Ice Owls
‘I am Madame Li.’ The woman came down the steps towards Issy. She had the largest, most pointed ears Issy had ever seen. ‘This is the Ice-skating Academy in the Land of Ice and Winter. You have been brought here by magic. Come inside, my dear. There are eleven other girls here, so you won’t be on your own.’ The teacher handed Issy a pair of skate guards to go over the blades of her skates. ‘Madame Letsworth, the headteacher, is about to explain it all to everyone.’
For the first time in her life, Issy felt completely lost for words, but Madame Li was waiting expectantly. Not knowing what else to do, Issy slipped the guards on and went up the steps into a large hallway. A group of girls who all looked about her age were just heading off down a corridor.
‘Take your skates off,’ said Madame Li, pointing out a locker to one side with Issy’s name on. ‘You’ll find some slipper-boots in there. Put them on and hurry after the others.’
Maybe it’s a dream, Issy thought as she dazedly unlaced her skates. But it didn’t feel like a dream. She could smell wood smoke and the floor was hard beneath her. Pulling on the fleecy red slipper-boots that were in the locker, Issy hurried after the other girls, catching up with them just as they turned into a grand hall. Twelve chairs faced a raised platform where a teacher was standing. She had pointed ears, just like Madame Li.
Issy sat down at the end of the row. The girl next to her was small with glossy dark-brown hair. She had a straight fringe, creamy skin and serious hazel eyes. She looked at Issy and gave her a quick smile. ‘Hi, I’m Sophy,’ she whispered, but before Issy could answer the teacher on the platform started to speak.
‘Welcome, all of you. My name is Madame Letsworth. I am the headteacher here. I and all the other people who live here in the Land of Ice and Winter are ice sylphs.’
On the other side of Sophy, a tall girl with freckles put up her hand. ‘But why are we here?’
‘You were brought here because, every so often in this land, we have problems that can only be solved by a human girl doing a magic ice dance. This girl is called the Ice Princess. Sometimes the Ice Princess helps us solve one type of problem, sometimes another. We are now in need of a new Ice Princess. We hope one of you will be that girl.’
A murmur of excitement ran round the room.
Madame Letsworth held up her hand for silence. ‘You do not have to stay here if you do not want to; you may return home. If you choose to stay then you will live here at this school taking lessons that will improve your skating. You will also learn about this land. After six weeks, we will choose one of you to be our new Ice Princess. If that person succeeds in helping us then she will be granted her secret wish.’
She looked round. ‘You must each now decide whether you will stay or return home. Do not worry about your friends and families; time passes differently in the human world from here and no one back in your world will even know you are gone.’ Issy was glad about that. She had been worrying a bit about her mum, who was still in the woods.
Madame Letsworth looked round at the girls once more. ‘Would anyone like to go home?’
None of the girls put up their hand. Quite a few of them, including Issy, shook their heads hard.
Madame Letsworth smiled. ‘Excellent. Well, I hope you will all have a very enjoyable time here.’
Sophy put up her hand. ‘What will the Ice Princess have to do, Madame?’
‘She must perform the Dance of Winter – a special dance that needs to be skated every hundred years to keep this land frozen, but you will learn more about that in the following weeks. Right now, I am sure you would all like to see the dorms – the bedrooms where you will be sleeping. In the Ice Owls dorm will be Isabelle, Jo, Maisie and Milly.’ Issy saw two girls with black hair and dark skin nudge each other as the headteacher spoke out the last two names. They were obviously twins although one had long hair in braids and the other had shoulder-length curls.
‘In the Frost Fairies dorm will be Vanessa, Lou, Abigail and Narinder, and in the Snow Foxes dorm will be Niamh, Jessica, Cecilia and Sophy.’
The tall girl with freckles leant forward. ‘What’s your name?’ she said to Issy, and Issy told her.
‘I’m Jo. We’re in the same dorm. Isn’t this all brilliant? We must do loads of fun things. Pillow fights!’
Issy grinned. ‘Yeah. And a midnight feast!’
‘And we have to play some tricks on the teachers.’
Just then, Madame Letsworth started speaking again. ‘The frost fairies will now show you to your dorms, girls. They help do everything around the school; they tidy up, cook and clean. You’ll soon get used to seeing them.’
The girls all gasped as a vast glittering cloud of fairies swept through the doorway. They were each just a few centimetres high and had masses of fluffy blonde hair. They chattered to each other in high-pitched voices.
One of them landed on Issy’s hand, gauzy wings fluttering.
Jo pulled back as one approached her. ‘Whoa! They’re weird, aren’t they? Like little wasps.’
Sophy, who had two of them perched on her shoulders, looked at her in astonishment. ‘They’re nothing like wasps! They’re beautiful!’
Jo pulled Issy’s arm. ‘Come on! Let’s go and find Maisie and Milly. I bet it’s those two girls over there.’
Issy followed Jo over to where the twins were standing. ‘Hi. I’m Jo and this is Issy. Are you Maisie and Milly?’
The two girls smiled. ‘Yep, that’s us. I’m Maisie,’ said the twin with the shorter hair. ‘And this is Milly.’
Issy immediately saw there were differences between the twins apart from their hair. Maisie’s eyes were lighter and she had a restless, energetic look about her. Milly looked more serious and thoughtful.
Before they had a chance to talk any more, Madame Letsworth told the fairies to take them up to their dorms. The fairy who had landed on Issy’s hand now perched on her shoulder as they went up the stairs.
‘What’s your name?’ Issy asked her.
The fairy spoke in a high-pitched voice. It sounded like Cobweb.
‘Cobweb?’ Issy asked.
‘Well, hi, Cobweb. I’m Issy.’
The little fairy giggled as if to say she knew that already.
‘Here we are!’ said Jo as they reached a door that had a sign with the words Ice Owls.
‘Cool!’ said Maisie, going inside. The dorm had large windows looking out over the gardens. There were four single beds, each with a patchwork quilt. On the opposite side of the room there was a big wooden wardrobe for each girl. The frost fairies pulled the doors open. Inside there were plain skating dresses for wearing each day, outdoor clothes, lots of pairs of tights, underwear and socks, as well as other clothes like jeans and T-shirts. There was also a desk, some shelves and a mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door.
Maisie went over to the window. ‘This is so exciting!’ She spun round, flinging her arms out. ‘I could have danced all night!’ she trilled.
Milly looked up from the book she had found on a bookcase behind the door. ‘Don’t mind Maisie. She’s mad about singing.’
‘If I’m not a figure skater when I’m older then I want to be a singer,’ Maisie said. ‘I can’t decide which would be more fun.’
‘Do you two skate a lot?’ asked Jo.
Maisie nodded. ‘Every day.’
‘I go skating three times a week,’ said Jo. ‘I’ve been skating since I was four.’
‘I haven’t been skating that long, but I love it and I go five times a week,’ said Issy.
The frost fairies all flew to the door and chattered at the girls, beckoning with their hands. Issy frowned. ‘I think they’re telling us to follow them again. Are we about to go skating?’ she guessed.
Cobweb gave Issy a thumbs up.
‘Cool!’ all four girls said at the same time. They looked at each other and giggled.
‘You know, something tells me the four of us are going to get on really well,’ said Jo, putting her arm through Issy’s. ‘Let’s go and see the rink!’
