The Polar Bear Explorers' Club by Alex Bell (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

gazing back at her. It was a woman’s face, as beautiful and perfect as a porcelain doll’s. Her skin was white and smooth, her eyes were blue, and tendrils of silvery hair waved gently around her head as if she were underwater.

‘What … what are you?’ Stella asked, taking a step closer.

‘A magic mirror, of course,’ the mirror replied. ‘We are hung all over the castle. We watched as you took your first steps, princess.’

‘There’s been a mistake,’ Stella said. ‘I’m not a princess—’

‘These castle doors would only open for a snow queen or an ice princess,’ the mirror said. ‘And the tiara would appear only for you, Morwenna.’

‘My name isn’t Morwenna,’ Stella said, wrinkling her nose. ‘Thank goodness. It’s Stella. Stella Starflake Pearl.’

‘That may be your name now, but it’s not the one your parents gave you when you were crowned,’ the mirror said. It blinked its large eyes and said in a sad voice, ‘Do you really remember nothing of your life here at all?’

Stella frowned, not knowing what to say. The castle did feel familiar somehow.

‘You must explore,’ the mirror said. ‘Perhaps it will come back to you.’

Stella glanced behind her at the others. Ethan frowned and shook his head, just slightly. But the magician always suspected the worst of everything and there didn’t appear to be anything dangerous about the castle. Stella had always wanted to know where she’d come from, and this could be her one chance to get some of the answers she’d been waiting for her whole life.

‘I’m going to explore,’ she said. ‘But you can wait outside if you want.’

Ethan scowled and shook his head. ‘I’m not waiting outside,’ he said.

‘I’m sure there are no carnivorous cabbages here,’ Stella said. She glanced at the mirror and said, ‘Are there?’

‘Certainly not, your highness,’ the mirror said, sounding shocked.

‘Well, then,’ Stella said. ‘That settles it.’

She walked further into the castle, and as she did so, the most extraordinary thing happened: the abandoned, rundown place began to come to life all around her. The candles in the chandeliers blazed even brighter as the ice fell from the tapestries in sheets, the dust melted away from the floor, the dirt smearing the windows vanished, letting in the sunlight, and everything became bright and white and sparkling.

‘You’re waking up the castle,’ the mirror said happily. ‘It recognises you. It wants to welcome you home!’

As the mirror spoke, one of the stone trolls by the staircase moved, startling the explorers. It was one of the ugliest-looking creatures Stella had ever seen – short and round, with a helmet that almost covered its eyes and a bushy beard that hid its mouth. Its companion – which also began to move and stretch – didn’t have a beard, and its too-small helmet perched precariously on top of its bat-like ears. One eye was higher in its face than the other, but it grinned delightedly at the sight of Stella and gave her a low, scraping bow. ‘We’ll show you around, princess,’ it said eagerly. ‘We’ll show you around.’

The stone trolls led the way up the staircase and the explorers followed. A rug ran down the steps, and Stella had taken it for grey before but, as she walked up it, all the dirt and grime fell away to reveal a royal red rug, edged in golden braid.

The castle had dozens and dozens of rooms, and every time they walked into one, the room lost its dust before their eyes and became clean and bright once again. A few more stone trolls came to life, and soon they had quite a group of them fussing around.

All the rooms were lavishly decorated with plush rugs, chandeliers and exquisite tapestries picked out with golden thread, depicting snowy mountain scenes, and yetis, and mammoths, and grand castles. There was one room filled entirely with musical instruments, some of which Stella had never even heard of before, including a singing harp that started to serenade them the moment they walked in. It was quite annoying actually, but Stella felt obliged to applaud afterwards, out of politeness. Aunt Agatha insisted on singing for them at home sometimes, and Felix had taught Stella that one must always enthusiastically applaud a singer once they’d performed, even if their voice was absolutely dreadful. She felt a pang of homesickness at the thought of Felix, and wished he could be here to explore the enchanted castle with her.

They went on to another room filled with jewelled eggs, dazzling in their coats of white diamonds and blue sapphires and green emeralds. Stella picked one up, opened it at its hinges and found a little jewelled yeti nestled inside.

‘These were your mother’s,’ the mirror on the wall said. Most of the castle’s rooms seemed to have a mirror, and they were all magical talking ones with the same beautiful face appearing in each. ‘She loved to collect pretty things. You’ll find an exquisite collection of music boxes in the next room.’

They went through and did indeed find an extensive music box collection. Some were small and some were large, but they were all incredibly beautiful, with painted lids, and golden clasps, and tiny, clawed feet. Stella picked up one with a painting of two birds on the lid, who had diamonds for eyes, and when she opened it she discovered two mechanical birds that flew right out of the box, fluttering their blue wings and filling the room with the sweet sound of birdsong.

‘Did all this really belong to my mother?’ Stella asked, watching the pair of mechanical birds fly around the ceiling.

‘Oh, yes,’ one of the trolls said. ‘She was a fair and beautiful queen.’

‘But what happened to her?’ Stella asked. ‘What happened to my father? Why is the castle shut up and abandoned like this?’

The trolls suddenly went quiet, shuffling their feet and scratching at their beards and looking anywhere other than at Stella.

‘A witch killed your parents,’ the mirror spoke at last.

Stella thought of the burnt feet from her