The Twins’ Secret
The first chapter of the Trilogy
Genre: Fantasy Novel
Pages: 277 + 2 sixteenmo in colour
Age level: 9 and up
Author: Elisabetta Gnone
Translated from the italian by: Alastair McEwen
A production of
www.bombusmedia.com
Book Synopsis
“For over one thousand years, at the stroke of midnight, in the houses of Fairy Oak something
magical happens:
tiny glittering fairies tell stories about children to excited witches with kind eyes, who drink in
every single word.
Curious, isn’t it?
Everyone knows that fairies and witches don’t get along and that witches don’t like children
one little bit.
But we are in Greenvale, in the village of Fairy Oak.
And here things have always gone a little differently…”
Thus begins the story...
In an ancient magical village, which is hidden in the depths of a timeless past and which has
grown up around Oak, the great talking tree from whom the village takes its name, a fairy,
a witch and two children experienced the most exciting of adventures.
In Fairy Oak the Magicals of the Light, with creative, life-enhancing powers, and those of
the Dark, restless and mysterious, who possess the absolute power of destruction and death,
have forged an alliance.
The two factions are not in opposition, but complementary and indivisible, like day and
night. The fact remains, however, that Magicals of the Dark are by nature more inclined to
the dark forces and perhaps even to evil.
The Magicals live in harmony with the Nonmagicals, so much so that it’s difficult to tell one
from the other.
Fairies, wizards, witches and ordinary citizens have been living in those stone houses for so
long that no one notices their mutual oddities any longer. And certainly, they all resemble
one another! Apart from the fairies, who are very, very tiny, and luminous.
The witches and wizards of the valley call them in to act as nannies for the young ones of the
village and this enchanted story is narrated by one of them, the young fairy Telli.
Telli is summoned by the witch Lilac Tomelilla to act as fairy nanny to her two nieces, Lav-
ender and Heather, daughters of her sister Dahlia and Cicero Periwinkle.
For Telli, for whom this is her first job, this is definitely a great honour: Tomelilla is the wis-
est and most honourable witch of all time and the little fairy certainly could never imagine
the adventure that was in store for her!
As her story unfolds, we soon realize that she is charged with the difficult task of protecting
the twins.
Lavender and Heather are born on the same day, but twelve hours apart.
This is the first obstacle: the law of the Witchlike Code states that twins cannot inherit
magical powers from their uncles or aunts, as other children can. But perhaps, twelve hours
represents an exception.
Tomelilla and Telli really count on this and for years Telli is asked to keep a close eye on the
girls every moment of the day and then make her report during the “Fairy Tale”. This is what
the fairies call midnight, because at that hour they join their witches to inform them about
their nephews’ and nieces’ day.
The years go by, the twins grow and begin to show profound differences in character, even
though, curiously, they do not seem to manifest any magic powers, until one day Tomelilla
is rewarded. But in terrible circumstances!
On the very same day in which the girls reveal their powers, an old enemy falls on the plain
of Greenvale. This is the Terrible 21st, so called because he always attacks on the 21st of
June, the day of the summer solstice. And he is evil personified, even though he is not a
person: no one has ever seen him, but everyone knows that he is determined to destroy all
that is beautiful and joyful in the world.
Twenty-one years had gone by since the Terrible 21st’s last attack on Fairy Oak. Why has he
returned now?
The entire Periwinkle family is attacked and, in defending themselves, the twins react as
witches, but with a “small” difference. Heather shows that she is an exceptional Witch of the
Light, like all her ancestors. And Lavender is the first Witch of the Dark in the family. Not
that this makes any difference to Tomelilla, but it’s certainly strange.
While the Supreme Assembly of the Magicals meets to decide how to face the Terrible 21st,
life in the village goes on. And Heather and Lavender learn to defend themselves and to
keep well clear of dark places.
They do this in the company of magical friends such as Flox Pollimon, the Witch of the
Dark with a sunny, joyous personality; Grisam Burdock, the good looking, kindly wizard
who both of the girls fall in love with; Cherry Spleenwort, an unbearable gossip and the
Mayor’s daughter; and Shirley Poppy, the most magical, fascinating and mysterious girl that
the twins had ever met.
They, together with Lilac Tomelilla and Grisam’s uncle Duff Burdock, a powerful and gen-
erous wizard, save the village from a new attack launched by the Terrible 21st but on that
occasion the citizens of Fairy Oak will discover that the war has only just begun...
