Skating Magic
Issy stole along the corridor. Just as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard a creak behind her. She swung round. Sophy was coming down.
‘What are you doing?’ whispered Issy.
‘What are you doing?’ Sophy whispered back.
Issy hesitated. ‘Just something.’
‘Me too.’
They stared warily at each other for a moment and then Sophy shrugged as if she had better things to do. ‘OK, well, you get on with your something and I’ll get on with mine.’
Issy followed Sophy down the stairs, wondering where she was going. When they reached the bottom, Issy expected Sophy to turn off in the other direction, but, to her surprise, Sophy went all the way up to the double doors that led to the rink.
‘Are you coming in here too?’ Sophy said, stopping and looking at Issy in surprise. Issy nodded.
‘Why?’ Sophy demanded.
‘I’ve come to see the frost fairies,’ Issy admitted. ‘Their magic is weak because it’s getting warmer and they’ve been having trouble making the costumes. They’ve brought them to the rink because their magic will work best by the ice. I thought I’d see if I could help.’
Sophy’s mouth had dropped open. ‘But that’s why I’m here. I’m friends with one of the fairies in my dorm. She’s called Flaxie. She told me about the costumes tonight so I thought I would come along and help.’
Issy stared. ‘You’ve worked out how to talk to one? So have I! I’m friends with Cobweb. I didn’t think anyone else talked to the fairies.’
‘I didn’t tell anyone,’ admitted Sophy. ‘I didn’t want the others to know. It felt really special that it was just me.’
‘I tried to tell Jo and the twins how to do it, but they haven’t even tried,’ Issy told her. ‘They’re not into magic.’
They looked at each other and Issy felt as if she was suddenly seeing Sophy with new eyes. ‘Let’s go and see what we can do,’ she said eagerly.
They hurried through the doors. Brightly coloured costumes were hanging over the barriers. Some just needed decorating; others had barely even been started. Clouds of fairies hovered over each one, some cutting, some stitching seams; others in groups were waving wands and magicking on sequins and beads. A buzz of anxious, high-pitched chatter filled the air as they worked.
As Issy and Sophy walked in, two fairies left the others and came flying forward.
‘Issy!’
‘Sophy!’
‘This is Flaxie,’ Sophy said to Issy as a fairy in a pale-blue dress landed on her shoulder.
‘And this is Cobweb,’ said Issy, holding out her hand for Cobweb to stand on.
‘What are you doing here?’ Cobweb asked.
‘We came to see if we could help,’ said Issy. ‘There must be something we can do.’
‘Thank you for coming, but there really isn’t,’ Cobweb said.
But just then, one of the other fairies came flying over. She looked older and had a very wise face. ‘There is actually something the girls can do that will help,’ she said. ‘They can skate.’
Issy, Sophy and the two younger fairies looked at her.
‘Skate?’ Sophy echoed.
The older fairy nodded. ‘In this land, ice-skating creates magic,’ she explained to the girls. ‘If you were to dance on the ice then our magic would strengthen and we would be able to make the costumes much faster.’
‘Well, we can do that!’ said Issy, glancing at Sophy, who nodded eagerly.
‘We’d love to!’
The girls ran to their lockers and put on their white skates. It felt strange to be wearing skates with pyjamas, but as soon as Issy stepped on to the ice, she forgot about what she was wearing and just thought about skating. ‘We need some music if we’re going to dance,’ she said to Sophy. ‘We could ask the dragons to play the music from our routines.’ She skated over to the music box and looked inside. Four ice dragons were curled up on the floor, snoozing on little pillows.
‘Um, excuse me,’ Issy said softly. The dragons opened their eyes and yawned. ‘We want to skate to help the fairies make the costumes. Would you mind playing us some music?’
The dragons sat up and made chirruping noises. Issy wished she could understand them as well as she could understand the fairies! But from the way they were nodding, she was sure they were agreeing.
One of the dragons flew out and pointed to the buttons as if telling her to choose.
Issy was about to push the button for the music for her dance, but then she changed her mind. The dragons never got to choose the music they played. Maybe they’d like to for a change. She could make up a dance to anything and she didn’t really like her routine that much. ‘Why don’t you play what you want?’ she said to him. ‘It’ll be more fun for you and I can skate to anything if I listen to it once.’
The dragons looked surprised. The one who was hovering by the buttons flew up to Issy’s face until he was level with her nose. He stared into her eyes for a long moment and then flew back into the music box, chirruping and tweeting at the others. They all nodded as if they understood and began to turn the gears and levers.
Issy didn’t have a clue what all that had been about, but the dragons looked happy and music was starting to flood out. Straight away it seemed to strike a chord inside her. It was bright and lively, but with a deeper undertone. It started slowly and got faster and faster, building up dramatically. Issy felt her feet start to twitch. In her head she could already see the moves she could do, imagine the jumps and steps and turns. The music reached its end and then the dragons started playing it again from the beginning.
Issy began to skate. She started slowly with an expressive turn and then began gliding from one foot to the other before turning again and beginning some faster crossover steps. She forgot everything, thinking only about the music. As it got faster, she took off into a double flip, spinning over the ice. She landed the jump perfectly and skated on before turning into a fast upright spin, spinning round on the spot on one foot, her arms pulled into her chest.
