Sister Secrets

by Titania Woods

  The door leading to the trunk flew open, and Ivy rushed out on to the platform. ‘Sorry, Miss Twilight,’ she gasped, clutching her sketchbook. ‘I couldn’t find the right branch.’

  Miss Twilight shook her head. ‘Take a seat, Ivy.’

  Bimi and Twink glanced at each other in amusement as Ivy settled herself on the floor nearby, tumbling her belongings untidily around her. Couldn’t find the right branch, when all you had to do was fly up to the highest point in the trunk and then go through the door? That was so like Ivy!

  ‘Everyone, please take a moment to note the crystals,’ continued Miss Twilight. Looking with the others, Twink saw nine pieces of quartz set around the edge of the platform, their facets gleaming in the starlight.

  ‘The crystals help to strengthen the energy we get from the stars,’ explained Miss Twilight. ‘There’s very powerful magic up here, and that’s why it’s important that only older fairies come on to the platform. Fairies who haven’t been working with magic for very long can become dazzled by it – what we call star-struck.’

  ‘What happens then?’ breathed Sili, her eyes wide.

  The tiny moonstones on Miss Twilight’s robes twinkled as she moved. ‘They often become dazed, and believe odd things. For instance, I once saw a star-struck young fairy who was convinced she was a duck!’

  She smiled as the class burst into surprised giggles. ‘But not all star-struck cases are so humorous,’ she warned. ‘I knew another fairy who thought she was in the middle of a snowstorm, even though it was high summer. She shivered so hard that she ended up in hospital for a week.’

  Twink gulped. The class looked uneasily at each other, their laughter stilled.

  ‘The truth is, you never know what being star-struck may do to a fairy – that’s why it’s such a dangerous condition,’ continued Miss Twilight. ‘However, it shouldn’t happen to any of you, now that you’ve been working with magic for two years.’

  .

  .

  Twink let out a relieved breath. She’d been starting to wonder whether she even wanted to take this class!

  ‘Now then,’ said Miss Twilight. ‘Does anyone know an example of a spell that we’d use Star Magic for?’

  To no one’s surprise, Pix’s hand shot up. The red-haired fairy always knew the right answers, thought Twink. If she wasn’t so nice, nobody would be able to bear her!

  ‘Persuasion,’ said Pix promptly. ‘You can use Star Magic to persuade humans to do things, so long as it’s not anything that will hurt them – like keeping them away from a forest, that sort of thing.’

  Miss Twilight shook her silvery head. ‘Not quite.’

  Pix looked taken aback. ‘Oh! But I thought –’

  ‘Yes, Ivy?’ said Miss Twilight. The green-haired fairy had put her hand in the air. The class stared at her in amazement. Ivy, volunteering to answer a question? She usually wasn’t even listening!

  ‘Persuasion is actually a Sunset spell,’ said Ivy, tucking back a strand of her curly hair. ‘Star Magic spells are all about confusion: making things appear to be what they’re not. Like casting a glamour, for example.’

  ‘Very good!’ beamed Miss Twilight. ‘That’s exactly right. Glamours, of course, are the spells that we fairies use to create illusions. Make sure that you read up on this tomorrow, Pix.’

  There was silence as the class gaped from Ivy to Pix and back again. Twink held back a wild giggle. Pix looked as if she’d just swallowed a flea! Ivy, on the other hand, had gone back to drawing in her pad, humming happily to herself.

  ‘Let me show you an example,’ went on Miss Twilight, seeming not to notice the stir Ivy had caused. ‘Mariella, please bring me a leaf from the supply cupboard.’

  Mariella flew to the bark cupboard and brought out a brown, crumbling leaf. ‘It’s not in very good shape,’ she said doubtfully, wrinkling her nose.

  ‘That’s all right – just put it there,’ instructed Miss Twilight, indicating a space on the floor.

  As the class craned to see, Miss Twilight raised her arms and shut her eyes. For a moment, starlight seemed to blaze around her like white flame, and then she pointed at the leaf.

  Everyone gasped. Where the dead leaf had been there was now a sumptuous banquet of seed cakes, sparkling nectar and candied nuts. Twink’s stomach rumbled as she gazed at it. She had never seen anything so delicious-looking in her life!

