Summer in Enchantia

To Phoebe and Zoe, as they are the inspirationbehind Magic Ballerina.

Welcome to the world of Enchantia!

I have always loved to dance. The captivating music and wonderful stories of ballet are so inspiring. So come with me and let’s follow Rosa on her magical adventures in Enchantia, where the stories of dance will take you on a very special journey.

Map

The light was fading, but the summer air was still warm on Rosa’s skin and she could smell the scent of jasmine blossom in the air. She was standing with her best friend, Olivia, in the backstage area of an open-air theatre. There were stands of seats on three sides. Rosa could hear the faint squeaks as people shifted in their chairs.

“Isn’t this brilliant?” Rosa whispered to Olivia as they watched the dancers on the brightly lit stage. She tucked her pale blonde hair behind her ears. “I can’t wait to go on and dance again.”

Olivia nodded excitedly. “Me too!”

Rosa, Olivia and six other girls from Madame Za-Za’s ballet school, had been chosen to take part in an outdoor ballet called Shim Chung. It told the story of a beautiful girl called Shim Chung who was captured by sailors and held on their boat. They were then shipwrecked, so she went to live underwater with the Sea Dragon King … until she met a handsome prince who, later she married.

Rosa, Olivia and the other girls were dancing the parts of the young mermaids. They had already been on stage once that night, doing a dance to entertain Shim Chung, and now they were waiting for their second entrance. This dance was Rosa’s favourite. It was a beautiful slow dance to soft, dreamy music where they had to lull Shim Chung and the Sea Dragon King to sleep.

It felt so magical to be standing at the side of the stage in the dark, waiting to go on. Being in this ballet had been the most amazing experience of Rosa’s life – well, one of them, she thought with a smile. For Rosa had a magical secret – the red ballet shoes she was wearing could whisk her away to Enchantia, a land where the characters from all the different ballets lived. The shoes took Rosa to Enchantia whenever there was a problem there that needed solving.

Rosa thought about her best friend in Enchantia – Nutmeg, the fairy of the spices. If only Nutmeg could be there that night to watch her dance in Shim Chung for the last time.

The last time. The words echoed in Rosa’s head, and she felt a wave of sadness sweep over her as she realised that tomorrow night she would just be at home as normal and the ballet would be over. She and Olivia had done three performances of it and this was their last.

“I wish this ballet could go on for ever,” she said, turning to Olivia. “I’m going to miss coming here each night.”

“I know. I’ll miss it too.” Olivia saw Rosa’s sadness and squeezed her hand. “But let’s not think about that now. If we do, we won’t enjoy tonight. We should make the most of it while we’re here.”

“I guess,” Rosa agreed, but the thought ran round and round in her head. No more getting ready in the dressing rooms, no more putting on her green and blue mermaid dress, no more watching the adult dancers chatting and warming up at the practice barre at the side of the stage, no more dancing on stage. She sighed, wishing she could take her mind off it. “I think I’ll go and get a drink,” she said to Olivia.

Rosa went to one of the tables set up for the dancers with cups and jugs of water. She poured herself a drink and walked away from the table. The best way she knew to stop herself from being sad was to dance. She found a quiet place in the shadow of the stands and then, humming the music for the lullaby dance in her head, Rosa practised a few of the steps – arms up, spin round, three steps forward, pause with knees bent and hands down …

She stopped. She didn’t seem able to dance the way she did usually. The sadness inside her was making her feel too heavy.

Rosa bit her lip. She knew she had to pull herself together. The last thing she wanted was to go on stage and dance badly.

Try again, she told herself. Don’t think about this being the last time. Arms up, spin round …

Suddenly Rosa felt a familiar tingling in her feet. Looking down, she gasped. Her ballet shoes were glittering as if they were covered with rubies. “Oh, wow!” she whispered. “I’m going to Enchantia again!”

Colours started to swirl about her and the next second she felt herself being lifted into the air and whisked away …

Rosa spun round and round and then the magic gently set her down. As the cloud of colours faded, her feet met something soft and grainy. Sand! Hearing the cry of seagulls in the air, she looked about. She was standing on a sunny beach with trees behind her and a blue sea lapping at the shore. There was a sharp tang of salt and seaweed in the air and far out on the water was a large old-fashioned ship with three masts and rectangular sails. It was a very different place from the open-air theatre!

