26

After Marith had learned she had been right about Etienne she felt as if she had been given a thread to pull. A mission to accomplish. A quest to bring to a successful end. She hoped the near future would unfold less monster-y and murder-y and generally in the favour of their purpose, but she realized that was probably too much to ask.

To take her mind of the struggles to come she had decided to visit Nate, after telling Jonathan to take his rest. Jonathan was still somewhat recovering, mostly mentally, and he was now running his shifts around the clinic on top of his attempts at keeping the convenience store open. She would ‘run’ the joyful message about the anchor, even though there was a more than reasonable chance Oracle had already informed the faraway Prophets.

An ever growing layer of crunching snow, blinding whiteness and crisp, cold air awaited her. Even down where Nate had booked a cabin it was now snowing.

She parked her car next to Nates truck, yanked her bags from the passenger’s seat and headed to the porch. The drive had been almost two hours. The size of the United States of America still baffled Marith. She simply couldn’t wrap her head around the distances and how easy it was to overcome them. If she would be to drive two hours from the apartment in the Holland she would either find herself in Germany or in France. Two countries with different governments, languages, constitutions, tax regimes and morals and values than her own, and, not entirely coincidentally, two countries she had no desire to ever live in.

While safely finding her way through the rocks, logs and dead ferns dropped in front of the cabin and covered in a modest layer of snow the green front door flew open. Nate stood in the opening holding the doorknob and smiling from ear to ear.

“So,” Marith started, after entering the porch, attached to the little house build of logs. “As it just so happens to be I was right all along.”

“Yes, and then everything got fixed and we are all alright. Told you not to worry about it.” He grinned, but she saw apologetic lines appear around his eyes, admitting she had carried the right train of thought since she had met Etienne and had learned about the Web and its workings.

“No, no, no, you don’t get to do this!” Marith laughed playfully and elated.

She stepped through the door with her bags and paused to kiss and hug him. Marith sensed how he felt sad. It hurt him that he couldn’t be closer to the Chain and experience everything with them, even though not everything was worth experiencing.

Nate took the bags from her and led her to the bedroom. It was a simple bedroom, with a big bed, made, unsurprisingly, out of logs, in the centre. Two crudely crafted bedside tables sat on either side and a worn out, threadbare rug, that Marith guessed used to be red, white and blue laid on the floor.

A large, black flat screen had been mounted to the wall opposite the bed. A diverse display of DVD’s and blue-rays had been spread out over the bed sheets.

“Oehh, are we going to do absolutely nothing but watching movies and lay around?”

“And eat,” Nate clarified.

“You actually bought food this time?”

“I sure did. You pick the movie. I’ll get the salads.”

“Salads?” Marith’s head jerked up, wearing a frown.

“I meant pizza’s!” Nate yelled from the kitchen.

“Good,” she mumbled to herself.

She went through the discs and decided upon the lamest looking Christmas movie of all time. It had everything for them to be incredibly annoyed about. Happy and fit looking people, an abundance of Christmas decorations, cute looking pets and poor special effects. The teeth of the actors were too white, their abs too chiselled, their hair too straight and their retrievers too golden.

After two entire pizza’s, a bucket of ice cream and non-stop complaining about the life choices of the main characters and the lack of a plot in general, mostly by Nate, they found themselves drowsily slipping into a deep sleep. Their fleece pyjama’s, the warmth inside the bedroom and their full stomachs made for ideal napping conditions.

Marith rolled over to Nate and crawled against him until they morphed into one body. Her leg was wrapped around his waist and with her right hand she stroked his neck.

When she fell asleep on his chest he could feel her soul, her sub-consciousness, entangle with his. He sensed her inner restlessness, ever loneliness, her insecurities, but also her dreams, her longings, her wish to be missed by someone and her love for all living things.

He reached for the inside of her wrist and decided to take her somewhere, unannounced. Marith’s brain made a pirouette and her stomach felt like someone had shoved her into a spinning dryer. The centrifugal force made the bedroom whirl and blur around her.

She instantly recognized the interior of the house. He had taken her to the house he grew up in and that Marith had been living in for the past few months. She was looking at a dated version of the interior belonging to the white mansion in Sweet Lake.

They ran across the light and wide balustrade with young, relentless bodies. Marith giggled rapturous and uncontrollably while she raced a young boy somewhere over a shining, parquetted floor, occasionally interrupted by large rugs.

She didn’t know where they were going and it didn’t matter, as long as she would arrive there first.

She felt like a little girl and, judging by the length of her legs, she was.

Ha, I win! Nate shared elated, turning around after hitting the home base, which was apparently a hideously antique vase in the hallway to what was now Marith’s bedroom. The vase wobbled dangerously from side to side before finding its balance again.

Marith halted, shocked. So you were always ridiculously handsome? She figured, while staring into his bright eyes, at his boyish smile and tanned skin.

His hair possessed a blond hue, that only uninterrupted sunshine could be responsible for, and his eyes were brighter and more carefree than she had ever seen them. It was probably summer, Marith thought, before looking down at her bare arms, that were just as tanned.

