Magic Ballerina 13-18

by Darcey Bussell

  “That’s the Wicked Fairy’s Castle, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. And it’s her carousel. She has been collecting all the most amazing creatures in the land and putting them on it.”

  “So they’re real animals?” said Holly, looking at the lifeless carousel creatures with their blank, staring eyes.

  The White Cat wrung his front paws together. “Yes. They were all free to move about until she enchanted them. At the moment the magic is only temporary, so they could come back to life, but when the Wicked Fairy fills the final space, the magic will become permanent and then all those wonderful creatures will be lost forever.”

  “But, that’s dreadful!” exclaimed Holly. “I know!” the White Cat said. “The trouble is no one knows quite how to break the spell. The King’s magicians are working on it right now, but while they do, we need to stop her from catching the last creature – the Silver Unicorn.”

  “A unicorn!” breathed Holly, her mind filled with a picture of a beautiful white horse with a long glittering horn.

  The White Cat nodded. “King Tristan sent him an invitation to come to the court so he could be protected, but the Silver Unicorn is proud and stubborn and he refused. King Tristan wants to try to find him, but it’s tricky. The unicorn has magic that allows him to become invisible, to hide from people trying to spy on him. The only way of finding him is to track him down, but the High Mountains, where he lives, are dangerous and the unicorn can gallop incredibly swiftly.”

  “Maybe the Wicked Fairy won’t be able to find him then, either?” said Holly hopefully.

  “We were hoping that, but she has sent a large number of hunters out.” The White Cat drew another circle with his tail. This time, Holly saw a range of jagged mountains with snow-topped peaks and misty slopes covered with pine trees. The picture got closer and closer as if it was a film zooming in, until Holly could see hunters with hard, cruel faces stealthily creeping through the trees, sharp swords by their sides, nets and ropes attached to their backpacks. She caught her breath. The thought of them catching the unicorn was awful.

  “We have to find him before they do!” she declared.

  The White Cat nodded. “Legend suggests that young girls have a certain power over unicorns, so maybe you’ll be able to persuade him to come here until the magicians have worked out how to break the carousel’s enchantment and free the other creatures.”

  “Let’s go to the mountains straight away, then,” said Holly, determination rising up inside her. They couldn’t let the Wicked Fairy’s hunters catch the Silver Unicorn – she and the White Cat had to find him first!

  The White Cat twitched his long whiskers. Silver sparks flew off them and surrounded Holly and the cat. They spun away.

  The magic set them down in the middle of a forest. The air was chillier than it had been in the palace gardens and seemed thinner when Holly breathed it in. Pine needles crackled beneath her feet. Glancing upwards, she saw the tall slim tree trunks. They seemed to stretch right up into the sky. Holly’s skin prickled with goosebumps. It felt like a very magical place.

  “We must watch out for the sylphs who live here,” the White Cat warned. “They don’t usually get involved with the rest of us in Enchantia. The only people who see them are those who come out into these woods. The sylphs lead them astray into bogs and dark places.” He shivered. “They’re beautiful but strange creatures. Hopefully we won’t come across any of them. Anyway, let’s get moving and try and find the Silver Unicorn.”

  Holly nodded and they set off into the trees.

  The misty forest seemed to go on forever.

  They followed one path and then another, climbing over tangles of brambles and fallen tree trunks and tripping over roots. Soon they were both scratched and bruised. But Holly didn’t think about stopping. They had to find the unicorn!

  “Look!” the White Cat hissed, pointing.

  Holly followed his gaze. Just ahead of them a silver shape was moving through the trees.

  “It’s the unicorn!” she breathed. “We’ve found him!”

  “Hurrah!” said the White Cat, spinning round. “Will you go and talk to him, Holly? He might gallop off without listening if he sees me. He won’t hurt you, I promise. Unicorns are very gentle, even if they are stubborn and proud.”

  Holly went forward. “Hello,” she called softly. “Silver Unicorn?”

