“Done!”, the stairs looked good as new. Despite the fact that they are a few decades old and had cracks all through the stone. Now that I think about it, good as new doesn’t really fit the stairs leading up to the door that leads into the castle. 

I got up off the ground and dusted off my pants. I bent down and picked up the bucket with the sponge in it. 

I walked right up the stairs that I just finished cleaning and through the door. I was dripping with sweat, it was so hot out today. That dang bird. For some reason, animals have always stuck around me. I have no clue why, it actually annoys me quite a bit. They just seem to follow me around. I can not tell you how many times I’ve woken up to a deer in my room, or birds. 

One time, I went to the garden to pick some strawberries and I found a bear! I don’t understand how, but the animals keep finding ways through the gates. It would be terribly hard for a person to get through there, let alone an animal? A bear!? 

I mean, you would have to first, get through the forest that hasn’t been tended to in 9 years, then you would have to get through the gate, or over it I guess. Neither me nor Ingrid has left in those 9 years. That gate is probably never going to open again. Then if you somehow manage to scale the 20 feet wall, you have to find your way through the maze that is the castle grounds. 

The farthest outside of the castle I’ve ever been since I was 14 is the gardens. Ingrid has been farther out, but all she said about it is that she had a hard time finding her way back.