Summer in Enchantia

by Darcey Bussell

  It was a tempting offer, but Rosa quickly shook her head. “No, you’d better not. Maybe you could you put them in the brig for us, though?” she asked, looking at the trapdoor on the deck that led down to the ship’s prison.

  “Certainly!” said Esmeralda, swooping down and scooping three pirates out of the water in one go. “It’s the least I can do!” She swung them over the deck. Rosa and Nutmeg pulled the trapdoor open and Esmeralda dropped the yelling pirates inside, before swinging back for some more.

  Soon all of the pirates were in the brig. Last of all, Esmeralda scooped up a very wet and bedraggled King Rat.

  “Let me go!” he yelled, shaking his fist. “You can’t do this to me!” he shrieked at Rosa.

  She grinned. “Just watch us! Thanks, Esmeralda!”

  The sea serpent dropped King Rat into the brig on top of the rest of the pirates.

  “But I’m cold and wet and hungry!” wailed King Rat from inside the brig.

  “There’s plenty of ship’s biscuits to eat!” said Rosa, tipping a load of them down inside.

  Nutmeg slammed the trapdoor shut and bolted it. “That should keep them safe.” She grinned. “Me hearties!”

  Rosa giggled. “Now we just need to get the ship back to the shore,” she said. “Then we can unload the King and Queen’s treasure and magic it back to the palace for the party.”

  “Hooray!” said Nutmeg. Then she frowned. “Though how are we going to get it to the shore? I don’t know how to sail a ship.”

  “Maybe I could help you out there, too,” Esmeralda volunteered. “I could push you back to the beach.”

  “That would be brilliant!” said Rosa. “Thank you!”

  “My pleasure. You certainly helped me out, little human. If it wasn’t for you, my tooth would still be hurting and goodness knows what damage I would have caused. Here we go!”

  The sea serpent dived down and hauled up the anchor with her teeth. Dumping it on the deck, she gave the girls an almost shy look. “Would … would you mind dancing for me while I push the ship along? It’s just, I love to watch dancing and I hardly ever get to see any.”

  “Of course we will!” exclaimed Rosa. “We love dancing too!”

  Nutmeg waved her wand and the music for the jig they had danced earlier flooded out. The girls began to dance the hornpipe on the deck, skipping forward, backs straight, arms folded. Smiling happily, Esmeralda pushed the ship gently through the waves and, with the first stars of the night shining overhead and the lively music in their ears, Rosa and Nutmeg danced on.

  When they reached the beach, Esmeralda pushed the ship all the way up on to the sand until it would move no further. Then she unloaded the treasure from the hold, her long tentacles snaking down the steps and plucking the chests out one by one. At last, everything King Rat and his pirates had stolen was piled up on the sand.

  “Thank you so much!” Nutmeg said gratefully to Esmeralda. “Now I can use my magic to whisk everything back to the palace and we can have the garden party tomorrow after all.”

  “I wish you could come,” Rosa said, patting the sea serpent’s neck.

  Esmeralda smiled. “I will think of you all having a lovely time, and be happy. I prefer it in the sea.” She glanced at the brig. “But what about those perishing pirates?”

  Rosa and Nutmeg looked at each other. “We’re going to have to let them out at some point, I suppose,” said Nutmeg reluctantly.

  Rosa walked over to the brig trapdoor and banged on it.

  “Let us out!” groaned King Rat. “I feel seasick!”

  “You can only come out if you promise that you won’t be a pirate any more,” said Rosa.

  “I promise!” wailed King Rat. “I’m fed up of the sea and I never want to see a ship’s biscuit ever again. I won’t be a pirate any more. I’ll be good, I’ll be ever so good!”

  “OK, then we’ll let you out,” said Rosa, reaching for the trapdoor bolt.

  She heard King Rat give a low chuckle, and hesitated.

  “Maybe it would be safer if I let the pirates out in the morning when you and Nutmeg have got safely away,” Esmeralda said thoughtfully. “Then if any of them have any funny ideas of trying to stop you, they’ll have me to deal with.”

  “Noooooooo!” yelled King Rat.

