Let the Dance Begin Read online

  ‘I just knew that you’d pass the audition,’ Lexie said when they’d finished and continued on with their journey.

  Shell grinned. ‘There was no way I was going to fail. I had to get away from the palace. I was getting so fed up of following Anagallis round and clearing up after her.’

  ‘Didn’t she want to come to Sandringham?’ Cassie asked.

  Shell laughed. ‘Anagallis is as fat as a barrel and as boring as a barnacle – hanging around the palace whining all day. There is no way she could get a place at dance school.’

  Lexie laughed. ‘I’ve heard that too.’

  Cassie squeezed Shell’s hand. ‘Thank you for distracting my aunt so that I could get into the audition,’ Cassie whispered to her.

  Shell winked back. ‘My pleasure.’

  ‘Did Sandrine recognise you at the audition?’ Cassie asked.

  ‘Of course she did …’ Shell said. Then she quickly added, ‘Actually I wasn’t sure she would have done, seeing as I’m just a servant, but it turned out not to be a problem. Apparently, she didn’t like the way I made her sage tea anyway!’

  They talked and talked for the rest of the journey. Cassie and Lexie told Shell everything that had happened at the bug stop.

  ‘A Marramgrass! No way!’ Shell said. She thumped Cassie’s shoulder. ‘So you’re Marina’s daughter. Sandrine gets very grumpled whenever she hears that name.’

  ‘I’m not ashamed of my name. I just don’t like it when sprites make judgments about me based on it, that’s all,’ Cassie sighed.

  ‘I for one am not going to be doing that. I’ve seen too much of it at the palace.’ Shell smiled at Cassie and Lexie. ‘You are my friends. That’s all we need to know about each other. That Calluna sounds as mean as a sea spider! What does she look like?’

  ‘She’s tall — ’ Cassie began.

  ‘She’s not that tall – I’d say she was about your height,’ Lexie interrupted. ‘But her expression is carved out of pure granite!’

  ‘I don’t think she’ll be rushing to be friends with us,’ Shell said.

  They all nodded solemnly and looked serious until Shell asked, ‘And what about this surf boy? Did he kiss anyone? I’m dying for some gossip. I’ve been so bored at the palace. Sandrine made me work twice as hard when I got back as a punishment for sneaking out to the auditions. I had to wash all the teacups in the Supreme Sand Sprite’s Official Tea Service, and there are three hundred cups, not to mention the matching saucers.’

  Lexie blushed and giggled. ‘Rubus was charming. He bowed ever so politely when I gave him a sea cake.’

  ‘There’s no gossip, though. Rubus is not soppy! He doesn’t go around kissing sand dancers!’ Cassie said, defending her friend.

  Shell laughed. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just feeling so happy to be free. It’s making me say and do silly things.’ She stood up on the dune bug, stretched out her arms and screamed. ‘I’m FREE! WHEEE! FREE! Come on, join me!’

  Lexie and Cassie stood up and they all yelled.

  ‘Feels good, doesn’t it?’ Shell grinned.

  It was almost dark when the three friends eventually arrived at Sandringham Dance School, on the edge of Dreamy Dune – the farthest dune of the group that made up Silica City. Like all dunes, from the outside you would not be able to guess the hidden worlds that lay beneath. The dune bug carried them down through the hidden doorway.

  They jumped down off the bug, stretched their tired bodies, and took their first look at the school. It was a large, rambling sandstone building, and the huge mother-of-pearl gates at the entrance were closed.

  ‘We’re very late.’ Lexie rattled the gate. ‘I hope they’ll let us in.’

  ‘Doesn’t look that grand.’ Shell pulled on a bell rope that jangled and rang.

  ‘Apart from the palace, it was the only building that survived the Great Sandstorm,’ a gruff voice said, and an old sand farer came out of a small gatehouse and slowly opened the gates. He looked them up and down and nodded his head in greeting. ‘I’m Thassalinus, retired sand farer and night sprite. Nothing gets past me, and I’m as rough as ropes!’ He gave a throaty laugh. He took charge of the dune bug and opened the gates. ‘You’d better hurry up!’

