Treasure Hunt (6 page)

On Twink's mushroom table, the drawing of Gran – which Twink had framed with some pretty, polished twigs – seemed to smile at them. Twink grinned back at it. They were right – she just
knew
it!

‘We've got to go down there,' she said, shutting the journal with a snap. ‘It's brilliant that we've got the day off tomorrow – we can go really early, and –'

She stopped. Bimi had suddenly sunk on to her bed, looking almost green. ‘Twink, I – I can't,' she whispered.

‘You won't help me? But . . .' Twink trailed off, a hard lump filling her throat.

‘Oh, Twink, you know I would if I could!' wailed Bimi softly. ‘But I can't stand small, dark places. They make my wings go all clammy, and – and I get dizzy so that I can barely breathe . . .' she shuddered wretchedly.

Instantly contrite, Twink sat beside Bimi and put her arm around her. ‘Never mind,' she said. ‘I'll be fine alone, Bimi, honestly I will. And I couldn't have made it this far without your help!'

‘Are you sure?' asked Bimi, wiping her eyes.

Twink nodded firmly. ‘Of course. Now that we know where the ring actually is, it'll be ant's play to find it!' But deep down, she wasn't nearly as confident as she sounded. Gran had said that the roots went on for ages . . . and a ring was such a small thing to be searching for.

Bimi looked as if she were thinking the same thing. ‘Could someone else go with you?' she asked anxiously. ‘Maybe – maybe Sooze, or –'

‘Pix!' burst out both fairies at once. Twink grinned in relief. Oh, of course! The clever fairy would have all sorts of ideas about where to find the ring. With Pix helping, she'd find it in no time!

‘I'll ask her after breakfast tomorrow,' said Twink. She squeezed her best friend's hand tightly. ‘Oh, Bimi – I think I might really be able to help Gran now!'

.

Chapter Seven

‘Are you mad?' demanded Pix.

Twink blinked. ‘No, I – I just thought –' The two fairies were hovering outside the Great Branch after breakfast, as the rest of the school flew past them in a bright, fluttering stream.

‘Of course I can't go with you
now
,' cried Pix. ‘It's the final day of the treasure hunt! Jade's already searching – I've got to get going!'

Twink gaped at her. ‘But Pix, this is to help my gran! Don't you understand? There's no time to lose; she'll have to go to a special fairy hospital if something doesn't happen to cheer her up –'

‘Yes, but – but can't we go tomorrow?' said Pix, looking distressed. ‘Or just after the treasure hunt is over? I don't mind missing the disco –'

‘
No!
'
shouted Twink. Her fists clenched. ‘I have to go
now
,
Pix
–
I can't wait for your stupid treasure hunt. I can't believe
that's
more important to you than helping my grandmother!'

‘But Twink, I've
got
to beat Jade, I've just got to!' burst out Pix. ‘You don't understand.'

The trunk seemed very quiet as Twink hung in the air, staring at the fairy she had thought was her friend. ‘You're right, Pix,' she said coldly. ‘I don't understand at all.'

Without waiting for a reply, she sped off down the trunk as fast as she could.

The small door sat half hidden in the shadows at the bottom of the trunk. Twink landed in front of it, her heart beating hard. Bimi wasn't the only one who didn't like dark, enclosed places – most fairies hated the idea of being underground. And aside from that, the roots were strictly off-limits to students.

But Twink had no choice. It was for her gran. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no teachers were watching, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

It was darker than the blackest night imaginable. ‘Er – glow-worms on?' Twink squeaked. To her great relief, a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling came to life, showing a tunnel leading downwards.

Taking a deep breath, Twink stepped in and shut the door behind her.

The tunnel plunged into the ground just as Gran had described, twisting and turning. The roots were obviously used as a storage area – there were wooden doors to either side, with signs saying things like
Saddles for Birds (All Sizes)
and
Spare Sparkle Marks.

Unhooking one of the lanterns from the ceiling, Twink peered into every nook and knothole she passed, praying that Gran's ring would appear. Then she stopped abruptly. In front of her, the tunnel split off into three directions.

Twink tapped her wings together. Which way would Aurora's cricket have chosen?

Hesitantly, she entered the right-hand tunnel. But she had hardly taken a few steps when this one branched into two directions as well. Twink chose left this time, and trudged onwards with a sinking heart.

There must be
hundreds
of roots! She couldn't explore them all. It was even worse than that expression humans used – finding a needle in a haystack. That was nothing compared to finding a ring in the roots!

Twink walked for what seemed like ages, choosing roots randomly. All the while, she was heading deeper and deeper underground . . . and she still had no idea where her gran's ring was.

Suddenly a terrible thought struck Twink. She had no idea where
she
was either. All those different directions she'd taken, and now she didn't remember which ones! Trying not to panic, Twink hastily began to retrace her steps. Oh, why hadn't she brought a piece of chalk to mark her way? What a moss brain she'd been!

Rounding a corner, Twink stopped short, her eyes widening. A glittering pink and gold light was heading straight towards her.

Twink stared as the small globe of fairy dust flew right up to her and stopped, bobbing up and down as if pleased to see her. A sparkling trail hung in the air behind it.

‘Twink!' called a familiar voice. ‘Twink, where are you?'

