The Crystal Rose, page 2
Pushing past Ida, she dashed out into the castle. Ida rushed off to the library.
Magda was left on her own. Oskar rubbed his head against her leg. “Oh, Oskar,” she said, stroking him, “why do they always want to do different things?”
He made a contented wuffling noise as she scratched behind his ears and then rolled over on to his back with his legs waggling in the air. She smiled. “Come on then. Let’s go and see if we can help.” With Oskar trotting beside her, she went downstairs, thinking about her mother’s words. Surely if they needed to look in the castle then their mother wouldn’t have said they had to travel to the crystal object. It sounded like they had to go on a journey. Maybe Ida was on the right track researching what special crystal objects existed on the island.
Reaching the hallway, she paused out of habit next to a huge tapestry of the Nordovian flag. It was the girls’ favourite object in the whole castle, after the snow globe. Their mother had always said the tapestry was very special. It showed the three ancient symbols of Nordovia – the snow hawk, the full circle of a rainbow and the crystal rose…
Her heart turned a somersault.
The crystal rose! When they had found the pink orb it had been by a snow hawk’s nest. Maybe the blue orb would be found where a crystal rose grew…
She was suddenly completely and absolutely sure she was right.
“Oskar!” she gasped. “We’ve got to find the others!”
She started to hurry down the passageway that led towards the library. As she did so, she caught sight of Hanna. “Hanna! I think I’ve worked it out! We need to find Ida!”
Hanna questioned her all the way to the library but Magda wouldn’t tell her what her idea was until all three of them were together. They found Ida in a corner of the library and then, speaking in a whisper to avoid being overheard by Annika, the librarian, Magda explained her idea.
“A crystal rose,” breathed Ida.
“That means the third orb could have something to do with a rainbow,” said Magda. “The tapestry could contain all the clues we need!”
“You might be right, but we should focus on finding the blue orb for now,” said Hanna. “So, where do crystal roses grow?”
“We’re in the right place to find out!” said Ida. As she jumped to her feet Annika the librarian came over. She was a tall thin lady who wore her grey hair in a coiled plait.
“Girls, do you need assistance?” she asked.
“Yes please, Annika!” said Ida. “We need books about the flowers of Nordovia so we can find out about the crystal roses.”
“Aha, a homework project for Madame Olga no doubt,” said Annika with a smile. She hurried off and a few minutes later she returned with a stack of books on the plants and flowers of Nordovia. “These should be of some use,” she said.
“Thank you very much,” said Magda politely.
They took the books and started to flick through them while Annika returned to her desk.
“Here. I’ve found something!” said Ida, pointing to a chapter on crystal roses. “Let’s see what this says.” Her eyes skimmed over the words. “Oh.”
“What?” said Hanna.
“Crystal roses only grow in a single ice field in the foothills of the Hellsbaard Mountains.”
“That’s a long way away,” said Magda. “Much too far to walk.”
“So we take the ponies,” said Hanna. The girls were confident riders and each had their own shaggy Nordovian pony in the castle stables.
“It says you have to cross the Great Glacier to get to the ice field. It’s the largest glacier in the whole of Nordovia. The ponies won’t be able to go on to it,” Ida said. “It will be too icy for them – they’ll slip and fall.”
Hanna shrugged. “So, we ride them until we get to the glacier and then work out how to get across once we’re there.”
“Don’t be silly. We have to have more of a plan than that,” Ida said.
Hanna frowned. “Why?”
“Because it would be silly to go without a plan and—”
Magda hastily jumped in. “Listen, our first problem is Madame Olga. She’ll never let us travel out into the mountains on our own. She barely even lets us go as far as the castle gates!”
Hanna’s eyes glinted. “I guess the only thing to do is to sneak out at night. Like we did when we went to find the pink orb.”
“It makes sense,” said Magda.
“Do you … do you think this adventure will be as dangerous?” Ida asked. It had been very frightening when they’d been attacked by the wolf.
Hanna lifted her chin. “I don’t care if it is!”
Magda squeezed Ida’s hand. “We’ll all be together, Ida. Don’t worry. We’ll look after each other – just like we did before.”
The sisters hurried to the stables, making as little noise as possible. The sun had just set and stars were starting to appear in the sky. The stables were warm and smelt of sweet hay. The sturdy little ponies looked surprised to see the girls but nuzzled them good-naturedly.
Ida had spent a bit of time that afternoon reading about the Hellsbaard Mountains, and had found a map that showed the shortest route there. She knew the sharp ice picks she had drawn earlier would come in handy on their journey.
They attached them to the ponies’ saddles along with the rest of their equipment and supplies. Hanna had sneaked into the kitchen when cook was having her tea break and taken some bread and cheese from the larder for themselves and some meat for Oskar, and Magda had found a bag of carrots for the ponies in their feed store.
Ida was carrying her sketchbook safely inside her coat. Everything she had read had made her realise how dangerous the mountains were. There were deep crevasses hidden by thick snow and a constant risk of avalanches – tumbling walls of snow that fell from the high peaks and buried everything in their path. She had an uneasy feeling that great danger lay ahead. Ida felt her skin prickle, wondering if their cruel aunt was using her powers to spy on them at that very moment…
“Come on, boy,” said Magda, leading Tommi, her pony, out of his stable.
