Page 50 of Barbie: Dreamscape

I close my mouth. Open it again. Close it.

She shrugs a shoulder at my confusion. “You appeared in a stream of light, dear. I knew you weren’t from around here. And I knew you’d be ravenous! Interland travel is tough work.”

“Have you… done it before?” I ask.

“Oh, no.” She shakes her head. “I used to dream of it, but… well, times are different now.” Evalyn sounds just like the Archivist did when I asked her about travel. Wishful. I remember what Posey said, about the roads that once existed but were since destroyed. But before I can ask any more about it, she brightens. “You’ve clearly come here for a reason. How can I help?”

Right. I motion toward my necklaces, which now hold another charm—the winged bell. “I’m looking for a key so I can get to the next world, a place called Dreamland. It won’t look like a key… but it might be special in another way. It will glow pink when I’m near it.”

Evalyn smooths a hand down her cobweb skirts. And as they shift, I see that between the dark pleats of fabric are various bright colors; her outfit is just like her store. She presses her lips together, deep in thought. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that.”

My heart deflates.

“But anything particularly special or rare is kept in Ever Manor.”

“Ever Manor?”

She motions toward the dust-speckled window. There are more than a few cobwebs in the corner, as if some of these artists the woman spoke of are in residence.

I peer through, and off in the near distance, atop a towering hill, sits a sprawling structure made of bark and ivy. A high wall of trees sits around it.

I wonder if my necklaces can help me fly, as I did in Anyland, so I can soar over the treetops to the manor. I start clutching my charms, thinking of lifting weightless off the ground…

But, as though she can read my mind, the woman shakes her head. “They’re impenetrable, those trees. Planted so close together, even a string of silk couldn’t get between them! And a barrier of magic all around, where the trees don’t cover. There’s a gate, but it’s always closed. Except…” Her smile brightens her entire face. “Except for tomorrow. You’re in luck! There’s a masquerade taking place. Anyone who dresses up is invited.”

I lift a brow at her. “That seems awfully convenient.”

“Not really,” she says, waving my words away. “Lord Evernight loves masquerades. They happen every other day.”

“Oh.”

She looks me over pointedly. “You’ll never get past the guards wearing that, though.”

Easy. This I know my necklaces can do. “Not a problem,” I say. I reach up to touch the charms, and—

Nothing happens.

My brows come together. “Something is supposed to happen. Just wait.”

I press the charms together again. Really focus this time.

Still, nothing.

Evalyn doesn’t look too surprised. “Magic from other places doesn’t work here,” she explains. “Too many powerful creatures around… they control most of the magic.”

Her voice is casual, but the stutter in my chest certainly is not.

No… magic?

That’s fine. It’s just a dress. I’m in the middle of a fairy-tale village. There must be a way to get one before the masquerade.

“Could your artists make me one? Or lend me one?” I look around, searching for those silvery cobwebs. “Do they make them in a back room, or…?”

“Oh, no,” Evalyn says, shaking her head, snorting as though I’ve just told a joke. “Their workshop is deep in the forest.” She grimaces. “And their payment is a bit… unsettling.”

Well, the way she says it unsettles me.

But this is my final stop before Dreamland.