Let the Dance Begin

by Lynda Waterhouse

  ‘So what are you going to do about it?’ Madame Rosa looked serious.

  Cassie stood up. ‘First of all I’m going to go on to the beach and perform a Rage Stomp. That will make me feel better. And then I am going to grit my teeth and practise and practise! I will show everyone that I am good enough to be a dune dancer.’

  Madame Rosa smiled. ‘That’s the Marramgrass spirit! When it comes to passion and expression in your dancing, you are one of the best. That is a talent that cannot be taught. But a sand dancer needs to be technically excellent as well. That only comes with practice – and you seem to have been distracted recently’

  Cassie’s eyes met Madame Rosa’s. ‘There have been some important things on my mind, but nothing matters more to me than to become the best sand dancer that I can be. I want my mother to have been proud of me.’

  It was really hard for Cassie to watch her friends rehearse for the Harvest Moon Festival. They tried to include her, but she often felt left out when they went for extra lessons or had conversations after supper about the dance routine or what their costumes were going to be like.

  She kept watching out for opportunities to return to Madame Rosa’s study, but it was not easy. Madame Rosa worked very hard and, when she was not taking classes, she was always in her study – and once when Cassie sneaked down, she discovered a late meeting was taking place, and she was lucky not to be caught.

  Cassie spent a lot of time going over the basic dance moves. When she wasn’t practising them she would draw the moves into the sand and then try to work out the best way to perform them properly. She decided that she would show everyone – one day she would perform the Triple Silica Jump and prove herself! For the first time in a while Cassie thought about her Aunt Euphorbia. Of course, she had written to her and had letters from her, but she was longing to see her too. Cassie hoped she was well and not working too hard at the sand factory. What was the advice she had given her for performing a Triple Silica Jump? Cassie tried to remember. It is simply a matter of taking three jumps, and making a turn of the hips as you take a very deep breath and believe! It helped take her mind off things. It was hard at first to put all the instructions together. Sometimes she felt confident, but her hips would not twist at the right point no matter how hard she tried.

  She did not just try to be a model student in her dance lessons. She really paid attention in mathematics and aerodynamics. She even listened very carefully to Miss Youngsand Jnr’s long lectures about the science of dunes.

  Calluna had made a point of coming over to Cassie after one of those lessons and saying in a superior voice, ‘We are having special dresses made for the festival and we can sew shells and ribbons on to our dance slippers to make them unique.’

  Cassie took a deep breath. ‘That sounds wonderful. I hope it all goes well. You deserve your place as you have worked hard. It can’t be easy keeping us all under control’

  Calluna looked taken aback. The hard look in her eyes softened ever so slightly.

  ‘No, it’s not. It is a very responsible job being the senior sand dancer. I can’t let the dance school down, or my family. My mother expects me to be the best. It’s like having a big sandbag on my shoulders all the time.’ For the first time Cassie thought that there was a reason why Calluna felt she had to be so mean all the time. It also made her think about her own mother. What would Marina expect of her?

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Two wrongs can sometimes make

  the right thing happen.’

  The Sands of Time

  One night Cassie waited on the balcony for Rubus. Madame Rosa had told them the previous week that she was going to be away for a couple of days, and Cassie knew she had to take this opportunity to read what was on those missing pages. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that it would be safer to have someone on look-out for her – and that someone had to be Rubus. But Rubus was taking an age coming back. In desperation, she had begged Thassalinus to try to contact him, and the old gatekeeper told her that she could expect him that evening.

  It had been a long and emotional day, and soon Cassie’s eyelids were heavy and she found herself asleep. Her dreams took her back to Madame Rosa’s study. Once again she was watching the images of her mother as she stretched her arms and crossed her feet, once, twice and again into the Triple Silica Jump. Cassie could almost feel her mother close to her, twirling, swirling, leaping and turning in the flickering light. It seemed that the light was following her. She woke with a start. Even with her eyes open she still saw the light. She closed her eyes tight and opened them again.

