"Okay, I'll never open my eyes until you say so, granny. I trust you with my life," she said in a terrified voice.

"Good girl," granny said in a low voice.

Kate can feel the gush of wind caressing her skin, her feet were floating though, granny is telling her the truth.

'This old woman is powerful,' she told herself. She had never met someone like her. Based on what happened to her inside the castle, she can finally conclude to herself that the castle was inhabited both by powerful and horrifying creatures.

She was lucky that granny rescued her by using her powerful net and brought her out of the castle.

"Granny, are we traveling outside the castle now?" she asked in a hopeful voice.

But why is it that the old woman wasn't responding to her question?

They should be out of the castle now! Because she remembered that inside of the castle it was dark and stuffy, there's no wind in there. Right now she felt like she was floating outside the castle, she can feel the breeze of fresh air and smell the fragrance of flowers.

She was tempted to open her eyes thinking that they already reached the outside of the castle, but go against it at the last minute. She doesn't want granny to get angry at her because she didn't follow her instructions. Right now the old woman was her only hope and savior against the madness that was going around her.

"Granny, why are you not answering my question?"

"I'm sorry, child. The truth is we are still inside the castle. It's difficult to get out of the castle...unless..." granny's voice trailed off.

Kate's heart sank in despair after learning that they were still inside the castle. She wanted to cry hard, but she prevented the tears from falling. Now is not the time to feel weak and loses hope. As long granny can take her to a safe place then she will start planning on how to get out of the castle alive and safe.

"We are near to my home," granny whispered.

A few moments later.

Kate's feet finally landed on a hard surface. Her heart was filled with excitement.

"You can open your eyes now," granny ordered.

Kate immediately opened her eyes, she blinked twice soaking in the surrounding around her.

Her eyes widened in disbelief!

Oh my!

Where is this place?

She looked at granny, staring at her with amusement sparkling in her old eyes.

"Do you like my place, dear?" the old woman smiled.

Kate was dumbfounded.

She can only describe the place in one word...' It's totally out of this world!'

Because granny's place consists only of more or less one hundred meters of solid ground in width and length, based on her rough estimation.

And the mind-boggling thing is that the piece of land was floating, suspended in space about a thousand miles from the dense forest below.

Holy cow!

A floating piece of land!

Then she looked at the tiny house in the middle of the land. It's made of wood, not an ordinary kind of wood.

The house was erected under the shade of a big tree. It's the only tree in the entire piece of land, the leaves were golden yellow... not green.

"Welcome to my house, child," granny said. "Follow me inside!"

Kate followed the old woman, she was stepping into the greenest grass she had ever seen in her whole life.

The old woman pushed open the door and they entered the tiny house.

There's nothing grand or special inside the house, the table and chairs were made of wood.

They sat on the wooden chairs.

"What is your name, granny?" Kate asked.

"Everyone calls me Esmeralda," the old woman answered.

"My name is Kate," she introduces herself.

"Listen, child. Don't go over the edge of my land. If you do that you will fall into your death in the forest below," Esmeralda warned her.

Kate raised her brows. "What's in the forest below, granny?" she asked curiously.

"It's better that you don't know anything. The less you know, the safer you will be," Esmeralda dismissed her question. "As long you stay inside my house, no one can touch you," she said.

Kate was pouting a bit. But she had to listen to the old woman, right now she is the only one she can trust with her life. The dangers lurking outside the house are hard to fathom by her confused mind.

"C-can I go outside? Just a few meters from the house. I just want to look around," Kate explained.

Esmeralda nodded her head.

"Sure, you can do that. But I have to remind you again to stay away from the edge. Never try to look down below, or else the spirit of the forest will pull you down and it will be your end before you knew it. Do you understand me, Kate?"

"Yes, granny!" Kate replied quickly.

"Good!"

Esmeralda stared at the younger woman's face. "Why did you come into the castle, young lady? This castle is not a place suitable for a naive girl like you," Esmeralda scolded her.

Kate released a deep sigh.

"My sister entered this castle to work as a housekeeper. She told us that she will visit us in the village but two months later, she didn't visit us. My family is getting worried about her, we just want to know if she's okay. That's the reason why I come into the castle to check on her condition," Kate explained.

"Tell me more about it..." Esmeralda encourages her to reveal more.

"One day, a mysterious man appeared in our village hiring 100 workers for the castle on the hill. They give a pouch of gold to each hired applicant intended as six months advance salary and my sister was one of the workers that were hired," Kate elaborated further.

A dark glint flashes in Esmeralda's eyes.

"Can I asked you a questioned again, granny?" said Kate.

"What is it?"

"The castle... how old is the castle?"

"It's a thousand years old."

"Huh? Oh my goodness!" Kate covered her mouth in shock. "And how about you, granny? How old are you?"

"I'm a thousand years old," answered Esmeralda.

"Oh my!" Kate exclaimed in astonishment.