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