Whatever early age she currently was the Vitiligo had unfortunately already started. Her healthily bronzed skin was interchanged by irregularly shaped spots that were supposed to be white, due to a lack of melanin, but were painfully burned and red. Her negligent mother had never cared for sunscreen or any type of skin-care products that could benefit her daughters.

Stop.

I am dead serious, Marith replied.

And yes, it is summer.

His remark instantly reminded the Mage to keep her private thoughts to herself for as long as they were connected.

Let’s go. I want to take you somewhere else, Nate said enthusiastically, ignoring the flashbacks to her less-than-great childhood.

He kindly took her hand and guided her back to the landing. They walked down the stairs together, Marith with her pigtails, Nate with glasses the size of Saturn. He shifted his hand smoothly from her palm to her wrist, until he was holding it like he was doing in the cabin in the woods.

He smiled at her and she smiled back, unsuspecting.

Suddenly he jerked her arm down. Marith lost her balance with a shriek and they skipped a step together. Her insides were tussled through her torso and her mind seemed to leave her body, although it had already done so. Then it returned to her and they stood in Nate’s gardens again.

Why? Marith started, giggling uncontrollably again to deal with the shock of falling down the stairs one moment and ending up in a park the next. Just why?

Nate shrugged. I had no active recollection of when we were kids, even though we lived in the same town at the same time.

He didn’t address why he had pulled her off the stairs with him.

That’s because you were older and you were too cool to hang with me, Marith joked.

They appeared to have fallen back into their current age again. A loose, brown curl dangled into Nate’s face. He brushed it away and looked down on her. They were spending so much time horizontal that Marith often forgot how tall he was, until they were standing next to each other again.

No, I wasn’t. He had let go of her underarm and pushed her shoulder lamely, while fine lines appeared around his handsome smile.

No, you’re right. You weren’t, Marith said. Some guttural sound was somehow preceding the next thing she was about to say. My childhood… she tried, while more involuntary sounds fought their way to the surface to make themselves be heard.

The rest of it didn’t come out at all, but Nate understood. He understood a lot of things, because, even though he hadn’t lived any of it, he had seen flashes of the ruins of her past. They both remembered now that she hadn’t been allowed to play with the Pine brothers or any of the other children in town. Lieke and herself had been serfs to their parents. They had barely ever been allowed to leave the yard around the lake house and if they were it was only under their parents’ guidance and often only for the purpose of going to school.

Gene and his wife had warned their children daily, endlessly, about paedophiles, kidnappers and other horrible adults a child could run into, but none of that had ever been the actual reason for the incarceration of Marith and Lieke. Their intentions had been to control their daughters mentally and physically and they had surely succeeded. Until Marith had been left alone in the Netherlands, years ago, and Lieke had rebelled back in Norway, that was.

Was a travesty. I know, he finished the sentence for her, then pausing for a few moments. I just wanted to know what you looked like back then. I didn’t want to upset you.

Well, now you know… and you didn’t upset me.

Good, he said as they strolled alongside the glistening water of the duck pond over a lawn that was unnaturally green. Marith wondered if it would ever freeze over, die and become yellow, like regular grass in the dimension they had left behind for now. She guessed not. This was a controlled environment and who wanted to look at yellow grass?

Remember what I promised you? Nate asked.

Yes! Marith attempted enthusiastically, blinking some wetness away.

He had promised to let her create something in his world. To teach her how to do the same things he had been doing to craft the world they were currently standing in.

Can I? Marith could barely believe it.

Yes. Nate nodded. The moment is finally here.

Thank you. Marith closed her eyes and childishly pouted her lips, until Nate kissed them.

Remember, you can do anything with your mind. That is why I just brought you to the house in Sweet Lake, he whispered. That was a memory. I played hide and seek with Nick more often than I can remember and I replaced him for you, using your memories of what you looked like back then. Even though you’ve never played hide and seek with us I succeeded in making you believe that we were just there.

I remember, she said, nodding feverishly.

The sadness was ebbing away. Nate was giving her purpose with this challenge.

I want to build something, Marith shared decidedly.

The last time they had visited this perfect, secret world she had noticed a distinct lack of things to hide under or inside.

Okay, Nate replied, a little taken aback. What do you want to build then?

You’ll see, she said teasingly, turning around and closing her eyes to focus on the images in her mind. This might take a while, though. Maybe you can go do something to entertain yourself.

Wow, look who suddenly got an attitude, Nate commented with a chuckle. Weave it like the warp and the weft of fabric, he added, not quite leaving yet.

Why again? Marith vaguely remembered him telling her about that, but it had been a while ago, when she had still been very tense in his presence.

The Inbetween is a new dimension crafted from the fabric of reality that we already know. Imagine and repeat the image in your mind until it becomes a new reality.

He briefly kissed her on the forehead before taking off into the direction they had just strolled from, alongside the pond. Some ducks hurried off the lawn to toss themselves into the glistening water with a splash to get out of his way.

Oracle had asked him to create a new space, a suitable environment to conduct the Ritual when the time would come. Earth had provided him with enough inspiration to last several lifetimes, so he had already started the project, but he hadn’t been in a position to finish it. He knew exactly how he wanted it to be, so the extra time was welcome.

