Just then Bimi and the others appeared, flitting out from the Common Branch. Bimi glanced curiously at them. ‘Are you coming back to Peony Branch with us, Twink?’
Twink shook her head, and watched glumly as they all skimmed away up the trunk. She was glad she hadn’t said anything about the trap. It didn’t seem to have been a success so far!
‘Well, let’s follow the trail from the start,’ said Pix after a pause. ‘Maybe she sneaked out of a window and doubled back to Peony Branch that way.’
The three friends plunged into a dive, weaving through the crowds of flying fairies. When they got to the Sparkle Art branch the golden trail was still there, hanging lazily in the air. A group of fourth-year fairies flew through it, oblivious to its presence.
The trail led them to the various branches where they had all had their afternoon classes, and then on to the Creature Kindness classroom, where Mariella had the extra session on her own. Twink’s heart thudded as she saw that the golden ribbon went into the branch, and then out . . . and then back in again.
‘She must be in there now!’ she whispered. ‘But look, we were right – she definitely left at some point –’
She broke off as Mariella herself came skimming out of the branch. She pulled up short when she saw them, clearly unaware of the glittering trail that spooled from her pixie boots with her every move. ‘What are you lot doing here?’ she demanded.
Sooze shrugged. ‘We missed you,’ she said. ‘We had to come and find you.’
‘Very funny!’ snapped Mariella, and zoomed away up the trunk, the golden trail sparkling after her.
Keeping out of sight of Mr Woodleaf, Twink peered quickly into the Creature Kindness branch. ‘Nothing strange there,’ she said. ‘Come on – let’s see if she went out of a window somewhere!’
.
.
The three fairies darted down the trunk. But the gleaming trail led them only to the tuck shop, and then to the fountain of fresh dew that pattered at the base of the tree. Mariella seemed to have wasted as much time as she could of her study session, but she hadn’t gone to Peony Branch.
The fairies looked at each other in dismay. How could Mariella have resisted playing another prank when she had been so furious with Lola? It didn’t make any sense! And now they wouldn’t get another chance to follow her.
Sooze folded her arms over her chest. ‘Well, I still don’t see why we need proof. We all know she’s the one who’s been doing it –’
‘We just do,’ said Twink shortly, not wanting to start the argument again. ‘We’ll have to find some other way to catch her. Come on, let’s get back to Peony Branch. At least nothing else has happened to Lola!’
Twink knew she was wrong the moment they flew back into their branch. Something else had happened to Lola. The scrawny little fairy lay huddled and sobbing on her bed. Jax sat beside her, patting her back, while Mariella stood to one side and scowled. The rest of Peony Branch hung about helplessly, looking shaken.
The torn pieces of Lola’s self-portrait were scattered viciously across the floor. It looked like someone had ground a savage heel into several of the scraps, obliterating them completely.
Twink’s wings turned to ice. Oh, no! It had happened again. And since it couldn’t have been Mariella – then who?
‘What happened?’ she asked Bimi in a low voice.
Bimi’s eyes were wide and worried. ‘We came here straight after study time, and found Lola’s portrait like this. It had to have been done during afternoon study – and all of us were together in the Common Branch then! Except –’ She glanced guiltily at Mariella.
‘No, it wasn’t her,’ said Twink. She explained about the Fairy Trail Powder. ‘We know exactly where she’s been – she didn’t come back here during study time.’
‘You did what?’ screeched Mariella. She stamped her foot, sending a flurry of golden sparks spinning about the room. ‘How dare you? You think I’ve been doing these things?’
‘Oh, calm down, Mosquito Nose,’ said Sooze tiredly. ‘We know it wasn’t you now.’
‘Oh! You – you – oh!’ Clearly unable to think of something bad enough to call them, Mariella gave a final furious shriek and flounced from the branch, with the golden trail still swirling after her. There was a silence.
Zena looked baffled. ‘But – then who could it be? Who would want to do this to Lola?’
Sooze’s mouth was set in a grim line. ‘I think I know, actually. It’s what I thought right from the start. Listen, everyone. This sort of thing has never happened to us before, has it?’
