Flying High (3 page)

Mrs Lightwing sighed. ‘Stop and hover, everyone,' she called.

The rest of the First Years fluttered in the air, peering down at her. Twink stood by herself, slowly opening and closing her wings. Her cheeks were on fire.

Mrs Lightwing landed in front of Twink, regarding her carefully. ‘You're thinking too much, my girl,' she said. ‘Relax! Let your wings do the work for you!'

Twink gulped. She had never felt less relaxed in her life.

‘Come on, now, try again,' said Mrs Lightwing. ‘When I say
rise
,
you –'

WHOOSH!
Twink's wings took off of their own accord, zooming her straight up in the air. A few of the hovering fairies screamed and darted out of her way.

‘Aagh!' shrieked Twink, swooping wildly about. ‘Help, I can't stop!' She shot towards Glitterwings. The great tree seemed to spin in front of her, branches flailing.

‘Slow down!' bawled Mrs Lightwing behind her. ‘STEER!'

Twink clapped her hands over her eyes, expecting at any moment to crash into the school. Icy terror swept over her. All at once her wings froze again. A moment later, she was falling towards the ground.

This time when she came to, Mrs Lightwing looked shaken. Her sky-blue hair hung in messy strands about her face.

‘I barely caught you that time!' she gasped. ‘I think you've had enough flying for today.'

Twink struggled to sit up. ‘But I need to learn how to fly like the others!' she cried. She fought to hold back tears.

‘Not today,' said Mrs Lightwing firmly, tucking her hair back into place. ‘You just sit there and rest while I go on with the lesson. We'll get you flying tomorrow.' Twink saw a worried look flicker across her teacher's face. ‘Or . . . well, as soon as we can, anyway.'

As the other fairies got back into line, Sooze skimmed quickly over to Twink. ‘Don't worry, Opposite, you'll get it soon!' she said. ‘I bet you'll be better than any of us!'

She flew off again, her pink wings glinting in the sunlight. She already looked like a natural, thought Twink sadly. Everyone did, except for her.

‘Ready, and . . . rise!' called Mrs Lightwing.

Her heart heavy, Twink sat in the grass and watched the rest of the First Years learn to bank, turn and land. Mrs Lightwing encouraged them to fly a little higher with each exercise, so that by the end of the lesson, the girls were dipping and twirling high over Twink's head.

She could hear Sooze laughing, chatting with some of the other fairies as they buzzed about. Mariella flew with her nose stuck in the air, executing very grand banks and turns. With one of them, she and Lola dived straight past Twink, who had to duck to avoid being hit.

‘Oh, sorry!' said Mariella loudly. ‘We didn't see you
sitting
there.'

‘Yeah, sorry,' echoed Lola with a smirk. The two fairies snickered as they flew away.

Twink flushed, glaring after them.
Never mind
, she thought, leaning against a dandelion stalk and hugging her knees.
I'll learn how to fly tomorrow.
Her lavender wings opened and shut in the sunlight, as though promising to behave.

But at the thought of flying again, something inside Twink shivered. What if . . . what if she never learned how? She'd be the only fairy in the school still riding a bird!

Twink swallowed hard.
No
,
she thought fiercely.
I'll get it tomorrow. I will!

.

Chapter Three

But Twink didn't learn to fly the next day, or even the day after that. A week went by, and Twink was the only fairy at Glitterwings Academy who remained land-locked. A dozen times a day, the great hollow trunk was filled with a rainbow of flying fairies, darting and swooping their way to class – and one red-cheeked fairy clinging to a bird.

The other fairies tried to pretend they didn't notice Twink, but they whispered about her once she passed. ‘There must be something wrong with her,' Twink heard a green-haired Fourth Year hiss to a friend. ‘Do you think they'll even let her stay at school?'

Twink's pointed ears burned as she blinked back tears.

‘Don't mind her,' said Sooze, flying by her side. ‘If they'll let an idiot like her stay, I'm sure they'll let you!'

This wasn't exactly comforting, and Twink felt very glum as she flew with the rest of Daffodil Branch to a Dance lesson. Dance classes were held outside, in a fairy ring of mushrooms that grew near the wood.

