“I almost got the crown on Jack Frost’s head!” Rachel sighed as she dropped the crown carefully back into her pocket. “But he got away again. And we don’t know where he went.”
“Oh, yes, we do!” Holly told her excitedly. “While you were running from the goblins, I followed the sleigh and spoke to one of my reindeer friends.”
“What did he say?” asked Rachel eagerly.
“He told me that Jack Frost is really annoyed that we keep finding him in the human world,” Holly explained. “He wants to open all of Santa’s presents in peace and quiet. So he told the reindeer to take him to his ice castle right away.”
“His ice castle!” Kirsty exclaimed. “Where Jack Frost lives?”
Holly nodded.
“Do you know where it is, Holly?” Rachel asked.
“Yes,” Holly replied. “It’s a cold, scary place, but I can take you there tomorrow, if you still want to help.”
“Of course, we do!” said Kirsty and Rachel together.
Holly beamed at them. “I’ll head back to Fairyland now and report to King Oberon and Queen Titania,” she went on. “Can you get me out of the mall?”
“Of course,” Kirsty said, smiling. While Holly hid behind Kirsty’s scarf, the girls walked quickly over to one of the doors. When nobody was looking, Holly slipped out from behind the scarf, gave the girls a cheery wave, and zoomed up into the sky. The girls watched her fly away until she was out of sight. Then they hurried back through the mall toward the glass elevators, where they had promised to meet Rachel’s mom.
Mrs. Walker was already waiting for them, holding lots of shopping bags. “Hello, girls!” She smiled. “I thought you’d gotten lost! Did you both find everything you needed?”
“Almost!” Rachel replied with a quick glance at Kirsty.
“Did you see Santa’s workshop?” Mrs. Walker went on, leading the way back to the car. “I heard it was beautiful — until the tent collapsed! But some of the parents were complaining that Santa was awfully grumpy.”
Rachel and Kirsty grinned at each other. “He was!” Kirsty agreed.
“I wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow, Rachel?” Kirsty whispered as Mrs. Walker unlocked the car. “Jack Frost’s ice castle sounds scary.”
“I know,” Rachel whispered back. “But we can’t let our fairy friends down.”
“No, we can’t,” Kirsty said firmly. “We have to get Santa’s sleigh and the third present.”
“And this time, we’ll get that magic crown on Jack Frost’s head!” added Rachel. The girls exchanged a smile and climbed into the car. They were both very excited and a little bit nervous about what the next day might have in store!
Rachel opened her eyes and yawned. She sat up in bed and looked over at Kirsty, who was still asleep. It’s Christmas Eve! Rachel thought excitedly. But it would only be a merry Christmas if they managed to get the sleigh and all the presents back to Santa today. If they didn’t, Jack Frost would ruin everything!
Rachel pushed back the blankets and shivered. Even though the heat was on, there was still a chill in the air. She went over to the window and looked outside. “Oh!” she gasped.
It had snowed heavily during the night, and the trees, grass, and shrubs were all hidden under a thick blanket of sparkling white snow.
“What is it?” Kirsty yawned.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” asked Rachel. “I was just so surprised to see the snow!”
“Snow?” Kirsty gasped. She jumped out of bed and ran over to join Rachel. They both peered out of the frosty window.
“It looks like we’re going to have a white Christmas.” Rachel smiled.
“It’ll be the best Christmas ever,” Kirsty agreed. “As long as we make it back from Jack Frost’s ice castle….”
“Are you scared?” asked Rachel.
“A little,” Kirsty replied. “But I’m not giving up. Are you?”
“No way!” Rachel laughed. “Come on. Let’s get dressed and have breakfast. Then we can go outside.”
The two girls hurried downstairs for scrambled eggs and toast. Then they pulled on their coats and boots, and ran out into the yard. Their feet sank into the soft snow, leaving tracks all over the lawn. It started snowing again, and pretty snowflakes drifted down around them.
Kirsty rolled a snowball in her hands. “Let’s have a snowball fight!” She grinned and threw the snowball at Rachel.
