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Kyra opened her eyes and found herself in a world she’d only ever dreamed of.  She let out a sigh, her last breath from the world she’d left behind her.  She could actually see it: a pale yellow haze which soon dissipated, gone forever.
           
“Yes!” she cried, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.
           
The sky was much like Earth’s and then again not.  It wasn’t just blue, but a miasma of hues, tints and shades of blue, as well as purples, greens, and grays.  Birds, chirping cheerfully, all different colors; sparrows - mixtures of blues, reds and yellows - flittered by.  Kyra let out another cry of rapture.  A sparrow flew near her and said “Hello” in a soft, cute bird voice, just like in her dreams.
           
“Can all the animals talk,” Kyra asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer, but still wanting to have it confirmed from an actual native of Aisis Lip.
           
“Why o’course,” Marie replied, “all the animals are a’talking all the time.  There’re no boundaries a’here in Aisis Lip, remember that, a’child.  Funnily enough, those a’noisy animals can get on you’re a’nerves sometimes, asking questions all the a’time, always coming up to you, just a’wanting to talk.”
           
“Well, I love it and I think I’ll never be able to get enough of it!” Kyra said, waving to the sparrow as it squeaked “G’bye” at her and flew away, joining the rest of its flock.
           
“This is paradise, isn’t it Marie?”
           
“Why yes, I a’guess you could call it that.  I didn’t see much of you’re a’world, but what I did see did a’not impress me much.  All those things a’moving along the roads and great big a’things moving in the sky, it be like a’monsters took over you’re a’world. It’s a wonder to me if you’re a’people are still in charge or not.”
           
They swooped down through a gully of purple and orange; Kyra wasn’t sure if it was the color of the flowers or the ground creating this sea of color, but she loved it all.
           
“Will I ever return to . . . Earth?” she whispered in Marie’s ear – a small hole on the left side of the gull’s head.
           
“That will be for you to a’decide, my dear, one day, when you get the a’choice, in the future.  When all our a’troubles will hopefully be over and we can go a’back to the peace and a’splendor we’ve known for so a’long.  But for now we have this a’problem with Jolus the a’Malignant.  He’s causing a lot more a’trouble and this time he won’t stop ‘til he has a’taken over the entire a’Lip and made everyone his a’slave.  He already has the a’poor little Ewlaps under his a’control.”
           
“Oh no,” Kyra said.  There was this hard feeling in her chest, a feeling that she could somehow right all this wrong and make everyone happy again.  She didn’t feel fear – at least not now - only daunted at this huge task laid before her.  Of course, Jolus the Malignant wasn’t standing in front of her; had he been she might have felt different, considering the dream she’d had.
           
“Yea.  He seized a’control of them a very a’long time ago and they’ve a’been under his power ever a’since, serving his every a’command.”
           
“So why has he suddenly decided to take Aisis Lip?” said Kyra. 
           
“Because he’s now a’ready.  The entire Lip a’kinda had a feeling he was a’biding his time, collecting slaves and a’making armies from the a’most horrid ingredients he can a’find.  That’s why it has a’taken so long.  But now he’s a’ready and he means to a’take over everything and everyone.”
           
“Wait, centuries?  How old is he?”
           
“Why dear,” Marie said in an amused voice, “he’s over a thousand a’years of age and certainly doesn’t a’seem to be getting any a’weaker.  But then we all a’live to a ripe old age here.”
           
“Really?” Kyra cried happily.
           
“Aye.  O’course, if Jolus the a’Malignant gets his way, things in Aisis Lip will a’soon change.  No more a’balance, and everything will a’start dying younger and a’quicker, including us.  And then I don’t a’know what will happen.”
           
Marie turned her head round and looked at Kyra.
           
“But you’re going to a’change that, my dear, because you’re the one.  But don’t a’worry your little head about it a’now.  Just enjoy the a’scenery in your new a’world and wait until we get to a’Enchantus, before you a start a’thinking about anything.”
           
“Okay, but now that I know where I fit into all this, I still don’t know how I’m going to do what I’m supposed to do?” Kyra said, trying to break the image of this inevitable doomed future.
           
