Magic Ballerina 1-6

by Darcey Bussell

  “I’ll try!” promised Delphie. “Let’s go!”

  “It’s this way!” sang Skye. “Follow me!”

  The bluebird flew off the stage and Delphie ran after her, finding herself in a wood. There were tall dark trees rising up on either side and the air was totally still and silent apart from the sound of Skye singing as she swooped on ahead.

  Delphie ran as fast as she could. It helped keep her warm. Luckily her ballet shoes didn’t seem to get wet.

  “Here we are!” the bluebird called finally as she flew out of the woods.

  Delphie stopped with a gasp as she looked up at the palace in front of them. It was made of glittering white marble and had tall pointed turrets, a moat that had turned to sparkling ice and a big golden door.

  “It’ll be warm inside,” Skye said, tapping on the entrance with her beak.

  The door opened and a large, cheerful-looking guard looked out.

  “We’re here to see Sugar,” Skye told him. “I’ve brought Delphie, the girl with the magic ballet shoes.”

  The guard beamed. “Everyone’s been hoping you’d arrive,” he said to Delphie. “My name’s Griff. Come in! You must be freezing out there.”

  “Thanks!” Delphie hurried into the castle. Through the door was a high-ceilinged hall with richly embroidered tapestries. There were three huge log fires burning and the warm air wrapped around Delphie like a hug.

  “Here,” Griff said, coming over with a purple velvet cloak. “Put this on until you’ve warmed up.”

  The material was soft and thick and Delphie pulled it snugly around her.

  “I’ll go and fetch the King and Queen,” Griff said. “We’re in awful trouble. I really hope you can help us this time.”

  Delphie shivered. She hoped so too.

  Griff hurried off. A few minutes later, he returned with four other people – a beautiful girl with long brown hair wearing a pink dress and a delicate silver tiara, a woman in a midnight-blue dress, a man wearing dark trousers, a gold crown and a purple fur-lined cloak and…

  “Sugar!” Delphie exclaimed in delight as she saw her friend the fairy. Sugar looked just as she had the first time Delphie had seen her and was wearing a pale lilac tutu, tights and ballet shoes.

  Sugar grabbed Delphie’s hands and swirled her around. “It’s great to see you again, Delphie!” They stopped and hugged and then the smile faded from Sugar’s face. “Has Skye told you what has happened?”

  Delphie nodded. “King Rat is totally evil!”

  “He certainly is,” said the princess, coming forward. “I’m Princess Aurelia, and this is my father and mother, King Tristan and Queen Isabella of Enchantia.”

  “Welcome to our palace, Delphie,” King Tristan said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Delphie wasn’t sure what to do. She had never met a king and queen before. She swept her leg behind her and curtseyed gracefully keeping her back straight, just like she had to do at the start and end of every ballet class. She saw Sugar’s look of approval and glowed.

  Queen Isabella came forward and took her hands in hers. “I really hope you can help us.

  “Yes,” said Princess Aurelia desperately. “I don’t want to marry King Rat but if it’s the only way of stopping Enchantia being frozen in winter forever, then I will do it.”

  “Surely there must be something else we can do,” said Delphie. “Can’t someone just steal the globe or something?”

  “We’ve tried,” answered Sugar. “But it’s impossible. King Rat won’t let it out of his sight. He says that the only thing that will make him break the globe is if he marries Aurelia – today!”

  “I’m going to have to marry him!” Princess Aurelia’s eyes filled with tears. Her mother and father quickly comforted her.

  Delphie’s thoughts tumbled over each other. What could they do? There had to be some other way…

  Suddenly there was a very loud croaking sound from just outside the window. Delphie jumped. “What’s that?” she said, covering her ears as the noise came again even louder.

  “Oh, that’s Priscilla the toad,” said Sugar. “She’s been croaking like that ever since the moat froze over,” said Princess Aurelia. “It’s really annoying.”

  There was another loud croak. Delphie looked out of the window. An extremely large, extremely grumpy-looking toad about the size of a large dog, was sitting on the ice of the moat.

