Rachel and Kirsty flew from window to window. Finally, they found one that was open a crack. Rachel looked in and gasped. “It’s the throne room,” she said. “There’s Jack Frost.”
“He has the leaf!” Kirsty declared. Jack Frost sat atop his icy throne. He held the red leaf in his fist and smiled smugly.
“Look, Autumn’s spell is working. The castle is melting,” Rachel pointed out. The girls stood on the windowsill and watched. Tiny streams of water flowed down the walls and pooled on the Ice Castle’s floor.
The goblins began to splash around in the swiftly rising water.
“What are you doing?” Jack Frost snapped at them. The water had not reached his feet, but it was getting higher.
“My toes are cold and wet!” a goblin screeched as he climbed onto a table.
“It’s melting,” another goblin cried. “The castle is melting!”
Jack Frost’s head whipped around, taking in the signs.
Just then, Autumn landed next to Rachel and Kirsty.
“It’s working, Autumn! You did it,” said Rachel.
Autumn bit her lip. “It’s working too well,” she confessed. “We need to get the leaf soon. If too much of the castle melts, my magic won’t be strong enough to fix it. All the melted water could flood Fairyland.”
Just then, a gust of warm air rushed in from outside and pushed the three fairies inside the throne room. They flapped their wings and took flight. “Up here!” Kirsty called as she perched on a dripping chandelier.
“If the water gets high enough to distract Jack Frost, maybe we can just grab the leaf from him,” Rachel suggested.
“Maybe,” Autumn replied, “but I’m going to try to reason with him first. I know how much the Ice Castle means to him. I think he’ll want to make a trade — my leaf, for his home.” The three fairies looked below. The goblins were all huddled together, shivering on the large banquet table. Jack Frost stood defiantly on the seat of his throne, his mouth turned down in an angry scowl.
“I’ll need you for backup,” Autumn said. “Are you coming, girls?”
Rachel and Kirsty nodded. They all flew down and hovered in front of Jack Frost.
“You!” Jack Frost scolded. “How dare you melt my Ice Castle!”
“How dare you mix up the seasons!” Autumn insisted.
“But this is my castle,” Jack Frost said, motioning with his arms. “The goblins and I like it here. It’s our home.”
“But the human world is our home,” Kirsty said.
“And Fairyland is our home,” Autumn chimed in, looking Jack Frost in the eye. “It belongs to you, me, the goblins — all the Fairyland creatures. When you stole my magic objects, you messed with nature. We need to set things right. We need the seasons back so nature works the way it’s supposed to again.”
A large drip of melted ice fell on Jack Frost’s head. The fairies watched as it rolled down his pouty face. Suddenly, his fierce face changed. He seemed to shiver. “Of course I’ll give you back the leaf,” he said, placing it in Autumn’s hand. At once, the leaf shrunk to Autumn’s size. “I just thought more winter would be more fun. I don’t know how it got out of control.” Rachel and Kirsty exchanged glances. Jack Frost seemed truly sorry.
He looked down. The water was now up to his knobby knees. The castle was still melting. The spiky turrets were gone, and the magnificent Ice Castle now looked more like a sloppy ice fort. Jack Frost returned his gaze to Autumn. “Aren’t you going to go?” he asked, his voice soft and uncertain. “You have your leaf. Shouldn’t you check on the human world?”
“I think my good friends can take care of that,” Autumn said, nodding at Rachel and Kirsty. She turned back to Jack Frost. “You and I have work to do. It will take all of our magic to reverse this melting spell.”
Jack Frost’s eyes grew big. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I would be grateful.”
Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other. After everything that had happened, Jack Frost and Autumn were going to work together. It would take a lot of teamwork to make things right again.
Autumn quickly thanked Rachel and Kirsty, and gave her wand a fancy twirl. “Make sure fall has finally come to the human world,” she said as a glittering cloud fell over the girls. A sparkly whirlwind carried the girls out of the castle and over Fairyland. The castle wasn’t much more than a mound of ice, and there was water everywhere. “Even Fairyland Forest is flooded,” Rachel said with concern. Then the girls felt a familiar tingle in their finger and toes.
Almost instantly, Rachel and Kirsty were back in their world — and back to being girls. The next thing they noticed was what was under their feet: leaves! There were lots and lots of colorful leaves everywhere! The girls could see adults and kids raking them into a pile.
