Magic Ballerina 7-12

by Darcey Bussell

  Rosa Maitland stood nervously in the queue of parents and girls waiting to go into the large ballet studio. Her best friend, Olivia, was beside her, chewing her lip. I can’t believe we’re here and we’re actually about to audition for the Royal Ballet School! Rosa thought.

  It still seemed like some impossible dream. Could it really be just a few months back that Rosa and Olivia, and some of the other girls who went to Madame Za-Za’s dance school, had been invited to audition for White Lodge, the junior part of the Royal Ballet School?

  It was a boarding school, and as well as doing normal lessons, the students had dancing classes every day. It was very hard to get in, and although Rosa and three of the other girls from school had made it through the Preliminary Auditions, the Final Auditions would be much harder. Rosa’s stomach felt like it was full of butterflies as they walked into the studio. “I feel so nervous.”

  “Me too,” muttered Olivia.

  Rosa spotted Delphie and Sukie, the other girls from Madame Za-Za’s ballet school.

  Rosa really liked Delphie, but she didn’t usually get on with Sukie, who could be a bit mean. Delphie waved. Olivia and Rosa headed over to where they were sitting.

  “Hi,” Rosa said as their parents all greeted each other.

  Sukie just nodded coolly, but Delphie looked delighted to see them. “Hi.” She glanced round. “There are loads of people auditioning, aren’t there?”

  Rosa nodded. There were around forty girls in the studio, but only about twelve girls would get picked. And everyone here will be really good, Rosa reminded herself as she sat down.

  A lady in a black top walked to the front. Imogen Green, Rosa thought, recognising the Head of Auditions. Imogen clapped her hands and silence fell.

  “Welcome to White Lodge, everyone,” Imogen said, smiling at them. “It’s lovely to see you all. I’ll start by explaining how the day will be run.”

  Imogen told the girls that they would be split into two groups, each of which would take part in a dance class, do some writing, be seen by a doctor to check they were healthy, have an interview with the headteacher and go on a tour of the school. It all sounded very exciting!

  When Imogen finished talking, the girls were split up. Delphie and Sukie were in one group and Olivia and Rosa in another – their group was dancing first.

  “Phew!” Rosa whispered to Olivia as they got changed and helped each other with their hair. Finally Rosa took her red ballet shoes out of her bag and slipped them on. As she did up the ribbons, she smiled to herself.

  After all, her shoes were very special. Sometimes, with no warning, they would start to sparkle and whisk her away to the magical land of Enchantia, where the characters from all the different ballets lived. Rosa thought about some of the amazing adventures she’d had there and the people she had met…

  “Rosa, come on!” Olivia said, nudging her.

  Looking up, Rosa saw that the other girls were lining up at the door. She tucked in the ends of the ribbons and jumped to her feet.

  “Good luck!” she said to her friend as they joined the others.

  Olivia forced a nervous smile. “You too.”

  As soon as the dance class started, Rosa felt her nerves disappear. She concentrated on the familiar exercises, her whole mind focusing on bending and stretching, thinking about the line of her arms, pointing her toes and lengthening her back. She enjoyed herself so much she almost forgot that there were six examiners watching her!

  After the dance class, the girls met up with their parents for juice and biscuits, then went off with the rest of their group to a classroom where they had to write about what they wanted to be and what they liked doing. Rosa wrote as much as she could about her life and her dreams of becoming a ballerina.

  Finally, after seeing the doctor, it was time for their interviews with the headteacher. When Olivia went in, Rosa waited outside the room.

  Sukie came along the corridor. “Hi, Rosa,” she said. “Are you waiting for your turn?”

  Rosa nodded.

  “I’ve done mine,” Sukie told her. “Have you seen the dorms where the girls sleep yet?”

  “No.” Rosa had been longing to look around the school, but she had been kept so busy she hadn’t had a chance.

  “They’re cool!” said Sukie. “And they’re just up these stairs. Come on, why don’t we go now before your interview? I’ll show you where they are.”

  Rosa felt tempted but shook her head. “I’d better not. It’ll be my turn in a minute. Olivia’s in there now.”

