You step through the sagging doors to what must have once been a grand palace, home to noble people of all walks of life. Vines crawl through windows and dust motes dance in the sun beams. “Awesome,” you breathe, and the palace comes to life. Light swirls up the walls, patching holes and adding color, fixing glass in empty window panes and cleaning up the cobwebs. The vines burst into white and purple blossoms, filling the room with a sweet vanilla scent.

     “Welcome!” someone shouts, making you jump. You whirl around to see a girl launch herself down the banister of the grand staircase and fly down, barely stopping her momentum at the bottom before she slams into you. She pops a bow. “I’m Joelle. Who are you?”

     You introduce yourself, not sure if you should be wary of this stranger. 

     “Nice to meet you,” Joelle says, blowing a strand of hair out of her face and gesturing for you to follow. “C’mon. I’ll show you around.”

      You hesitate, but shrug to yourself and follow. You did come for an adventure, after all.

     Joelle leads you up the steps and into an elegant balcony-esque hall that overlooks the room you first entered. Glowing doors along the one wall beckon to you, but Joelle insists that you have to start at the end and work your way back to the beginning.

      “Here,” she announces, stopping at the end of the hallway in front of a glowing silver door. She traces her fingertips along the Celtic design etched in pearly threads across the surface. “These symbolize that what is behind this door is for you, and every other visitor. Want to open it?”

     The door seems to have an almost magnetic pull on you, so you turn the doorknob and peek inside. 

     The room is bigger on the inside, lined floor-to-ceiling with delicate shelves piled high with books of every shape, size, color, and age. At the far end, a silver tree is blooming with flowers the color of opal, growing in a serene pool of crystal water. More of the vines from the front room trail down the few open spaces of wall, arching around pictures of far-off lands and creatures you wish were real. 

     “The library,” Joelle whispers, stepping in beside you. “Possibly my favorite place. This is where I store all of my ideas and share them with the world. I add new stuff every week - stories or tips or random ramblings.” She laughs, quietly. “Some people get overwhelmed, and I don’t blame them. C’mon, there’s still a lot more to see.”

     You reluctantly close the silver door and follow Joelle to the next one, one that gleams with crimson threads. “This one is kinda dangerous,” Joelle says, winking. “You have to be careful or you could get lost in here.”

     Unsure if you want to get lost somewhere dangerous, you reach for the doorknob and carefully turn it, expecting the door to blow up in your face the moment you do. When nothing happens apart from a soft click but you still don’t push it open, Joelle laughs. “It’s not that dangerous. Here.” Reaching past you, she flings the door open hard enough it bangs against the opposite wall. She stops it from rebounding into your face with her foot and bounces into the room. 

     You follow her inside, gaping at the scenery. The room almost doesn’t seem closed in, but of course that’s impossible. The cliffs on either side of you rise in steep layers to meet the sky far above, made of reddish rock veined with gleaming white marbling. It’s beautiful in its rugged way. You trace your hand across the nearest wall of stone, marveling at how real it feels. “What is this place?”

     “It’s where I throw all the things I want to write about,” Joelle replies, scanning the top of the cliff wall. “My characters, my worlds, my swords… they’re all here. Including the villains, which is why it’s dangerous. You gotta be careful. But if you want to learn what I’m writing about, this is the place to go.”

     A bird of prey looses its eerie call, and shivers trace down your spine. “Don’t you write about nice things?”

     Joelle gives you a surprised look. “Of course. This door just never leads to the nice parts.” She smiles at your expression. “Alright, let’s head back. There’s more to see.”

     You scramble out of the room on her heels, relieved when the door closes behind you. Stories are all well and good, but you would prefer to be more prepared before they came to life and tried to kill you.

     “Two more!” Joelle announces, skipping down the hall to a door emanating a soft blue glow, accented with green threadings. “This one is pretty self-explanatory.”

     The door looks so friendly that you open it without hesitation, stepping into a small space with white walls and more of those vines trailing off pots on shelves and out the many windows. A small aquarium bubbles to your left, and a bookshelf on your right sags beneath the weight of the many stories it holds. A desk against the far wall is buried under piles of papers and pens and notebooks, and a bulletin board that is much more neatly organized hangs above it, loaded with pictures of people you don’t recognize and quotes in brightly colored letters. Joelle’s name is spelled out in wooden letters above one of the windows. “This is where people come if they want to learn about me,” she explains. “You can get lost in here, too, ‘cause of all the random facts and things, but it’s easier to find your way back home.”

     “Huh,” you say, studying a sword that hangs above the fish tank.

     Joelle grins and taps it. “Orcrist. Don’t tell Thorin I swiped his sword.”

     “Uh–” 
     Your remark is cut off as Joelle grabs your hand and drags you out of the room and to the last door, this one the same pearly white as the threads on the first door, but the Celtic markings are etched in silver.

     “Another door for the visitors.” Joelle grins and opens it, motioning with her head for you to go first. “Watch your step.”

     You glance down to see a spiraling staircase descending to a floor very far away. Above your head, the room continues to a vaulted glass ceiling so far above you you can barely see it. Sunlight filters through it, glinting off and through a gentle waterfall that mists its way down to a pool in the floor below. Another silver tree blooms on the ground next to it, but this one is much larger than the other, and you find that you could jump to one of its branches and climb down that way if you wished.

     Joelle springs past you and does exactly that, getting leaves in her hair and laughing the whole time. “Come on,” she calls. “It’s twice as much fun as the stairs!”

     You take a running start and follow her down the tree to the ground, which is a polished marble. “What do we do here?”

      “Press buttons,” Joelle answers with a wink. She gestures to the walls, which are dotted in what must be buttons. “They’ll open secret passages that will lead you to places only those who are the most loyal to the Penmaiden are allowed to go.”

      Curiosity bubbles in your stomach. “The Penmaiden? Is that you? And where do the passages lead?”

      Joelle smiles at you. “Yes, I’m the Penmaiden. And I can’t tell you that. They’re secret for a reason. But if you want to, I can give you the key to the doors at the end of each passage. You have to promise to let me bug you about what’s going on in here each month, though.”

       You trace your fingers across one wall, studying the paintings of a world you wish you knew. “Maybe later. What else is down here?”

      “Oh, all sorts of things,” Joelle says, and punches a button next to her. One wall slides away to reveal a cozy nook with a bookshelf between the seats. “Stories I’ve written, for one.” She pushes another button, revealing paintings you barely get a glimpse of before she closes the wall again. “Art galleries for those stories. And more that you can find out about on your own. The best stuff is only reached by the secret passages, of course.”

     “Of course,” you say, and roll your eyes. 

      Joelle laughs. “It’s getting late. I should get you out of here and home before your parents begin to worry. Will you come back?”

     You consider this. “Do you want me to?”

      Joelle looks you in the eyes, a soft smile playing around her lips as she nods. “I built this place for you. You’re welcome any time.”