Laughing, Rachel ducked. But before the snowball reached her, it exploded in the air like fireworks. Tiny sparkling red icicles shot in all directions. As Kirsty and Rachel watched in amazement, Holly burst out of the snowball.
“Here I am!” she cried, shaking snowflakes from her red dress. “Are you ready, girls? It’s time to go to Jack Frost’s ice castle!”
“We’re ready!” Rachel said bravely.
Kirsty nodded and checked her coat pocket to make sure she had the magic crown.
Then Holly waved her wand in the air. Berry-red fairy dust drifted down over the girls, and they began to shrink. In a moment, they were fairy-size and had thin wings on their backs.
Holly fluttered up into the air, and Rachel and Kirsty followed her.
“Here we go!” Holly said, waving her wand again.
It was snowing heavily now, and the falling snowflakes began to spin and dance around the girls until Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t see anything at all.
Then, the blizzard of snow cleared as quickly as it had begun. Rachel and Kirsty gasped. They weren’t in the Walkers’ backyard anymore! Instead, they were sitting in a tree, staring at Jack Frost’s ice castle.
The castle stood on a tall hill under a gloomy, gray winter sky. It was built out of sheets of ice. It had five towers tipped with icy blue peaks. The ice glittered and sparkled like diamonds, but the palace still looked cold and scary.
“Be careful,” Holly whispered as a few goblins walked underneath the tree. “There are goblins everywhere. We’ll never get in through the main gate.”
“Maybe we can find a way in from above,” Rachel suggested, looking upward.
“Good idea,” Holly replied. “Follow me!”
The girls trailed Holly as she flew up toward one of the ice-blue towers.
“See what I mean?” Holly said quietly.
Rachel and Holly peered down at the castle below.
Holly was right. There were goblin guards at every door!
“Maybe we can find an open window,” whispered Rachel.
Holly nodded. “Let’s split up and take a look. We’ll meet back here in a few minutes.”
They all flew off in different directions. Kirsty went to look around the tops of the towers, one by one. There were lots of windows, but all of them were locked. She flew back to meet Rachel and Holly.
Rachel was already waiting. “I didn’t have any luck.” She sighed. “Did you?”
Kirsty shook her head sadly.
At that moment, Holly fluttered down to join them.
“Did you get lost?” asked Kirsty.
“I had to hide from one of the goblins,” Holly explained. “He was on guard duty, and he almost spotted me!”
“We didn’t find any open windows,” Rachel told her. “Did you?”
Holly shook her head. “No, but I found another way in!” She grinned. “Follow me.”
Holly led the girls to the roof of the castle and pointed down. “Look!” she said. “A trap door!” Kirsty gasped.
“When I was hiding from the goblin, I saw him lift the trap door and go into the castle,” Holly told the girls. “And I don’t think he locked it on the other side.”
They checked to make sure that there were no goblins around, then flew down to the trap door. It was a slab of ice with a steel ring on the top.
“It looks very heavy,” Rachel said with a frown.
“That’s no problem,” Holly said, smiling. She waved her wand and the trap door suddenly flew open in a whirl of fairy dust.
Below were steps of ice, wh
ich led down into the castle. Shivering, Rachel, Kirsty, and Holly flew inside.
“We have to start looking for Santa’s sleigh right away,” Holly whispered to the girls.
“It’s not easy to hide a sleigh and eight reindeer!” said Rachel.
“Maybe they’re in the stables?” Kirsty suggested.
“That’s a good place to start,” said Holly. “But keep a sharp lookout for goblins!”
The friends flew down the winding staircase toward the ground floor of the castle. But as they fluttered around a corner, they bumped right into a goblin who was on his way up the stairs.
“Fairies!” the goblin roared. “What are you doing here?” He tried to grab at Holly, but she darted out of reach. “Help! Fairies!”
Holly, Rachel, and Kirsty turned and flew back up the stairs. But as they reached the next corner, they heard the loud clatter of footsteps. Six more goblins were rushing toward them!
