by Julie Sykes
Freya gasped. A cloaked figure on a tall unicorn with a golden mane and tail was trotting away across the grounds. “Honey!” she yelled, turning to look at the group of unicorns cantering towards them from the stables. “HURRY!”
For Paula Ward
“Come on, Honey!” cried Freya as Honey, her unicorn, weaved in and out of a row of upright poles. Bending round the final pole, Honey raced towards a table with two beanbags on it and a large hoop on the ground. Freya could hear her friends from Diamond dorm cheering them on.
“Go, Freya! Go, Honey!”
“You’re in the lead! We can win!”
“Miss the hoop!” chanted the boys from Topaz dorm as Honey skidded to a halt by the table. Freya ignored them. Leaning down and grabbing the first beanbag, she aimed carefully and threw it into the hoop on the ground. Honey nudged the next beanbag closer to Freya’s hand with her nose and Freya threw that one into the hoop too. “Thanks!” she gasped as Honey set off, galloping determinedly towards a tall tube standing in the grass.
It was a Sunday afternoon and Diamond and Topaz dorms were holding an obstacle race in the grounds of Unicorn Academy. The two dorms got on really well and hung out a lot. They’d set the course up together. The fastest to finish would win but time was being added on for every mistake each unicorn-and-rider pair made. So far, Honey and Freya hadn’t got anything wrong!
Reaching the tube, Freya threw herself from Honey’s back. She’d been looking forward to this challenge! The tube had a small white ball inside it and the rider had to somehow get it out of the tube without touching it and put it into a cup. There were two long-handled spoons beside it. Everyone else had taken ages to release the ball using only the spoons, as they kept dropping it. Freya loved making things work and this was her kind of challenge.
“I need water!” she told Honey as she dismounted. “Can you get some from the bird bath? As much as you can!”
Not stopping to ask why, Honey galloped to the bird bath, filled her mouth until her cheeks bulged and galloped back.
Freya pointed to the tube. “In there, Honey!”
Honey spat a stream of water into the tube. As the tube filled up, the ball was pushed upwards. When it reached the top, Freya scooped it out with one of the spoons and tossed it into the cup. It had taken almost no time at all.
“We did it!” she cried, jumping on to Honey’s back.
The two of them raced across the finishing line with Honey’s long red and gold mane and tail streaming out behind her.
“Freya won by miles!” shouted Rosa, who had been timing Freya’s round along with Miki from Topaz dorm. “Diamond dorm are the best!” she whooped.
Freya and Honey were quickly surrounded by the rest of Diamond dorm and their unicorns.
“That was brilliant!” exclaimed Matilda, throwing her arms round Freya. Freya wriggled away. She didn’t really like hugging or being hugged.
“You were so clever on that last challenge,” said Ariana.
“I can’t believe you thought to use water to get the ball out,” Violet agreed.
Freya grinned. “It was fun, wasn’t it, Honey?”
Honey whinnied in agreement.
“Rematch!” shouted Himmat from Topaz dorm. “Let’s go again.”
“OK,” said Rosa eagerly. “You’re on!”
“Count me out,” said Freya. “It’s been great, but I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Your big secret invention?” asked Violet.
Freya nodded.
“Oh,” Honey complained. “Can’t we stay, Freya. Please? You can work on your invention another time.”
“No, I really need to do some now,” Freya said, dismounting and giving Honey a pat. “You can stay though.” Honey didn’t know yet that the secret project was a present for her birthday in just three days’ time and Freya still had lots of work to do on it.
“It won’t be the same without you,” Honey said, nudging her with her nose. “Please stay?”
But Freya wouldn’t be persuaded. She said goodbye and hurried back through the gardens towards the school. Her invention – a robotic unicorn that would bring Honey treats whenever she wanted – had been inspired by the automated trolleys that trundled around the stables moving hay bales. It had seemed the perfect way for Freya to combine her love of engineering with showing Honey how much she loved her. She couldn’t wait to see her reaction when she saw it!