  The unicorn looked round. He was beautiful. His eyes were like deep forest pools and his mane and tail swept to the floor and were threaded through with shining hairs of pure silver.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  “Holly, I’m from the human world. I own the red ballet shoes.”

  The unicorn nodded. “I have heard about them.” He looked at her curiously. “What do you want with me?”

  “I want you to come to the Royal Palace,” Holly told him, “to stop the Wicked Fairy from catching you.”

  The unicorn snorted proudly. “I am the Silver Unicorn. I do not need the King’s protection!”

  “But the Wicked Fairy has hunters out looking for you, as we speak,” Holly said desperately. “If they catch you, the enchantment on the carousel will never be broken. Please, come!”

  “No!” The unicorn tossed his mane. “They will never catch me!” In a flash he was gone, galloping away through the trees.

  Holly stared after him in dismay. The White Cat came hurrying up to her.

  “He just wouldn’t listen,” said Holly. “The legend can’t be right.”

  “Maybe you actually need to touch him for the magic to work?” fretted the White Cat. “I should have suggested that.” He twisted the end of his tail round anxiously. “What are we going to do now? I suppose we’d better go back.”

  “No!” said Holly quickly. “If you think it might work, I’ll try again. Let’s go after him. We can’t give up yet!”

  They hurried on through the trees, but there was no further sign of the unicorn. As they fought their way down a tangled path, they heard some music coming from the left. Holly looked round. “What’s that?”

  “I don’t know,” the White Cat replied.

  Holly pushed her way through the trees. Something white was moving around in a glade ahead of them. For a moment, Holly wondered if it was the unicorn again. She broke into a run, but as she reached the edge of the trees, she stopped.

  A group of about twenty beautiful girls were dancing in two circles on the short grass. They were all wearing white dresses, very like the one Holly had on and they had gauzy wings too, only theirs were real! Their hair was tied back in buns and they had white ballet shoes on their feet. They moved as if they were floating, their feet hardly seeming to touch the ground.

  “Sylphs!” Holly breathed.

  “Oh, no!” Holly heard the White Cat mutter, but she ignored him. The sylphs were weaving between each other. Their wings and dresses shimmered. Holly didn’t think she had ever seen a more mesmerising sight.

  “Holly, come on!” The White Cat pulled at her arm. “Sylphs like to be left alone.”

  Holly shook her head. Something was going wrong with the dance. She could see it! The sylphs were weaving in and out, but when they stopped and faced each other there was always one sylph left out. The music started to jangle and sound discordant. The sylphs exclaimed in frustration and the music stopped altogether. “It’s not working!” said one.

  “What are you doing?” Holly asked, walking into the glade.

  The sylphs turned and stared at her in astonishment. “Who are you?”

  “Oh, Holly!” said the White Cat, bounding after her and standing at her side. He looked round at the sylphs.

  “Greetings!” he said, sweeping into an elegant bow. The sylphs rose on their toes, then moved backwards with tiny steps into a tighter group, their eyes wary.

  Holly saw that a sylph was lying in the centre of the glade. She looked in pain.

  “Are you all right?” Holly asked quickly.

  The other sylphs fluttered th
eir wings unhappily.

  “My wing’s been damaged,” the injured sylph replied, showing her ripped left wing.

  “One of the hunters who was in the woods fired an arrow at Melina,” said another, stepping forward. “We can do a healing dance, but it needs twenty of us and the magic is not working with only nineteen. We’ll try again. If you would leave us, please.” She and the other sylphs looked pointedly at Holly and the White Cat.

  “Of course,” the cat said, backing away.

  But Holly didn’t move. “But maybe I could help? I mean, I can’t dance on my pointes and I’m not as good as you, but if it would help to have someone else …”

  Her voice trailed off. The sylphs were staring at her as if she had said something astonishing.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, going red. “I didn’t mean to offend you. It was probably a stupid idea. I … I just thought …”

  The sylph who had spoken before, stepped towards her. “You would help us?”