Everything seemed to be coming together here, but the girls knew that Autumn and Jack Frost were still working to fix things in Fairyland.
“It’s almost time for the leaf jump,” Kirsty said, looking at her watch.
“Let’s help them get ready,” said Rachel.
The friends helped rake more leaves into the gully. With everyone raking, it filled up quickly. When Kyra, the farmer, announced it was time to start jumping, Kirsty and Rachel got in line. They were filled with nervous energy. “I’m excited to jump,” Kirsty admitted, “but I’m also worried about Autumn and Fairyland.”
Rachel nodded. She knew just how her friend felt. She was glad that the Fall Festival was such a success, and that there were plenty of leaves for the Great Leaf Leap, but she was thinking about Fairyland as well.
When it was their turn, Rachel and Kirsty climbed the steps to the platform. They held hands, looked at each other, and counted. “One, two, three!” they chanted, and they leaped down together. Their feet plunged into the pile with a crash and a crunch. The girls laughed, surrounded with the bright colors of fall.
“Let’s do it again!” Rachel cried as they stumbled out of the gully.
“Yes, let’s!” As Kirsty pulled a leaf from her hair, something caught her eye. “Hey, look over there, in the woods.”
Rachel searched the colorful trees until her eyes rested on a bright, glittering light. “I’ll bet it’s Autumn,” she whispered.
The girls ran toward the magical glow, hoping to see their friend.
“Autumn!” Kirsty called once they reached the edge of the forest.
“Hello, girls!” Autumn cried. “I’m very tired from helping Jack Frost rebuild the Ice Castle, but I wanted to come thank you for all your help.”
“We were happy to,” Rachel said.
Autumn handed each girl a tiny gift wrapped in red foil.
As the girls pulled on the gold ribbons, the presents sprang to human-size. Inside, Rachel and Kirsty each found a beautiful handwoven scarf. Kirsty’s was striped red and orange, Rachel’s yellow and red.
“They’re beautiful!” the girls exclaimed, and they both put them on.
“May they keep you warm and safe, whatever the seasons bring,” Autumn said with a smile. “I have to go now, but I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival.” She rose into the air and waved her wand.
“Thank you!” Kirsty and Rachel called as they waved good-bye. Autumn was now a twirling, glittery cloud.
The girls turned to walk back to the Fall Festival. New Growth Farm was a vision of fall beauty, with colorful trees, the wind rustling the leaves, and baskets of fruit and vegetables everywhere. “It doesn’t feel like it could be true,” Kirsty said.
“I know,” Rachel agreed. “Now everything seems perfect.”
“This is just how fall should be,” agreed Kirsty. “And, thanks to Autumn, we should have a fabulous, snowy winter, and a fresh, cheery spring, followed by a warm, sunny summer.”
“Let’s just hope Jack Frost learned his lesson and will leave the seasons alone,” Rachel said.
“I hope so,” Kirsty agreed, snuggling in her lovely striped scarf. “Because nature really is magical.”
Don’t miss any of Rachel and Kirsty’s other fairy adventures. Check out this magical sneak peek of
Read on for a special sneak peek. . . .
“Look, there’s Julianna Stewart!” whispered Kirsty Tate. “Isn’t her fairy princess costume beautiful?”
Rachel Walker peeked around just as Julianna walked past. The movie star gave the girls a friendly wink, then sat down in a director’s chair with her name on the back to study her script.
“I can’t believe a really famous actress like Julianna would come to Wetherbury village,” said Rachel.
“And I can’t believe that she’s spending most of our school vacation in Mrs. Croft’s garden!” added Kirsty.
Mrs. Croft was a friend of Kirsty’s parents, a sweet old lady who had lived in Wetherbury for years. Her little thatched cottage with pretty, blossoming trees in the front yard often caught the eyes of tourists and passersby. A few weeks ago when Mrs. Croft had been working in her garden, an executive from a big movie studio had pulled up outside. He wanted to use the cottage in a brand-new movie starring the famous actress Julianna Stewart. When Mrs. Croft agreed, she became the talk of the village! Trucks full of set designers, lighting engineers, and prop-makers had turned up to transform her garden into a magical world. Now, filming on The Starlight Chronicles was about to begin.
“It was so nice of Mrs. Croft to let us spend some time on the set,” said Rachel, watching the director talk through the next scene with his star.
