But Bettina had come right up to them by then, and was shaking the White Cat’s paw.
“Hello, there!” she said in a friendly but business-like voice. “I’m a photographer and I’m building up a collection of animal images. I wonder if you’d mind posing for me.” She threw a quick smile at Jade, and Jade grinned back. She obviously wanted another shot of the White Cat for the special collage. It was so clever of Bettina to invent a story about animal photos. “Perhaps the two of you would be good enough to stand over here by this tree,” Bettina said, lining up her camera.
“Well, I’m not sure…” the White Cat began to say. Jade was surprised that he sounded so wary. And he didn’t look himself, either. He seemed agitated, jumping from foot to foot and frowning deeply.
“It’s all right,” she said in a whisper. “I met Bettina earlier when I was with the Lilac Fairy.”
But the White Cat stayed put and Jade felt a little embarrassed that he wasn’t helping.
“Are you from round these parts?” he called out to Bettina.
She waved her hand towards Swan Lake. “Yes, my house is over there. I don’t get out much though. I’ve been rather… ill.”
“Oh dear,” said Jade loudly, when the White Cat didn’t reply. “I’m sorry to hear that, Bettina.” Jade turned to her friend and spoke in a hiss. “Whatever’s the matter, White Cat?”
“Something doesn’t add up,” he whispered. “If you met her when you were with Lila, how has she managed to get all the way back here before us?”
Jade had to agree it was odd, but it didn’t really matter, did it?
“She only wants to take our picture then we can move on.”
The White Cat grunted and got into position by the tree trunk, but Jade couldn’t help noticing that he wasn’t smiling.
“Say cheese!” Bettina instructed in a sing-song voice. And a second later there was a flash.
Suddenly Jade couldn’t move. Oh no! The White Cat had been right to be suspicious. She and the White Cat had been turned into statues!
With a nasty cackle Bettina whirled around in a storm of black sparks. Then she transformed into an ugly old hag wearing a ragged grey dress.
Jade might not have been able to move, but she could still see and hear. Her heart felt as though it was banging against her ribs as she realised who must be standing before her. It was none other than the Wicked Fairy herself.
“Ha! That’ll teach the lot of you!” the Wicked Fairy snapped in a scratchy voice. “It is very rude to organise big parties and leave certain people off the guest list.”
Jade felt sorry for the White Cat. The Wicked Fairy’s words must have made no sense to him. After all, as far as he knew, he was only going to a small tea party.
The fairy raised her wand. “I shall release you from my spell once midnight passes and this special birthday…” she snarled at the White Cat, “… is no more!” She waved the wand, closed her eyes and chanted:
“With a wham, a gazzam and a crash, take them to the tower!
With a wham, a gazzam and a flash, until the darkest hour!”
Then there was a sound like a mighty cymbal crashing, and a flash like lighting.
Jade found herself sitting beside her friend in a tall, dark tower room, with her back against a cold wall. Thank goodness they weren’t statues any more. But being imprisoned seemed almost as bad.
“White Cat…” she said slowly as she turned her head.
The White Cat reached out a paw and held Jade’s hand. “You didn’t get to see the swans,” he said sadly.
“And you didn’t get to show me where you were born,” Jade added with a sigh. Then she turned to her friend, her eyes round and sorrowful. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have encouraged Bett… I mean the Wicked Fairy to take the photo. It’s my fault that we’re prisoners, and you’re going to miss your…” Jade stopped mid-sentence. Somehow it seemed wrong to spill the beans about the wonderful surprise party, even though her friend wouldn’t be able to go to it now.
The two of them sat there in their own little worlds. Jade’s brain was racing. If only there was a way to escape. She glanced up at the window at the very top of the tower, but it was too high up for them to think about getting out that way.
The White Cat must have followed her gaze. “If you stand on my shoulders,” he said thoughtfully after a moment, “at least you’d be able to see Swan Lake.”
“Well, that’s something,” said Jade.
A moment later she was peeping out of the window. The most beautiful lake lay in the distance. “Oh wow!” she breathed.
“It’s so calm and I can see the swans too — lots of them, snowy white and as graceful as ballerinas! And…” Jade broke off her excited chatter when a ball of green smoke came billowing up and blocked her view.
“What’s going on?” coughed the White Cat. “Is there a fire?”
Jade didn’t reply. She just stared down.
The smoke was clearing to reveal the Wicked Fairy climbing into a black carriage. Two rats were tied to the front of the carriage.
“Get going, you pathetic beasts!” yelled the Wicked Fairy as she lashed the reins then waved her wand, her voice rising to a screech.
“With a wham, a shazzam and a flash, take me to the square!
Bettina will snap the people, and make them stop and stare! Ha ha ha!
Then the carriage disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
Jade clambered down from the White Cat’s shoulders. “Oh, White Cat, did you hear that? The Wicked Fairy is going to pretend to be Bettina again, and trick everyone just like she tricked us!” Jade’s voice was trembling. “She’s going to turn them all into statues! We’ve got to stop her!”
The White Cat had been shaking his head in despair when suddenly he sprung up, full of life. Jumping into the air, he criss-crossed his ankles six times before landing lightly and breaking into a grin. “I’ve got it!”
