Mystique Hollow, as this place was called, was unlike anything Charlie and Vaggie could have ever imagined. Everything was so bright and colorful, glorious plazas and bath houses that glittered in splendor, galleries and theaters, fairs and circuses, and they all were made of either mechanics or drawings.
"This has to be some kind of theme park." Vaggie said. "But why haven't we seen it before?"
"Or heard of it." Charlie added.
"Levana only allows certain people into her world." Dennis said. "Children."
"Why only children?" Charlie asked.
"Well for one thing adults can't really appreciate her creations the way a younger person would. There's more, but she'll tell you about it soon enough."
"You said creations." Vaggie said. "What creations?"
"Why all that you see here."
"You mean she built all this?"
"She's a very gifted woman. Gifted, beautiful, loving, supportive, she's probably the best woman you'll ever meet."
Throughout the tour, Charlie and Vaggie saw one incredible and weird looking person after another. Each person looked different but they had one thing in common, they were all wearing masks and they all had red eyes. They each wanted to ask why everyone here looked this way but they didn't want to be rude.
"Dinner will be served in about an hour." Dennis said. "But I'm sure this shall keep you two amused while you wait."
The tour stopped at wall which was pure white and next to it was the biggest collection of paints and brushes that Vaggie could never even dreamed of. So many shades and styles, so many different materials of brushes. Primary colors, muted colors, pastels, it left Vaggie speechless for a moment.
"We can actually paint on this wall?" Vaggie asked excitedly.
"Yes. Paint whatever you wish." He said. "Paint to your heart's content, and if art does not hold your interest long, perhaps some music will."
A calliope of gold and color was not too far from the wall and with the turn of a key, magnificent music filled the air. Music that Charlie could not resist. It reminded her so much of the song played on her music box and before she even realized it, she had started to dance. Her eyes glowed with light as she moved with the music and each step was one of perfect grace. A ballerina couldn't have danced better. Or so someone had thought.
Someone who had been watching Charlie from the very moment she entered this world. Someone who had been struck by the girl's gentle beauty and spirited nature from almost the very instant he was aware of her existence. Admiring her long hair of sunshine gold as it fell over her shoulders when she danced, admiring her moon-light fair skin that sparkled and her innocent blue eyes that were so full of life and warmth. But most lovely of all had to have been the way her lips could form such a perfect smile naturally, and the way her voice was akin to the sweetest melody that had ever been heard.
As Charlie was doing a pirouette, she accidentally spun too far away from Vaggie and then lost her balance, falling into the shadows and crashing into the mysterious figure who had been watching her.
"Oh excuse me!" She cried out in embarrassed terror. "I am so terribly sorry. Did I hurt you?"
She knew she had bumped into someone, and she could make out a figure quickly sliding away from her.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"I know." The person told her, standing up rather quickly. "It's fine. No harm done."
She moved in closer to make sure that she had not injured him. Like so many others she had seen here, he looked very odd. But it was different somehow. He was tall and towering, his skin bleached grey, his hair was crimson and it covered his pointed ears that stood up like an animal's would. Like the others he wore a mask but his only covered part of his flattened face, A scarf tied around his mouth, just below his nose. He had one brown eye and his other eye was red like all the others but it was also white and clear just like Levana's. Almost like like glass. But was the glass really clear? Looking closer she thought it appeared more like a reflective material. Like a mirror.
"You sure I didn't do anything?" She asked. "Scratch anything? Bruise anything?"
"Nope." He said brushing himself off. "Not at all."
"I'm such an idiot. I should watch where I'm dancing." She reprimanded herself.
"Don't give it a second thought my dear." He said. "You'd be surprised how many people I've assaulted with my love of dance."
His eyes were fixated upon Charlie with an intensity that she found compelling.
"Who are you?" She asked him.
"That's difficult to answer." He replied. "Because I am not just one thing you know. I happen to be many things."
"I don't understand."
"I didn't think you would. After all, you only just arrived here so you couldn't possibly understad how things work around here."
"What is here? I mean, what is this place?"
"Didn't Levana tell you? You're in a place called Mystique Hollow."
"Yes but what is Mystique Hollow exactly? A city? A town? A neighborhood? How long has this place been here? Why is it that I've only found out about it now? And just who is this Levana person?"
"My you ask a lot of questions." He said observantly. "More than I thought you would. I expected lovers of fantasy like yourself to be more accepting of the strange and unusual. But I'm impressed that you have a strong sense of faith and logic. That is a very rare combination. At least in young people."
