Summer in Enchantia

by Darcey Bussell

  Two other pirates had heard the commotion and were running towards them now. Nutmeg threw her empty bucket at one of them. It banged into his knees and he turned a somersault and fell on his back with a yell. Rosa chucked her bucket at the other and it fell over his head. He staggered around shouting, “I’ve gone blind! I can’t see!”

  “Get to the rowing boats!” Rosa gasped to Nutmeg.

  King Rat appeared at the top of the steps. “Stop right there!” he roared and, pulling out his cutlass, he charged towards them.

  Rosa grabbed the nearest thing to hand – a small barrel of bilberry wine. She shoved it on to its side and gave it a massive push to roll it quickly towards King Rat. The ship obligingly moved in the water as if the sea were getting rougher. As the ship rose upwards on a wave, the deck tilted and the barrel increased in speed.

  “Whaaa!” King Rat shouted as the barrel thwacked into him, knocking the evil rat backwards, straight into the open treasure chest! He popped his head up. He was covered with sparkling stones.

  Despite her fear, Rosa giggled. He looked very funny!

  The pirates, who had all come running by now, caught sight of him and started sniggering too.

  “Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!” yelled King Rat furiously, his eyelashes twinkling with diamonds. “Get those boys, or it’ll be nothing but ship’s biscuits for dinner for the whole year!”

  At that threat, the pirates roared and charged towards Rosa and Nutmeg, hands out. They were coming from all directions. “There’s only one thing for it. Up the rigging!” Rosa shouted. She leapt to the main mast and start to climb the rigging as quickly as she could. Nutmeg followed her. It wasn’t easy, because the ship was now moving up and down in the rough sea.

  “Where are we going to go?” Nutmeg cried.

  “I don’t know! Just keep climbing!” gasped Rosa, clinging on to the ropes with all her strength as the pirates started climbing up behind them. Her mind whirled. Sooner or later they would reach the top of the rigging, and then what would they do? There was no escape! But she still kept climbing, faster and faster, higher and higher. She and Nutmeg were both light and nimble and they could move much faster than the heavy, cumbersome pirates.

  “Now where?” said Nutmeg as they reached the top of the main sail. There was nowhere else to go, so they edged out along one of the wooden spars at the top of the sail, until they were above the rolling waves.

  “I … I don’t know,” said Rosa, panic rising inside her. She glanced down. The pirates and King Rat were gathered on the deck, yelling up at them, while two more pirates slowly climbed the rigging towards them, eyes gleaming, daggers between their teeth.

  “We’re completely trapped, Rosa!” said Nutmeg. “Whoa!” she cried, hanging on as the ship tossed upwards on a large wave. “And it doesn’t feel very safe up here!”

  “Why’s it so rough suddenly?” Rosa exclaimed. There was no wind blowing the sails. The waves shouldn’t be as big as they were. Still, she didn’t have time to worry about that now. The ship plunged down a wave and she felt her fingers slip on the ropes. She tried to cling on, but she didn’t have a proper grip. The ship bucked like a horse and suddenly Rosa lost her footing and was flung off the rigging.

  She heard Nutmeg yell and saw her in the air too. They both cried out as they started to fall …

  Rosa fell through the air, her hands reaching out for anything to grab hold of, but closing on nothing. I’m going to land in the sea! she thought fearfully. But just then she bumped backwards into something soft and strong. It was the sail! She heard Nutmeg gasp as she hit it too. Rosa started to slide down it at top speed on her back.

  All she could see was the blue sky and the sea. The rush of the air in her ears drowned out every other sound – it was like being on a giant slide! Rosa felt Nutmeg grasp her hand and pull her up into a sitting position.

  “Whee!” shouted the fairy as they slid and bounced down the sail, their head scarves coming off and their hair blowing free.

  The fear at being captured or falling disappeared in the sheer rush of speed. “Wowwwww!” Rosa yelled, clutching Nutmeg’s hands as they bounced on to the lowest sail.

  “We’re going to land in the rowing boats!” cried Nutmeg. “Look, Rosa!”

  Rosa realised Nutmeg was right. Directly beneath them was one of the small rowing boats, bobbing next to the ship like a cygnet behind the mother swan! On the deck of the ship she could see the pirates yelling and King Rat waving his cutlass.

