Over The Rainbow

by Meredith Badger

  ‘Sorry,’ said Elly. ‘We’d love to help, but you heard the Rule-Ruler. Besides, we’ve got to hang out with our friends in the library.’ Then she grabbed Saphie’s arm and they glided off down the corridor.

  Once they were safely around the corner, both fairies stopped and laughed until their faces ached.

  ‘How did you do that?’ giggled Elly.

  ‘Well,’ grinned Saphie, ‘while you cleverly distracted everyone by falling out of the broom closet, I sneaked over and put their wands in reverse. So any spells they tried to put on us would backfire onto them! I think they make much nicer lizards than fairies.’

  ‘Definitely!’ laughed Elly, as she and Saphie headed off to the library.

  The library was vast and echoey, with high walls completely covered in bookshelves. Even the window ledges were stacked so high with piles of books that it was almost impossible to see outside.

  ‘No-one but me reads these books any-more. The others all look at wand-books instead,’ said Saphie, as she checked to make sure they were totally alone. ‘The saddest part is that if these books don’t get read, they just crumble away to dust.’

  As Elly walked along, the books seemed to make a whispering, rustling sound.

  ‘It’s like they’re asking me to read them,’ said Elly.

  ‘They are,’ said Saphie. ‘Those are Tell Tale books – they’re a record of all the naughty things Rainbow Academy students have done over the years. They’re probably dying to tell you everything.’

  Then Elly spotted something glinting under one of the shelves. She bent down and fished it out. It was a tiny book, no bigger than her hand, with golden edges. It was very dusty and crumbly.

  Poor old book, thought Elly. If someone didn’t read it soon it would probably vanish completely. Elly slipped the book into her backpack, giving it a reassuring pat as she did. Don’t worry, she told the book silently. I’ll read you.

  ‘Now,’ said Saphie, once they were sure no-one was hiding anywhere, ‘what did you want to talk about?’

  So Elly explained all about Jess. She even told Saphie her big secret – that Jess knew Elly was a fairy! This was strictly against Fairy Code rules. If anyone found out about it, Elly would be in huge trouble. But Elly knew she could trust Saphie with her secret.

  When Elly had finished, Saphie nodded. ‘That’s why you were so upset when Grand-ma said that Jess was being crushed,’ she said.

  ‘Exactly,’ replied Elly. ‘And that’s why I have to sneak over to the other side of the rainbow. Jess might need my help!’

  ‘But how are you planning to sneak out?’ asked Saphie.

  ‘Well, I thought you might have some ideas,’ said Elly hopefully.

  But Saphie looked unsure. ‘It’s pretty much impossible to sneak out of Rainbowville,’ she said. ‘The last time any unlicensed fairies left Rainbowville was ages ago. It used to be a fairy’s job to scan the sky for fairies going in and out of Rainbowville. This particular time, the fairy on duty fell asleep, so two Rainbow Academy students sneaked out. They both got into huge trouble when they were caught. Then the automatic Sky Scanner was invented and no-one has ever gotten past it.’

  ‘I guess it’s hopeless then,’ Elly frowned. ‘Besides, it’s not just the Sky Scanner. There’s also the problem of sneaking out of the Rainbow Academy itself! This place is covered with fairy sensors.’

  ‘Well, actually,’ said Saphie, lowering her voice, ‘that bit would be easy.’ She went over to one of the windows and carefully removed the books stacked on the windowsill.

  Elly held her breath. Usually when you touched one of the Academy windows they started beeping furiously, but this one remained silent. Saphie pushed on it, and with a gentle creak the window swung open.

  ‘It’s been broken for ages,’ explained Saphie, ‘but no-one comes down here, so I’m the only one who knows about it.’

  Her eyes sparkling, Elly hugged her friend. ‘Thanks so much,’ she said gratefully. ‘You’ve just solved half of the problem.’

  Suddenly, Saphie sat up straight. ‘You know what,’ she said slowly. ‘I found a book when I first arrived here that had fallen down the back of the shelves. I got the feeling it wasn’t really meant to be there, in fact. I started reading it because it looked so neglected.’

  ‘What was it about?’ asked Elly.

  ‘The Sky Scanner,’ said Saphie. Then her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘It said that it’s possible to switch it into maintenance mode.’

  Elly frowned. ‘Maintenance mode?’