More jumps followed – a double lutz then a double toe loop – until the music built to its climax. Putting her arms up and arching back, Issy dipped into a layback spin. Round and round she went, holding her position as tightly as possible, until she heard the final crash of the music and she stopped, hands coming down, head up, eyes shining.
‘Oh, wow,’ Sophy breathed, skating over. ‘That was brilliant, Issy!’
Issy was out of breath, but she didn’t care. ‘It felt awesome! The music was wonderful. I love it!’
‘You should use it in the competition,’ said Sophy.
‘I will,’ Issy declared. The piece of music was perfect for her. She wondered if that was why the dragons had chosen it.
‘Look at the frost fairies,’ Sophy said. The ice dance seemed to have had a big effect on them. They were now whizzing around, little sparks of magic jumping from their wands as they pointed them at the material. Sequins appeared instantly, beads attached themselves and dresses magically began to appear.
‘Do your dance now!’ urged Issy.
Sophy pressed the buttons for the piece of music she had chosen for the competition – it was a beautiful, lilting piece of music that made Issy think of a river running down a mountain. Sophy had chosen moves that were difficult, but she had clearly practised a lot and could do them all now. She was a beautiful skater to watch; every movement seemed to hold so much feeling. The only time she faltered was near the end, where Issy was expecting her to do a double jump and she didn’t. She did a single flip before finishing her routine with a beautiful slow step sequence.
Issy clapped. ‘That was great! Though you could have done a double jump instead of the single.’
‘I know,’ said Sophy. ‘I was originally going to do a double flip, but I’ve fallen on it a few times when I’ve been practising… A single’s safer.’
‘But who wants to be safe?’ said Issy. ‘Don’t be silly. I bet you can do it.’
Sophy looked uncertain.
‘You can,’ Issy urged her. ‘Go on, try again. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. But it’s better to try.’ She skated to the music box and asked the dragons to play the music again. ‘Just go for it!’
And Sophy did. She skated the rest of the dance as perfectly as she had the first time and then, as she reached the final part of the routine, she threw herself into the jump, turning round twice in the air. She landed it with just the smallest wobble. Issy cheered.
There was the sound of clapping from the frost fairies. Sophy finished the routine with her step sequence and then looked round as Cobweb and Flaxie came flying over. ‘That was a great jump, Sophy!’ Flaxie said.
Sophy looked very pleased. ‘Thanks.’ She glanced at Issy. ‘I’ll definitely keep it in. How are the costumes going?’ she asked the fairies.
‘Much better. Your dancing is really helping. Can you carry on?’
Issy and Sophy grinned at each other. ‘Of course we can!’
The girls skated for an hour more, taking it in turns and then teaching each other their dances. By the end of it, the frost fairies had finished the costumes! ‘All we’ve got to do is deliver them to the dorms!’ said Cobweb in delight.
‘And then we can go to bed,’ said Flaxie.
The older fairy flew over. ‘Thank you so much, girls,’ she said to Issy and Sophy. ‘Without your help we’d have been working all night.’
‘I don’t understand why you didn’t just ask people to come and skate,’ said Issy. ‘Everyone would have wanted to help get their dress finished and, besides, we all love skating!’
‘Ah, but the magic wouldn’t have worked then. It only worked because you wanted to help us – and not just because we asked you to. That’s the way it is in this land.’ The fairy smiled at them. ‘You’ll find out more about that in time.’
‘You mean, when we find out more about the Ice Princess?’ said Sophy eagerly.
‘Yes. Now go and get some sleep. You have a competition tomorrow!’
Issy and Sophy went up the stairs together, the frost fairies flying ahead of them with the glittering costumes. The girls stopped as they reached the landing. ‘It’s been really fun tonight,’ Issy said.
‘Yeah,’ Sophy agreed, her eyes warm and friendly. ‘You’re not at all like I thought you were.’
‘What do you mean?’ Issy asked.
‘Well, I thought you didn’t care about magic.’
‘But I do!’
‘I know that now.’ Sophy looked at her curiously. ‘So why do you mess around so much in lessons?’
‘I don’t really – it’s Jo who does,’ said Issy. ‘She’s not into magic.’
‘I don’t get why you’re friends with her,’ Sophy said.
‘She’s nice,’ Issy said loyally. ‘And fun.’ She didn’t add even though she can be a bit annoying at times because she never liked it when people were mean about their friends behind their backs. ‘I do like her, but she is different from me.’ She went on quickly, ‘It’s so silly. I’ve been wishing there was someone here who liked magic, who I could be friends with, and I didn’t think of you. You just seemed really quiet and serious.’
‘I guess we both got it wrong,’ said Sophy.
Issy hesitated. ‘Can we be friends now?’ she blurted out hopefully.
Sophy smiled. ‘Definitely.’
Issy felt very happy. ‘Cool! I’ll see you tomorrow then.’
Sophy nodded. ‘All ready for the competition.’
Excitement rushed through Issy. Now she had some music she liked, she couldn’t wait!
