Delphie and the Magic Spell

Sukie looked surprised to see her. “Oh. Hi. I left something.” She picked up a pink cardigan from the back of a chair and switched off the music. “What are you doing here?”

Delphie shrugged. “Just practising.”

“For the auditions?” Sukie’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you won’t have a chance. You’ve only been coming to classes for three weeks and Madame Za-Za has pretty much said that I’m going to be the Bluebird. Everyone knows I’m the best dancer in the class.”

Delphie swallowed. Just ignore her, she told herself. She didn’t want to get into an argument.

“You never know,” Sukie went on. “Maybe if you try hard enough you’ll get to be a rabbit or something.”

Delphie watched as Sukie smirked and flounced out, then Delphie pulled a face. Sukie might think she didn’t have a chance but no one would know until the actual auditions. I might be the Bluebird, Delphie thought hopefully. She crossed her fingers. Oh, she so hoped she would be. But first she just needed to get the dance right…

2 A Noise in the Night (#ulink_c2972260-c9bd-5051-bdd2-a515072db1d8)

“Mum, come and see this bit!” Delphie called after supper. She was sitting on the sofa, her feet curled under her, watching the ballet of Cinderella. She had been given the DVD for her birthday. It was her favourite scene where the fairy godmother changed the pumpkin and mice into a coach and horses and then transformed Cinderella from a servant girl in rags into a beautiful princess.

Mrs Durand came through to the lounge and sat down beside Delphie on the sofa. “Maybe one day you’ll be able to dance like that,” she said, stroking Delphie’s long brown hair. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Delphie snuggled up to her mum. “Oh yes,” she breathed. There was nothing she wanted more in the world.

At bedtime, Delphie kissed her mum and dad goodnight and went upstairs. As she got into her nightdress, she looked hopefully at her red ballet shoes sitting on her desk. Please sparkle tonight, she willed them. Please!

But they looked as still as ever, just as they had every other night that week. Every evening she had lain in bed, willing the shoes to glow, hoping to hear music in the air, just like she had the first time they had taken her to Enchantia.

It would be just so amazing to go back, Delphie thought as she got into bed, after brushing her teeth and hair. I’d love to see Sugar the Sugar Plum Fairy again, and all the other people I met, like the Nutcracker and the waltzing flowers and the dancing snowflakes. She shivered as the image of a rat’s face with red eyes, long whiskers and sharp teeth popped into her brain. The one person she wouldn’t want to see again was the evil King Rat! He hated dancing and was always trying to stop it. Delphie had been to his castle and met him and his mouse guards and it had been very scary!