Within

SIX

The night was a blur. I was lead through a marble hall and into a cosy room with high ceilings and a canopy bed. There was a window, and outside a shower of rainbow, fireworks were playing like a movie.

Margaret ushered me to the bed and I didn't really remember much. I stayed up most of the night, thinking up ways of how I can get back.

Magic?

A genie in a bottle?

A magic door, or a fairy that wishes me away?

Nothing seemed possible. It struck me by surprise how much I didn't believe in magic anymore.

*

I woke up in a tangle of silk sheets and feather-soft pillows. My cheek was wet, and through sleepy, blurred vision, I could make out a furry lump. It took me a moment to realise it was a cat, a light grey pom pom with eyes and ears. He let out a soft miaow.

'Hello, little guy.' I whispered and stroked his silvery fur. The blanket of sleep on me was thinning.

My thoughts went back to Jake and Skye. They were still together, and I was miles away from them, from home, without any way to get back. Luck turned against me. Again. I was the unfortunate girl once again, the one who experienced irregular transportations to other worlds, the one who got stuck against her will.

There was an ache in my heart, not just because of heartbreak, but because I was who knows how many miles away from my house, without a phone (which I left in my room, on the dining table. Why? I don't know) and no way to get back... yet, at least. I had to find one.

But the soft cat licked me on the cheek and my worries melted away like ice cream on the hottest day of the summer.

I got up, finding that I was in the dress I came to the party in last night. A churning feeling began in my stomach. Fear, panic, helplessness.

I walked over to the window. A gasp escaped me, and the cat that woke me jumped on the wide windowsill beside me. Outside, I could see a wide expanse of green trees, a forest of dark green plants. In the distance I could make out a ribbon of smoke, rising up slowly in the middle of a maze of greenery. Further than that, I could see a single mountain, leaning to one side, lit up with shades of gold and peach.

But I really couldn't get over the forest, that seemed to go on forever and ever, into the still night sky, somewhere beyond the lodge, before it changed into a pale blue right above me. It was beautiful, a contrast of green leaves and a pure blue sky with a dotted shawl of silver-grey clouds.

I fixed my dress and re-did my hair as best I could. I found a brush in one of the drawers, along with a pretty locket that the cat was pawing at near the bed. I picked it up gingerly, and I saw that it was engraved with tiny roses, and on the inside was a piece of perfumed paper that slipped out and underneath the bed. I put the locket around my neck, the gentle aroma of apples and wood smoke curving around me.

The cat pawed at my foot, miaowing loudly. 'Are you hungry?' I asked, stroking his chin. He purred loudly, a cat smile appearing on his face. 'You don't have a name, do you?' He miaowed again. 'Hmmm. You look like a Felix. That's what I'll call you!'

I scooped Felix in my arms and headed for the door. 'Let's find some breakfast!'

The doorknob was gold, etched with a pattern long ago worn away. The door itself was white, and as I opened it, the hinges let out a loud whine, and Felix stirred in my hold.

The hall was covered in marble. Pillars of blue and white marble were on the sides, and I didn't remember seeing them the night before. Tinsel was hung between them, and paper snowflakes were strung from the ceiling. It looked like some Christmas store exploded in there.