Friendship Dance (8 page)

‘Here, let's both try it,' she said, reaching for more fairy dust.

Chauncey-Oberon blinked. ‘
Both
of us? But –'

‘Of course!' cried Twink. ‘Your nurse was an adult; her magic was stronger than ours. But maybe together, we can do it.' She poured a bit of the fairy dust in his hand, and then held her own hand over it. Stripe watched them hopefully.

‘All right,' said Chauncey-Oberon, looking doubtful. ‘You have to think about her heart mending as you say the words.'

Twink nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine the wasp Queen's heart, picturing it whole and strong and healthy. ‘
Sore heart mend, find a friend,
'
she murmured with Chauncey-Oberon. ‘
Sore heart mend, find a friend.
'

Together, they sprinkled the glittering fairy dust over the wasp Queen.

.

Chapter Eight

The magic dust swirled into a cloud and grew brighter, so that for several moments, they could hardly see the wasp Queen through the pink and gold sparkles. Twink held her breath.

Slowly, the dust faded . . . and Twink saw that the wasp Queen had drifted into a deep, healing sleep. A relaxed smile was on her face, and already her yellow and black colouring looked brighter.

Twink moved quietly away from the bedside, careful not to disturb her. Stripe followed with a soft, joyous buzz, flinging himself into her arms. Twink hugged him tightly.

‘Oh Stripe, I think she's going to be all right. I'm so glad!' She twirled them about in a circle. Suddenly she remembered Chauncey-Oberon. None of this would have been possible without him.

‘
Thank you
,'
she said, as Stripe nodded enthusiastic agreement. ‘I would never have known what was wrong. You really
are
a hero – and I'll tell Queen Mab all about it. Your parents are going to be so proud of you!'

To her surprise, Chauncey-Oberon stiffened, and for a moment Twink thought he almost looked close to tears. Then he turned away with a scowl. ‘Whatever. Come on, we've got to hurry.'

Twink's pink eyebrows drew together. What had she said to upset him? But there was no time to worry about it now. Chauncey-Oberon was right – they had to rush if they were going to make it back to the palace in time for their dance!

The journey back through the low-ceilinged corridors seemed endless. Twink hurried along as fast as she could, but her legs and wings were soon aching worse than before.

‘Are you all right?' she asked Chauncey-Oberon.

‘Oh, leave me alone,' he said without looking at her.

Stung, Twink didn't reply. For a moment in the royal chamber, Chauncey-Oberon hadn't seemed bad at all – but now he was just as rude as ever. What was
wrong
with him, anyway?

Finally, they exited the palace and were flying up through the hollow tree again. Twink sighed with relief. How lovely it felt to stretch her muscles and feel the wind in her hair!

Chauncey-Oberon was flying behind her, clutching his left wing and grimacing.

‘What's wrong?' asked Twink, swooping back to him.

‘Nothing – I've got a wing cramp, that's all,' he retorted coldly. Cresting the rim of the hollow tree, they flew out into the wood. Stripe buzzed about them in concern.

‘Is it a bad cramp?' pressed Twink. ‘Because you really shouldn't fly with it if –'

‘I said I'm fine!' shouted Chauncey-Oberon.

He put on a burst of speed, jetting away from her through the trees. As Twink watched in dismay, his left wing gave a shudder and stopped flapping. With an awful cry, Chauncey-Oberon fell towards the ground.

Twink darted after him. Hours of practice on the Glitterwings Fledge field had made her a strong flyer, and she managed to grab him as he hurtled to the ground.

‘Get off!' yelled Chauncey-Oberon, struggling like the Fledge flea.

‘Are you mad?' Twink fluttered wildly, straining to slow them both down.

Crash!
They hit the ground in an explosion of autumn leaves and pine needles. Twink sat up with a groan. Ouch, her head! All at once she saw that Chauncey-Oberon had landed on his wing. ‘Oh! Are you –'

The boy sat up. His bruised wing hung limply by his side. ‘Don't ask!' he snapped, his voice shaking. ‘No, I'm
not
OK.'

Twink blew out a breath. Fine! She'd just keep quiet, since she couldn't say anything right.

Stripe buzzed up. Seeing Chauncey-Oberon's wing, he turned to Twink with a questioning expression. ‘I suppose we're going to need some help getting back to the palace,' she admitted. ‘Can you do anything, Stripe?'

He nodded, and flew quickly away.

Twink pulled her knees to her chest, wondering how much longer Stripe would be. He'd been gone ages already – they'd miss the dance at this rate!

Chauncey-Oberon's orchid and emerald suit was sadly battered from the fall, and looking down, Twink saw that her dress wasn't much better. She sighed. So much for looking like she belonged in the palace.

Suddenly she realised that Chauncey-Oberon was staring at her. ‘What?' she said.

‘What did you mean,
we
need some help?' he repeated slowly. ‘Why don't you just fly back alone?'

‘And leave you here?' said Twink in surprise. ‘Of course not!'

‘Why not?' demanded Chauncey-Oberon. ‘You could be back in time for the dance. You could tell Queen Mab that
you
saved the wasp Queen, all on your own.'

‘But I wouldn't do that,' said Twink in confusion.

Chauncey-Oberon glowered at the pine needle his feet were resting on. ‘I would,' he said in a low voice.

‘I don't believe you,' said Twink hotly. ‘I don't think you're as awful as you make out – even if you
are
the rudest boy I've ever met! No one who helped the wasp Queen the way you just did could be
all
bad.'

