Arthur Turner and the Elevator Of Time

The Wizard And Witch

C h a p t e r S e v e n ~ The Wizard And Witch

Arthur entered the Bank at 8:13 AM. He had showered and dressed, waited

just a while thinking again if he should go, and then driven there.

He had planned on making a quick exit from the main room, and then

sneaking into the elevator. But on his way, he was stopped by Marion's voice.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?"

Arthur had not expected Marion to be there, and now his heart was pounding

uncontrollably.

"I......uh......hi!" He said.

"Hi." Marion said, getting up from her desk and walking towards him.

"So what are you doing here?" She said.

"I.....what...I'm....are you.....what are you doing here, it's my day

off....sorry...yeah..I'm here because it's my day off...yeah, then why I'm here."

Arthur hadn't stopped for a moment to think about what he had just said.

"You're here because it's your day off?"

"Yeah." Arthur realized he wasn't making any sense.

"Oh! Oh....sorry......I mentioned...yeah...I'm here because-"

Arthur wanted to tell her so badly. They hadn't even said a word about what

they had both seen behind the gates. He felt like he was betraying her. Arthur

almost told her, but then he noticed the two scars on her forehead. They

were small, but they were there. Arthur wouldn't risk anything if it meant her

being hurt. So he said nothing of the truth, instead he said:

"I left something here last night. Why are you here?"

"Oh. I'm just doing work. Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Because it's your d- oh, of course, my apologies, I assumed you and I had

the same working schedules. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Marion laughed.

Arthur no longer wanted to find the door. All he wanted to do was stay there.

Right in that spot. And never leave it until the world's end. Marion's eyes

were even more beautiful and dazzling that day than the day before, he

thought, could he not just wait a day? Looking into her eyes was spell

bounding. How could he leave her, while under her spell? It could not be

done.

"Well, I should be getting back to work." She said. Arthur nearly fell on his

knees begging her to stay, just stand there. She didn't have to speak, she

didn't have to move. He just wanted her to be with him. He couldn't let her

go.

But Arthur knew he couldn't and would never force her to do anything

against her will, so he reluctantly watched her walk off without moving an

inch or saying a word.

After standing there a few moments, he slowly snuck off, and entered the

elevator.

Arthur didn't care, and wasn't aware of the music that played when he was

inside. Not even noticing how it once again matched his emotions, with a

quiet, sad, song.

His heart was saddened greatly at that moment. He had no reason, no wish to

carry on. Only a need to do something or otherwise he would fall down.

The doors opened, and there once more was the building. The last time he

had really spent time with Marion just a few days earlier. He wished it could

have lasted longer.

"Well, I suppose it's just down the hall." He said.

Arthur reached into his pocket, he didn't really know why, but he had a

sudden impulse to. When he pulled this hand back out, inside it lay the same

piece of paper he had sketched on that morning. Arthur stopped walking

immediately. He looked at it again to make sure it was really there. It was!

He had no idea how it had gotten there. He had put it in a drawer, and now it

was in his hands.

A shiver ran down his spine. He feared what source could have caused this. A

strange presence seemed to lurk about him.

However, he preceded forward, trying to forget about it.

To his left, just like in his dream, was the door. He wasn't all that surprised

by it, even though he had almost not believed he would find it there. Even so,

he felt he had nothing to lose, and nothing to do that day, so why not waste it

all together?

Arthur put both his hands to the door just like he hand seen. He felt almost

foolish in the process, imagining what he would look like if someone saw

him.

The next moment, Arthur saw a wooden something sprout out from beneath

his hands, and grasp them tightly.

The door soon became brown and magical as well, and everything from the

dream came true.

The door finally opened with the tall brown root, curling about and clearing a

path at for Arthur.

He was now beginning to believe anything could happen. Between Marion's

beauty and the magical things he had seen, he had no reason to think

otherwise.

Arthur entered the door. He had nothing holding him back, he just wanted to

leave there before he ran back to Marion. (As Arthur would have.)

The first thing he saw, was that he was standing just barely off the edge of a

tower. Nearest him, were the stars. Not aligned against a dark night, but

wonderful shining beams that were so small, and so colorfully beautiful.

Each one was either the richest color of blue, or the deepest color of gold.

It was not night time, Arthur saw that the sun was just barely going down,

casting a dreary spell upon the ground.

Arthur, couldn't see the bottom though. He was too high to see below, and

too low to see the sky.