  ‘It’s finer than any palace to me,’ Lexie said as she gave the bug a final pat and received a nuzzle of thanks in return. Then she turned to help Shell with her bags as they gathered their belongings and walked inside. They found themselves in a vast room with a high sandstone ceiling. In front of them was a large wooden staircase which led both upstairs and down. Lexie dropped the bags on to the stone floor and the noise seemed to echo through the building.

  Calluna stepped into the entrance hall. ‘So glad you could make it!’ she said in a sarcastic voice. ‘Punctuality is important here.’ Her voice rang out in the vast space as she slowly looked them over, adding, ‘As is cleanliness and neatness.’

  ‘You must be Calluna. Thank you for such a warm welcome after our long journey’ Shell gave her a dazzling smile as she patted down her cloak, sending up clouds of dust.

  Calluna wrinkled her nose and stepped away from them. You have twenty-two minutes until suppertime. As the senior sand dancer, it is my role to allocate rooms to my fellow students. I’ll show you to them so you can tidy yourselves up before supper.’

  The three girls smiled at each other as they followed Calluna along the corridor.

  ‘The school is built on three levels. On this floor you will find the dance studio, the dining hall and the classrooms.’ Calluna pointed at various doors along their way. ‘On the floor below is Miss Youngsand Jnr’s science laboratory, the teachers’ rooms and Madame Rosa’s study. No one is to enter the lower floor without permission. Our rooms are on the top floor. Each sand dancer has a kutch for sleeping in.’

  They went up the large winding driftwood staircase and down a long corridor honeycombed with rows of snug sleeping kutches. They couldn’t see anyone else, but they could hear chatter and excited laughter coming from behind many of the thick curtains that covered the entrances to the kutches.

  ‘How many sand dancers are here?’ Lexie asked.

  ‘There are only twenty-five students who passed the auditions,’ Calluna replied.

  ‘There were hundreds when my mother came here,’ Lexie said.

  Calluna looked interested. ‘Your mother was a dancer? What was her name?’

  ‘Viola Seacouch.’

  ‘Ah, yes. Seacouches are average dancers who are good for making up the numbers,’ Calluna said as Lexie’s face fell.

  ‘There’s nothing average about Lexie,’ Shell said.

  ‘Here is your room, Lexie,’ Calluna said, ignoring Shell and pulling a small rope that opened a curtain. You are expected to keep your kutches tidy and be prompt to your classes and on time for your meals.’

  Shell’s room was next door. ‘Do we get any help with unpacking?’ she asked.

  Calluna sneered. ‘I’m getting tired of your jokes! Who do you think you are – Anagallis?’

  Cassie was the last one to be shown to her room. ‘Save me a place at supper,’ she called out to her friends as she followed Calluna up a rickety stepladder and along a dark, narrow passage. The entrance to this room was covered with a piece of torn material.

  Cassie looked inside. There was a small piece of polished mirror, a jug and bowl for washing, a trunk for her clothes and shoes and a narrow bed. It smelled damp and musty. From what she had seen so far it was clearly the worst room in the school.

  She walked over to the peephole and opened it. To her surprise there was a small balcony with a rope ladder leading down to the beach. She tested the ladder. It was old but it would hold her weight if she ever felt the need to escape. She wished she’d been able to bring her sand board.

  Cassie splashed some cold water on her face. It felt tight and scorched from the day’s travelling, but she still couldn’t help but feel excited. She had a place at the dancing school, two good friends and a chance to search
for clues about her mother.

  Something was happening in her life at last.

  Chapter Eight

  ‘A sand dancer must always be the best she can be

  in thought, word and deed.’

  The Sands of Time

  After a quick wash, Cassie followed her nose to the dining hall. She walked into a large room that was buzzing with noise and filled with delicious smells. In the middle of the room were three long tables. All the other sand dancers were sitting at them. In the centre of each table was a large steaming soup bowl. Cassie’s stomach growled with hunger as the aroma of sea vegetables and spices filled her nose. At the far end of the room was a large stained-glass window. In front of this window, on a raised platform, was another table, which was decorated with a fine cloth.

