by Julie Sykes
Evie couldn’t sleep that night for thinking about the crossnet match. Crossnet was played with teams of two or four, and the idea was to ride up and down the pitch throwing the ball using sticks with nets on the end; goals were scored when the ball was put through the opposing team’s hoop. Evie always ended up dropping the ball. It was fine playing with her friends, who never seemed to care, but it would be really embarrassing to mess up in front of Topaz dorm.
She got up at sunrise and went to the window. She could see right across the grounds. Beyond Lake Sparkle were the meadows, and past them were the woods where they’d found the cave that had led them to the underground river. On the other side of the woods was a smaller copse. One tree in the middle looked taller than the rest. Evie blinked. Was it a tree, or could it be the top of a tower? It was hard to tell. She glanced round at her sleeping friends. Should she mention it to them? But if she did, Lyra would want to go there, and if Evie was wrong and it was just a tall tree, she’d feel really stupid. Maybe I should do some research first, she thought. I could go to the library instead of playing crossnet.
By the time the rest of Ruby dorm woke up Evie had come to a decision.
“I’m not going to play in the crossnet match,” she told them. “I’m going to the library instead to see if I can find out if there are any follies in the school grounds.”
“But if you don’t play, we won’t be able to have teams of four,” said Sienna.
“You can play in pairs and add the points up over several rounds,” Evie pointed out. “Or play in teams of three. That way one person from each dorm can act as a referee.”
Lyra frowned. “This isn’t because of what happened in the obstacle race yesterday, is it?”
Evie rubbed her nose. “It is, kind of.” And it’ll make Sunshine happier if I don’t play and embarrass her, she added to herself.
Ivy put her arm though Evie’s. “We’d rather lose and have you as part of the team than win without you.”
“Absolutely,” said Lyra.
Evie saw Sienna hesitate, but then she nodded. “Of course we’d rather you played,” she said.
Evie knew Sienna was being kind – she hated losing any competition – but she was grateful Sienna cared about her feelings enough to lie. “I really do want to do some research. You play without me.”
Although Lyra and Ivy continued trying to change her mind, Evie stood her ground. When the others went to get their unicorns ready, she went with them to explain to Sunshine that she wasn’t joining in with the match.
“Good. I think it’s for the best,” Sunshine said, looking relieved.
Evie felt a flicker of unhappiness. A small part of her had hoped that Sunshine would say that it didn’t matter if she messed up, and reassure her that her friends meant it when they said they would rather she joined in. She sighed. “I guess so.”
“You do want to miss the match, don’t you, Evie?” said Sunshine, giving her a concerned look.
“Yes … No … I mean, I know it’s for the best,” said Evie. She hurried to the door and saw that Sunshine was watching her rather anxiously. “I’ll get you some sky berries and then I’m going to the library.”
Evie was coming back from the storeroom with a bucket of sky berries – the unicorns’ favourite food – when there was a loud bang from Sunshine’s stable. Evie ran to the door.
Sunshine stood in the entrance. She was covered in bits of hay. It hung from her nose like a droopy moustache and stuck to her legs, making her look like a shaggy pony. A giggle rose in Evie’s throat but Sunshine looked so shocked that she bit it back. “What’s going on?”
“Um … I stamped my hoof and my-my hay net burst,” stammered Sunshine.
Evie squeezed past her, her eyes widening as she took in the mess. “Are you sure you’re OK? How did it happen?”
“It must have been the way you tied it up. It fell down and exploded,” said Sunshine.
Evie felt shame rush through her. She had filled it very full but she thought she’d tied it up properly. “Oh, gosh. I’m so sorry! I’ll refill it and sweep up.”
“Don’t worry. I can eat the hay from the floor,” said Sunshine. “Just go!” she added quickly. “Please, Evie!”
Evie swallowed. “OK, well, see you later then.” Feeling unhappy, she headed back to school. Unicorns and their partners were supposed to want to be together. If Sunshine wouldn’t even let her clear up her stable, she must really be wishing that she’d been paired with someone else!
Evie went straight to the library and found a box of old maps in the reference section. She took one of the school grounds and carefully spread it out on a nearby table. The map smelled musty and the ink was beginning to fade. Evie pored over it. On the western side of the woods she saw the cave that had led to the underground river. Beyond that there was a smaller copse. The middle was marked with a triangle. She squinted at the old-fashioned writing next to it and read folly. Excitement leapt through her.
“Do you need any help?” Ms Tansy, the librarian, said, coming over and making Evie jump.
Evie looked up eagerly. “Do you know anything about this folly?”
Ms Tansy peered at the map through her yellow flower-shaped glasses. “I don’t, but there’s a book about follies of the island. It might be mentioned in there.” She hurried off and returned with a thick book open in her hands. “Here you go,” she said. “The folly at the academy, built to look like an ancient tower, was constructed about a hundred years ago in the middle of Spiny Copse.”
A hundred years ago. Evie’s brain whirred. Dr Briar had told them she thought the first piece of the map was about a hundred years old. Was that just coincidence or could this be the new folly mentioned in the clue, a folly built at the same time the map was made?