His first thought was how to get down. The door was just barely forcing him

off the edge of wherever he was, so he knew that he couldn't stand there for

long before losing his balance.

Before he could move an inch however, a wooden object fell like a wooden

rope stretching down in reach of his hands.

Arthur reluctantly took hold of it, still frightened of all he had seen, and all

the impossible things that were now possible. He could tell whoever crafted

the door, also crafted this rope. But he could not believe anyone could craft

the skies he stood before.

As he grasped it, it formed a strong hold around his hands. He knew now, he

would not fall.

He put both feet at the edge, pausing a moment, being quite frightened of

falling. Even though he didn't know how far he would fall, he knew it was

farther than he could imagine, and he was relying on an unusual looking rope

holding him, and holding him strong.

Arthur almost jumped. He almost did it, but then his fears got the better of

him, so he stepped back. He had a reason for living greater than ever before,

so why waste it?

Arthur tried to release his hands from the rope, but he found he couldn't

move an inch. It stuck to him like his own skin to his bones, and it wasn't

about to let go.

Arthur's blood ran cold. What if he couldn't get out if there? He felt so

foolish for even touching it. He had seen what the door could do, how much

worse could it be then?

"Please let go." He said timidly, out of fear as if he thought the rope could

talk to him. It didn't budge.

The next moment, Arthur had no time to do anything, the wooden rope

somehow tightened around his hands even tighter than before, and lifted him

up like he was weightless, and swung him out of the window just missing

the stars, swinging him back as he screamed loudly, and instead of throwing

him back through window, it stopped just before it and began growing

downwards, just like the roots of a tree.

He felt himself falling down and down and down, past thousands of

openings. He had been in a building he now saw, it was made of stone, and it

was very tall, but that was all he could see.

It wasn't long before he found himself near the ground, and the roots of the

rope sunk into the earth, finally releasing Arthur.

The rope dropped heavily from the tower and fell down to the ground and

finally, grew to the full length of a tree, as if it was covering Arthur's tracks.

Arthur stood in awe. He was amazed by everything he had seen. Even the

magical stars he could see, still casting wonderful light on where he stood.

Arthur could now see the building from where he stood. It shocked him

when he looked up.

It was the largest building he had ever seen. It reached up into the clouds,

shaped tall and thin, made from stone. On every side, miles long of a flat

stone surface, spread out with water flowing from each side. Arthur could see

from behind the water flow a few gates.

This had been where he had been all that time, and he never even knew it

was a waterfall.

On the ground near him, was what looked like the last floor. It was miles

long, and miles wide. It was built onto the ground. Arthur could have walked

right onto it, a would have found himself among other gates.

Clearly each gate was important, he just didn't know how.

Arthur felt he never wanted to leave the place.

As Arthur stood there, he was able now to make out his surroundings. What

he stood before was a wide land. A beautiful snowy ground, covered in the

most beautiful snow flakes. The air was neither cold nor warm, but it served

him well, by keeping him just the right temperature. There were trees spread

out among the ground, covered in silver snowflakes that were dropped with

blue sparkles that made the tree look neither as in winter nor in fall. The

leaves were still on them, and the sun was shining well, but not too bright.

Arthur could have believed it to be winter there, but he knew it was nothing

but a perfect amount of snow and a beautiful autumn day with a cooling

summer breeze. He could hear the sound of rushing water near by, but not a

loud sound. A quiet and peaceful sound. Almost like as if it was singing.

Arthur knew there was magic in the air.

Instead of turning back, like he had done with most everything since the

elevator had first come into his life, he decided to walk ahead, to find what

place this was, and perhaps solve the secrets of the elevator.

So he continued on, enjoying it quite a lot.

One could say that was the only reason he stayed, but his heart truly felt he

needed to be there.

On his way, the view got only better.

The trees were less frequent there, and the snow began decreasing. The

sound of the water grew nearer and nearer, and soon he could even see grass.

The finest grass.

Not a patch of dirt anywhere. The light became brighter as he went further,

and Arthur expected to see the sun itself, shining through the trees, but he

never was able to. It was as if the sun was not there at all.

Arthur soon found his way through a long row of trees, and out into a long

field filled with magical snow. To his right, he found the source of the water

he had heard. It was a waterfall. The largest Arthur ever knew could exist. He

could not even see where it began, nor where it ended, since he saw now he

stood on a cliff with water flowing down every side.

