Rosa swallowed. The thought of being able to dance every day, living with other girls who were mad about ballet too, taking lots and lots of different dancing classes…It sounded like heaven! But what about her mum? She couldn’t leave her, could she?
Rosa’s mother squeezed her hand. “Don’t look so anxious, sweetheart. I thought you’d leap at the chance of auditioning, but of course you don’t have to try for a place if you don’t really want to.”
But I do want to!
Rosa bit the words back.
“We’ll talk about it when we get home,” her mum said.
Rosa nodded sadly, but inside she knew there was nothing to talk about. How could she go? She just couldn’t!
“What do you mean, you’re not going to audition?” Olivia sounded shocked. Rosa had only been home about ten minutes when the phone had rung. It had been her best friend, bubbling with excitement at the news. “You have to go! Oh, just imagine if we both got in, Rosa. It would be so cool! And I heard Delphie, Lola and Sukie have all been asked to audition too!”
Rosa didn’t say anything. The thought of the others from Madame Za-Za’s school going to the auditions, maybe getting in, and going to the Royal Ballet School without her, made her want to cry. And if Olivia went she wouldn’t even have a best friend at Madame Za-Za’s any more.
“You just have to audition,” Olivia told her. “I can’t!” Rosa burst out. “Because…” Just then her mum came into the lounge where Rosa was talking. “Because I don’t want to,” Rosa said quickly.
“But why?” Olivia sounded completely confused.
“I just don’t.” Rosa felt tears starting to prickle in her eyes. “Look, I’ve got to go,” she said, knowing that if she didn’t get off the phone straight away she might really start to cry. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She pressed the off button on the phone.
“Rosa, can we talk about the auditions?” her mum said gently. “There’s something the matter, I know there is. I can’t believe you don’t want to go.”
Rosa looked at her. “You don’t want me to go to the Royal Ballet School, do you, Mum? You don’t want me to board and be away from you?”
“Well, I don’t want you to but…”
“Well, then that’s OK,” Rosa interrupted. She could hear that her voice sounded higher than normal. “Because I don’t want to go either.” She forced herself to smile. “I’m fine about it, Mum, really. I’m not going to audition. I’m just going to my bedroom for a bit.”
She ran out of the lounge and along the corridor to her room. Her mum had left the leaflet about the auditions on her bed, together with her dancing clothes and red ballet shoes. Rosa slowly went over.
Longing shot through her as she looked at the application form.
I want to go so much, she thought. I want to audition and that lady thought I was good enough.
She reached for her ballet shoes. Whenever she was feeling really happy or really sad, she always danced. Her feet seemed to want to turn her feelings into ballet steps. She put the shoes on and, hearing the music from the show in her head, she started to dance around her bedroom. Moving forward with tiny steps, she swayed her arms one way and then the other. Her feet started to tingle…
Glancing down, she saw that her ballet shoes were sparkling. Oh, wow! I’m going to Enchantia again, she thought.
A swirling haze of green, blue and silvery light surrounded her and she was lifted into the air. Her unhappiness about the auditions vanished at the thought of seeing all her friends in Enchantia again. What adventure am I going to have this time? she wondered excitedly.
As the magic set her gently down, she could hear the sound of seagulls crying and of waves breaking on a beach. The silvery light cleared and Rosa saw that she was by the sea. There were rocky cliffs in front of her with jagged sides and cave openings. The waves were stormy and grey, and a cold wind was whipping through her hair. Rosa shivered and looked around. She’d never been in this part of Enchantia before. Why had the magic brought her here?
“Rosa!”
Rosa looked around to see her friend, Nutmeg, the fairy of the spices, standing at the top of the cliff, being blown about by the gusts of wind. She was dressed in a pale pink and brown tutu.
“Hi, Nutmeg!” Rosa called.
The fairy came scrambling down the cliff. She reached the bottom and ran over. “Oh, this wind, it’s so strong!” She hugged Rosa. “I’m very glad you’ve come, Rosa.”
“It’s freezing here!” said Rosa, hugging her back.
