Laura Ellen Anderson - Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

First published in Great Britain 2017

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text and illustrations copyright © 2017 Laura Ellen Anderson

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.

First e-book edition 2017

ISBN 978 1 4052 8672 5

Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1791 5

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

For Helen,

Thank you for believing in Amelia and supplying me with unicorn-shaped inspiration and surprise loose limbs! Your continued support, encouragement and enthusiasm won’t be forgotten.

And a special FANKS (as Florence would say) to all the FANG-GIRLS. You know who you are!

x Yeti Hugs x

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in Great Britain 2017 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text and illustrations copyright © 2017 Laura Ellen Anderson The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted. First e-book edition 2017 ISBN 978 1 4052 8672 5 Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1791 5 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Dedication For Helen, Thank you for believing in Amelia and supplying me with unicorn-shaped inspiration and surprise loose limbs! Your continued support, encouragement and enthusiasm won’t be forgotten. And a special FANKS (as Florence would say) to all the FANG-GIRLS. You know who you are! x Yeti Hugs x

MAP OF NOCTURNIA

MEET THE NOCTURNIANS

1. FLABBERGASTING FALAFELS

2. FLORENCE AND GRIMALDI

3. TANGINE

4. ANGEL-KITTENS OF TERROR

5. YOU AAAAARE DEAD, YOU ARE DEAD

6. THE TOILET ISN’T SHINY ENOUGH

7. DO SOMETHING, DADDY!

8. I WANT THAT ONE

9. THE GREEN DOOR WITH THE MOULDY HANDLE

10. STEALTHY FLORENCE

11. CREATURES OF THE LIGHT

12. RIGHT IN THE HAIR

13. INTESTINE!

14. KING VLADIMIR’S SECRET

15. FRIEND

16. THE BARBARIC BALL

17. SIGMUND

18. I AM NOT A BEAST!

19. DOOR CHASE

20. GLITTEROPOLIS

REPUGNANT RECIPES

It was a dark and gloomy Wednesday night in Nocturnia. Countess Frivoleeta Fang sipped at her Scream Tea and tapped the dining-room table with her long black fingernails as the clock struck 4 a.m.

‘Drake, my darkness, you do know it’s our annual Barbaric Ball in just three nights?’ cooed Countess Frivoleeta. ‘We still have invitations to send, catering to sort out and – oh, did you book the Howling Wolf Band?’

Count Drake’s eyes widened. ‘Erm . . . I’ll phone them tonight, dearest rat brains.’

‘And Drakey, you’ll need to wear your best suit for the ball. None of those Hawaiian graveyard shirts you like so much. We really must find a way to unstick all that goblin slime from last year’s ball too . . .’

(Goblins were notorious for leaving slime trails – stickier than the stickiest super glue, they were impossible to remove!)

‘Not another Barbaric Ball,’ moaned Amelia Fang, slumping back into her chair. ‘They’re always full of old monsters wearing too many frills and far too much Eau de Decay.’

Amelia had just turned ten and would much rather be hanging out with her best friends, Florence and Grimaldi.

‘Amelia Fang! I won’t have any of that bat-chat from you,’ said the countess sternly. ‘Firstly, Eau de Decay is the finest perfume in all of Nocturnia. It’s made from fermented bat spit with a hint of rotten banana, after all! And secondly, the Barbaric Ball is a family tradition. It’s our chance to show everyone how fang-tastic we are.’

Hosted by the Fang family for generations, the Barbaric Ball was THE annual event in Nocturnia. Only the most ghoulish and ghastly were invited, and the ball was Countess Frivoleeta’s pride and joy.

‘But I get so bored,’ Amelia grumbled. ‘It would be much better if someone my own age were there!’

‘You know the ball is only for grown-ups,’ said the countess.

‘Then surely I don’t have to go?’ said Amelia hopefully.

‘Of course you have to go. You must learn the ropes so that you can carry on the Barbaric Ball tradition!’ said her mother, with a gleeful grin.

‘But what if I don’t want to?’ mumbled Amelia. ‘I want to study Pumpkinology when I grow up, and help poorly pumpkins.’

Countess Frivoleeta burst out laughing. ‘Darkling! Don’t be silly. Oh, you’ll make my eye make-up run!’ She checked her face in the mirror behind her, then blew herself a kiss. (You may have heard that vampires don’t have reflections. That is pure glitter, and no one loved theirs more than Countess Frivoleeta.) ‘You’d ruin your delicate vampiress hands with all the digging. Now, sit up straight, ready for dinner,’ she continued. ‘Wooo!’