Not only had Mrs. Croft arranged for the friends to watch the rehearsals, but when she’d heard that Rachel was coming to stay with Kirsty for a week, the kind old lady had also managed to get the girls parts as extras!
The pair had been cast as magical fairies, helpers to Julianna’s fairy princess in one of the most exciting scenes in the movie. It was the perfect part for them both — Kirsty and Rachel knew a lot about fairies! The two best friends had been secretly visiting Fairyland for a while. They never knew when one of the fairies would need their help, but they were always ready to protect their magical friends from Jack Frost and his troublesome goblins.
“I can’t wait to try on our costumes,” said Kirsty. “I wonder if they’ll be as beautiful as real fairy clothes.”
Rachel shook her head and smiled. All the sequins and glitter in the human world couldn’t look as magical as a real fairy fluttering in her finery! Before she could answer her friend, the director tapped his clipboard with a pen.
“Attention, everybody,” he called. “I’d like to run this scene from the top. We start filming first thing tomorrow and there’s still lots of work to do.”
Kirsty and Rachel exchanged excited looks as the set bustled with people. Helpers known as “runners” got props for the actors and showed the extras where to stand. Sound and lighting experts rigged up cables, while the dancers practiced their steps. In this scene of The Starlight Chronicles, the fairy princess was due to greet the prince at a sparkling moonlit ball.
Kirsty and Rachel couldn’t wait to hear the stars run through their lines! They watched as Julianna took her place in front of Chad Stenning, the actor cast as the fairy prince.
“And . . . action!” cried the director, giving a thumbs-up.
Julianna coughed shyly, then stepped forward.
“Your Highness,” she said, making a dainty curtsy. “The air shimmers with enchantment this evening. Shall we dance?”
Chad bowed. “Let the music wait a while. Please walk with me on the terrace. There is something I must say.”
The crew watched, spellbound, as Chad offered his arm to Julianna and led her off the set.
“Excellent work!” announced the director, making a note on his clipboard. “Let’s take five.”
Rachel and Kirsty chatted while the cast took a quick break. Runners rushed around the director, collecting notes and passing messages to the crew.
“I haven’t seen that runner before,” whispered Rachel, nudging her friend’s arm. “He seems to be in a big hurry.”
Kirsty looked up as the runner elbowed his way past the actors, then snatched a script from the director’s table. She tried to see his face, but it was hidden under a dark baseball cap. It was only when he bumped her chair on the way out of the garden that she spotted a glimpse of green skin.
“That’s no runner,” Kirsty said breathlessly. “It’s a goblin!”
Rachel felt the back of her neck begin to tingle. If Jack Frost’s goblins were in Wetherbury, it could mean nothing but trouble! She followed Kirsty’s gaze and saw that, sure enough, two warty green feet were poking out of the bottom of the stranger’s jeans.
“That’s a goblin all right,” she said. “We’d better follow him!”
Kirsty nodded and jumped to her feet, just as the director called “Action!” one more time. Before the girls could slip away, a group of actors rushed forward to act out a party scene in the enchanted garden.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” piped up a girl in a fairy skirt.
The man next to her elbowed the girl in the ribs and hissed, “That’s my line, silly!”
The director rolled his eyes. “Take it from the top, please.”
“Attention, fairies! Sinner is derved,” babbled the man. “Oh, no! I mean ‘dinner is served’! Or does that line come later? I can’t remember!”
“Let’s move on.” The director frowned, turning to Chad and Julianna.
The cast and crew waited for the leading man and lady to start speaking. But instead of saying their lines, they stayed totally silent.
“Julianna?” called the director. “Julianna!”
Julianna looked helplessly at Chad.
“Is it m-me next?” she stuttered. “My mind’s gone blank!”
The set fell into chaos as assistants scrambled to track down the correct page in the script.
“I don’t understand,” whispered Rachel. “Chad and Julianna have been perfect up until now. Something has gone terribly wrong.”
“We have to find that goblin! I bet he has something to do with all this,” Kirsty said.
Rachel pointed to a path made of stepping-stones that curved around the back of Mrs. Croft’s cottage. “He ran down there. Let’s go!”
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-54954-7
Copyright © 2013 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, September 2013
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Autumn the Falling Leaves Fairy Page 4