Stephanie was curious about the castle's room, looking at the artifacts and monuments as she sat on a bench with a paper cup of water in her hands.
From outside the castle, it all looked normal… but this was different when she stepped inside Ulfstead Castle.
Everywhere was littered with many different items, ranging from suits of armor to historical clothes from different eras and even the Dust Crystals on crowns or other jewelry pieces.
Dowager Hatt was right about Dust Crystals being used as jewelry, and everything looked so much different from what she thought the museum would look like.
Notches was sitting on the bench beside her with Lucy on his back, watching Stephanie glance around curiously.
"Excuse us?" Stephanie glanced at Sir Robert Norramby with Cleo, asking, "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Stephanie nodded, glancing at the empty paper cup and then back at them. "Thank you both for helping me."
"You're welcome," Cleo nodded. "What brought you here, though?"
"To look at the museum and the library," Stephanie explained. "For research on this," Stephanie reached into her sweater and took out her Dust Whistle, showing it to Sir Robert Norramby and Cleo. "Mostly for where the Dusts I have been collecting came from too."
"May I?" Sir Robert Norramby asked, and Stephanie nodded.
He looked closer at the whistle in his hand from around Stephanie's neck, seeing the etchings and the symbols as he gently flicked through it before stopping at Gold Dust.
"Fascinating," Sir Robert Norramby remarked. "How many Dusts have you discovered?"
"I found Gold," Stephanie explained. "Silver and Copper. I hadn't searched for the rest either since I had been promising myself to come here to get more light on these before I came here."
"There's more than one Dust?" Cleo asked.
"Yes." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "Avril showed some of the Dusts before he and his wife suddenly disappeared."
"Is there any luck with the search?" Stephanie asked.
"Unfortunately not," Sir Robert Norramby responded, handing Stephanie's whistle back to her. "But everyone is still searching for him."
"That's good." Stephanie nodded as Notches hopped onto her lap while rubbing his head. "I hope I can learn from him about all this once we find him."
In the background, the familiar ghost was listening to the conversation and was smiling sadly, looking at Sir Robert Norramby and Cleo before disappearing.
"I imagine he would be enthusiastic to learn you had discovered new things with the Dust." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "Now, what brought you here to Ulfstead Castle?"
"Oh!" Stephanie perked up as she put the paper cup into her sweater's pocket to save it until she came to a trash can.
Notches hopped off her lap with Lucy on his back, and Stephanie stood up from her seat, asking, "Do you mind if I have a tour around the castle? Then perhaps the library?"
Then the thought of the cost of getting a museum tour silently hit her, but Stephanie kept calm as Sir Robert Norramby said, "Of course! But let's start with the beginning of the tour, shall we?"
Stephanie nodded as Notches hopped off the bench with Lucy on his back and followed Sir Robert Norramby and Cleo back outside, where the beginning of the tour started.
She sat in the coaches pulled by Stephen, Cleo, and Sir Robert Norramby, sitting side by side with Stephanie in the middle and Notches and Lucy on her lap.
The tour was engrossing for Stephanie; she learned about how Sodor came to be and how Stephen was the first steam locomotive to be created on Sodor.
Even so, how many famous people throughout history discovered the Dust Crystals before they faded over time after the huge Gold Dust Flu hit Sodor from a mining exhibition.
Stephanie took multiple mental notes as she learned about a fraction of Sodor's history, growing curious over time.
Sir Robert Norramby could see Stephanie's curiosity growing as she would ask questions about different subjects, and he would respond to them.
Cleo took Stephanie's hand to the library when the tour ended, with Sir Robert Norramby following behind as Cleo was very excited about taking Stephanie to the library.
Stephanie followed behind as best she could, as her enthusiasm matched Cleo's, and Sir Robert Norramby followed but could not catch up to them because of his age.
It reminded him of when he was much younger, always taking Sir Topham Hatt or getting Avril wound up with curiosity and excitement about what he discovered.
They soon arrived at the gigantic library, with many shelves filled with millions of books.
"Here's Ulfstead Castle's Library!" Cleo beamed before Sir Robert Norramby gently shushed her. "Oops!" she blushed with a chuckle. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Stephanie assured Cleo. "But where to start, though? There are a million books around here!"
"That's easy." Sir Robert Norramby smiled. "Cleo? Would you like to show Stephanie yours?"
Cleo nodded excitedly as she rushed off, and Stephanie looked around, seeing the walls' designs and the people's craftsmanship a long time ago.
