Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR "Sky berries for all the unicorns and hot chocolate for us!' said Matilda happily. "I've got some marshmallows for the hot chocolate," said Ariana. "You'll come and have some hot chocolate with us, won't you, Isla?" Violet said. Isla glowed with pleasure at being included. "Yes please!" They rode back to the stables in a noisy, chattering group. Isla was happy to be with everyone but she had an anxious feeling that Buttercup was cross with her. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, Isla thought. I just didn't want her to look silly in front of everyone.

第四章“给独角兽的天空莓和给我们的热巧克力！”玛蒂尔达高兴地说。 “我为热巧克力准备了一些棉花糖。”阿利安娜说。 “你愿意来和我们一起喝点热巧克力，好吗，艾拉？”紫说。 Isla因被接纳而高兴得满脸通红。 “是的,请!”他们成群结队地骑着马回到马厩。 艾拉很高兴能和大家在一起，但她有一种焦虑的感觉，觉得毛茛在生她的气。 我不是有意伤害她的感情，艾拉想。 我只是不想让她在众人面前出丑。

"Isn't that Valentina?" said Freya, interrupting Isla's thoughts. "Where's she going?" "Let's give her scarf back," said Isla. "I bet she'll be really pleased we found it for her." Buttercup cantered towards Golden Briar. "Valentina!" called Isla. "Go away!" Valentina shouted back. "But I've got something of yours." "What is it?" demanded Valentina, halting Golden Briar. Isla took the scarf out of her pocket. "Buttercup used her magic to find it." Valentina took the scarf from Isla and stuffed it in her pocket. She didn't even say thank you. "Where are you going?" asked Isla curiously. "None of your business!" snapped Valentina, and she rode away without another word. "I was only trying to help," Isla said to Buttercup as they headed back to the stables. "Well, not everyone wants your help," said Buttercup irritably. "I felt really stupid earlier when you said my magic wouldn't work." "But I was right," Isla pointed out. "You were too tired."

“那不是瓦伦蒂娜吗？”弗雷娅打断艾拉的思绪说。 “她要去哪儿？”“我们把围巾还给她吧，”艾拉说。 “我敢打赌，她会很高兴我们为她找到了它。” 金凤花向金荆棘走去。 “瓦伦蒂娜！”艾拉喊道。“走开!”瓦伦蒂娜喊道。 “但我有你的东西。” “怎么回事？”瓦伦蒂娜拦住金荆棘问道。 艾拉从口袋里掏出围巾。 “毛茛用她的魔法找到了它。” 瓦伦蒂娜从艾拉手里接过围巾，塞进了口袋。 她连谢谢都没说。 “你要去哪里？”艾拉好奇地问。 “不关你的事！”瓦伦蒂娜厉声说，二话没说就骑马走了。 “我只是想帮忙，”艾拉对毛茛说，他们朝马厩走去。 “好吧，不是每个人都需要你的帮助。”毛茛烦躁地说。 “刚才你说我的魔法不会起作用的时候，我觉得自己真傻。” “但我是对的，”艾拉指出。 “你太累了。”

"So what? It's better to try something and fail than not to try at all." Isla wasn't sure she agreed. Surely it was better not to try if you thought you might get it wrong? They lapsed into an awkward silence. Isla hadn't meant to upset Buttercup. She'd only tried to stop her using her magic because she knew that if she'd tried something and got it wrong, she'd be really embarrassed. Buttercup was different, though. She didn't mind making mistakes. It's one of the things I love about her, Isla realised. She's so confident, she doesn't care what people think. As they reached the stables, Isla stroked Buttercup's neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel silly. You're right. It is better to have a go at things and not be too cowardly to try, like me." Buttercup nuzzled her. "You're not a coward, Isla. You just worry too much. I'm really glad we're paired together." "Me too." Isla kissed her then fetched a bucket full of juicy sky berries.