Twink stared at Sooze, wondering what she was getting at. On the bed, Jax looked up, her eyes suddenly narrowed.
‘I don’t think –’ started Pix.
Sooze held up her hand for silence. ‘Think about it! We’ve all been together right from our first term, and nothing like this has ever happened. And then someone new arrives –’ she pointed at Jax, ‘and suddenly we’re scared to come back to our branch because of what we might find!’
Twink saw Sili and Zena glance at each other, and could tell that Sooze’s argument had struck a chord with them. She herself didn’t know what to think. The spiky-haired fairy kept so much to herself, and was so unfriendly . . . could it be her?
‘But Sooze, when would she have done them?’ pointed out Pix. ‘She’s been in the Common Branch with the rest of us during the study times!’
‘Yes, I’d like to hear that myself,’ said Jax coolly.
Sooze flapped her wings. ‘I don’t know! Maybe she’s picked up some tricks in one of her other schools that we don’t know about – a mirror spell or something. Who knows? But it’s her, I’m telling you. It must be!’
Jax stood up, her fists clenched at her sides. ‘And what have I got against Lola, exactly?’
Sooze glared at her. ‘Maybe you just like picking on fairies weaker than yourself. How should I know why you do things?’
‘Well, you seem to know all the rest of it!’ snapped Jax. She glanced at the others. ‘What about you lot? Do you think I’m guilty?’
Nobody spoke. Sili and Zena stared stonily back at Jax, clearly convinced by Sooze’s logic. Bimi bit her lip uncertainly, and even Pix looked torn.
‘I see,’ said Jax coldly. She looked at Twink. ‘And what about you?’
.
.
Twink hesitated, remembering the dance class – ages ago now, it seemed – when she had heard Jax’s thoughts, and had thought that the spiky-haired fairy was sad. But Jax had been so furious when she tried to talk to her afterwards! Maybe Sooze was right.
‘I – I don’t know,’ she said miserably. ‘It could be you, I suppose. But we don’t have any proof –’
‘Oh, you and your proof!’ scoffed Sooze. ‘Without Jax, there’s no trouble – with Jax, trouble! What more proof do you need?’
Lola had sat up on her bed, her tear-stained face stricken. ‘I – I don’t think it’s Jax,’ she said in a small voice. ‘She was really nice to me when I found my portrait torn up.’
‘Yes, but she would be, don’t you see?’ said Sooze impatiently. ‘She’s hardly going to laugh at you and confess that it was her!’
Twink saw Lola’s face turn pale, and felt a rush of pity for her. Poor Lola! The suggestion that Jax had been putting on false sympathy was obviously a dreadful one for her.
This whole situation was dreadful, in fact. And as much as Twink hated it, she knew that she was the only one who could end it.
She took a deep breath. ‘Sooze, this has to stop,’ she said firmly. ‘We don’t have any proof, and it’s wrong to accuse Jax this way.’
There was a startled silence. Sili and Zena both looked slightly shamefaced, while Bimi and Pix nodded.
Twink went on, not paying attention to any of them, ‘
And Jax, if it is you, then I’m warning you now: we’ve had enough trouble to last us a lifetime, and we’re not going to put up with it any more. I’ll go straight to Miss Shimmery if anything else happens, and let her deal with it.’
The branch was so still that you could have heard a mouse cough. Twink looked around her, meeting everyone’s eyes one by one. ‘Do you all understand?’
Sooze’s face was poppy-red. She opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut again.
‘Well done, Branch Leader,’ said Pix softly. And from Bimi’s shining eyes, Twink knew that her best friend felt the same.
Twink felt her shoulders straighten, as though she had suddenly grown a little bit taller. For the first time since she’d started school, she’d done something without caring what Sooze or anyone else thought of her – and it felt wonderful!
‘Well, I understand that everyone still thinks I might have done it,’ said Jax bitterly. ‘It’s not over with for me, is it? You all still think I’m guilty.’