For a moment Rosa remembered the lullaby dance she’d been about to perform. Luckily no time ever passed in the human world while she was in Enchantia, so she would be back in time to go on stage. She pushed the thoughts of the ballet to the back of her mind. Right now she needed to concentrate on Enchantia.

I wonder why the shoes have brought me here? she thought excitedly. Usually any problems in Enchantia were caused by the Wicked Fairy or evil King Rat. Rosa wasn’t keen to meet either of them again, but she knew she would do whatever she could to help her friends.

She looked back out to sea, where the sound of music and shouting drifted across the waves from the ship. The sailors on board seemed to be having a party. A black flag with a white picture on it was flying from the mast. Rosa looked closer and caught her breath. It was the skull and crossbones. That must mean it was a pirate ship!

Rosa wasn’t too sure if she wanted to meet pirates. She was starting to back away uncertainly towards the trees when she heard a voice.

“Rosa! Over here!”

Rosa recognised it instantly. “Nutmeg!” she exclaimed, looking round. She couldn’t see her friend. “Where are you?”

Nutmeg poked her head out from round one of the trees. “I’m here!”

Rosa hurried to meet her. As usual, Nutmeg was wearing a sparkling pink and pale brown tutu and a glittering tiara. Her brown hair was up in a bun and she wore pink pointe shoes.

“It’s lovely to see you, Rosa!” she exclaimed.

The two friends hugged.

“So what’s going on?” Rosa asked. “Why have the shoes brought me here?”

“Well, we’ve got a big problem.” Nutmeg pointed to the ship. “And it’s all to do with those pirates.”

Rosa felt a shiver of excitement and fear run through her. “Why? What have they done?”

“Come and sit down,” said Nutmeg. “And I’ll tell you all about it …”

Rosa and Nutmeg sat down on the soft sand and the fairy started to explain. “King Tristan and Queen Isabella decided to have a big summer garden party for everyone in Enchantia. They wanted to make it the best garden party ever and so they arranged for lots of amazing things to be brought from all over the kingdom – delicious food and sparkling jewels and the finest silks for decorating the palace gardens.”

“So what’s the problem?” asked Rosa curiously.

Nutmeg sighed. “The garden party is set for tomorrow and none of the things that were supposed to be shipped here by sea have arrived. Those pirates over there have been stealing everything.”

Rosa glanced across the water. The noise on the ship had got louder and cannons were now being fired.

“We don’t know who’s their captain or where they are keeping the stolen goods,” Nutmeg went on. “I came here to try and find out.”

“How are you going to do that?” asked Rosa.

Nutmeg sighed again. “I haven’t actually worked that out yet,” she admitted.

Rosa considered the problem. “Couldn’t you use your magic to get on the ship?” she suggested. Nutmeg could use her fairy magic to get almost anywhere in Enchantia.

“I could,” said Nutmeg slowly. “Although it would be very dangerous.”

“But you’d definitely find out what’s really going on if you did that,” said Rosa. “I’ll come with you if you like,” she offered.

“Are you sure?” Nutmeg said.

Rosa nodded hard. “Of course.”

Nutmeg smiled in relief. “Thank you! But before we go I think we should disguise ourselves. If we arrive on the ship looking like this,” and she waved at her tutu and Rosa’s green and blue ballet dress, “we’ll be captured straight away! I’ll make us look like cabin boys. It’s a really big ship with lots of pirates, so hopefully no one will notice a few extra crew members.” The fairy thought for a moment. “Now what dance should I do to change our clothes?”

Nutmeg could also use her magic to conjure things from a ballet if she did one of the dances from it.

“I need a ballet with sailors in —” Nutmeg went on thoughtfully.

“I know one!” interrupted Rosa eagerly. “Back in my world I’m dancing in a ballet all about the sea. It’s called Shim Chung. There are sailors in that.”

“Oh, of course,” said Nutmeg, looking pleased. “I know Shim Chung. She’s lovely, and so beautiful. I went to her palace for a ball once.”

Rosa smiled. It was still strange for her to think that the characters in all the different ballets really existed here in Enchantia.

