Alice Parker's Metamorphosis (Book 1 of the new adventure series for children) (14 page)

Alice frowned. ‘I don’t like the idea of walking out of the front door. What if someone is standing there, a porter or security guard? They’re bound to ask where we’re going.’

‘
That has crossed my mind,’ admitted Grandad. ‘If someone asks, you say that your grandad, who will be Theo, has had too much to drink and needs some air. They won’t argue if they think someone might be sick on a tapestry!’

Alice shook her head in disbelief at her real grandad’s questionable logic and audacity.

‘
Allow me to introduce Jake and Ethan,’ Imogen continued, nodding towards two young men at the table who had been silent so far. ‘They are experienced rowers and will be able to get you away as fast as possible.’ They nodded emphatically.

‘
Thomas, you and I will be waiting in the boats as well,’ Grandad informed him. ‘On standby, just in case.’

‘
Good idea,’ agreed Thomas.

‘
How far will we be going by boat?’ asked Sarah, not relishing the idea of being in a rowing boat in the dark at all.

‘
Not too far, don’t worry,’ Imogen reassured her. ‘Just as far as the nearest car park, where Fay and I will be waiting with a van large enough to transport us all.’

‘
Are you sure you’re going to be alright with this?’ Anna asked Alice. She obviously had misgivings.

‘
Oh, yes, we’ll be fine,’ said Alice, lying through her teeth. She was far from sure, but how could she say anything else to this poor woman? ‘I’ll do everything I can to find your dad, I promise.’

‘
Of course she will,’ added Grandad. ‘She’s a tough nut, this one. And she’ll have a good friend with her, as well as us waiting in the wings. We’ll make a good team.’ He put his arm around her and roughed up her hair. She cringed with embarrassment.

‘
Thank you,’ said Anna. ‘I’ll be there as well but I won’t get in the way.’

‘
Well, everyone, is there anything else?’ asked Imogen.

‘
Yes,’ said Grandad. ‘I trust we shall be having our Christmas party once Theo is back with us? We could all do with a celebration when this is over.’

‘
Absolutely! We’ll make it the best yet – it will be Alice’s first one too!’ grinned Imogen.

There was a knock and a very tired Freya put her head round the door.

‘
Just to let you know, girls, your outfits will be ready in the morning if you want to collect them.’

They thanked her before she disappeared.

‘
Thank you for coming, everyone,’ said Imogen. ‘I’ll see you all tomorrow evening. Get a good night’s sleep tonight and good luck.’

‘
You won’t need luck, you’ll do fine,’ professed Grandad, giving Alice a hug before they left. ‘See you on the river!’

‘
I’m going to stay here for a while,’ said Thomas. ‘I’ll see you two back at home.’

Alice smiled, putting on a brave face.

‘
Come on you,’ said Sarah, taking her arm and leading her out. ‘Enough serious talk. We’ve got the rest of the day to do as we please.’

Alice wasn’t really in the mood for enjoying herself. As everyone left the meeting room, she signalled to Sarah to wait while she stayed behind to ask Imogen a question.

‘
Er... Imogen,’ she began apprehensively.

‘
What is it, Alice?’ she asked. ‘Don’t be shy, you can talk to me about anything that is bothering you.’

‘
Well, this may be a silly question. Ridiculous, really... but I’ve been meaning to ask you if animals can understand Finwips,’ Alice blurted out, blushing.

Sarah stared at her friend fearing that she had finally lost the plot. Imogen seemed shocked.

‘
Has something happened to make you think so? Which animal was involved?’

‘
My dog, a couple of birds and possibly a horse,’ replied Alice.

Sarah tried to stifle a giggle.

Imogen sat back down at the table, stunned. Alice thought that if she carried a hip flask like her grandad, now would be the time to offer it.

‘
Well...
,
’ said Imogen slowly. ‘It has been known, but I must stress that it is a very rare ability. We used to have a Finwip elder called Ruby who could be understood and sometimes even protected by animals. Wild birds would often follow her to keep her company.’