  “She croaks all day and all night unless she’s eating,” said the King. “It’s impossible to sleep! I wish she’d go away.”

  “We’ll do something about her soon, dear,” said the Queen soothingly. “Maybe Sugar can use her magic to turn her into a nightingale or a mouse or something for a while – anything that doesn’t make such a dreadful noise. But first we have to decide what we are going to do about King Rat.”

  The Queen’s words gave Delphie an idea. “Maybe we can do something about both things at the same time!” she said.

  “What do you mean?” asked Princess Aurelia.

  A grin spread over Delphie’s face. “Sugar, could you really use your magic to turn Priscilla the toad into something else?”

  “Yes,” replied Sugar, looking confused. “But what would I turn her into?”

  “If you turned her into a beautiful princess – the most beautiful in the whole of Enchantia, even more beautiful than Aurelia, then I bet King Rat would want to marry her instead,” said Delphie.

  “Of course!” gasped Sugar but then she frowned. “But how would that solve our problem about it being winter? King Rat wouldn’t have to break the enchantment if he wasn’t marrying Aurelia.”

  Delphie had thought about that. “All we have to do is say that the new princess will only marry him if she can have a sunny day for her wedding.”

  “It’s a brilliant idea,” said the Queen. “Although Sugar’s magic only lasts a few hours – things can only be transformed for the length of a ballet, no longer.”

  “We’d have to be quick then,” said Delphie. “And get King Rat to marry Priscilla straight away.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard. Everything will be in place for the wedding,” said Aurelia. “He was going to marry me today. All we need is for him to decide to marry Priscilla instead.”

  “We’ll have to be careful though,” said the King. “If King Rat sees Sugar and me and the Queen and Aurelia, he’s bound to know that there’s some sort of trick going on. He’s very clever.”

  “Well, you could all stay here and I’ll go with Priscilla. I could pretend to be her assistant.” Said Delphie. “You don’t think King Rat would recognise me from the time I helped the Nutcracker escape, do you?”

  “Oh no, King Rat may be clever, but his memory is terrible!” Sugar replied. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, Delphie.”

  “And I could fly on ahead and spread the news that a mysterious princess is coming,” chirruped Skye. “A princess who everyone wants to marry.”

  “It might really work!” said Sugar in delight.

  Delphie grinned at everyone. She loved the thought of tricking King Rat. “Then let’s do it!” she cried.

  It wasn’t long before Priscilla was fetched in from the moat. She sat in the hall, looking crossly at them all, her dark eyes glaring out from her brown and green bobbly, wrinkly skin.

  “This is going to take quite a lot of magic,” Sugar said with a sigh.

  Delphie giggled. It was very funny to think of King Rat marrying Priscilla. They’d explained to the toad what was going to happen and all she had done was croak grumpily.

  Sugar pulled a wand out of her tutu, stretched her right leg forward and then rose on to her pointes, closing her left foot neatly. Music magically swelled out into the room as Sugar swept forward. She pirouetted round Priscilla and then jumped into the air, one arm held to the side, the other above her head as she flew into the air. She landed lightly and danced on.

  Delphie’s feet tingled. As she watched Sugar dance, she almost felt as if she was doing t
he steps herself, as if she was the one spinning and leaping, keeping every movement light and delicate, her head poised, her arms outstretched.

  The music rose in volume. Sugar stopped with one leg lifted and bent behind her, her right hand pointing her wand at Priscilla. There was a flash and a cloud of lilac smoke.

  As the smoke cleared, the music stopped and Delphie gasped. Priscilla was still in front of them but she wasn’t a toad anymore. She was a beautiful brown-haired princess with enormous dark eyes. She was wearing a moss green and yellow dress, which sparkled with jewels. A heavily embroidered cloak hung from her shoulders and she was wearing a tiara with a gold veil that trailed behind her to the ground.

  “Oh wow,” Delphie breathed.

  The King, Queen and Princess all clapped.

  The toad princess’s tongue shot out and she caught a fly.

