by Julie Sykes
“Matilda!” Ariana exclaimed.
Matilda’s pencil skidded across the page. Guiltily, she looked up. “What?” Why was Ariana looking so cross?
“You’ve drawn on the list and I bet you haven’t even read it!”
“So?” Matilda said, shrugging. “If I forget something it’s no big deal, you lot will help me out.”
“What if we can’t help you? Say you forget something important and no one has a spare?” The words poured from Ariana. “Why is everything just a huge joke to you? Don’t you remember our last trip? What if the person who blocked the waterfall turns up and does more dark magic?”
Violet put a reassuring hand on Ariana’s arm. “There hasn’t been any trouble since then. You shouldn’t worry about it.”
Matilda nodded. She didn’t like seeing Ariana so unhappy. “Violet’s right. The teachers wouldn’t be letting us go if there was any danger. You stress too much, Ariana.”
Ariana bit her lip and sat down on her bed.
Rosa started to brush her long, dark hair. “Wouldn’t it be brilliant if we could work out who it was? Ms Nettles and the other teachers would be so thrilled!”
“But how can we possibly work it out when the teachers haven’t?” said Freya, glancing up from her notepad. “It’s not going to happen, Rosa.”
“Who knows? Maybe we will find something to help us solve the mystery while we’re out camping,” said Rosa.
“Ooh yes,” said Matilda, her eyes gleaming at the thought.
“No,” said Violet firmly, glancing at Ariana’s alarmed face. “This is just going to be a fun little camping trip. There’ll be no mysteries, no adventures and absolutely no danger.”
Matilda caught Rosa’s eye and immediately knew what she was thinking – mysteries, adventures and danger sounded like fun!
The following morning, Matilda was the last to leave the dorm room. She hurried after her friends, who had set off to prepare their unicorns long before her. She’d packed her rucksack in a hurry, shoving everything in, and now something hard was sticking into her back. I should probably repack it when I get to the stables, thought Matilda, but when she got there she had so much fun brushing and chatting to Pearl that she forgot.
“So, tell me about this camping trip.” Pearl nudged Matilda, then blew in her hair to make her giggle.
“Well,” said Matilda, trying to remember what Ms Nettles had said. “Once we get to the dell we’re supposed to find somewhere good to make a camp. There’s also a scavenger hunt with a prize for the winning team.”
“I hope Diamond dorm win the scavenger hunt!” said Pearl eagerly.
“Me too,” said Matilda, going to the stable door to fetch Pearl’s breakfast. “I bet we have a good chance of winning.”
“Huh! In your dreams!” said snooty Valentina, who was coming out of her unicorn’s stable. “Ruby dorm have already found half the things on the list. You’ll never beat us!”
“But that’s cheating!” protested Matilda. “We’re supposed to find the things in the dell. You’re not allowed to start the scavenger hunt until we get there.”
Valentina smiled smugly. “Whatever.”
Matilda glared at her. Horrid Valentina. She looked like a frog with her big bulgy eyes and wide smile. Matilda could feel a picture coming on. She whipped a pencil and her mini sketchbook from her jodhpur pocket. She drew Valentina standing with her arms crossed and a very haughty expression on her face, unaware that a frog was sitting on her head.
Valentina walked up and looked over her shoulder.
“Really, Matilda,” she said, looking at it down her long nose. “Is that your best work? Who’s it supposed to be, then? You can’t draw and you’re going to lose the scavenger hunt for Diamond dorm. Look at you. You’ve lost half your camping stuff already!” Valentina pointed at Matilda’s rucksack. She had put it on the floor by the stable door and it had fallen over, spilling the contents. “I feel sorry for the rest of Diamond dorm. I’m very glad you’re not on my team!”
Her words stung and Matilda flushed. “I wouldn’t want to be on your team anyway,” she retorted.
Valentina smiled meanly. “You know, I really don’t know how your dorm put up with you. I bet they wish they had someone else instead.” She saw Matilda’s red face. “Aw, have I upset the ickle baby?”