Hanna was already mounted on her pony, Eira. “Hurry up! We’ve got to leave before the guard patrol comes past.” Oskar gambolled around, eager to be off.
Trying to force her uneasiness away, Ida patted her pony Katla’s thick mane and joined her sisters.
The castle gates were bolted but Hanna used her magic and the bolts slid back easily.
“Here we go!” Hanna said in excitement. They urged their ponies on into a canter and then a gallop, heading towards the distant Hellsbaard Mountains that were silhouetted against the horizon.
Snow crystals flew up from the ponies’ swift hooves and icy wind stung the girls’ cheeks. Oskar tried to race beside them but soon he fell behind. Magda glanced over her shoulder and saw him struggling to keep up. “Change size, Oskar!”
All Nordovian polar bears had the ability to change size. As a young cub Oskar got very tired if he changed too often, but he was going to have to grow now if he wanted to keep up with them and join the adventure!
Oskar shivered for a moment and then grew as large as an adult bear. After that he had no trouble in racing along beside the ponies, his huge paws thudding down into the snow.
On they galloped. They rode through the outskirts of the dense forest, the place of their first adventure. The branches of the dark-green fir trees were laden with snow and pointed icicles hung in shining clusters. After the forest they rode through the icy tundra where the flat, frozen land stretched out all around. They kept heading towards the mountains that loomed in front of them.
It took them hours but at last they reached the foothills – the lower slopes where rocky shapes poked out through the snow. They had to let the ponies slow down to a walk so that they could pick their way round the boulders that littered the ground. The air was even colder here, so cold that when they spoke their breath froze into clouds of ice crystals.
“I’m glad we wore our warmest clothes,” said Magda, pulling her coat collar up round her neck. “How much further is it to the Great Glacier?”
“Not too far now.” Ida had plotted their journey on a map and memorised it. “It’s between those slopes over there.” She pointed into the mountains. “The ice field where the crystal roses grow is on the other side.”
They rode on until they saw the glittering glacier emerge from the dark sky in front of them. It was an enormous frozen blue and white river of ice that cut a path down the mountainside from the high peaks. Getting closer they saw that its sides were very steep. They would have to climb this great wall of frozen water in order to cross to the ice field.
“We’ll have to leave the ponies here,” said Magda, reaching down and hugging Tommi. “Thank you for bringing us this far,” she told him. He snorted and she had the feeling he was glad to be stopping.
The girls found a safe, sheltered spot – a cave at the base of one of the mountains with a small stream outside – where the ponies could lie down and rest. They removed the ponies’ saddles before fastening on their stable blankets to keep them warm and giving them the carrots they had brought.
The ponies had all been trained to remain where they were left so there was no need to tether them. It would have been too dangerous to tie them up in case a hungry wolf pack chanced upon them. This way the ponies would have a chance to escape if danger came. “Be good. Stay safe,” Hanna whispered to Eira. “Please be here when we get back.” She had no idea how they would return to the castle if they didn’t have the ponies.
Eira snorted and started munching her pile of carrots.
The girls fastened their bags on their backs along with their ski poles and ice picks and headed to the glacier.
Ida stared up at the wall of ice in front of her. She really didn’t want to climb it but she knew she had to.
Hanna inspected the ice. It wasn’t smooth at all but scarred with large cracks. “I think this will be the best place to climb,” she said at last. “There are good handholds and footholds. We can also use our ice picks to help us if we need to.”
“We’d better rope ourselves together in case one of us slips,” said Magda. “Hanna, you go first, then Ida, and I’ll go at the back.”
Hanna tied the rope round their waists. She had to take off her gloves to fasten the knots. She gasped with the cold. “Brr!”
“Don’t leave your gloves off for too long,” warned Ida. “Your hands will freeze.”
“All done!” Hanna said, once the rope was looped round their waists and secured. She fixed the last knot and put her gloves back on. “Are we ready to go?”
“Definitely!” said Magda.
“I guess,” said Ida.
“Follow me as closely as you can,” Hanna said. Her green eyes locked with Ida’s identical ones. “You’ll be all right,” she added softly. “I promise.”
Ida felt a little better, almost as if some of her sister’s bravery had slipped into her, bolstering her courage. “Thanks,” she said.
Hanna started to climb. She instinctively seemed to find the best handholds and footholds, and when she couldn’t find a handhold she drove her pick into the ice and used that to lever herself up. It was hard work. Gritting her teeth, Ida followed her and Magda climbed behind, encouraging Oskar.
The polar bear, still in his large size, used his long claws, digging them into the ice and hauling himself up the wall little by little. But it was hard for him. Polar bears were not built for climbing up steep slopes. Magda glanced back anxiously. He had stopped halfway up and was clinging to the ice. He had started to shake and tremble. “Oskar, come on!” she called, stopping to encourage him. “You can do it.”
She felt the rope tug as Ida and Hanna kept on climbing. “Wait!” she called to them. “Oskar’s in trouble!”
