The Night of Courage

by Danielle Star

  Contents

  Title Page

  Introduction

  Map of Aura

  Map of the Castle of Destiny

  Meet the Melowies

  Chapter 1: A Strange New Teacher

  Chapter 2: Invisible Ink

  Chapter 3: The Survival Challenge

  Chapter 4: An Evil Plan

  Chapter 5: Dark Paths

  Chapter 6: Glowing Amber Eyes

  Chapter 7: Free Fall

  Chapter 8: A Test of Friendship

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Imagine a magical land wrapped in golden light. A planet in a distant galaxy beyond the known stars. This enchanted place is known as Aura, and it is very special. For Aura is home to the pegasus, a winged horse with a colorful mane and coat.

  The pegasuses of Aura come from four ancient island realms that lie within Aura’s enchanted oceans: the Winter Realm of Amethyst Island, the Spring Realm of Emerald Island, the Day Realm of Ruby Island, and the Night Realm of Sapphire Island.

  A selected number from each realm are born with a symbol on their wings and a hidden magical power. These are the Melowies.

  When their magic beckons them in a dream, all Melowies leave their island homes to answer the call. They must attend school at the Castle of Destiny, a legendary castle hidden in a sea of clouds, where they will learn all about their hidden powers. Destiny is a place where friendships are born, where Melowies find their courage, and where they discover the true magic inside themselves!

  The sun had been up for quite some time at the Castle of Destiny. The first-year students were already awake and in their classroom, waiting for their new teacher.

  Suddenly, the door opened and a tornado swept in and swirled to the front of the classroom. Clouds of papers, pencils, and books flew up into the air behind it. The tornado settled into a Melowy wearing a leather jacket and cowboy hat that looked about a hundred years old. She also wore a few belts around her waist. The girls in the front row quickly noticed that her breath wasn’t as fresh as it could be.

  It was her, every student’s worst nightmare, the defense techniques teacher, Ms. Ariadne. The students whispered nervously to one another.

  “Silence!” the teacher yelled. The whispering instantly stopped. “As you may already know, my name is Ms. Ariadne. I have been given the impossible task of teaching you weaklings how to defend yourselves. Let’s not waste any time. Who can tell me why we study defense techniques?”

  None of the Melowies dared to speak.

  “Has a cat got all your tongues?”

  Electra bravely raised her hoof and tried to answer. “To learn how to survive?”

  “Very good, dear. What is your name?” Ms. Ariadne asked.

  “Electra.”

  “So, as Rebecca here says, you will learn survival skills in this class. Though, very few of you are likely to actually survive.” Ms. Ariadne giggled to herself, as if the idea of the Melowies being unable to survive was funny.

  “Excuse me.” The brave Melowy with the fiery red mane dared to speak again. “My name is not Rebecca. It’s Electra.”

  “You are probably right, Henrietta, but I should tell you all right now that I can never remember names. Anyway, what does the word survival mean to you weaklings?”

  “How dare she call us weak!” Cora whispered to Maya, who was sitting in front of her. The five roommates were all sitting together. The classroom was huge; its walls were covered with books and tall windows that overlooked a sea of clouds that surrounded the Castle of Destiny.

  “I don’t like this teacher very much already,” Cleo whispered. Her friends all turned toward her to hear what she would say next.

  Cleo had a mysterious past. She was found on the front steps of the castle when she was a baby, and no one had any idea who her parents were or what realm she came from. She always had something interesting to say, and she always had the courage to say it, even if her opinion was different from everyone else’s.

  “Well,” Cleo began, “survival means staying alive after doing something dangerous. Like—”

  “Oh, I know! Like going a whole week without listening to music!” Selena interrupted.

  The teacher opened her mouth and closed it again. Her face scrunched up like she had just tasted a spoonful of terrible medicine. “What is your name, dear?”

  “Selena.”

  “Well, Irena, if that’s what you believe, your ideas are going to get a little shaken up here. Can anyone else give me the definition of the word survival?”

  “It means staying alive after going to the dentist?” Maya suggested shyly.

  “Or after eating a whole plate of cauliflower!” Electra added.

  “My dear, young, silly girls. I think the time has come for you all to learn the true meaning of the word survival. Please stand up and form a line. I am now going to take you into the Neon Forest for a survival challenge that will teach you many skills. For example, you will learn how to build shelter for the night, how to light a fire, and which plants you can and can’t eat. Just remember, you won’t have a lot of time to complete the challenge. You must all be back at your camp by ten o’clock tomorrow morning. Alive, if you can manage that.” The teacher chuckled to herself, but no one else in the room cracked a smile.

  “Excuse me, but I don’t have a watch. Will one be given to us?” said Electra.

  “Why would you need a watch? My dear, don’t you ever look at the sun? It’s the best clock there is! You should know that, since you are from the Day Realm.” She turned to face the rest of the class. “The school will provide you with these rather frilly backpacks, which contain everything you will need to survive this challenge.”

  She shook her head slightly, and the braid of her hair jiggled. Suddenly, a flash of pink lights filled the room, and a backpack appeared on the shoulders of each Melowy. They perfectly matched each girl’s coat and wings!