“No. I was just thinking how lucky your dorm are,” said Matilda. Valentina blinked in surprise. Matilda’s hand flew across the page, altering her drawing, giving Valentina the head of a big frog. “Because if we have to collect a tree frog in the scavenger hunt, your team will have one already!” she said, holding the picture up.
Rosa emerged from Crystal’s stable. She shrieked with laughter when she saw the drawing.
Valentina scowled. “You’re a loser, Matilda! And we’ll see who’s laughing at the end of the day!” She stormed away.
Rosa giggled. “Oh dear, I think you upset her. What a pity!” Her eyes sparkled.
Matilda went to Pearl’s stable and shoved everything back into her rucksack.
“Are you OK?” Pearl asked. Matilda abandoned her packing and turned and hugged her. Pearl nuzzled Matilda’s hair. “Your eyes are all glittery.”
Matilda bit her lip. She was more upset by Valentina’s words than she wanted to admit, but she knew she could tell Pearl anything. “You don’t think she’s right, do you, Pearl?” she whispered. “That the others are wishing I wasn’t on their team?”
“Absolutely not!” Pearl blew on her cheek. “Don’t listen to Valentina. She’s just being mean.”
“I do try not to listen when Valentina’s unkind.” Matilda managed a small smile as she stroked Pearl’s soft face. Once mean words were out it was hard to ignore them.
There was the sound of a whistle blowing outside. Rosa popped her head around the stable door. “Come on, Matilda!” she cried excitedly. “Ms Nettles wants to talk to us!”
The pupils gathered together in the yard for last minute instructions. Ms Nettles stood on a mounting block with Ms Rivers, the strict Geography and Culture teacher who was going to be accompanying the students. Ms Nettles clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. When the yard was totally silent, she began.
“There are a few important things you must pay attention to before you leave. Firstly, the scavenger hunt competition: the winner is the first team back with everything on the list. That’s the whole team. Ms Rivers shall be camping at the entrance to Dingleberry Dell and her tent is your finishing point.”
“Secondly, and more importantly,” she continued, “Though I know you’re all keen to win the competition, do not put the scavenger hunt ahead of pitching your tent. You must ensure that you are all able to sleep safely tonight! And pick your campsite carefully. Last year, some students pitched their tent on an ant hill.” Her lips twitched as she waited for the laughter to fade. “They did not have a comfortable night’s sleep! And don’t leave putting up your tent until dark. Pitching a tent at night is almost impossible. Finally, no magic can be used in the scavenger hunt.” Ms Nettles silenced the groans with a hand. “Many unicorns have still not found their magic. It would not be fair to let those lucky ones who have use it for this task, especially since the prize for winning is something quite special.”
“What is it?” asked Miki from Topaz dorm.
“You’ll have to wait and see, Miki.” Ms Nettles said mysteriously. “Better still, you’ll have to win and see! Now, Ms Rivers will lead the way to the dell. Go and get your unicorns! There’s a scavenger hunt to win!”
A loud cheer rang out, sending the bluebirds perched on the fence fluttering up with alarmed squawks.
The sun was shining and it was a lovely ride to the dell. The mountains rose up behind the cluster of trees, tall and craggy, their peaks silhouetted against the sapphire-blue sky. At the entrance to the dell stood a tree that had turned completely white. The other trees clustered in a thick mass behind it, birds singing and squirrels scampering from branch to bran
ch.
“That white tree was once struck by lightning, children. It’s easy to spot, and I shall camp just here,” Ms Rivers told the students. “When you have completed the scavenger hunt, come and find me. Now, off you all go!”
Everyone whooped and set off into the trees. At first there were students and unicorns everywhere but gradually they all separated, following different paths. Rosa led the way for Diamond Dorm. “Let’s get far away from everyone else!” she said, heading for the centre of the dell.