  Saphie nodded. She was starting to look excited. ‘Yes. If I understood correctly, it would be like shutting it down for repairs. It’d only be temporary, of course. But while it was in that mode, it wouldn’t be able to connect with the Cloud Writer.’

  Elly raised an eyebrow and grinned.

  Saphie grinned back. ‘Which means that for a short while, you could enter or exit Rainbowville, and no-one would have a clue.’

  Elly jumped up immediately. ‘Saphie! Where is the book?’

  But Saphie looked embarrassed. ‘It was a really boring book,’ she admitted. ‘I actually fell asleep while reading it. When I woke up, it had completely turned to dust.’

  Elly slumped back down in her seat. It was terrible to come so close to forming a plan, only to have it slip away.

  Saphie smiled. ‘But you know, I think I’d remember what it said if I was actually looking at the Sky Scanner,’ she said. ‘The whole thing is going to be risky. Very risky. But let’s go to the Rainbow Lab tonight and see if I can work out what to do.’

  Elly shook her head. ‘I don’t want you getting into trouble, Saph,’ she said. ‘If you tell me what you remember, I’ll do it on my own. And I’ll go tonight.’

  Saphie looked horrified. ‘Are you kidding?’ There’s no way I’m letting you go on a big adventure like this without me!’

  Elly felt her Heart Tracker pendant glow with warmth. She knew she should insist that Saphie stay behind, but it would be so nice to have her there.

  ‘Thanks, Saph,’ said Elly gratefully. Then she thought of something. ‘Hang on. How are we going to get into the Rainbow Lab? It’s behind a huge gate!’

  But Saph smiled mysteriously. ‘I think I have an answer to that. But there’s no time to explain right now. Come on, we’d better get back.’

  As they left the library, Elly felt a tingle of excitement. There was no doubt that a very big task lay ahead of them. But it would all be worth it if she managed to help Jess!

  Chapter Nine

  Neither of the Cruddleperrys were around when Elly and Saphie went to bed that night.

  ‘Evie told me that they’re both in the sick bay, being changed back from lizards,’ said Saphie. ‘They tried to blame us, of course, but the nurse guessed straight away what had happened. I bet they’re furious!’

  ‘I’m so excited about tonight that I don’t even care about the Cruddleperrys,’ said Elly, bouncing on her bed. ‘What should we take?’

  ‘Maybe our Extreme Flying turbo boosters?’ suggested Saphie. ‘Just in case.’

  ‘OK,’ said Elly. ‘But I really hope I don’t have to use them!’

  Suddenly, Saphie’s face fell. ‘Wait a minute, I just thought of a problem. A big one.’

  ‘What?’ asked Elly nervously.

  ‘We need a rainbow umbrella. Without that, we can’t re-enter Rainbowville.’

  Elly pulled open her backpack and rummaged around. ‘Do you mean one of these, by any chance?’ she smiled, pulling out Grandmother’s rainbow umbrella. ‘I’d totally forgotten I even had it!’

  Saphie laughed and shook her head. ‘You are amazing, Elly! Now, we better get some sleep. We’ve got a huge job ahead of us.’

  ‘I’ll try,’ said Elly, as she climbed into bed fully dressed. ‘But I don’t think it’s likely. I’m way too excited.’

  But Elly must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Saphie was shaking her awake.

  ‘Here,’
said Saphie, handing her what looked like a very long, flat cushion. ‘Put this in your bed and tuck the covers around it.’

  ‘What is it?’ asked Elly curiously.

  ‘It’s a replacer balloon,’ said Saphie. ‘They make it look like you’re still in your bed, when you’re not. I got them in a fairy show bag once. I knew they’d come in handy!’

  Elly pushed her replacer balloon into her bed. Instantly, it inflated to her exact size and shape. When the covers were drawn up around it, Elly nearly laughed. It looked exactly like she was still in there!

  If the Rule-Ruler saw this it would go totally crazy, she grinned to herself.

  Luckily, the Ruler seemed to be asleep. Elly could hear little wooden-y snores coming from her backpack as she slipped it on.

  Elly and Saphie sneaked out of the dormitory and headed towards the Rainbow Laboratory. The corridors of the Academy were bathed in the soft, silvery light of the full moon.