  “She’ll be ages,” said Sukie. “You’ve easily got time to run upstairs with me and have a look. Come on!”

  Rosa hesitated. “Um…”

  “We’ll be really quick,” Sukie said persuasively.

  “Oh, all right!” Rosa jumped to her feet. No, don’t, a little voice in her head said. But she ignored it. It’ll be fine, she told herself.

  “It’s this way!” Sukie raced away up the staircase.

  Picking up her bag, Rosa followed her…

  The stairs curved round. At the top there was a small landing and three corridors leading in different directions. Sukie had vanished. Rosa looked around. Where was she?

  “Sukie!” she called.

  But there was no reply.

  A horrible thought crossed Rosa’s mind. Was Sukie playing a trick on her? Maybe she wanted Rosa to get lost and be late for her interview? But surely not even Sukie would be that mean? Rosa hesitated, unsure what to do.

  A tinkle of sweet music echoed through the air and at that very same moment she felt a tingling against her shoulder where she was holding her bag.

  She caught her breath. Did her ballet shoes really want to take her to Enchantia right now?

  She hesitated for a moment, then unzipped her bag. Sure enough, inside it, her red shoes were glowing and sparkling. She stopped herself, uncertain whether to put them on or not. It wasn’t exactly the best timing. But then again, Rosa knew that the shoes only took her to Enchantia when the characters really needed her help. It’s OK, she quickly reminded herself, no time will pass here while I’m gone. Heart thumping, Rosa quickly pulled on her shoes. A glittering mist of colour surrounded her and she felt herself being twirled around and magically swept away…

  The magic set Rosa down in a strangely familiar forest. There were frosty trees all around and birds singing in the leafless branches. For a moment, Rosa wondered if it was the same place she had been when she had rescued the magical Firebird. She shuddered as she thought of the horrible Wicked Fairy who had imprisoned him.

  “Hello?” Rosa called hesitantly. “Nutmeg? Nutmeg, are you here?”

  Nutmeg was the Fairy of the Spices. The fairy usually met Rosa when she arrived in Enchantia. But today there was no sign of her.

  Spotting a path through the trees, Rosa headed down it. As she reached the main track, she heard a faint noise through the trees behind her – like someone crying out. She spun round. What was it?

  “Hello?” she called again. But there was no answer.

  Then, suddenly, a carriage pulled by two white horses with silver plumes and golden bridles came around the bend in the track ahead of her. The driver was dressed in white breeches and a coat embroidered with gold thread. Rosa expected the carriage to sweep straight past but, to her surprise, it stopped. The driver jumped down and opened the carriage door.

  Rosa stared as she saw a beautiful lady with long blonde hair and a pink sparkly dress sitting inside.

  “Hello,” said the lady. “You must be Rosa.”

  “Yes, yes I am,” Rosa replied, feeling almost like she should curtsy. Who was this beautiful lady?

  The lady smiled. “I thought you must be. My name’s Serendipity. I’m a friend of Nutmeg’s.”

  Rosa noticed the wings on her back. “So, you’re a fairy too,” she said.

  “Yes,” the lady laughed gently. “I’m so glad I found you. Nutmeg can’t come to meet you so she sent me instead. Get into my carriage
and we’ll go to my castle.”

  Rosa hesitated. She wasn’t sure whether she should get into a strange carriage, even when the owner of it was a friend of Nutmeg’s.

  “Oh, do get in,” Serendipity urged. “It’s so cold out. When we get back I’ll get us some hot chocolate and biscuits. Nutmeg will join us there.”

  The air was frosty and after such a long day at the auditions, Rosa was feeling hungry and thirsty. She got into the carriage and the driver shut the door with a bang.

  As he did so, Rosa was sure she heard a faint cry of “Rosa!”

  She looked round. “What was that?”

  “I didn’t hear anything,” said Serendipity, shrugging.

  “Someone said my name!”

  “Drive on!” Serendipity called to the driver.

  “But…”

  However, it was too late – the driver had brought the reins down on the horses’ backs. They plunged forward, pulling the carriage down the track. Rosa felt a prickling sense of unease, but she put it to the back of her mind.