"Ulfstead Castle is amazing!" Stephanie remarked as she glanced back at Sir Robert Norramby. "Even the history itself!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed the tour, Stephanie." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "You were quite the curious child, too."
"Ah," Stephanie blushed as her ears flicked a little. "I don't usually see that much of Shining Time, so I am always curious."
Sir Robert Norramby noticed Stephanie's pointed ears flicking, and Stephanie noticed, asking, "Are you curious about my ears, though?"
"Yes." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "Were you born with pointed ears?"
"Yes, sir." Stephanie nodded with a gentle smile. "Even blue hair."
"Even blue hair?" Sir Robert Norramby echoed her. "I thought it was hair dye."
"Nope," Stephanie sighed as her ear flicked with silent irritation. "It's pure blue hair."
"Do you mind?" Sir Robert Norramby asked, mentioning her long hair.
Stephanie was taken a little aback when Sir Robert Norramby asked before nodding her head and responding, "Go right ahead."
Sir Robert Norramby carefully inspected Stephanie's long hair, seeing the thickness and how natural it was between his fingers.
It is not hair dye.
"This is the first time someone has asked me to feel their hair," Stephanie chuckled.
"Really?" Sir Robert Norramby asked. "What did the people do back in Shining Time?"
Stephanie grimaced after Sir Robert Norramby asked before responding, "They kept making fun of my long hair, calling me 'Smurf' and other nicknames. They didn't believe me when I tried to tell them it was real."
Sir Robert Norramby glanced at her from her hair with a confused expression as she shrugged, dropping the subject, "I stopped telling them when it went to the adults after they started assuming I had hair dye."
Instead of asking her further, Sir Robert Norramby released Stephanie's hair and slowly said, "Well, I believe it is all real."
Stephanie perked up after Sir Robert Norramby told her and softly smiled, saying, "Thank you, sir."
Cleo soon returned with a thick book in her hands, responding, "Sorry! It was stuck underneath some other books I was trying to research through."
Stephanie chuckled as Cleo placed the book on the table in front of her as she sat down, with Notches hopping off her shoulders and onto the table.
Cleo sat down next to Stephanie with Sir Robert Norramby, opening the book to the first page as Stephanie listened to Cleo chatter about what she had experienced.
Stephanie will ask Sir Robert Norramby and Cleo questions about their experiences and listen to them curiously.
In return, Stephanie will tell Cleo and Sir Robert Norramby about the Dusts and the Zodiac Pocket Watch she discovered.
Sir Robert Norramby learned a little from Avril, and she will tell them both about the Zodiac Guardians.
She introduced Lucy to the two, and Lucy greeted them as Notches was in a comfortable 'loaf' position, as Stephanie would jokingly say.
Hours passed as Stephanie, Cleo, and Sir Robert Norramby chatted with each other until the library door suddenly knocked.
All three glanced at the door with confusion as Sir Robert Norramby stood up, saying, "Excuse me."
He opened the doorknob to see who knocked, only to be more confused as he had opened it to a wooden library.
The library was gigantic and had greenery growing in some places, looking like a library within a forest.
"That's strange," Sir Robert Norramby muttered as Stephanie gasped, realizing the same thing had happened.
Cleo stood up from her chair and poked her head through the doorframe, looking at the library curiously as Stephanie stood up, masking her panic as she asked, "Um, what's wrong?"
"There's another library," Cleo mentioned as she pointed. "But… where's Ulfstead Castle?"
Stephanie nervously bit the side of her finger as Notches hopped off the table, looking through the door frame with confusion.
"What the heck just-?" Vines suddenly wrapped around them as Stephanie perked up, watching them get yanked into the library.
Cleo grabbed the doorframe as Sir Robert Norramby and Notches with Lucy was tugged into the library, and Stephanie instantly scrambled over.
"Hold on!" Stephanie transformed into her anthro Rat Zodiac form as Cleo flinched.
Stephanie grabbed the vine with both hands and started nibbling as fast as Cleo's fingers slowly slipped.
With a single bite, Stephanie snapped through the vine as it released Cleo, causing her to collapse on the ground as the remaining vine disappeared.
Stephanie sighed after the vine disappeared, and Cleo scrambled to her feet as the snapped vine slid off her, asking, "What was that?!"
"I don't know," Stephanie said, turning to Cleo. "But this happened before at Sir Topham Hatt's house."
"This?" Cleo asked as she mentioned the door.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded before stepping into the library. "But we can't leave the door open, or something comes out."