  “Here we go!” cried Rosa, as the end of the lowest sail approached fast.

  They flew off the end of the sail, fell through the air and then landed on the piles of rope in the bottom of the rowing boat. It was a bit of a bump, but Rosa was so relieved not to have ended up back on the ship that she didn’t care. She struggled up, but was almost thrown overboard as the little boat pitched violently on the waves. “Quick, Nutmeg! Let’s get rowing!” she said, crouching down again.

  Rosa seized the oars while Nutmeg threw off the rope that was holding the rowing boat to the pirate ship. It had taken the pirates a few moments to realise what was happening, but now they all rushed to the side of the ship and leaned over.

  “They’re not boys after all! It’s that dratted girl and the blasted fairy!” roared King Rat over the hullabaloo. “Stop them from getting away!”

  Hearts pounding and breath short in their throats, Rosa and Nutmeg started rowing as hard as they could. But the waves were big and the girls weren’t strong enough to pull through the stormy sea. Rosa glanced round to see the pirates swarming down the rope ladders and jumping into the two other rowing boats.

  The pirates were big and strong and were rowing through the waves pretty quickly. The two boats chased Rosa and Nutmeg until they closed in on either side of their boat.

  “What are we going to do?” said Rosa, as the pirates got closer and closer.

  “I’ll magic us away,” said Nutmeg. “Grab my hands, Rosa!”

  Rosa dropped the oars, but just before she could take the fairy’s hands, Scarface took a flying leap into their boat! He pinned her arms to her side, pulling her away from Nutmeg.

  “Let me go!” Rosa shouted, trying to kick him.

  “Not likely!” Scarface laughed. “King Rat will reward me for this!”

  “Go, Nutmeg!” Rosa yelled. “Save yourself!”

  “No, I won’t leave you,” protested Nutmeg. She began to lunge at Scarface, but it was too late. One-Eye had jumped in from the other boat and grabbed her too.

  Rosa and Nutmeg struggled, but there was nothing they could do. We’re caught, thought Rosa in dismay. Totally and utterly caught!

  The pirates rowed the girls over the tossing waves back to the ship. They pushed them up the rope ladder and on to the deck. King Rat was waiting for them, his eyes burning fiercely. Rosa felt a flicker of fear, but she wasn’t going to show that to King Rat. She faced him bravely.

  “So, you thought you could sneak on to on my ship, did you?” King Rat snarled. “You were after my treasure, weren’t you?”

  “It’s not your treasure!” Nutmeg shouted, stumbling as the ship rolled in the water. “All of those goods belong to the King and Queen of Enchantia.”

  King Rat laughed. “Not any more, they don’t. It’s mine.” He clenched his front paws triumphantly. “All mine!”

  “What are you going to do with the prisoners, Captain?” demanded Scarface.

  A slow smile spread across King Rat’s face. He twirled his long whiskers. “I’m going to make them walk the plank!”

  The pirates erupted into a mighty cheer. “Hooray!”

  “No!” Rosa gasped, looking out at the stormy sea.

  “The plank!” shouted King Rat gleefully to his crew.

  Two pirates dragged out a wooden plank and set it on the deck so that it jutted out over the ocean. A groaning sound seemed to come from under the waves.

  “What’s that?” said Rosa.

  The pirates looked mystified. />
  “Come on! Come on!” chivvied King Rat.

  “But, Captain,” began Scarface. “What’s that noise?”

  “No buts! Get on with it! It’s just the noise of the wind.”

  “But there isn’t any wind …” One-Eye began, but thought better of it as King Rat shot him a fierce look. The pirate helped shove the girls up on to the plank.

  The ship heaved in the rough sea. Rosa struggled to keep her balance on the plank. “You can’t do this!” she shouted to the evil captain.

  King Rat strutted up and down the deck, curling his moustache round his paw. “Just watch me.”

  “We’ll drown!” protested Nutmeg.

  “So? You should have thought of that before you snuck on to my ship. I’ll be glad to see the back of the pair of you. Now walk the plank!” Neither Rosa nor Nutmeg moved. King Rat drew out his cutlass and jabbed the sharp point towards them. “Go on!”