The mind is unimaginably mighty and has an elusive potential, Oracle had told Marith during her Rebirth when she had marvelled about the powers of various Watchmakers.

To Marith it had seemed impossible that First Watchmaker could have built the Clock in the Sky in all its beauty and all its glory. It had also seemed incredible that every Watchmaker after him had improved and sustained both their hiding place and the dimension that Earth floated in.

However, a lot of improbable, impossible and incredible things had happened ever since her Rebirth and that sunny noon she chose to believe all of it, despite her sceptical and calculating nature.

She glanced at three different moons that chased each other slowly and palely across the violently blue heavens and she was reminded of the fact that anything was possible, before she closed her eyes and started.

It is up to you to develop a talent and practice your skills until you master them, Oracle had continued when she had inquired about her talents as a Mage-to-be.

Goose bumps ran over Marith’s arms, even though the sun was at its apex and was currently shining fiercely down on her. She had closed her eyes and focused on the image in her mind.

She was creating a high vaulted arcade, from natural materials, detail for detail, with her mind. She moulded it after the naves of abbey churches and cathedrals she had seen on city trips in Europe. She repeated the same details over and over again, for stability and certainty.

A massive and elongated wall, with a yet to be decided destination, appeared mysteriously on the left. A row of arches, supported by columns, leading to the gardens was created on the right, and behind those gardens laid the lawn she was currently standing on.

Everything she had discussed with Oracle and Anica, while she had been in the Clock in the Sky, was now flowing back to her. She had initially forgotten their message and had hated herself for it. It had felt as if her brain had been through a hard reset after Watchmaker had pulled some secret, hidden lever for her to be hurtled back to the dimension the Pupils were fighting for. She had felt like she had woken up from a deep sleep that had forced her to forget her dream upon awakening for weeks after that occurrence.

Now she remembered. Their patient and ethereal voices echoed through her skull as if it was empty and hollow. Your mind can become anything you can fathom and the Well will allow you to create everything you can imagine in the Web.

She had started with the arcade, because that image was most prevalent in her mind, but behind it, she was building a structure unlike any other. To impress Nate, but also to prove to herself that she could do it, that everything Oracle and Anica had told her – or better yet, had promised her – was true.

And everything you can create, becomes a reality, Anica’s words rang clear as day.

The fortified towers, curtain walls and battlements were the hardest parts. The spiral staircases inside were defiant, but the furnishing of the structure was something she had been looking forward to.

She filled the cool stone walls with classic works of art. Tapestries and Persian rugs appeared everywhere she wanted them to be. Heavy wooden furniture and antique vases adorned the chambers and hallways of her fort.

In order to fall asleep people have to pretend they are already sleeping. To reach an orgasm many women have to imagine they are already enjoying one.

Marith found out that weaving her construction was like that. She had to think it into existence with vigour.

This was her brainchild. She could do this. She could do so many things, she had recently learned. Some things, like this, were strenuous, other things came to her fairly easily, practically occurring by accident, like healing Jonathan.

What she knew for sure was that none of it made sense and that it was all connected. While she weaved she felt herself merging, fusing together with everything and with nothing.

Nothing was a part of everything. It was a place in the Web. She felt it pull at her, call her, like the emptiness that had plagued her for decades, while everything embraced her.

Everything told her that her whole life had led up to this. This was basically what she had done as a child to escape the reality of her existence. An abusive and, later, torn family, not fitting in at school, fighting the darkness that kept creeping up on her. She had elevated escapism to a form of art.

Nothing was sowing doubt. It told her that the darkness was real, something that was waiting to attack her and pull her down from the gardens, back into her old self. Nothing threatened to drag her back to the time when all her days had blended into one fast flowing river of misery, yanking her through life at an unhealthy pace. Nothing reminded her that it could easily ruin her.

She was fighting to ignore those feelings by remembering the words of Oracle, Anica and Nate. By the time her project started to show permanent results their advice kept circling through her head like a boomerang.

Imagine and repeat.

Weave it like the warp and the weft of fabric.

Everything you can create, becomes a reality.

All your issues will become weightless in the end.

By the time she felt like she was done the words had become a mere whisper, carried by the slight breeze wafting, from the musky air arising in Nate’s gardens, towards the water. The intensity of the sun had decreased and so had its warmth and brightness.

Before she finished Marith felt an uncontrollable urge to place a moat where the arcade turned the corner around the fortress. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but it seemed fitting. Also, it wasn’t an actual moat, but more of a flowing river with no beginning nor end.

She then debated briefly with herself whether or not she was brave enough to open her eyes and behold the results, before taking a leap of faith and just doing so.

Her mind felt as if she was waking up from a trance or a hypnoses. Not that she had ever been in one, but the light-headedness and the sudden illumination of her retinae by the wading sun made her see colourful blobs. She wobbled, while she raised two heavy arms to violently rub her eyes, and involuntarily staggered backwards.

Luckily Nate was right behind her to keep her on her feet.