Nutmeg nodded. “There’s stormy weather all the time at the moment – it’s because King Tristan has fallen out with King Neptune.” Rain started to fall and there was a deep rumble of thunder.
“Quick! Let’s go into one of the caves and I’ll tell you the whole story. We’ll get soaked if we stay out here.”
Rosa ran after Nutmeg to the nearest cave in the cliffs, thinking hard. She knew King Tristan was the King of Enchantia – she had met him on her previous adventures – but who was King Neptune? She didn’t have time to dwell on it for long as Nutmeg had started to whisper.
“Try not to make too much noise when we get inside!” the fairy said anxiously. “Cave sprites live in the hollows of these cliffs.”
“Cave sprites?” Rosa echoed, her ballet shoes slipping on the damp rock. “What are they?”
“They’re really naughty, vain creatures,” said Nutmeg. “They love playing tricks and annoying people. If you go into their caves and they find you, they always poke you and pinch you, and chase you out.”
Rosa didn’t like the sound of them at all!
They reached the cave. Rosa looked round anxiously, wondering if she would see a cave sprite, but it was empty.
“So what’s been going on?” she said in a low voice.
Nutmeg rubbed her bare arms. “I’ll help us to get warm and then I’ll explain…”
Nutmeg waved her wand and conjured up two thick fur-lined coats. Rosa pulled one thankfully around herself, covering up her damp jeans and T-shirt. “I’d magic up a fire, but it might make a sprite come,” Nutmeg whispered. “But we can have these to eat.” She waved her wand again. With a tinkle of music, two currant buns appeared on her lap. She handed one to Rosa. It was warm and smelt sweet, and slightly spicy.
“Thank you!”
As Rosa bit into the delicious bun she felt a bit better. She looked at the fairy who was huddling into her coat. “So what’s been happening, Nutmeg?”
“Well, all this stormy weather is because two kings have fallen out. They’re cousins,” Nutmeg explained. “You know King Tristan of course – the king of the land. Well, King Neptune is king of the sea in Enchantia. They haven’t got on since they had a fencing competition over a beautiful jewelled sceptre that belonged to their grandfather. King Neptune won and took the special prize to his underwater kingdom. Then a few days ago, the sceptre was stolen! King Neptune was so angry, he sent storms all over the land. Everyone is really miserable because it’s too windy to dance outside and the thunder drowns out any music inside, so we can’t dance anywhere! King Neptune says he won’t stop the storms until King Tristan gives him the sceptre back.”
“Well, why doesn’t King Tristan just give it back?” asked Rosa.
“Because he hasn’t got it,” said Nutmeg. “King Tristan didn’t take it. He’s got absolutely no idea where it is, but King Neptune is refusing to talk to him. If only they’d just listen to each other, maybe they’d be able to sort this out, but they won’t. The only way to stop the storms is to find the sceptre and give it back. Everyone’s been looking and no one has found it yet.” She pulled her coat around her miserably. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Rosa wracked her brains. If no one even knew who had taken the sceptre, how could they possibly try and get it back? It seemed impossible. Suddenly she heard a high-pitched voice singing a song:
“Made of brightest, purest gold and wanted by the king…
>
He thinks his cousin stole it – ha! He doesn’t know a thing…”
“What’s that?” whispered Rosa in surprise. The voice seemed to be coming from a tunnel at the back of the cave.
“It’s a cave sprite!” hissed Nutmeg. “Be really quiet.”
Rosa frowned. “But listen to the words he’s singing, Nutmeg.”
“Cos I took it, yes I did. I swam and got it, oh, I did, And now there’s lots of storms, cos the thing’s been hid!”
Rosa turned to Nutmeg. “It sounds like he’s singing about the sceptre!” Her voice rose in excitement. “It sounds like he took it!”
“Sssh, Rosa!” Nutmeg hushed quickly.
But Rosa had jumped to her feet. “Hey!” she called loudly, interrupting the song. “Hey, whoever’s singing! Come out and talk to us!”
“Rosa!” Nutmeg gasped. “What are you doing?”