  “Yeah, walk the plank!” the pirates chorused.

  Rosa and Nutmeg edged a little way along the plank. The pirates cheered. “Can’t you use your magic to whisk us away?” gasped Rosa.

  “No. The plank is attached to the ship and my magic won’t work here because of King Rat’s spells,” groaned Nutmeg. “Once we’re in the sea I might be able to, but it’s so rough we might not be able to hold on to each other. I won’t go without you.” She looked close to tears.

  The ship swayed. The girls grabbed each other’s hands.

  What are we going to do? Rosa thought, but for once, she was completely out of ideas.

  “Hold on to me as tightly as you can,” said Nutmeg as they reached the end of the plank. “Try not to let go!” Rosa took a deep breath and got ready to jump.

  “One …” said Nutmeg, “two …”

  But before she could say three, there was a loud roar and a bright pink sea serpent burst out of the waves right in front of them!

  The giant creature reared up out of the water. She had a long slender neck and head and her big dark eyes were screwed up. She opened her jaws, showing off big pointed teeth as she made a loud groaning noise.

  “It’s the monster from the deep!” yelled the pirates.

  They scrambled away from the edge of the boat as quickly as they could. Nutmeg and Rosa ran back to the deck, jumping quickly off the plank.

  The serpent thrashed her head from side to side and waved her tentacles about, groaning.

  “Oh, my goodness! So that’s what’s been making the waves!” exclaimed Nutmeg, hanging on to the railings at the side of the deck. “It must be why the sea has been so rough even though there’s been no wind. The sea serpent must have been moving about beneath the surface. Oh, poor thing, she looks like she’s in pain!”

  Rosa was torn between feeling terrified and curious. “In pain?” she echoed.

  Nutmeg nodded. “Look at her.”

  The sea serpent made another loud pitiful roaring noise and her eyes blinked open for a moment. Rosa realised Nutmeg was right. The serpent’s eyes were full of pain, but despite that they looked large and kindly. She didn’t look vicious at all.

  “Argh!” yelled the pirates in terror. “It’s going to eat us!”

  King Rat hastily pushed two pirates in front of him. “If you’re hungry, eat them, not me!” he shouted to the serpent.

  “Don’t be silly. Can’t you see she’s friendly? She’s not going to eat anyone!” cried Nutmeg, but King Rat and the pirates were too busy panicking to listen.

  The serpent’s vast tail came up and splashed down on the sea, making the ship swoop up and down again on the waves. “What’s the matter with her?” Rosa asked.

  “I don’t know,” replied Nutmeg. “If we could think of a way to calm her down then we could find out.”

  An idea jumped into Rosa’s mind. “Would dancing work? We could do the dance I was showing you – the one that lulls the Sea Dragon King and Shim Chung to sleep.”

  Nutmeg’s face lit up. “It’s worth a try.”

  Rosa started to hum. Nutmeg waved her wand and the music that matched the tune Rosa was humming filled the air. It was dreamy and slow.

  King Rat poked his head up from behind the pirates. “Urgh! No! Not music and dancing!”

  Trying to ignore him and the swaying of the boat, Rosa and Nutmeg started to dance. They swayed on the spot, moving their arms from side to side, and then they began to move in a circle, turning slow, dreamy pirouettes.

  Rosa glanced at the monster. She had stopped thrashing about and her eyes were opening. She blinked down through her long eyelashes and stared at the girls as they continued to dance, turning every three steps, their arms floating around them.

  “I think it’s working!” gasped Nutmeg as the monster began to wave her head and neck in time with the music.

  Rosa lost herself in the dancing. It was easier now the serpent had stopped moving as much and the ship was steadier. She glanced at the serpent again and saw that the creature was sinking back into the water, her vast head coming lower and lower until it was level with the ship. It was the strangest feeling ever to be dancing on a pirate ship, while a giant sea serpent stared at her!

  The monster opened her mouth, but didn’t roar. This time, she yawned dreamily, a slight whimper of pain escaping from her.

  The music came to an end and, as the girls stopped with their hands in front of them, the serpent looked at them sleepily and then breathed out a long sigh. “Ahhhhhhhhh.”

