Power Play by Titania Woods Page A

seats. ‘I’m going to miss Violet Branch,’ said Twink wistfully as they passed their branch from the year before. ‘Wasn’t it glimmery, having our beds up in loft spaces?’
    Bimi nodded. ‘But maybe Bluebell Branch will be nice, too.’
    â€˜There it is!’ said Twink, spotting a cluster of bright blue flowers hanging over a ledge. With a flutter of wings, she and Bimi landed and pushed open the door.
    â€˜Oh!’ gasped Twink.
    Bimi was right. If anything, their new room was even nicer than Violet Branch! It was located in a section of bough that grew straight up, like a tower of its own. Up above, two round loft spaces encircled the walls, one over the other, each with four mossy beds. A large bunch of bluebells hung from the centre of the ceiling like a flowered chandelier.
    Several of their friends had already arrived, and a chorus of voices greeted them. ‘Hello, Opposite!’ called a fairy, flying down from the higher loft space to scoop Twink into a hug.
    â€˜Hi, Sooze,’ said Twink happily, returning the embrace. Sooze had lavender hair and pink wings – the exact opposite of Twink. The two had been best friends once, and were still close.
    â€˜Oh, isn’t this pretty!’ exclaimed Bimi, looking around her. ‘Sooze, can Twink and I join you up top?’
    Sooze grinned and lowered her voice. ‘You can if you want – but Mariella’s up there, too.’
    Twink and Bimi glanced at each other, and wrinkled their noses in unison. ‘Maybe we’ll take the bottom loft instead,’ said Twink. Though Mariella had improved greatly in the three years since they’d known her, the pointy-faced fairy could still be very irritating – though oddly enough, she and Sooze seemed to get on all right now!
    Flying to the lower loft space, Bimi and Twink took mossy beds side by side. Each had a cluster of bluebells hanging over it, with a window to one side – and because of the round walls, each window had a different view.

    To Twink’s delight, she could see the school Fledge field from hers, just visible far below. Soon she’d be playing with the team again – she could hardly wait! Then Twink frowned thoughtfully. Who would their new Games Fairy be, now that Madge was gone?
    â€˜Let me guess, Twink – you’re looking forward to Fledge starting up!’ said a clever fairy called Pix, who had one of the other beds in their loft.
    Twink turned away from the window with a sheepish grin. ‘Is it that obvious?’
    A silvery-haired fairy called Sili had taken the other bed, and the four of them chatted as they unpacked their things. ‘Oh, isn’t it lovely to be Fourth Years!’ exclaimed Sili, fluttering her wings with a rapturous sigh.
    With an impish expression, Pix tucked a strand of red hair behind a pointed ear. ‘Yes, and you know what that means – we get to make our own uniforms tomorrow!’
    â€˜I wonder what Sooze’s will be like,’ said Bimi, placing a bottle of wing polish on her bedside mushroom.
    Twink giggled, imagining it. Sooze could be very mischievous at times, and would probably enjoy horrifying their matron, Mrs Hover, with some wild creation!
    Ivy and Kiki arrived, taking the last two beds in the upper loft space, and soon afterwards it was time for the opening session. The Bluebell Branch fairies flew down together, joining long streams of other fairies as everyone headed towards the Great Branch. Twink smiled to see the First Years riding on their birds. They looked completely terrified!
    The Great Branch was the largest branch in the school, with arched windows and gleaming wooden floors. The long room was filled with rows of mossy tables, each with a different flower dangling over it, so that the Branch was like a sunny springtime garden.
    The Bluebell Branch table was over to one side. Twink perched on a spotted mushroom beside Bimi. Glancing