Delphie and the Magic Spell. Darcey Bussell

her legs were wrong again.

      But I’ve got to get it right, she thought as she walked back over to the CD player to restart the music. There’s only one day to go!

      The very next morning there were going to be auditions for the school’s end of term show. It was a woodland ballet and the main part was the Bluebird. All of Delphie’s class wanted to be the Bluebird. Delphie had been practising and practising.

      The door to the studio opened and Delphie saw Madame Za-Za look in. A slim, elegant woman with her greying hair pulled back into a low bun, she was wearing a long floaty skirt over footless tights and a wrapover top.

      “Well, Delphie?” she said. “How is it going?”

      As Delphie met her teacher’s gaze, she couldn’t stop the truth from bursting out. “Actually, I’m not doing very well, Madame Za-Za. I just can’t seem to get the dance right no matter how hard I try!”

      “Maybe you are trying too hard, child,” Madame Za-Za said.

      Delphie frowned. “What do you mean?”

      “It will make sense one day, Delphie,” Madame Za-Za said with a smile. “Maybe sooner than you imagine.” And with that she left the room.

      Delphie sighed, restarted the music and went back to the centre to try again. But even the very first run felt wrong and stiff as she tried to think about her feet, arms and head all at once. She broke off with a groan and went to stop the music before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was nearly time to go. Her mum and dad would be home from work.

      With a sigh, Delphie went over to the wooden barre that ran around the edge of the room and began to do some slow stretching exercises. She was just finishing when the door opened.

      Delphie looked round, expecting to see Madame Za-Za again, but in her place stood Sukie Taylor. Delphie’s heart sank. She was in Delphie’s ballet class and was very, very good at ballet, but she didn’t seem to like Delphie at all.

      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

      “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!