Bluebell in Dream Mountain Read online

  With fairy big thanks to Catherine Coe

  Welcome to the world of the fashion fairy princesses! Join Bluebell and friends on their magical adventures in fairyland.

  They can’t wait to visit

  Can you?

  Contents

  Cover

  Half Title Page

  Dedication

  Title Page

  Map

  Dream Mountain

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  More Fashion Fairy Fun

  Sneak Peek of Rosa in Sparkle City

  Back Ads

  Copyright

  Rosa fluttered into Bluebell’s sky-blue bedroom, grinning. “Guess what’s just arrived!” she cried, rushing over to where Bluebell sat on her enormous four-poster bed.

  Bluebell had been doodling fashion designs, but she quickly pushed her sketchpad to one side. She looked up at her friend. “Oooh, is it my new blue silk beret? That was quick. I only ordered it yesterday!”

  “No, but this is much more exciting,” Rosa said with a shake of her long dark hair. “Look!” Rosa held out a peacock feather inscribed with gold:

  “The Summer Ball!” said Bluebell. “We’ve never been before!” She bounced on her bed in excitement, then leapt up and grabbed Rosa by the hand. “Quick!” she cried. “Let’s go and tell the others!”

  Delicately fluttering their wings, Rosa and Bluebell flew along the white marble hallway and into Buttercup’s wing of the fairy palace. Buttercup and Violet put down the cupcakes they’d been eating as they read the invitation.

  “I can’t believe it,” Buttercup said quietly, holding up the feather to her yellow stained-glass window.

  Violet peered over Buttercup’s shoulder. “Is it really tomorrow?” she said, scanning the words once more.

  “And we have to wear our best outfits!” Buttercup added.

  All four fashion fairy princesses crowded round the invitation. “Oh my goodness,” said Rosa, “we don’t have long to prepare!”

  The fairy princesses lived in Sparkle City. It was half a day’s journey to Dream Mountain from there. They’d have to leave at noon tomorrow to get to the ball in time.

  Bluebell reached for a lemon cupcake from Buttercup’s sun-painted cake stand. The creamy lemon icing melted in her mouth. Cupcakes always helped calm her down. “So,” she began, “what in fairyland shall we wear?”

  The four best friends fell silent for a moment. It was a very good question. They had to look their best for the ball.

  “We can wear our new diamond-heart tiaras,” suggested Violet, ducking into Buttercup’s fly-in wardrobe. “The ones Fern made us.” Fern was one of their best friends, although she didn’t live in Sparkle City, but nearby, in Star Valley.

  “But we don’t have any ball gowns,” said Buttercup. “What will we do?”

  Rosa put her arms around her three friends. “We’ll go shopping, of course! If we hurry, we’ll get to Topaz’s shop before it shuts.” And in the blink of an eye, the four fairy princesses had fluttered out of Buttercup’s bedroom and flown down the grand glass staircase of Glimmershine Palace.

  Bluebell, Violet, Rosa and Buttercup arrived at Sparkle Sensations just in time.

  “You’re in luck – I was about to close,” said the owner, Topaz, as they flew through the door to the clothes shop. “What are you looking for, fairy princesses?”

  “Those!” all four friends shouted at the same time. They were pointing at the four beautiful sparkling ball gowns that were displayed on mannequins in the shop window. The dresses were identical, apart from the colour. The bottom of each ball gown had tiers of shimmering fabric, with a satin bow in the middle and a halter-neck top covered in gems. What’s more, the dresses were in blue, pink, yellow and purple – perfectly matching each of the fairies’ wings!

  “I ordered them in especially for you,” said Topaz. “I’m so glad you like them!”

  The fairy princesses quickly changed into the dresses and fluttered around the huge shop. Sparkle Sensations was filled with skirts, dresses, tops, trousers and shoes in every single colour of the rainbow, and the whole shop shone with gems and pearls. It was one of the fairy princesses’ favourite places.