Since when are you here? Marith wondered drowsily in his arms.

He had wrapped himself around her and hugged her caringly, while she readjusted herself to their environment.

Not long, he answered, while she reclined into his torso. Couple of minutes maybe, but right on time, judging by the state you’re in.

She was actually doing better already, but she didn’t want Nate to stop hugging her, so she refrained from mentioning that.

So, Nate started, with his head hovering above hers, you’ve looked at the dimension that I have crafted over several years with my own blood, sweat and tears and you found it was missing a… castle?

I feel like it’s more of a fort, maybe? Marith answered vaguely, still lost in thought, while applying some finishing touches.

She sounded quite content with her creation and Nate couldn’t possibly fathom why. The castle was crooked, leaning more to the right than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and incredibly un-symmetrical, even though symmetry was clearly intended. The whole thing looked like a deflated pudding or a failed cake from a distance.

Let’s go inside, Marith said, exhaling elated and looking forward to inspecting her work from up close.

She took a step forward and Nate released her from his arms.

You think that’s… safe? He wondered as nicely as he possibly could.

Sure! She was so proud she barely registered his reluctant undertone.

The Mage trotted off into the direction of the edifice and swayed left. When she entered the endless sea of colourful hydrangeas, roses and foxgloves a cordon of insects and tiny exotic birds zealously buzzed around. The flowers looked like silk in the afternoon sun. They were cool and soft to the touch. Their light scents were carried by the warm air like perfume. She marched on over the many paths running through the courtyards like a maze.

Nate stared doubtful at the building for about thirty more seconds and then hastily followed her dancing ponytail into the jungle of bushes and flowers.

In a way Nate was proud of her too. He had spent years on the gardens and the fall. He had never even started to imagine something that resembled a building. His girlfriend had pulled this off in less than a day. Besides, they could come back later and fix certain things.

He quickly caught up with her and grabbed her hand. She smiled sweetly at him, while the gravel crunched innocently beneath their feet.

The lopsided fortress didn’t look alluring or impenetrable… but why would it? There was nobody there except the two of them. There was no actual enemy to be kept out of the building.

Marith led them to the openings of the arcade, because they gave them an easy way in.

There are front doors, she mumbled, inspecting her work, not addressing the obvious flaws.

Marith gazed at the arches and the decorations on it and, to Nate’s amazement, adjusted them on the spot when necessary.

Behind the arches a long stone wall stretched out, with no apparent purpose to it. Marith didn’t really know what was up with that and Nate bit his tongue, so the presence of the empty wall wasn’t questioned.

From afar the construction had appeared a murky grey, but now that they entered the building the stones Marith had envisioned carried clear teal hues.

The interior was brighter than Nate would have imagined, due to the many openings and large stained glass windows.

When each and every one of the arches in Marith’s arcade was exactly to her taste and up to her standards the couple sauntered further into the colossal building. An opening before the massive and elongated wall, with the yet to be decided destination, invited them in.

The outsides were oddly crumpled, but the insides were shockingly well put together and decorated. Ancient looking tapestries, decorated pillars, high ceilings, many works of art, giant vases and heavy wooden bookcases had all been summoned and placed cautiously in the fortress by Marith. It looked like a national museum and a cathedral had merged in a loving embrace.

You’ve got taste, lady, Nate complemented as they wandered through the hallways, staring at the Monets, the Manets and other invaluable artworks by the hands of legends, such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Caravaggio and Velazquez.

I know. She smiled an angelic smile at him in front of a Bouguereau. The piece was called Evening Mood. Right next to it she had imagined The Night and there it was.

I always liked this one too, she said, adding Virgin of Consolation to the collection.

You’ve got an exquisite memory when it comes to art, Nate remarked.

My grandfather would often bring books about classical art over whenever he came by to bring sheet music or to hear me practice the cello. You know, those incredibly heavy ones that you can’t touch before you at least wash your hands twice? I used to go through them for days on end, when I was little, wishing I could paint like that.

Did you ever learn to paint?

No, never, Marith said with a smile, but that’s okay. Some things are just not meant to be.

Since the sun was setting and Marith hadn’t thought of adding any source of light she envisioned candlesticks, placed on side-tables or on wrought iron standards, torches and chandeliers to illuminate her work.

Oh, this one’s remarkable as well, she commented, nodding to herself, as soon as the hallway was illuminated again. I just don’t remember putting it here, she said, frowning at Aphrodite, another oil painting by Bouguereau.

She glanced at Nate who casually strolled down the cool hallway with his hands folded behind his back.

Nate?

Yeah?

Where did this come from? She asked him.

I added it. I hope you don’t mind?

No, of course not. Aphrodite is beautiful… but why?

Because I can… and because you look like her, he shared. He had stopped walking.

No, I don’t, Marith replied, more flattered than she wanted to admit to herself. You think?

Yes, absolutely. She was one of the first images that came to mind when I met you.

Marith stayed behind, while Nate wandered ahead. She looked into the dreamy, grey eyes of Aphrodite. She sure was pretty and Marith could see why her pulled back, brown hair and the shape of her face reminded Nate of her, but her expression was flat and she secretly hoped she had a little more personality.