  ‘Who’d like to have a taste?’ asked Miss Twilight. There was a twinkle in her grey eyes.

  Despite her longing to try the food, Twink hesitated. She knew it was only an illusion – but it looked so good! Her mouth watered as she imagined biting into the seed cake.

  ‘I will!’ said Sooze. She flitted to the front of the platform. As the class watched, she picked up a candied nut and popped it into her mouth. Her violet eyes widened. ‘It’s wonderful!’

  Miss Twilight laughed. ‘Yes, glamour food always is. But it doesn’t nourish you, and if it was all you ate, you’d eventually die of starvation. Come on, everyone, have a bite. It won’t hurt you.’

  .

  .

  Coming forward with the rest of the class, Twink cautiously tried a bit of seed cake. ‘Oh!’ she cried. It was even nicer than her gran’s! Excited murmurs filled the platform as the fairies ate.

  ‘That’s enough,’ said Miss Twilight after a few minutes. ‘Take your seats. And now, you see again . . .’ she waved her arm, ‘what the food really is.’ The dried leaf reappeared, now looking frayed and nibbled around the edges.

  Twink stared at it in confusion. Somehow she had forgotten that the food was only an illusion! From the startled faces of the fairies around her, she knew she wasn’t the only one.

  Miss Twilight chuckled. ‘Glamour spells can be very convincing, can’t they? So the first thing a student must learn is how to tell if something is under a glamour, or whether it’s real. Open your petal pads, everyone.’

  Twink picked up her snail-trail pen. Glancing at the dried leaf again, she couldn’t imagine how she’d ever been taken in. Glamour spells must be extremely powerful magic!

  The Star Magic teacher’s silver hair shone in the moonlight. ‘The first thing you must keep in mind is: appearances can be deceptive. Things are not always what they seem!’

  Twink wrote the words down, and peered across at Ivy. Well, that was certainly true, she thought. Who would have ever supposed that Ivy would know the right answer instead of Pix?

  The fairies chattered excitedly as they left the star-gazing platform, still abuzz from Miss Twilight’s demonstration. ‘Brilliant!’ said Sooze as she swooped through the doorway that led back into the trunk. ‘Imagine all the fun we’ll have with magic like that –’

  ‘Sooze!’ said Pix in alarm. ‘We’re only allowed to take it because we’re supposed to be sensible by now.’

  Sooze grinned. ‘Well, that doesn’t mean we’ve all turned boring, does it? There must be loads of glimmery pranks we could play –’

  Twink felt her heartbeat quicken despite herself. Nobody was quite as exciting as her Opposite! She understood all too well why Teena was attracted to Zuzu . . . but she had to make her little sister see what a best friend really was.

  As Twink started down the trunk behind the others, she blinked in surprise. Why, there was Zuzu right there, half-hidden behind a knothole! The long pink hair and lavender wings were impossible to mistake.

  No one else had noticed Zuzu, and ducking around a bend in the trunk, Twink peered out with narrowed eyes. What was Sooze’s cousin doing up here at this time of night? The only classroom this high up was the star-gazing platform . . . and Zuzu knew full well that she wasn’t allowed on to it! As Twink watched, the pink-haired fairy darted out from behind the knothole and flew up towards the star-gazing door.

  .

  .

 
‘Twink, aren’t you coming?’ called Bimi, fluttering far below.

  Twink winced. Not now! she thought, glancing down. When she looked back again, Zuzu was already skimming quickly away, diving down another fork of the trunk.

  Frowning in thought, Twink spiralled down to where Bimi was waiting. Her best friend’s gold and silver wings glinted as she hovered.

  ‘What’s up?’ asked Bimi.

  ‘I just saw Zuzu sneaking about,’ said Twink slowly. ‘She flew off when you called me.’

  Bimi stared at her. ‘Zuzu? What was she doing up here?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Twink grimly. ‘But I bet she was up to no good!’

  .

  Chapter Five

  ‘Faster!’ bellowed Madge from the side of the Fledge field. ‘You lot are flying like you’ve got lead in your wings!’