“What?”
“The answer! There’s a special dance that can be performed to summon the swans. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“You mean you can do this dance and the swans’ll fly here to rescue us?” Jade could feel her excitement mounting. At last, a ray of hope.
“Well… almost,” said the White Cat. “But the trouble is, cats can’t do bird dances in Enchantia. The magic won’t work. But I can teach you how to do the dance! And you can summon the swans!”
Jade felt her hope dissolving a little. What if she couldn’t manage the dance? But then she jutted out her jaw. She had to at least give it a try. “OK, Cat!” she said firmly. “Show me how it goes!”
The White Cat raised his arms slowly through first position to fifth then opened out to second. Jade copied him, so far so good. But then his feet began a series of complicated steps and Jade gulped.
“Can you show me that bit again, please?” she said.
The White Cat repeated the sequence and went on a little further. “OK? Got that?” He carried on moving through the steps as he talked, and in the end Jade was in a complete muddle.
“Sorry, White Cat,” she said in a small voice. “I can’t keep up when you go so quickly.”
“No, no, my fault entirely! I must learn to slow down!”
But the next time he showed Jade the steps, he went just as fast. “There! Got it now?”
Jade shook her head miserably.
“No, no! My fault again. Absolutely! Right, one step at a time.”
A few minutes later, after a great deal of concentration, Jade thought she had finally learned the steps. She took a deep breath then stood right in the centre of the tower. Waiting until she could hear the music inside her head, she began to dance.
In no time at all, the music grew louder and Jade was dancing with all her heart. As she sank into the final position, with her arms softly crossed at the wrists, she heard a noise from outside the window. A flapping of wings.
“You’ve done it! They’re here!” cried
the White Cat.
Jade looked up and gasped. A white swan had alighted on the stone window ledge. And against the blue sky she could see the beating wings of another swan just behind.
“Sabrina! Sahara!” the White Cat called. “We’re in here!”
The ride on the back of the swans was magical. Jade was on Sahara’s back, and the White Cat was on Sabrina’s. The Land of Enchantia lay beneath them like a patchwork quilt as the two swans glided smoothly through the bright sky.
The church clock was just striking five as they were set down outside Red Riding Hood’s cottage. Jade and the White Cat thanked the swans and waved them off as they flew back to their distant lake.
The White Cat was staring around. “It’s very quiet,” he said, his brow furrowed.
Jade’s heart fluttered with worry when she thought about what the Wicked Fairy could have done. What if Red Riding Hood and all the guests were statues? She looked at the White Cat’s grave face and guessed he was thinking the same thing.
Without a word they made for the front door. But they’d hardly taken a step when a loud noise pierced the silence.
They turned round to see a black carriage, pulled by two rats, hurtling round the bend.
“Quick!” cried the White Cat. “Don’t let her see you!”
He pulled Jade down behind the fence around Red Riding Hood’s cottage and seconds later the carriage thundered past. Jade couldn’t help peeping over the top and caught a glimpse of the Wicked Fairy’s scrawny neck and pointed chin. Her face was screwed up in a look of triumph. “Ha! My work here is done! Take me home, Rats. I can’t wait to tell my prisoners!”
Jade felt a shiver run down her spine as she and the White Cat slowly straightened up and looked at each other despairingly.
“What do you think she meant about her work being done?” Jade asked in a small voice, although she knew the answer already. “She’s turned everyone into a statue, hasn’t she?”
The White Cat nodded glumly, but then suddenly sprang into action. “We have to find the Lilac Fairy. It’s our last hope. She’s the only one with enough magical powers to bring the statues back to life.”
“Right,” said Jade, catching some of her friend’s energy.
Together they hurried to Lila’s cottage.
But there was no sign of her.
Of course! thought Jade, She’ll be in the Land of Sweets, getting ready for the party. But how I can tell the White Cat that without giving the game away?
“Er… actually,” she began hesitantly, “I think I remember Lila saying something about visiting the Land of Sweets this afternoon.”
A spark of hope came into the White Cat’s eyes. “In that case,” he replied, “get ready to jump into the magic ring!”
He swished his tail in a glittering circle and it lifted them both up in a billow of sparkles.
A moment later they were standing in the Land of Sweets.
Now where is the Marshmallow Palace? Jade thought. She needed the White Cat’s help. She didn’t want to give anything away, but this was more important.
“Er, Lila mentioned a palace or a grand mansion or something. I’m afraid I can’t remember the name of it, though.”
“Oh, right,” said the White Cat, knitting his eyebrows. “Let me see, was it the Grand Palace?”
Jade shook her head.
“The Chocolate Palace?”
“No…”
“The Marzipan Mansion?”
“I don’t think so…”
“The Marshmallow Palace?”
Jade detected a glint in the White Cat’s eye. “Yes, that was it! The Marshmallow Palace!” she said.
“My favourite,” he said, whipping his tail around smartly. “Let’s be on our way!”
They were set down only seconds later right outside the Marshmallow Palace. And now Jade had another problem. If the White Cat went inside he would see the party preparations. And he was already marching on ahead.
