Within

FIVE

I was standing under an indigo sky sprinkled with rainbow fireworks. The ground beneath me wasn't carpeted anymore - it was grass. I could see many, many people around me, carrying parasols and wearing gowns and tuxedos. Some were clapping, while others were watching, delightful expressions on their almost...animated...faces, lit up by colourful bursts of colour from above.

I stood in my place for ten minutes, I'm sure. It was crazy, unimaginable. Maybe I wasn't even on Earth anymore. After the firework display, the strange people around me started to crowd around tall tables, eating small slices of cake and drinking some sort of alcohol. I even saw a stout hedgehog, walking on his hind legs and wearing a vest and top hat. A hedgehog?

Paisley patterned bunting hung in a chaotic order around the area, and it was flapping softly in the breeze. Christmas ornaments hung from tree branches, and golden fairy lights were wrapped around thick trunks, kind of like outside Anabelle's house.

Through the many people, I could make out a stage, balloons on either side and a podium in the middle. I couldn't make out who was standing behind it, but surely they could help me?

I walked over to the makeshift stage. Only then could I realise that music was playing from somewhere - classical, but also kind of Christmassy? The murmurs and chatting of the irregular people also added to the mixture. It was too confusing to tell.

I was starting to see more and more people, all in strange costumes and in weird hats. It reminded me of the fancy dress balls my primary school used to hold. I would always dress up in something fantasy - fairies, mermaids, dragons. But nothing like the sort of fantasy I saw around me.

Nearing the stage, I could see that stout hedgehog from earlier. He had a stern expression on his face, but the thing that baffled me most was that he was talking. I could understand every single word he was saying to the tall lady next to him.

She too had a serious expression on her face and was glancing at me in between sentences through her spectacles, light bouncing off the gold rims.

'We have to be ready.....the hunters could ambush us at any moment....' The hedgehog was saying in perfect English. He had one of those posh accents the gentlemen have in black and white movies.

'But our security is at it's highest. No one can infiltrate the party........ Except her' The lady pointed at me suddenly, an accusing finger about a metre away from me. The hedgehog followed her gaze, and his eyes locked onto mine, sending shivers up my back.

'Step this way, please.' He said, gesturing at me. I walked until I reached the end of the stage. The hedgehog stood up and marched towards me. The lady followed.

'Who are you?' she said, a Scottish accent turning her words into something of a song. She was towering over me, casting a foreboding shadow. It took me a few moments to realise she was talking to me, that I had to answer. My heart rate sped up again.

'I-I'm Hadley...' I trailed off.

'What are you doing here, young lady?' The hedgehog asked.

'I-I don't know...... I pulled open a Christmas bon-bon and then suddenly I was here. It's crazy, I know, but you've got to believe me!'

After a minute of thought, the hedgehog nodded in the direction of the woman.

'We believe you, Hadley. There is no other way to enter our world, except for that one bonbon you found.' The hedgehog replied.

'But how do I get back? How is it possible that I'm here?' I spluttered, panic and curiosity rising in me like lava.

'You can't. You're trapped here, I'm afraid. The cause? Magic. It's as simple as that.' The Scottish lady added.

'Magic? Well, if there was a way to get me here, there surely has to be a way to get me back home!'

'I'm afraid it's not that simple.' The hedgehog says sadly.

'George, the girl is obviously frightened. Let's take her to the lodge and let her rest.'

The hedgehog - George - sighed. 'I suppose it is the right thing to do, Margaret.' He turned to me. 'I suppose we should be properly introduced. I am George Fogloster, secretary of the National Archives. And this is Margaret King. She is head designer for Her Majesty the Queen. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Hadley.'

I was shocked for a second. Totally unable to comprehend the slightest of what was being said.

'But where am I? I'm not in England, am I?'

George nodded sadly. 'I'm afraid not. You are in The Redding Isles now.'

'Let's go up to the lodge. I'll find a room for you love.' Margaret lead me away from the party but still left me wondering why I couldn't go back home. Surely, if I came here, there must be a way back...