  Spurred on by the Fledge Captain’s shouts, Twink swooshed through the centre pole as fast as she could, following the Flea. There he was, jumping overhead! Closer . . . closer . . .

  From out of nowhere, Mia darted in and snatched him up. ‘Ha! Just a second too slow, Twink,’ she said, holding him over her head.

  Twink wiped her damp forehead with a grin. ‘Good move, Mia.’

  Madge was shaking her head as the Fledge team flew off the field. ‘You’re all going to have to do better than that before our first game!’ she called.

  Despite the telling-off, Twink found herself smiling as she fluttered to the changing log with the others. She was a full member of the Glitterwings Fledge team this year, and it would take more than Madge’s grumbling to take the shine off things.

  Twink had been relieved when Fledge practice started, as it helped to keep her mind off Teena. Two weeks into the school year, Teena was still hardly speaking to Twink – and she and Zuzu were as close as ever.

  Twink sighed as she towelled herself off and got changed. She hadn’t seen Zuzu skulking about the star-gazing platform again, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that Sooze’s cousin was trouble – and that her little sister was going to get hurt, somehow.

  She closed the door to her bark locker. ‘See you at the next practice, Twink,’ said Mia, combing out her blue hair. ‘Maybe Madge will have something nice to say by then!’

  ‘Don’t count on it,’ said Twink with a smile. ‘Bye, everyone!’ She flitted from the changing log, still deep in thought. Suddenly she stopped in surprise. A fairy with bright orange hair was gliding slowly around the Fledge field. Summer!

  ‘Hi, Twink,’ said the first-year fairy as Twink came flying up. ‘I saw you playing before – you got some great moves in!’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Twink in surprise. ‘Do you like Fledge?’

  .

  .

  Summer nodded enthusiastically. ‘I love it! That was half the reason I was looking forward to flying – only then I found out that First Years can’t try out for the team.’ She made a face.

  Twink laughed. ‘I suppose they want you to get the hang of flying first. I could show you a few moves though, if you like.’

  Summer’s eyes lit up. ‘Would you?’

  ‘Of course!’ Swooping quickly to the ground, Twink put down her petal bag and then rejoined Summer. ‘Have you done barrel rolls in Flight class yet? They’re completely glimmery when you use them going through one of the poles – here, I’ll show you!’

  Half an hour later, the orange-haired fairy was speeding through the poles as if she’d been doing it all her life. ‘It’s too bad that you can’t try out for the team this year,’ Twink told her. ‘You’re a natural!’

  ‘Really?’ gasped Summer. ‘Oh, I hope you’re right! I want to play on the team next year more than anything.’

  ‘Well, I bet you’ll make it,’ said Twink, flying down to collect her bag. ‘You’re even faster than Mia – and she’s been playing for three years!’

  The two fairies headed towards the school. The great oak tree sat on its hill, with the sunset blazing behind it. Twink hardly noticed. Summer was every bit as nice as she’d seemed that first day. Oh, why couldn’t Teena have made friends with her instead?

  She cleared her throat. ‘Um, Summer . . . do you ever talk to Teena much?’

  Summer shrugged. ‘Not really . . . she and Zuzu always have their heads together.’ She laughed. ‘In fact, the rest of us are always teasing them – we say it’s like they’re busy plotting something!’

  Plotting something? Twink frowned, remembering Zuzu sneaking about near the star-gazing platform.

  ‘It’s only a joke,’ said Summer hastily, seeing Twink’s expression. ‘They just seem really close, that’s all.’

  ‘Mmm,’ said Twink as they neared the double doors at the bottom of the tree. Maybe so, but she still didn’t trust Zuzu one bit! And it sounded as if Teena wasn’t even trying to make friends with the other fairies.

  All at once Twink saw how she could guide Teena in the right direction, without her little sister even realising it. ‘Would you like to practise with me again sometime, Summer?’ she asked. ‘I know loads of other moves I could show you.’

  ‘That would be brilliant!’ exclaimed Summer.

  ‘Great,’ smiled Twink. ‘How about tomorrow afternoon?’

  ‘Teena, wait!’ called Twink the next morning before breakfast, racing down the trunk to catch up with her. Oh, what luck! For a change, Teena was on her own.

