The Magic Book series, book 1 by Elsa Bridger Page B

she had
her soul mate back – for keeps!
    Sorrel, Campion
and Bryony turned towards the door, gesturing for the girls to
follow, giving Queen Tara and Nightshade some privacy for their
emotional reunion. Quietly they walked out, closing the door softly
behind them.
    Once clear of
the secure room, Sorrel spoke excitedly, “We shall have a party
tonight; there’s much to celebrate - thanks to you both! Please say
you’ll come? He clasped his hands together as if to beg them.
    “We’d love to,”
the girls answered without hesitation and in unison, making their
friends laugh.
    As they made
their way out into the fresh air, all five paused to look skywards.
It was now clear and bright. There was just the odd wisp of dark
cloud here and there, dissipating quickly like paint droplets into
water. Soon there would be little to show of the storm that had
threatened to engulf Serenia and their own world with it.
    It was as if
even the plants and animals themselves knew they had been given a
new lease of life; birds were singing with renewed vigour, flowers
were unfurling and the sweet comforting smell of lavender that the
girls had come to associate with Serenia, was permeating the air
once more.
    A stream of
fairies following behind them skipped and flew out from the Great
Oak, in which they had all sought refuge, each one eager to begin
the preparations for the celebrations that night.
    Once the
finishing touches had been made, the glade fell still as all the
fairies hastily went back to their homes to change, leaving the
girls to enjoy a rare moment of quiet.
    “Isn’t it
serene here?” Sophie sighed. “Serene…Serenia! I see why they called
it that now,” she added, pleased to have made the connection.
    “Oh yes,”
Felicity smiled, “very appropriate. It is especially calm and
peaceful here, like a little corner of Heaven.” They fell into
silence as they soaked in its tranquillity.
    “It’s a shame
we haven’t anything pretty to wear,” Felicity said wistfully.
    “Yes, it would
be nice,” Sophie conceded, “but I don’t think I could get any
happier if I tried right now. It doesn’t seem to matter to me in
the same way as it might have done at home.”
    Felicity nodded
in agreement as they leant into each other affectionately and
lapsed back into silence, trying to take a photograph of it all in
their minds eye, in case they never had the opportunity to
return.
    The tree itself
had been decorated with tiny coloured lights. Spiders had spun webs
for the fairies to hang water droplets from, and they swung and
glistened like precious jewels.
    Birds had
helped collect the flower petals which had fallen during the winds,
and then had scattered them on the ground around the foot of the
Great Oak to make the most beautiful scented carpet.

    Toadstalls had
been gathered and dotted about, small ones for tables and chairs
and the largest to dance or rest beneath.
    Fairies, laden
with food and drink making them too heavy to fly, had run in and
out of the Great Oak in two long lines like worker ants, and set it
all out on long tables. Sophie marvelled to herself as to where it
had all come from with such short notice!
    And providing
an amazing focal point in the distance, lit up and shimmering as if
it were a mirage, sat the castle, once again to be Queen Tara’s
rightful home.
     
     
New
Beginnings

    Just a short
while later, as everyone returned, the air began to buzz with
excited chatter and care-free laughter. The fairies were swathed in
beautiful dresses and suits made with the daintiest and most
elegant materials the girls had ever seen.
    Random strains
of music stopped and started as a band fine-tuned its instruments.
Once the band was in full swing, the rose petal carpet was soon
awash with dancers. Those hovering just off the floor whipped the
petals up with the turbulence of their wings so that they too
looked like they were unable to resist joining in!
    Everyone danced
and danced, laughed and ate, until