Unicorn Valley

by Rosie Banks

  Title Page

  A New Adventure

  Into the Valley

  Slimy Caterpillars and Twisty Vines

  Storm Sprites!

  A Slimy Surprise

  The Golden Games

  Teaser

  Also Available

  Character Profile: Summer Hammond

  Caterpillar Maze

  Copyright

  “There!” said Ellie Macdonald, standing back to admire the pretty shapes laid out on the baking tray.

  It was a rainy Sunday afternoon and her best friends, Summer Hammond and Jasmine Smith, had come over to bake cookies. Summer had designed hers in the shape of hearts, while Jasmine had made crowns. Artistic Ellie had created cookie fairies.

  “How long do we bake them for?” asked Summer, twirling one of her blond braids thoughtfully. “I don’t want them to burn!”

  “Fifteen minutes,” said Ellie, consulting the cookbook.

  “Fifteen minutes!” wailed Jasmine dramatically, slumping down in her chair so that her glossy black hair flew around her face. “But I’m starving!”

  “It’ll go by in a flash.” Ellie giggled. “I’ll get the timer.”

  She jumped up from the table where they had been working, then stumbled as she caught her foot on the leg of her chair.

  “Oops,” she said as it clattered to the floor.

  Mrs. Macdonald came in to see what the noise was. “Don’t you worry, girls,” she said, admiring the cookies. “I’ll put these in to bake, and call you when they’re done. I’m sure they’ll be delicious. And you’ve made such lovely shapes! Crowns and hearts and even fairies. What imaginations you all have.”

  While Mrs. Macdonald was putting the cookies into the oven, the three friends exchanged a grin.

  Of course Ellie’s mom thought they had good imaginations — she hadn’t been to the Secret Kingdom, the magical land where only a few days ago the girls had actually met a real king wearing a real crown, seen fairies, and eaten magical heart-shaped endless cookies at King Merry’s birthday party!

  “Let’s go upstairs while the cookies are baking,” suggested Jasmine loudly. “And check on the Magic Box,” she added quietly as the girls headed up to Ellie’s room. “Just in case! You did bring it, didn’t you, Summer?”

  “Of course,” Summer said with a smile.

  Ellie’s bedroom was long and light, with her art books and tools scattered across a big desk and the colorful pictures she’d painted pinned all over the lilac walls.

  The girls settled down on the big window seat where Ellie did her painting. Summer carefully pulled the Magic Box out of her bag and passed it to Jasmine, who stared eagerly at its mirrored lid.

  The box was just as beautiful as when they had first found it. Its wooden sides were delicately carved with images of magical creatures, and its curved lid had a mirror surrounded by six glittering green stones.

  “It was so lucky we found this at the school rummage sale.” Summer smiled.

  “We didn’t find it — it found us!” Jasmine reminded her. “The Magic Box knew we were the only ones who could help the Secret Kingdom.”

  The Secret Kingdom was an amazing place where lots of magical creatures lived — but it had a big problem. Ever since its subjects had chosen King Merry to rule instead of his nasty sister, Queen Malice, Malice had been determined to make everyone in the kingdom as miserable as she was. She’d scattered six horrible thunderbolts around the land, and each of them contained a spell to cause lots of trouble.

  “The kingdom still needs our help, though,” said Ellie. “We stopped Queen Malice’s first thunderbolt from wrecking King Merry’s birthday party, but we’ve only found one of the thunderbolts she hid. Trixibelle said there were six.”

  “I hope we see Trixi again soon,” said Summer. “It was so wonderful meeting a real pixie.”

  “Well, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing her today,” said Jasmine sadly, putting the Magic Box down and flopping onto Ellie’s homemade rag rug. “The mirror’s blank.”

  “No, it isn’t!” exclaimed Ellie, grabbing the box and leaning over it. “Look!”

  The mirror was starting to glimmer and shine. Words began to float up from its shimmering depths.

  “It’s a riddle!” said Ellie. She read the words in the mirror out loud:

  “The second thunderbolt is found

  Where one-horned creatures

  Walk the ground.