"What?" Cleo flinched. "What if the vines come and attack me?"
"Don't worry, Cleo," Stephanie assured. "I've got teeth, claws, and even ink abilities. So whatever had vines could not harm us."
Cleo paused after Stephanie assured her before nodding and slowly stepping into the library as Stephanie closed the door, watching the door's colors shift into the colors of the wall.
That did not happen before.
Cleo turned to Stephanie and worriedly asked, staying close to her, "What now?"
"Let's go find out what took Sir Robert Norramby and Notches with Lucy," Stephanie explained. "And stay close to me."
Cleo nodded as she wrapped her arms around Stephanie's arm, walking with her as they entered further and further into the library.
Stephanie and Cleo looked at the library's shelves, which were filled with millions of books and had different plantations growing in different sections as they walked further.
"So this is my first time with you?" Cleo asked, glancing over at Stephanie.
"Sort of," Stephanie responded. "The first time happened when I was staying in Sir Topham Hatt's son's former room and heard that knock, and the others heard. So I went over to open it, and it took me to a gigantic being named 'Erebus' and his Shadow Realm."
"He sounds scary," Cleo shuddered.
"He is." Stephanie nodded with an assuring pat on Cleo's arm. "But he helped me learn a little about whenever this happened. Like closing the door if something comes out and never leaving it open if you step into this place."
"Oh." Cleo glanced around as she hugged Stephanie's arm closer. "It's a little… empty."
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded as she continued walking. "I wonder what could've-WHOA!"
Stephanie gently pushed Cleo to the side as a vine whipped downward, showing what looked like a pot as Sir Robert Norramby and Notches with Lucy tried to get out of their binds.
Notches were hissing and scratching at the vines while Lucy was hacking with her key, and Sir Robert Norramby was squirming in his.
Vines were all over the place, coating the walls with them and covering every square inch of the library, even the doorways.
"That could be why!" Stephanie exclaimed as she picked Cleo up, as the vines were growing from the pot.
Stephanie continued avoiding the vines with Cleo in her arms as she looked at how to get rid of them.
"Hey, you!" Stephanie perked up as she glanced over, seeing a shape in the distance.
"What?" Stephanie called, yelping when a vine went past her and tried wrapping around her, but she jumped.
Suddenly, another vine wrapped around Stephanie's body, causing her to yelp as she dropped Cleo and gasped.
Stephanie tried to chew her way out of the vines as they lifted her into the sky to join the others when her necklace snapped off, transforming into her Zodiac Pocket Watch.
"The pocket watch!" Stephanie panicked.
Sir Robert Norramby stretched his arms out and grabbed the Zodiac Pocket Watch in his hands before clicking the top of the pocket watch.
He soon transformed into a half-Aplomado falcon harpy with the necklace as his necktie ornament and snapped out of his binding, falling slightly before taking off.
"Whoa!" Stephanie exclaimed after seeing Sir Robert Norramby transform into an Aplomado falcon harpy before wincing when the vines tightened.
Sir Robert Norramby noticed and instantly went towards her, using his talons to slice at the vines wrapped around her.
Stephanie was freed as he caught her before going towards Cleo, slicing at the vines at top speed before using his hind legs to grab her before she hit the ground.
Lucy finished slicing the vines and freed Notches before Sir Robert Norramby caught them both.
"Hey!" a second voice called. "Close the book!"
"What?" Stephanie called.
"The book!" a third voice called. "Close the book!"
Sir Robert Norramby looked down at the ground while hovering and saw the book with the vines slowly coming out of the pot.
"We see it!" Stephanie nodded.
Sir Robert Norramby dove quickly as Cleo held on, and Stephanie grabbed the book, causing the pot to fall into the book.
The vines were sucked into the book, but they were trying to get back out as they landed, struggling to close the book as they tried to get it closed.
Stephanie summoned her bracelet, which transformed into a crystal dagger, slicing the vines poking out from the book's pages.
After the vines were all sliced, the book was finally closed, and after it was closed, the vines covering the library's walls disappeared into thin air.
Suddenly, something landed in front of them as Sir Robert Norramby used his wings to protect the two kids, and Notches fluffed up as Lucy aimed her key toward it.
"Ow!" A lion wearing glasses stood up from the ground and shook himself before glancing around as it stood on its hind legs. "Cleo! Theo! Lionel! Leona! Where are you?"