It was a refreshing and beautiful sight. It made Arthur smile without him

even knowing it.

Straight ahead of him, and many feet from the edge, was a piano.

The most amazing piano he had ever seen.

It was placed on the ground, but not by normal footings. It was held up, by

the roots of a tree. It formed its way around it, slowly thinning out to a

normal piano.

The roots extended far from where they began, but ever more deep into the

earth.

The music desk was golden and pure, like an empty sheet of paper ready to

be written on.

It was bigger than Arthur thought was normal, but the piano in all was indeed

a magical sight.

Of course, Arthur was not thinking about why it looked so magical, and what

it could possibly do. Instead he was thinking of how wonderful it would be

to play on it. Arthur had always loved playing the piano, so he immediately

sat down at the bench and began playing.

Arthur knew Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata by heart, and his hands naturally

fell onto the keys and the music was heard from miles around.

With every key he pressed, he felt a strange significance with every note, as

if it all mattered so much.

Arthur hadn't gotten far, when he noticed on the music desk, something

strange.

Something was moving. Yes, it was like a story that played, but it was so

real, he felt he could touch it. He saw on the golden plate, a village. It was a

normal village, with people and houses, stores and the outside world. There

came then, a gentle rain. He could hear the pleasant drops falling gracefully

from the sky. The breeze, he somehow felt, was warm there.

Arthur stopped playing. He had forgotten the rest somehow. So he began

playing Beethoven's symphony number five. This of course became quite a

dark and angry piece, with much passion. Arthur loved to play it, and when

he did, what he saw the glass plate was altered quite a bit.

The same village was there, but immediately a crack of thunder was heard,

shaking the earth. Lighting struck, and a tree fell crashing down. The rain

quickened, and no longer was it peaceful. It came down like hail, and the

wind blew it creating a mass of confusion.

Arthur stopped when he saw another tree fall onto a house and break its side.

His one thought was how wonderful it felt to play there. He felt so powerful.

"Do you play?" Arthur heard a quiet voice with a thick British accent appear

from a distance.

"What?" Arthur was almost embarrassed, if someone had been watching him

play and he hadn't even noticed it.

"Do you play?"

Arthur turned to see who it was speaking.

It was a small, older lady wearing a short gray dress with a white cardigan,

over which she wore a long purple blanket that had a collar and large sleeves,

almost like an unbuttoned dress. Her hair was gray, and thin. It was rolled up

into a very small bun. She was very skinny, but she was very cute as if she

were many years younger. She had a pleasantly kind face that made Arthur

feel he could say almost anything to her.

"Yes." He said getting up.

"But only Beethoven. My piano teacher wasn't much into variety."

"Did you come in an elevator?" She said.

Arthur hesitated.

“…Yes.”

The lady smiled.

"What? Why did you ask?"

The lady didn't answer. She began walking off.

"Mam? Why did you ask me? Mam!"

Arthur followed after her. He was incredibly eager to find out everything

after such a long period of not knowing.

He chased after her, following her to the edge of the cliff.

There she stopped.

"This is where most of us live. We would be glad to keep you here for as

long as necessary."

Arthur looked down. He now saw the waterfall was not just a waterfall. At

the very bottom, he saw houses built into the earth all around. He couldn't

help thinking how similar they looked to middle class houses in New York.

"It's....... beautiful." He said, thinking it deserved a much bigger word.

"It's magical." She said smiling.

"Come, follow me and I will show you down. I can't imagine the appetite

you must have right now." She said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I'm not that hungry actually." He said.

The lady turned to the left, and pulled aside the draped branches of a tree

covered in snowy leaves. Behind it was hidden an earthy stair, that winded

down to the waterfall.

The lady began walking down, so Arthur followed, still so confused by

everything.

"My name is Arthur, forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself." He said.

"Arthur. Its a pleasure. I'm Quiomorenay Smith.(Qwee-owmore-n-ay)"

"Quiomorenay. That's a nice name, where did it come from?"

"Come from? The book of spells. It means joy."

Arthur said nothing. He felt like he was supposed to understand something,

but he didn't, so he kept it to himself that he had no idea what she was

talking about.

"Here we are." She said.

She had stopped just at the end of the stairs which were directly next to one

of the houses.

Quiomorenay opened the door for Arthur, using the strange way of putting

both hands in the center and the door growing across her hand, and then

opening.

Inside, Arthur was once again shocked by the beauty there.

