8 Arbor, Princess of Flyers

Climbing up the stairs, Terry's heart was in her mouth—she was sure she was going to fall. There were no railings; on either side of her, nothing but air and that long, long fall. But Emery led the way confidently, and that encouraged her somewhat—after all, all the students of Coelis had already climbed this and made it out alive.

At last, at long last, they reached the top. The view—absolutely dizzying. The castle itself—even better up close, when you could see all the details: the shining white towers and the way the towers caught the sunlight was like nothing she'd ever seen before; nothing she'd ever even imagined.

'Okay,' said Emery. 'My instructions are to give you the tour. It's very quiet around at the moment; everyone is at lunch, I think. We'll start at the beginning, so, if you wouldn't mind, please follow me?'

Terry most certainly did not mind. Neither did Gabriela, no matter what she said to the contrary. Emery led them under a spotless portcullis, past a shining moat; that was when they all heard it. The singing.

'Tra-la-la-la-laa. Do-re-me-fa-so-la-tee!'

It was a girl singing—somewhere in this crisp white foyer, with its crystal chandelier and twin spiralling stairwells. Where was she? There—on the landing, on a ladder.

'Arbor,' Emery called sharply. 'What are you doing?'

The girl twirled around on the ladder—indeed, yes, it was Arbor Dove. Even from this distance, Terry saw she looked exactly the same in real life as she did in all those advertisements, magazine-covers, newspaper-pictures and PondCasts. White-blonde hair, big blue eyes, porcelain skin and red lips—and she was petite, really petite.

'I was putting up a flyer,' she replied, in that sing-song voice of hers. 'For my International Disadvantaged Youth Fund; today is a donation day and I thought I might take advantage of all my fellow students' generosity in service of a good cause. That's the idea, anyway—teehee!'

Only then did Terry notice two other girls standing around the ladder: Rochelle de Mambard and—Gabriela cringed—Indira Chaudhuri. Both turned as Emery walked in.

'Yes, well, Arbor, I thought I banned you from putting up any more flyers. There are enough of them around the place as it is.'

Emery said all this very sternly, and Terry got the sense she did not particularly like Arbor. Arbor obviously did not like being told off either; she pouted for a moment, but then, a moment later, the big, perfect smile was back.

'Oh, of course, I would never intentionally disrespect your authority. It's just that, well, it is for such a good cause.'

'Take it down. Now.'

Very reluctantly, Arbor removed her flyer from the noticeboard. Getting down off the ladder, Arbor spotted Gabriela and Terry. So did Indira and Rochelle.

'Oh!' she cried out. 'Who are these?'

'New students.'

Arbor dashed down the staircase and over to greet them. Indira and Rochelle followed more slowly. 'Oh, what a pleasure. But where are my manners? Princess Arbor Arabella Dove, née Dohatrana—but I go by Dove now, as you probably already now—at your eternal service. Tee-hee! This is Indira, and this is Rochelle—and please do excuse me if I ask for your names?'

Terry was so blown away that she only managed to stutter. 'Teresa, Teresa di J—di Lampedusa.' Gabriela followed suit, muttering her own name under her breath.

'Well, that's wonderful, and it's truly wonderful to meet you. Isn't it, Indira, Rochelle? Do be polite, won't you?'

Rochelle sullenly muttered hello, but Indira said nothing, only gazing with great interest at Gabriela.

'I'm sorry to cut off all the pleasantries,' Emery snapped. 'But we need to get going. We have a tour to finish.'

'Oh, right. I would never delay newcomers receiving their tour. It is such a darling castle, so magical; isn't it, girls?'

'Fabulous. Top notch. Until they turn off the water supply to your shower, that is,' Rochelle snapped.

'Do stop fretting about that, won't you? I told you we were going to get it fixed, and I meant it.'

'Right,' said Emery tersely. 'Lady Teresa, Gabriela, we had better go.'

'Bye-bye!' cried Arbor. 'I'm so looking forward to getting to know you both.'

Neither Terry nor Gabriela really replied to Arbor; not out of rudeness, but out of shock. They followed Emery in shock.

Emery, meanwhile, was rolling her eyes. Terry couldn't stop herself.

'I'm sorry,' she said, breaking the silence. 'I'm sorry, but I can't believe Arbor Dove is really here.'

'Oh, she's here alright.' Emery glanced sharply at Terry, as if surprised by how over-awed she sounded. Terry could have kicked herself—she was supposed to be a noblewoman, and a noblewoman wouldn't be so impressed with Arbor Dove. Emery sighed. 'I probably shouldn't be saying this—I'm Prefect, and I'm meant to be impartial—but she's not all everyone makes her out to be. She's just a person, you know.' And not much of a person, either, Terry sensed she was going to say, but she held herself back.

It was impossible for the two girls to completely forget their encounter with Arbor as they toured the gardens, the billiards room(s), the gymnasium, the indoor pool, the outdoor infinity pool, the pool that was specifically for water-polo, the three different spas, the classrooms (which had some of the comfiest-looking beanbags in them that Terry had ever seen), the different lounges and sunrooms and everything else imaginable. Nevertheless, they had a good time, and all the tension between them and Emery evaporated. Soon enough, they were all laughing and joking together. Emery told them different stories of students trying to cheat at water polo—and trying to cheat at other things, too.

'This one girl, Daphne Koritz, tried to cheat on the end-of-year exam. Not the brightest crayon in the box, Daphne. And the exam was really easy; I mean, what-colour-is-the-sky-today level of easy. Well, not quite, but you know what I mean. Anyway, Daphne tried to cheat and they caught her at it. She wasn't expelled or anything—no-one is ever expelled from Coelis, even Brooke Honeyfoor hasn't been—but they tried to punish her from banning her from the spas for a whole term. She threw an absolute fit.'

At long last, Emery brought them to their own room. 'This is where I leave you,' she smiled.

They said their good-byes, and with a feeling of trepidation, Terry opened the door.