When Iliana awoke the house was very cold again. Quickly getting dressed, she glanced to the window to see it foggy still, and remembered what Kel had said the day before. That it was always winter here, with a perpetual snowstorm outside. But, with the wood-stove it should warm up again quickly. Pulling on a pair of her new wool socks, she quickly descended the stairs.

The kitchen was just how she’d left it the night before. Again there was a single live coal in the wood-burning stove, and when she put three logs in and closed the little door the logs caught fire immediately, and soon the house was warm. Iliana ate a quick breakfast of toast and an apple, and while she was waiting for Kel she went back up to her room. She paused as she looked at the door that led to her mother’s room. A pang of homesickness struck her. What is Mother doing right now? Probably worrying herself sick. Perhaps she went to the police and they’re looking for me. She shook her head, putting the thought out of her head. There’s nothing I can do now, but I must look for a way to escape. Perhaps Kel will bring me back to that hall of doors today, and one of them will be a way out.

Iliana went into her room and closed the door behind her, not quite knowing what she would do to occupy her time until Kel came. She gazed around the room, her eyes settling on the line of flowers laid out on the vanity. She counted them again, starting with the glass one. 10… 20… 30…40… 46- but then she noticed something. The forty-seventh flower, the one at the very end, was bluer than the rest. The others were a grayish-blue, but this one was an alive-looking blue. Iliana went over and picked it up. It was alive! But it had been dead last night. How could this be? She heard Kel knocking again on the front door. He would know what’s going on. Iliana flew down the stairs with the flower still clutched in her hand. She flung open the door and stuck the flower in his face.

“Look!” Kel looked.

“That’s… a nice flower…” he said. Iliana sighed. He didn’t understand.

“Come on.” She led him up to her room and showed him the row of flowers lined up on the vanity. “All of the flowers were dead yesterday, but this morning this one was alive.” He took the flower, pinched between his thumb and forefinger, and looked at it more closely.

“Yep. Magic,” he said simply. “Where did you get these flowers?”

“Dray…he gave me one almost every day. And he gave me a bunch for the ball.”

“Hm…It seems that this is how we know when you can go back home. You have been here for one day, so one flower is alive.”

“So I have to stay here for forty-seven days? But that’s even longer than when I was with Dray! I only knew him for a month at most. It doesn’t make sense.” Kel gave the flower back to her.

“Like I said before, it could be different. We just have to wait and see.” Iliana stared at the flower for a few seconds. Then, not quite knowing why, she placed it behind her ear, like she always did when Dray gave her one. She looked back up and saw Kel staring at her strangely.

“Soooo… You said you were going to cure me of my boredom?”

He shook his head as if to clear it.

“Yes, I did. Have you eaten?” Iliana nodded. “Alright. Do you have any ribbon?”

“Sure, but, why do you need ribbon?”

“You’ll find out. Where is it?” She got out her sewing box and took out a big roll of red ribbon. “Perfect,” Kel said, taking the ribbon from her. “Come on, and don’t forget your coat.”

Outside the door to Iliana’s house they stood. Kel had a length of ribbon in his hands and he was muttering words that she didn’t understand. She didn’t interrupt him because she was sure that he was doing magic, and who knew what could happen with that? After half a minute he stopped muttering and pressed the end of the ribbon to the stone wall.

“Now,” he said. “Walk behind me and press the ribbon to the wall. Keep your fingers on it the whole time. Okay?” Iliana nodded. “Start at the very end.” She touched the ribbon and a little shock went through her. It didn’t hurt, but it surprised her, and she withdrew her hand. She looked to Kel. “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “That’s just how you know that an object has an active spell on it.”

“But my flower had a spell on it, didn’t it? Why didn’t I feel anything then?”

“Because the spell on your flower was completed. We’re in the middle of a spell here.”

“Oh.” That did make some sense. Iliana put her fingers back on the ribbon and felt the shock again.

“Now don’t stop touching the ribbon or we’ll have to start all over. Ready?”

