about on a pair of ice skates. She cupped her hand over her mouth and spoke into the White Cat’s ear, trying not to splutter. “Maybe he’s talking to himself! Doesn’t he look silly!”

  “Oh, no!” There was something in the urgent tone of Cat’s voice that silenced Holly in a second. And when she saw for herself what had caught his eye, her hand shot to her mouth.

  The Winter Fairy had come into view. She was leaning against one of the ice statues, her wings drooping, her wand hanging limply at her side, while King Rat carried on.

  “You utterly feeble faded fairy! What kind of a creature are you?” He stamped his foot and thrust his sharp ugly nose almost into the poor fairy’s face, then stomped off clumsily on his skates towards the frozen moat.

  Holly couldn’t understand what he was so furious about. Then, right before her eyes, the Winter Fairy slid to the ground at the foot of the ice statue, in a total faint.

  “Oh, my glittering whiskers!” said the White Cat. “We must go to her!”

  Holly didn’t need telling twice. The two of them jumped out from behind the fir tree, but immediately stopped in their tracks at the sound of a great bellow from the direction of the moat.

  “Guards! I fancy a ride! I need you to pull my sleigh! Come on! Get a move on!”

  Eight mouse guards instantly came running out of the palace and raced off towards the moat, to attend to their bossy king. The moment they were out of sight, Holly and the White Cat rushed to the fairy’s side and bent down. Her frightened eyes fluttered open, then closed gently.

  “Don’t worry,” whispered the White Cat, gathering her up.

  “Let me help,” said Holly.

  “It’s all right, she’s light as a feather,” the White Cat answered. “Just keep your eye on the moat. We mustn’t be seen.”

  A minute later, they were safely back a little distance outside the grounds of the ice palace, the Winter Fairy sitting with her head in her hand, crying softly.

  “Oh, whatever is to become of Enchantia?” she managed between sobs.

  The White Cat patted her hand with his paw. “There, there!” he said. “Let’s worry about that later. First things first. We want you to get better.” And with a swish of his tail, he magicked up a delicious meal of sweet berries and honey with a glass of rosewater to accompany it.

  The fairy drank and ate very slowly, and after a few moments, close to tears again, she sighed and murmured, “It’s no good. I don’t have the energy to eat any more.”

  “Oh, dear, how can we help?” Holly asked anxiously.

  “You remember Holly, don’t you?” the White Cat said gently to the fairy. “She’s the human owner of the magic ballet shoes.”

  The fairy gave a tiny nod and managed the smallest of smiles, then began to talk in such a thin voice that Holly and the White Cat had to lean forward to hear what she was saying.

  “King Rat sapped me of my winter powers to create his ice palace,” she said. “Only now, he’s furious that all my power has run out and he can’t get the other ice things he wants.”

  “But it’s you we’re worried about,” said Holly, touching the fairy’s frail hand. “We want you and Enchantia to be restored to normal. Never mind King Rat and his stupid demands.”

  “Quite right,” agreed the White Cat, his eyes glinting.

  The fairy’s eyelashes fluttered again. “There’s only one way that my powers can be restored, and the rest of Enchantia can be prevented from heating up until it’s too hot to bear,” she said in her tiny cracked voice.

  Holly and the White Cat bent closer, eager to hear.

  The fairy drew a shallow breath. “I must drink from the secret Winter Power potion that is hidden deep in the heart of the Land of Snow …”

  Holly felt a mixture of respect and sorrow for the fairy. There she was, fading away before their eyes, and yet she was still only concerned about helping Enchantia.

  “Try a little more food,” Holly urged. “Then perhaps you can take us there.”

  The fairy blinked once or twice, as though she was trying to wake herself up. “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “I am just too weak to travel.”

  “Well, if you could tell us where to find the secret remedy, we could go ourselves,” Holly cried.

  “It’s … in a … lantern …” The fairy’s words were fainter than ever.

  “Yes, a lantern. Where exactly?” said Holly.