  Its wicked magic must be foiled

  Before a special game is spoiled!”

  Ellie crinkled her forehead thoughtfully. “Creatures with one horn,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but that makes me think of …”

  “Unicorns!” broke in Summer, her eyes shining. “There were unicorns at King Merry’s birthday party! But I don’t know where they live.”

  At that moment, the Magic Box began to glow even brighter. Slowly it opened, and a fountain of light shot up from the center, lifting up a square of parchment. It was the magical map King Merry had given them after their last adventure! Jasmine unfolded it carefully. It showed the crescent moon–shaped island of the Secret Kingdom. All three girls crowded around the map.

  “There’s King Merry’s palace,” Jasmine said, pointing to the pink building with its four golden turrets. The flags at the top of the turrets waved slightly, as if in a breeze.

  Summer was looking around the rest of the map. “Flower Forest,” she read out. “Dolphin Bay.”

  “What’s that?” asked Jasmine, pointing to a wooded area surrounded by steep hills.

  Ellie looked closer. “Unicorn Valley!” she exclaimed. “That must be where the next thunderbolt is!”

  They all looked at the Magic Box, but nothing happened.

  “What did we do before?” Summer wondered aloud.

  “We put our hands on the jewels, then Trixi and King Merry appeared!” Jasmine remembered. The Magic Box started to glow again, and the friends rushed to press their palms onto the brilliant jewels.

  “The answer to the riddle is Unicorn Valley!” Ellie whispered.

  For a moment the light coming from the box flashed so brightly they had to shut their eyes. Then it died away, and everything was still.

  The girls looked around cautiously.

  “Do you think it worked?” asked Jasmine. “King Merry and Trixi appeared in Summer’s wardrobe last time.”

  All three of them looked toward Ellie’s wardrobe. Then, behind them, the lid of Ellie’s toy chest started to rattle… .

  Ellie saw it out of the corner of her eye and turned around so fast she almost fell over. “They’re stuck in the toy chest!” she cried.

  “Don’t worry,” came a tinkly little voice from among the toys. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  “Trixi!” the girls cried happily, recognizing the voice of King Merry’s royal pixie, who had guided them around the Secret Kingdom during their last visit.

  As they watched, pink petals began to creep around the edge of the lid of the chest. The flowers were growing magically fast, forcing it apart. The lid burst open with a shower of petals and Trixi shot out, riding on a leaf. The tiny pixie waved at the girls excitedly, then tapped the magical ring she always wore. It sparkled and the magic flowers dissolved into glittery dust that settled on Ellie’s floor before gradually fading away.

  Then Trixi floated over to where the girls were standing. “It’s lovely to see you again.” She smiled, flying her leaf over to each of them in turn and kissing them on the nose.

  “You, too,” said Summer happily. After their last adventure it had hardly seemed real that they had made friends with a pixie, but here she was, looking just the same — her clothes made out of leaves, her messy blond hair peeking out from under her flowe
r hat.

  Trixi’s blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at them all.

  “But where’s King Merry?” Jasmine asked.

  “He’s busy writing a speech,” Trixi told her. “Every year the unicorns hold an event called the Golden Games and King Merry gives a welcome speech to everyone there. Except last time he got confused and arrived at the end of the games, so I had to turn it into a good-bye speech instead!”

  The girls all giggled. It was so nice to hear about the Secret Kingdom. But it was even better to go there and have adventures themselves!

  “Poor King Merry.” Jasmine laughed.

  “Well, he might be in trouble again this year,” said Ellie seriously. “The riddle says that Queen Malice’s second thunderbolt is hidden in Unicorn Valley.”

  “Oh no!” exclaimed Trixi. “Let’s see if we can spot it.” She flew over the map and hovered over Unicorn Valley. They looked down into an orchard full of fruit trees, neat gardens, a steep hill surrounded by multicolored grass, and beautiful emerald-green fields.

  “Unicorn Valley is one of the loveliest spots in the kingdom,” said Trixi. “Just the sort of place Queen Malice would try to wreck!”

  “Well, we won’t let her,” said Ellie firmly.