“Well, you’re the a’Chosen One, the gifted one.  It says so in the a’great Scriptures of Enchantus.  And now it is that a’time and we all a’need your help.  Only you a’can do it, so the a’Scriptures say, for this time we are all a’powerless to stop him . . . except you, o’course.”
           
Kyra said nothing, trying to digest all of this.
           
“We have very a’little fighting here, no a’weapons, so we have no a’defense.  But you, you have the a’power; you have the a’gift within you.  Why, I can a’see you’ve already changed my a’dear.”
           
Kyra wondered what Marie was talking about, looked down at herself and saw her clothes were different and her actual body had changed.  She was now a full foot shorter and weighed more (which she wasn’t happy about); her hair was longer, hanging down below the small of her back.  She felt a slight constriction around her forehead and realized she was wearing some kind of strap around her head, holding her hair in place.  On her upper body was a light brown short-sleeved shift.  Kyra saw that her skin color had changed also, to a dark browny-red.  Her feet were harnessed in little boots with a firm supporting sole, straps wrapped around her ankles and shins.  Around her waist was strapped a belt of some kind of leather: on her right side was a pouch, though she decided she didn’t want to know what was in it just yet – it might be something to do with why she was here and she wanted to keep that out of her mind as much as possible; on her left side was a small dagger in its sheath.  She wondered what she looked like and tried to think if there were mirrors here.  Since this was such a beautiful place with such beautiful people, they probably had mirrors everywhere.
           
It was at that point that Marie swooped around a hill and there before her was the most beautiful structure she’d ever seen.
           
“There it is,” Marie said, “Enchantus Palace,” clearly still in awe of its magnificent sight after all these years.
           
Kyra looked at the palace and almost lost her balance with the splendor of what lay before her.
           
Two tall, thin crystalline towers rose into the sky, reaching up, until they were far out of sight; between these towers was a huge hovering cloud, floating within it in curlicue letters was the word ENCHANTUS.  The palace façade appeared to be made completely of mirrors, each one reflecting what lay before it: the multi-colored hills of beautiful flowers, the vibrant sky – a collage of paints and textures.  It gave the palace an effect of being in constant motion, as if it were alive, with the movement of the trees and grass. 
           
“Now we have a’reached the end of our a’trip,” said Marie, as she delicately touched down on the palatial floor of glass.  There was of course a moat, circling round the palace, and through the transparent glass bridge they stood on Kyra could see the water below, full of fish and other water life, animals she’d never seen before.
           
She slid off Marie, figuring the bird was happy to lighten her load.  As she stood on the glass, while Marie preened her feathers, Kyra could see her reflection in the floor and discovered her thoughts had been correct: her face had changed, just like her clothes and skin color.  Her nose was smaller, her eyes rounder and larger, while her lips were fuller (this was a good thing).  She smiled and saw the reflection of Marie and noticed that she’d changed also.  Marie was now a giant pigeon, except her feathers were not a mixture of blues and grays, but a kaleidoscope, like the sparrows she’d seen.
           
“Now come,” Marie said, leading the way to the giant doors that were part of the building below the cloud.
           
The doors reached at least twenty feet high and were rounded at the top, forming two individual halves, like the doors of a great cathedral.  Standing outside the two giant doors were two people who looked to be human, with the same skin color as Kyra and jet-black hair; one was a man, the other a woman.  They were wearing some sort of leather clothing, but they didn’t possess any weapons: no swords hung from scabbards by their sides, or tall spears stretching above their heads.  They just stood there, with their hands held behind their backs, looking utterly defenseless.  Then Kyra considered what Marie had told her: the people of Aisis Lip were a peaceful people who went about their daily lives without quarrel, or at least with little fighting.  There was no reason for these people to have weapons.  Actually, there was no reason for these people at all.  They were here not to defend but to welcome and guide and help.  They were not guards but ambassadors to people visiting Enchantus Palace. 

Kyra was used to living in a world governed by strict laws, where hate and violence was normal and expected.  This facet of Enchantus was one she could definitely get to like.  Of course, this could all change with what was happening now.  Kyra forced her mind to clear itself, instead studying the beautiful doors of opaque glass.
           