It was nearly the largest house he had ever seen. It wasn't made out of wood

or bricks, it was made from the earth, and most everything there was an

beautiful piece of nature.

The ceiling was sprinkled with silver drops of stars and the pillars that held it

up, were a snowy kind of wood. The furniture was all made from trees and

the ground was made from what looked like solid dirt that seemed more

beautiful than Arthur knew dirt could be.

"This is my home. I made it myself, if you want to stay anywhere else you

can. Make yourself at home for now, there are seats everywhere. And don't

feel bad about using anything here, I live alone so there isn't anyone who

would get in your way. I have food on the table ready for mid-day, so help

yourself."

Arthur felt very strange, she was offering him so much and he didn't even

know why. He was missing something. He just hoped he wouldn't hurt

anyone in the process.

"I'll be back in just a moment, I'm going to tell those at the castle."

Arthur was about to ask her who "those at the castle" were, but she was

already out the door.

Quiomorenay walked up to the door of the Castle. She had taken a small boat

and rowed all the way. The castle was built on a lake, and it stretched for

miles on.

It looked just like any castle, built from stone, it had towers built into every

corner on which one could look out.

There were three men standing at the gate holding swords in each hand.

At first seeing her, they stood at attention in case she was one meaning to

break in.

"What is your name and your purpose?"

One of them said.

"My name is Quiomorenay. I am here to speak with someone about

something I have just seen."

"What is it?"

"Well, I am not certain, but I do believe we have found the Druid."

The guards looked at each other.

They wasted no more time, the doors were immediately opened and

Quiomorenay walked right through.

Inside was a beautiful house. It was held up by trees grown just for the

purpose.

The ground was no normal floor. Not made of wood or tile. It was earth. The

soft dirt had been covered gently by snow, giving all who walked there a

comfortable place to walk.

The room she was in was nearly empty. No one stood there. It was just an

empty hall.

Quiomorenay turned a corner and entered into the feasting room. There was

a long table that extended to the far end of the room. The ceiling was

decorated with the fanciest golden chandeliers with moonlight shining from

them instead of candles.

There were few windows there, but each let through a delicate string of light

from outside.

At the table, there were shining gray/blue seats that reflected the moonlight,

and at each sat a person.

The table was built from a tree that had been lengthened to the very end of

the room just for the purpose of eating on.

It held much food, more than it probably should’ve held up. It was covered it

delicacies of all kinds. Cakes, vegetables, pies, potatoes, carrots, more fruit

than most would have believed existed, drinks of various kinds, all kinds of

baked goods that no one could have ever dreamt of.

Warm drinks, cold drinks, crembol beer, crembol coffee, crembol tea,

crembols espresso, ice cream, chocolate blobs of deliciousness, vanilla

bowls, vanilla crembols, shredded crembol skins, crembol seasoning,

DragonFire hot sauce, scrambled wine, blue herb-crembol, seasoned-crembol

filled-ice cream, tea, and much more. Everyone there was quietly eating

(some less quietly than others) with giant plates, some could call a platter,

over flowing with much food. Some however, were just starting on their third

helping.

Quiomorenay walked up to one of the people sitting there. He was a medium

sized middle aged man, with brown hair and a large belly, even though the

rest of him was thin. His skin was barely wrinkled, and his eyes were blue.

There was an annoying hint to his face, that made some wonder why he was

so odd looking.

"The man with the elevator is here." She whispered to him.

The man she had spoken to was just in the middle of eating a cream pie, that

he dropped when he heard the news.

"What? He's here now?"

She nodded.

"Should I tell them?" She said.

"No, no,....no....of course not. It might be a dud. I don't believe anyone could

get past that spell though. But just in case, I wouldn't want to cause

excitement where there shouldn't be."

Quiomorenay stood aside, while the man left his seat. The rest of the people

there were too busy eating to notice for care of their absence. So they were

both able to slip away without any trouble.

The guards, knowing them, allowed them to pass without a question.

"Why were you so surprised when I told you about the man with the

elevator?" She said, while they walked.

"Oh, why shouldn't I be?"he said.

"Well, we have known that he would come."

"Well, not so. Not really."

"We all felt it though, we knew he was out there. At least someone."

"Yes. I suppose, I just didn't really believe it."

"What?"

"Yes. We have been kept from the Village of Time for so long, I never

thought there might be a chance of escaping."