They cantered through the trees, their unicorns leaping nimbly over roots and stones on the track. At last, when the noise from the other students had faded and they were completely alone, Rosa and Crystal halted in a grassy clearing. “OK, let’s have a look at the list,” Rosa said. Each team had been given a list of things they had to find in the dell. Everyone crowded round as Rosa scanned the piece of paper.
“It says we need a green feather, a six-petal daisy, an orange leaf, something pink, a sparkly hag stone – that’s a stone with a hole in the middle – and a sprig of red heather,” she said. “Should we get started?”
“I think we should sort our camp out first,” said Ariana. “Let’s put the tents up before it gets dark, like Ms Nettles told us to.”
“But it won’t be dark for ages,” argued Rosa.
“I know. Why don’t we find some of the things on the list and then find somewhere to camp?” suggested Violet.
“But if we want to win the scavenger hunt we should find all the things first,” Rosa disagreed.
As they continued to argue about what to do, Matilda pulled out her sketchbook and started to draw the trees around her. It was a very pretty clearing, with a sparkling stream running through it and pink and purple flowers growing around the base of the trees. She was drawing a squirrel when she became aware that Rosa was talking to her.
“Matilda! Did you hear what I just asked? We’re taking a vote. Are you in or out?”
“In or out of what?” said Matilda in confusion.
Rosa frowned. “Honestly, Matilda. You never listen, do you? We’re voting on whether we should find somewhere to camp or look for the things on the list first.”
“Oh.” Matilda frowned. “Well, why don’t we just camp here and then start looking for the scavenger hunt stuff?”
The others looked round. “I suppose this would be a good place to camp,” said Ariana thoughtfully. “It’s got a stream for water and it’s flat and sheltered.”
“And look!” Violet jumped off Twinkle and ran to a clump of round, red-tipped bushes. “Red heather!” she said, pulling a sprig off. “It’s one of the things we need. We might find some of the other things right here too! Good idea, Matilda.”
“I suppose we could camp here, but we can’t spend too long putting up our tents,” said Rosa. “I want to win this competition!” She got off Crystal. “Come on, everyone. Be as quick as you can!”
Matilda dismounted and caught sight of a large black-and-white bird perched on a rock by the stream, watching for fish. Her fingers itched to draw it but she stopped herself. She still remembered Valentina’s words and she didn’t want to be the reason why Diamond dorm lost the competition.
Everyone got stuck into pitching the tents.
“Now to make it look homely,” said Ariana, when the brightly coloured tents were finally up. “Let’s unpack our rucksacks and get our sleeping bags out.” Her sleeping bag was tied to her rucksack in a neat roll.
Matilda looked at it and then looked at her own rucksack. Her heart sank into her boots.
“Oh no!” she groaned. “I haven’t got my sleeping bag. It came untied when I dropped my rucksack in Pearl’s stable. I meant to tie it back on but I forgot.”
Ariana put her hands on her hips. “Matilda, this is just not funny. This is why I gave you a list. If you hadn’t scribbled all over it, maybe you’d have checked it before we left and remembered your sleeping bag!”
“Honestly Matilda, you’re useless. We’ll lose the scavenger hunt if we have to go back to the academy for it.” Rosa scowled. “You heard what Ms Rosemary said, we all have to finish together.”
“I can’t believe you’ve forgotten your sleeping bag!” said Freya. “Now we’re going to be stuck here in these woods for even longer. You’re so stupid, Matilda!”
Matilda hung her head. She hardly ever cried but now her eyes stung with tears. She hadn’t meant to let everyone down.
Violet hurried over to her. “Look, don’t worry. We can go back and get it and if we lose the competition, well, so what? We’ll still have fun camping.”
Rosa’s annoyed exclamation left Matilda in no doubt about what she thought of that. She quickly rubbed her eyes. She didn’t want the others to see she was crying.
“It’s OK,” she said, turning away quickly so they couldn’t see. “I’ll just sleep on that heather over there.”
“But it’s not very soft,” said Violet in concern.
“I don’t mind,” said Matilda, carrying her rucksack over to the heather. A sweet smell of burnt sugar wafted towards her. She sniffed in surprise.