Maybe she’ll be so pleased we’ll even bond, thought Freya hopefully. All the students at Unicorn Academy were paired with a unicorn when they first arrived, and they spent a year at the academy training to be guardians of wonderful Unicorn Island. During that year, the unicorn usually discovered their special magic power and bonded with their rider. Rosa, Ariana and Matilda in Diamond dorm had already found their unicorns’ powers and bonded with them but Freya and Honey and Violet and Twinkle were still waiting.
Freya hurried towards the school, her mind focused on her invention. When she was near the end of a project, it was like having an itch she couldn’t scratch until it was done. There were just a few problems to sort out now. The robot was working but it didn’t look right yet and it still wasn’t moving properly. I need to stop it bumping into things and spinning to the left, she thought. But how?
The buildings of Unicorn Academy looked beautiful in the golden autumn sunlight. The marble and glass school glittered brightly but Freya barely noticed. Deep in thought, she headed for the little room next to the art studio that she had been using as her workshop. It was time to get to work again!
“Freya!” A banging on the workshop door made Freya jump and drop her spanner. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She’d been working on her robot for two hours. The time had flown by!
“FREYA!”
Recognising Rosa’s voice, Freya ran to the door and opened it a crack. “What is it?” she asked.
“Can I come in?” Rosa demanded.
“No!” Freya held the door tightly. Seeing Rosa’s frown, she added, “Sorry, it’s just I want to keep this invention secret because it’s Honey’s birthday present.” She didn’t want to risk anyone accidentally telling Honey about the robot before her birthday and ruining the surprise. Freya squeezed out through the door and shut it behind her. “What’s going on?”
“Matilda’s had a brilliant idea,” Rosa said. “You know everyone at school’s been a bit freaked out and tense ever since the camping trip?”
Freya nodded. The students had gone on a camping trip in Dingleberry Dell a couple of months ago. It had been really good fun until Diamond dorm had discovered that the ancient Heart Tree at the centre of the dell was being drained of its magic. A cloaked woman had appeared and attacked Matilda and her unicorn, Pearl. They had managed to scare her off, but who the figure was and why she had been draining the Heart Tree remained a mystery. It wasn’t the only strange incident either. A few months before that, Diamond dorm had discovered that someone had been draining a magic waterfall in the forest. The teachers still had no idea who the villain was, and all the students were on edge. What if they struck again?
“Well, Matilda thought that we should organise a big midnight party in the stables to help everyone relax and give them something else to think about,” said Rosa. “Just students and unicorns, no teachers. We could use the small barn by the stables. It’s only got a few bales of hay in it at the moment and no one ever goes there. We’re going to have a spooky theme – mix drinks to make a Witch’s Brew, make googly eyeballs out of marshmallows and decorate the barn and stables with fake cobwebs. The boys in Topaz dorm said they’d help us organise it. Don’t you think it’s the best idea ever?”
“It does sound awesome,” Freya agreed. “When?”
“On Wednesday night,”
said Rosa. “Three days’ time.”
“But that’s Honey’s birthday,” Freya pointed out.
“Oh.” Rosa thought for a second and then her face lit up with a smile. “Well, it can be a birthday party too! Honey would like that, wouldn’t she?”
“Yes, I’m sure she would,” said Freya. Honey was really lively and loved parties and having fun. “I could give her my present at the party.”
Rosa high-fived her. “Perfect! And we can all sing “Happy Birthday” to her at the same time. There’s so much to organise!” Her eyes shone – she loved organising things. “We’re going to have a planning meeting after dinner tonight in the lounge with Topaz dorm. All of Diamond dorm have to be there.” She saw Freya start to open her mouth to object. “Nope, no excuses allowed,” she declared. “You have to be there. Got it?”
Freya sighed. “Got it, Rosa.” After having lived with Rosa for ten months she knew there was no point arguing when she was in one of her bossy moods.
Rosa beamed. “Great! This is going to be so much fun!”