The look in her eyes made Marith think of Oracle and Anica, which reminded her to add two more paintings, that had slipped her mind, to the tour, telling herself these had to be the last two.

Nate turned the corner, without giving the route they were taking much thought. He entered the main hall of the ground floor. In the back of the chamber a fireplace, big enough to roast an entire ox in, was excogitated and shaped from the same material as the walls.

He was instantly reminded of why he loved Marith. It wasn’t just her delicate looks, even though those were a big plus. The way she talked, her sudden and powerful emotions, her style, her taste and her odd humour had been the things to initially capture his attention.

His immediate laughter echoed the chill hallways. On either side of the fireplace a massive, elongated Pre-Raphaelite oil painting was on display.

Good one! He winked at her when she appeared in the opening.

The Priestess of Delphi by John Collier reminded them of Oracle and Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse reminded them of the magic gushing over the gardens and flowing through the hallways, and, subconsciously, of their own metamorphosis, since their journey had begun.

Every now and then Marith paused the tour to adjust some things or to add furniture, openings to the courtyard or glass windows. All the while Nate patiently hovered around her, not intervening or helping her. They didn’t waste any discussion on it, but they both felt Marith had to do this on her own. It was a matter of pride and independence.

The high vaulted arcade was clearly the masterpiece of Marith’s imagination. Whichever way they took around the fort they kept ending up on the brinks of the massive, open hallway, that ran all around the fortress, as if they were walking around in an Escher artwork. It barely made sense to Nate, but he loved it, because Marith had made it.

Want to take a look up these stairs? She wondered, standing in front of an opening that gave access to a stairwell that spiralled up into one of the many towers.

Sure.

They climbed the stairs, constructed from teal stone as well, and found themselves in a spacious circular room with plastered, white walls. Three elongated windows with clear glass, allowing them an untroubled look over the gardens, ponds, hills, forests, mountains and waterfalls of their world.

When they entered the room their footsteps sounded strange on the shining, varnished wooden floors, after their walk through the rest of the stone castle.

Under the windows a low podium had been placed, made out of the same varnished wood. Marith pictured a harp there, because she had always agreed with herself that if she was going to play a second instrument it was going to be the harp.

It was a modern pedal harp, made out of a lighter shade of wood than the flooring. The instrument’s column was decorated with leaves and flowers, like a Corinthian pillar, carved out of the basis. The soundboard had golden decorations, painted onto the woods in the same Greek style, reaching from the pedals to the shoulder.

I love it, Nate whispered into her ear.

Thank you, she whispered back, leaning into his torso again.

She miracled a dark, red leather stool behind the harp and she couldn’t wait to start practicing her new instrument.

Since there wasn’t much else going on in that specific tower they found themselves descending the staircase rather quickly again. As they circled each other down the spiral stairwell sudden rumblings appeared to escape another part of the building.

Do you hear that? Marith wondered.

Yeah, Nate answered amused, to indicate she had made everything they were currently looking at, so she should be knowing what the noise was about.

You made a basement for all the artwork? He joked.

They were standing on a red carpet that depicted a mediaeval battle and gazed into an opening that had casually manifested itself where a blank wall had been at the time they had gone up the stairs.

No, Marith replied, in a slight state of shock. I didn’t even think of a basement.

The rumblings appeared to be coming from down below, where the stairs, no doubt, would lead them. Before she could tell him ‘to be careful’ Nate had already sped out of sight. Marith followed him with what she thought were healthy levels of suspicion and reluctance.

What is this? He wondered, baffled, with his hands on his hips.

Marith burst into the basement behind him, but refrained from entering it completely just yet.

It looks like a laundromat to me? She answered, peering around his head, her mouth slightly ajar.

You didn’t do this? He inquired, without turning around to face her, almost at a loss for words.

What do you mean? She almost yelled, to outcry the rows of roaring machines, an incredulous frown running across her forehead. Of course not! Do you really think I would imagine household appliances in a world where I can just imagine new and fresh clothes? She explained with a wild and sarcastic gesture towards the room that seemed to stretch out endlessly.

Nate took the first official step. Marith had still been hovering on the lowest tread of the stairs, not sure if this mysterious chamber could harm them.

They walked through a basement with more washers and dryers than they had ever held possible. The machines were waiting patiently on a cheap black and white linoleum floor. The average laundromat had absolutely nothing on this place.

Does this building even have electricity? Nate wondered after a while, raising his mental voice.

The further they entered the underground hallway the harder the noises emanating from the washers and dryers became to ignore.

I don’t even know at this point, Marith answered, shaking her head. This place is giving me shivers, Nate. Let’s go back, she urged, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the stairs.

They practically marched back, overcome by a sudden haste. The machines around them kept spinning and howling. Things were not adding up here.

Just to be very clear, Marith inquired again when they were almost at the base of the stairs, you didn’t put them here either. Right?

No, Nate shook his head resolutely. And, just to be very clear, neither did you?

Nope, Marith confirmed. They must have appeared when we were in the tower, but I never pictured them here… or at all.