  It was so quiet that it made Elly jumpy. She was glad when they finally arrived at the gates. She kept expecting someone to leap out of the shadows and catch them!

  But when Elly looked properly at the gates, she frowned. ‘Uh, Saph?’ she said. ‘Any ideas on how we get past these?’

  Saphie gave her a grin. ‘Yes, actually. I found another interesting book in the library a while back,’ she said. Then she glanced at her watch, and whispered, ‘In exactly one minute, the full moon will have completely risen. Then, if the book was right, something pretty freaky will happen.’

  ‘What?’ asked Elly, bursting with curiosity.

  But Saphie shook her head. ‘Wait and see. You won’t believe me if I tell you.’

  Suddenly, the corridor was aglow with bright beams of moonlight.

  Saphie grabbed Elly’s hand. ‘Come on!’ she whispered urgently. ‘We have to walk through the gates now, while the moon is at its brightest!’

  Saphie started walking towards the gates, but Elly hesitated. ‘Saph, the gates are locked, remember?’ she said, confused.

  ‘You have to trust me,’ said Saphie softly. ‘I’ll explain later.’

  So Elly walked quickly towards the gate. She scrunched her eyes closed, waiting to crash into the metal bars. But no crash came.

  ‘It worked!’ chuckled Saphie.

  Elly opened her eyes and discovered, to her amazement, that they were now standing on the other side of the gate, at the top of the stairs. ‘Hang on,’ she said. ‘What just happened?’

  ‘The gate is made from moon metal,’ explained Saphie.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Elly.

  ‘It’s a fairy metal made from moonbeams,’ explained Saphie. ‘Usually it’s super strong. But on very bright full-moon nights, it turns back into beams of light – even though it still looks totally solid!’

  Elly wasn’t sure that she believed Saphie. She reached out for the gate, but again her hand went straight through it!

  ‘That’s amazing!’ she marvelled. ‘It’s so lucky you read that book, Saph.’

  ‘I read everything. Even boring old books about gates,’ laughed Saphie. ‘Come on. We’d better hurry!’

  Elly and Saphie hurried down the narrow stairs into the darkness, towards the door of the Rainbow Lab. They didn’t dare use a torch, in case someone walking past noticed the light. The further down the stairs they went, the darker things got. Elly was really glad that Saphie was there with her.

  Gradually, Elly noticed a strange flickering light reflected on the walls. One moment it was red, then it was purple and then, almost as quickly, it changed to blue.

  ‘I think that’s the rainbow we can see!’ whispered Saphie excitedly. ‘It must be shining under the door of the Rainbow Lab.’

  The lights became brighter and brighter as Elly and Saphie went further down the stairs, until the narrow stairwell glowed with colour.

  ‘I think we’re near the entrance of the Rainbow Lab,’ said Saphie, her eyes wide.

  Elly felt shivery with excitement. ‘I can’t believe we’re about to see where the rainbow actually comes from!’ she said.

  ‘Me neither!’ said Saphie. Then suddenly, she stopped. ‘There’s just one small problem.’

  ‘What?’ asked Elly.

  Saphie pointed. Up ahead was a very solid-looking door. ‘That,’ she said.

  Chapter Ten

  Elly put out her hand and grasped the small, golden handle on the door. Please don’t be locked! she pleaded silently.

  Then she turned the handle and, to her delight, the door swung open with a creak.

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ laughed Saphie.

  ‘Maybe I’m better at magic than you realise,’ grinned Elly.

  ‘Maybe you’re just lucky!’ laughed Saphie.

  Then they both crept into the Rainbow Laboratory. The Lab was very small. Its curved walls and ceiling were painted a deep blue, with shining stars sprinkled across it.

  ‘It’s so weird to think that we’re actually under the ground,’ said Saphie.

  ‘I know!’ agreed Elly. ‘All these stars make me feel like I’m floating in the sky.’

  Near the door was what looked like a very high-tech golden telescope, poking out through the roof of the Laboratory.

  ‘That must be the Sky Scanner,’ said Saphie. Then she grabbed Elly’s arm and pointed. ‘Look!’

  Elly looked where Saphie was pointing. In the middle of the room was a very simple, old-fashioned spinning wheel. Threaded across it was a length of material so fine and silky that it was almost transparent.

