CHAPTER#156

Yuki stood by the back door, her eyes on Naia's fountain. The nymph was currently absent, resting in her spring.

Unstoning the others had taken some time. After reviving Beth, the minotaur had been next, and it had taken almost everyone to calm the beast down. Scowling, he had stormed back into the Labyrinth, disappearing behind its thick, metal doors. Beth had been unable to follow, still weak from her transformation. Sofia had simply collapsed, holding her sides tightly.

Naia, after a quick kiss with Mike, turned into water and vanished.

Ashamed, Yuki had spent the next day or so helping Zel make preparations to begin restoring the centaurs. Beth described the ordeal as instantaneous, meaning that the men and women of the herd were frozen in time, and would likely come out swinging. Tink was helping build something similar to what she called a cattle-chute, which would stabilize the centaurs and prevent injuries upon awakening.

Yuki had dedicated a solid chunk of her time to finding the key to the wardrobe. It had been difficult, but she eventually found it buried beneath a portion of the front porch that hadn't collapsed. She had given it back to Mike, who had smiled and simply handed it back.

"You hold onto it," he told her. "We don't really need it anymore, do we?"

The next day, Tink had given her a chain to put it on. Yuki now wore it around her neck, as a memento. She found herself touching it often, thinking about what it must have taken for Emily to find the strength to turn the key, locking Yuki away for good.

However painful those memories were, there was still one more thing to do, and she couldn't quite bring herself to do it yet. Standing at the back door, she took a deep breath and took a step forward. It was a path she had taken many times before, to a place she had spent countless hours. Now, though, she felt like a stranger, and couldn't help but to think back to a better time.

"Hey, Naia?" It was a bright summer day, nearly thirty years ago. Yuki could smell the blossoming flowers in the garden, and was lying on her back on the fountain's edge, watching birds and insects swirl overhead.

"Yes?" Naia was behind her, floating on the water. Ever since Yuki had arrived, the fountain had quickly become her favorite place. The inside of the house was okay, but it was often noisy and she didn't like how confined she felt within the walls of the house.

"I was wondering. Emily asked me if I would be willing to travel with her and find others. Like me."

"And? What's your question?"

"What if I say no?" The world outside of the house was suddenly so scary now that she had somewhere she finally felt safe. Over the last few weeks, her mind had been able to process all of her close calls, the times she had almost been caught. The thought of stepping back out into a world like that was scary, and more than a little intimidating.

"Then say no. She isn't going to make you leave because of it."

"Are you sure?" Yuki rolled over. "I mean, really sure? Because I don't really want to go, but, at the same time, I've noticed that everyone else here contributes." She caught a glimpse of fairy lights as they chased each other through the garden, Cerulea and Olivia giggling before disappearing through an open window of the house. Seconds later, the sound of breaking glass was followed by a stream of goblin curses, which made her laugh. "Well, almost everyone."

"Believe it or not, everyone who lives here has a job that they do. It might not always be obvious, but it's how the house functions." Naia sat up and ran her fingers through the fur between Yuki's ears. "But just because Emily asked doesn't mean that it has to be the job you end up with."

"What's your job? Like, I get that you're the spirit of the fountain, but what is the big thing that you do?"

"Oh, I'm kind of like a guide. When a new Caretaker comes along, I can tell if they'll be a good fit, and then use my magic to bind them here."

"Have you ever screwed up?" Yuki looked into Naia's eyes. "Like, what if someone messes up their job?"

"So far? No." Naia smiled down at her. "It's not a decision I make. It's the house who chooses. Sometimes the Caretaker can hunt around for their successor in advance, but it's ultimately the house's choice."

"Well, then, what's the house's job?"

"That's a very good question." Amymone had chimed in, her back against the fountain wall. The dryad was leaning against the opposite wall of the fountain, which was right at the edge of her tree's roots. Her head was still buried in the book that she was reading, her long, green and brown hair cascading over her shoulders. "I think the house is up to something, personally, but my sister would tell you that it's to protect the others who live here."

Naia threw the dryad a dirty look. "Ignore her. She's just being snotty."

"Why do you think it's up to something?"

Amymone chuckled. "Just a feeling I get. I wish I could go inside and see for myself what the fuss is about. Do you know that it's impossible to count all the rooms? Try it sometime. Just go through and count them. You'll always find that you forgot about one, or somehow counted one twice."

"That's not true," Yuki said. "I can easily count them all."

"Can you?"

"Stop it, Amy, you're scaring her."

"I'm not scared." At least, she didn't think she was.

Amymone let out a sigh and set her book down on the edge of the fountain. She turned around and looked at Yuki. "I finished another one. Do you suppose you could grab me another? A random one from the garage will do."