  ‘Cassie?’ a voice called.

  Through her half-opened eyes she saw Rubus. In each hand he held a small glass jar that gave off a green glow.

  ‘Glow-bug jars!’ He held one out to her. ‘I thought they’d help you to see better in the study’

  ‘That’s a great idea. So much better than the last idea you had about kicking down Madame Rosa’s door!’ she joked as they crept down the rope ladder and made their way along the outside of the school towards the main gate. When she teased Rubus she felt less scared.

  Rubus pointed to a small leather pouch attached to his waist. ‘I’ve brought a large flask of mollusc mead. A few drops of this should loosen Thassalinus’s tongue. I may not be a reader, but I’m a very good listener!’

  Cassie hid behind a rock as Rubus called out to the night sprite. He was so distracted with the fuss Rubus made of him and with the mead that Cassie easily slipped past him.

  This was a much faster and safer route to the study as Cassie did not have to pass the sleeping kutches. But the school was not as empty as she expected, and on three occasions Cassie had to hide the glow-bug jar under her skirt. As she tiptoed past the kitchen she spotted Mrs Sandskrit having a late-night sea pasty snack. Calluna was in the practice room going over and over the dance moves with a determined and frightened look on her face and Miss Youngsand Jnr was in the science lab testing sand samples.

  Cassie felt calm this time as she carefully picked the lock.

  The glow-bug jar made it so much easier to move around the room. Cassie made straight for the window. She placed her light on the floor and used both hands to feel along the window seat for the catch.

  The soft clicking and her breathing were the only sounds. Cassie’s hands trembled as she reached inside and pulled out the pages.

  She took a long, deep breath, and began to read.

  Miss Youngsand Jnr has completed her scientific studies and reported to the meeting that the dunes are eroding much faster than was feared, and that the time has come when serious action needs to be taken. Sifting sand and performing dune dances are not enough to keep the erosion in check.

  The sand farers are coming back with reports of similar things happening in all the dunes they have visited across the globe.

  We sat in silence for a long time. There was a storm brewing, but Sandrine told the meeting that another visitor was expected. She arrived a few minutes later, apologising for her lateness – she had to put her daughter to bed.

  Marina Marramgrass is the finest sand dancer the school has ever produced and the most excellent interpreter of the dune dances. She is the perfect sand sprite for the secret mission.

  We all performed the Loyalty Dance:

  Travelling, travelling on through our lives

  Hoping, daring, dreaming,

  Looking out and caring for

  Our family, friends and the dunes in dangerous times.

  After the cups of sage tea had been served Sandrine said there was only one item to be discussed and that no one must hear of it outside this room. Sandrine did not even want her ministers and advisors to know of it in case it caused trouble and discord. She said that the sand dancers were her truest and most loyal subjects. She asked that Marina undertake a secret journey to visit all the dunes in the main continents to see how they were coping with the possible dune destruction and to discover which of their
dances were the strongest ones to make the dunes sing and to keep them healthy. If a talented sand dancer could put together all the sequences to create one powerful dune dance, she reasoned it might halt the destruction.

  Marina agreed immediately, but expressed concerns about the length of time the mission would take. Sandrine assured her that she would be able to come back soon. Bad weather was expected in the next few days, so she must leave with the sand farers immediately.

  The bad weather came much sooner than expected and, no sooner had she left, than the Great Sandstorm struck – the most ferocious and destructive storm in living memory.

  Cassie continued to read – all about the futile searches for Marina, to find out if she had survived, and the death of her father among many other sand farers. She read about Sandrine’s decision that all the sand sprites’ energies had to go into rebuilding Silica City and the surrounding dunes – this was why she decided to close down the dance school until further notice. Sandrine had to face fierce criticism and possible rebellion, but she held everything together. Until the time when the dance school reopened, the existing sand dancers had to keep the memory of the secret dune dances alive.

