a lot. It was a matter of skill – and a dollop of good luck – to know which door led where.
‘Here it is,’ she announced, gesturing to a wooden door covered with vines. ‘If I remember correctly, this should lead you to the edge of the Petrified Forest, and according to the king’s map—’
‘THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT BORDERS THE FOREST,’ Florence finished proudly.
‘Well, here goes,’ said Amelia, opening the door. She reached up to her head and gave Squashy a reassuring pat.
King Vladimir ruffled Tangine’s hair. ‘Come on, son, let’s go and find Mum!’
‘Wow,’ said Amelia, as she stood at the border between the Kingdoms of the Light and Dark.
The scene that stretched before them was quite a contrast to the grey spindly trees and dead branches of the Petrified Forest. Ahead, the sun shone brightly on a vast green meadow scattered with colourful flowers.
Contrary to some old myths that Creatures of the Light believed, vampires and other Creatures of the Dark were perfectly fine in the sun. They just weren’t used to it, since they were usually fast asleep during the day. The soft hum of bumblebees made Amelia feel a little uneasy. Grimaldi yelped as a bunny rabbit hopped into view.
‘The Meadow of Loveliness . . .’ said King Vladimir.
Amelia took a deep breath. ‘Are we all ready?’ she said, straightening herself up.
The friends nodded and held hands tightly before stepping for the first time into the Kingdom of the Light.
Amelia gasped as her foot sank into the soft ground. It felt strange and spongy. The long grass was shimmering and even the air seemed to be sparkling. But it wasn’t as awful as she might have expected – just very different.
‘Flaaarg! ’ Grimaldi shrieked as a butterfly tried to land on his head. ‘It’s going to eat me!’
‘Grimaldi! ’ hissed Amelia. ‘You’ll draw attention to us!’
‘YEH. YOU NEED TO BE MORE CREATUREY OF THE LIGHTY,’ said Florence. ‘MAYBE WE SHOULD PRANCE,’ she continued. ‘THEY LIKE TO PRANCE, RIGHT?’
Without waiting for a reply, Florence pirouetted across the flowerbeds as if she were as light as a feather.
Amelia noticed Tangine’s mouth drop open as he watched Florence dance among the flowers. She was quite surprised herself.
‘She’s quite the prancer!’ said the king with a laugh, before attempting a skip, hop and jump. He stopped when he pulled a muscle in his back.
‘Not as nimble as I used to be . . .’ he said, wincing.
Amelia felt a little nervous, but then she began shuffling her feet. And, before she knew it, she found herself skipping through the long grass. ‘Come on, Grimaldi! It’s fun!’ she called.
Grimaldi stood frozen to the spot. Amelia ran over and grabbed both his hands, pulling him into the meadow.
‘Eeeeeeeeeek! ’ Grimaldi squealed. ‘I think something flew into my mouth!’
‘There’s nothing to fear, Grimaldi!’ the king reassured him. ‘Look, the Creatures of the Light are just getting on with their lives.’ He pointed at a small bunny rabbit nibbling on some grass.
‘I dunno,’ Grimaldi mumbled, ‘maybe it’s plotting something terrible as we speak . . .’
‘Oh, you are silly!’ Amelia giggled.
‘Look, Dad!’ Tangine yelled. ‘I’m flying!’ Tangine was hovering a few feet above the grass, his sparkly fairy wings flapping fiercely.
‘You look just like your mother!’ King Vladimir said, smiling.
‘THIS PLACE ISN’T SO BAD,’ said Florence, performing one last pirouette.
‘Right,’ said the king, ‘let’s check the map and work out our best route.’
Florence took the unicorn horn off her head and removed the map, which was neatly rolled into a cone.
‘Where do we start?’ said Grimaldi as Florence straightened the map out. ‘We have no idea where Glitteropolis city is – it’s not on the map.’
‘Hey look, there’s the Wishing Well of Well Wishes,’ said Amelia, reading the map. ‘Maybe we could make a wish to find out where Glitteropolis is?’
‘Amelia, that is a great idea. I’d never thought of that before!’ The king beamed. Then he looked at Tangine fondly. ‘The Wishing Well of Well Wishes is where your mum and I got married.’
The friends waded through the Meadow of Loveliness, stopping every so often for King Vladimir to catch his breath.
‘At least I’ll be fitter by the time we find Fairyweather,’ he puffed.
‘That must be the Wishing Well of Well Wishes!’ said Grimaldi, pointing ahead at a stone well. It appeared to be glowing, and sparkly flecks of light danced around its rim.
Florence peered into the well and shouted, ‘’OW DO YOU MAKE A WISH THEN?’
THEN. . .
THEN. . .
THEN. . .
Her voice echoed.
‘NO NEED TO SHOUT!’ a voice boomed up from within the well.
SPLOSH!
A huge jet of water followed, drenching Florence from head to toe.
‘IT SPLOSHED ME!’ said Florence in shock. ‘AND IT SPOKE.’
‘I’ll do it again if you don’t stop referring to me as IT, you big oaf,’ said the voice from the well.
There was no doubt about it: the Wishing Well of Well Wishes could talk. And it was really rather rude.
‘So, what brings you Creatures of the Dark to the Kingdom of the Light?’ asked the well.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise. How could it have seen through their disguises?
‘W-w-we’re not Creatures of the Dark!’ said Grimaldi quickly. ‘Look! Meeeow! ’ And he swung his angel-kitten tail around.
‘Do you think I’m completely blind, little grim reaper?’ said the well.
‘COURSE YOU ARE,’ Florence cut in, ‘’CAUSE YOU ’AVE NO EYES.’
SPLOSH!
Tangine