The Secret Library

Ivy held her breath as the stairs creaked under her weight. She didn’t want to take the risk and wake any of her brothers, she knew how angry they’d get to find her sneaking out of the house so late at night. 

She couldn’t help it though, she needed to get out and explore the world around her and while she loved her brothers, they were over protective of her. They just didn’t understand that she hated being cooped up in the house. I’m sixteen. She thought,  I’m not a child.. She should be able to come and go as she pleased and there was one place that was calling her name since she caught a glimpse of it just a few days ago.

She hopped from the second to last step and landed quietly on her feet at the bottom. She crouched down and listened, making sure no noises came from the floor above her. The only sound that greeted her ears was the gentle even breaths of her own lungs. She was in the clear. 

She darted across the open space that led from the stairs and through the small living area. The window above the small table and chairs had been unlocked before she had gone to bed, she made sure of it. She placed her foot in one of the chairs, and gently pushed her body up and onto the table. She was careful not to knock over the empty tankards left over from Leo and Bay’s round of drinking. 

With one last glance over shoulders  she wiggled the bolt loose. The glass gilded upward and she slid through. Her bare feet hit the hard ground with a soft crunch and she gently shut the window. 

She was free, she had actually managed to escape the house without one of her brothers noticing. She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in joy. She would not come this far just to get caught now. 

She turned, facing the forest stretching out behind their village. Something in her gut told her that she should be scared to venture into the trees alone at night, but all she felt was pure excitement. She started forward, still keeping her footsteps light until she slipped past the first tree. 

Darkness enveloped her, the trees blocking out most of the light from the two moons. She wasn’t scared of the dark, if anything jumped out at her, she’d shapeshift into something bigger.

“Four paces to the left.” She murmured, speaking the directions she had recited over in her mind for days. 

“One.” She took a step. 

“Two.” Her heart leaned in her chest. 

“Three! Four!”  She hopped the last step.

She landed in a crouch, giggling as she scanned the area for the tree she had marked. In the dark, the trees all seemed to blend together. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the area in the daytime and force the images into her brain. Little by little she could see the different shades of green. The moss was cold beneath her feet. Above her the trees would be basking in the sunlight, sending off light green, dark green, and some yellow. She could even see the bright colored flowers that grew around the base of her favorite tree.

Upon opening her eyes, she found the small patch of light blue, flapping gently in the night time breeze. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear. There it was, she just needed to follow it and then others she  left in a trail when she had been out with her brothers. 

She passed the first one, keeping her eyes out for the other, and kept up the routine until the markers ran out. 

She stepped past the very last one, her heart racing as she walked through the trees to finally get a glimpse of what she had seen just the other day. 

A clearing spread out before her, bright with a glow from a golden archway standing tall in the middle. She could see each and every flower that sprouted from the ground across the entire space. It would have taken her breath away if it hadn’t been for that archway. 

Golden vines sprouted from the ground, intertwining with each other up and over before cascading down on the other side. With each blow of the breeze the form nearly appeared iridescent. Inside the archway sat a kaleidoscope of colors, some she had never seen before in her life. They moved, twisting and turning, forming so many different shapes she couldn’t keep up with. She was nearly sure she even saw movement from beyond the kaleidoscope. 

She stepped forward, mouth open in awe of what she saw. She wasn’t sure what it was, her only guess could be a portal but she had never seen one. No one in her village had the power strong enough to wield one. She needed to see where it led.

 Holding her hand out, she gently touched the tips of her fingers to the very center of the kaleidoscope. 

The colors burst, each one racing away from her touch like the colored fire lights the palace sat off in the night sky during celebrations. 

She stood wide-eyed as they bounced around, until they formed one image. 

She now stood facing what appeared to be a library. All she could see were rows of books. The shelves were so tall she couldn’t see the tops and a rolling ladder stood perched against them. 

She had never seen so many books in her life. They were rare in her village, she had been taught to read by her brothers writing letters and words down and placing them in front of her. The only book she owned was one Bay had brought home. She had read it cover to cover. Even now, she still picks it up when she wants to escape. Maybe she could find a new book to take home. 

She stepped forward, foot first through the portal. It felt like stepping through a wall of water. She could feel it soak her skin and seep all the way down into her bones but once she was on the other side, she was completely dry. She glanced at her hands, amazed that they didn’t even hold a drop of water. 

