I wander around the empty halls, not only trying to find the dining hall, I am trying to find someone who can direct me. For such a large castle, I am surprised that there are not many people in the halls. Every now and then do I see someone either walking or cleaning. After a few minutes of walking around, I eventually find someone who was able to direct me to where I needed to go. I walk to the location of the dining hall, and found myself standing in front of a large room, almost as large as the library, with a long dining table in the middle. At the table, lined up, were chairs, and there were different kinds of people sitting in them. Notably, I see King Emond at the head of the table, and on the left of him sat Jason. There was an empty chair next to him, presumably for me. When I had entered, everyone, including King Emond and Jason, stood up.

“Ah, there you are. Just in time.” Emond says.

I say nothing, and I quickly make my way over to the empty seat to the left of Jason, on the right side of the table. Before I could sit, Emond sat down first, and everyone else sat right after. After Jason and I get comfortable in our chairs, he whispers to me, “What took you so long?”

“I didn’t know this was going on. Nobody tells me anything.”

“You don’t have someone hanging around you all the time?”

“No. Do you?”

“I’m practically never alone in this place.”

“Weird. I barely see anybody.”

“Well, there is nothing we can do about that.”

Emond gets Jason’s attention to speak to him, and I take this moment to take a look around at the other people seated at this table. Overall, including myself, there were fourteen people. Couples, most likely married, sat together, but they converse with the surrounding people. I notice that they speak in hushed whispers while glancing towards Jason and me. I, normally, am not the kind of person to revel in social parties, and the thought of others talking about us makes me feel uncomfortable. What could they be saying? Are they speaking positively or negatively? Why are they whispering? What is it that they do not want us to hear?

Jason elbows me lightly to capture my attention. “Don’t look so tense. I’m sure they can tell.”

He must have seen my uneasiness. “There are a lot of people here. What are we supposed to do, anyway?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Just talk to them. They seem interested in us.”

Jason turns his attention back towards Emond. I turn my attention towards everyone else again. They all wear such fancy and regal clothing. Who are these people? Food gets served to all of us, and everyone starts eating. I take up a fork and knife as well. Might as well eat.

I hear a voice next to me speak up. “Excuse me, miss.”

I turn my head to the person who is seated next to me. A man, who looks near my age, is staring right at me. “You are part of the Winters, yes?” He asks.

“Yes. My name is Juliet.”

“My name is Preston. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Thank you…”

“Where are you from, Lady Juliet?”

Him calling me “lady” took me by surprise. No one has done that before. Should I start expecting this more often?

“Oh, um, I, uh, am from… Pennsylvania.”

“How interesting. I never heard of such a place.”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone has.”

“What made you come back?”

“Um… I am not sure. I am still trying to figure that out.”

“Would you like help with anything?”

“I would like to go back home.”

Preston thought for a moment. “I do not know of the place where you are from, so I cannot help you there. My apologies.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t think anyone would know, anyway.”

“If there is anything else you need help with, please, let me know.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

He turns his attention back to his food, and I just stare at my food, lost in thought. Just how are we going to get back home? No one can help us if they do not know where we are from. Emond seems like the only one that has answers, and he did not want to tell us earlier. Maybe I can get answers from him later, after the meal.

We get served a lot more food than I could eat. It did not matter to me, since it gives me more time to ponder in thought and observing my surroundings. Jason’s attention has been completely taken by Emond, who laughs and chats gleefully with him. Nobody seems to pay much attention to me. I did not mind. My focus is to get home, not to make friends.

When the meal is done and over with, everyone gets up to leave. When Jason and I stood, someone came over and accompanied Jason to wherever he is going. Yet again, he disappears without telling me a thing. I hope he takes notice of his missing books. No one came to accompany me. What is so different about Jason and me?

I watch as Emond leaves the room, and I follow him. My goal is to get him to provide answers. We get to a hallway when I call out. “King Emond.”

He turns around and notices me. “Oh, Lady Juliet. Did you need something?”

“Who provides you information about our family?”

Emond looked surprised, but managed to keep his composure. “I do not believe that is important at the current moment.”

“It is to me. We want to go home.”

“You are home. Wherever you were was not your real home. You will be happy here.”

“And if I’m not happy? What then? What do you believe to be important at the current moment?”

“I have plans to discuss what will happen from now on with the both of you tomorrow. For now, go get some rest. You must have had a long day.”

He turns back around and walks away, leaving me standing in the middle of the hallway by myself. I manage to find my way back to the bedroom I will be staying in, and I enter it. I move all the books from my bed to the floor, and I lay on my bed. What will happen from now on? I do not know.

I feel the two books under my pillow, and I, at random, pull one out. It is the magic book. Am I able to learn magic? The impossible seemed possible in this world, so maybe I can. It could probably help towards our goal to get back home.

I put the book back under my pillow, and I start feeling drowsy. I might as well go to sleep. There is not much I can do in the meantime. I have to go along with their plan for now. Soon enough, I fall asleep without changing clothes or even getting under the covers.