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It was almost as if nothing had happened here a few hours ago. Gone were the dust and scattered rubble. Every stone was back in place. Even the maze garden that i had crashed into when Ashterah appeared was now back to normal. The guards were back to their position at the gates - where were they throughout the battle again?

The evening sky was a lovely dusky purple with a few stars winking behind the inky curtain. The moon was a faint crescent in the sky.

With Kayla's hand in mine, we walked to the back of the hotel. There was a trail there that led to the private woods. The path was lit by dimly lit lamps, all of them about 3 metres high, placed on either side of the path.

I had tried to collect twice and failed twice to collect the picnic basket from Kayla. She protected it jealously and every attempt to collect it was met with a quietly spoken, "It's not heavy you know?"

And she wouldn't stop smiling.

We walked down the path to the woods. The trees blocked out what little light th