Keep On: Cassandra's Tangled Journey

18) The Library (Act 1)

Cassandra wanted to spin around so that she could step away from the edge, to let out her frustration, but before she had the chance, a mysterious force pushed her over the edge, and onto a shelf of books below. A shelf of books that immediately started collapsing. A frantic Cassandra dashed up the shelf on top of some dull-coloured books, as they slid off the slanted bookshelf one by one. It was a close call, but Cass just  managed to make it to the top in time.

When she opened her eyes, she was horrified to find a grubby white caterpillar-like worm creature squelching along the shelf. Cassandra cried out in disgust.
"Eww! What is that?"
"It's a bookworm, genius."

Cassandra turned to find Selena, in the same outfit as before, dusting some cobwebs off the dictionaries that towered over her.

"Oh my goodness, Selena, is that really you?"
"Last time I checked."
Cass dashed over to Selena, who was in a completely different mood from the last time they had properly spoke.
"Hey, can you tell me what the hell this is all about?"
Selena shook her head. "That's confidential."
"Okay, how about the magician's outfit?"
"Confidential."
"What about the fourth guardian?"
"Confidential."
"Well, just- is there anything you can tell me? I really want to get out of here."
"You'll get out of here when you find all the gems."
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I know that, that's the whole reason I'm on this wild goose chase!"

Selena turned away from Cass and sighed. "Look, Cassandra, I know this probably wasn't on your bucket list, and you're probably super pissed at both of us, but the thing is, you simply being here means the world to Sabrina."
Cass raised an eyebrow. "Really? How?"
Selena moved her attention away from dusting the shelves and focused on Cassandra, looking her directly in the eyes. "You've probably figured out by now that Sabrina is no ordinary fourteen-year-old girl."
Cassandra chucked sarcastically. "Really? I had no idea. I know plenty of teenagers with bright red hair who perform witchcraft and trap people in death castles."

Selena did not laugh. Instead she carried on. "The truth is- and I know I just told you that this was confidential but I also think you deserve to know the truth- Sabrina has some serious abandonment issues. When she was four, her parents left her in their cottage in the woods. Do you have any idea how that feels?"
Cassandra's heart sank. She knew exactly how that felt. "Yes I do."

Selena, visibly surprised by Cass's answer, continued. "The thing is, witches age differently to humans. If you don't mind me asking, how long ago were you abandoned?"
Cass did the math in her head. "It was a few weeks after my fourth birthday, so around twenty and a half years ago."
Selena nodded. "See, you'd think that Sabrina was abandoned only ten years ago. But 1,000 human years is equivalent to one witch year."
Cassandra's jaw dropped. "Are you telling me that Sabrina had been out here all by herself for 10,000 years?"
"Mmm hmm."

Cassandra placed her hand over her mouth. Suddenly a lot of things started to make sense. She didn't blame Sabrina for going insane. Spending 10,000 years in solitude, in the middle of the woods, having never experienced proper love. That was probably why she had been so excited when Cassandra expressed interest in her shop.

"The illusions in the castle are all made up from memories of Sabrina's childhood," continued Selena, "some of the stuff was put there by her mother, Mizrabel, such as the guppies, ghosts and skellifish, but most of the stuff you've encountered are all Sabrina's doing. The oak tree comes from her carpentry process, her father owned a terrifying jack-in-the-box, toadstools and bluebells are everywhere in the forest, and-"
"Hold up, Selena, I'm just gonna pause you right there. Earlier, just before I entered the enchanted forest, Sabrina mentioned that she's in charge of everything here, except for the stuff that she's not. Can you elaborate on that please?"
Cassandra really wanted to make the most of Selena seemingly forgetting about the confidentiality rules in the Castle of Illusion.
"Mizrabel taught Sabrina at a very young age how to control all of the illusions in the castle. The most affection that old hag ever showed her daughter was allowing her to occasionally create something to put into this alternative universe. However, all of the illusions in this world will become autonomous eventually."
"Really?"
"Yeah. There's only so much you can manually control your own creation before it develops the ability to care for itself. It's almost like raising a child."
Cassandra nodded, seeming to understand the metaphor. "So, can you tell me what Sabrina is not in control of?"
"Definitely. She lost control of all six guardians a couple millennia ago. All of the stuff that she created with her mom, as well, so don't worry, she wasn't intentionally trying to hurt you with the skellifish. Those little bastards just have really sharp teeth."
"What about the toadstools?"
"Okay, she was in control of those but she specifically curated them so that they wouldn't hurt anyone too badly. Although that has never really worked out in her favour, most hikers get scared shitless anyway."
"Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean? I thought you said she doesn't get any visitors."
"She doesn't," Selena answered, "well, not usually. Maybe every couple of decades or so someone will stumble across this part of the woods and be enchanted by Sabrina's innocent charm, but only about two of them ever have made it past the first few obstacles in the Castle of Illusion."