Watching Andrew proved to be as complicated as it was boring. The boy followed the same routine — school, then, spending the whole day with Billy and his group, and after dark, returning home. He was always cheerful, friendly and full of life, and nothing in his behavior implied there was something wrong with him.

Many times, Andrew would visit Billy at home. The two spent hours together in Billy's room where Ferry had no access, anyway. At other times, they played billiards in the basement or tennis on the field behind the mansion.

The basement of the mansion had been divided into two compartments: one for Mr. Pride's large wine cellar; the other as a space for relaxation. Over time, besides the pool table, the relaxation room had been equipped with a record player and hundreds of vinyl records, arranged in alphabetical order on a shelf which covered an entire wall. Several times, Ferry's hearing, much more sensitive to the surrounding noise than one of the people, had picked up some music that seemed to come from far away. Following the music, Ferry had reached the basement where he discovered Mrs. Pride, with a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other, dancing alone, on a slow song, with her eyes closed. She was completely lost in her world, so she hadn't noticed his presence. She danced again and again on the same song, and a tear had run down her cheek, thin and long. Ferry had left the room that was filled with Mrs. Pride's sadness which was becoming too heavy to handle.

Several times, Ferry had met Andrew in the basement room. He was wearing Billy's sports equipment and behaved as if he were the owner of the place. Billy had given directions to the mansion's servants to fulfill any of his best friend's wishes. The two had become inseparable.On that cold November day, Billy and Andrew were out to play tennis. The sun had sent a few spears to the ground, and the boys had considered it warm enough for a tennis match. Mr. Pride was off on one of his business trips again, so Billy could do whatever he pleased, not caring about school or studying. His mother didn't care much about the life of her young son, anyway.Ferry had to trim the hedge near the tennis court, so he could hear the two clearly. Of course, they had noticed his presence, but they pretended he wasn't even there. The boys were laughing, hitting the tennis ball hard as they played. Billy's private tennis lessons had proven useful, but Andrew was just as good. His speed always amazed Ferry.

"I saw Fiona Willis watching you today," Andrew told Billy. "She's in Celia's group."

"I saw her, too," Billy said as if it wasn't a big deal. "It always happens to me. The girls are always hanging around me," he added, hitting the ball as if it was a piece of cake.

"I know one that isn't," Andrew replied.

"Really? Who?" Billy asked, this time hitting the ball harder.

"May Flower."

At the hearing of May's name, Ferry paid even more attention to their conversation.

Billy laughed, but his laughter seemed unnatural, "She's just playing hard to get."

"I don't know about that... I don't think she's very impressed."

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, she'll fall for my charm, just like the others. I'm irresistible, didn't you know that?"

Ferry felt his hands shaking. He cut a larger branch into the hedge, leaving a rather large hole in it. Ol' Joseph was to scold him for that, that was for sure.

"How about you?" said Billy. "I've seen some glances from a lot of girls at school. Don't you like any of them?"

It seemed to Ferry that Andrew hit the ball a little too hard after Billy's question.

"No ... I'm into a different kind," he said, forcing himself to smile.

There was a pause where Ferry could only hear the ball hitting the pallettes rather furiously. At one point, Billy threw his pallet away.

"That's it. I'm bored. Let's do something else."

"What would you like to do?" Andrew said. "Do you want to play billiard?"

"No, that's boring, too." Then, with a sparkle in his eye, he added, "We can do something more interesting."

"What?" Andrew asked.

"We can go to the third floor. I know where the key is held."

"Isn't it forbidden?"

"Yes. But that's just the fun of it," Billy grinned.

"What's on that floor, anyway? Have you ever been there?"

"I snuck there once when I was little. Nothing but a bunch of old stuff. But I've got the harshest punishment for it, so I guess they must be worth something. That's probably why no one is allowed there."

Andrew shrugged, "Let's go, then. It's too cold for tennis, anyway."

And the two boys left the tennis court, passing by Ferry as if he wasn't even there. When he saw them entering the mansion, he let the scissors down and slipped behind the mansion. In the kitchen, it was, as usual, a lot of fuss. Dinner was being prepared at that time. Ferry snuck to the service stairs and went up without being seen. He only stopped when he reached the third floor.Billy and Andrew seem to have arrived because the large, wooden door in the huge hall was open. Ferry tiptoed inside, more agile and quieter than a cat. He barely had time to hide behind a marble column, thick enough to be surrounded by five sinewy men.

He didn't have the time to accommodate the place, that Billy and Andrew went out in a hurry, with Andrew resting on Billy's shoulder, pale and sweaty. He heard the key in the massive oak door and the echo of their footsteps on the deserted corridors. He was locked inside.

He studied his surroundings. He was on a long corridor with doors on both sides. In the far end of the corridor, in the pale light of the afternoon entering through the tall windows, there was another door. He set off towards it, attracted by a force he couldn't resist. It seemed he couldn't reach it as if the door was moving further away. When he finally made it, he stopped, gasping. There were two massive wooden doors, actually, just as those at the entrance. But they were closed.