  The woods flashed by outside the carriage.

  “Look, there’s my castle!” Serendipity said as the horses cantered out of the trees.

  Rosa saw a beautiful castle with pointed turrets lying just ahead of them. It was just like something from a fairytale!

  “Wow!” breathed Rosa. “It’s amazing!”

  The carriage swept through the gates and down the driveway. Three servants hurried out as the carriage stopped.

  “This way,” said Serendipity as she stepped out of the carriage. “Let’s go in.”

  Rosa jumped out and followed the fairy into a grand entrance hall that had a sweeping staircase. There were rich rugs hanging on the walls and a fire burning in a large grate. There were ornaments on tables and little lamps. It felt very cosy and Rosa breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the warmth seep into her cold bones. What had she been so anxious about?

  “We’ll have hot chocolate and cakes in the lilac drawing room, Lizadora,” Serendipity said to a maid who bobbed a quick curtsy and hurried off.

  Rosa looked around the hall; it was wide and spacious with a polished wood floor and she couldn’t resist dancing forward a few paces and spinning round…

  “Stop!” Serendipity spoke sharply.

  Rosa came to a standstill and looked at her in astonishment.

  “I mean, watch you don’t knock one of the ornaments over,” Serendipity corrected herself, giving Rosa a reassuring look.

  “Sorry, I know that sounds silly, but I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  She took her silver slippers off and placed them by the door. “Now, why don’t you take your shoes off and come into the drawing room with me?”

  “Take my shoes off?” Rosa echoed.

  Serendipity nodded. “There’s no need to wear shoes in the drawing room – we don’t want to get mud on the carpets now, do we?”

  Rosa looked down at her ballet shoes. She didn’t want to take them off, but what could she do? Refusing to would be really rude to Nutmeg’s friend. Reluctantly she untied the ribbons and stepped out of her shoes.

  One of the servants immediately came over and picked them up. “What are you doing?” Rosa asked in alarm.

  “Don’t worry. He’ll take your shoes up to your bedroom,” said Serendipity.

  “I could keep them with me,” Rosa suggested. But the servant had already carried them away and Serendipity didn’t seem to have heard. She was already heading through one of the doors. Rosa swallowed, but decided to be polite and not make a fuss as she stepped into the drawing room.

  Inside, the carpet was a spotless cream and the curtains, a delicate shade of lilac. Garlands of purple and white flowers were strung around the walls. On a small table with chairs were two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on a silver tray.

  Serendipity handed Rosa a mug.

  Rosa sat down and sipped the delicious warm drink. It tasted like real melted chocolate. After only a few sips, she yawned. It had been such a busy day and now waves of tiredness were sweeping over Rosa. Her head felt strangely muddled. She was sure there was something or someone she should be asking about, but she couldn’t quite remember who.

  “You look very sleepy,” Serendipity said softly. “Why don’t you have a nap after you’ve had something to eat?”

  Rosa smiled at the fairy’s sweet face. She looked so kind and caring…

  “Here’s the food now,” Serendipity said as the maid came back in with a tray of toasted teacakes and buttered crumpets. Rosa’s tummy rumbled and she took a teacake. But as she bit into it and tasted the spicy warmth, an image of a fairy in a pale pink and brown tutu popped into her head. Nutmeg!

  “Is Nutmeg here?” she asked, sitting up in her chair.

  “Not yet,” Serendipity said. “Don’t worry, she will be soon, though. Now, why don’t you try one of these instead?” She whisked the teacake out of Rosa’s hands and gave her a crumpet.

  Rosa looked at her in surprise, but did as she was told and tried the other pastry. As she bit into it, thoughts of Nutmeg faded away and tiredness swept over her. She could hardly keep her eyes open. She’d just close them for a few moments. Her eyelids fluttered and the next moment she had fallen fast asleep…

  Rosa woke up in a soft, springy bed, feeling confused. Where was she? Of course! she remembered. I’m in Serendipity’s castle. I must have fallen asleep in the drawing room. She could remember drinking the hot chocolate, eating the crumpet, shutting her eyes…

  Pushing the covers back, Rosa got out of bed and went to the window. The sun was just rising. She must have been asleep a whole night!