‘Quickly, quickly!' called Madame Brightfoot, clapping her hands and hovering above the ground. ‘We have much to do today!'

Twink slid off her bird's back and patted his wing. The bird squad had all been sent home, except for this one bright-eyed tit called Sunny. And even though Twink's heart still leapt in her throat whenever she left the ground, she and Sunny had become great friends. It wasn't
his
fault that everyone was whispering about her.

‘My favourite class!' grinned Sooze as she landed lightly beside Twink. She leaned close, her violet eyes sparkling. ‘And I've got a surprise for Madame, wait and see!'

Twink's spirits lifted. Sooze had a voracious appetite for tricks and pranks. Just the day before, she had swapped Mrs Hover's bag of fairy dust for one of ordinary dust, and then innocently pointed out that her daffodil dress needed mending.

‘Well, I never!' a red-faced Mrs Hover had exclaimed as she sprinkled more and more dust on the stubborn tear. ‘Whatever's wrong with the stuff?' Twink and the others had had to bite their lips to keep from exploding with laughter.

Now Twink formed a circle with the rest of Daffodil Branch, with Madame Brightfoot in the centre. Madame had dramatic red wings, and wore shimmering cobweb dresses with tiny sparkling stones on them.

‘Join hands and spread your wings!' she cried. Her bright purple hair was piled atop her head, with wispy bits falling down here and there.

The fairies joined hands, wings touching. From above, they looked like a many-petalled flower.

‘Now,' said Madame, patting her hair. ‘All fairies love to dance, but not all dances are just for fun. Some dances are magical, and this dance I'm about to teach you is a very important one. If you do it correctly, you shall be able to hear what the wood is thinking!'

Excitement rippled through the group. The fairies looked at each other, eyes shining.

Mariella tossed her head. ‘I'm sure I've done this before,' she said. ‘My old school was very advanced. We used to hear what the wood was thinking all the time.'

I bet it was wishing that you'd go away,
thought Twink.

‘Three steps to the right!' called Madame, throwing her arms wide and fluttering in the air. ‘Dip and turn, close your wings and open them!'

The fairies began to dance, carefully following Madame's instructions. Twink murmured the steps to herself as Madame called them out. ‘Two steps left . . . twirl in place . . .'

It was such a lovely dance! And suddenly Twink saw that magic was beginning to gather around them, like sparkling flakes of sunshine. She caught her breath in delight.

‘Now you all fly up together, one-two-three wing beats, and join hands in the air!' cried Madame.

Oh, no! Twink's heart fell into her pixie boots. The rest of the circle took to the air like butterflies, leaving her red-faced on the ground. The flakes of sunshine vanished with little popping sounds as the spell broke.

‘What is this?' called Madame. ‘You have ruined the dance! Why are you not in the air?'

‘I'm – I'm sorry, Madame,' stammered Twink. ‘It's just that –'

‘She can't fly,' broke in Mariella. She and Lola snickered.

‘Oh! You are
that
girl,' said Madame. ‘I had forgotten. Ah. Well – you shall just have to hop for now, instead of flying.
Pretend
to fly. We shall not hear the wood's thoughts today, but you shall all learn the steps.'

Miserably, Twink joined hands with the others as the dance began again. No one said a word to her, not even Sooze. She was sure they all blamed her for ruining the dance.

‘Now fly!' said Madame. Feeling like an idiot, Twink hopped in place as the others lifted up in the air. She could hear Mariella and Lola laughing, and she grit her teeth. She was
not
going to let them get to her.

‘Madame!' cried Sooze suddenly. ‘What's that on your shoulder?'

‘You bad fairy, you have ruined the dance also!' said Madame, exasperated. ‘What is this you are saying? What about my shoulder?'

‘There's a – a
thing
on it,' said Sooze, wide-eyed and innocent. The fairies all landed, clustering about Madame. Twink pressed her lips together to keep from shouting with laughter. There was a fat green glow-worm nestled on Madame's shoulder, purring gently.

‘Oh! Get it off! Get away from me, you glow-thing!' shrieked Madame, swatting at her shoulder. The glow-worm nuzzled Madame's neck, humming with pleasure.