  Nutmeg walked slowly forward. “H … hello,”

  The sea serpent blinked. “Hello.” she rumbled. “I liked your dancing, little fairy.”

  “Thank you,” said Nutmeg. “I’m Nutmeg and this is my friend, Rosa.”

  Rosa waved cautiously.

  “My name is Esmeralda,” announced the sea serpent.

  “What’s the matter with you, Esmeralda?” Rosa asked, going forward to stand beside Nutmeg. “You sound like you’re hurt.”

  Esmeralda nodded. “One of my teeth is sore. Your dancing made me feel better …” She broke off and gave a loud groan. “But it’s starting to hurt again now.” She lifted her head back and roared, “It hurts. It really hurts!”

  Rosa stared. What could you do to help a sea serpent with toothache?

  Esmeralda started to thrash her tail around again and the ship began to toss up and down on the waves.

  “Stop! Please stop!” cried Nutmeg in alarm. But Esmeralda was shaking her head so hard she didn’t hear her.

  “Let’s dance again, Nutmeg!” cried Rosa, but the ship was moving too violently for them to begin. Every time they tried to stand up, the ship swung up and down and they fell over.

  “Watch out!” yelled Nutmeg as a particularly large wave hit and the ship stood almost on its end.

  Rosa and Nutmeg both grabbed on to the side railings just in time to stop themselves from tipping into the ocean. “Esmeralda! You’ve got to stop it!” cried Rosa. “Please! You’ll sink the ship!”

  But the sea serpent didn’t hear. Her tail hit down against the ship’s railings on the other side of the deck, shattering them in one blow.

  “Abandon ship, me hearties!” she heard King Rat shout as the ship righted itself. “Rats, mice and men first!”

  “Shouldn’t that be women and children first?” cried Nutmeg, grabbing Rosa’s hand as the pirates started swarming over the sides of the ship and leaping for the boats.

  They were blubbing and yelling.

  “Not on my ship!” snarled King Rat, pushing her back. “Stay out of the way, you annoying fairy! Don’t you even think of getting into one of our boats.”

  “But the ship’s going to sink if this goes on!” cried Nutmeg. “You can’t leave us here.”

  King Rat chortled. “Watch me!”

  And he ran to the side of the ship and jumped overboard!

  As he did so, the ship gave another great heave. Rosa and Nutmeg grabbed one of the masts. A barrel of ship’s biscuits fell on its side and rolled down the deck, its lid smashing
off. As the big biscuits rolled out all over the place, Rosa had an idea.

  Letting go of the mast, she ran over to the barrel. They had to get Esmeralda to calm down again so they could talk to her. They couldn’t dance with the ship tossing and heaving like this on the waves, but maybe there was another way.

  “What are you doing, Rosa?” cried Nutmeg.

  “This!” Rosa grabbed the remaining biscuits from the barrel and started throwing them like Frisbees into the sea serpent’s open jaws. Esmeralda spluttered in surprise as she crunched down on them.

  “Ow!” she roared, opening her mouth again. As she did so a big white tooth rolled out, attached to a biscuit!

  For a moment Esmeralda opened and shut her jaws, and then a look of astonishment crossed her face. Her thrashing slowed down. “The pain!” she rumbled in surprise. “It’s stopped!”

  “Your tooth has come out,” Rosa told her. “That’s why the toothache has gone.”

  “Oh, well done, Rosa!” said Nutmeg, hugging her. “How do you feel, Esmeralda?”

  The sea serpent worked her jaws up and down and from side to side. “Much better, actually,” she commented.

  Rosa breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “What a brilliant idea,” Nutmeg said.

  “I just meant to calm Esmeralda down,” admitted Rosa. “I didn’t mean to make her tooth fall out. Those biscuits really are hard!”

  Esmeralda smiled. “Thank you for helping me.” She peered down. “Now what are we going to do about them?”

  The ship had settled now and the girls suddenly became aware of the sound of yelling from beneath them. Rosa peered over the side. The pirates were splashing about in the water. The waves had turned every rowing boat upside down. Even King Rat was floundering around, his wig soaked through and flopping to one side.

  “I could always eat them,” said Esmeralda thoughtfully, “although I don’t think they look as if they would taste very nice – I really prefer eating seaweed.”