‘Pix, I'm here!' shouted Twink, her wings drooping with relief.

Pix appeared around the curve of the root. ‘The spell worked!' she said, looking pleased. She was carrying a large bundle with a petal cloth draped over it.

‘What spell?' asked Twink.

Pix flitted up next to her. Putting down whatever she was carrying, she cupped the fairy dust globe in her hands. Immediately, the trail vanished into it with a dramatic, sparkling swirl.

‘The missing fairy spell,' said Pix, slipping the fairy dust into a little pouch on her hip. ‘Don't you remember? Miss Sparkle explained about it in class. I read ahead in our book to find out how to do it.'

‘Oh, well done!' breathed Twink. Then she remembered how cross she had been with Pix, and her eyebrows creased. ‘But – what are you doing down here, anyway? I thought –'

Even in the dim light from the lantern, Twink could see Pix's cheeks turn red. ‘Oh, Twink, I'm sorry! I was being a total wasp brain. Will you forgive me?'

Twink frowned in confusion. ‘Well, of course I will – but what about the treasure hunt?'

Pix shrugged. ‘Jade will win it, I suppose,' she said shortly. ‘But I'm here to help, Twink, and we're not leaving until we find your gran's ring.'

‘Aren't we still lost, though?' said Twink anxiously. ‘I mean, you found
me
,
but – do you know the way out?'

‘Of course!' grinned Pix. ‘There's that other handy spell Miss Sparkle told us about – using fairy dust to leave a trail!' She pointed at a faint, sparkling line on the ground that Twink hadn't noticed, leading back up the tunnel. Twink and Pix smiled at each other.

‘Come on,' said Pix. ‘We need to go back to the start, and begin again from there.'

‘Go
back
?' protested Twink. ‘But . . . it's so far!'

‘Yes, but we have to do this logically,' said Pix. She held up the bundle she'd been carrying. ‘I don't know if this will work or not, but I think it's our best hope.' She pulled off the petal covering.

Twink stared. Pix had brought Chirpy along in his cage! The cricket blinked up at her.

‘You see, crickets are all very similar in some ways,' explained Pix as they headed back up the tunnels. ‘If Aurora's cricket took your gran's ring and hid it down here, then he probably put it in a place that he liked. So if we let Chirpy out at the start of the tunnels, then
he
might go to that same place – and all we have to do is follow him.'

‘Oh, that's brilliant!' exclaimed Twink. Why hadn't
she
thought of that? She gave an excited skip. ‘Pix, I don't know why you're so bothered about Jade winning the treasure hunt – everyone knows how clever you are!'

Pix winced. For a moment, the only sound was the tread of their pixie boots on the rough bark floor. Finally the red-haired fairy sighed.

‘Twink, I know I've been such an idiot . . . but I felt like I just
had
to win. I – I couldn't bear the thought of not being the cleverest any more.' She made a face. ‘I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound stuck-up about it –'

‘You don't sound stuck-up at all,' said Twink, surprised. ‘You
are
the cleverest. You
get the highest marks of anyone.'

‘Not any more,' said Pix glumly. She kicked at the floor. ‘Twink, I don't think anyone knows how hard I have to work to get such good marks. But Jade doesn't even seem to try, and she
still
does better than me. She's . . . she's just cleverer, that's all.' Pix sounded close to tears.

Twink gazed at her friend in mingled sympathy and confusion. ‘Maybe she is, but . . . well, Pix, what does it matter? You still do better than almost anyone.'

‘Oh, but that's not good enough!' burst out Pix. ‘You don't understand. My parents are always so excited when I come out top of the class; they brag about it to all their friends. And – and more than that . . .' she trailed off.

‘What?' pressed Twink.

Pix took a deep breath. ‘Well – if I'm not the cleverest fairy, then what
am
I? I've always been the cleverest, and everyone knew it! Now I'm not any more – Jade is. So . . . where does that leave
me
?'

Guilt pinched Twink. She had assumed that Pix's problems weren't as important as her own, but Pix had clearly been going through an awful time as well. She tucked her arm through Pix's and squeezed it hard.

‘You're
Pix
,'
she said warmly. ‘You're clever, and funny, and you're a wonderful friend. You don't always have to be the best – we all like you anyway, just for yourself.'

Pix wiped her eyes. ‘Thanks,' she mumbled, trying to smile. ‘I suppose you're right. Anyway, look – here we are, back at the entrance!'

Sensing that Pix didn't want to talk about it any more, Twink knelt on the floor beside her as Pix opened Chirpy's cage. ‘There you are, Chirpy,' said Pix, giving him a soft nudge. ‘Just go wherever you like, and we'll follow you!'

The cricket gave a joyful chirp and sprang away down the tunnel, with the two fairies racing after him. The fairy dust trail twinkled behind them, showing the way back.

Chirpy chose his way without hesitation, heading further and further down into the roots. Finally he stopped in a small nook that nestled cosily against the wall. With a happy sigh, he settled down, curling his antennae over his head.

‘This must be it!' breathed Twink. Holding up the lantern, she looked all around the little hole, moving Chirpy gently aside to check under him as well.

There was no ring.

‘But – I don't understand,' said Pix blankly. ‘He came here so quickly, like he knew exactly where he was going! The ring
has
to be here.'