Her sisters paused just as one of Oskar’s back paws lost its grip on the ice. He scrabbled desperately with his free back paw and whimpered in alarm. “Steady, boy,” Magda said gently. She knew she had to try to calm him. If he started to panic, he would lose his grip completely. “It’s all right. Dig your claws back in. Keep on climbing.”
Her voice seemed soothe him. Fixing his eyes on her, he dug first one front paw and then the other more firmly into the ice and then found a better grip for his back paws too. Bit by bit he edged up the ice towards her while she encouraged him on.
“Come on, Oskar!” Hanna and Ida urged. “You can do it!”
The polar bear reached Magda. Although he was large, he was still just a cub and Magda saw the fear in his eyes. She stroked his soft fur. “Good boy,” she said softly. ‘Let’s climb together.”
Slowly but steadily she and Oskar climbed up towards the others.
Hanna reached the top of the glacier first and helped Ida over the edge and together they helped Magda and Oskar.
“We made it!” Ida said in relief as they all sat panting at the top. Even Oskar lay for a few moments getting his breath back.
“Well done, everyone!” said Hanna.
Magda nodded. She was very glad they were all at the top of the glacier and safe.
Oskar nuzzled all three girls as if to say thank you and they all gave the brave bear a huge hug.
“It’s very empty up here,” said Hanna, looking around the vast deserted expanse of ice and snow that glittered softly under the night sky.
“I thought it would be all smooth like a pond,” said Magda. “But it isn’t at all.” It was rutted and bumpy, and covered with deep snow and patches of ice.
“Walking isn’t going to be easy,” said Ida, getting to her feet and taking a few experimental steps. She immediately slipped over. “Ow!”
“We’ll have to use our ski poles to help us,” said Hanna, helping her up.
“It’s going to take us ages to get across,” said Ida, getting back to her feet. “We’ll have to be really careful – all this snow could be covering crevasses. They’re like deep cracks. If we fall down one, we might never get out.”
Oskar made a wuffling sound and lifted one front paw and then the other.
“What is it, boy?” Magda asked curiously.
He walked over and pushed his shoulder against her as if he wanted another hug. She frowned, sure he was trying to tell her something. Oskar nodded with his head across the glacier as if he wanted her to walk forward. With her hand on his back, she took a step or two. Her feet slipped but with her hand clutching his fur she didn’t fall. Suddenly her eyes widened. “I think Oskar’s trying to tell us he can help us! His paws are brilliant for walking over ice. We can hold on to him as we walk and he will help us balance!”
Oskar barked as if in agreement.
The girls unroped themselves and then, leaving the rope on the glacier, they crowded round Oskar and buried their hands in his soft fur. It was much easier walking on the slippery ice with a big polar bear to hold on to! However, they still had to go very slowly. After half an hour their legs were aching from bracing themselves on the ice and they hardly seemed to have crossed much of the glacier at all. The far side still looked a long way away.
“This is really hard,” said Ida, pausing to take a breath beside a massive boulder the size of a cart. “It’s going to take us forever to get to the ice field on the other side!”
Magda looked up at the snow-covered mountains towering around the glacier. “I wish we could just fly to the other side,” she said.
“Well, you could,” said Hanna, pointing to a black-and-white bird with dark wing tips swooping over the ice. “You could turn into a snow bunting.”
“I’m not going to leave you,” said Magda.
“No,” said Ida quickly. “We should definitely all stick together.”
As she spoke there was a deep rumbling, thundering noise from high above them.
“What’s that?” said Hanna.
Oskar cowered on the ice, covering his ears with his paws and shrinking to the size of a cub again.
“Oskar? What’s wrong?” said Magda.
“Is it thunder? Is there a storm coming?” Hanna said.
“No, not a storm!” Fear gripped Ida as she pointed upwards to where a deadly white wall of snow had started to fall from the mountaintops above them. “It’s … it’s an avalanche!”
The girls stared in horror as the wall of snow thundered down the mountainside straight towards them, tossing boulders into the air and sweeping up everything in its path as it gathered speed and strength.
“What should we do?” cried Magda.
A wind suddenly swirled, lifting the edges of their coats. “Nothing!” hissed a harsh voice. “There is nothing you can do! This is your time to die!”
“Veronika the Shadow Witch!” gasped Ida.
“Yes,” their aunt’s voice hissed through the wind. “I offered you a chance to give up on your quest to save the Lights but you didn’t listen. This time I will not let you get the better of me. Goodbye, meddlesome nieces. Your journey ends here!” She gave a shrieking laugh that merged with the thundering of the wall of snow as it bore down on them.
The girls clung to each other. There was no way they could run and escape. The wall of snow was almost on them. It blotted out the sky, the moon, the stars – everything.
“We’re going to be buried alive!” cried Ida in horror, staring up at the snow.
“No, we’re not!” Hanna pointed to the massive boulder next to them. “Get behind that.” Ida opened her mouth to protest. “Just do it!” Hanna yelled, pushing her towards it. “I’ve got an idea!” Focusing on a nearby thick sheet of ice she used all her magic to lift it into the air.
Magda and Ida suddenly realised what Hanna’s plan was and pulled Oskar down behind the boulder with them.