Marith looked back into the endless room. She noticed there was no natural light source down there, but it wasn’t illuminated by torches or candles either. There were regular light spots mounted into the ceiling that was made out of the same blueish-green stone she had built the entire fortress with.

They were still holding hands and Marith wasn’t intending on letting go until they would be back in the world they had both intended.

Let’s go, Nate encouraged her, already on the first tread.

He mostly wanted to get away from the noise at that point.

Is it just me or are they bigger than the washers and dryers from our world? Marith remarked, with a twisted face.

Nate didn’t answer. They climbed the crude stepping stones of the stairs again and ended up on floor level.

The first thing Marith imagined when they were back on the red carpet was a really big, heavy wooden door in the opening that led down to the basement, with an impressive looking lock. This was fooling no one. Any creature that could enter their dimension was surely not bothered by something as plain and simple as a lock, but she craved some form of control, now that they seemed to have lost it.

They wandered back through the castle. First they were simply speechless, then they found themselves in quiet contemplation, sauntering side by side.

Nate’s frown had turned into a painful grimace, while he was processing what this could mean. Had he not built and shaped this world alone, before Marith had come into his life? Had somebody else invaded their safe space? Was Oracle at all capable of this? Or maybe Etienne?

There was no way to find an answer to any of those questions at that moment in time or on that plane of existence, so they continued their tour, that naturally led them back to the arcade.

Maybe you imagined them accidentally? Nate tried, when they had arrived at the arches where they had started their voyage earlier.

Marith swallowed and shook her head, while eyeing him worriedly. It was the first time they looked each other in the eyes in over fifteen minutes. They both thought the other looked pale, drawn and tired.

I mean, Marith started, followed by a sigh, what is the function of that basement? What is the purpose of this whole dimension? To us it is a fun world to escape to. Maybe it is something else to someone else… she let her words sink in.

Why the doors? Nate wondered instead, because he did not have an answer to any of her astute questions.

Marith peered in the direction he was gazing at and froze. Those hadn’t been there before either and she had imagined them as much as she had the basement, which was not at all.

Where the arcade had went around the corner to open up to the river that came from nowhere and flowed to an undetermined destination and were the solid wall had manifested earlier another wall had appeared perpendicular to the first wall. It was the kind of wall one would not attempt to take down, not even with a tank. Luckily, a row of three heavy-looking wooden doors had appeared in the greyish-blue boulders the fortress was constructed from.

I honestly don’t know. It is like the basement. I don’t think we are in full control of this world, Nate. I really don’t.

They walked to the back and tried the brass knobs on the doors. They wouldn’t turn, they wouldn’t budge, they wouldn’t open. They restively and inanely slapped the doors and Nate even jumped at one of them, putting his shoulder into it.

They could still hear – and see, if they gazed beyond the arches of the arcade – the water of the river flowing behind them.

She gave him a defeated look. He briefly touched her cheek, as to say ‘shit happens, at least we’re here together’.

I know one hundred percent sure that the gardens and the horsetail fall are mine, he answered instead, after he had given it some thought. I definitely came up with this place, he assured her with a wry smile.

I think it got discovered by someone or… something, Marith said after wondering what kind of creature was capable of that, apart from the two of them.

They turned around and walked an eternity back to where the arcade began. The length and width of the arcade seemed to be an optical illusion, like trompe l’oeil in an artwork. The more they walked the further the beginning appeared to be.

Their footsteps sounded hollow on the natural stone floor, while their walk ostensibly took forever.

Let’s take this hallway, Marith proposed, after they had fought themselves free from the pull of the portico behind them.

Nate followed her with good grace. This was her building, after all.

There were several more a large stone corridors and chambers, occasionally held up by random, but identical pillars, before Marith had found what she was looking for.

The sun had circled around the fortress and the wing they were walking through was now wading in twilight. In the dimness Nate could discern several openings between the artworks on the walls they were passing by.

Marith led them up another set of stairs that circled into a tower. She imagined the torches in the staircase to be on fire and dancing flames instantly hovered at their tips.

Nate was greeted by a collection of antique and intriguing objects, standing on dark wooden planks, mounted the plastered walls. Nautilus shells, brass sextants and a sundial compass, Dutch model ships from the time of the VOC and Delft blue pottery were bathing in orange sunlight, blazing through the transparent dome that protected the insides of the observatory from the elements.

It occurred to Nate that his Mage had made a miniature copy of the Clock in the Sky, with occasional personal touches. There was even a telescope on a rails that could be pushed around the circular room, to be parked behind any of the windows, for optimal stargazing.

Nate was staring at a pair of antique looking binoculars, when Marith led him outside, through a patio door, existing between the planks with curious rarities and the elongated windows.

Marith had imagined the castle walls in such a way they were wide enough to walk over them, or, more fitting, welter over them. The patio door led them to a snaking and sloping walkway, behind the battlements, to the next turret. There were other ways to get to the next tower, but why waste a perfectly good sunset?