Ferry took a deep breath. Then, he pushed the doors hard, and they opened in front of him with a long moan. It sounded to him like a group's voices were wailing when the doors opened.The room was colossal. In fact, it looked like the throne's room. Or a museum. Ferry stepped inside and the floorboards creaked. The high ceiling was painted with strange beings flying above a fountain. The colors were faded, but the creatures seemed alive. If he was to look at it longer, Ferry had the impression that those figures were moving. He looked away because he felt that those beings were taking him to another world.

There were no other paintings in the room. Because the walls were all adorned with weapons -- crossbows, arrows, swords, chains, and traps. All made out of iron. Ferry felt a shiver running all over his body. He hurried to the other end of the room, passing through those things that brought death. He couldn't quite figure out what was at the other end. The closer he got, the more his wonder and fear grew.

The end wall was entirely covered by cabinets, some small, the size of a box, others long, the size of a human. Behind the old, milky windows, there were all sorts of objects and exhibits Ferry watched, a sense of uneasiness coming over him. Stones, plants, flowers, tree bark, jars and bottles with colored powders or potions, and liquids that glittered without even the outside light reaching them. Coils. Jewelry made of white metal, adorned with colored unpolished stones. Jars under which colored plants glittered. Ferry had only seen flowers like that in one place. Tenalach, the land of Fae.

He stood there, unflinching, unable to take his eyes off those strange objects. He knew what they were. Fairy things.

The big, old clock in the corner stroke five and Ferry woke up from the strange state of daze that had struck him. He had to get out of there. He searched the room again. He'd seen the windows in the corridor closed with iron bars. In this room, however, there was only one window somewhere near the high ceiling where probably a man would have reached only with a ladder. He flew to it and forced the old lock. He pushed the window with full force until it gave way. He slipped through the narrow opening and flew out. It was already dark, and he hoped no one had seen him. Ferry went down behind the mansion and ran to the tennis field. He recovered the garden scissors, and took them to the tool store, under the worrying eyes of Ol' Joseph who mumbled something about the breaks of the employees getting too long.

Then, he started for home. In front of him, he saw the thin figure of a boy wearing a red jacket. Andrew. He looked he wasn't feeling well because he was barely walking, leaning back and forth from time to time, resting against a tree appearing on his path; his whole body was shaking. Ferry kept on following him, even though he had passed by Lavender's house where his mother was probably waiting for him with a warm meal.

Andrew continued to walk, stumbling on his feet. They reached the town, but instead of heading home, Andrew set for the other end of town. Houses were left behind but Andrew didn't stop. There was only one house left, rising on the outskirts of town. It was Widow Jones's house. Andrew pushed the rusty gate and entered the front garden.

Ferry followed, hiding behind the old trees. But Andrew seemed to feel so bad, he didn't even notice him. The room on the ground floor was the only with a light on. Even if the candles were almost gone, Ferry could still see inside, hiding behind the window with wooden frames. At Andrew's sight, the widow rose from the small stool near the fireplace and rushed to him. 

Andrew leaned on her shoulder. Her arms carefully wrapped around his body and she sat him on the divan next to the window Ferry was watching, hidden in the night's darkness. Andrew closed his eyes, moaning. Mrs. Jones quickly ran out of the room and returned with a bowl of water where she soaked a piece of cloth. She then placed it on Andrew's forehead, and she sat next to him, her hand caressing his face.

"What happened?" she asked. "Why do you feel weak? It shouldn't have happened so quickly."

"I know," Andrew moaned, his eyes closed. "But I had to visit that room with Billy."

Her gaze turned harsh all of a sudden. So did her voice, "You spend too much time with that boy. He is of no use to us."

Andrew opened his eyes, but only halfway, "I know, but I have to. That way, no one will ever suspect anything."

"I'd be more careful in your place. I don't know why, but that house is giving me the creeps ... I never went near. It's a weird feeling ..."

"And you shouldn't," said Andrew, then closed his eyes again. "There's a whole museum of fairies on that floor."

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"Someone in that house has a passion for fairies, if I may say so."

Ms. Jones shrugged, "Isn't this what everyone in this town has?"

But Andrew shook his head, "It's different, this time. I think--"

But he didn't even finish his words because a strong cough shook him.

Lily Jones helped him stand, then, after the coughing passed, she arranged the pillows under his head, wrapped him in a thick, warm blanket, then leaned over him and kissed him. A long, hard kiss to which Andrew responded with the same passion, walking his hands all over her back. Ferry retreated a few steps from the window, in disbelief. He stepped closer to the window again as the two were still kissing.

"Rest, my love," said Mrs. Jones, after she retreated from the kiss.

Andrew closed his eyes, "I can't," he groaned. "I'm tired of waiting."

"We have no choice," she said, caressing his cheek. "Until we find it, we can't leave this place."

"I searched everywhere," he added. "I ransacked the whole house. And the garden. It's nowhere."

"Maybe he carries it with him ..."

"I don't think so. I would have found it by now," he said, becoming flustered again.

She gently put her finger on his lips, "Shh, don't think about it..."

She then put off all the candles in the room, one by one. From the rustle of the clothes and the creak of the sofa, Ferry realized Mrs. Jones had slipped in between the sheets next to Andrew. Then, all he could hear was the reverberation of their passionate love.

Well, now you know what's behind the doors of the last room on the third floor. What do you think it's the purpose of that room? As always, thank you for reading! You are the best readers I could ever ask for :)