  Rosa smiled. “Thanks, Esmeralda. That’s a great idea!” She turned to Nutmeg. “Shall we go to the palace?”

  “First let’s change our clothes,” said Nutmeg, looking down at her tattered and wet cabin boy costume. “We can’t go back looking like this.”

  They climbed down to the sand then Nutmeg spun round and round before stopping and pointing her wand first at Rosa and then at herself. There was a bright flash of light and Rosa looked down to see that her cabin boy clothes had changed back into her green and blue dress and her ballet shoes were back on her feet. “That feels better,” she said, pointing her toes with a happy smile.

  Nutmeg was back in her tutu again, her wings sparkling in the starlight. She twirled round. “Time to get back to the palace and tell everyone else that the party tomorrow is on!”

  Rosa ran over to the treasure and took Nutmeg’s hands. “Bye, Esmeralda!” she called, waving to the sea serpent. “Thank you for all your help!”

  “Goodbye, my friends!” rumbled the sea serpent. “Thank you for stopping my toothache – and for dancing for me!”

  “I’ll make sure I come and dance for you again soon,” promised Nutmeg. She waved her wand. Silver sparkles spun around them and they and the stolen goods were whisked away.

  The girls arrived in the Royal Palace courtyard. As the sparkles cleared, several servants came hurrying out. They stared in amazement at all the stolen treasure. “Where are the King and Queen?” asked Nutmeg. “And my sister, Sugar?”

  Before anyone could answer, a beautiful fairy in a sparkling lilac tutu came to the doorway.

  “Sugar!” cried Nutmeg, hurrying forward to hug her older sister, the Sugar Plum Fairy.

  “Oh, Nutmeg!” Sugar gasped. “You did it! You’ve brought everything back!”

  “With Rosa’s help,” said Nutmeg, turning round and holding out her hand.

  Rosa ran over eagerly. “Hi,” she smiled at Sugar.

  “Hello, Rosa. So what’s been happening?” asked Sugar. “Where did you find all this? How did you get it? Who were the pirates?”

  “It’s a long story,” Nutmeg told her.

  “Come inside,” urged Sugar. “I know the King and Queen will want to hear it. They’ll be so pleased to see you and to find out that their treasure has been found! They’ve been wondering whether they should cancel the garden party tomorrow. Come on!”

  Rosa and Nutmeg followed Sugar into the palace. She led the way to a grand drawing room where King Tristan and Queen Isabella were talking anxiously to each other by a large fireplace.

  “You’re back!” cried King Tristan, on seeing Nutmeg.

  “And Rosa too,” said Queen Isabella. Her face lit up. “Have you come to help us, Rosa? We’ve got a real problem.”

  Rosa curtseyed. “No you haven’t, Your Majesty!” She smiled. “Nutmeg and I have solved it!”

  The King and Queen looked astonished. “But how?” asked the King.

  Rosa and Nutmeg told the story of everything that had happened.

  “Thank you, both of you,” Queen Isabella said, taking Nutmeg and Rosa’s hands. “You’ve saved the day again.”

  Rosa and Nutmeg beamed.

  “You must be worn out and very hungry,” the Queen went on. “I’ll have some food brought here and two bedrooms made up for guests. You will stay for the party tomorrow, won’t you, Rosa?”

  Rosa looked at her feet. She never had any say over when the shoes decided to take her home. “I’d love to, but I might get whisked away.”

  “I hope you don’t,” said Nutmeg.

  Rosa hoped so too! She was keen to go and dance in the ballet back at home, but the garden party sounded like it was going to be amazing. S
he snuggled down in her chair as the Queen organised some sandwiches, fruit and ice cream to be brought in for her and Nutmeg.

  I don’t know how long I’m going to be here for, she thought, but I’m going to make the most of every single moment!