  Her clothes had been laid out neatly on a chair. On the floor beside the chair was a pair of pretty golden slippers embroidered with sparkling thread. Rosa got dressed and started to put the slippers on, but as she did so, she paused. Something didn’t feel right. She looked at the shoes and remembered Serendipity saying the servant would put her shoes in her bedroom. These must be my shoes, she thought. After all, they’re here with my clothes. So why did they feel wrong?

  Red shoes… The thought buzzed around Rosa’s head for a moment, but then faded away.

  Shrugging, Rosa put on the golden slippers and went to the door. It led out on to a corridor and down a grand staircase. A door opened at the bottom and Serendipity came out.

  “Rosa! You’re up!” she said, smiling.

  “Thank you for letting me stay.” Rosa rubbed her head. “Serendipity, are you sure these are my shoes?”

  “Of course they are!” Serendipity laughed gaily. “Now, come on, let’s go and have some breakfast. It’s so lovely having a guest. You will stay for a while, won’t you?”

  Rosa nodded and scratched her head. “Of course!”

  Breakfast was delicious – pancakes and fresh fruit – and afterwards, Serendipity showed Rosa around the gardens. Then they came back inside and sat reading and playing cards. It was very pleasant, but Rosa had a strange nagging feeling that there was something she should be doing, she just couldn’t remember what.

  At teatime, the maid came in with some teacakes. Serendipity quickly shook her head. “No teacakes today. Could you fetch us some iced buns instead, Lizadora?”

  As the maid turned to leave the room, the sweet, spicy scent of the teacakes wafted over to Rosa and a word popped into her head. “Nutmeg,” she said suddenly.

  “Yes, you’re right, there’s nutmeg in the teacakes,” said Serendipity quickly. “And I don’t like nutmeg.”

  Rosa frowned. She was sure she hadn’t meant there was nutmeg in the teacakes, but she wasn’t actually sure why the word had come into her head like that. She felt like there was someone she should be seeing or something she should be doing. It was all too confusing! She sank back into her chair and rested her cheek on her hand.

  The next morning passed in a similar way. After lunch, Rosa had a nap. When she got up, she wandered downstairs. Lizadora was moving between rooms. “Is Serendipity
here?” Rosa asked.

  The maid’s dark eyes stared at the ground. “She’s gone out. You can do whatever you want, she said, but you’re not to go into the North Tower.”

  “The North Tower? Why not?”

  “I-I don’t know,” the maid stuttered. “She just said.” And that seemed to be that.

  Rosa hesitated, but then she started to explore the castle. There were lots of rooms and corridors. After a little while she came to some stairs labelled NORTH TOWER. I shouldn’t go there, she remembered.

  She was about to turn away when a thought flickered across her mind.

  Why not?

  She looked at the staircase. She felt heavy and slow, but deep inside there was a spark of curiosity burning. It grew stronger. Why shouldn’t she go there? She could just go and have a quick look…

  And so she went up the stairs. They twisted round and round and at the top, she found a small blue door. Rosa turned the brass handle and found that it led into a circular room. Going inside, she stopped and stared. In a glass case on the other side of the room there was a pair of beautiful red shoes with ribbons…

  Ballet shoes!

  Deep in her mind, Rosa felt a memory stir.

  She was sure she’d seen these shoes before. She didn’t know why, but for some reason she knew that they were important.

  Going over, she opened the glass case. As she touched the soft leather, her fingers tingled. A single thought suddenly filled her mind. She had to put them on! Impulsively she pulled them out of the case. As she tied the ribbons, the tiredness that had been weighing her down fell away. Suddenly she wanted to run and jump and dance…

  DANCE! The thought banged into her brain. She’d forgotten all about dancing! She spun round and then jumped in the air, her feet crossing over. She landed in second position and skipped around the room, before stopping on her toes, arms above her head. In that moment, the haze in her mind cleared and everything came flooding back.