  Sugar giggled and came down off her pointes and dropped into a graceful curtsey. “I am pleased to present Princess Priscilla from the mysterious land of Toadonia,” she said, with a grin. “And now all the princess needs is a horse-drawn sleigh!”

  A little while later, Delphie sat on the front seat of a beautiful silver sleigh that was being pulled by two white horses that Sugar had conjured up from a pumpkin and two white mice just like in Cinderella.

  The horses had green and gold plumes on their harnesses and gold bells hung from the leather reins. Griff was driving. Priscilla sat behind Delphie, a white fur rug across her knees. She looked so beautiful, it was almost impossible to believe she was the toad until she opened her mouth and a croak came out.

  Even Sugar’s magic couldn’t make her speak!

  “I think I’ll have to put a spell on her so she stays silent,” said Sugar, shaking her head as Priscilla croaked again. Sugar turned a pirouette and pointed her wand. Priscilla opened her mouth but no sound came out. The toad princess looked very surprised.

  “Here, Priscilla,” Sugar said. She magicked a bag of dried flies and handed them to the toad. “You can have these to make up for not being able to speak.” Sugar looked at Delphie. “You’d better get going.”

  “OK! See you later!” Delphie said, pulling the warm rugs around her.

  And so the sleigh set off. As the horses cantered away, their hooves sent up clouds of sparkling snow and their breath looked like steam in the frosty air. The wind rushed through Delphie’s hair and she laughed in delight as Griff urged the horses on and the countryside raced by.

  About twenty minutes later, a dark castle loomed up in the distance. “King Rat’s castle,” Delphie breathed, remembering it from before. She wondered if Skye had got there and passed around the news about the princess. She didn’t have long to wait to find out.

  Six of King Rat’s mouse guards were standing on the roadside, dressed in leather waistcoats with swords hanging from their belts. They were each as tall as Delphie. One of them stepped out into the road and held up his paw, bringing the sleigh to a halt. “Who are you?” he called. “Declare your names!”

  Delphie’s heart beat faster as she stood up in the sleigh. Would they believe her? What if they realised it was all a trick? Their swords looked very sharp. She took a deep breath and hoped her voice wouldn’t shake. “This is Princess Priscilla of Toadonia!” she declared. “And I am her Royal Assistant.”

  One of the guards, a tall skinny brown mouse, pushed his way past the guard at the front. “King Rat has heard about the Princess. Is it true she’s the most beautiful princess in the whole of Enchantia?”

  So Skye had been there spreading the word!

  “It’s absolutely true,” Delphie declared. She swept Priscilla’s veil back. The guards’ eyes widened. Priscilla really did look beautiful.

  “The princess is looking for a husband,” Delphie told the guards. “There are many lords and princes who want to marry her. But she has heard about King Rat and she believes that he might be her perfect match. Take us to him!” she instructed grandly.

  To her delight, the guards swung round. “Follow us!” said the lead guard and dropping down on to all four feet, the guards scampered off down the road.

  Delphie heard King Rat before she saw him, coming from one of the open first floor windows.

  “Where is this Princess?” he was shouting in his harsh voice. “I want to see her. She can’t be more beautiful than Aurelia. She…” He stopped as if someone had just spoken to him. “What?” he said sharply. “She’s here?”

  King Rat suddenly appeared at the window. Delphie gulped. He looked just as frightening as she remembered him.

  His nose was pointed, his whiskers were long and sharp, and his beady eyes gleamed red. He was wearing a spiky gold crown and a long gold cloak and was staring at Delphie. “Well, she’s not very beautiful,” he began, pointing at her. “She’s just a child and rather a small one at that…”

  “I’m not the princess!” Delphie stepped to one side to display the newly transformed princess. King Rat looked at Priscilla. For a moment he didn’t say anything and then a smile crossed his face. “Now, she is beautiful!”

  Priscilla opened her mouth but no sound came out.

  “What’s she saying? What’s she saying?” demanded King Rat. He preened his whiskers. And what does she think of me?”

