Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Soon Ivy and her friends were cantering away from the stables. Flame had barely spoken to Ivy. He'll calm down, she reassured herself. He never stays cross for long. Then I'll apologise again and he'll know how sorry I am. They rode up a hill with short tufty grass and stopped at the top to let the unicorns rest. Ivy stared at the trees on the slope beneath them. "How will we find the Memory Tree?" "It's got to be that one," Lyra said, pointing out an evergreen tree that towered above the rest. "It's easily the tallest tree in the woods. Come on!" They set off down the hill and entered the forest, following a well-worn track that twisted and turned. The unicorns' hooves clopped softly on the carpet of pine needles and the air smelled sharp and fresh. Eventually they reached a clearing and Ivy caught her breath. The tree in the centre was the tallest and most beautiful tree she'd ever seen. Its thick trunk glittered silver and Ivy had to tilt her head right back to see the canopy of green branches that spread out overhead high in the sky. Pictures, messages, hearts and trinkets were tied to the branches with brightly coloured ribbons. Everything fluttered in the breeze, tinkling and chiming, making it sound like the tree was singing. Ivy was mesmerised. Sliding from Flame's back, she ran her hand round the tree's vast trunk. The bark was as glassy as ice. "Look how smooth it is, and even the lowest branches are really high up. No wonder the riddle said impossible to climb," she said. "How have people managed to fix their messages to its branches?"

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"The tree is enchanted, according to the book I read. When a person comes here to remember someone, the tree lowers a branch down so they can tie the item on," said Evie as she and the others also dismounted. "Hey, Memory Tree, could you lower your branches so we can climb up?" Sienna asked the tree hopefully. Nothing happened– the tree's boughs just continued to move gently in the breeze and the trinkets and messages chinked and tinkled. Lyra frowned. "How are we going to climb up it to look for the map? I suppose we could get a ladder, but it would have to be huge." "Maybe we could use a rope," said Evie. "Or Flame could shrink the tree with his magic," suggested Sienna. "Great idea," said Ivy excitedly. "How about it, Flame?" Flame backed away, his eyes like saucers. "No! What if I shrink it and can't regrow it?" "Please try, Flame. Pleeeeease!" said Lyra. "I can't!" Flame said. Ivy felt a sharp stab of guilt as she saw the panic in his eyes. He'd been so happy doing magic earlier but the mistakes had knocked his confidence and it was all her fault. She should have helped him practise. If only she could turn back time and do things diff erently. She slipped off his back. "Flame, you can do this; I know you can," she said. "You got the map back to normal size yesterday and you regrew that bucket of sky berries just now." "They ended up all over you," said Flame miserably. "What if my magic goes wrong and the tree explodes or something?" He shook his head. "No, I can't do it." "You can!" all the girls insisted, their unicorns joining In with whinnies of encouragement.

Seeing his unhappiness, Ivy understood that she was the only person who could really help him. "Come with me," she said softly. She led him away from the others and stroked his face. "Flame, I am so sorry. I should have realised how much you were counting on my help and put you first. Please forgive me. I promise to be more organised in future and not leave everything to the last possible minute." Flame's gaze met hers. "Well, I guess I'm to blame as well. I do like to show off." He looked sheepish. "Do you think we're right for each other? Maybe I should be paired with someone who's competitive and showy, and you should be with a unicorn who's chilled and likes a slower pace." "No!" Ivy was certain. "You're the best unicorn in the world. I love everything about you, including your magic!" The tension faded from Flame and his eyes glowed. "Thank you, and I do forgive you– provided you promise that you'll forgive me when I mess up too." "Always," she told him, hugging him. "Everyone makes mistakes and we're both bound to make loads more. The important thing is that we're

there for each other and help each other. I'm sorry about earlier. I should have come to the stables immediately instead of going for lunch, and I should have helped you properly when you asked instead of just watching." "And I shouldn't have rushed into shrinking all those things but taken it more slowly." Flame glanced back at the tree. "Do you really believe I can shrink the tree and then regrow it?" "Yes," Ivy declared. "Together we can do anything!" He snorted happily and she kissed the centre of his forehead. "Come on, let's do this!" They made their way back to the others. "I'm ready!" said Flame, lifting his head and pricking his ears. "We're both ready," Ivy said, smiling at him. The others called out words of encouragement as Flame stepped up to the tree and focused on its glassy trunk. Ivy stroked him. "You can do this," she reminded him. "Do what you did yesterday and picture the tree In your mind. Imagine it exactly the size you want it to be." Flame stamped his hoof and pink and green sparks twirled round the tree's trunk. With a shrieking, creaking sound the trunk retracted like a telescope, shrinking faster and faster until it was about as tall as a house. The memories fluttered on branches a couple of metres above the girls' heads. "I can't make it go any smaller," Flame panted. "That's all I can do."