Illustrated by Nellie Ryan
PUFFIN
To Lee Weatherly for reading through this book, for understanding
what I was trying to do, and for all the ideas and encouragement
throughout the whole series. Thank you!
PUFFIN BOOKS
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First published 2010
Text copyright © Linda Chapman, 2010
Illustrations copyright © Nellie Ryan, 2010
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
ISBN: 978-0-14-194335-0
In the Magic Land of Ice and Winter…
1. Scurrying Snowballs
2. The Lulling Dance
3. A Brilliant Idea
4. Plans and Preparations
5. Midnight Magic
6. The Final Competition
7. The Shortlist
8. The Ice Princess
9. Going Home
Linda Chapman lives in Leicestershire with her family and two dogs. When she is not writing, she spends her time looking after her three children, reading, talking to people about writing, and horse riding whenever she can.
You can find out more about Linda on her websites at lindachapman.co.uk and lindachapmanauthor.co.uk
Books by Linda Chapman
BRIGHT LIGHTS
CENTRE STAGE
MY SECRET UNICORN series
NOT QUITE A MERMAID series
SKATING SCHOOL series
SKY HORSES series
STARDUST series
UNICORN SCHOOL series
Things were getting worse. A blanket of snow still covered the fields and meadows, towns and villages, and the frozen lakes on the lower slopes of the mountains still glittered in the pale sun. But up on the high peaks the snow and ice were melting.
Buds on the trees were breaking out into green leaves and the frozen rivers that ran down the craggy slopes were turning to water. Every so often an avalanche of softened snow and rocks would crash down the mountains with a muffled roar.
The ice sylphs who lived in the lower reaches of the land were very worried. Up in the mountains, a fire dragon had curled around one of the highest peaks, jets of fire streaming out of its mouth with every breath as it rested. The sylphs knew they had to persuade it to move before it did any more damage. But to do that they needed an Ice Princess.
In the Magic Ice-skating Academy, three of the teachers were looking at a list of girls’ names.
‘Which girl will it be?’ Madame Li, one of the ice-skating teachers, wondered.
Monsieur Carvallio, a tall, dark ice sylph, studied the list. ‘Nearly all of them are now good enough at skating to be the Ice Princess and perform the Lulling Dance for us.’
‘But the Ice Princess needs to be more than just a good ice-skater,’ Madame Letsworth, the headteacher, reminded them. ‘She must be a certain type of person to make the magic in the dance work.’
‘We have to choose well,’ agreed Madame Li.
Madame Letsworth’s gaze ran over the names. She had a feeling she knew which girl it might be, but there was still time for one of the other girls to surprise her. In a week’s time the teachers would make their decision. Who was it going to be?
Emily, Hannah and Molly swished across the snow on their skis, past trees sparkling with icicles. Emily pushed first one pole and then the other, her brown hair blowing back from her face. She’d never been cross-country skiing before she came to the Land of Ice and Winter. But then she’d never driven a sledge pulled by huskies, talked to an ice dragon or held a frost fairy either!
Hannah and Molly were chatting. Hannah’s long blonde hair was tied in a ponytail and Molly’s black hair was held back by a hairband. The three of them had become really good friends since they had first arrived at the Ice-skating Academy. Five weeks ago they had been whisked away from the human world by magic and given the opportunity to stay in the Land of Ice and Winter for six weeks, improving their skating, living at the school and going to classes together.
The ice sylphs who taught at the school had told them that no one would know they had gone because time passed differently in the magic world. At the end of their time at the Ice-skating Academy, one of the girls would be chosen to be the Ice Princess, a girl who would help the ice sylphs.
Emily was very glad she had decided to stay. She’d had a brilliant time – it had been the best five weeks of her life. She could hardly believe that in just a week she, and all the others, would be going back to their normal lives. I know we’ll e-mail and phone each other when we’re back home, she thought. But it won’t be the same.
‘You’re quiet, Em.’ Hannah glanced over. ‘Are you OK?’
Emily sighed. ‘Just thinking about going home.’
‘Well, don’t,’ said Molly quickly. ‘We won’t enjoy our last few days if we keep thinking about all of this ending on Sunday. No talking about going home this week, OK?’
Emily and Hannah nodded.
‘Let’s talk about the Ice Princess instead,’ Molly went on. ‘Just think – whoever it is will get to see a real fire dragon!’
The girls had been told that an enormous fire dragon had landed on a mountain and that his breath was melting all the snow and the rivers, endangering the whole land. One of the girls was going to be chosen to be the Ice Princess. She would have to perform a magic ice dance in front of the dragon to try to make him fly on. If she did it successfully, she would be granted a wish as a reward.
‘What would you wish for, Hannah,’ asked Molly, ‘if you got to be the Ice Princess?’
Hannah thought hard. ‘I don’t know. Maybe to be the best skater in the world – to be Olympic champion one day.’