"Thanks. I think." She said, not quite sure if he was complimenting her. "Do you live around here? I'm assuming you do because..."
She trailed off upon realizing where this could lead to.
"Because I look like something that belongs in the freak show?" He chuckled. "It's okay, I'm not ashamed. I know my looks are far from the social norm. Hell, everyone here looks like they could have a very successful career in the circus."
"Why..." She paused. "Why is that? I hate to be rude, but why do you look like that? Why do all the people here look so different? Is this like a costume fair or something?"
"Nope. No costumes or make up here my dear, we really look like this."
"You can't be serious. No person could look like...Look like what I've seen. I saw someone with a horse's body, sea-gull wings, and a lizard tail."
"You'll find this hard to believe sweetheart but the reason we all appear so unusual is that we are not human."
"Come again?" She replied, nit sure if she heard correctly.
"Technically speaking we're not people. We're special toys, objects, and knick-knacks that she made."
"You're an...Object? Is this some kind of a joke?"
"No. This is a joke. Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing? In case they get a hole in one. Get it? Ha-ha!"
He laughed but Charlie only smiled softly, because she didn't exactly find those old "Dad" jokes funny.
"Now a question for you." He said after his laughter died down. "What are you doing in a place like this? Aren't you a little young to be going about in unfamiliar places alone?"
"I'm not that young. I'm sixteen, in two years I'll be an adult."
"Even so, you're still technically a child and you never know what kind of vile predators are just lying in wait to take advantage a child. Also the fellow who looks after you probably wouldn't like you being in this place. In fact he's probably noticed that you've been gone longer than expected and is getting very worried. Perhaps you should go on home now."
"Well I wouldn't say that Stolas is that worried about me." She turned away and started to babble. "He already worries too much about Octavia and I'm not really his child, you know."
"Even so, he accepted the offer to raise you after your parents died and taking care of you for a year is more than enough time to develop an attachment."
"I know but I still feel like- Wait a second." She stopped herself. "How do you know my parents are dead? And how do you know about Stolas? And how do you know that he's been looking after me for a year?"
But when she turned around, he was gone. Vanished, disappeared, as if he had never been there to begin with. She felt a familiar shiver of fright come over her. The same shiver she felt when she had first seen Mr. Devalcourt. A feeling that there was something very wrong with that person. But at the same time, what made him wrong wasn't the first thought you'd have due to seeing a person like that.
"Where did he go?" Charlie wondered. "What on earth is going on here? These people can't really be toys come to life, are they?"
"Charlie!"
Turning around again, she saw Vaggie running toward her.
"There you are." She said. "I was so wrapped up in painting that I didn't see you walk off. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I just got carried away with dancing again." Charlie said looking around. "Did you see anyone here just now?"
"Like who?"
"I don't know. Some strange person who I bumped into. He told me the weirdest thing, he told me that people here were really objects and he...He knew about me."
"What do you mean he knew about you?"
"He knew that my parents were dead and that Stolas had been looking after me for a year, then just like that he disappeared without a word."
"What did he look like?"
"He was tall, had red hair, covered his mouth with a scarf, was very polite but very creepy."
"If you girls know what's good for you, you'll avoid him while you're here." Dennis said, reappearing again. "He's trouble, and Levana doesn't like him very much."
"Who is he?" Charlie asked.
"Just stay away from him. Don't talk to him, don't even look at him." He said. "He's the last person you'd want to get involved with. Now we must be going, dinner is almost ready."
"Can I show Charlie my painting first?"
"Of course."
They walked back toward that wall and to Charlie's astonishment, the white, blank space had been replaced by a glorious mural of butterflies, floating and fluttering in the light of a morning sunrise. It looked better than anything a professional could have painted, better than what you could find in any art gallery.
"Vaggie." Charlie said in awe. "It's gorgeous. But how did you paint something like this so fast?"
"I could barely believe it myself but look." Vaggie picked up one of the paint brushes, dipped one end in blue paint, and carefully moved it over the wall. The perfectly painted image of blue-monarch butterfly instantly appeared on the wall. As if by magic. "I just think about what I want to paint and this brush makes it appear."
"Amazing." Charlie said.
"How is this accomplished?" Vaggie asked Dennis.
"Please save your questions for Levana." Dennis said. "She'll be happy to answer all of them, come along now, we mustn't be late for supper."
Once again the girls followed Dennis to whever he was instructed to lead them. They both thought that they had to be dreaming. That they had somehow fallen asleep in tutoring and were now having a extraordinary dream. That's why they went along with all this without question. But in time they would learn that this was no dream, and find themselves wishing that it was though.