“Er… White Cat, I think one of us should stay here and watch out for the Wicked Fairy!” she gabbled. “It would be awful if she came back. I’ll go and look for Lila.”
The White Cat looked a bit confused, but Jade rushed past him and into the palace before he could protest.
The grand reception hall had already been decorated with hundreds of white and gold balloons. Over the door to the ballroom, in giant gold letters it said Happy Birthday, dear White Cat.
Jade wished she had time to appreciate it, but she had to find Lila as quickly as possible. Pushing back the door to the ballroom, she could hardly believe her eyes. The ceiling sparkled, the walls glittered, the floor gleamed and the pillars glistened. There were buttercup garlands and streamers of daisy chains everywhere. But that wasn’t all. Amongst the splendour was something that sent a shiver down her spine…
There stood a hundred silent statues.
Jade tiptoed round despairingly, searching for the Lilac Fairy. She knew in her heart of hearts that Lila would probably be a statue too, but she was trying to hold on to the hope that she might be wrong. As she walked forward, she remembered what the Wicked Fairy had said – that she would release Jade and the White Cat once his birthday was over. That meant she had probably been intending to break the statue spell too. Jade swallowed. What would happen now? The Wicked Fairy would get in a terrible rage when she returned to her castle and discovered that her prisoners had escaped. She would definitely want revenge. And what better revenge than to refuse to break her spell so the people of Enchantia remained as statues forever?
Jade was close to tears when she found Lila’s statue. She looked sorrowfully into her eyes. But what she saw there, made her snap out of her despairing mood and jump to attention. The Lilac Fairy was trying to tell her something. What was it? Jade tried hard to pick up the message.
“There is something I can do… Is that what you’re trying to tell me, Lila?” she asked shakily.
Lila’s eyes seemed to glitter. Jade knew she’d understood correctly. But what could the Lilac Fairy want her to do? She thought back to the dark tower where she’d been imprisoned so recently. How had she escaped? By doing a special dance to summon the swans. That was how Enchantia worked. Of course!
Jade racked her brains to think what dance she should do…
“The Lilac Fairy’s dance from Sleeping Beauty! Could that be it?”
Lila’s eyes were glittering even more. But Jade’s excitement came crashing down as she realised something.
“Oh, Lila,” she said with a deep sigh. “I can’t do your dance. I don’t know the right steps.”
Still Lila’s eyes glittered with hope.
Across Jade’s mind flitted the image of the Lilac Fairy from her book of Sleeping Beauty at home. She could visualise the exact ballet position that the fairy held in the picture. Maybe if she tried to imitate it…
She concentrated with all her might, raising her arms into fifth position. Then she extended her leg into an arabesque, taking care to point her toe.
The fairy was on pointe in the picture, but Jade hadn’t started pointe work yet, so she rose on to demi-pointe. It was so hard to keep her balance. She met Lila’s eyes again and they were really sparkling.
Nothing was happening, though. She tipped her head the slightest bit to frame her face perfectly. Still nothing happened. She softened her wrists. And in that instant there was a flash of gold and the Lilac Fairy moved.
Jade clasped her hands. “Oh! You’ve come back to life!”
“Yes,” replied Lila, leaning forwards and dropping the lightest kiss on Jade’s cheek. “Thanks to you!”
It was the most wonderful moment to enjoy, but the other people of Enchantia still needed to be freed.
“There’s no time to lose!” said Lila. “First I need to release all the fairies so they, in turn, can release everyone else!” As she was talking she flew around the ballroom, tipping her wand lightly on each of the fairies’ heads. One by one they began to move again. Lila smiled
as she watched her fairies flitting round. “It takes more than a spell from a wicked old fairy to stop this surprise party happening!” she said, her tinkly laughter blending with a ballroom full of cheers as statue after statue came back to life.
Jade had a shock when she saw that Red Riding Hood was actually there in the ballroom too.
“I was just about to set off on my way home,” the young girl told her anxiously, “when the Wicked Fairy came crashing in and turned us all into statues.”
“So there’s no one at your house?” Jade asked her.
“No one at all.” Red Riding Hood shook her head and looked around. “So where’s the White Cat?” she asked fearfully.
“Oh! I’d quite forgotten,” said Jade, clapping her hand to her mouth, “he’s outside! He might come looking for me at any moment! I haven’t said a word about the party. He still thinks he’s going to your house for tea!”
“Quickly, go outside and ask him to magic you both back to Red Riding Hood’s cottage then,” said Lila. “I’ll meet you there!”
Jade didn’t need telling twice. Rushing outside, she went straight to the White Cat.
“What took you so long?” he started, but he didn’t have a chance to finish as Jade interrupted him. “I found Lila, White Cat. Everything’s all right. I’ll explain later. Lila says we should go to Red Riding Hood’s house now – there isn’t a moment to lose!”
“But what about all the statues?” asked the White Cat. “Is everyone OK?”
“They’re safe. Lila’s seen to that,” said Jade vaguely. “So can you magic us to Red Riding Hood’s cottage?”
The White Cat looked at Jade as though she was mad. “But…”
“That’s what Lila told me to ask you,” she said firmly.
Jade and the Surprise Party Page 2