Alice bit her lip again. Sarah decided that she needed to sit down as well.

‘
If that is what you are experiencing, Alice, you are even more extraordinary than we thought,’ admitted Imogen. ‘I need to carry out some more research into that. You are exhibiting incredibly strong characteristics for a new generation Finwip. Logically, traits and abilities should be disappearing, but you are reversing that.’

‘
I see,’ murmured Alice. She was surprised but also relieved. More evidence that she wasn’t going mad. ‘Thank you, Imogen,’ she said. ‘We should go now Sarah.’

‘
You’re welcome. Listen, you need to acquaint yourself with that map, Alice. And remember, whatever happens tomorrow night, stay calm. Make sure you carry your spray with you,’ warned Imogen.

‘
I will,’ pledged Alice. ‘I mean, I’ll try my best. Oh, no, I hadn’t even thought of THAT happening! I’ve been so worried about being able to find Theo and get him out of there, the wings hadn’t even crossed my mind! I must stay calm, otherwise I could ruin everything, couldn’t I?’

‘
You could, that’s true,’ replied Imogen. ‘But I know you won’t. You have Sarah as a calming influence and I have every faith in you both.’

Alice looked down at the floor. She could hardly bear to look anyone in the eye at the moment, she was so doubtful of her capacity to do this.

‘
I don’t want to let anyone down,’ she said woefully, ‘but I’m really not sure you’ve chosen the right person for the job.’

‘
I’m aware that this is asking a lot from a thirteen-year-old, but you really are our best chance. We had hoped that
you
would manage to get an invitation, but to have your friend there as well will be invaluable.’

‘
But how will we know when to slip away and search for him?’

‘
When you are least likely to be missed. I can’t tell you when that will be, I’ll leave it to your discretion, though I should think it will be after dinner. Don’t leave the table if you can help it. That would be too obvious.’

‘
OK,’ said Alice, resigning herself to the fact that she couldn’t wriggle out of it.

‘
Try and enjoy yourself for part of the evening at least. Some people would give their right arm to be going to that ball!’

At that moment Alice would have given her right arm not to be going.

‘
I’ll make sure she does,’ Sarah promised her. ‘I certainly intend to make the most of it.’

‘
Good,’ said Imogen. ‘Now, go and relax, save your energy for tomorrow night. Remember, you’ll need to be alert at all times, so no sneaky glass of champagne!’

The girls smiled, said their goodbyes and headed off down the corridor.

‘
I love this place,’ said Sarah, looking around as they waited for the lift. ‘Don’t you?’

‘
Mmm. I just hope I see it again after tomorrow.’

Chapter 12

Fireworks at the Castle

Thomas knocked loudly on his Alice’s bedroom door.

‘
Come in if you must,’ replied a grouchy, sleepy voice.

‘
This just isn’t good enough!’ he complained, marching in and opening the curtains. ‘It’s nearly ten o’clock! While you’ve been snoring, I’ve been down to the village and collected your outfits for tonight.’

‘
Ooh, let’s see!’ piped up Sarah, jumping out of bed and putting on her dressing gown.

‘
Listen,’ said Thomas lowering his voice, ‘I’ve told Mum and Dad that a friend of mine made these for you, OK?’

‘
OK.’

‘
Fine.’

‘
This is yours, Sarah,’ he said, passing her a large silver bag. ‘And this one is yours.’

He laid the second bag in front of Alice, on her bed. She stared at it, but didn’t touch it. Sarah had already opened hers and was squealing as she pulled out the dress and held it up.

Alice remained sitting up in bed, her arms folded.

‘
Calm down, Alice, you’re over-excited again,’ joked Thomas.

She scowled at him.

‘
It’s alright for her,’ she moaned, nodding in Sarah’s direction, ‘wetting herself about new outfits. I can’t get excited about the party. I’m too worried.’

‘
Oh, give it a rest! Look at it like this: you’re going to an amazing event and while you’re there, you’re going to collect someone. That’s it. You’re doing nothing wrong; they are.’