  Cassie spotted Lexie at one end of one of the central tables and sat down beside her. All eyes were on the top table where the four teachers were sitting. Madame Rosa was sitting in one of the middle seats. She was wearing a pale pink dress with matching coral bracelets. She did not smile, but her violet eyes regarded everyone with a warm and friendly look.

  Cassie was pleased to see her, and also relieved that Sandrine was not there. Her presence at the auditions had made her wonder if she was going to be closely involved with the school.

  Cassie looked at the large sprite, wearing a bright orange dress, sitting next to Madame Rosa and immediately thought about Rubus’s sand surfer with the wind billowing through its sails.

  ‘That’s Mrs Sandskrit,’ Lexie whispered, following her eyes. ‘Doesn’t she look grand! She designs all her own outfits. She will be teaching us dance technique. I’ve heard there’s no one better.’

  ‘Who is the tiny sand sprite with the large glasses?’ Cassie asked

  ‘That’s Miss Youngsand Snr. She knows every Rule in The Sands of Time off by heart, and that’s her twin sister, Miss Youngsand Jnr. She has spent her entire life studying the science of sand dunes.’ Lexie nodded towards a slightly larger copy of her sister who was moving from table to table with a large tray of laver bread.

  ‘Here you are! I’m starving,’ Shell said in a loud voice. She sat down opposite Cassie and started to help herself to some soup and bread.

  There was a gasp from many sprites and Madame Rosa’s calm voice rang out across the hall. ‘It is more polite to wait until we are all ready.’

  Shell froze, and slowly put her bowl back on the table. ‘Please forgive me.’

  Madame Rosa nodded. ‘You are tired after your journey. That can be the only explanation for such rudeness.’ She stood up to address the school and clapped her hands, making her bracelets jangle. ‘Welcome, everyone, to Sandringham Dance School. Your dancing life begins today. It will not be an easy life. You will have to work harder than you have ever done before. Learning to dance is a pleasure, but it is also painful as each of you strives for perfection. A sand dancer must always be the best she can be in thought, word and deed. We are renowned throughout the natural world for our dancing, just as the sand farers are famed for their ability to travel over great distances. It is a great honour to be here. I hope each and every one of you is up to the challenge.’ She scanned the room and it seemed as if her violet eyes met those of each sand sprite. Cassie felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Would she be able to follow in her mother’s dance steps?

  Miss Youngsand Snr spoke next. ‘One of my responsibilities is to care for your health. You will all be given a bottle of special sea salts to bathe your feet in at the end of each day. I expect you to eat well, go to sleep early and look after yourselves. You cannot dance if you are not healthy. Anyone looking peaky will be given a spoonful of my famous tonic.’ She held up a large bottle, which appeared to be filled with green slime. Everyone groaned.

  Mrs Sandskrit then told them about the exercises book as she handed them out. ‘Write your name in them and look after them well. There are spaces at the back for all your dance certificates and grades.’

  Miss Youngsand Jnr peered out at them from behind her large spectacles as she spoke next. ‘Each sand dancer will be given a sandbag to keep their sand slippers and exercises books in. In my sewing classes you will be able to personalise them.’

  Finally Madame Rosa said, ‘I think that is enough information for one night. Now, you may all begin your supper.’

  The room began to buzz with chatter and the noise of soup being poured into bowls.

  Cassie sighed and put her spoon down after a few mouthfuls. ‘I’m too excited to eat much.’

  ‘And I’m too embarrassed,’ said Shell. ‘What was I thinking of helping myself like that?’

  With one swift move, Lexie swapped her now-empty bowl with Shell’s. ‘I can see that neither of you have ever had to fight for your share of food.’

  ‘Looks like we’re going to have to learn,’ laughed Shell as they watched as Lexie slurp up all the soup.

  As they walked along the corridor on the way back to their kutches they they heard a noise and stopped. Hidden behind one of the sandstone pillars, a tiny sand sprite was huddled on the floor crying.

  Instantly Lexie kneeled down on the floor next to the small sand dancer. ‘Are you all right?’

  Cassie joined her. ‘What’s your name?’

  Shell added. ‘And why are you snivelling?’

  Lexie prodded Shell. ‘Don’t speak to her like that.’

