The Crystal Rose, page 1
Magda focused on a nearby Arctic fox with a particularly fluffy coat. He looked at her with his sparkling dark eyes. As their gazes met she felt a tingling and the next moment she had transformed into a fox just like him!
As the sun rose over the beautiful island of Nordovia, its golden rays lit up the icy mountain peaks, making them glitter and shine. Arctic hares hopped across the lowland plains, while polar bears emerged from their dens and rolled happily in the thick snow. In the villages, people were waking up, pulling on warm clothes and getting ready to start their day. Everything seemed normal. But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The magical lights that usually swirled across the skies in Nordovia – the Everchanging Lights that kept everything in balance and made the island such a wonderful place to live – had dimmed from their usual bright pink, purple and blue to occasional pale flickers of colour.
In the north of the land, in a freezing ice cave carved into the side of a jagged mountain by dark magic, a flame-haired woman looked out of the icy bars of her prison. Her face was etched with worry as she turned to her husband. “Oh, Magnus. Do you think our girls will be able to find the orbs and restore the Lights?”
He squeezed her shoulder. “We must have faith, Freya. If anyone can defeat the Shadow Witch, it is our daughters.” He kissed her forehead. “They have their mother’s determination – they will never give up.”
She shot him a weak smile. “They have their father’s courage too. But their magical powers have only just awakened. It could take them many months to learn how to control them. My sister grows stronger by the day. She longs for power and if she finds the orbs first—” She broke off with a cry and doubled over.
“What is it, Freya?” asked Magnus, grabbing her hand.
“She … she is using spells to try to take my magic. I can feel it!” Freya gasped. Her face creased up in pain.
“Keep fighting her, my love,” Magnus begged. “We must give our girls time to restore the Everchanging Lights to the island.”
A triumphant laugh echoed through their prison. “Give in, sister!” a voice hissed through the air. “You will never manage to keep your powers from me. I will take them.”
“No!” Freya forced herself upright, her emerald eyes flashing. “I will not let you, Veronika. You must not be allowed to harm Nordovia!”
“You have no choice in the matter,” snapped the voice of her sister, the Shadow Witch. Her form gradually emerged from a dark corner and she strode over to a smooth sheet of ice on the floor. She closed her eyes and began to chant strange words. Images appeared on the surface of the ice.
Veronika cackled. “My magic allows me to spy on your darling daughters.” She paused, glaring at Freya. “And I will destroy them without ever having to leave your side, dear sister! Nobody is going to stop me. Soon the magic of the Everchanging Lights will belong to me!” Her laugh rang out, rising in volume, echoing round and round the icy prison. Then she trained the full force of her powerful magic upon her sister.
Freya, with a scream of pain, crumpled to the floor.
Hanna Aurora gazed into the snow globe that stood on a table in the centre of her and her sisters’ bedchamber. Her emerald-green eyes were reflected back at her from its glass. Start to glow, oh, please start to glow, she thought longingly.
Inside the globe, soft white snowflakes swirled around a crystal-clear waterfall that fell endlessly into an icy sea. Pink light flickered softly through the snowflakes, lighting the globe. It was beautiful. Hanna and her sisters, Ida and Magda, had always loved the snow globe, but it had become even more precious to them since their parents had been trapped by the Shadow Witch. Now it was the only way their mother could talk to them. Twice since she had been imprisoned her image had appeared in the globe and twice she had given the girls advice. But her magic was fading fast.
Hanna itched with impatience. She wanted their mother to speak to them again. So much had happened in the last few days! The girls’ evil aunt was desperate to steal the power of the Everchanging Lights. But their mother had used magic to contain the Lights inside three glass orbs – one pink, one blue and one purple – and hidden them around the island to protect them from the Shadow Witch. The girls had already found the pink orb despite their aunt’s attempts to stop them. If they could only find the blue and purple orbs too, they would be able to rescue their parents and restore peace to Nordovia.
Hanna gazed at the snow globe and remembered all that had happened. Just five days ago, she and her sisters had journeyed into the forest to find the pink orb. A giant wolf, sent by the Shadow Witch, had attacked them, but they had fought it off and brought the orb safely home. It had been an amazing adventure! The orb containing the pink Everchanging Light had been placed inside the snow globe to keep it safe.
We will get the blue and purple orbs, vowed Hanna, her mouth setting in a determined line. We will free the Lights and rescue Mother and Father.
She jumped to her feet. “Oh, I can’t bear this any longer!” She pushed her hands through her choppy red hair. “We’ve got to do something. We can’t just sit around waiting for Mother to talk to us.”
Her sisters looked up. Ida was sitting on her bed, sketching as usual, while Magda was stroking Oskar, their pet polar bear cub, who was snoozing on the floor next to her. Although the girls were triplets they were very different! Ida was thoughtful and a little shy, and loved nothing more than painting or sketching. Magda was a good problemsolver and adored animals of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest butterfly to the largest polar bear. And Hanna was always on the move – keen to try something new and have an adventure! She found all of this waiting very difficult.