"Up here, Dad!" Stephanie and the others glanced over, seeing a young lion cub wearing a gray hat and a green and white-striped polo shirt at the top of the staircase.
Following behind him was another lion cub with a necklace around her neck, watching the vines slowly disappear.
"Okay," Stephanie spoke, sighing as she transformed her crystal dagger into her bracelet. "First are sentient vehicles, magic, and now anthropomorphic lions."
Said lion glanced over at Stephanie, Cleo, Sir Robert Norramby, Notches, and Lucy and said, "Thank you so much for helping us! Erm, excuse me."
He went off, climbing the stairs to his kids, and asked, "Leona, Lionel, do either of you know where Cleo is?"
"We thought she was with you, Dad," the male cub named 'Lionel' responded.
"She wasn't," the father lion said, shaking his head.
Suddenly, ripping noises happened, and a female lioness stepped out from a doorway with her claws out, calling, "I'm right over here, Theo! I got myself stuck in one of the rooms."
Sir Robert Norramby unfolded his wings as Stephanie stood up, transforming her bracelet into a dagger, and went to where the lioness was.
She used the dagger to slice at the slowly disappearing vines as the female lioness cut them with her claws.
"Thank you so much, honey," she thanked.
"You're welcome," Stephanie nodded, finishing slicing. "What happened to the library?"
"Well," Lionel said, walking up to Stephanie with his sister Leona. "That's where we come in."
"Yeah, it was our fault," Leona nodded. "We were curious about how the plants worked from Little Shops of Horrors and asked Click to bring out one of the plants," she paused. "Yeah, that happened."
"Oh, my gosh," Stephanie sighed. "At least Aubrey Ⅱ didn't come out of the book."
"Yeah," the two lion kids nodded. "Fair point."
Meanwhile, Sir Robert Norramby, Cleo, Notches, and Lucy were helping get people out of being stuck, ranging from sentient suits of armor to people and even anthropomorphic animals.
Once everyone was freed, the lion family gathered to meet them, who helped as the father lion, 'Theo,' asked, "So how did you, uh?"
He paused to count as Sir Robert Norramby took the ornament off to transform back to normal and handed the Zodiac Pocket Watch to Stephanie as she placed it into the pocket of her blue jeans. "How did you five get here?"
"Well," Stephanie blushed sheepishly. "We were at Ulfstead Castle in the library, and the door knocked, so Sir Robert Norramby opened the door to see who it was, and we came here to experience that whole event."
"You came from Ulfstead Castle to the Barnaby B. Busterfield III Memorial Library by just opening a door?" Cleo, the mother lioness, asked.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "It happened before, though, and I didn't explain this to everyone."
She stepped forward and turned to the four, saying, "As you heard, this happened back at Sir Topham Hatt's house, where the door would suddenly knock, and either I opened it or someone else, as I could tell, and the entrance is in a different place."
"And you didn't tell us!" Lucy exclaimed.
"No," Stephanie sheepishly shook her head as her face turned blue with shame and her ears drooped.
"It's alright, honey," Theo assured her as Stephanie glanced at her, and her blush lightened. "But now that you've explained it to them and us, I think we could help figure out what it was."
"That's a good idea," Stephanie nodded as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Though I haven't figured out how to return since… there's more than one door."
Everyone winced after Stephanie mentioned, as Lionel said, "Oh boy."
"Well," Cleo, the mother lioness, perked up. "We can start by opening one door after another."
Stephanie nodded as she approached a door, gently taking the knob before opening it to a long library hallway.
"Nope," Stephanie sighed as she closed the door. "Maybe I could try," Stephanie thought about Ulfstead Castle's library and opened the door again, finally opening it to the library they were inside.
Stephanie perked up after finally opening the door as the lion family poked their heads out, and Stephanie silently looked at her hands, thinking it was coming from her.
"So this is Ulfstead Castle's library," Theo remarked.
Leona sniffed the air and remarked, "It smells older than our library."
"Uh, yeah," Stephanie nodded as she entered Ulfstead Castle's library. "But I think that whole thing was from me. I think."
She added the last sentence as she looked at her hands, and Cleo, the mother lioness, hummed a little.
"I think I know what that is," Cleo, the mother lioness, told her. "Wait right here."
She was about to leave when she paused and said, "Oh, one more thing. What's your name?"
"Stephanie," Stephanie responded. "Stephanie Allen."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie." Cleo, the mother lioness, nodded. "I'm Cleopatra. You've met my husband, Theodor, and my two kids, Lionel and Leona."