  The fabric stretched up to the roof of the Laboratory and disappeared into a golden pipe in the centre of the ceiling. A fine mist of tiny multi-coloured raindrops hovered around the spinning wheel, sparkling and twinkling like a scattering of jewels.

  ‘The rainbow,’ breathed Elly.

  ‘I can’t believe we’re actually looking at it being made!’ said Saphie.

  Elly longed to touch the beautiful fabric spinning around the wheel. It contained every colour Elly had ever seen, and some extra ones, too.

  She had felt the rainbow, of course, when she slid over it into Rainbowville. But this new material looked different somehow. Elly’s hand crept towards the spinning wheel, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

  ‘Elinora Knottleweed-Eversprightly!’ said Saphie suddenly. ‘Stay away from that! The rainbow is very delicate when it’s freshly spun. It’s not until it reaches the outside air that it becomes hard enough to touch.’

  Elly laughed guiltily. ‘You sounded like my grandmother then,’ she said.

  ‘Sometimes I know just how she feels, having to keep an eye on you all the time!’ grinned Saphie.

  Saphie flipped open a panel on the Sky Scanner. Inside was a criss-crossing tumble of silver wires and flashing, beeping buttons. Saphie’s face fell. ‘Uh-oh,’ she said. ‘This is going to be more complicated than I thought. I’ll probably need to re-do all this wiring. It’s going to take a while to figure it out.’

  ‘Can I help?’ asked Elly.

  Saphie smiled. ‘Thanks, Elly,’ she said. ‘But it’d probably be better if I try to sort it out myself.’

  Elly knew what Saphie meant. It wasn’t that Elly tried to cause disasters. They just seemed to find her, wherever she went!

  Elly wandered over to the middle of the room and watched the rainbow spinner again. I really want to touch that rainbow fabric, thought Elly longingly. She glanced at Saphie. She was busily working on the Sky Scanner.

  I’m sure it’d be OK, if I’m very careful, decided Elly. Then she reached out her hand and gently touched the newly spun rainbow.

  The rainbow was very sticky. So sticky, in fact, that it instantly stuck to Elly’s fingers! Elly quickly pulled her hand away, trying not to rip the delicate fabric. With a thumping heart, she examined the multi-coloured fabric before it disappeared up through the pipe in the roof. Part of the red threads had become stuck to the orange threads.

  I didn’t make a hole in it, at least, thought
Elly, relieved. She shot a glance at Saphie, who was hunched over the Sky Scanner. Elly couldn’t help feeling very glad her friend didn’t know what she’d done!

  I’d better move away from the rainbow so I don’t touch it again, decided Elly.

  She hurried back over to where Saphie was still puzzling over the Sky Scanner controls. ‘How’s it going?’ she asked.

  Saphie sat up and wiped some grease from her nose. ‘Not so well,’ she admitted. ‘I can’t work out which wires I need to swap. I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep while reading that book.’

  Elly looked over Saphie’s shoulder, feeling worried. If Saphie couldn’t work this out, the whole mission would have to be called off. Then suddenly, she noticed a big red button. On it was written, Maintenance Mode.

  ‘What does that button do?’ Elly asked, pointing at it.

  Saphie looked up. Then she burst out laughing. ‘I didn’t notice that!’ she said. ‘I’ve been wasting all this time worrying about wires when we can just push the button.’

  ‘You would’ve noticed it in the end,’ said Elly kindly.

  Saphie put her arm around Elly’s shoulder. ‘You know, you really are an excellent fairy,’ she said. ‘OK, so you have the occasional accident. But you always figure things out in the end. And you often do it in a much better way than anyone else.’

  Elly went red. She was so used to being told how hopeless she was that it was kind of embarrassing to be told the opposite.

  Saphie mightn’t think I was such a great fairy if she’d seen what almost happened to the rainbow, thought Elly guiltily.

  Saphie pressed the button. Straight away, the Sky Scanner made a strange squealing sound, like a car screeching to a stop.

  ‘We’ve done it!’ said Saphie excitedly. ‘It’s in Maintenance Mode. But we’ve only got an hour to visit Jess and get back again, before the Sky Scanner turns back on automatically. We should be OK once we get over the rainbow, because of the time difference. But if we’re not back here in time, our names will be written across the sky in red.’

  Elly raced for the Laboratory door. ‘Well, come on then,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘Let’s get going!’