More Than A Princess

Up in the sky we go!

Lyvia was jolted awake when the car stopped moving. 

She sat up with a start, aghast that she had fallen asleep throughout the journey. Jinna had also fallen asleep beside her, her long dark lashes fanning over her fair cheeks. 

Asleep, she looked sallow, small and so young. Almost like a child. She may be the same age as Lyvia but she seemed younger somehow. 

“Well, we are here,” Callan got out of the car and opened the door for them. 

Lyvia gently prodded Jinna and the girl sat up groggily. They both looked out the windows and saw a high metal and glass structure, not unlike the ones they saw near the fountain. 

However, instead of roads and a grey landscape of multiple high structures, this place only has this one single structure while its surroundings are a verdant profusion of trees and flowering bushes arranged in an orderly manner over an expansive lawn that seemed to go on forever. 

They both alighted from the car and stared at their surroundings. It was such a stark contrast to the place where they first arrived. It was almost like home, aside for the ugly metal and glass structure. 

If there is a lake, the whole scene would complete. 

“Oh,” they both gasped as they take in the trees and flowers that they have never seen before. Butterflies flitted by and birdsong filled the air. They drew in a breath and perfumed scents from the flowers filled their nostrils. 

“Come along now, let’s get inside before it gets too dark,” Callan said as he ushered them towards the building. 

They nodded silently and followed him into the strange structure. The glass doors swung open at a flick of his hand and they walked into a bright hall, much like a sitting room with plush chairs, plain white walls and bright lights. 

It was huge. Lyvia never expected a librarian to live in such a luxurious plush home which seemed almost as large as her palace. 

Callan led them to another door at the side of the room and with another flick of his hand, the door slid open to reveal a tiny room with glass for its walls. They can see the outdoors through the walls. Callan stepped inside and ushered them in. 

The room was only big enough to up to 10 adults and not more. They stepped inside warily while marvelling at the glass walls that afforded them a scenic view of the gardens outside. 

“Hi I’m Callan, take me home,” Callan said to no one and snapped his fingers. 

The glass room started moving up, away from the ground. Lyvia and Jinna clutched each other in fear. 

“What’s going on?!” Lyvia demanded.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die. This is like a staircase to go up to my home except you don’t have to climb up flights of stairs, it just magically brings us there,” he said.

The glass contraption came to a stop and its doors slid open to reveal a long bright and spacious corridor. They stepped out and Lyvia can’t help noticing the floor was covered in a soft grey carpet and the walls on both sides were painted a plain white. 

“You people sure do love your whites and greys,” she muttered as they followed Callan down the long corridor. There were doors on both sides of the corridor, all grey and made from some strange metal-like material but Callan did not stop at any of it. 

Finally, they came to a stop in front of one of the doors and Callan waved his hand over a square glass-covered thing next to the door. It beeped and he pushed open the door. 

Lyvia and Jinna gasped in awe at the view that greeted them. All they see was a panoramic view of the skies, trees, buildings and structures as far as the eye can see behind crystal clear floor-to-ceiling glass walls. It was as if they are high above with a 180 degrees clear unobstructed view. 

So enamoured by the view, they both walked near to the glass walls and stumbled over something soft.

“Oops, watch out for my sofa,” Callan said. 

They glanced around. It was a large sitting room with plush beige seatings arranged around a metal and glass-topped table and facing the glass walls. There are two corridors leading off the sitting room on both sides and next to the entrance was a door-less room with a long counter, chairs, cabinets lining its walls and some weird contraptions. 

“Interesting,” Lyvia finally said after taking in the views. 

The living space was quite bare except for the sofa, table and chairs. There were no decor on the walls on both sides of the sitting area before it gives way to crystal clear glass walls that curved out.

“Okay, so you ladies can share a room, I only have one guest room,” Callan said and led them down one of the corridors.

He opened a door and stood aside for them to enter the room. It was small in comparison to the sitting room. In fact, it was tiny, almost like the size of Lyvia’s closet. What looked like a white cupboard stood at the corner of the room with two narrow beds slightly apart in the centre of the room. There was a small table with a mirror and a stool against the wall and at the far end, there was a floor-to-ceiling glass window, looking out to views similar to the one at the sitting room. There was another door to another side of the room. Similar to the sitting room, everything was white and grey in the room. 

“It’s a good thing that I have some spare generic clothes in the cupboard so you can take your pick to change into them. I think there are some slippers in there too, it might be a tad too large but you can wear them first and I’ll make them fit to size later,” he said.

“So, get changed and comfortable. If you wish to clean up, that door leads to the bathroom, it’s a good thing I have an en-suite for all my rooms,” he added.

“I’ll get us some food and then we can discuss how to get you back to Vernia,”

He left without waiting for their reply and closed the door behind him. 

Lyvia and Jinna looked at each other in silence for a moment. Finally, Lyvia shrugged. She’s strangely exhausted, despite the nap she took in the car. She walked to the cupboard and flung it open. There were stacks of strange-looking soft clothes folded and stacked neatly inside. There were no gowns or dresses in sight and she secretly did a celebratory dance inside. 

She chose a simple black top with a head covering and black pants, both made from soft comfortable materials. It was slightly tight at the chest, waist and hips but it will do. Nothing else seemed large enough to fit her. 

Jinna chose a pink top with white short pants. She looked even sweeter in that outfit. The footwear were too strange and they could not figure out how to put it on so they decided not to bother with it. 

After changing, they opened the door to the bathroom and was delighted to find a basin with a magical faucet that produces water just by waving their hands over it. The toilet too was magical as it automatically flushes away the moment they got up. The splashed some water on their faces and hands and felt so much better.

“Alright, now that we feel a tiny bit more human, lets go out and get Callan to help us go home,” Lyvia said.

Jinna was folding their clothes carefully to prevent any creases and placing them on one of the beds. She nodded in agreement and they left the room.

They found Callan at the counter, waving and conjuring up piles of food on plates. It smelled delicious. Lyvia’s stomach growled despited herself. 

She sat down on one of the chairs and waited for Callan to be done. He barely looked up from his task, concentrating on the food. 

“Dinner is served,” he finally said with a flourish once he was done. Then he looked up and sharply breathed in at the sight of them. He whistled appreciatively.

“Wow, you girls cleaned up well. You don’t look like a serial killer anymore,” he winked at Lyvia. “And Jinni, you are pretty as a doll, my clothes never looked so pretty,” he said to Jinna and she blushed a deep rosy glow. 

They sat down and proceeded to help themselves to the food on the table. Barely anyone talked, everyone was ravenous.