After dinner, Diamond dorm met with Topaz dorm to discuss the party. For a brief second, Freya considered slipping away to work on her invention. She was pretty certain she wouldn’t be missed. But as she started for the door, Ariana caught her eye. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
Busted! Swallowing back a sigh, Freya shook her head. “Course not.”
Rosa clapped her hands together. “Listen up now, everyone. This is a planning meeting for our party. Remember, it’s a secret! We don’t want the teachers finding out. Right then, let’s start with food. What can you all bring?”
“Chocolate!” shouted Himmat.
“Biscuits,” said Violet. “My nani just sent me a box.”
“Hang on. One at a time,” ordered Rosa. “Ariana, please can you write a list of food ideas?”
Ariana waved a notebook in the air. “Already on it.”
Once the food had been noted down, Rosa moved on to the other things they needed to do. Ariana turned the page to start a new list.
“Let’s pick some purple pumpkins!” said Matilda. “There are some massive ones in the vegetable garden. We could put them in the barn and have a leapfrog race with them.”
“Pumpkin picking,” said Ariana, furiously writing.
“How about getting some of those giant exploding pea pods?” said Miki. “They’re fun. We were playing a game with them the other day seeing who could catch the most peas when each pod exploded.”
“Cool. What else?” asked Rosa.
“Get some apples for apple bobbing!”
“And to make toffee apples with!”
As everyone called out ideas, Freya sneaked a look at the clock on the ledge above the fireplace. There was an hour until lights out. She edged towards the door but as she reached for the handle, Rosa called out, “Where are you going, Freya?”
Freya’s heart thumped as all eyes turned her way. “I was just going to work on my invention.”
“You’re always working on it at the moment,” said Miki curiously. “What is it?”
Rosa snorted. “There’s no way she’ll tell. I thought she was going to eat me alive when I tried to go into the workshop this afternoon.”
“I’m keeping it secret until Honey’s birthday,” said Freya, not wanting to admit to everyone that she was hoping it would give her and Honey a chance to bond if it was a perfect surprise.
“Very mysterious,” Himmat teased.
Freya rolled her eyes at him and left the room, but as she shut the door she could still hear them talking. She paused for a moment.
“I wonder why she’s being so secretive?” That was Matilda.
“If we knew what it was, then maybe we could help her,” said Violet. “She seems quite stressed about it.”
“Maybe we should have a little peek at what she’s doing?” said Rosa.
Freya’s heart started to speed up. No! She didn’t want them to! Her friends were the best, but she knew they were all useless at keeping secrets from their unicorns and it would just take one unicorn to accidentally mention something to Honey and then the whole surprise would be spoilt and her chances of bonding with Honey would be ruined. She ran to the workshop, her mind racing. She needed somewhere safer to work, somewhere her robot wouldn’t be found until the party.
She threw her tools in her bag and slung it over her shoulder then put a blanket over the robot and heaved it up in her arms. Leaving the workshop, she glanced left and right and, making sure there was no one watching, she made her way up the spiral staircase that led to Diamond dorm. She didn’t stop at the dorm though. She kept on going up the tower until she reached a small landing where there was a marble statue of a unicorn’s head on a plinth and a large cupboard in the wall. The cupboard was used for storing old packing crates. I’ll put the robot in here for now, she thought, and look for somewhere safer to work on it. There must be a quiet room somewhere in the academy I can use.
The robot was heavy and Freya’s arms were aching. With a relieved sigh, she plonked it down, making its wheels clatter loudly on the floor.
“What was that?” She heard Rosa’s voice from the bottom of the staircase.
Freya caught her breath. Oh no! The others must have left the lounge and be on their way up to the dorm. What if they came to see what the noise was? Turning the handle, she opened the cupboard and shoved the robot hastily inside. It trundled forward on its wheels and bumped into a wobbly pile of cardboard boxes. The boxes toppled over.
CRASH!
Freya froze in dismay.
“There’s someone up there!” Freya heard Ariana gasp.
“Let’s investigate!” cried Matilda. “Come on, everyone!”