“那又怎样?尝试失败总比不尝试强。” 艾拉不确定她是否同意。 如果你认为你可能会做错，那么最好不要尝试。 他们陷入了尴尬的沉默。 艾拉不是故意要惹毛茛生气的。 她只是想阻止她使用魔法，因为她知道，如果她尝试了什么，却做错了，她会非常尴尬。 不过，金凤花不一样。 她不介意犯错。 这是我喜欢她的原因之一，艾拉意识到。 她很自信，根本不在乎别人怎么想。 当他们到达马厩时，艾拉抚摸着毛茛的脖子。 “我很抱歉。我不是故意让你觉得傻的。 你是对的。最好还是去试一试，不要像我这样怯懦得不敢尝试。” 金凤花用鼻子蹭她。“你不是个懦夫，艾拉。 你只是担心太多了。我真的很高兴我们在一起。” “我也是。”艾拉吻了她一下，然后拿来一桶多汁的天空莓。

Buttercup gave her a friendly nudge. "Friends again?" Isla said hopefully. "Always friends," said Buttercup. Isla hugged her, feeling much more cheerful. Isla had fun with the others in Diamond dorm over hot chocolate, and she was bursting with happiness as she ran back to Ruby dorm to get ready for dinner. The only person in there was Valentina. She was reading a letter and frowning.

毛茛友好地推了她一下。 “朋友”吗?艾拉满怀希望地说。 “永远的朋友，”毛茛说。 艾拉拥抱了她，心情舒畅多了。 艾拉在钻石宿舍和其他人一起喝着热巧克力玩得很开心，当她跑回Ruby宿舍准备吃晚饭时，她感到非常高兴。 里面只有瓦伦蒂娜一个人。 她正在读一封信，皱着眉头。

"News from home?" Isla asked. Valentina shook her head and shoved the letter into her chest of drawers, dropping the envelope in her haste. Isla picked it up for her. It had Valentina's name on it in swirly handwriting, and no other address. Valentina snatched it from her and slammed the drawer shut. She sat on her bed as Isla changed into a clean hoodie and pulled a brush through her short hair. "Aren't you going down to dinner?" Isla asked. "I'm waiting for you," said Valentina. Isla blinked. Valentina never usually waited for anyone. A thought crossed her mind. Maybe Valentina was worried she would read her letter. Was it from a secret admirer or something? "I'm not ready," said Isla, deciding to test her theory. "How long does it take to brush your hair?" Valentina retorted. "Hurry up. All of Ruby dorm looks bad if one of us is late." She went to snatch the hairbrush away but Isla held on to it. "I said I'm not ready yet," Isla insisted.

“家里有消息吗？”伊斯拉问道。 瓦伦蒂娜摇摇头，把信塞进五斗橱里，匆忙中把信封掉在地上。 艾拉帮她捡了起来。 上面写着瓦伦蒂娜的名字，字迹潦草，没有其他地址。 瓦伦蒂娜从她手里抢过，砰地一声关上了抽屉。 她坐在床上，艾拉换了件干净的连帽衫，用梳子梳理她的短发。 “你不下去吃晚饭吗？”伊斯拉问道。 “我在等你。”瓦伦蒂娜说。 伊斯拉眨了眨眼睛。瓦伦蒂娜通常从不等人。 一个念头闪过她的脑海。 也许瓦伦蒂娜担心她会读她的信。 是暗恋者送的还是怎么的？ “我还没准备好，”艾拉说，决定验证一下她的理论。 “你梳头要花多长时间？”瓦伦蒂娜反驳道。 “快点。如果我们中有人迟到了，整个Ruby宿舍都会看起来很糟糕。” 她去抢梳子，但艾拉抓住了它。 “我说过我还没准备好，”艾拉坚持说。

Valentina glared at her. "You're so annoying." Isla continued to slowly brush her hair while Valentina waited, her foot tapping impatiently on the floor. Interesting, thought Isla. Valentina usually flounced off if she didn't get her way. What exactly was she hiding?

瓦伦蒂娜怒视着她。“你真烦人。” 艾拉继续慢慢地梳头发，瓦伦蒂娜等着，她的脚不耐烦地敲打着地板。 真有意思，艾拉想。 瓦伦蒂娜如果不能如愿，通常会大发雷霆。 她到底藏了什么？