“Matilda.” Pearl urgently nudged her hand. “Your sleeping bag is over there – look!”
Matilda followed her gaze and saw a dark-purple sleeping bag lying near the heather. Relief shot through her. She must have brought it with her after all and just dropped it as they entered the clearing!
Matilda jogged towards it but as she drew closer the bag seemed to vanish and change into a dark-purple bush. She pulled up in surprise. What had just happened?
“It’s gone!” Pearl was equally confused.
Matilda’s brow furrowed. That was the second time she’d seen something that wasn’t there. First there were the wings that she’d drawn on Pearl in her picture and now the sleeping bag that was actually a plant. Maybe she needed her eyes testing? But Pearl had seen the sleeping bag too. What was going on?
“Hey Matilda,” called Violet. “I’ve just had a good idea. Remember that lesson we had with Ms Rivers on the Heart Tree?”
Matilda screwed up her eyes as she did her best to remember. “The oldest tree on the island?” she ventured.
“That’s the one. Well it’s right here, in the middle of the dell.”
“Don’t lots of pink chinchillas live in its branches?” Matilda remembered.
“Yes,” said Rosa. “Over the Heart Tree’s lifetime it’s absorbed lots of magic from the island. Pink chinchillas are drawn to magic and made their home there centuries ago.”
“And … chinchillas moult at this time of year!” Violet smiled. “Their fur is super soft and we need something pink for the scavenger hunt. If we could find some pink chinchilla fur we could take some for the scavenger hunt and some for you to put on the heather to make it softer.” She looked at Rosa. “What do you think?”
“It’s a brilliant idea!” said Rosa, high-fiving her. “And on the way to the Heart Tree we can look for more of the scavenger hunt things. Let’s go!”
Matilda breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she hadn’t ruined the hunt for everyone after all!
Matilda and Pearl rode at the front as she and her friends left their camp to find the Heart Tree.
“We’re going to be really helpful,” she whispered to Pearl. “We’ll look really hard and find as many things on the list as we can while we ride. Then the others won’t think I’m useless.”
“You’re definitely not useless,” Pearl said, loyally. “You’re great!”
“Thanks.” Matilda stroked Pearl’s neck but she was still smarting from the others’ words. Did Freya and Rosa really think she was stupid, and did Ariana really think her drawings were just scribbles? She swallowed, feeling unusually down in the dumps. She wasn’t used to feeling that her friends were unhappy with her.
“Is that Valentina?” Violet said suddenly. “What is she doing? And look at that chair!”
In the middle of a circle of trees, Valentina was sitting on a comfy blue chair that w
as padded with silver cushions. She was shouting out instructions to the other girls in Ruby dorm, who were busy running around her.
“Valentina, I’ve found something pink. It’s up there, at the top of that tree. It looks like a feather from a rose finch,” said Isla, a petite girl with short brown hair.
“I don’t want to just hear about it. Go and get it,” said Valentina, bossily.
“But it’s too high for me to climb.”
Valentina stared up at the tree. “It is high but Golden Briar can get it down with his wind magic. Where is he?”
“I’m here.” Golden Briar was munching on a bucket of sky berries while the other unicorns were helping their girls. He wandered over. “You need my wind magic again? What for this time?”
Valentina and Golden Briar were second years. Golden Briar had found his magic last year but as he hadn’t bonded with Valentina they hadn’t been allowed to graduate, so had stayed at the academy.
“See that pink feather up there? Blow it down!” Valentina reached for a chocolate from the bag next to her. Her face tightened when she noticed Matilda and her dorm-mates approaching. “I mean, I wish we could use your wind magic to get the feather,” she said hurriedly. “But we can’t because that would be cheating. And Ruby dorm would never cheat, would we, girls?”
Isla looked bewildered. “But earlier on you said that using Golden Briar’s magic wasn’t cheating because—”
“Because we aren’t going to use any magic,” said Valentina loudly. “What are you staring at?” she added, glaring at Matilda. “Oh, I know. A successful team.”