  “Oh, I love accessories!” Cora whispered to Electra, admiring her icy-blue backpack. “This one looks so good on me.”

  “This teacher is really strange. She can’t remember anyone’s name, but somehow she knows that I am from the Day Realm.”

  “You will be broken into groups of six,” Ms. Ariadne said.

  Cora, Electra, Maya, Cleo, and Selena all looked at one another. “I hope she doesn’t break us up!” Maya whispered.

  “There already seems to be a group of five here. Who would like to join this bunch?” the teacher asked.

  “I will,” came a cold voice from the back of the room.

  “Eris?!” Electra gasped, turning to her friends.

  “Why on earth would she want to join us?” Selena whispered, trying to make sure the teacher didn’t hear her. “She doesn’t like us! Ever since she poured paint all over me in the middle of the school musical, I don’t like her very much, either.”

  “Maybe she is trying to change and get to know us better,” Electra said. She tried to see the best in everyone and everything. “With her icy personality, it must be really hard for her to make new friends.”

  “Well, I don’t trust her, but maybe we can give her a chance,” Cleo suggested.

  “If Eris wants to try to be friends with us, that’s okay with me,” Maya agreed. She was a very sensitive Melowy, and she always wanted to help others.

  “It’s okay with us, too,” the others echoed.

  “What are you girls mumbling about over there?” Ms. Ariadne interrupted. “Kindly be quiet!”

  Cora turned toward the teacher and, suddenly, Ms. Ariadne was gone. She was swallowed up by a tangle of shadows and branches.

  The classroom had disappeared, and they we
re now standing in the middle of a thick forest.

  The Castle of Destiny was probably the only place where you could be standing in a classroom one moment and be magically transported to a forest full of trees the next.

  “I’m not scared … I’m not scared … I’m not scared … ,” Maya kept repeating to herself. “Yes, I am! I’m terrified. There are probably poisonous insects, snakes, and plants here.”

  “Have they given us anything to protect ourselves from snakes?” Cleo asked, searching in her backpack. Inside she found a change of clothes, a towel, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, bandages, gauze, a ball of string, a pair of scissors, a flashlight, a cooking pot, some cutlery, and a sealed envelope. “Nope, not a thing for snakes,” Cleo said, looking disappointed. “They gave us everything we need for a great sleepover, but nothing to protect us from snakes.”

  “Have they given us anything to scare off the zombies?” Electra joked, opening her golden backpack, which contained all the same items. “Maybe there is something useful in the envelope,” she said, opening it up. The piece of paper inside was completely blank. Her friends opened theirs to find the same thing.

  “It looks like it’s going to get dark soon,” said Maya with a shiver. “Time must be different here.” She turned on her flashlight to make sure it worked.

  The peach glow of the sunset was casting long shadows in the forest. The trees were blowing in the wind, making strange and scary sounds.

  “Hey, you guys, look!” Maya shouted. “Some writing has appeared on my piece of paper!” Maya turned her flashlight toward the paper to get a better look, and the heat of the light made letters appear.

  “Ms. Ariadne must have used lemon juice to write this,” said Eris, who had been silent until then. “It’s called invisible ink.”

  They huddled around the sheet of paper to read. It was instructions on how to build a shelter using branches and leaves. At the bottom of the page, in bold letters, was the line: The biggest mistake is being afraid to make mistakes.

  “I wonder what she means by that,” Cora whispered.

  “I have a feeling we’ll find out eventually,” Cleo said. “Come on. Let’s see where this trail leads.”

  They zipped up their backpacks and followed the trail ahead of them. It wound its way through the forest like a silk ribbon.

  The Melowies had heard stories of how magical the Neon Forest was. All the stories were true! The plants and trees changed colors as the light changed. As the sun set, the plants began to glow a brilliant blue. There were clusters of flowers that went from pink to scarlet to deep purple to pink again.

  All around the girls, tiny insects with glowing antennae floated around, tracing out circles of orange lights.

  “This place is beautiful!” exclaimed Selena, who had always felt comfortable with the magic of the night.

  Suddenly, they could hear the babbling of a brook in the distance. Cora immediately flew over to it.

  “There’s nothing better than an icy-cold dip to help you relax! All this walking is making me sweat!” She lowered herself into the water, which sparkled with emerald-green rings when she moved. “Come on, guys, the water’s just fine!”

  Maya and Selena slowly walked toward the water and dipped in their hooves. “It’s freezing!” they both cried.

  “When you all are finished wasting valuable time, we’re going to have to find a good place to build our shelter,” Eris interrupted, reminding them of their task.

  “How about right over there?” Electra pointed to a clearing surrounded by tall trees with pink and blue leaves that looked like cotton candy. “We can make a tree house.”

  “The instructions are for a shelter on the ground,” Selena pointed out.

  “I’ve always wanted a tree house,” Maya whispered. She had more dreams than she knew what to do with.

  “I know what we can do!” said Eris with a big smile. “First we can build the shelter on the ground, and then we can fly it up into a tree!” She trotted off toward the clearing.

