Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE Scarlett and Isabel squeezed between the unicorns to reach Blaze and Cloud. "Scarlett!" Blaze whinnied in relief. "Thank goodness you're here. The drinking troughs have frozen. I'm so thirsty and my head aches. Can you get me some water from the lake?" "Of course," said Scarlett, but before she could go anywhere the elderly headteacher, Ms Primrose, came into the stable with her golden unicorn, Sage. Ms Primrose was wrapped up warmly in a thick hoodie, two scarves and a pair

of pink and gold riding boots. "Good morning, everyone," she said. "As you can see, the weather has turned extremely cold and, for the first time in living memory, the lake has started to freeze." Isabel gasped and Scarlett's face reddened as

she remembered how yesterday she'd thought that it might be fun if the lake did freeze for a bit. Ms Primrose clapped her hands, silencing the chatter. "If the lake continues to freeze then there won't be any water for the unicorns to drink. That would be dreadful. All the unicorns would become ill and lose their magic powers." Scarlett glanced at Blaze. She'd already complained of a headache. She might get very sick if she couldn't drink the lake water. Scarlett began to listen far more carefully. "We must collect as much water as possible," Ms Primrose went on. "I've arranged for some specially heated storage containers to be put in the stables. No matter what the temperature is outside, the stored water won't freeze. Unfortunately, these containers need to be filled by hand. Go and collect the others from your dormitory and make sure each of you takes a bucket from your form teacher. Then start

transferring water from the lake to the containers. The harder you work, the sooner the job will be done. Off you go now." As Ms Primrose left the stables with Sage, everyone started talking at once. "What will happen to Unicorn Island if the lake freezes?" "How will the island survive?" Scarlett patted Blaze's neck. Now she knew there was enough water to last for a few days, she felt more relaxed about the lake freezing for a little while. "Let's not worry about it, Blaze. Ms Nettles said the lake will never freeze completely, and even if it does, we'll have collected enough water to last until it thaws again. Let's enjoy the snow and frost! It'll be great fun playing in it!" It was hard work, fetching water from the lake and carrying it to the containers in the stables.

The thin layer of snow covering the ground grew slushy, splashing Scarlett's legs with water as she traipsed back and forth. Her initial enthusiasm quickly wore off until she was spending more time nattering to Isabel than working. It took the whole morning before the containers were full. "I'm not doing that again," panted Scarlett, dumping her bucket outside Blaze's stable rather than walk the extra steps to put it back in the storeroom. "I doubt we'll have to," said Isabel. "It feels much warmer now– the sun's coming out." Warmed by the pale winter sun, the afternoon was much more fun. Scarlett brushed Blaze's mane, not exactly until it shone, but enough to get the tangles out. Then she plaited the gold ribbon through it. Blaze's tail proved a little harder, with a wisp of hair that refused to lie flat. Spying the bucket she'd left outside the stable, Scarlett grabbed it to get some water

from the drinking trough to tame the flyaway hair. To her surprise the water in the trough was covered in ice and Scarlett had to chip it away to reach the water beneath it. "Watch out, clumsy!" Valentina De Silva shouted at Scarlett as she swept by with her two annoying friends. "You just splashed me." Valentina gave Scarlett a haughty look. Not only was she Ms Nettles' niece but she thought she was better than anyone else at Unicorn Academy because her parents were governors there. "Oh dear," said Scarlett, deliberately swinging the bucket into the air so the icy water splashed out and over Valentina. "Whoops, sorry, Valentina. I really am clumsy today!" She chuckled as water dripped from Valentina's brown hair. "That's it! I'm telling!" shrieked Valentina, storming off to find a teacher. Her two friends gave Scarlett an indignant look before scurrying