  Shell looked puzzled. ‘I’m only trying to find out what’s the matter.’

  ‘Let Lexie try’ Cassie pulled Shell back.

  The sand sprite wiped her eyes. ‘I’m Gentianella. Everyone calls me Ella for short, and I’m really happy to be here, but every time I think about home I start to cry!’

  Lexie smiled. ‘You need to know about the Present Rule. My mother taught it to me. It’s very useful at times like this.’

  Ella wiped away a tear and looked up.

  Lexie continued. ‘You have to focus on being in the present. You have a place at the Sandringham Dance School. How exciting is that? Then you have to close your eyes and imagine that everyone at home is here with you sharing in your excitement.’

  Ella closed her eyes and after a while wiped away a tear. ‘I do feel a bit better.’

  Lexie stood up and, reaching out a hand, helped Ella on to her feet. ‘These are my friends Cassie and Shell. We’ll look out for you.’

  ‘But you’re all so grown-up. I am only eight.’ Ella frowned.

  ‘Not so grown-up that we can’t invite you to have a friendship squeeze.’ Cassie opened her arms and they all hugged.

  ‘Thank you,’ Ella said. ‘I feel so much better.’

  Shell smiled. ‘Now off you go and don’t forget this.’ She handed Ella her exercises book. ‘You’re going to need all the help you can get.’

  Ella’s face crumpled again as she began to wail. ‘I’ll never be able to remember all the steps.’

  ‘Great job,’ Cassie hissed to Shell.

  ‘What did I do?’ Shell said, bemused.

  Lexie and Cassie both laughed.

  ‘I hope your dancing is better than your social graces!’ Cassie said, smiling.

  Chapter Nine

  ‘Never let your thoughts drift

  in a sandstorm.’

  The Sands of Time

  When Cassie woke the next morning she smiled to herself as she remembered where she was. Her first day at dance school!

  She got out of bed and stretched her arms and legs. Then she washed and dressed carefully. Her fingers trembled as she plaited her hair. In less than an hour she would be taking part in her first dance class. Her tummy began to wobble with nerves. Would she be good enough? Would everyone else be much better than her?

  She splashed cold water on her face and gave herself a good talking to.

  ‘Come on, Cassie. Stop worrying. Don’t think too much. You’ll be fine,’ she said as she gazed at her expression in the mirror. She still looked a bit scared. She tried to smile, but that only made her look fie
rce.

  The practice outfit fitted her perfectly. How clever Euphorbia was to make it without even measuring her, she thought. When she looked in the mirror again the dress had transformed her. It made her stand straight and she didn’t look quite so afraid. She hoped her aunt was right when she’d said the more perfect the dress the more perfect the steps. She suddenly felt a lot better.

  She walked over to the peephole, opened it and looked out at the view over Dreamy Dune and beyond. Despite her obvious intent to make her miserable, Calluna had done her a favour by allocating her this room. She could always escape down the rope ladder when she felt things were getting on top of her.

  She smiled to herself as she made her way out of her room, down the stepladder and along the corridor to Shell’s room.

  She tugged on the curtain and popped her head through to see Shell still curled up in bed. ‘Hurry up! You’ve got exactly six and a half minutes to be up and dressed and ready for breakfast.’

  ‘Lexie told me I’d be late for breakfast too. I think she’s already gone down. Let’s skip eating and be early for class instead of late for breakfast.’ Shell yawned. ‘Your dress looks amazing. It’s nearly as nice as mine. Would you pass it to me? It’s hanging by the wall.’

  When Cassie saw Shell’s dress she let out a long whistle. ‘This looks like real gold thread.’

  Shell slipped it on. ‘Do you think it’s too showy? Sandrine had them made for me because I was representing the palace.’

  Cassie nodded. ‘It’ll certainly get you noticed.’

  ‘Then I’ll put something else on. I hate being the centre of attention.’ Shell took out a simpler outfit from her trunk. ‘I’ll wear this one instead.’

  They crept down the stairs and past the dining hall where Cassie tried to ignore the smell of crispy fried seaweed. They opened the large double doors that led to the dance studio. There was a lobby with long benches and hooks to hang your shoes on.