“Yes.” She followed Kel down many corridors. Every once in a while he would mutter a few more words that she didn’t know. They walked in silence besides that. Iliana was glad for her coat. Her house was warm now with the stove, but these stone walls still seemed to trap the cold and then slowly dispel it into the air.

“Almost there,” Kel said after about ten minutes of walking. They turned left and at the end of the corridor she saw it open up into the hall of doors again. “Don’t take your fingers off just yet,” he said when they reached the end of the corridor. Kel pulled the ribbon some more and brought it out and away from the wall, stepping into the wide hall. Iliana stepped out after him, her fingers curling lightly around the ribbon. Kel led them past six doors this time until he stopped, then approached one door that had plaque reading:

Animals

Kel pressed the end of the ribbon to the doorframe. “Okay, now put your fingers right next to mine until I finish the spell.” Iliana did what he said, standing as close as she could to him. Kel started murmuring words again, and she could feel a surge of something, probably magic, going into the ribbon through his fingertips. Suddenly, the magic cut off. “You can step back now,” he said. Iliana obeyed, then looked back at the ribbon behind them. The length that led from this door back to the stone corridor had lengthened, twisting and turning gracefully as it hung in the air of its own accord. Ilaina reached out and touched it again, and it immediately snapped into place, a straight line back the way they had come. Then she let go, and it relaxed, drifting lazily through the air.

“Wow.”

“Yes, it is incredible sometimes,” Kel said. “The ribbon will bring you directly to this door, and it will tell me if you wander around.” Iliana gave him a look.

“I told you I wouldn’t.”

“It’s just a precaution. If you’re going to be leaving your house, I need to know that you aren’t lost somewhere in here.” Iliana thought about it for a second, seeing the reasoning behind it, then nodded. If she were to get lost, she’d like to know that someone would come looking for her.

“Alright, I understand. So, where does the door lead? A pet store?” Kel chuckled, then gripped the doorknob.

“I’ll show you.” He turned the doorknob and the door opened, a warm breeze drifting through through. “Go on,” he urged, seemingly excited to show her what lay beyond.

Iliana stepped through the doorway into a one-room cabin. It was very small and simple, much like her own house. In the middle of the room was a sturdy wooden table and a chair. On the table was a lantern, a quill pen in an inkpot, and a big stack of paper. Shelves lined the walls, and a small cooking stove sat in one corner. On the shelves were things like sugar, flour, baking soda, and cooking oil, as well as lanterns, candles, scissors, yarn, thread and fabric. A cupboard with glass panes set into the doors displayed stacks of plates and bowls. Basically everything a person would need for everyday life could be found there in that tiny cabin.

“You can use anything you need,” Kel said, gesturing to the assortment of items. Then he crossed to another door on the opposite wall from the one they’d just stepped through. He opened it, revealing a dirt path that led out to a field of grass. Iliana rushed forward, not quite believing her eyes.

It was amazing! Grass as high as her knees spread out in all directions, and in the distance was a dark smudge that she guessed was woodland. The dirt path led to a long, squat building about 50 yards away from the cabin. Wooden fences separated different fields, she could see some sheep, goats and a couple of cows grazing. She could hear chickens clucking as well, though she could not see any amidst the tall grass. Kel walked down the dirt path towards the building, which she realized was a barn. Two big, furry white dogs crawled under the fence and ran to meet him. They jumped up and licked his face and hands. Kel laughed and grinned at their antics. Then one of the dogs saw Iliana, still standing there in the doorway to the tiny cabin, and bounded over. The dog ran up and didn’t stop like she thought it would, instead jumping up and putting its front paws on her shoulders, knocking her to the floor.

“Woah!” Iliana exclaimed as the weight of the dog settled on her chest. A wet dog nose and a tongue were in her face, sniffing and licking every inch of her. Both dogs were on top of her now, and she couldn’t help but giggle as their tongues tickled her ears.