  Bluebell flew back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. Sparkles danced from her dress as she moved. She was so excited she couldn’t keep still! Now they had the perfect outfits for the Summer Ball. Except. . .

  “Shoes!” said Rosa, spinning round in her pale pink dress. “We need some to match!”

  “Oh yes,” said Buttercup, putting a hand to her mouth. She looked down at her golden-yellow ball gown. “I don’t think I have any to go with this dress.”

  Topaz held up a finger covered in glittering rings. “I have just the thing,” she said. Topaz fluttered behind a glass door at the back of the shop. She reappeared carrying a teetering pile of boxes. The fairy princesses quickly flew over and each grabbed one before they fell.

  Bluebell lifted the lid of her box and her heart leapt. Inside, nestled between layers of delicate tissue, were sparkling peep-toe shoes covered in tiny blue gems. They were gorgeous, and like nothing she’d ever worn before – and they fitted perfectly, too.

  The four fashion fairy princesses stood in front of the mirror in their completed outfits, beaming from ear to ear. Violet did a little pirouette in her deep purple dress, surrounding her friends with sparkles. “Now we’re ready for the ball!” she said.

  Yes, they were – and Bluebell couldn’t wait!

  The next morning, the fairies were rushing around the palace, getting ready for the ball. The palace was frantic – like a beehive, Bluebell thought, with everyone fluttering about madly. The fairy princesses had decided to travel to Dream Mountain by horse and carriage – they didn’t want to tire themselves before the party by flying all the way. One of the hummingbirds had delivered another message from the dream fairies earlier that day, saying they could change into their ball gowns once they’d arrived at Dream Mountain. The fairy princesses were relieved – they didn’t want to ruin their new outfits by travelling in them on the long journey.

  Bluebell was almost ready – just one last fingernail to paint in the powder-blue varnish she’d chosen to match her dress. “Come on, it’s time to go!” she heard someone call from outside. Bluebell peeked out of her star-shaped window and looked down. Rosa was outside the fairy palace, waiting on the cobbled pathway. Bluebell blew on her fingernails and jumped up from her shiny blue mussel-shell dressing table.

  Bluebell’s mouth gaped open when she fluttered out of the glittering fairy-palace doors. In the driveway stood the most incredible carriage she’d ever seen. It was made of pink frosted glass, and the doors were draped with shimmering white silk. The four lilac ponies pulling the carriage neighed in greeting.

  Bluebell spotted Buttercup stroking each pony’s muzzle in turn. Buttercup seemed to have a special connection with any animal she met. It’s because she’s so gentle, thought Bluebell.

  Rosa and Violet poked their heads out from the carriage. “Let’s go!” cried Violet, who had a pretty purple flower in her long curly hair.

  “Coming!” cried Bluebell. She leapt in, with Buttercup right behind her. Bluebell fell on to the red velvet cushions inside. They felt as soft as candyfloss.

  The ponies moved off gracefully and the fairy princesses sat back to enjoy the ride. Another carriag
e followed behind them, carrying their dresses and accessories. It gave off sparkles as it went. It must be because of our magical dresses, thought Bluebell happily. She couldn’t wait to put on her outfit!

  The fashion fairy princesses journeyed along the silver cobbled paths of Sparkle City. They passed all sorts of fairies on their way. “There’s Ruby,” said Violet, waving to her fairy friend, who was fluttering into the doorway of Jewels and Gems. It was a jewellery shop that the fairy princesses loved almost as much as Sparkle Sensations.

  Before long, they’d left the paths of the city. The ponies were flying from cloud to cloud on their way to Dream Mountain, flapping their wings powerfully. “Isn’t it magical?” Bluebell said, peering out of the carriage window. The sky around them was alight with rainbows, and shooting stars darted high above.

  “Look!” cried Rosa. She was staring out of the front of the carriage. “Dream Mountain!”