"Yes. But the Inventor knew when he created the elevator that it would be

found. He knew it would work out. The later part, the part we are in now,

that was the part he wasn't sure about. "

"Yes."

"What do you suppose we'll do if he is the person we've been looking for?"

"I don't know." She sighed.

"All I know is, if he is the one, it won't be an easy ride for him."

"No," he chuckled."No it won't be."

Arthur had been sitting in the same chair for nearly an hour.

He had still be trying to find out what was going on, and why he had so much

attention.

The only thing keeping him in his seat were the beautiful surroundings.

He still couldn't quite get over the magical presence it all gave him.

Arthur reached into his pocket, wondering if the paper would still be there. It

was of course, and it had not one wrinkle.

Arthur looked at it closely. His dream had not faded from his mind for a

moment.

He was worried that it meant something bad would happen, and somehow he

was in the middle of it, only wanting to be with Marion.

Arthur was then interrupted by the door opening, and Quiomorenay entering

along with a man.

This man, however, was not just a man to Arthur. In fact, Arthur was terrified

of him immediately when he saw him.

It just so happened it was the same man he had seen the first day of the

elevator.

The customer who had been acting so strange. Now he was there. Right in

front of him.

Arthur was determined to find out now who he really was.

"Is this him?" He said.

"Yes, He says his name is Arthur." She said.

Arthur felt quite awkward sitting there being observed by two unknown

people. He felt so lost.

"What's your last name?"

"Turner. Hey, do I know you?" He replied calmly.

"I'm Etkinomorinlae. (Et-keen-omor-een-lay) You may call me Etkeen." Had

Arthur of known that Etkinomorinlae meant "Trouble" in the Book Of Spells,

he would have acted much more cautiously.

Etkeen pulled out a chair by Arthur and sat down in it.

"So, Arthur Turner. Is it true?"

"Is what true? Do....do....have we met before?"

"That you came here in the elevator?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Were you playing on the piano?"

"The.....the...the piano? You mean that one lying in the snow?"

"Yes. Can you play it?"

"Yes, why?"

"Hmm. Are you lying?"

"Noooo....why? Should I be?"

"No. Is it true Quiomorenay?"

"Yes, I saw him."

"Mmm. Show me."

"Show you? ..... You....you want me to....you want me to show you... what?"

"Follow us to the piano and we'll see if you can play."

"Uh….....oh.....o...okay."

Eaecé seemed to have recognized Arthur as well, the moment he saw him.

By the look on his face however, Arthur could tell he was pretending not to

notice and keep it well hidden from Quiomorenay. He knew although, that he

wouldn't be able to for long.

Arthur followed behind Etkeen and the Old Lady as they walked out the door

and up the same stairs Arthur had been on first. They found the piano in the

same spot, and they gathered around so Arthur could play for them.

He sat down, feeling very insecure, but he still was able to play a Beethoven

symphony.

The two stood there watching. They hadn't expected him to be able to get

through one note, but he went through several minutes without trouble.

Neither of them spoke a word through any of it. Even if they had, none of it

would have made any sense.

Arthur had no idea what they were thinking of him now. The only thing on

his mind was what the golden plate was exactly. Why it showed the town.

And why it rained when he played.

Etkeen eventually found it in himself to speak.

"You may stop now. We know you can play. And please, for the sake of those

in Japan, stop playing in harsh tones."

Arthur stopped abruptly.

"Can you not play?" He said.

"Ha! Of course not!"

Arthur didn't believe him. He gave him a questioning look.

"Alright then, here. I will try. Move." He said coldly. Etkeen shoved Arthur

aside and sat in his place. He placed his fingers on the keys, but Arthur could

tell he had no idea how to play anything.

"Just press a C." Arthur said.

Etkeen had not the slightest idea what a C on a piano was, so he just laid a

finger on a random one.

The key would not play.

He tried again. This time the keys began disappearing, and the roots began

growing around him.

"Alright Etkeen. Stop before you're killed!" The lady said.

He was barely able to stop in time for the roots to release him, and he was

finally let go, immediately leaving the chair.

"See?" He said to Arthur.

"Who are you?" He said.

Etkeen's face reddened quickly, he clearly had no response.

Arthur looked at Quiomorenay.

"Who is he?" He said.

She did not understand.

"We have met before. He and I have met before. Who is he, really?”

"Who is he? He is an acquaintance of mine. And a royal host of the castle."

She said, as if Arthur ought to know.