Stephanie glanced at her husband, who waved hello to the other kids as Cleopatra walked off to get something.
The remaining lions looked around curiously, looking at the books and even the designs of the library.
"Incredible," Theo remarked as Stephanie thought to herself, as she was curious. "Did you style the library?"
"King Godred did." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "I refurbished it after I arrived back in Sodor."
"That's so cool!" Lionel remarked. "Oh, what's your name?"
"Sir Robert Norramby." Sir Robert Norramby nodded.
"I'm Theodor," Theo introduced. "This is Lionel, my son, and Leona, my daughter."
"I'm pleased to meet you," Leona smiled.
Stephanie smiled softly as she watched the curious lions look around before perking up when Cleopatra returned with a book with a dark blue cover, saying, "Here we are. The Collection of History's Myths. Written by Rosaline Mercedes."
Stephanie and Cleopatra sat down while reading Cleo's book about Sodor and opened it as Cleopatra flipped through the pages.
"Chapter six," Cleopatra mumbled as Stephanie waited patiently. "Chapter eight… Ah! Here it is. Chapter 10, Doorways that Lead to Different Realms."
Stephanie perked up after hearing the chapter's title, and Cleopatra read the page:
'At one point, while exploring with friends, I came across the strangest thing: an open door that led to an underwater kingdom. The water stayed when I stuck my hand into it, and it felt like how the water's temperature felt, but it all felt real. But, of course, I didn't step through it out of fear of drowning. Unfortunately, one of the people saw what happened and instantly closed the door, believing the water was about to pour through. When I opened the door again after it was shut, the entrance to the underwater kingdom was gone, but only the entrance to the abandoned shed remained. I was dumbfounded at what I saw while everyone thought it was hallucinating.'
Stephanie perked up after reading the paragraph, and Cleopatra said, "I think you have that ability Mrs. Mercedes discovered."
"I do?" Stephanie muttered as she looked at her hands.
"Yes," Cleopatra nodded. "But you have to use those powers for good."
Stephanie nodded after Cleopatra told her, feeling nervous about what she had discovered, while Lucy felt suspicious about Stephanie's newfound power.
It sounded familiar to someone who has the same power.
"Mrs. Cleo?" Stephanie politely asked as Cleopatra responded, "Yes?"
"Do you mind if I check out this book?" Stephanie asked.
"Of course." Cleopatra nodded as she stood up from her chair. "Let's get back into our library first."
Stephanie nodded as she stepped back into the Barnaby B. Busterfield III Memorial Library and saw Theo behind the desk.
"Theo, honey," Cleopatra spoke to her husband. "Stephanie wants to check out this book."
"Sure!" Theo nodded before looking around from where he was. "Erm, I just need to find Click."
"'Click?'" Stephanie asked with confusion. "Who's Click?"
Then a tiny robotic mouse that resembles the mice for computers appeared on top of some books and asked, "Did someone say my name?"
"Huh?" Theo turned around and looked over at where the mouse was, saying, "Oh, there you are, Click! Stephanie here wants to check out a book."
"May I see the book, please?" Click asked.
Stephanie nodded and showed the book to Click, saying, "Scanning book."
Then the book's cover appeared on the computer before a check mark appeared on the screen, saying, "The book is checked out."
"Thank you, Mrs. Click," Stephanie said before putting the book into her brown bag.
"You're so kind." Click gently nodded.
"Hey, Steph!" Stephanie perked up as she glanced over at Leona. "Can we meet with each other sometime?"
"Sure," Stephanie nodded. "But I might be busy studying Sodor and other things."
"It's okay," Leona chirped as she followed Stephanie and walked to the door. "Though, I promise not to get you roped into an incident involving books."
"Fair enough," Stephanie chuckled as she turned around to close the door. "I hope I'll come by sometime."
"Make sure to bring the book back after a few weeks have passed!" Click added.
"I will." Stephanie nodded before closing the door.
Then she curiously opened the door, seeing it was the hallway of Ulfstead Castle as the others peeked through.
"That was interesting," Sir Robert Norramby remarked.
"You're not mad?" Stephanie asked as she looked at the group.
"I'm mad that you didn't tell me." Lucy nodded as she was on Sir Robert Norramby's shoulder. "But we're not mad that this happened."
Stephanie gently smiled after Lucy assured her, but the back of her head was thinking about her newfound ability as Cleo asked about her book.
Is it really that powerful?