‘We don’t know that you are,’ said Pix. ‘But –’
‘But you all think it, and you’ll think it for as long as I’m stuck at this stupid school!’ Jax scowled, her blue wings fluttering angrily. ‘You want proof, Twink? Well, I think you should have proof.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Twink in trepidation.
Jax snorted. ‘Simple! It’s someone from this branch, but you’re all convinced that it couldn’t possibly be one of you. Well, I’m not so sure! I say you should find out once and for all.’
‘But . . . how?’ Bimi’s forehead was creased.
‘Easy!’ Jax folded her arms over her chest, challenging them all with her stare. ‘Hold a fairy dust trial.’
.
Chapter Seven
A fairy dust trial! Twink’s wings chilled at the thought. The other fairies looked at each other uneasily. Yes, a fairy dust trial would decide the matter for good . . . but it was extremely powerful magic, normally forbidden to under age fairies . . .
Pix licked her lips. ‘I – I suppose I could find the spell in the library, if I sneaked into the restricted section. What do you think, Twink? Is it a good idea?’
Everyone turned to her expectantly, waiting for her to decide. Twink swallowed, unused to being asked for her opinion in this way – but to her surprise, she found that she had an answer.
‘I think we should do it,’ she said softly. ‘Jax is right – we do all suspect her. And if she’s really not guilty, then someone else is. This will settle things once and for all.’
‘Will we all have to do it?’ asked Sili, her eyes wide.
Twink nodded. ‘Yes, all of us – me included! It’s the only way we’ll ever know for sure.’
Pix looked pale, but clapped her wings together firmly. ‘All right, that’s decided, then. I’ll find the spell and – and we’ll do it tonight, after glow-worms out.’
‘Wash behind your ears, you lot! Pix, get those wings polished, flitter-flutter – leaves and acorns, I’ve never seen such a bunch of slow-worms as you girls tonight!’ Mrs Hover bustled heavily about Peony Branch as the fairies got ready for bed, tsking at their slowness.
Twink’s arms felt heavy as she polished her wings and combed her hair. She didn’t blame the others for dawdling. She wasn’t looking forward to the trial, either.
In the next bed, Bimi caught Twink’s eye and gave her an encouraging look. ‘Don’t worry,’ she whispered. ‘You’re doing the right thing!’
Twink tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure at all any more what the right thing was. But something had to be done – that much was certain. If only a fairy dust trial wasn’t such a serious, forbidden thing!
Finally the fairies were all tucked into their mossy beds. Mrs Hover gave the branch a final scan, and nodded in satisfaction. ‘Good night, my dears. Glow-worms out!’
The glow-worms in the wooden lanterns overhead put out their lights, plunging the branch into darkness. Twink lay very still under her petal duvet, listening as Mrs Hover closed the door behind her and flew away.
When she was certain that the matron was gone, Twink sat up in bed, heart pounding. ‘Glow-worms on,’ she whispered. ‘But only one – and softly!’
A faint light lit the room. The other fairies sat up too, looking wide-eyed and solemn. Nobody spoke.
.
.
Twink took a deep breath. ‘Come on, everyone. Let’s get this over with.’
The Peony fairies stood in a silent line, looking ghostly in their nightclothes in the dim light. Pix took out a bag of fairy dust – the same batch that Twink had used to play the prank on Jasmine Branch so long ago. ‘I cast the spell on it earlier,’ said Pix in a low voice.
Despite their gravity, fairy dust trials were simple enough: a powerful truth spell was cast on fairy dust, which was then sprinkled on someone. That fairy then had no choice but to tell the truth.
Steeling herself, Twink turned to Pix. ‘Do me first,’ she said firmly. ‘Then I’ll do you and the others.’
Pix nodded. ‘All right. Stand still.’
Twink stood without moving as Pix drew a pinch of the enchanted dust from the pouch. ‘Twink, are you the one who’s been playing the pranks on Peony Branch?’ she asked, and flung the dust over Twink’s head.
The strangest sensation swept through Twink, as though the dust was worming into her mind and finding out the truth for itself. ‘No, I’m not,’ she heard herself say – though she herself had no control over the words.