Chauncey-Oberon fell silent, playing with a loose emerald on his suit. ‘Nobody likes me, you know,' he said finally. ‘Not even my parents. I hoped maybe they'd be proud of me if I did something amazing, but – but the truth is I was fooling myself. They'll never like me, no matter what I do.' He looked up, his eyes bright with tears. ‘How did you find out?' he asked.

Twink's throat tightened. ‘I – I'm sorry,' she faltered. ‘I should never have mentioned it, not in a million years. But Chauncey-Oberon, I'm sure your parents like you! They're just really busy –'

He shrugged, wiping his eyes. ‘How did you know, though?'

‘Jay knows one of the boys at White Cloud,' confessed Twink. ‘But no one was going to say anything to you! We all felt bad for you, even though –' She stopped.

‘Even though I acted like a total moss brain,' finished Chauncey-Oberon. He leaned back against a stone and sighed. ‘Nobody likes me, they never have,' he repeated. ‘So I suppose I don't give them the chance any more. Why bother trying?'

‘But of course you should bother!' exclaimed Twink. ‘You need friends; everyone does.'

‘Oh, it's easy for
you
,'
said Chauncey-Oberon, throwing a pebble. ‘Everybody likes you – I saw that right away, from the first moment we met! But what if you were me, and – and you never said anything right? And everyone teased you once they found out that your parents were never at home, and you lived with a
nurse
?'

‘Do the other fairies tease you for that?' echoed Twink. ‘But that's awful!'

Chauncey-Oberon made a face. ‘They used to, at my old school. So now I just try to act more important than anyone else. My family
is
very important, you know, and – and sometimes it impresses the new boys, before they get to know me.' He looked down at the ground.

Twink's heart ached for him. But before she could say anything else, a buzzing noise reached their ears.

Stripe reappeared with a dozen other wasps, carrying a stretcher made of thick paper between them. Gently, the insects picked up Chauncey-Oberon and placed him on it.

The crimson-haired fairy went a bit pale. ‘It looks like they're going to carry me back to the palace.'

The wasps lifted up the stretcher. ‘I suppose it's the only way,' said Twink, fluttering beside him. ‘Are you all right?'

Chauncey-Oberon nodded. ‘But Twink – what will they
say
, when we arrive with a swarm of wasps?'

Twink swallowed. ‘I suppose we'll find out,' she said weakly.

The wasps sped through the wood, carrying Chauncey-Oberon as lightly as if he were a leaf. Twink and Stripe flew just behind. Despite everything, Twink enjoyed spending time with her friend again. The two of them ‘talked' the way they always had, swapping stories about what they'd been up to since they'd last seen each other.

All too soon, the royal clearing appeared through the trees. Twink's palms went damp as the wasps flew straight to the palace. As one, they dived through the leafy branches at the top of the bush.

The Queen's party was in full swing, with hundreds of grandly dressed fairies laughing and talking. Twink wasn't sure whether she and Chauncey-Oberon had been missed – but they certainly made their presence known now!

A shocked hush fell as the swarm of wasps carrying Chauncey-Oberon swooped over the fairies' heads, with Twink right behind them. One of the ladies screamed and ducked for cover.

‘Sorry!' called Twink frantically over her shoulder.

‘What's the meaning of this?' sputtered Maximus, bustling over as the insects set Chauncey-Oberon lightly on the ground. He scrambled to his feet, his hurt wing limp.

The wasps buzzed away through the branches with the empty stretcher – all except Stripe, who remained staunchly by Twink's side. Her heart swelled. She knew how frightened her friend was of the fairies, but he wasn't going to leave her on her own.

‘WHAT is the meaning of this?' repeated Maximus, red-faced. ‘Miss Flutterby! Master Sparkworth! WHO is this wasp?'

Twink licked her dry lips. ‘He – he's my friend,' she said. ‘He needed help . . .'

Complete silence met her words as hundreds of adults stood gaping at them. Suddenly Twink was keenly aware of the sad state of her fine dress, and that one of her emerald combs was missing. Chauncey-Oberon lifted his chin, glaring haughtily.

‘You'll have to explain more than that!' barked Maximus.

Twink's wings felt cold. ‘Well . . . you see . . .'

Before she could say anything else, Queen Mab appeared, hovering over the crowd and touching down beside Twink and the others. The fairies all rose on to respectful tiptoe, inclining their heads.

Twink hastily did the same. She had thought the fairy monarch was beautiful before, but now she was radiant – like sunshine! She wore a simple daffodil dress, and a crown with a single golden jewel in it.

‘Please be at ease,' said the Queen. The crowd sank to its feet again. Twink gulped as the Queen regarded them closely.

‘Would someone please tell me what has happened?' she asked.

In answer, Stripe buzzed forward. As the fairies watched in astonishment, the wasp began to act out the story – his friendship with Twink, his joy at seeing her again, his worry over the wasp Queen's illness – and his growing certainty that Twink might be able to help.

So beautifully did Stripe perform that everyone followed his story perfectly. The fairies watched, entranced.

All at once Twink spotted the other children, standing nearby. Though slack-jawed with amazement, none of them looked as if they thought any the worse of her for having a wasp as a friend. Tilli even caught Twink's eye, and smiled at her.

Relief rushed through Twink – but she was disappointed in herself, as well. She should have had the courage to tell them from the start.
I always will from now on
,
she vowed.
Stripe's my friend, and I'm not ashamed to say so.