They sauntered towards another patio door, following curves and bends that shouldn’t be there. Nate continued to bite his tongue and Marith was making plans for the bailey. Halfway across the wall they halted in the ochre sunlight and witnessed the heavens fading from powder blue to lavender and finally to orange. Marith leaned into Nate. Their hands found each other and their fingers interlaced.

Can I ask you a really strange question? Marith asked her Prophet.

Strange is my specialty, he answered with a smirk.

Have we actually been talking today?

Why would you ask that? Nate answered, smiling slightly.

Marith looked at his face, his skin shrouded in tangerine and marigold hues, and was puzzled. It seemed… different.

Well, it was different today, he said patiently.

But in what way? Marith still couldn’t tell why she wasn’t so sure anymore.

You’ve been talking to me in Dutch several times and I understood what you were trying to convey.

What? How is that possible?

Because you call the shots now, he answered amused.

What are you talking about?

It seems to me that you have changed the way we communicate. Maybe inadvertently, but still. To me it still sounds like we are talking in a different way, but I perceived it as English, because that was the first language I ever learned.

Do you think we communicate in some sort of universal language?

Yeah, it was a dreamlike, almost wordless language, he concluded, partially explaining it to himself.

Marith nodded. She had to contemplate this theory for a while and she decided to return to the colourful sky in front of them, while she was doing so.

The enchanting spectacle came to an end and the sun had taken its warmth with it to wherever the star had disappeared to. Several shades of blue, varying from a light ultramarine to a dark Prussian, manifested above them. The clarity of the firmament promised a starry night, but Marith figured Nate had probably made sure that every night in their strange land would be a starry night.

Goose bumps ran over their arms. Marith shivered a violent shiver and they knew it was time to hurry inside.

After a short sprint they stood on the varnished, wooden floors in the middle of a circular master-bedroom-to-be. Around the white walls wrought iron candle stands were placed. Yellow flames danced above the crème-coloured candles.

The flooring and plastering were identical to the other two towers they had visited, except for a set of purple curtains, made out of thick velvet, hanging from a curving rod attached opposite to the stairwell.

It will be a bedroom one day, our bedroom… but I just can’t anymore. I hope that doesn’t sound too dramatic. She smiled faintly at her boyfriend, whose face had turned into a fleshy blur.

No, not at all, he assured her. We will finish it later. He put his arms around her for comfort.

What are the drapes covering, though?

The curtains rattled over their rods, by the sheer force of her will. She opened the patio doors behind them, that led to a large balcony, with her mind.

He had expected another oil painting, but this was much better.

I have never been as impressed by you as I was today, Nate whispered into her ear.

Thank you, Marith answered, sensing that opening the curtains had taken the last of her strength.

Today was a good day, Nate, Marith said shakily, feeling rosy. Despite the mysterious basement… and the doors.

They both chuckled. He looked into her bright green eyes and nodded, before he briefly kissed her.

The air in the room became thick and heavy and so did the mist in Marith’s head. Her brain was fatigued to the point it started to malfunction. Nate felt compelled to take over. He caught her in his arms and put her in the biggest, fluffiest bed he could imagine. The four poster bed was rimmed by thick, purple, velvet curtains as well.

She was so tired it made her feel alive in a strange way. Her skin tingled and almost itched, connected to every fibre of their new world, even to the strange basement. Then she was gone.

Weaving is tiring, Nate remembered. The exertion had caused Marith to pass out. There were limits, even to what his genial girlfriend could do.

Her head rested in his arms, pressed against his naked body. There was no better feeling in the world.

The muscles in her arms and legs felt oddly tense and she woke up with the realisation that she might be developing the first headache since her Rebirth.

“When did we get back here?” She whispered with a dry mouth.

“I jumped with you. You just weren’t mentally present.” He grinned a handsome grin at her. He hadn’t been to any hairdresser in a while, Marith had noticed. His long locks framed his face perfectly.

“Marvellous.” Marith rubbed her forehead feverishly. “What happened back there?”

“You sort of…” he hesitated and thought of the right wording, “fainted, I guess,” he eventually decided.

“How is that even possible?”

“Oh, trust me, it is. When I first started to imagine the gardens it happened to me quite a lot, but I had nobody to return me to this reality, so I would wake up there… sometimes days later.”

“That’s horrible,” Marith said with a gasp.

“Yeah, it was quite confusing,” Nate shared with a frown. “Luckily, by the time I wanted to make the Horsetail Fall I was so practised it didn’t happen anymore.”

Marith smiled weakly at him, while something occurred to her.

“Did you walk all the way back to that fall with me?” She asked flattered.

“I had you in my arms,” Nate started with a boyish smile.

“But?” Marith demanded with big eyes.

“I may have jumped off the balcony with you.” He smirked.

“No! Why?”

“Well, we were there and any jump will do the trick. It’s not like we need a specific Mailbox to get out of there.”

“Wow,” Marith mouthed, while shaking her head.

“I didn’t throw you,” he promised.

“You better didn’t throw me,” Marith said threateningly, but a laugh started to form in her throat.

Then she was quiet for a few moments, contemplating.

“I have some many questions now,” she said, eyeing him defeated.