The feeling vanished, and Twink sagged in relief. For a moment there, she had almost felt guilty! ‘Jax, let’s do you next,’ she said. If the spiky-haired fairy was the culprit, it was best to get it over with quickly.
Jax flitted forward without hesitation. Twink took the pouch from Pix and drew out a pinch of dust. ‘Jax, are you the one who’s been playing these pranks on Peony Branch?’ she asked.
She tossed the dust over Jax’s head, just as Pix had done.
It settled over Jax in a glittering cloud. There was a moment of silence as the dust did its work.
‘No, I’m not,’ said Jax in a slightly faraway voice.
A faint gasp of surprise rippled through the branch, and Twink let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. So Jax really hadn’t done it!
A moment later, Jax was herself again. ‘See, I told you it wasn’t me!’ She folded her arms triumphantly over her chest. ‘Maybe you’ll think twice before accusing someone next time, Sooze.’
Sooze looked stunned, but recovered herself quickly. ‘All right, I was wrong!’ she said. ‘But you can hardly blame me – you act like you’ve just sat on a nettle! And you were so secretive about that portrait of yours –’
‘Sooze, it doesn’t matter –’ started Twink.
‘You want to see my portrait?’ Jax’s wings flapped angrily. ‘Fine! Here it is!’
Springing to her cupboard, she flung open the door and pulled out a bit of birch bark. She unrolled it with a flourish. ‘There! Are you happy now?’
.
.
Twink caught her breath. Jax’s portrait showed her with drooping wings and tear-filled eyes. Behind her was a series of schools, each more dismal-looking than the last. A smiling fairy couple flew away over the horizon, waving goodbye.
‘Those are all the schools I’ve been to,’ said Jax, jabbing a finger at the painting. ‘And those are my parents. They’ve both got really important jobs, so I hardly ever get to see them – they just keep sending me to school after school. I’ve tried getting expelled so that I’ll get sent home again, but it never works. They just find another new school for me!’
The fairies stared at her in horrified sympathy. Twink’s throat tightened as she thought of her own loving family, always so supportive and kind. Poor Ja
x! How awful not to feel wanted.
‘Oh, Jax –’ started Bimi, her blue eyes bright with tears.
‘Stop! I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. Any of you!’ Jax’s chin trembled, but she lifted it proudly. ‘I just thought I’d tell you, that’s all. So . . . now you know.’ She rolled the portrait up again and shoved it back in her cupboard.
Sooze flitted across the branch and touched her wing to Jax’s. ‘I really am sorry,’ she said sincerely. ‘I was a wasp brain. Will you forgive me, Jax?’
Surprise slackened Jax’s features, and then suddenly she smiled – an open, honest smile that changed her whole appearance. ‘That’s all right,’ she said. ‘I don’t really blame you – I suppose I didn’t act very friendly.’
‘That’s an understatement,’ laughed Sooze. The two fairies grinned at each other.
‘Well, this is all very lovely,’ said Mariella, tapping her wings together sourly. ‘But we still don’t know who’s been doing all these pranks against Lola. It could even be Sooze, for all we know!’
Her pointed face was set in a scowl. She obviously hadn’t forgiven them for the fairy trail powder, even though it had proved her innocence.
‘Mariella’s right,’ said Twink reluctantly. ‘Get in a line, everyone. Let’s get this settled once and for all.’
One by one, Twink sprinkled the others with fairy dust. Pix, Sooze, Mariella, Zena – all were innocent.
Sili was next. Twink bit her lip, unsure what to think. After Sili, only Bimi and Lola remained – and Twink knew with utter certainty that her best friend would never have played such vicious pranks. Could it be Sili?
If it was, Sili didn’t seem worried in the least. She smiled cheerfully as Twink fumbled in her pouch for the last few pinches of fairy dust.
‘This is exciting!’ she said, bouncing on her toes. ‘Go on, Twink, ask me!’
Twink asked the question, and threw the dust. Sili shut her eyes. ‘No, it wasn’t me,’ she said after a moment. ‘Ooh!’ she squealed, her eyes flying open. ‘That’s spooky, isn’t it?’
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