Alice sighed and dragged her fingers through her morning bird’s-nest hair. ‘Well, when you put it like that...’ Eventually she reached for the bag and took out her dress.

‘
I must admit, it’s very nice.’

‘
NICE?’ challenged Sarah, wide-eyed. ‘I’ve never seen anything like them!’

‘
I know, I know...you’re right,’ Alice agreed. Freya’s done a great job. You can clear off now, Thomas, so we can try these on.’

‘
Oh, will that be all for today, m’lady? No, of course not, madam will require a lift this evening,’ said Thomas, before leaving the room with a bow. Sarah giggled.

‘
Don’t flatter him,’ snapped Alice.

‘
You’re not very nice to him, are you? He’s good to you.’

‘
He never used to be. He only changed when he realised I was becoming one of
them.’

‘
Whatever, you’d have been in a right mess without his help.’

Alice shrugged her shoulders. ‘Let’s try these on quickly, I need to spend some time studying that map today.’

Needless to say, Alice had tried hers on and wolfed down some breakfast before Sarah managed to tear herself away from the mirror.

‘
Blimey,’ remarked Alice, as she came back into her bedroom. ‘Would you like some more time alone with the mirror, or has it confirmed that you are the fairest of them all?’

‘
Give over!’ said Sarah, blushing. ‘I’m admiring the clothes, not myself.’

‘
Mum asked if we were going out today. I said no, too much to do for this evening.’

‘
Really? That sounds boring. Surely it won’t take all day to learn the layout of the castle?’

‘
Can’t be too careful,’ replied Alice.

‘
What will happen, will happen,’ said Sarah as she hung her dress on the back of the door.

‘
Ooh, the voice of reason has spoken.’

‘
Yes, it has and you know it’s right.’

‘
Fine, let’s concentrate on it until lunch time, then we’ll take the afternoon off.’

‘
Agreed. Did you leave any breakfast for me?’

‘
Cheeky cow.’ Alice took out the map and laid it on her desk while Sarah went downstairs. She marked with a pencil the entrance, the Great Hall where the banquet would take place, and the ballroom. To get from there to the South Tower would mean walking along the back of the main building and passing many windows. She hoped that their dark cloaks and masks would be sufficient to blend into the darkness. Would CCTV be able to see much at night? She hadn’t been to the castle for a couple of years, but as far as she could remember, there were no trees on that side of the Inner Court which they could hide behind. She studied the map closely. They knew about the door into the tower from the courtyard, but there was no door on the other side of the tower to get outside the castle wall. Alice didn’t fancy walking back through the party, even if Theo was in costume. He’d probably still look dreadful after his ordeal. But they needed to get out via the Great Hall. She took out her ruler. If the scale on the map were correct, the tower itself was only 30m away from the river. Surely it would be simpler to escape through a ground floor window? They would have to scramble across the dry moat, though. That would be no mean feat wearing long dresses and helping an old man - and they might still be caught. Alice couldn’t think of anything worse than being deprived of food at the moment...

‘
Have you sorted it all out yet?’ asked Sarah, appearing with a plateful of breakfast.

‘
I think there are two possible options,’ replied Alice. ‘But I’m not sure which one’s worse. Are you up for climbing out of a window?’

‘
If I must.’

‘
We need to get past so many windows without being seen, I just don’t know how we’ll manage it.’

‘
Well, let’s leave it until as late as possible. The more people have had to drink, the less likely they are to take any notice of what’s going on outside. Or who’s missing.’

‘
Good point,’ said Alice, stealing a piece of toast with honey.

She talked Sarah through the map, showing her both escape routes.

‘
Mmm, I see what you mean,’ said Sarah, wrinkling her nose. ‘I think I prefer your grandad’s suggestion. Anyway, I’m going to start packing my bag. Are you going to raid the fruit bowl when your parents go out?’

‘
That’s the plan.’

‘
Excellent. That’s the boring bit over, then. Put the telly on!’