  “Let’s go!” said Jasmine.

  Trixi gave the Magic Box a tap with her ring. Then she chanted:

  “The evil queen has trouble planned.

  Brave helpers fly to save our land!”

  Trixi’s words appeared on the mirrored lid before streaming up to the ceiling. They swirled around in a dancing cloud and then surrounded the girls’ heads in a glittering, flashing whirlwind.

  “We’re off to the Secret Kingdom!” cried Jasmine above the sound of rushing air.

  The girls grabbed one another’s hands as Ellie’s bedroom seemed to drop away beneath them. There was a flash of blinding colors … and there, spread out below them just as they had been on the map, but much more beautiful, were the rolling green fields of Unicorn Valley.

  Fields that were getting closer and closer very quickly!

  “Aaarrgh!” shrieked Ellie, screwing her eyes shut. “We’re falling!”

  “We’re not falling, we’re hang gliding!” called Jasmine from nearby.

  Ellie realized that something was wrapped around her body, keeping her safe. She looked up and saw a huge red leaf, fluttering delicately above her head in the wind. Vines descended from it, looping safely around her waist.

  “I think I can see all of Unicorn Valley,” called Summer, who was drifting toward Ellie underneath a huge yellow leaf. In the center of the valley was an enormous tree that towered over all the others.

  “That’s the Great Apple Tree,” said Trixi, who was flying along beside them on her own magical leaf. “It was the first tree that ever grew in Unicorn Valley.”

  “Um, it’s lovely,” said Ellie, a bit nervously. “But how do we land?”

  “There’s a patch of moss just down there,” said Trixi. She pointed to a corner of a field filled with flowers. “That will work as a nice soft landing pad. Careful now!”

  Flapping their arms and giggling, the girls steered their leaves down to land on the bouncy blue moss. Their leaves settled on top of them with a soft flump sound.

  “Whew!” said Ellie from under her leaf, which had covered her like a collapsed tent. She pulled it off, but it caught something on her head. Ellie put up her hand to free it and realized she was wearing the beautiful tiara King Merry had given her at the end of their last adventure! She grinned and scrambled about, calling, “Trixi! Are you there?”

  “I certainly am,” said the little pixie.

  Ellie climbed out from under her leaf, and nearly fell over in shock at what she saw. Two white unicorns were galloping gracefully toward them. Their manes flowed in the wind and their horns sparkled in the sunshine — one silver and one gold. Ellie turned to look in wonder at Summer and Jasmine. Their tiaras had appeared magically on their heads, too, and they were both staring openmouthed at the beautiful creatures.

  The bigger unicorn had a lovely wreath of braided leaves and berries resting on her mane. When she reached the girls, she stopped and gently touched the tip of her horn to each of their heads.

  “That’s a special sign of greeting,” Trixi whispered to them. “You should curtsy.”

  Hastily, Summer and Ellie picked up the edges of their skirts and curtsied clumsily. Jasmine, who was wearing jeans, had to hold out the edges of her top.

  “Welcome to Unicorn Valley,” said the unicorn in a regal voice. “I am Silvertail, leader of the unicorns, and this is my daughter, Littlehorn. You are the first humans I have seen in a long time.”

  The smaller unicorn whinnied. “I’ve never seen a human before,” she said. She trotted around the girls, looking at them closely. “You haven’t even got tails!” she said in disbelief.

  Ellie and Jasmine giggled, but Summer was too awestruck. “I can’t believe we’re talking to real, live unicorns!” she whispered to Ellie.

  Trixi flew her leaf around to hover in front of the girls, and cleared her throat. “Jasmine, Ellie, and Summer are honored guests of King Merry,” she explained.

  “We know,” said Silvertail with a smile. She turned to face the girls. “We can tell from your tiaras that you are Very Important Friends of his. Everyone in the kingdom is talking about how you saved King Merry’s birthday party from Queen Malice’s nasty thunderbolt!” She shook her mane and harrumphed at the thought of the wicked queen.

  “We think that another thunderbolt might have landed here in Unicorn Valley,” Ellie told her. “We have to find it before it causes any damage.”