“Apparently there were all sorts of stories about it being haunted. After several students claimed they saw and heard ghosts near it, it was abandoned. There’s a picture here – of the tower not the ghosts!” Ms Tansy chuckled.
Evie stared at the black-and-white photo that showed a round stone building topped with a cone-shaped turret. An idea grew in her mind as she recalled a line from the riddle: In a new folly that phantoms keep safe. Was the tower really haunted or had someone started that rumour to keep people away after hiding part of the treasure map there?
Evie asked if she could borrow the book and Ms Tansy carried it over to her desk and checked it out. As she passed it back to Evie, Dr Briar arrived.
“Hello, Evie.”
“Hello,” said Evie. Her fingers fumbled with the book and it thudded to the floor.
“Allow me.” Dr Briar picked the book up and glanced at the title. “Follies,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “You were asking me about follies yesterday, weren’t you?”
Evie nodded.
“Do you have a particular interest in them?” Dr Briar asked.
“Evie is one of our keenest readers,” said Ms Tansy warmly. “She’s interested in everything. We were just talking about the folly in the school grounds. Maybe you know something about it, Dr Briar? Apparently it’s haunted!”
Dr Briar smiled. “Apparently so, if you believe in ghosts. Although there have been many sightings so maybe there is truth in the stories after all!” She turned to Evie. “Why are you so interested in the school folly? That wasn’t where you and your friends found that old piece of paper you showed me, was it?”
“No,” said Evie, glad to be telling the truth. “It wasn’t.”
“I’d be very careful if you’re planning an excursion there,” said Dr Briar, studying her closely. “The building is very old and it may be dangerous.”
Evie felt a blush rise in her cheeks. “Thanks!”
Dr Briar studied her as if she was an artefact under a microscope.
Evie got redder and redder.
Ms Tansy looked from one to the other, a puzzled frown forming between her eyes. “Well, run along now, Evie dear,” she said brightly, breaking the silence
.
Dr Briar handed Evie the book. “Yes, off you go,” she said.
Evie hurried out of the library in relief. But as she reached the door she glanced back and saw Dr Briar watching her leave.
Evie settled down in the dorm and read, her eyes quickly skimming over the words. The folly in the grounds had been built a hundred years ago by a headteacher called Ms Evergreen. According to the book, Ms Evergreen had been a fascinating woman, intrepid and brave and a passionate guardian of the island. Before becoming headteacher she had been an archaeologist and had spent many years searching for a precious jewel known as the Unicorn’s Diamond.
“The Unicorn’s Diamond,” Evie whispered aloud, feeling a shiver of excitement. The diamond was legendary for both its beauty and its power.
Just then her friends came up the stairs, chattering loudly.
Sienna threw the door open. “We won. We beat the boys five matches to three.”
“It was fun and when we got back to the stables, there was an explosion!” added Lyra. “One of the automated trolleys was trundling along with a bucket full of sky berries. It was just passing Sunshine’s stable when there was a loud bang. The berries exploded and went everywhere.”
“Really?” Evie’s eyes widened. “Was anyone hurt?”
Ivy grinned. “No, but there was a huge mess. We had to wash Sunshine’s mane. It turned blue with sky berry juice. ”
“Is she OK?”
“She’s fine,” said Ivy, putting a reassuring arm round Evie. “Ms Tulip thought the berries may have exploded because they were from last season and they’d been left in a warm cupboard. Sunshine seemed a bit shocked at first but we cleaned her up and left her munching on a hay net. She said not to tell you but we thought you’d want to know.”
Evie wondered why Sunshine hadn’t wanted her to come and help but she pushed the thought away as she remembered her news. “You’ll never guess what I’ve found out,” she said.
They all sat on her bed while Evie explained what she’d discovered about the folly in the grounds.
“Ms Evergreen, who built it, was headteacher here a hundred years ago. She sounds awesome. She was previously an archaeologist and she’d spent years searching for the Unicorn’s Diamond.”
“The Unicorn’s Diamond,” said Lyra thoughtfully. “A beautiful diamond that grants the heart’s desire of anyone who holds it. Isn’t that just a legend?”
“This book says no one knows for sure,” said Evie. She glanced at its pages. “The legend is that it was created in ancient times, formed from the tears of joy shed by Unicorn Island’s original unicorn, Daybreak, on the birth of her first foal. The—”
“Daybreak?” interrupted Sienna. “Hang on! Isn’t that the unicorn on the tapestry downstairs that hides the entrance to the secret room?”
“Yes, and we had to follow carvings of Daybreak to get to the second piece of the map,” said Ivy.
Evie gasped loudly.
“What is it?” demanded Lyra.
“Have … have you got the – the map?” Evie asked, stumbling over her words in her excitement.
“Yes. Why?” Lyra pulled the pieces out of her pocket and smoothed them out.
“Look!” Evie’s voice came out as a squeak as she stabbed her finger at the top corner of each piece. “There are pictures of Daybreak here too, in each corner. Could the map take you to—”
“The Unicorn’s Diamond!” finished Lyra.
They all stared at each other.
“Do you really think this map could lead us to the diamond?” whispered Sienna.
