No more shall I lurk out of sight,
It's time I gave the world a fright!
Keira's magic things I'll steal,
To make a wicked movie reel.
If everything can't go my way,
Filmmakers shall rue the day!
A chill will fall on every scene,
Disaster for the silver screen.
Find the hidden letters in the star shapes throughout this book. Unscramble all 11 letters to spell a special word!
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Poem
The Silver Script
Setting the Scene
Right on Cue!
Goblin Glade
Putting on an Act
A Perfect Performance
The Magical Megaphone
A Cast in Chaos
Seeing Pool Surprise
An Ear-splitting Scene
Silence Is Golden
Back to Fairyland
The Enchanted Clapboard
Camera Catastrophe
Keira's News
Goblin Hide-and-Seek
Movie Mischief
Fairy Movie Stars
Teaser
Also Available
Copyright
Setting the Scene
Right on Cue!
Goblin Glade
Putting on an Act
A Perfect Performance
“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 of 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!”
The girls hurried along the path, making their way into a pretty meadow behind the old cottage.
Normall
y the meadow was a quiet place dotted with wildflowers, but today it was packed full of trailers in all shapes and sizes. The actors and crew had arranged to stay here while The Starlight Chronicles was in production. Kirsty and Rachel zigzagged around refreshment tents, equipment cases, and folding chairs, before spotting the goblin’s baseball cap disappearing behind a fancy-looking silver trailer.
“That way!” cried Rachel, just as a rack of fancy fairy outfits trundled across their path. A costume designer with a tape measure around her neck smiled apologetically.
“Coming through!” she cried. “Sorry, girls.”
Kirsty sighed. “We’ll never catch the goblin now. It’ll be too late by the time we get past these costumes.”
“Don’t be sad,” said a voice as pretty as a tinkly bell.
As the girls tried to step around the rack, a cascade of tiny scarlet stars began to shimmer above the last dress in the row. It was the beautiful rhinestone-encrusted evening gown that Julianna was going to wear in the final scene. The stars began to sparkle and fizz even more brightly until a pretty fairy burst out of the dress and perched on the rack.
“Hi!” She smiled. “I’m Keira the Movie Star Fairy. You’re just the friends I hoped to see today.”
“Hello!” replied Kirsty and Rachel, their cheeks flushing with excitement.
The fairy fluttered her tiny gossamer wings, motioning for the girls to follow her. As they dashed behind the next trailer, Keira’s long scarlet gown swished in the breeze. It was made of the finest fairy satin and decorated with glittering rhinestones. A gold starburst barette glittered in Keira’s dark hair.
“It’s my job to look after moviemakers in Fairyland and the human world,” she explained, when she was certain that no one else was nearby. “I’ve been watching over Julianna’s career for a long time. She always shows such kindness to the animals she meets on location, so the fairies would like to say thank you.
I’m here to help make The Starlight Chronicles a big hit!”
Kirsty and Rachel listened carefully as Keira went on to explain that she’d brought three magical objects with her from Fairyland.
“The silver script makes sure that actors get their lines right every time. The magical megaphone helps directors organize everyone on set, and the enchanted clapboard gets the cameras rolling. Everything was going beautifully until Jack Frost decided he wanted to be a movie star, too.” She sighed.
The troubled fairy told the girls how Jack Frost had sent his goblins to Wetherbury. Their instructions were to snatch the silver script and bring it back to Jack Frost’s Ice Castle!
“Julianna and the other actors won’t be able to perform well without the script,” said Keira, looking worried. “Will you help me get it back?”
“Of course we’ll help!” cried Rachel. “We’d do anything for the fairies.”
“We just saw one of Jack Frost’s goblins steal a script from the director’s table,” revealed Kirsty. “He ran behind that shiny trailer up ahead.”
“That must be my silver script!” Keira gasped. “I bet he’s trying to take it back to the Ice Castle. Who knows what mischief he’ll cause by stealing it.”
“If we run past those trailers, I’m sure we can catch him,” said Rachel, leading the way.
Kirsty opened the top pocket of her jacket so that Keira could flutter inside.
“No one will see you in here,” she said.
Keira peeked over the edge of Kirsty’s pocket as the friends made their way across the grassy meadow. When they got to the gate at the other side, the goblin had disappeared. The friends and Keira found themselves on the edge of a winding lane that led out of the village.
“I’ll find out where the goblin went,” said Keira. She waved her wand in the air. A haze of gold stars began to shimmer at its tip. The little fairy then moved her wand around to point in different directions. The stars got much brighter when it was pointing at the woods.
“This way!” cried the fairy.
Kirsty and Rachel ran to the edge of the woods, and peered through the trees.
“I can see the goblin.” Rachel gasped, pointing to a shady glade filled with ferns. “And he’s not alone!”