  “Of course,” said Holly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  The sylph frowned. “Most people in Enchantia avoid us. They do not like us. They would certainly never stop to help.”

  “Well, I’m not like that,” said Holly. “I’ll help.”

  The sylphs gathered and whispered to each other, then the first sylph turned.

  “Thank you. We would be very grateful for your help.” Around her, all the other sylphs were smiling now too and the tension in the air had disappeared.

  “My name is Ava,” said the first sylph.

  “I’m Holly,” said Holly. “And this is the White Cat. What do you want me to do?”

  “We’ll show you.”

  Ava and the other sylphs performed the dance. Holly watched carefully. She really wanted to get it right and help heal Melina’s injured wing.

  “Are you ready?” Ava asked when they had been over the steps with her several times.

  Holly nodded and walked into the circle. As they took the first few steps, faint music magically floated through the clearing. Holly followed Ava, keeping her movements as light as possible, her arms graceful. Remembering how she had made a mess of things back in the real world when she had been dancing in the corps, she tried to dance exactly as the sylphs were dancing, matching her movements to theirs.

  The dancers changed direction and then faced their partners. The music grew louder and the dancing, faster. Holly spun round.

  Suddenly a shout went up. Holly stared as Melina flew into the air. Her wing had healed! She posed in an arabesque on one leg, just as if she was standing on the solid ground, her wings fluttering and keeping her up. “Wow!” Holly gasped.

  The other sylphs laughed in delight as Melina flew down.

  “You’re better!”

  “Your wing has healed!”

  Melina gently embraced Holly. “Thank you so much.”

  Holly beamed.

  “So why are you in these woods?” Ava asked her. “We don’t get many visitors to these parts.” Her face darkened. “Apart from hunters.”

  Holly glanced at the White Cat, wondering if it was OK to explain. He nodded.

  “Well, it’s because of the hunters that we’re here,” said Holly. “We’re trying to find the Silver Unicorn before they do.” And she told the sylphs all about the Wicked Fairy’s enchanted carousel. “We found the unicorn, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” she finished. “He galloped off, so now we’re trying to find him again.”

  Ava looked thoughtful. “We don’t usually involve ourselves in the affairs of Enchantia, but it would be our pleasure to foil the hunters in their attempts. We will help you find the unicorn.” She turned to the others. “Go, my friends. Discover where the Silver Unicorn is and bring the news back.”

  Within seconds, the clearing had emptied as the other sylphs flew away.

  “Are you sure they’ll be able to find him? He gallops so fast,” said Holly.

  Ava smiled. “And we fly fast too. If he is in the woods, we will find him for you. I promise.”

  Within ten minutes, the sylphs returned with the news that they had found the Silver Unicorn about a mile away.

  “How will we get there?” asked Holly.

  “Dance and follow us, and you will end up travelling a mile in only a few minutes. Our magic will help you,” replied Ava.

  “Thank you,” the White Cat said gratefully.

  Ava turned and clapped her hands. “Sylphs, away!”

  Music flooded through the trees. “Follow us!” Ava called to the White Cat and Holly.

  Holly could see a sylph through the trees. She danced towards her, holding the cat’s hand. The sylph seemed to slip away, but then there was another and another, hovering and vanishing. Holly felt a warmth wrap around her and she didn’t get out of breath at all as she and the cat followed the white figures. It was the easiest dancing she had ever done.

  Suddenly the music stopped. Holly looked around and realised they were in a completely different part of the woods, with smaller trees and larger bramble bushes. The sylphs had vanished. She saw a silver shape through the trees, so she ran forward.

  “It’s the unicorn!” she cried. “Come on, Cat!”

  As Holly entered the clearing where the Silver Unicorn was grazing, she saw a movement in the trees on the far side of the clearing, and wondered if it was one of the sylphs. But she didn’t have time to think about that now.

  The unicorn lifted his head. “Oh, it’s you again,” he said grumpily. “You might as well stop wasting your time following me. I told you, I’m not coming with you to the palace.”