  Delphie cleared her throat. “The Princess has a sore throat at the moment and can only whisper.” She bent towards the toad princess and nodded as if Priscilla was talking to her. “King Rat, my princess says she has never seen such a fine figure as you, your majesty. She compliments you on your… your…” Delphie racked her brain. “On your wonderfully curling whiskers,” she invented, “and your very shiny fur! She would just love to be your wife!”

  King Rat smoothed his paw over his greasy fur. “Well, of course, people do say I am very handsome,” he said haughtily. “And she is certainly more beautiful than that Princess Aurelia.” He leaned out of the window. “Very well. I will marry you, Princess!” he called to Priscilla as if he was doing her a huge favour. “I will marry you – today!”

  Delphie grinned at Griff. This was going well! “The Princess is very pleased,” she told King Rat. “But she says she will only get married on a sunny day.”

  “But that means I would have to take my spell off Enchantia,” King Rat frowned.

  Delphie bent towards Priscilla and then looked at King Rat again. “The Princess will certainly not get married in the wintertime.”

  “Oh very well,” King Rat said, looking at the princess. “Just for you, I will break the spell.”

  “Now?” said Delphie hopefully.

  “Now!” declared King Rat. “Well, just as soon as I have got myself ready.” He blew a kiss towards Priscilla. “I will be down in a few moments, my love,” he said, pulling his lips back and revealing his pointed teeth in what he obviously thought was a charming smile.

  As he disappeared into the castle, Delphie breathed a sigh of relief.

  “It’s worked!” said Griff in a low voice, and Skye twittered in delight.

  Patiently they waited as King Rat stomped around, shouting at his servants. “Get me my biggest crown! No, not that one, you idiot! The one with the rubies in. I must look my very best for my bride!”

  “I hope it doesn’t take him too long to get ready,” Delphie hissed to Skye and Griff.

  The minutes ticked by. At long last there was a blast of trumpets. The great wooden door of the castle was thrown open and King Rat came marching out. He stopped and threw his arms open, as if expecting a round of applause.

  There was a moment’s silence. King Rat started to frown and then his guards realised what he was waiting for and hastily began to clap.

  Delphie only just stopped herself from giggling. The King’s whiskers had been tightly curled, and he had put oil on his greasy fur so it was slicked back and gleaming. Looking very pleased with himself, he preened vainly. “Well?” he called, looking at Delphie. “What does my princess think?”

  Delphie looked round at Priscilla, preparin
g to make something up. She froze. Priscilla’s face was turning brown and green and wrinkly. King Rat had taken so long getting ready that Sugar’s magic was wearing off. Priscilla was turning back into a toad!

  Delphie felt as if a bucket of cold, icy water had just been tipped all over her. What was she going to do now? She leapt forward and hastily pulled the veil over Priscilla’s face, feeling very relieved that King Rat was so busy posing that he wasn’t looking too closely at his bride-to-be.

  From under the veil came a croak.

  “What’s that awful noise?” asked King Rat.

  “Just the princess coughing,” said Delphie hastily. “Coughing and saying how much she… um… she loves your curling whiskers.”

  King Rat smirked. “Of course she does.”

  There was another croak – even louder this time.

  “And she really loves your shiny fur,” Delphie babbled, trying to drown the sound. “But she says she’ll only marry you if you’re wearing a crown with emeralds, not rubies.”

  King Rat looked thoughtful. “I suppose emeralds would bring out the colour of my teeth. Very well, wait inside the hall while I get my spare crown.” And with that, he hurried back into the castle.

  Griff drove the sleigh as close as he could to the castle door and then jumped down as he and Delphie helped Priscilla into the hall. She was getting shorter and squatter by the moment. In just a few minutes she would have turned completely into a toad!

  “Oh no, what are we going to do?” Delphie gasped as soon as Griff had shut the door behind them. She looked anxiously at the staircase where King Rat had gone.

  “If only Sugar were here,” said Skye. “She could do the dance again and turn Priscilla back.