Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO The lights in the stable block glowed softly. The heated floor was so lovely and warm that Scarlett unwound her scarf and stuffed her red gloves in her pocket. She hopped clear of a remote-controlled trolley as it went trundling past with a big container of sky berries– the special berries from the mountains behind the school that the unicorns loved to eat. Blaze went into her stall and drank from her silver water trough. Each unicorn had their own trough that magically filled up with water from

the lake. "Delicious!" Blaze smacked her lips but as she went to take another drink she snorted in alarm. "Where's the water gone? My trough's not refilling!" "What's that?" Scarlett broke off chattering with Isabel. "My trough's broken." Blaze rattled it with her muzzle. "It can't be." The individual water troughs in the stalls and the main troughs in the stable aisles never ran out of lake water. Scarlett went into Blaze's stable and put her hand under the water spout. Water suddenly spurted everywhere. She squealed. "Blaze! You tricked me!" "No I didn't!" Blaze protested. Scarlett giggled and flicked water over her. "I actually believed you for a moment." "I wasn't joking, Scarlett." Blaze stared at the water trough. "It wasn't working."

Scarlett just laughed. "Stop messing around. You'll make me late." "I'm not messing around," Blaze said. "I saw some ice crystals in the water." "Ice crystals? Where?" Scarlett kept her distance, expecting Blaze to shower her with water if she went too close. "They've melted now," said Blaze. "Of course they have," Scarlett chuckled. "Right, I'm going to get you some berries." She returned a few minutes later with a bucket full of sky berries and plonked it on the floor. Blaze gobbled them up hungrily. Scarlett stroked her, twisting her fingers in a swirl of red and gold mane that reminded her of a flame. "I'll see you in the morning," she said. "It's the weekend so no lessons, just fun! I'm going to plait your mane and tail with some gold ribbons my big sisters sent me." "Your family spoil you rotten!" laughed Isabel, peeking around Blaze's stable door.

"A box of chocolates came from the boys this morning too," Scarlett smiled. She was the youngest of five. Her older brothers and sisters were always sending her treats. "I'll share them with our dorm." "Awesome. But we'd better get a move on now," said Isabel, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I don't want to clean Ms Nettles' stinky boots." "Me neither," agreed Scarlett. She gave Blaze a final hug and then she and Isabel hurried back to the school, arm in arm. The next day was even colder. When the girls woke there was a thin layer of snow and ice on Sapphire dormitory's window. Scarlett stayed in bed, curled up in her blue and silver duvet like a dormouse until Isabel whipped it away. "You're mean!" Scarlett's teeth chattered. "Catch me if you can," shouted Isabel. She

looked like a glittery ghost as she circled the room with the duvet draped over her shoulders. Scarlett chased after her with a pillow, bopping Isabel on the head with it. Isabel ditched the duvet and grabbed a pillow to bop her back. "Pillow fight!" yelled Sophia, getting out of bed. Olivia and Ava jumped up to join in too. Quieter Layla dressed with a worried frown on her face as the other five girls in Sapphire dorm chased around, bashing each other with feathery

pillows. "Phew! I'm too hot now," gasped Scarlett, lying on her bed. "Me too!" said Isabel, collapsing beside her. "You can't just lie there," said Layla. "There are feathers everywhere. You'd better clear them up before breakfast or we'll all be in trouble." "What are you doing today, Sophia?" Scarlett said, ignoring Layla, who she thought was rather boring. Layla sighed and started clearing up the feathers herself. "Ava and I are going to look for some spring bulbs and herbs she wants to plant in her garden," said Sophia, holding her black curls off her neck to cool down. "Then we'll go for a long ride around the grounds. I promised Rainbow he could have a good gallop today. How about you two?" "Riding, jumping and avoiding Ms Nettles," said Scarlett.