Friendship Dance by Titania Woods Page A

own hand over it. Stripe watched them hopefully.

    â€˜All right,’ said Chauncey-Oberon, looking doubtful. ‘You have to think about her heart mending as you say the words.’
    Twink nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine the wasp Queen’s heart, picturing it whole and strong and healthy. ‘ Sore heart mend, find a friend, ’ she murmured with Chauncey-Oberon. ‘ Sore heart mend, find a friend. ’
    Together, they sprinkled the glittering fairy dust over the wasp Queen.

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    Chapter Eight
    The magic dust swirled into a cloud and grew brighter, so that for several moments, they could hardly see the wasp Queen through the pink and gold sparkles. Twink held her breath.
    Slowly, the dust faded . . . and Twink saw that the wasp Queen had drifted into a deep, healing sleep. A relaxed smile was on her face, and already her yellow and black colouring looked brighter.
    Twink moved quietly away from the bedside, careful not to disturb her. Stripe followed with a soft, joyous buzz, flinging himself into her arms. Twink hugged him tightly.
    â€˜Oh Stripe, I think she’s going to be all right. I’m so glad!’ She twirled them about in a circle. Suddenly she remembered Chauncey-Oberon. None of this would have been possible without him.
    â€˜ Thank you ,’ she said, as Stripe nodded enthusiastic agreement. ‘I would never have known what was wrong. You really are a hero – and I’ll tell Queen Mab all about it. Your parents are going to be so proud of you!’
    To her surprise, Chauncey-Oberon stiffened, and for a moment Twink thought he almost looked close to tears. Then he turned away with a scowl. ‘Whatever. Come on, we’ve got to hurry.’
    Twink’s pink eyebrows drew together. What had she said to upset him? But there was no time to worry about it now. Chauncey-Oberon was right – they had to rush if they were going to make it back to the palace in time for their dance!
    The journey back through the low-ceilinged corridors seemed endless. Twink hurried along as fast as she could, but her legs and wings were soon aching worse than before.
    â€˜Are you all right?’ she asked Chauncey-Oberon.
    â€˜Oh, leave me alone,’ he said without looking at her.
    Stung, Twink didn’t reply. For a moment in the royal chamber, Chauncey-Oberon hadn’t seemed bad at all – but now he was just as rude as ever. What was wrong with him, anyway?
    Finally, they exited the palace and were flying up through the hollow tree again. Twink sighed with relief. How lovely it felt to stretch her muscles and feel the wind in her hair!
    Chauncey-Oberon was flying behind her, clutching his left wing and grimacing.
    â€˜What’s wrong?’ asked Twink, swooping back to him.
    â€˜Nothing – I’ve got a wing cramp, that’s all,’ he retorted coldly. Cresting the rim of the hollow tree, they flew out into the wood. Stripe buzzed about them in concern.
    â€˜Is it a bad cramp?’ pressed Twink. ‘Because you really shouldn’t fly with it if –’
    â€˜I said I’m fine!’ shouted Chauncey-Oberon.
    He put on a burst of speed, jetting away from her through the trees. As Twink watched in dismay, his left wing gave a shudder and stopped flapping. With an awful cry, Chauncey-Oberon fell towards the ground.

    Twink darted after him. Hours of practice on the Glitterwings Fledge field had made her a strong flyer, and she managed to grab him as he hurtled to the ground.
    â€˜Get off!’ yelled Chauncey-Oberon, struggling like the Fledge flea.
    â€˜Are you mad?’ Twink fluttered wildly, straining to slow them both down.
    Crash! They hit the ground in an explosion of autumn leaves and pine needles. Twink sat up with a groan. Ouch, her head! All at once she saw that Chauncey-Oberon had landed on his wing. ‘Oh! Are you –’
    The boy sat up. His bruised wing hung limply by his side. ‘Don’t