The Adventures of Missus Myrna

Chapter 4

Thankfully, our tea didn't grow cold. Mrs. Tulach filled both our cups nearly to the brim, leaving just enough room for cream and sugar. The rhythmic clinking of spoons against our teacups disrupted the silence for only a moment before it returned. I took a sip of the tea and sat it back upon the tray. The tea was nothing more than a traditional herbal blend, warm and calming. There was light fare displayed as well, though most of it had wasted on the tray when Vern slammed it down. It was a large tray, about the size of a tennis court, though maybe a little wider. The two of us occupied only a corner of it.

"You ought to eat something," Mrs. Tulach suggested, taking up a ruined pastry from the tray. "The condition of the pastries may not suggest it, but they're still good. I know you must be hungry."

For as much as I wanted to eat, I couldn't seem to overcome everything that's happened so far. For her, what I experienced seemed like the casual goings on of a normal Tuesday night. I was nearly mauled by a monstrous boar, I had been handled by a giant, and now sat in a windowless room with a my favorite author. Certainly not an average turn of events for a college student. I hesitantly took a crumbling scone and began to nibble on it. We were alone in the room and Vern was nowhere to be found. The massive chair where he sat was empty, so I imagine that he left sometime between his putting me down and Mrs. Tulach revealing herself.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation, now," the author began. "It's not fair of me to keep you completely in the dark. I'm sure you have many questions."

With a snap of her fingers, the room began to change. The white, pristine walls melted away, leaving polished wood in their wake. Light poured in through a set of windows to our left; tall unkempt grasses blocked our view of the outside. The room, while still gigantic, had changed drastically. The ceiling high above us was now sage green with a chandelier made of antlers hanging down from it. The wooden walls were littered with maps, artifacts, and shelves with jars lined on them. The ceramic surface where we sat upon the tray was now a wooden side table beside a humongous bed, occupied by a familiar snoring troll.

"There, that's better." The author smiled as she took a look around the room, examining her handiwork. "Now, then. Our location is on the bank of a lake somewhere near Crefore, but we're currently stationed in a cozy little cottage just outside of a village called Taure Ru. It's about 50 miles away, due north. We'll return there in the morning to fetch some supplies. This cottage is used strictly for emergencies."

I craned my neck round the room, trying to take in as much as I possibly could. "I don't believe any of this," I laughed, arms folding across my chest. "This can't be real. There's no such thing as magic or-or giants or rooms that change scenery!"

"You aren't dreaming, Quinn," Mrs Tulach rang in an attempt to reassure me. "I know that this is all very new to you, but you'll have to trust me. Now, come along. I have your belongings stored in my room."

I shook my head, "No."

"No? Why ever not? Don't you--"

"Because I don't want to be here anymore! I don't want anything to do with you or-or... this!" My arms flailed about, motioning to everything around me. "I know that all of this is just some really fucked up dream and I'm going to wake up any moment now, safe and home in my bed."

"But, you told me you wanted to be here," Mrs. Tulach replied, a touch of hurt in her voice.

I scoffed, "I never suspected that you'd take me literally! Your book is fiction! It isn't real! None of it is real! I said what I said because I liked your stories! I never asked you to take me away from my home! I never asked you to put me in harm's way! I never asked for any of this!"