There, in the dappled afternoon light, the goblin was pacing up and down with the silver script in his hand. He had thrown down his cap, revealing his long nose. He was holding his chin up as if making a grand speech. Behind him, a short goblin and one with very big ears were muttering together and shaking their heads.
“What’s going on?” wondered Kirsty. “When Jack Frost sends his goblins out to grab something, he usually wants them to bring it back right away.”
“I think the goblins have decided to have some fun first,” said Keira. “The one with the script looks like he’s reading lines from it!”
“How funny! Who would have thought that goblins would like acting?” Rachel chuckled.
The girls crept slowly closer and crouched behind a raspberry bush so they could listen in.
“I have to be the director!” shouted the long-nosed goblin. “I’m the one who found the silver script, and if you won’t do as I say I’ll tell Jack Frost what you’re up to!”
“You can be the director if I can be the prince,” snapped the big-eared goblin.
The short goblin kicked the tree next to him so hard the bump echoed around the glade. “That means I have to play the princess,” he grumbled. “Yuck!”
The “director” laughed, and then pushed the goblin “prince” down onto one knee.
“Action!” he grunted, clapping his hands together. As they shut, his fingers knocked the prince’s pointy nose.
“Ouch!” snapped the prince. “Will thou marry me, sweet princess?”
Keira fluttered silently out of Kirsty’s pocket, coming to rest on a branch.
“Oh, my!” she gasped. “They’re acting out the proposal scene from The Starlight Chronicles. This is where Chad’s character asks Julianna to become his fairy bride. It’s supposed to be romantic.”
“Go ahead,” yelled the long-nosed director goblin, pointing at the ugly princess. “Pucker up for a kiss.”
“Never!” thundered the goblin princess.
“We have to follow the script!” the goblin prince yelled. He snatched the script out of the director’s hands and accidentally hit the princess on the head.
Within moments, the goblins’ secret read-through had turned into chaos. The green trio tugged and pulled at the script, shaking their fists at one another.
The girls and Keira ducked back behind the raspberry bush, trying hard not to giggle out loud.
“This little performance has given me an idea,” whispered Rachel. “If it works, we should be able to trick the goblins into handing the silver script over to us.”
“What’s your plan?” asked Keira, her eyes shining with excitement.
As Rachel leaned in to share her idea with Keira and Kirsty, a twig caught on her sweater. It snapped with a loud crack!
“Who’s there?” bellowed the goblin director, peering through the trees.
“Oh, no!” gasped Kirsty. “We’ve been caught!”
Rachel’s heart began to thump. They were going to have to put her plan into action more quickly than she had thought!
“All we have to do is pretend that we know a lot about making movies,” she whispered. “Keira, would you be able to cast a spell to give us some fancy clothes? We need to disguise ourselves as Hollywood talent scouts.”
“Of course!” replied Keira, sprinkling a handful of fairy dust onto the girls. A fountain of golden sparkles shimmered over Kirsty and Rachel, transforming their outfits into grown-up business suits. They each felt a pair of dark sunglasses slip over their eyes.
“Now we look like real movie scouts!” exclaimed Rachel. “Thanks, Keira!”
Kirsty carefully opened her blazer pocket so that the fairy could hide again.
“Good thinking,” said Keira. “If the goblins spot me, they’ll realize that
we’ve come for the silver script.”
When Keira was safely hidden, Kirsty and Rachel popped up from behind the raspberry bush.
“Yoo-hoo! Over here!” they cried, waving their arms in the air to get the goblins’ attention.
The goblin director peered through the glade. When he saw the two girls, his face broke into a terrible scowl.
“What are you looking at?” snapped the goblin who was playing the prince.
Rachel stepped into the clearing.
“We were walking through this forest scouting movie locations,” she said. “We heard your performance and thought you might like a few tips. Your fairy princess looks very pretty, but your fairy prince is completely unbelievable!”
“Ha!” The goblin princess jeered at the prince.
“And what about you?” piped up Kirsty, pointing to the goblin director. “Surely you can get the actors to do better than that? I’ve never heard such confusing direction!”
The director snatched the silver script back from the big-eared goblin prince, clutching it closely to his chest.
“What do you know about movies?” he sniffed. “Have you seen a few on TV?”
The goblins all laughed. The director stuck out his tongue and waggled his fingers, while the other two blew noisy raspberries.
Rachel waited quietly until they calmed down.
“We’re working on the movie that’s filming in the village,” she replied. “If you listen to our advice, I’m sure you three could put on a polished performance, too.”
The long-nosed goblin director pouted and shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess we could use a little help,” he admitted, “to uncover our star potential.”
Rachel tried to hide her smile.
Keira the Movie Star Fairy Page 1