  The Melowies quickly got to work building their shelter. They followed the instructions exactly, without much talking. It was like they had been working together as a team forever. They gathered and cut sticks, tied them with ropes, and covered them with branches.

  When they were done, they threw themselves down on the grass, exhausted but happy with their work. Their hut looked like an enchanted cube. It was a little bit of a tight squeeze, but all six of them fit inside.

  “We didn’t do too bad after all.” Cleo laughed.

  “There is no roof, though,” Eris pointed out.

  So they collected more branches and tied them like an umbrella to a pole, which they stood in the middle of the cube. Then they covered the top with pine branches.

  “So how do we turn it into a tree house?” asked Maya.

  “Easy! We just put it up in a tree!” Cleo replied. The six Melowies grabbed a hold of the cube and started lifting it into the air. Suddenly …

  CRAAAASH!

  “Cora, what are you doing? Why did you drop it like that?” Electra cried.

  “There was a branch sticking out. It was ruining my hairdo!”

  Electra rolled her eyes. “We’re just lucky it didn’t break. Come on, let’s try this again.”

  This time they lifted the whole shelter up onto the big branches of an oak tree. They made a floor by tying branches together with pieces of rope and nailing them down with wooden nails that Maya carved. But even after all their hard work, their tree house still tilted to the left.

  “It isn’t exactly stable,” said Eris. She loved to find something wrong with everything.

  “How about we put a long stick in the ground under each corner to support it?” Electra suggested.

  “That’s a great idea!” Cleo agreed.

  Once they felt the shelter was steady, they went inside. “Wow!” they all exclaimed when tiny blue lights started darting back and forth. “Those funny little bugs are better than a chandelier.”

  “There is no closet to hang our clothes, or anyplace for me to plug in my hair dryer. How will I dry my hair after my shower?” Cora complained.

  “We have only one change of clothes, and there is no shower!” Cleo pointed out to her friend. “So problem solved!”

  “How do we brush our teeth?”

  “We can use the water from the creek,” Selena suggested.

  “Brush our teeth in the creek?” said Eris, disgusted. “That is a gross idea.”

  “Well, it will be more gross in the morning, when our breath makes the leaves fall off the trees,” Cora said.

  “Let’s get our beds ready,” said Selena. “Unless we want to sleep on top of these scratchy twigs.”

  “I bet we could make some really comfortable beds from the moss and leaves here.” Even in that wild and strange forest, Electra cheered everyone up, because she always saw the bright side of everything.

  The six Melowies flew back down to the ground to gather up some of the leaves, which were as colorful as confetti. Back in the tree house, they made them into six soft mattresses side by side. They felt like the queens of their own castle.

  “My stomach is rumbling!” Cora complained. “What is for dinner?”

  “Hamburgers and fries?” Cleo joked.

  “I think we still have some work to do before we can eat anything,” Selena pointed out. “We don’t exactly have a stove. We will need to come up with something.”

  With a flourish of their colorful wings, the Melowies flew down from their tree house again and took another look at the instructions Ms. Ariadne had given them. They used some sticks planted in the ground and a few big rocks arranged in a circle to make a simple stove. After all that work, they were hungry and exhausted.

  “Now all we have to do is start a fire,” said Cleo, looking a little worried.

  “Easy!” Electra said, reaching for the instructions again. “It says here that we need to find a piece of flint, which is a small rock.
Then we have to scratch something made of steel against it.”

  “I think our flashlights are made of steel!” Maya said.

  The girls looked around for a piece of flint under the bushes. They found some leaves to catch the sparks and started scratching at the stone with their flashlights. It took a while, but suddenly something started happening.

  “Wow, look at that! Smoke!” Cora said.

  A small spiral of smoke was coming from the leaves. Then there was a tiny flame. They put the leaves under some dry twigs in their fireplace. It took a little while before it all caught, but they soon had a blazing fire ready to cook their dinner.

  “Great, I will go and look for some plants that we can cook!” Maya exclaimed. “I’ll get wild mallow, chicory, chard, and wild asparagus. I love vegetables! You’ll see. Dinner is going to be delicious.”

  “My mouth is already watering,” Eris snarled sarcastically.

  “Did anyone happen to bring a sandwich?” whispered Electra. “Or some chocolate? I can’t stand vegetables.”

  “So you can’t stand food that’s good for you?” said Maya.

  “No, it’s just that …”

  “I will cook you a dinner that will make you feel fantastic, Electra! Trust me. Three pounds of nettle soup and two pounds of daisies in sap sauce with pine needles on top. Then, for breakfast, a cup of oak bark tea with—Electra? Are you okay?”

  Electra had thrown herself on the ground, pretending to pass out. Right before she hit the ground, something caught her eye. Just inside the entrance to a cave not far away, there was something almost glowing on a rock. It was white and huge. It was a great big delicious egg!

  “Hey, Electra, stop!” everyone yelled at the same time as Electra dashed over to the shiny egg. “That looks like a vulture cave. It might be dangerous!”

  But it was too late; Electra had already disappeared into the cave.

  “Electra, where are you?” Her friends called for her several times, but there was no answer.