The Rainbow Opal (7 page)

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Chapter One

First Day at School

Princess Ella gazed at the trees and hedges flashing past the car window. She linked her fingers together tightly and tried to ignore the fluttering feeling inside her. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon they would reach the Royal Academy for Princesses, her new school!

She tucked her dark, wavy hair behind her tiara and smoothed the grey pleats of her new school skirt. She was trying not to think about missing home, especially
her puppy Sesame with his beautiful brown eyes and soft little paws. But thinking about her new school didn’t make her feel better either. Her mum had told her that the school was enormous. What if she got lost trying to find her way around? What if none of the other girls wanted to talk to her? What if—

“Are you all right, Ella?” Her mum, Queen Jade, suddenly leaned towards her. “You look a little pale. Do you feel ill?”

“No, I’m fine.” Ella tried to smile.

“Really?” The queen frowned. “You don’t look fine. Perhaps we’d better stop for a moment.” She leaned forward to speak to the royal driver. “Stop at the side of the road, please.”

The car drew to a stop next to a hedge. Ella’s dad, King George, gave a quiet snore from the front passenger seat.

“Your father’s nodded off again,” said the queen, opening the car door. “Out you go! You’ll feel much better after some fresh air.”

Ella climbed out on to a grassy verge dotted with purple flowers. They were in a narrow lane with tall hedges on both sides. The sun shone brightly and thin wisps of white cloud floated in the sky.

The queen climbed out of the car, keeping hold of her golden crown. “Ah, there’s something wonderful about the air here!” she said, smiling. “It makes me feel quite energetic! I remember when I used to come to school here, many years ago. One day we all went on a long walk through the fields and …” The queen carried on talking but Ella didn’t listen closely to the rest.

Her mum had been talking about the old days at school quite a lot. She’d talked
about it while making Ella try on her new green and grey uniform. Then she’d talked some more while packing Ella’s suitcase. Ella knew that her mum had loved going to the Royal Academy for Princesses. She just wasn’t sure she was going to like it too.

She breathed in deeply. Her mum was right. The air did seem fresher here. She noticed a gap in the hedge a little further along and went to look through it. Sheep were grazing in the field on the other side. Ella stared at the view beyond the field and her heart beat faster. In the distance there was a towering red-stone castle and a sparkling blue sea.

“Wow! That’s a really big castle.” Ella gazed at its square turrets. It looked much more old-fashioned than their palace back home.

“There it is!” said her mum, joining
her. “Harebell Castle – home to the Royal Academy for Princesses.”

“That’s Harebell Castle? I didn’t know we were so close!” said Ella surprised.

“Yes, we’re nearly there.” The queen smiled. “Let’s carry on. We should reach the school in a few minutes.”

Ella glanced at Harebell Castle one more time before returning to the car. She still felt a little nervous but now she’d seen the castle she wanted to know what it was like inside!