The singing stopped abruptly. Rosa held her breath. What was going to happen? There was a scrabbling of feet and suddenly a bony sprite burst out of the tunnel at the back of the cave. He had long spindly arms and legs, a hooked nose, and a few thin tufts of hair that fell forward over his eyes. He was wearing raggedy brown trousers and was about the same size as Rosa.
“People! Here!” He launched himself at Rosa, his long bony fingers poking her. “Ha! So you thought you’d come into Solly the sprite’s cave, did you, little girl? And who’s this? A silly fairy in a tutu!” He started pinching Nutmeg, whirling round her as he did so. She squealed as he cackled with laughter. “Out, out, out, out, OUT!” he cried. “Solly doesn’t like visitors!”
Nutmeg pushed past him and ran to the cave entrance.
The sprite dashed over to Rosa, leaping into the air, all bony arms and legs. He landed nimbly and pulled her hair.
“Ow! Stop it!” she exclaimed.
“Go on! Go, go, go, go!” he cried, poking her in the ribs and spinning round again, his hair flopping over his face. “This is Solly’s cave, this is!”
But Rosa stood firm. “I won’t go! I want to know about the sceptre!”
The sprite stopped instantly and a cunning look came into his small dark eyes. “The sceptre? Ooooh, I don’t know anything about that.” He shook his head vigorously. “Oh, no, Solly the sprite doesn’t know anything at all, not a single itty-bitty thing.”
“But you were singing about it!” Rosa said.
The sprite folded his bony arms. “Just a song. A sprite can sing. Solly likes to sing.”
Rosa didn’t believe him for a second. “You do know something about it!”
The sprite shook his head. “Don’t!”
“You do!”
“Don’t!”
Rosa stared at him and then suddenly she remembered what Nutmeg had said about cave sprites being vain. Maybe… She sighed dramatically. “Oh well. I must be wrong, then. You know, I thought you must have been the person who had taken the sceptre, because only someone who was very clever could have stolen it. But I guess you’re not that clever after all. It must have been someone else. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” She started walking towards Nutmeg at the entrance to the cave.
“Wait!” the sprite jumped in front of her.
Rosa stopped and turned around, and Nutmeg moved to her side.
“All right, maybe…” he said slowly. “Just maybe, it was clever, sly Solly.”
“Well, was it?” Rosa asked eagerly.
The sprite hesitated and then the words burst out of him. “Oh, yes, all right. It was!” he said, dancing round, looking suddenly proud. “Solly the sprite did it! Solly swam down under the sea and waited until silly Neptune and all his mer-people went hunting for fish, and then Solly snatched it! Ha!”
“But why?” asked Nutmeg.
Solly chuckled gleefully. “Cos it made Neptune cross. Silly old king with his silly old sceptre! Solly likes making people cross.”
“But now there’s lots of storms all across Enchantia,” said Nutmeg.
“Good!” The sprite cackled. “Solly hid it and now Neptune can’t find it!”
“Where did you hide it?” Rosa asked quickly. Solly looked crafty “Not telling.”
“Oh, please,” Rosa begged. “I bet it was a very clever place.”
‘No, no, no, no, no! Solly isn’t going to say a thing!”
Rosa felt a wave of frustration as she looked at the sprite shaking his head. If he wasn’t going to tell them, what were they going to do now?
Rosa pushed her hands through her hair in exasperation. Her new hairslide fell out and clattered to the floor where it glittered in the dim light.
“What’s that?’ demanded the sprite.
“My hairslide,” Rosa replied, picking it up.
“Hair…slide,” Solly repeated the word slowly as if he’d never heard it before. He reached up and touched his long, floppy fringe thoughtfully, then he looked at her. “Solly wants it.”
Rosa stared at him. “No.”
“Give it to Solly, little girl,” he wheedled. “Solly needs it.”
“No way!” Rosa replied. “It’s mine and it’s new. Anyway, why would I give it to you?” She broke off and looked at him, an idea popping into her head. “Unless…Yes! You can have the hairslide if you tell me where the sceptre is.”
Solly looked at the slide and then looked at her. He seemed to be thinking it over.