  “Impossible to explain …” came the answer in the tiniest thread of a voice.

  “Is there nothing you can tell us to help us find it?” asked the White Cat gently, as Holly swallowed, feeling a great fear mounting inside her. She knew that it was her job to help sort out the problem whenever she was called to Enchantia. She had always managed before, but this time it was looking as though she might fail. And that was unthinkable.

  The fairy was trying to say something, but it was impossible to hear, so Holly put her ear right to her mouth.

  “Listen …” whispered the fairy.

  “Yes, I’m listening,” said Holly, waiting to hear more.

  But the fairy just closed her eyes and Holly exchanged a fearful look with the White Cat.

  “Right,” he announced, suddenly jumping up. “We will be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

  Holly knew he was only sounding brave so the fairy wouldn’t worry even more. However were they going to manage to find a lantern in the Land of Snow?

  And now there seemed to be another problem. The White Cat was drawing a circle in the frost outside the palace gates with his tail. His whiskers were twitching and his eyes glittering. Holly knew he would be conjuring up a picture of the Land of Snow, so he could magic them both there. So why was nothing happening? She threw him a questioning look.

  “It doesn’t seem to be working,” he murmured, flicking his tail impatiently against the ground.

  After watching him try again without success, Holly suddenly remembered something from The Nutcracker. “Do you think we need to travel in a sleigh?” she offered uncertainly. “That’s the way Clara and the Prince get to the Land of Snow.”

  “Yes! Yes! Of course! You’re absolutely right!” said the White Cat, clapping his paws together and jumping into the air, crossing his feet over and over. As he landed, a magnificent sparkling sleigh of white and gold appeared before them and they both climbed on.

  “Silly me. Should have thought of that!” he muttered as he took his place. “There’s only one way to get to the Land of Snow and that’s in a sleigh. Normal magic won’t work.”

  “We’ll be back as quickly as we can be!” said Holly to the fairy, who opened her eyes for just a second to give them a grateful smile.

  Then away they went, up into the sky, until they were looking
down on the glittering Ice Palace and the statues.

  As they flew a little higher, the moat on the far side of the palace came into view. Holly’s eyes widened at the sight of the struggling, straining figures of the mouse guards. They were attached to an enormous sleigh and were dragging it along. King Ratlay on his back in the centre of the sleigh, ankles crossed, hands behind his head. His nasty rodent nose was pointed up to the sky, and Holly gasped with shock as she realised the rat’s sharp, beady eyes were staring straight at her. She ducked down, but it was too late. He had definitely seen her!

  “He saw us! King Rat saw us!” Holly uttered shakily. “What if he follows us?”

  “He doesn’t know where we’re going, remember,” the White Cat reassured Holly. “And even if he got curious and decided to find out, he’d never be able to catch up. We’re way ahead. Anyway, you can’t see a thing in this snow!”

  It was true, now they were entering the Land of Snow, there were thick snowflakes swirling all around them and they could hardly see further than their noses.

  Holly’s heart began to beat a little faster. “Do you … know where we are, Cat?” she asked.

  “Yes, we’re flying over the forest. Look!” he replied. He was sitting up straight and seemed perfectly in control to Holly.

  The sleigh brushed the feathery tops of the tall fir trees as it zoomed along. But as the snowflakes began to swirl more and more wildly, Holly glanced at the White Cat again, to check he still looked confident. How on earth will we ever find the potion in this blizzard? she thought to herself.

  When the White Cat’s eyes started to flick anxiously from side to side, Holly’s heart sank.

  “Are we lost?” she asked.

  The White Cat didn’t reply, but she noticed that his whiskers were twitching just the tiniest bit, which usually meant that magic was afoot. And a moment later, Holly realised that something had changed. She sat up straighter and looked around her in amazement, a rush of wonder and delight swelling up inside her. The swirling snowflakes no longer swirled. In fact, they weren’t snowflakes at all. They had become dancing maidens, floating around as light as the air.