  Straight ahead, a mountain loomed up from behind a huge, pink-tinged cloud. Wispy silver mist surrounded it on all sides, and Bluebell could just about make out the white-tipped peak – but she had to crane her neck to do so.

  The ponies slowed their beating wings, descending gracefully towards the base of the magical mountain. As they landed gently, two dream fairies glided out to greet them.

  “Welcome to Dream Mountain,” said one, who wore a flowing lilac sari embroidered with gold thread. “I’m Lily.”

  “And I’m Snowdrop,” said the other fairy. She had the most gorgeous waist-length silvery-white hair that was tucked behind her little ears.

  The four friends jumped out of their carriage and beamed at the dream fairies. “We’re the fashion fairy princesses,” said Violet. “We’re so happy to be here!”

  Lily smiled and beckoned them to a tiny gap in the mountain. “Please come into our home,” she said. “We’ll show you to your dressing room, where you can prepare for the ball.”

  All four fairy princesses squeezed through the slit in the mountainside and then gasped. Inside was an enormous cave that glittered with fairy dust in every corner. Shining silver stalactites grew down from the high ceiling like hundreds of pointy fingers. Glossy stone steps rose up from the sides of the cave, and at almost every step was a glitter-edged doorway, leading off to somewhere else in the mountain. Lily and Snowdrop took the staircase to the far left, which was adorned with lanterns to guide the way. “We’re lucky to have a huge home here,” said Snowdrop in a delicate, lilting voice. “There’s lots of space for guests.”

  “We can’t wait for the ball to start,” added Lily as she fluttered up the steps. “Here we are!”

  They’d stopped at an arched doorway, and Bluebell peeked in. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” she said. The large room was lit by tea lights set into shelves in the cave, and the walls sparkled as the lights flickered. There were four pearl dressing tables, and four silk-covered stools. Bluebell couldn’t help but jump when more fairies seemed to burst out of the walls! But then she realized her mistake. One side of the cave was in fact a great glass mirror.

  “We need to go and put some finishing touches to the ballroom decorations,” said Snowdrop. “The Dream Queen is attending the ball, and she doesn’t often come down from her castle at the top of the mountain. We want everything to be extra special!”

  “Yes, we’ll leave you to get ready,” said Lily gently. “Ah, here’s Frederick with your luggage.”

  A smart elf dressed in a top hat and tails appeared. He was carefully balancing all of the fashion fairy princesses’ dress bags, cases and shoeboxes as he climbed the stone steps of the cave. He set them down in the dressing room, bowed to the fairy princesses and then rushed out behind the dream fairies. Bluebell guessed he was very busy today!

  “I can’t wait to get ready,” said Rosa. “Let’s start right away – we don’t want to be late!”

  But Bluebell was only half listening. She’d opened one of the boxes to admire her gorgeous new shoes, but all she had found was tissue. She took the second box from the pile – but that was also empty.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Buttercup, frowning.

  Violet had already rushed over and was flinging the lids off the remaining two boxes. But they were empty too!

  “Oh no!” cried Bluebell. “Whatever’s happened to our beautiful new ball shoes?”

  “Maybe Frederick already set them out for us downstairs?” Rosa suggested.

  Buttercup nodded. “Of course – that must be what’s happened,” she said in her soft voice.

  Bluebell felt a wave of warm relief wash over her. “Thank fairy for that!” she cried. She fluttered down on one of the stools and began combing her hair with the hairbrush set out on the dressing table. It was made of pearl, with the softest unicorn-hair bristles. The trip here had been wonderful, but Bluebell’s short brown hair had been blown around so much it felt like she had a million knots to tease out.

  Violet was repinning the flower in her hair, while Buttercup helped Rosa restyle her long dark hair into a beautiful French plait, threaded with pink ribbons.

  “I wonder what the ball will be like?” mused Rosa. “Do you think we’ll be dancing all night?”

  Bluebell jumped up and spun on the spot. “I think there’ll be dancing, and lots of delicious food – ooh, and maybe even some musicians in a live band.” She pretended to play the trumpet, skipping around the dressing room and tooting and hooting, and soon all four fairy princesses were in fits of giggles.