Freya frantically leapt into the cupboard and pulled the door shut behind her. Now what was she going to do? She leant against the wall, her heart pounding. Perhaps she could hide behind the boxes. The robot was still hidden under its blanket. There was a chance they might not find her if she was quiet. Ouch! Something hard stuck into her back. She felt for it with a hand. It was a little lever. Freya pushed it. There was a muffled creak and the wall that Freya was leaning against started to spin slowly like a revolving door. With a startled gasp, Freya fell backwards into thin air!
Freya stared round. She was in a secret room! The full moon was shining through the cracked glass of a small window, giving her just enough light to see by. The tower room contained only a dusty desk. Shelves lined the curved walls and were packed with glass jars filled with old dried herbs. There were a couple of paintings hung around the room. One was an old picture of a frozen lake but the picture that really caught her attention was a lifelike portrait of a handsome young unicorn with a long golden mane. Stepping closer, Freya saw that the artist had entitled the picture “Prancer”. She wondered why it was hidden away in a secret room.
Before she could think about it any more, she heard the sound of her friends’ voices on the other side of the wall in the cupboard. Freya stood like a statue.
“There’s no one here.” Rosa sounded almost disappointed.
“What was that noise then?” said Matilda.
“Maybe some boxes fell over,” suggested Violet.
“By themselves?” Rosa didn’t sound convinced.
“Well, there’s definitely no one up here. Come on, let’s go back down to the dorm,” said Ariana.
Pressing her ear to the wall, Freya listened as they left the cupboard. She breathed out a trembling sigh of relief. They hadn’t found her or the robot. Phew! As she looked around the room, an idea slowly formed in her mind. This would be a perfect workshop! There was plenty of space to work and she’d be able to get to it really easily from the dorm. Her friends would never find it and she would be able to finish her robot in peace. Then, after Honey’s birthday, she could show the room to the rest of Diamond dorm. A grin spread across her face as she imagined how surprised they would be! A secret room – they would love it! She wished she could tell
them all straight away, but it was only a few more days to wait.
Going to the revolving wall, she pressed the lever again and spun back into the cupboard. Picking up the robot, she carried it into the secret room. There were some rags on one of the shelves and she used them to wipe away some dust from the desk. As she did so, she saw there were some strange dark scorch marks on its wooden top as if someone had placed a burning rope on it. Weird. Freya shrugged, maybe someone had been doing secret science experiments up here. She turned to her robot again.
Luckily, the unicorn robot didn’t seem to have suffered for being carried around. Freya examined it. It wasn’t much to look at. Built from plain grey metal, it had a rectangular face and wonky ears. Its thick neck was bolted to a rectangular body and it held a large basket in its mouth by the handle. Its legs were straight and fixed to a platform mounted on wheels. The unicorn didn’t have a mane or tail, but it was still recognisable, and Freya felt a surge of satisfaction as she examined it. “Not bad! Now I just need to work out why you sometimes run into obstacles in front of you and how to stop you from spinning to the left,” she muttered.
It took her a while but eventually Freya worked out how to adjust the sensors she’d fitted so that the unicorn would be able to tell if it needed to stop to avoid crashing into things. It was voice activated. “Robot… Forward!” she commanded.
The unicorn set off on a straight path but then veered off in a circle. Freya stopped it and tipped it up to examine the motor. Humming softly, she selected a screwdriver from her tools. She took her time, carefully laying the screws, cogs and other motor parts beside her on the floor. Everything seemed to be working properly and she was sure it was all in the right place. What else might cause the unicorn to turn in a circle? The two axles were definitely the same length. She’d measured them twice before she cut them. The wheels were the same diameter, so it couldn’t be that either, unless… Freya narrowed her eyes. She’d run out of metal and had to use a new sheet for the last wheel. The metal was a slightly different colour, but it looked the same thickness. She’d been in a rush as usual though, and she hadn’t actually measured it. Removing the wheels, she measured them. One wheel was thinner.