  Cassie closed the pages and returned them to the hiding place. Then she locked the study and crept along the corridor. She took a few steps into the main school and stopped. She rested her head against the wall. So the dunes were in danger. Sandrine was fierce for a reason. Her mother’s disappearance wasn’t about jealousy or sand sprites bearing grudges. It was so much bigger than that! She felt dizzy. Cassie closed her eyes and took some deep breaths as she slowly made her way back to her kutch.

  She saw Miss Youngsand Jnr softly snoozing on a workbench in her lab. Cassie understood now why she was working so late into the night. She was trying to save the dunes. There was no sign of Mrs Sandskrit, only a few traces of crumbs on an empty plate. And there was Calluna, lying on the floor of the practice room sobbing, ‘I have to get it right, I am the best, I will be the best.’ Cassie’s heart went out to her – all the other sand dancers would be in bed by now, and Calluna must be exhausted! She must be very dedicated, but also very worried, to be still practising at this hour.

  Cassie moved as quickly as she could away from her. She knew that trying to comfort Calluna would be pointless, as she would hate to be seen showing any sign of weakness, and she would be mean to the sprite who saw it.

  As she approached the gatehouse she heard the sound of singing.

  ‘Never upset a sand farer

  For his memory is as long as time

  If you upset a sand farer

  He’ll fill your bed with slime – YO!’

  Cassie popped her head round the door. Thassalinus and Rubus were sitting together on the floor. A red-faced Thassalinus was sipping from the flask of mead. He growled at Cassie. ‘I hope you are not here to upset a sand farer. You should be tucked up in bed!’ He turned to Rubus. ‘Do you see what I have to put up with?’

  Rubus nodded and said, ‘I should fill her bed with slime!’

  Cassie pretended to look shocked. ‘I only came to warn you. I’ve just seen Mrs Sandskrit heading this way. I am sure she would not approve of night sprites drinking mollusc mead and singing when they should be on duty’

  Thassalinus was instantly on his feet. ‘You’re right. Now let’s be having you. Move along now!’

  Rubus bowed. ‘Thank you for telling me your stories.’

  Thassalinus bowed back. ‘It has been a pleasure talking to you. Sand farers are a tough breed. No matter what you throw at them they always come back!’

  ‘It looked like hard work keeping Thassalinus occupied,’ Cassie teased as they walked back along the beach.

  ‘It was really interesting to hear about sand farers and their exploits. You have to train really hard.’ Rubus paused. ‘It’ll take me ages to become one.’

  ‘But what about your sand racing? I thought you wanted to be a champion racer too.’ Cassie had never seen Rubus look so serious.

  ‘I do, but I am tired of always pleasing myself and drifting. It would be good to have some great stories to tell when I am old. But I can see by the look on your face that you’ve found something out, so stop asking me questions and tell me all about it!’

  They stopped at the foot of Cassie’s balcony so she could tell him everything.

  As she finished, Cassie found that there were tears in her eyes. ‘Oh Rubus, now I almost wish that I hadn’t found out. Knowing that the dunes are in danger makes me feel scared. This information changes everything.’

  Rubus hugged her. ‘You are very brave, Cassie, and you should be proud of your mother.’

  ‘I am,’ Cassie whispered.

  ‘I’m sorry, but I’ll have to go now before anyone sees us. But I will come back soon,’ Rubus promised.

  ‘Please keep this to yourself … until we can figure out what to do next,’ Cassie insisted.

  It was only when she was alone that Cassie flung herself on the bed and cried and cried until she finally fell asleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Time passes, sands shift and

  secrets are revealed.’

  The Sands of Time

  Cassie woke early the next morning with a fresh breeze blowing through her room. As she washed and tied her braids tightly she felt as if a pebble had been lifted from her stomach. Her mother left her that night to help save the dunes! She had to go because she was the best dancer, and she would be able to piece all the dune dances together into one powerful piece!

  Then other dizzying thoughts overwhelmed her. Her mother had never returned, so did that mean that the dunes were still dying? Is that why the dance school had reopened? Were the dunes in such a dreadful state that Sandrine desperately needed more sand dancers?