  “With you around, Bluebell, we’ll definitely have fun, whatever happens!” laughed Violet, sitting back down on her stool and staring into the mirror, “I wonder if any of our other fairy friends will be here. Do you think Fern has been invited?”

  “That would be wonderful!” said Buttercup as she pinned up the sides of her wispy blonde hair in tiny twists. “We haven’t seen her for ages.”

  “I’m not sure,” said Rosa, who was admiring her French plait in the giant mirror on one side of the room. “Fern would have had to travel even further than us to get here. But it would be lovely if she does come – and I bet she’d wear one of her gorgeous handmade dresses.”

  “I wish I could make my own clothes,” said Bluebell. “But every time I try, I drop needles everywhere!”

  “Can you imagine how many beautiful dresses will be on show at the ball?” murmured Buttercup. “I can’t wait to see all the fairies together.”

  “I suppose we should hurry up and finish getting ready,” said Rosa, jumping up from one of the pearl-encrusted dressing tables, her wings fluttering nervously. “Otherwise we won’t see any of the dresses, or the fairies, or the ball!”

  Violet had already wandered over to where their tiara cases had been placed on the floor. “Here, let’s put on our tiaras first, to check they go with our hair, and then we can put on our dresses.”

  Even the tiara boxes were covered in glitter. They sparkled in the candlelight as Violet gathered them in her arms. She gave the blue-glittered box to Bluebell, the pink-glittered box to Rosa, and the golden-yellow glittering box to Buttercup, keeping the purple one for herself.

  Bluebell was just adding some diamante butterfly clips to her hair, but she stopped when she realized the other three fairies had gone strangely silent. She swung round from her dressing table mirror, and saw all her friends staring into their tiara cases.

  “It’s not here!” Rosa cried.

  Bluebell quickly grabbed her sparkling case from the table and, taking a deep breath, opened it. She gulped – hers had gone missing too!

  “This can’t be a coincidence, not with the shoes as well,” said Violet. “Who’s taken our things?”

  “Wait – we don’t know they’ve been taken,” Buttercup said quietly. “Maybe we forgot to pack them.”

  Rosa was shaking her head, making her plait swing from side to side. “No, we definitely brought them – I checked the c
arriage three times!”

  “Well, as long as we’ve got our ball gowns, it doesn’t really matter,” said Bluebell, trying to look on the bright side. “I’m sure we can ask the dream fairies if we can borrow some tiaras. Let’s put our dresses on – that’ll make us feel a lot better!”

  The fashion fairy princesses all perked up at this. They were so looking forward to wearing their beautiful ball gowns. Bluebell skipped over to the open wardrobe where their dress bags were hanging. She lifted out the blue one, and felt a tingle of excitement as she pulled down the zip – she always loved wearing new clothes, but she’d never been this excited about putting on a new dress before. She stuck a hand in the bag to take out the hanger, but it felt light. Too light. She felt around, her heart racing with panic, but there was no dress inside!

  Tears pricked Bluebell’s eyes as she turned to face her friends. “M-m-my dress,” she stammered. “It’s disappeared!”

  “What?!” Rosa rushed over to the wardrobe and pulled out her own dress bag. “It can’t have. They were definitely all there this morning!”

  But it was true. All the dresses, along with the matching accessories, had vanished. The four friends stood staring at the empty dress bags, feeling hollow with disappointment.

  “What’s happened – where have they gone?” said Buttercup, a deep frown lining her pretty forehead.

  “I don’t know,” replied Violet, her brown eyes narrowed in concern. “But this isn’t just a case of us mislaying things – something bad is going on, I’m sure of it!”

  Buttercup frowned at the empty boxes and bags. “Let’s not panic,” she said. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

  “But Rosa crossed everything off on a list before we left,” cried Violet, “so how could they have all gone missing?” She shook her head sadly.