  ‘What?’ asked Teena warily as Twink came speeding up. Twink thought her little sister looked cautious, as if she were afraid Twink was going to start lecturing her about Zuzu again. Well, no chance of that – this time she was going to see what a bit of tact could do!

  ‘Nothing,’ said Twink as the two sisters hovered beside a window. ‘I just . . . I feel bad that we haven’t been getting along, that’s all.’

  Her throat tightened. It was true – she had been so looking forward to being a proper big sister this term, and showing Teena around! And instead they were barely speaking.

  Teena’s expression softened. ‘Oh, Twink, me too! I’m really sorry if I flew off the handle. It’s just that Zuzu is my best friend, and that’s all there is to it!’

  ‘Of course,’ said Twink. Quickly, she changed the subject. ‘Teena, listen – would you like me to teach you some Fledge moves this afternoon?’

  She held her breath as she waited for Teena’s response. She knew how much her little sister liked Fledge – she’d been so excited when Twink was made a reserve for the team last year.

  Teena’s eyes widened eagerly. ‘I’d love it! Can Zuzu come?’

  Twink managed to hold back a groan. ‘No, just you and me. I – I don’t think I could show moves to more than one of you at a time. Besides, I want the two of us to spend some time on our own.’

  Twink hardly ever lied, and to her own ears her voice sounded feeble and unconvincing. She was certain that Teena would become suspicious, but instead her little sister looked rather pleased. ‘Oh! Well, all right. I’ll meet you after lessons, then!’

  Summer arrived at the Fledge field before Teena, dropping her petal bag on the ground and flying excitedly up to Twink. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this all day!’ she said. ‘Thanks so much – it’s really nice of you.’

  ‘Oh, that’s all right,’ said Twink, feeling her pointed ears grow warm. Summer clearly had no idea that Twink had reasons of her own for wanting her here, and suddenly she felt rather guilty.

  ‘We just need to wait for Teena,’ she said. ‘She’s playing, too.’

  Summer nodded unsuspectingly. ‘OK – it’ll be great to get some proper moves in! Does Teena like Fledge?’

  ‘Yes, she loves it . . .’ Twink trailed off as Teena herself came flying up. Her little sister’s face was slack with disbelief as she stared first at Summer, and then at Twink. />
  ‘Hi, Teena,’ said Twink with a bright smile. ‘I, um – thought Summer could play, too. It’s easier with three.’

  ‘Oh, of course,’ said Teena, crossing her arms over her chest. ‘That’s why you told me it had to be just the two of us!’

  Twink’s cheeks burned. ‘I changed my mind, that’s all. Come on – don’t you want me to show you some moves?’

  For a moment she thought Teena would refuse, but then her little sister let out a breath. ‘Oh, all right! Hi, Summer,’ she added grudgingly.

  To Twink’s relief, the two fairies were soon zipping about from one end of the field to the other, laughing and calling to each other. Her spirits lifted. It looked like her plan might work after all!

  .

  .

  But the moment Summer headed back to school, Teena whirled round to face Twink. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she demanded.

  ‘Nothing!’ spluttered Twink. ‘I told you, I just –’

  ‘Ooh!’ Teena stamped her foot in the air. ‘It’s so obvious! You’re still trying to get me to be best friends with Summer!’

  ‘I am not,’ cried Twink. ‘And – and even if I was, well – why not? You won’t listen to me about Zuzu, and –’

  ‘You don’t even know Zuzu!’ shouted Teena. ‘You think she’s just like Sooze, but she’s not.’

  ‘Of course she is!’ Twink yelled back, unable to hold it in any longer. ‘Teena, listen. I saw Zuzu skulking about the star-gazing branch a few weeks ago, and –’

  ‘Zuzu?’ Teena’s mouth fell open. ‘But –’

  ‘Yes, Zuzu!’ said Twink. ‘I don’t know what she was up to, but it can’t have been anything good. She’s trouble, Teena – can’t you see that?’

  Teena stared at her. ‘But . . . why do you think it was Zuzu?’

  ‘Because she was wearing a Snowdrop dress, and had long pink hair and lavender wings!’ said Twink in exasperation. ‘It was her, all right.’