She turned toward the portal now behind her. The kaleidoscope was back, sitting in the middle of a grand oak double door. The wall spread out beyond, showing a painting of the forest. She followed the painting of the trees all the way to the first bookshelf. It stretched all the way to the ceiling.

Her eyes continued to move around the room. Each bookshelf seemed to be made of the same oak of the door. The ceiling looked like the sky, as blue as it can get on a bright sunny day. 

She inched closer to the first bookshelf. The books were arranged by height, the words on the spines so worn it was hard to make most of them out. She ran her finger over them, searching for anything that might pop out to her. 

It never once occurred to her that she might not be in this library alone, not until she heard the sound of footsteps racing in her direction. 

“Ali! It’s about time you got back here, I need to show you what I found.” A voice followed the footsteps. 

The voice was male and sounded young. Still, it struck a bit of fear in her. Looking around she searched for a place to hide but on this end all she found were the bookshelves and the oak doors. She didn’t want to dart out into the forest, but she would if needed. 

The footsteps got closer, whoever it was had started to jog. She wasn’t going to have a choice. She moved in the direction of the door, but the voice sounded right behind her.

“Who are you?” Confusion coated the boy’s tongue. 

Ivy turned to face him. He stood in front of her, young, possibly her age or just a little older. His eyes were a shade of blue she had never seen before and they raked over her entire body, trying to decide if she was a treat or not. His hair was dark, very dark. The ends of it damp like he had just washed it and with the lighting, she couldn’t tell if it was black or blue.  The clothes he wore were nice and new compared to the tunic and pants her brother’s wife had made her. While her clothing was dingy, his was clean, and made up of colors she rarely saw worn. Maybe it was the blue of his shirt that made his eyes stick out so much. 

Unlike her, he appeared to be dressed for bed and like her he stood there barefoot. She just stared at him with wide eyes, not saying a word. 

Seeming to decide she was of no harm. His confused expression softened. “I guess I‘ll ask again, who are you?”

Something told her he wasn’t used to not having his questions answered.

“Uhh, Ali?” She tried, using the name she had heard him throw out. 

Amusement lit up those blue eyes. “No you aren’t.”

”And how do you know that?” She had the urge to place her hands on her hips. 

“Well, to start with. Ali is nearly six feet tall, has red hair, and he’s a boy. You are not a boy and your hair is the color of cotton candy.” He grinned. 

Her hand immediately went to the two braids that fell down her back. She picked one up and pulled it around to examine it. The strands were pink, a little brighter than normal due to her time out in the sun. She had no idea what he had just compared it to. 

“Cotton candy?” She asked.

”Yes, cotton candy. If you tell me your name I’ll show you what it is. Ali went through the portal to see if he could find what he would need to make some.” He was determined to learn her name. 

“Uhh,” She didn’t know if she should lie or not, after all he was some stranger she found in a magic portal. 

He stood there patiently waiting until she finally decided to be truthful. “Ivy, well it’s my second name but it's the one I prefer. What is yours?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. She could see the wheels of thought turning behind those eyes. He too was trying to decide on the truth or not. 

“Gael?” It came out more like a question. 

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

His cheeks went pink, the color draining down into his neck. “Yes, it’s my third name.”

”Third name? Fancy. Where are we?” She determined that he was safe and started exploring the library. 

Gael followed her into the shelves of books. “The secret library.”

She scanned the books as they walked. “And where is this secret library?” 

“I think wherever it wants to be.” That grabbed her attention.

“A library doesn’t move.” 

“This one does.” 

“How?” 

“I have no idea, it's filled with all kinds of weird things.” He shrugged.

”What’s in the books?” She asked. 

He turned a corner. “Even weirder things.” 

She followed, the bookshelves split open to reveal a large sitting area. A large wooden table took up the center and on top of it were stacks of books. A few sat open in the middle. A carpet the color of grass sat beneath it all and about four large plush chairs surrounded it. 

Gael was right about the weird things. Things sat around the room that she had never seen before. She recognized a globe, but she had no idea where the places were on it. Something with a bunch of tabs with letters on it, sat at one edge of the table. A piece of parchment hung out of the top. Beside it, a small rectangle box that lit up when you touched it. Many other things she didn’t know how to describe filled the open spaces. 

“What are all of these things?” She asked. 

Gael gave another shrug. “I have no idea, but this one puts the letters onto the parchment.” 