“Ritho! Alena! Bad!” Kel was there beside her, pulling the dogs off. “Sorry about this. Get off!” Finally they obeyed, jumping in circles as they chased each other in the tall grass. Kel lifted her up with one tug of his arm, reminding her of when Dray had helped her up onto the seat of the carriage… she shook the memory from her head. “Sorry. They haven’t met any other people besides me,” Kel explained.

“It’s alright,” Iliana said. “I’m fine.” She began brushing grass and dirt from her coat and then, realizing how warm she was becoming, just took the coat off completely, tossing it onto the back of the chair.

“Bad,” Kel said, scolding the dogs again. But they didn’t seem to care. They yipped and jumped and led the way to the barn as Kel and Iliana began walking down the path. Iliana scanned the surrounding area, but again could only see the grass and the smudge of woodland in the distance. I wonder… is this the real world? Or another pocket-thing like the castle? She’d have to wait and see if she could discover what it was, one way or the other.

“Here’s where all the animals are,” Kel said as they came to the side of the barn and opened the door. But then he stopped her before she stepped inside. “You might want to put those boots on,” he said, pointing to a pair of large, high-topped boots. “It’s kind of dirty in here.” She took off her newly acquired boots and put the other ones on like he suggested. Then Kel led the way inside.

“This is the chicken coop,” he said as they entered the first section of the barn. On the back wall were two rows of six nesting boxes, and above that was a single round widow that provided light. Two big circular pans sat in the middle of the room, one filled with water and the other with dried corn and other grains. Poles were attached to the walls and there were a couple of chicken resting on them. There were two other doors, both closed. One had a little door just big enough for a chicken that led to one of the grazing fields. The other led to another room. “There are only ten chickens, but they give a lot of eggs. On to the sheep.” In the sheep section three stalls were on the back wall with another window above. In the stalls were feed boxes filled with hay and a bucket of water. Near the door that led to the sheep’s’ field, a rope was attached to the wall. At the end of the rope was a loop just big enough for a sheep’s head. Kel saw her looking at it and answered her unspoken question. “That’s for keeping them still for trimming their feet. You won’t have to do that, though. They get really fussy when they’re tied to the wall. There are three sheep, two girls and one boy, but we’ll have a few more coming soon.” Kel then led them into the next section, which was for the cows. Two big stalls with hay and water in each, and again by the door was another loop of rope, though higher up on the wall. A stool and a couple buckets sat in the corner. “Have you ever milked a cow before?” Kel asked.

“No,” Iliana answered truthfully.

“Well, we’ll have to cure you of that tomorrow. I already milked them both today.” The goat section was pretty much the same as the sheep one, except that there was a bucket and a stool by the loop of rope like the cow section. “You can milk the goats, too. But not now because they will need their milk for their babies soon.” In the pig section one of the three stalls was occupied. A huge pig was lying on its side while at least fifteen baby pigs snorted and snuffled at her belly. “This is Big Bess and her little monsters.”

“Have you named all the animals?” Iliana asked curiously, watching the little pink creatures jostle one another for a spot.

“No. Only Bess and the dogs. You can name the rest though, if you want.”

“I can?”

“Of course. You can do anything you want here. You need things to do, so here’s a place to do them.” Iliana was amazed at the level of freedom she’d just been granted. Up until that moment, she’d thought she’d have to while away her time in her empty replica house, with nothing to do but stare at the flames inside the wood-burning stove. She felt a flood of gratitude fill her as she realized what he had done for her. “I made a list of all the things that need to be done every day,” Kel continued, turning back the way they had come and apparently not noticing her grateful expression. “But we can talk about that later. I want to show you the garden next.”

A garden too? I’ll have so much to do I won’t have time to look for a way to escape! Iliana frowned, watching Kel as he continued walking through each section of the barn. Maybe that’s his plan… Iliana closed all the doors behind her as they passed through, putting her other boots back on when they came outside again. The white dogs came and leaped about as they walked back down the dirt path back toward the cabin. Iliana took a couple deep breaths of the warm, fresh air. She found it hard to believe that this wasn’t the real world. It seemed too vast, and too tangible, to have been made with magic. But then, she really didn’t know what magic could do. Mabe it could create all of this.