"Why were you at my bank snooping around the elevators? If there is so

much fuss about me and the elevator, why were you there?" He said to

Etkeen.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, quite nervously.

"No, Mr Turner, he couldn't have been anywhere but here. Ever since those

with the dark magic had escaped and gone mad, they banned us from the

Village of Time. None of us can ever escape." She said, clearly believing him

to be innocent.

Arthur realized the chaos he would cause by speaking about it any longer. He

had lived long enough to see if someone really believed something you knew

was wrong, it was most often pointless and foolish to try and prove them

wrong.

So he put it aside, deciding it would be better to wait until he could really

find out who he was. So he said;

"Right, sorry."

The old lady nodded, glad for the discussion to be over, she hated not being

able to resolve such things.

Etkeen was even more glad for it to be over than she, at least for that

moment. He was free for a little while longer. Even though he felt sweat

trickling down his back.

"Well, Mr Turner, would you mind following us to the castle? " She said.

"Yes." he said, looking at Etkeen meaning to humor him with using the word

that had made Arthur so suspicious of him in the first place. Etkeen smiled an

unpleasant smile, pretending not to care.

Back at the castle, Arthur, Quiomorenay and Etkeen stood by the table where

the same people sat, still eating.

Arthur was quite disturbed by all the food being eaten by them. He was

thinking of how fattened up they would be by the end of the day.

"Tell me, do they eat like this all the time?" Arthur whispered to

Quiomorenay kindly.

"Well of course! We never really stop."

"We? You eat like this all the time too?"

"Yes! Why shouldn't we?"

"But all the dumplings and sugar and fat…the quantity is so much. Why isn't

everyone here fat?"

"Fat? No one on this island is fat. Good gracious, what do you think it takes

to feed the magic in our bodies and our bodies themselves. I wouldn't want to

know how much you have to eat."

"Actually, I never seem to have an appetite. Unless I'm tired."

Quiomorenay looked at Arthur bewildered.

"Excuse me, I will be telling the Wizard and Witch. Hold on a moment,

please." Etkeen said to them.

Etkeen walked passed a few chairs and stopped where two people sat. One of

them there was a beautiful lady, who wore a long, black dress, with long

sleeves and dark black lace, lined with the outline of black roses. She wore a

cape made of the same fabric as her dress. She was just a bit older than

Arthur, however, somehow she looked like she was nearly forty. Her face

was very thin, and paler than most. Her cheek bones were very thin, and her

lips were always pushed out in a unique manner. She was a very fair lady.

Her hair was black. Very dark black, and it was pulled back at the front of

her forehead by four long strings of the color of moonlight. It sparkled on her

head, making her look even more wonderful.

She smiled and laughed at the table, showing a very wide grin.

Next to her, sat a man. He was neither talking, smiling, nor laughing at the

table.

He was an older man, at least in his middle ages. His hair was just a little

lighter than the ladies, but he wore nothing on his head. His hair was short,

and it waved about in a strange manner, ending up longer in the front. His

eyes were small and wide, and were hidden by a small pair of oval shaped

glasses he wore.

He had very long, thin cheeks as well, and his face was smooth, but he

looked much younger with his small mustache and beard.

The lady stopped speaking, as she had been talking with someone across

from her, when Etkeen nudged her shoulder gently.

"Diríet," (Deer-ee-et)"might I have a word with you?" He said.

Diríet turned to him.

"What is it?" She said, with a strong British accent, just like Quiomorenay.

"It's meal time, you know how important meal time is to us." She said with a

big smile, trying to say to him politely, "Can it wait? I want to eat."

"Forgive me, I understand, but there is a man here who was able to play the

piano."

Diríet's jaw dropped.

"Did he come in an elevator?"

"Yes. The elevator."

"Is he here now?" She said, looking around.

"Yes."

"Oh,........oh. Yes. Well, one moment." She said, now more interested in

Arthur than her food.

Diríet leaned over to the man beside her and said:

"Dirïnab," (Duh-Ree-Nahb)"get up, now…..please." She said in a kind, but

rushing manner.

Dirïnab looked up at her as she rose to leave. He said nothing, and didn't

hesitate to stand as well, following everything she did.

Arthur stood across the hall, watching them approach him. He was beginning

to think that telling them he most likely wasn't who they thought, was a good

idea.