  Silvertail whinnied anxiously. “My orchard keepers did say that there was something strange near the Great Apple Tree. I was on my way there when you arrived. Perhaps you should come with me?”

  “Of course we will,” Jasmine agreed.

  “It’ll be faster if you ride,” Silvertail said, looking sideways at the girls’ legs. “I will summon my strongest unicorns to carry you.”

  The three girls exchanged excited glances.

  “We’re going to ride on unicorns?” cried Jasmine.

  Silvertail turned toward the fields and tossed her head. At once, three sturdy unicorns came galloping up. One was a minty green, one was a deep midnight blue, and the last was a charcoal gray. All of them had long, dark manes and tails, and swirly, golden horns. Silvertail introduced them as Fleetfoot, Sleekmane, and Graycoat.

  “We’ll have a wonderful view from up here,” said Jasmine, climbing onto Fleetfoot’s mint-green back.

  “But we’re not too high!” said Ellie, settling onto Graycoat. “Just how I like it!”

  “Thank you for carrying us,” said Summer to Sleekmane. “This is the first time I’ve been on a unicorn.”

  “Hold on tight!” replied Sleekmane with a friendly whinny.

  With Trixi hovering beside them, the friends followed Silvertail across Unicorn Valley.

  “Have the unicorns always lived here?” asked Ellie.

  “No,” Silvertail explained. “Unicorn Valley was founded by a unicorn called Snowmane thousands of years ago. Back then, this whole area was covered with poisonous prickles and carnivorous plants. It was the wildest place in the whole kingdom. But then Snowmane touched a thornbush with her horn and turned it into a lovely magic apple tree. The tree spread its beauty out across the land, and all the awful plants disappeared.”

  Littlehorn swished her tail, cantering between her mother and the unicorns who carried the girls. “We look after the orchards and keep Unicorn Valley a magical place,” she neighed happily.

  “Those are the stables, where we sleep,” said Silvertail, nodding toward a golden building that was set back from the road in a meadow full of flowers. “And up ahead you can see Happyhooves Academy, our school.”

  “Oh, the baby unicorns are so cute!” exclaimed Summer.

  The group slowed down to admire the unicorn school, which was
a big field divided into lots of open-air classrooms. Riding on their strong unicorn friends, Ellie, Jasmine, and Summer were soon close enough to see a teacher showing some very young unicorns how to write their names. Concentrating hard, they moved their horns through the air and glittery, floating letters appeared in front of them.

  “Those little unicorns have silver horns, like you,” said Summer to Littlehorn. “But all the big unicorns have gold horns.”

  “Our horns stay silver until we’re grown up,” explained Littlehorn. “Then we take part in the Golden Games and the elders turn our horns golden. You’re here just at the right time — the games are this afternoon! I’m competing in the Great Race. The winner gets to be one of the king’s royal messengers and carry urgent letters around the kingdom. It’s a huge honor!”

  “I’m sure that’s why the Magic Box has called us now,” Jasmine whispered in Ellie’s ear. “Queen Malice’s thunderbolt is going to wreck the Golden Games!”

  “Not if we can help it!” Ellie replied with a grin.

  After a short trip, the girls trotted into the orchards, where hundreds of neat trees were being tended by older unicorns.

  “This is the Royal Apple Orchard,” Silvertail explained, “where all the apples in the Secret Kingdom grow.”

  “Oh, I wish I had my art supplies so I could draw it!” cried Ellie. “The orchard is so lovely… . Or I could draw the stable… . No, the baby unicorns!”

  Silvertail smiled. “Come with me just a little farther,” she said, “and I will show you the prettiest sight in the whole valley.”

  Fleetfoot, Sleekmane, and Graycoat cantered between two rows of neat trees and came out in a clearing.

  Right in the center was the enormous tree the girls had seen as they glided into the kingdom. It was even bigger close-up.

  “Its trunk is as big as my house!” gasped Jasmine.

  The unicorns knelt so that Ellie, Summer, and Jasmine could jump down and walk over to the tree. Its ancient branches stretched out above them, heavy with gleaming apples.