He walked to the item with the letter tabs and hit one. Some kind of tack shot up and placed the letter on the parchment.

“That just wrote that for you.” She rushed over and peered down at the strange item. 

“I know, I've never seen anything like it before.” He hit a few more of the tabs, more letters appeared with everyone he hit. 

“Do these books tell you about these things?” She asked, reaching for one on the table.

“Some do. This one,” he moved to the one open in the middle. “It talks about all these different foods I've never heard of.”

Ivy watched Gael flip through the pages until he found one he was looking for. “See, cotton candy. Your hair looks like cotton candy.” 

She stood on her toes and looked over his shoulder. She couldn't understand the words written below the image like he apparently could.

It looked like a pink ball of wool that had been spun around the top of a stick. She didn't know what it would feel like, but if she had to guess it would be soft and fluffy. She imagined it would be like touching a cloud. 

“You can read what it says?” She asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, it's sugar. You heat it up and spin it around somehow. This says it turned into a type of fiberglass, I can't imagine eating glass.”

He looked up, “Can you not read it?”

Ivy just shook her head, she recognized the letters but she couldn’t make them into words.

He gave her a strange look, she couldn't tell if it was filled with sympathy or not. “You can read though, right?”

“Yes I can read.” She crossed her arms defensively. 

Gael immediately held his hands up. “I didn't mean anything by it, it’s just odd I can read it and you can't.”

“Have you considered that I just don't speak this language and you do?” He had no accent that would indicate that he was from another land. 

“I've never seen the language before in my life.”

“That makes no sense.” She said. 

Gael moved for another book. “Maybe it has something to do with who found the library first.”

“Where did you find it?” She turned to another shelf. Each book was in the weird language. 

“Ali and I were sneaking around the hallways. The doorway just kind of appeared out of nowhere in the entryway. I could see it shimmering from the top of the stairs.” He shuffled through the other books on the desk.

She pulled a book free. “I’ve seen the portal in the forest for a few days now.”

“You found it in the forest?” He closed one book.

She opened the one she held. A map stretched out across it of a place she didn’t recognize. Europe, Asia, Canada, and more name’s she didn’t recognize. 

“Yeah, I did.” She carried the book back to the table. “Do you know this place?” 

Gael looked at the map. “No, those names are in most of the books but there is this.” 

Gael slipped around the table, toward the globe. He spun it around, searching for something he must have seen earlier.

“There! Come here!” He beckoned her over with excitement. 

She abandoned the map and went to him. He pointed at a small mark on the top of the globe. 

“Here, that says the North Pole,” He drug his finger down half. “That says portal and there's this.” 

Ivy leaned forward, nearly pressing her nose flat against the globe. A small shape was there, vines twisted together to form a small archway and next to it, oak double doors. 

“That’s the portal!” She grabbed Gael’s arm. 

“Exactly! So what if this library somehow connects our world with this one? I read in one of these books that they have elves there. They build toys, but elves are there.” They both reached to feel their own pointed ears.

“Do you think we could figure out how to get there?” She asked. 

“I think so.” 

They stood there in silence for a moment. There was an entire new world out there.

“Gael!” A voice boomed down the hall. Footsteps followed, shattering the silence. 

A red headed boy emerged around the corner. He was tall and skinny, round glasses perched on his pale face. She guessed this was Ali. 

His face was flushed and he was breathing heavily. “It’s morning, your father is up and looking for you. That stupid banquet is today.” 

“It’s morning?” He spoke her thoughts out loud. 

She had to get home, if Leo woke up and found her gone she was dead.

Ali suddenly realized she was there. “Who is this?” 

“Ivy, but that doesn’t matter. We need to go.” he shoved Ali in the direction of the portal. 

Ivy grabbed one of the books off the table. All three of them raced to the oak double doors. 

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Gael asked, facing her. 

“Tomorrow? I can try.”

Ali looked between them. “But she’s a girl.” 

“Stop stating the obvious.” Gael never looked away from her. “So, tomorrow?” 

“We can figure out how to open the portal.” She would come back every night until they figured it out. 

“Yes!” Gael grinned as Ali groaned. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled. 

“Tomorrow.” 

Ali grabbed a hold of Gael’s arm. “Stop flirting and let’s go.” 

With one tug both boys disappeared through the portal. 

Ivy turned and looked at the library last time. She wanted adventure and she found a whole world full of it.