Rosa held her breath. Would he tell them? She loved the slide, but she wanted to help Nutmeg and everyone else in Enchantia more. She turned it so that the jewels caught the light. “Look at it. It’s lovely and sparkly, and ever so useful,” she said temptingly.
The sprite hesitated and then nodded, making his hair fall over his eyes again. “All right, Solly’ll tell you!” he said, his eyes gleaming. “Solly hid the sceptre in the Great Green Cave!” He snatched the hairslide.
In an instant, Rosa’s hairslide was gone, but instead of feeling upset, she just felt a rush of triumph. Yes! Now they knew where the sceptre was, they could go and get it. Nutmeg’s magic could take them anywhere in Enchantia, so it should be easy!
The sprite clipped the slide into his hair. It looked very strange, but he seemed pleased. Pulling a mirror from his trouser pocket, he admired himself. “Who’s a good-looking sprite, then?” he preened. “Ooooh, yes, Solly, you’re a proper handsome one.” He looked at Rosa and chuckled. “And proper clever too…” He started to sing again.
“The slide’s a delight Says Solly the sprite! It looks such a treat in his hair But the sceptre you seek can’t be reached by the weak, or by humans who need to breathe air!”
Rosa and Nutmeg stared at him. “What do you mean? You said it was in a cave!” exclaimed Rosa.
“And so it is,” cackled Solly. “But…” He burst into song again:
“The cave’s full of seaweed, green, gold and brown, and if you try to get there, you’ll certainly DROWN!”
Nutmeg gasped. “The cave’s underwater!”
“Deep, deep down under the waves.” The sprite danced around gleefully. “Tricked you! Tricked you! You thought you’d be able to get it, but you can’t!” He started to poke and pinch them again.
“Ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. You shouldn’t mess around with a sprite like Soll-eeeeey!”
Rosa and Nutmeg stumbled out of the cave and on to the beach. The storm had passed and the rain had stopped, but the sea still looked wild and the grey clouds were pressing down on the land and water.
“What are we going to do, Rosa?” said Nutmeg in dismay. “He’s right, we can’t go down into the sea.”
Rosa stared out at the waves crashing on to the beach. “But we can’t give up.” She thought about the ballet she’d been dancing at home. “ Oh, I wish I was a water nymph and could breathe underwater.”
Nutmeg caught her breath. “Oh!”
Rosa looked at her.
“What?”
“I think I might just have had an idea! If we dance like water nymphs really, really well – so well that we almost bec
ome them – then the magic of the ballet will help us. It’ll make us become like water nymphs and we’ll be able to breathe underwater. The magic won’t last forever, but for a little while we’ll be able to go under the waves.”
“So we could swim down and see if we can find this cave?” asked Rosa eagerly.
Nutmeg nodded.
Rosa flung off her heavy coat. “Then let’s do it!”
The two of them hurried down to the beach. Nutmeg waved her wand and music flooded out. It was the same music that Rosa had danced to at the performance that afternoon. As they spun across the sand, lost in the music, Rosa felt her whole body starting to tingle. She looked down and gasped. Her skin was suddenly sparkling with tiny water droplets and her clothes had changed into a knee-length silvery-green dress.
“The magic’s working!” Nutmeg exclaimed. “Quick, Rosa! We’ll be able to go underwater now! But be careful. There are some dangerous creatures in the sea, like poisonous jellyfish, serpents and sea dragons, not to mention King Neptune himself. He’s not usually very friendly to people from the land. Keep a look out!”
She ran towards the sea. Rosa’s heart thumped. The water looked very cold, but Nutmeg jumped straight in! Screwing up her face for courage, Rosa plunged into the waves expecting the water to be icy, but to her astonishment it was as warm as a bath now that the magic was protecting her.
Rosa dived under the waves after Nutmeg and swam down and down…
As Rosa and Nutmeg swam towards the ocean floor, multi-coloured shoals of fish came swooping around them. There were twisted rock formations, massive clumps of seaweed and carpets of pink anemones waving their tentacles. A faint watery music seemed to echo in their ears.
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