‘I think he likes you, Madame,' said Pix, her voice wobbling with laughter.

‘But I do not like it! Horrid things, they should stay in lamps!' Madame tried to scrape the worm off, but it clung to her like a tiny owl.

‘Maybe you should go and see Matron,' said Sooze, her violet eyes wide. ‘He seems really attached to you.'

‘I shall! I shall! Class dismissed!' And Madame flew quickly away towards Glitterwings, the affectionate glow-worm still cuddled on her shoulder.

Mariella sniffed. ‘I think
you
had something to do with that,' she said to Sooze. ‘I've never seen a glow-worm do that before!'

‘Me? How could I?' demanded Sooze. ‘We don't learn power spells until third year.'

Mariella scowled, but had no answer for this. ‘Come on, Lola,' she snapped. The two fairies flew haughtily away.

The rest of Daffodil Branch pressed around Sooze. ‘How did you do it?' gasped Twink. ‘I've never seen anything so funny!'

Sooze grinned, fluttering her wings. ‘My sister gave me some fairy dust with a love spell cast on it. It wears off after a few minutes – by the time Madame gets to Matron, that worm won't care about her in the least!'

The fairies howled with laughter, imagining it. Even Bimi was smiling. ‘Madame will think she's gone mad!' cried a yellow-haired fairy called Zena. ‘Sooze, you're brilliant!'

Twink laughed with the others, glad of the chance to forget about not being able to fly. But once the merriment died down, Pix looked thoughtfully at her.

‘Twink, it's really too bad that you still can't fly,' she said. ‘I wonder if there's anything we can do to help you?'

Twink made a face. ‘Mrs Lightwing says I just need to relax, but I can't seem to do it.' She tried not to let the others see how much this bothered her. Every night, she had nightmares about flying that turned her wings cold.

‘Maybe there's something she hasn't thought of,' said Pix. ‘I think I'll fly to the library after dinner and do some research.'

Twink's heart lifted. ‘Oh, Pix, would you?' she cried. Everyone already knew that Pix was the cleverest fairy in their year. If anyone could figure out a solution, she could!

Pix nodded seriously, tucking a strand of short red hair behind her ear. ‘Yes, of course. It's not just for you – it'll be wonderful for all of us when you can fly!'

The first-year Common Branch was a cosy, moss-carpeted space with spotted mushrooms for seats, and a ring of fire rocks at its centre – enchanted stones that glowed hot in the winter and cool in the summer. Normally in the evenings the branch was filled with chattering fairies doing their homework, but that night everyone crowded around Pix.

‘Well? Have you found anything out yet?' asked Sooze.

‘A few things,' said Pix. She opened a petal book and flipped through its pages. ‘Twink, you're not the first fairy who couldn't fly. There was another one called Agnes Leadwing back in 1047.
She
couldn't fly, either.'

‘What happened to her?' asked Twink eagerly.

‘Well . . .' Pix rubbed her nose. ‘Actually, she never did learn how to fly. She had to have a special mouse cart made for her, and she rode around in that all her life.'

‘Oh,' whispered Twink.

Sooze made a face. ‘Pix, that doesn't help at all! Didn't you find out anything useful?'

Pix flushed and put the petal book away. ‘I tried. There's just not a lot in the library about it.
Every
fairy can fly.'

‘Except Twink,' sniffed Mariella, listening in from the edge of the group. ‘Really, I don't know why you're all bothering. It's obvious that there's something wrong with her.'

‘There is not!' cried Twink. ‘I'll be able to fly just as well as you soon, wait and see!'

‘
No
one can fly as well as Mariella,' said Lola primly. ‘She's the best of anybody.'

‘They should send you home,' continued Mariella, narrowing her eyes at Twink. ‘You're holding the whole year back. We can't even listen to the wood because of you!'

Twink's throat tightened. She couldn't answer.

Sooze took a step forward, her pink wings opening and shutting rapidly. ‘I think you should just be quiet now,' she said in a low voice. ‘We're all behind Twink, even if
you
aren't.'

The Common Branch held its breath, waiting to see what Mariella would do. The pointed-faced fairy flushed and looked away.