"Mr. Turner, this is the Wizard and Witch. The Wizard is known for his

brightness and wise knowledge, also his complete dialect and…excellence

with speaking with others. The Witch, is known for her supreme beauty

and....." Etkeen had forgotten what title she had given herself.

"Great power." She said for him.

"Yes."

"Oh, it's .....it's a pleasure. I'm Arthur Turner." He said.

"Mr Turner, the pleasure is all ours." Diríet took Arthur's hand in hers and

shook it. He never forgot how cold her hands felt.

"And, who are you?" He said, hoping finally to understand a bit.

"You don't know? I assumed you would. Well, don't we all make mistakes?"

She said smiling.

Arthur responded with a small and timid smile.

"Well, I am the Witch, but I am really just a normal human. You see, here,

what would we do if someone, like you, was taken here and there was unrest

as to what to do with unsettled scores, someone was needed to settle those

scores. Not in a ruling way, but someone needed to speak for all who live

here. So they chose me. I have no special anything about me. Just this dress

and band on my head. No special power, well......a little bit but not that

much." She said still smiling.

Arthur paused a moment.

"So, you are the Queen here?"

The Wizard quickly chuckled to himself at this, and muttered sarcastically

"Ha, no." Arthur was surprised by him speaking so randomly after being

silent for so long.

Diríet looked at him with annoyance and also surprise that he would ever say

something so demeaning to her. After all, they had been like siblings ever

since they were coroneted together.

"Well, yes." She said, correcting him.

"I am the Queen here, yes you could say that." She continued.

"So he is the King here?" Arthur said looking at the Wizard.

"Well, no." He said again, just as sarcastically as before.

"Well, yes, he is the King." Diríet said.

"We do not call ourselves that, because we do not wish to be looked on as

any greater or lesser than the people." She added.

"Oh, I see." Arthur said, still not quite understanding it.

"Well, enough about us, tell us about yourself, they say you can play the

piano, that is essentially unplayable."

"Yes."

"So how did you do it?"

"I don't know, I just played and, it played."

Diríet looked at Etkeen and Quiomorenay.

"Really, I would have thought you would have had some way of escaping

protection with your great power." She said to him.

"Great power?"

Diríet nodded at him, and before he could ask her what power she spoke of

knowing he held no such power, she turned back to Etkeen and

Quiomorenay.

"Thank you both for taking him here, I think Dirïnab and I can handle it from

here. Please take our place at the banquet." She said kindly.

"Thank you my lady." They said.

The both of them both walked off, and sat in the only two empty chairs there.

Diríet took Arthur's hand. It made him feel quite strange, he felt like a child

being led by his mother, but he still followed her and the Wizard through the

hall and past the guards.

The Witch still clung to Arthur, as they walked onto land below the stairs.

The Wizard however, randomly walked off, from something drawing his

attention.

"I am quite glad you came, you know." She said happily.

"Thank you madam. Can I ask you a question?" He said, deciding it was now

time to tell her.

"Yes, anything."

"Well, it's more of a statement."

"Okay, go on." She smiled looking up at him.

"I....." Arthur stopped walking."I don't know what everyone here expects of

me, but I have never been to wherever this is in all my life. I have no idea

what anyone has been talking about except for the words spoken in English.

I'm just Arthur. I work at a bank, and I have no significance here that I know

of. So please, tell me what's going on." He said, trying to sound less lost than

he was, as if he could.

Diríet seemed to take it in the wrong way at first. Her smile disappeared, and

she took her arm away from his and stepped back.

Arthur was scared for a moment that it was the wrong thing to say, and now

he feared what she would do next.

She stood there staring at him like he was something not lovely to look at for

a long moment. But that moment finally ended when the Witch reached to

her back and tore off her black cloak she had been wearing and threw it

around herself letting it fall to the ground. Before it fell down, it grew

feathers on every side, and immediately a crow, the size of a dragon might

have been, was before them.

Before landing, it flapped its wings, forcing Arthur to the ground.

The Witch smiled at him, a very different smile than before. She was now a

much more serious figure and now he felt this was who she was hiding

behind all those fake smiles.

"I will show you, but it's a while away. Climb up behind me."

She said, helping him up.

Arthur stumbled behind her, watching how she effortlessly mounted the

crow.

Arthur tried nearly three times to follow, and only succeeded by throwing

himself onto it belly first, and climbing from there. He was glad that the

Witch didn't seem to notice nor care.

The beast took off without waiting a moment once Arthur was on, and off

they went.