  Rosa woke up the next morning, still in Enchantia, having spent the night in a massive four-poster bed. She jumped up and ran to the window. As she threw back the heavy gold curtains, the sunlight streamed in. Her window looked down on to the gardens. Below them every servant in the palace seemed to be bustling about, putting out tables for food and shady tents made of the beautiful silks that Rosa and Nutmeg had brought back. Strings of glittering jewels were being hung from tree to tree, catching the sunlight and sparkling. Sugar was there in a lilac dress, dancing around and waving her wand. Every time she touched a tree trunk, sugar plums popped on to its branches. Rosa breathed a happy sigh. It looked like the garden party was going to be just as wonderful as the King and Queen had planned.

  Rosa looked round and saw that a dress had been put in her room. It came to just below her knees and was made of dark pink and white striped silk with a pink sash. Rosa quickly got dressed and put on her ballet shoes.

  Just as she was tying the ribbons, there was a knock at the door and Nutmeg came in. She was also wearing a summer dress; hers was pale pink with a light brown stripe. Her long hair was free from its usual bun. She hugged Rosa. “I’m so glad you’re still here. That dress looks gorgeous on you.”

  “You look lovely too!” Rosa said.

  “Come on, let’s go and help!” said Nutmeg.

  Smiling happily, they ran downstairs.

  By lunchtime, the party was in full swing, the gardens bustling with people. Waiters were handing out glasses of iced fruit punch and dishes of ice cream. The tables were laden down with all sorts of delicious food – sandwiches, iced cakes, cherry buns, candied fruit from all over the land and sculptures made out of golden spun sugar. There was a stall set up handing out candyfloss, circus performers walking on stilts and juggling, and best of all, a band playing wonderful music to dance to.

  Rosa had a brilliant time. She and Nutmeg danced and danced, then stopped to have something to eat and then danced some more. Rosa enjoyed every second; in fact she enjoyed it so much that she forgot all about going home.

  But as the sun started to sink down in the sky, she felt her feet tingling. “The shoes!” she gasped, looking down at them sparkling. “Oh, but I don’t want to go! I don’t want all this to stop.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Nutmeg. “I bet you’ll be back here for another adventure soon!”

  Rosa realised she was right. This adventure might be about to end, but then another was surely not far away. That was how it went. She grinned, feeling suddenly better. “Bye, Nutmeg! See you again soon, I hope!”

  “Bye!” called Nutmeg.

  A rainbow of colours swirled around Rosa. She felt herself being lifted into the air and whisked away …

  Rosa was set down gently. The haze of colours cleared. She was back in the quiet shadows in the backstage area of the open-air theatre. She shook her head, trying to adjust from being in the crowded, sunny gardens of the Royal Palace. Her summer dress had changed back to her mermaid costume. It was almost like it had all been a dream. Feeling a bit strange, she walked back to Olivia who was still standing near the entrance to the stage.

  “Hi,” Olivia whispered. She looked concerned. “Oh, Rosa, don’t be sad.”

  Rosa remembered what they had been talking about before she went to Enchantia. Olivia must be thinking she was upset about the ballet ending.

  “There’ll be other ballets for us to be in,” Olivia told her. “And other fun things will happen.”

  Rosa smiled. “It’s OK. I know. One adventure has got to end before another one can start.” She thought back to everything she had learned in Enchantia and twirled round. “But right now, this one is still going on and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!”

  When the music started that signalled their entrance, Rosa and Olivia ran onstage. The other girls came on from the opposite entrance and they met in the middle. Shim Chung and the Sea Dragon King were sitting on thrones. The music slowed and Rosa and the others began to perform the lullaby dance.

  Sway to the right and left, right and left, arms out, floating through the water …

  The music swelled around her and Rosa stopped thinking about the steps. She just danced, swept away by the music, lost in the moment.

  As the dance ended, the girls stopped, perfectly balanced, feet in third position, fingertips touching. Joy swept over Rosa. It had gone brilliantly! The audience clapped loudly. Rosa beamed around at the audience, dazzled by the moment. And then as the music changed, feeling as if she were sparkling with happiness, Rosa danced off the stage with the others, heading for her next adventure.

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to Linda Chapman and Dynamo Limited

  Copyright

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2009

  HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

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  Text copyright © HarperCollins Children’s Books 2009

  Illustrations by Dynamo Limited

  Illustrations copyright © HarperCollins Children’s Books 2009

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