The three friends tried to dodge out of the way, but they were completely surrounded by goblins. Holly and Rachel were both caught right away. Kirsty tried to fly overhead, but one goblin jumped onto another one’s shoulders and grabbed hold of her ankle.
The goblins laughed gleefully. “Now you’re our prisoners!” they cried. “Jack Frost is going to be so happy with us!”
The goblins took their prisoners through the ice castle and into the Great Hall. It was a huge room carved from shining sheets of ice. At one end was Jack Frost’s throne. It was made of glittering icicles that had been twisted into shape.
But Jack Frost wasn’t sitting on his throne. He was in Santa’s sleigh! The reindeer were still harnessed to it, and they were munching on bales of hay. Jack Frost was unwrapping more presents, and the floor was covered with wrapping paper and ribbons.
Rachel, Holly, and Kirsty trembled as the goblins pushed them toward Jack Frost.
“Look what we brought you!” one of the goblins called triumphantly.
Jack Frost looked up at the girls. “You again!” he snarled, staring at them with cold, hard eyes. “You’re always trying to ruin my fun!”
He shook his fist. Rachel gasped as she spotted the present that Jack Frost held in his other hand. He hadn’t opened it yet. It was still wrapped in pretty gold paper and tied with a rainbow-colored bow. It was the third special present that King Oberon and Queen Titania had asked the girls to find!
Rachel glanced at Kirsty and Holly. They’d spotted the present, too! But how were they going to keep Jack Frost from opening it?
Kirsty was thinking the same thing as Rachel. She stared down at the piles of wrapping paper on the floor, and suddenly, she had an idea.
“What am I going to do with you?” Jack Frost was muttering, tapping his long, thin fingers on top of the present. “I think I’ll put you in my deepest ice dungeon and leave you there for one hundred years!”
“Rachel,” Kirsty whispered. “I have an idea. Can you distract the goblins and Jack Frost for a few minutes?”
Rachel looked at her friend curiously, then nodded. “OK,” she whispered back.
“Should we take them to the dungeons, Master?” asked one of the goblins.
“I haven’t decided yet!” Jack Frost snapped. “Now be quiet while I open this present.” He lifted the package and shook it. “I can’t wait to see what’s inside!”
The goblins moved forward, eager to see what was inside the package, too. The goblin who was holding on to Rachel loosened his grip slightly, and Rachel saw her chance. She zoomed up into the air, then flew straight for the door.
“Get her!” Jack Frost yelled furiously.
The goblins rushed after Rachel, shouting and tripping over one another’s feet. At the same time, Kirsty bent down and grabbed a piece of silver wrapping paper and a purple ribbon from the floor. While Jack Frost watched the goblins from the sleigh, Kirsty pulled the gold bag with the magic crown in it out of her pocket. She quickly wrapped it in the silver paper and tied the ribbon around the package. Holly gave her a puzzled look. She had no idea what Kirsty was up to!
Jack Frost was getting more and more angry as his goblins tried to catch Rachel. Eventually, he waved his wand, and Rachel’s wings instantly froze in midair. She fell to the ground, landing on top of two goblins.
“Now,” Jack Frost snapped as two more goblins dragged Rachel to her feet, “I’m going to open this present!”
“Please, Your Majesty,” said Kirsty, stepping forward. “May I say something?”
Jack Frost glared at her. “Make it quick!” he said.
“Won’t you take pity on us?” asked Kirsty. “We only came here to get this one very special present.” She held up the crown, wrapped in silver paper. “It’s for the Fairy King, and it’s very important. Please let us take it to him!”
Jack Frost’s beady eyes lit up as he stared at the present in Kirsty’s hands. “A present for King Oberon?” he muttered. “Give it to me!”
“But —” Kirsty began.
“Now!” Jack Frost roared.
A goblin pushed Kirsty forward. Jack Frost dropped the present he was holding and snatched the other one from Kirsty’s hands.