Marie nodded at each of the people.  The man turned and, facing the door, raised his right hand and made three complete circles: a white mist formed before his hand and passed into the door.  Once the third circle was complete, he stepped back and the door opened six inches.  He took hold of the door and opened it further to let the giant bird and the young girl inside.
           
They entered into a mammoth hall that seemed the same size as the space shuttle hanger at Cape Kennedy Kyra had seen a few years ago with her family.  Strangely enough, thinking of her family for the first time since leaving her old world, Kyra didn’t feel remorse or sadness.  It was like that was all a thing of the past and this was all new, different, somehow more important.
           
There were hundreds of rows of mirrors along each wall of the hall, as well as on the ceiling.  Bordering each mirror were lines of jewels: diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, many more she couldn’t name.
           
As they reached the end of the hall, Kyra saw a magnificent arch made of gold before them divided into segments from one end to the other.  Within each of these segments were engravings of amazing detail, portraying the life and history of Enchantus, like a great tapestry, from genesis right up to present day.  What was even more astonishing was that the entire arch was in constant motion, like a big wheel, where the segments were circling slowly round. 
           
Kyra walked up to the edge to focus on one of the segments and the rotation stopped, then the segment she was looking at grew four times in size so she could clearly see it.  This particular segment happened to be the first one, depicting the building of Enchantus.  She could see only one of the crystalline towers which was barely half finished, while the other tower had yet to be built, and neither was the cloud; the building below the cloud was slowly taking shape and there were hundreds of people everywhere, even some flying in the sky somehow, working on the outside of the tower.
           
Kyra stepped back and the segment shrunk back to its former size and the arch began turning again.
           
“Have a look at this a’one,” Marie said beside her, pointing with her wing to one coming up.
           
The arch stopped and the segment grew.  It was a carving of Marie and herself in the great hall staring in awe of the golden arch.  Their presence, now history, was etched forever in gold. 

Kyra had now witnessed her third piece of magic.
           
“Come now,” Marie said.
           
They hurried along to a giant silver door.  It glistened in the light like it was wet; in its shiny surface she could see their reflections.  It opened automatically as they approached.  The two stepped inside and the door closed behind them, as if by magic, Kyra thought to herself, and then realized that it was not “as if” but was actually magic.
           
“Queen Anita,” Marie said.
           
Kyra wondered what the bird was talking about when the floor started moving up.  She saw they were in a large glass cubicle ascending rapidly; they were in a glass elevator.  A great glass elevator, she thought smiling to herself
           
At first all Kyra could see around her was glass then the elevator lifted out of the main building of the palace.  She saw grass on many different hills, in many different colors: green, blue, red, and so much more, just as it had been reflected in the windows of Enchantus.  She saw people below in a courtyard within the palace, watching her; she’d met some of them in her dreams, knowing them one way or another – a brief glimpse, an actual conversation, or interacting with them.  As they moved higher, Kyra saw that they were ascending one of the two towers and would continue to go higher until they reached the floor where Queen Anita resided, however high that was.
           
Kyra could now see over the nearest hill - she hadn’t been able to when they landed because the palace obscured it - on the other side was a big silver lake, and in it she saw a giant sea creature launch itself out of the water, curve high up in the sky and plunge back down into the shimmering depths.  It was purple, all fins and scales; she couldn’t tell much more because it all happened so quickly.
           
“That’s Lake Okobogee,” Marie said, “it looks like it’s a’made of pure silver, but it’s the content of the a’water that gives it that a’special effect.”
           
They gained height, everything below got smaller, then they passed through a bed of clouds and Kyra gazed at an exact replica of what she’d seen on the ground: a magnificent palace except it all appeared to be made of clouds, while the turrets were the continuation of the towers.
           
“This is called Enchantus Alta, where we were a’before is Enchantus Baja,” Marie said.
           
“Spanish?” Kyra asked.
           
“No, just plain Aiso, my a’dear,” Marie said proudly.
           
The elevator stopped and the big silver door opened.