“Hanna, we’ve talked about this,” said Ida, pushing her blonde plait back over her shoulder. The triplets had the same green eyes but their hair was different – Hanna’s was the deep red of autumn leaves, Ida’s was honey blonde and Magda’s was the dark brown of chocolate. “We have to wait until Mother finds a way to contact us again, otherwise we won’t know where to look for the other orbs. We can’t just rush off without knowing where we have to go.”
“Why not?” demanded Hanna.
“Because it’s not sensible,” said Ida.
“So? It would be better than sitting round here having lessons with Madame Olga. We should be trying to save Nordovia!”
“We need guidance,” Ida said. “A clue at least.”
“Ida’s right, Hanna,” Magda put in. “We can’t do anything until we get another message from Mother.”
Hanna stamped her foot in frustration. “I can’t believe you two! It’s going to be the Day of the Midnight Sun in less than two weeks’ time.” She paced around the chamber. “If we don’t find the remaining orbs by then, Aunt Veronika’s powers will be strong enough to summon them to her. And then she’ll rule Nordovia, and destroy everything! And what about Mother and Father? Don’t you want to rescue them?”
“Of course we do!” said Ida. “I want to stop Aunt Veronika just as much as you do!”
“It doesn’t seem like it!” huffed Hanna.
“Please don’t fight,” pleaded Magda. “Look…” Her gaze darted around the chamber as she searched for a way to calm the argument between her sisters. “We know we’re going to have to go on another adventure soon to find the next orb. Why don’t I use my magic to sneak into the kitchen and find some food we can take with us?”
Hanna nodded eagerly. “Oh yes! Use your magic!”
On their twelfth birthday, just a few days ago, they had each developed magical powers. Members of the Aurora family, who were the Keepers of the Everchanging Lights, all discovered their unique magical power on their twelfth birthday. Hanna had discovered she could move things using her mind, Ida had the power to bring objects to life when she drew them, and Magda could transform into any animal or bird that she saw. The triplets’ mother, Freya, had the power to stop time and their aunt, Veronika, had the power to make plants and trees grow. Like all Auroras, both their mother and aunt had gradually learnt other powers over the years. Freya had always used magic for good, but Veronika had learnt dark magic. Her pursuit of power had turned her into the evil Shadow Witch – an enemy of Nordovia, the very land she was supposed to protect.
“What sort of animal will you turn into?” Ida asked Magda.
Magda tucked her brown hair behind her ears and smiled. “A mouse!”
Magda needed to see an animal in order to be able to turn into it and so she went to the table beside her bed where she kept a tin of breadcrumbs. There was a little mouse secretly living in their bedchamber. Magda had found him in the courtyard one day. She had made him a home behind a loose bit of skirting board and fed him scraps of bread and cheese. He seemed to like his new home! Now Magda crouched down at the hole in the skirting board and put a few breadcrumbs on the wooden floor. “Erik!” she called.
A few seconds later, a little nose with trembling whiskers poked out. Smelling the food and seeing Magda, Erik the mouse scampered out of his hole and ran to the crumbs. He picked them up with his front paws and munched them quickly, looking at her with his little bright eyes.
Magda concentrated hard on him, imagining what it must feel like to be a mouse, to have a long tail and twitching whiskers. Her body started to tingle all over and she felt herself start to shrink. She blinked. Everything in the room was massive and instead of hands she had little tiny paws.
Hanna and Ida bent down and peered at her. “Magda?” Ida said.
Magda gave a squeak.
She scurried down the stairs and along the passageway that led to the vast kitchen with its big iron ovens and stores of food.
She slipped under the door. It was warm inside. The cook – a large round lady with a big white apron – was bustling around, calling out instructions to the other servants who were chopping vegetables and kneading dough. Two chambermaids were at the big wooden table darning socks and the kitchen boy was stoking the fire in the oven.
Magda crept round the side of the room, staying in the shadows. She wanted to sneak into the larder without anyone seeing her.
“I heard the master and mistress had been taken to a tower near Skordsberg,” she heard one of the chambermaids saying.
Magda stiffened and paused. Was that true? Had the palace servants heard some news about her parents?
“No, that’s not right,” said the other maid, shaking her head. “They’re trapped under the Glittering Mountains in the east.”
“The pedlar told me that they’re trapped in the heart of the Red Volcano,” the kitchen boy put in.
Magda realised all she was hearing was gossip. She let out a sigh of frustration but it came out as a squeak.
The cook looked round sharply at the sound. “Mouse!” she exclaimed. She grabbed a broom and swept it angrily at Magda. “Oh no! Not in my kitchen, mouse. I’ll get you!”
Magda dodged the broom just in time and turned and ran. So much for making it to the larder! The chambermaids screamed and jumped on their chairs. The broom slammed down behind Magda again, narrowly missing her tail. Magda squeaked in alarm and dived under the kitchen door, racing towards the staircase.
Madame Olga, the girls’ governess, was proceeding up the stairs at a stately pace. Help! thought Magda. She had to get back to the chamber before Madame Olga did. Her strict governess would definitely not think that searching for food disguised as a mouse was suitable behaviour for a young lady!