“So do I,” he answered, leaning back into the pillows again. “We appear to be alone in that dimension and yet…”

“Why do I have my talent, Nate? What good is it?” Marith interrupted his train of thought.

“The purpose of our talents will reveal itself. You have this talent, because it is necessary. Otherwise the Well wouldn’t allow it.”

Marith swallowed and nodded drowsily. She was impatient. She had craved purpose for so long now. She had found it briefly after her Rebirth, but then it was diminished again, after finding out what it was. Then she healed Jonathan and learned she had been right about Etienne all along.

Now the secret world she shared with Nate was not so secret any longer. The questions kept surging. She wanted clarity and yet the Universe appeared to be denying her just that.

She didn’t know what to do with herself and she wondered how long it would take before she would finally learn her true purpose. Would she find out in time? Was there such a thing as a true purpose? From what she had been able to deduct form her encounters with Pavan and Watchmaker she knew a person could have more than one purpose.

Fine, Marith thought bitterly, grinding her teeth and staring at the ceiling, show me one of my purposes then. Just one.

The Universe wasn’t as responsive as she’d hoped and they just laid side by side for a while, swimming in their own thoughts and reflections.

“I was thinking about what you said the first time we met,” Nate finally said, attempting to distract her.

“When we were kids? I don’t really have a lively recollection of that.”

“No, about travelling the country in a trailer.”

“Oh, right. Yes, I still want that. Some time.”

“No, not some time. I want to take you, after we put the Kid back in the Empty. I want to show this country to you and marvel about it… with you.”

Marith was silent for a minute.

“Unless... you prefer to travel alone.”

“No! I was just thinking about how perfect that would be... and about how much I love you.”

“You love me?”

“Yes.” Marith giggled self-conscious.

Silence was over them for a minute, while a knot formed in Marith’s stomach.

“This is the part where you say ‘I love you too’.”

“Is it?” He asked, grinning playfully at her.

They had both rolled on their side and looked each other in the eyes.

“Yes!” Marith retorted daringly, not sure whether to laugh or cry yet.

“I just wanted to make you feel it a little bit.”

“Feel what?” She frowned. She didn’t like how he was making her wait for it.

“Worries.”

“Why?”

“Because I am always worrying about you.”

“You shouldn’t be. That’s patronizing.”

“Yes yes yes, proud, independent woman and all that. I know you are. I worry about you, because I love you and I can’t always be with you, not because you come off as weak.” He snickered at the thought of anyone ever making the mistake thinking the beauty in his bed was weak. “Get my wrist,” he whispered at her.

She did. His left arm laid limply in between them. She trailed the soft insides of his underarm until she had found his energy points.

Their eyes locked and were set on fire by the connection. Soon their faces were drifting away. They lost their earthly vision and communicated in the ethereal ways only Pupils could.

Marith quickly closed her eyes, otherwise she knew she would wake up with painfully dry eyes again. This had happened to her several times before and it had been unpleasant enough to remember.

Nate’s mind was adrift along the timeline of their futures. Their near futures in this case.

She liked what he showed her. Images of their life together came to her in a soothing manner. He acted like a travel agent, showing her the options of the journeys they could make.

This was what she wanted. She smiled inadvertently. He wasn’t able to see it, but he could feel her smile.

I love you too.

All I wanted to hear.

She could feel his heartrate dropping to a staggering low level whenever he was fully wired to the Web. She had never felt that in the others. The way he could pass his information he hardly needed to touch her.

Then he suddenly stopped between Sequoia National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. Marith felt like someone had yanked at the manual break of a European car mid-drive and she was still hanging in her seatbelt.

Something big is coming, he mentioned curtly, before an overwhelming amount of visions and revelations hit her like a surprise invasion of a neighbouring nation.

A stream of information that didn’t make any sense to Marith started to come in. Strange faces, landscapes and languages raced through her mind like a stampede. Conversations, not happy ones, arrived behind her eyes with more and more lucidity.

Her heart started hammering uncontrollably in her chest and her lungs painfully constricted. Behind her eyelids her eyes were twitching as if she was entering REM-sleep.

At a certain point she started to wonder what a seizure felt like, because this could absolutely be just that. In the middle of all that chaos Marith managed to unhook the fingers of her right hand from his left wrist.

This was why she had been Rebirthed into a Mage and not into a Prophet, she reminded herself. She simply wasn’t made to handle those, often vague and sometimes disturbing, images and flashy hints about the future.

Nate’s back arched, his eyes bulged and he grasped for air. He grabbed the bedsheets and almost pulled them from under Marith. The spasms travelling through his body were outside of his control and excruciatingly hard to watch.

Marith lifted herself up with her elbow and sat up straight, next to him on the mattress. She worriedly looked down on his pained face and wondered if it was time to panic yet. She put her free hand on his sweating and heaving chest.

Did this happen every time he received information from the Web?

No, it doesn’t, Nate answered with difficulty.

What is this then?

Mutiny.

Buried somewhere deep into her weekend bag, hiding between the kind of underwear that wasn’t allowed into the washing machine or the dryer, Marith’s clockwork was clicking and buzzing.