Kirsty tried not to smile. She knew Jack Frost would take the Fairy King’s present for himself! Now he was ripping the ribbon and paper away to reveal the golden bag. He put his hand inside and drew out the glittering crown.
“A-ha!” he declared triumphantly. “It’s a new crown!” He lifted the crown and lowered it onto his frosty white hair.
Immediately, Jack Frost vanished!
The goblins gasped in surprise. They didn’t know what had happened to their master. Would they be next? They ran around the Great Hall in panic. Some tried to hide under the piles of wrapping paper, while others huddled behind giant icicles.
“Great idea, Kirsty!” Holly laughed.
“Jack Frost has been sent to the Fairy King and Queen,” cried Rachel. She jumped into the magic sleigh and picked up the third present. “And it’s time for us to leave, too!”
“But how are we going to get out of the castle?” asked Kirsty as she hopped into the sleigh.
“Don’t worry about that,” Holly said cheerfully. “The sleigh is magical, you know!” She patted one of the reindeer on the head. “Take us back to Santa, please, my friends!”
The reindeer tossed their antlers joyfully and began to gallop off across the Great Hall. Goblins jumped out of the way as the sleigh picked up speed. Then it rose into the air, heading for the icy roof.
“Oh!” gasped Rachel. “We’re going to crash!”
But, magically, the ice melted away as the sleigh approached. Soon, the girls were soaring out of the castle and up into the clouds. Then the reindeer raced across the sky so fast that everything was a blur.
“Here’s Santa’s workshop!” Holly called at last.
The reindeer slowed down, and the sleigh floated toward the ground. Rachel and Kirsty peered out eagerly. Below them, they saw the pretty log cabin that they remembered from the fairy pool. And there was a big crowd of elves outside, dancing in the snow. The bells on their hats tinkled merrily.
“Hooray!” they cried happily. “You found the sleigh and the reindeer!” As the sleigh landed, the elves ran over to pet the reindeer and feed them carrots.
Rachel and Kirsty gasped as Santa himself came running out of the cabin. He was in such a hurry that he hadn’t even buttoned up his red coat! “Welcome! Welcome!” Santa called, beaming. “My beautiful sleigh and my precious reindeer are safe, thanks to you!”
“Are we in time to save Christmas, Santa?” Rachel asked anxiously.
Santa nodded. “Oh, yes.” He smiled. “It’s going to be a wonderful Christmas!”
“But what about the presents Jack Frost already opened?” Kirsty wanted to know. “Does that mean some children won’t get anything?”
“Oh, no!” Santa said, looking shocked. “That would never do! My elves have made plenty of extra presents.”
As he spoke, a group of
elves ran out of the cabin, carrying armfuls of brightly colored gifts. They piled them up in the magic sleigh.
Santa turned to the three girls when the sleigh was full of presents again. “The king and queen will want to see you. Come with me. I’ll drop you off on my way to deliver these gifts.”
Rachel and Kirsty climbed back into the sleigh. They couldn’t believe it. They were going to ride with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve!
Holly joined them as Santa grabbed the reins. “Let’s go, my friends!” Santa called happily to the reindeer. “We have a lot of work to do today!”
Rachel and Kirsty grinned at each other as the sleigh rose into the sky again. They were off to Fairyland!
As Santa’s sleigh got closer to Fairyland, the girls and Holly could see sparkling fireworks exploding below them. The sound of music and fairy laughter drifted up to the sleigh.
“There’s a big party at the palace.” Holly smiled. “They must have heard the good news!”
The reindeer flew lower, and there was a shout from the fairies below as they spotted the sleigh. Rachel and Kirsty waved as they saw all their old friends waiting for them.
“Wonderful job!” called King Oberon as the sleigh landed.
“You helped Holly save Christmas!” Queen Titania added.
The fairies cheered as Rachel, Kirsty, and Holly stepped out of the sleigh.
“We brought you this,” Rachel said, handing the third special present to King Oberon.
“Thank you!” The king beamed. “Will you stay and join the party, Santa?”
Holly the Christmas Fairy Page 3