“Yes! I do!” Evie picked up her book again and read a paragraph out. “According to the legend, anyone who holds the diamond in their hand will be granted their heart’s desire. For centuries people have sought the diamond in order to ask for their greatest wish. But the diamond, if it ever existed, has been so well hidden that so far no one has found it.” She looked up, her eyes shining. “But maybe Ms Evergreen did find it—”
Lyra broke in. “And hid it somewhere safe so that people couldn’t get their hands on it. It would be awful if it was found by someone who wanted to make bad things happen.”
Evie nodded. “But Ms Evergreen made a map so that it could be found again if it needed to be. She cut it into four and hid the pieces in the school grounds.”
“And if we find the rest of the map, we’ll find the diamond!” said Lyra, looking as if she was about to burst with excitement.
“We’ve got to find it,” said Sienna.
Lyra jumped up. “Let’s go and find the folly right now!”
“We can’t,” said Ivy. “It’s lunchtime.”
“After lunch then,” said Lyra.
“No, Spiny Copse, where the folly is, is at the edge of the school grounds,” said Evie. “We won’t be able to get there and back before dark. We’ll have to wait until Saturday – three days’ time.”
Sienna nodded. “We could tell Ms Rivers we want to look at the wildlife and ask if we can take a picnic with us, then we can have the whole day to explore the tower.”
There was a faint noise outside their dorm door. Lyra hurried over and pulled the door open but there was no one there.
She shut it behind her again. “Phew! I thought for a moment someone was listening to us. This must stay as our secret. We can’t tell anyone about it. Promise?”
They all nodded. “Promise!”
At breakfast the following morning, Evie was astonished when Dr Briar beckoned her over to where she was sitting with Ms Nettles.
“Evie, I wonder if I could ask you for a favour.” The jewelled rings on Dr Briar’s fingers flashed as she patted a strand of her sleek dark hair into place. “The academy has many more works of art than I realised. Would you like to help me today?”
“Me?” Evie was confused. Had Dr Briar really meant to ask her or had she meant Lyra, who everyone knew wanted to be an archaeologist when she was older?
But no, Dr Briar was looking right at her and smiling encouragingly.
Evie’s cheeks heated up. It was lovely – if slightly astonishing – to be singled out in such a way. “Yes, please,” she said immediately.
“Perfect. Meet me in the hall at lunchtime and I’ll show you what needs to be done.”
Evie almost floated out of the dining room but Lyra frowned when Evie told them what the conversation had been about. “She asked you to help? Why? I mean, no offence, Evie, but you are quite accident-prone. And Sam knows how much I love archaeology. Surely he’d have suggested Dr Briar ask me not you.” Her frown deepened. “Make sure you don’t tell them anything about the map.”
“Evie’s not stupid; of course she won’t say anything,” said Ivy.
Evie was hurt that Lyra had felt a reminder was needed and while the others got ready for their first lesson – science – she went to the stables to talk to Sunshine about it.
As she approached Sunshine’s stall, Evie heard a bang and saw a pink spark shoot out of the doorway. Evie rushed forward, her heart in her mouth. “Sunshine!” she cried. “Was that you? Have you found your magic?”
Sunshine popped her head out of her stable. “No!” she said quickly. “I haven’t. Definitely not! Why are you here, Evie?”
Her voice was almost unfriendly. Evie stopped in her tracks. She thought she’d seen a spark of magic. “I … I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Can’t it wait?” said Sunshine. She didn’t seem to want Evie to go into her stable.
“Yes, I guess,” said Evie uncomfortably. Sunshine had never been so short with her before. “I’ll … um … come back later.”
“I’ll see you at break then,” said Sunshine.
Evie turned away. What was up with Sunshine? She was acting as though Evie had really upset her. Feeling bewildered, Evie headed back to school.
Evie didn’t go and see Sunshine at break. She didn’t want to risk her unicorn being unfriendly to her in front of everyone. At lunchtime she waited for Dr
Briar in the hall. In the centre of the room was the magic map, which showed the whole of Unicorn Island. It could transport people and their unicorns anywhere on the island but there was a magical force field protecting it and students were only allowed to use it with a teacher’s permission.
The walls of the hall were covered with enormous paintings of famous unicorns and previous headteachers. When Dr Briar arrived with Sam, she asked Sam and Evie to work their way round the room writing down the title and artist of each painting as well as making some brief notes.
Evie felt shy at first. Sam often acted in a superior way but now it was just the two of them he was much more friendly. He knew lots of interesting stories about the artists who had painted the pictures.
“How do you know so much?” she asked.
“My mum’s an art historian,” Sam replied. “She’s taught me lots about art. I often spend time with Aunt Angelica in the holidays too.” He nodded towards Dr Briar, who was studying a large pink vase in an alcove. “I’ve helped her on tons of digs.” He smiled at Evie. “I don’t know nearly as much as you do about science and maths though. You’re really clever.”
Evie felt a warm glow. “Thanks,’ she muttered, thinking how much nicer Sam was when he was on his own.
Sam’s aunt called him over and had a low conversation with him. When he returned, he looked slightly uncomfortable. “So,” he said, “what have you and the rest of your dorm been getting up to? You always seem to be whispering about something. What’s the big secret?”