She leapt on to the wooden base of the bannister and scurried up the staircase, out of sight of Madame Olga. Then she tore along the corridor and darted under the door of the bedchamber. Magda willed herself to turn back to normal. A tingle ran down her spine and, in an instant, she was a girl again.
Her sisters rushed over.
“Are you all right?” Ida demanded, looking at her flushed face.
Magda nodded, gasping for breath and trying to calm her pounding heart.
“What happened?” asked Hanna.
“The cook saw me and tried to hit me with a broom!” Magda said, panting. “I didn’t even get into the larder to see what food there is.” She remembered what else she had seen. “Oh yes, and I passed Madame Olga on the stairs – she’s on her way up here!” She looked around and saw a pile of ice picks by the door and noticed that the wardrobe had moved across the room. “What’s been happening here?”
Hanna grinned. “You’re not the only one who’s been practising magic!”
Just then the door opened and Madame Olga swept in, her brown dress immaculate, her hair tied back in a neat roll at the back of her neck. “Ah, you’re here, girls. I’ve been…” She gave a gasp of surprise as she tripped over the ice picks. “Oh my goodness! Whatever are all these doing here?”
“Sorry, Madame Olga!” said Ida. “I was practising my drawing magic.”
“Well, don’t leave things lying around; put them in the bottom of the wardrobe for now and then take them outside later.” Madame Olga turned to gesture to where the wardrobe usually was and blinked. “The wardrobe. It’s gone!” she said faintly.
“It’s, um … over there, Madame,” said Hanna, grinning guiltily as she pointed to the wardrobe in its new place. “Sorry!”
Madame Olga put her hands on her hips.
“Honestly, girls. Moving furniture, creating trip hazards. How am I ever going to turn you into young ladies?” She fixed Magda with a look. “And what have you been doing while your sisters have been creating havoc?”
“Me? Um… Just nature studies,” said Magda, trying not to giggle.
“Hmm.” Madame Olga didn’t look convinced by her reply. “Well, I think you should all make yourselves useful. Please go into the garden and gather some flowers so that we can discuss their properties in tomorrow’s nature lesson.”
She swept back out, shutting the door sharply.
The girls looked at each other, waited until Madame Olga was safely out of earshot, and then burst out laughing. “Oh dear, poor Madame Olga!” said Magda.
“Let’s go into the garden to get some flowers and herbs,” said Ida. “Oskar could do with a walk.”
Oskar opened his eyes at the word walk and got to his feet. He was a roly-poly cub with the softest white fur and eyes the colour of dark chocolate. He bounced over to the door and looked at the girls hopefully.
The sisters set off down the stairs with the little polar bear bounding at their heels. But before she could reach the garden Ida realised she had left her beloved sketchbook in the room. She rushed back for it.
As Ida entered the room her eyes were caught by a soft glow coming from the snow globe. She stared. The glow got brighter and the snow inside the globe started to swirl faster.
Ida caught her breath. Did this mean their mother was trying talk to them? She had to get Hanna and Magda! Running to the window, she shoved it open. Her sisters had just reached the garden and were making snow angels. “Magda! Hanna!” Ida shouted down.
They looked up as she beckoned excitedly.
“Come quickly! It’s the snow globe – I think it might be Mother!”
Hanna and Ida raced back upstairs and threw open the door. Then the three sisters gathered around the snow globe, each one trying to get as close as possible. Soft golden light was glowing brightly from the snow globe and the snowflakes whirled and danced at double speed.
“Mother?” Hanna said, giving the snow globe an impatient shake. “Are you there? Are you trying to talk to us?”
The girls held their breath as an image of their mother’s face gradually formed in the snowflakes. It was wonderful to see her. “My darling girls,” she said faintly. “Listen carefully, I do not know how long I can talk for and—”
“Where can we find the blue and purple orbs, Mother?” interrupted Hanna.
“Hanna, shush!” said Ida.
Their mother’s image flickered and started to fade. “You must hurry!” she called desperately. “Your aunt and I are locked in a fierce battle of magic. She needs to stay close to me as she fights to take my powers but she will do everything she can to try to stop you getting the remaining orbs. She is using her powers to spy on you. You have to reach the orbs before her! To find the blue orb, travel to where the crystal—” There was a noise like a howling wind. Her face disappeared and her voice faded.
“The crystal what?” Hanna demanded, grabbing the sides of the globe. “Mother, come back!”
“Mother?” Magda whispered desperately.
There was no reply.
Ida bit her lip. “She’s gone.” Tears sprang to her eyes.
“And all we know is that we’ve got to go somewhere where something crystal is,” said Magda in dismay, fighting back tears herself. “That’s not enough of a clue.”
Hanna pushed her hands through her hair. “There are so many crystal things. Even just in the castle.”
“It must be something really special, though,” said Ida thoughtfully. “The pink orb was in a snow hawk’s nest – the only snow hawk with a silver tail in the whole of the island. I think we should go to the library and research what special crystal objects there are in Nordovia.”
Hanna rolled her eyes. “You can look at boring books if you like but I’m going to start actually looking. There are lots of crystal vases and ornaments downstairs.”