  “Please, just listen to me.” Holly held out her hand. If she could only touch him …

  But the unicorn backed away, shaking his head, as if he could read her mind. “I don’t need protecting. I’m not coming!”

  “Wait!” cried Holly as he plunged towards the trees. Then suddenly several things happened at once. A group of men burst into the clearing and a giant net was thrown over the unicorn! He reared and fought, his horn and hooves getting caught within the netting, as Holly screamed. The White Cat bounded out and landed protectively beside her as she started running forward, shouting, “Stop it!” whilst the men struggled to get the unicorn under control.

  One of the hunters suddenly lifted a crystal orb and a cloud of green smoke suddenly surrounded him, the other men and the unicorn. And then they were whisked away. Where they had been standing was now just an empty clearing! Holly was aghast.

  “Oh, my shimmering whiskers!” cried the White Cat, jumping in agitation. “They’ve captured him! Whatever are we going to do now?”

  Holly’s heart was beating fast. “They’ll take him to the Wicked Fairy’s Castle. We’ve got to go after him!”

  “But it will be dangerous!”

  The cat’s tail swished from side to side in agitation as a silvery voice rang out. “We’ll come with you!”

  Holly turned to see the sylphs standing behind them. They looked angry.

  “We were watching from the trees,” Ava explained, hands on her hips. “No magical creature should ever be treated in such a way. Those hunters need teaching a lesson. We’ll help you free him.”

  “Thank you!” cried Holly. She had no idea how they could possibly free the unicorn, but it made her feel much better to know the sylphs were coming too.

  “Hold hands and I’ll use my magic to take us there,” said the White Cat. He whisked around the clearing, drawing a big circle with his tail. Silver sparks started to rise up from the grass. Everyone jumped inside the circle, held hands and the next minute, they were whisked away!

  Holly, the White Cat and all of the sylphs came to rest in the cover of a small copse of trees in the gardens of the Wicked Fairy’s Castle. Black and green flags flew from the turrets and on the grass stood the dreadful iron carousel. In front of it, the hunters were trying to control the unicorn. He’d fought free of the net, but they had got a rope round his neck and had attached it to a metal ring in the grou
nd. It was holding him fast!

  Holly’s stomach somersaulted as the Wicked Fairy came marching out of the castle, cackling. “You caught him!” she cried, rubbing her hands. “The last of the magical creatures for my carousel. Very good. Very good indeed!”

  The unicorn reared up and she laughed. “You can fight all you like, Unicorn, but there is no escape from me. I will now fetch my spell book, then you will be added to the carousel. Once you are in position, the enchantment will be sealed forever!” She swung round and went back inside.

  “What are we going to do?” hissed the White Cat.

  Holly didn’t know. “We can’t get near enough to untie him. If only there was a way to distract the hunters …”

  She broke off. “Ava! Could you and the others use your magic dancing to distract them, perhaps? Then the White Cat and I might be able to get close enough to untie the unicorn.”

  Ava nodded. “Yes, we can do that.”

  She called to the other sylphs, who were hovering and floating in the trees and explained the plan. They formed a line and rose on to their pointes straight away.

  “We’re ready,” said Melina.

  “Then let’s go!” cried Holly.

  As the sylphs danced out of the trees, the hunters pointed and stared. A few of them reached for their swords, but before they could draw them, the magic worked and their hands fell to their sides. They seemed to forget all about what they were supposed to be doing. The sylphs weaved in and out of them, moving gradually away from the carousel – and the unicorn.

  Holly and the White Cat raced across the grass.

  “It’s you!” the Silver Unicorn said in amazement, as Holly threw herself down and started trying to untie the rope, while the White Cat kept watch for the Wicked Fairy.

  “Yes, we’ve come to rescue you!” she said, her fingers tugging frantically at the knot.

  The unicorn whinnied. “I should have listened to you! I should have gone to the Royal Palace!”