Alice Parker's Metamorphosis (Book 1 of the new adventure series for children) by Nicola Palmer

that. As you get older, they simply appear in your Finwip colour. It won’t happen until after you’ve left school, though, so it’s not a problem.’
    Alice was sure it would be a problem for her parents, no matter how old she was when her hair turned blue. She could see some pink-ish roots appearing in Freya’s hair when she bent down.
    ‘ Of course, on a practical level,’ Freya continued, ‘you need at least one outfit that will accommodate your wings. We all take the opportunity to release them down here. If you don’t let them out regularly, they become weak and you will start to feel ill.’
    ‘ But how do I get them back in?’ asked Alice. ‘I need to go back to school.’
    ‘ They usually retreat when you are calm,’ replied Imogen. ‘As a rule, they emerge when we experience strong emotions or fear – like a fight or flight response. Though nowadays, very few of us can fly. If they are being stubborn and don’t retreat of their own accord, there is a spray we apply to the base of our wings which works immediately.’
    ‘ And you already have that,’ piped up Thomas, who had sat down at a table behind them. ‘The blue bottle I gave you.’
    Alice nodded thoughtfully while Imogen and Freya measured her wings. She looked around the dining room for the first time. It was a circular room of immense proportions, lit by the same burning torches as the passageway. In the centre of the room was a large fire, with an over-sized cooking pot suspended over it from a giant wrought-iron tripod. This was where the raspberry jam smell was coming from. Around the fire was an open space for working (or performing perhaps, Alice imagined) and around this, two huge C-shaped dining tables, each with twenty-four stools. Photographs of past celebrations in the dining room adorned the walls.
    At the far end of the room was a sort of cave which enabled you to see part of the kitchen, where Alice could watch people working and identify that aroma of banana bread. A small man in a brown cloak caught sight of her and bowed with an elaborate arm gesture. How strange, she thought, averting her gaze. She could see silver platters piled high with fresh fruit and she cringed as she thought of her last art lesson. Down here, all her worries and embarrassment were slipping away. Shame she couldn’t stay. Around the outside of the room were smaller caves or alcoves, each with curved bench seating and a table.
    ‘ We don’t often eat together,’ said Thomas, following her gaze. ‘The practicalities of our lives above ground mean that we turn up whenever we can. There’s always a warm welcome and plenty of food.’
    ‘ Which is what we need now,’ decided Imogen. She put down her tape measure and Freya rushed off to her studio with her notes. Sitting down next to Thomas, Imogen signalled to someone in the kitchen.
    ‘ Are you in charge here?’ asked Alice.
    ‘ I suppose I am,’ replied Imogen with a smile. ‘Though I don’t tell people that. It sounds rather pompous! Over the years, Finwips here have come to regard me as their adviser. I help them as much as I can and organise the gatherings down here. Fortunately, I have retired from my job above ground, so I have the time to focus on our community.
    Alice was astounded. Retired? Imogen looked so young! Thomas cast a warning glance in her direction.
    ‘ It’s alright,’ Imogen assured him. ‘She should know the truth. I’m ninety-two, Alice.’
    Alice couldn’t prevent her mouth from falling open and she made no attempt to cover it this time.
    ‘ My ability is that I no longer age,’ Imogen continued. ‘At the age of thirty, my ageing process stopped. Hence my role as adviser – years of wisdom, but without the wrinkled brow, you see.’
    Alice didn’t see at all. ‘Does that mean you are going to live forever?’ she asked.
    ‘ Who knows?’ Imogen shrugged her shoulders, making her wings twitch. ‘I seem to be the first Finwip with this gift, so only time