“I know. I’ll do a bit of the dance where Shim Chung entertains the captain of the ship.” Nutmeg pulled her wand out of her tutu and waved it in the air. Lively music tinkled out. Nutmeg ran forward, paused on her toes, her arms above her head, and then swept her right arm down, turning to the left. She danced swiftly to the right with short steps and moved into an arabesque, one leg lifted behind her, before moving on again, repeating the steps.

Rosa watched, entranced. Even though she was wearing a fairy’s tutu, Nutmeg seemed to become Shim Chung. Rosa could just imagine her as the young girl. Nutmeg danced out of the arabesque, spun around Rosa and stopped, pointing her wand first at Rosa and then at herself.

There was a silver flash. Rosa gasped and looked down. Her mermaid costume had disappeared and she was now wearing completely different clothes!

She had on a ragged white shirt, a brown waistcoat and dark cropped trousers with a leather belt. Her pale blonde hair was tied up in a bun and hidden by a red scarf.

“Oh, cool!” Glancing up, she saw that Nutmeg looked exactly the same except that she had a blue scarf on her head. Her wings were hidden inside her shirt.

“We look just like cabin boys,” Nutmeg said, looking pleased. “Well, apart from our ballet shoes. We can’t really wear them. Hmmm …” Nutmeg waved her wand again and suddenly they each had a small leather bag attached to their belt.

“We can put our shoes in these,” Nutmeg said, patting hers. “Then no one will see them, but we won’t have to leave them behind.”

Rosa felt relieved. She never liked being parted from her ballet shoes. They always made her feel safe. Untying the ribbons, she slipped her shoes off and put them in her bag.

“Now to get aboard the ship,” said Nutmeg.

Rosa ran over and took hold of the fairy’s hand as she raised her wand. “Are you ready?” Nutmeg said.

Rosa took a deep breath and nodded. “Pirate ship, here we come!”

A cloud of silver sparkles swirled around Rosa and Nutmeg. The magic lifted them into the air and whisked them over the water. Rosa grinned. She loved travelling by fairy magic! But then, just as they got closer to the ship, it was as if they had hit the wall of a bouncy castle. Rosa and Nutmeg both rebounded backwards.

Suddenly they were no longer spinning; they were falling down and down …

SPLASH!

Rosa gasped and spluttered as she plunged feet-first into the sea! Kicking her way to the surface, she saw Nutmeg’s head popping out of the water at the same time. “What … what happened?” Rosa cried.

Nutmeg swam over, looking dismayed. “There must be some spells protecting the ship. My magic has taken us as far as it can. We can’t get on board.”

Rosa saw that the ship was just a little way off. Luckily the pirates seemed so busy partying, they hadn’t noticed Nutmeg and Rosa landing in the sea nearby. Another cannon boomed into the air and there was a great cheer from the deck. Rosa glanced behind them. The beach looked very far away. “What are we going to do?” she said in alarm.

“Get out of the sea as quickly as possible!” Nutmeg replied. “These waters aren’t safe for swimming. There’s a hungry sea serpent living in the depths. I’ll use my magic to take us back.”

Rosa grabbed Nutmeg’s hand and the fairy waved her wand in the air. The magic whisked them out of the water and they landed back on the beach by the trees.

“I’m soaked through!” said Rosa, shaking water droplets out of her hair.

“Let’s get dry,” Nutmeg said, magicking up two large towels. The girls quickly rubbed away the water. Luckily the sun was shining and their clothes soon started to dry out.

“So someone’s put spells on the ship,” said Rosa, looking out to sea. “How are we going to get on board then?”

Nutmeg looked thoughtful. “Maybe I could conjure up a small boat and we could row over?”

“The pirates would be bound to see us coming,” Rosa pointed out. She wracked her brains. They couldn’t swim or row to the ship, or use magic to get there. If only they could get the ship to come to them! Her thought gave her an idea.

“Could you magic up a treasure chest, Nutmeg?” asked Rosa. “A really big one the pirates will see from the ship?”

“Yes, I could. But why?”

Rosa grinned. “Because if the pirates see it they’re bound to come over in their rowing boats – the ship would run aground if they brought it any closer. And then maybe we can pretend to be in their crew and get on to the ship that way.”

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