  She wasn’t sure what she was going to do next. She was longing to tell everyone what she had found out, but she couldn’t. She could easily be expelled for breaking into Madame Rosa’s study. She was going to have to do something, but for the moment it was enough just to know the truth and that there was a reason behind her mother’s disappearance – that she had been trying to save the dunes. More than ever Cassie knew that she had to become a great sand dancer and that through dancing she, too, would help save the dunes. Perhaps she could do what her mother had not lived to do. Even if she wasn’t the best dancer, she would work hard to be as good as she could be.

  That day was a rest day but Cassie had not forgotten her promise to Madame Rosa and she decided to do some extra dance practice.

  She raced down the corridor to meet Shell and Lexie.

  ‘How are you two going to spend your day?’ Cassie asked as she linked arms with them. ‘Only I was hoping you could find some time to help me with some dance practice.’

  ‘It is a rest day so I was intending to do just that,’ Shell said. ‘But I suppose it would be entertaining to watch you stumble about the place!’ She winked at Lexie.

  ‘I was going to go over my Dune Arabesques. Perhaps we could do them together?’ Lexie said.

  ‘What do you think you are doing?’ A familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

  An angry-looking Calluna was waiting at the foot of the stairs. ‘The rules clearly state that students must walk single file down the stairs. You are setting a bad example. You can spend the day cleaning out the stock cupboard.’

  She turned and quickly left them.

  ‘That’s ridiculous! I’ve a good mind to go to Madame Rosa,’ Shell flared up.

  ‘It won’t be so bad if we’re together,’ Lexie said.

  ‘I suppose I could Dune Bug Jump down the shelves!’ Cassie sighed.

  ‘Don’t expect me to catch you; I’ll be too busy keeping the dust out of my hair!’ Shell replied.

  The stock cupboard was next to the practice room and it was long and crammed with shelves that were spilling out with objects. It was lit with an old musty gas lamp that gave off a strange green glow.

  ‘This will take days
to sort out,’ Cassie groaned as they all stood in the doorway.

  Calluna had left them some thick overalls to wear and some long brushes and pieces of sponge cloths. They turned and looked at each other.

  ‘Don’t we look stylish?’ Shell struck a pose.

  ‘The green light is so flattering,’ Cassie joked.

  Lexie waggled her long brush and twirled down the cupboard, leaving a cloud of dust after her.

  ‘Let’s try to be systematic’ Shell shook her brush. ‘We should divide the cupboard into sections and each do a bit. That way we won’t choke on the dust.’

  Cassie wandered down to the end. ‘I’ll start here,’ she said, standing beside a rickety old stepladder that led up to a shelf full of boxes. She climbed up the ladder and flicked a cloth over the boxes.

  ‘Why do sand sprites never throw anything away?’ she called out to her friends.

  ‘Because it might come in useful!’ her friends chanted back at her.

  As Cassie worked, she thought about the Triple Silica Jump, which she had been practising. She jumped down from the ladder, swung her hips as she closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself performing it.

  The first two jumps went fine but she mistimed the third. As she spun round and round her duster got tangled up in the leg of her overall. Feeling dizzy, she reached out with her empty hand to steady herself but all she managed to do was pull out a box. It caught the side of her head and she spun around again as everything in the room began to swirl and dance before her eyes.

  It was a smell that brought her to her senses. She inhaled the distinctive scent of roses and sea kelp with a hint of sea breezes. The smell of her mother’s favourite perfume. Cassie took a deep breath. Her senses were not wrong. The smell lingered.

  ‘Cassie, are you all right?’ a voice asked. Cassie half-opened her eyes. There was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. A dress that she recognised from the lantern slides. Her mother’s dune dancing dress.

  Cassie blinked and grabbed hold of an arm. ‘Is it you, Mama? Have you come back from your journey? Sandrine had no right to send you away for so long!’