I wake up with a start in a strange place with birds singing loudly overhead. Nothing is familiar. I'm in a huge bed and the noise from the birds is deafening. When Albína comes out of her room, the past few weeks flood back to my foggy brain.

She smiles warmly at me and places a full breakfast tray on the bed, completely oblivious to the screaming birds. Then she bids me a good morning and calmly proclaims, "Vido cluana."

The birds shut up. I need to remember that phrase.

"Did you sleep well?" she asks.

"Yes. Thank you. What time is it?"

"It's time to wake up. You've a busy day ahead of you."

I remember that Jonah promised to sleep under my bed, but he couldn't have slept through that racket. I bend over and peek, but he isn't there.

"He left a bit ago. Scared the life out of me when he came out from under your bed like that."

"Yeah, he does that," I say with a shrug and a mouthful of food.

When I'm done with my breakfast, Albína holds up another riding habit. This one has chocolate brown breeches and a royal blue hunting jacket. I appreciate her efforts to find me clothes that are close to what I like, but they're still far too bright for my taste and I look ridiculous in the sherbet-colored frilly shirt. However, I'm not complaining because the alternative is far worse.

She ushers in three women who measure me for new clothes. I make a point of showing them my jeans and sweater so they'll know my tastes. The women are appalled at my clothing choices, especially my love of dark colors.

When we're done, Albína escorts me to the rooftop where Lenox smells me thoroughly. I'm happy he misses me, too. "You seem to be doing okay," I say, scratching his itchy ears.

Albína is anxious to leave, and not just because she's afraid of Lenox; my training starts today and we're late. At least, that's what I surmise from the tension in her face and her constant reminders that we should be leaving soon. I promise Lenox I'll be back, but he's purring so loudly it adds to my guilt when he watches me leave.

She walks me a good distance to another tower in the castle. I'll never learn my way around the twisting, turning structure. If I ever lost Albína, I wouldn't even be able to find my way outside, let alone back to my room.

When we climb about halfway to the top of a massive stone spiral staircase, she stops and knocks on a door that's on the wall in much the same way a large picture might hang. It's mid-step, and has no threshold and a rather sizeable step up.

"Who is it?" says a gruff male voice through the door.

"Pardon me, sir, it's Albína. I've brought you Agatha Stone."

"Come in," barks the voice, sounding upset at the disruption.

Albína opens the door, and I help push her up into the doorway, then she helps pull me through. Once inside, I gape at the bookcases reaching to the top of a very high ceiling and covering the curved walls of the overstuffed room. The cases are brimming with so many old dusty books that it gives the impression that they'll either collapse under the weight or explode into a barrage of paper.

It's difficult to find the source of the voice because the man it belongs to is hidden among the tables scattered throughout the room that are piled high with books, pots, bottles and various bric-a-brac, as well as a thick layer of dust. On the wall across from me, a fire is burning in the fireplace with a black cauldron hanging over the flames. Sunlight is pouring through the only window, and I'm distracted by the airborne dust sparkling in the sunlight.

The room has an unusual odor that I can't decide if I like. It smells of old flowers, burnt meat and something sweet, not to mention the smell of books, which I love, and dust, which I don't.

I peruse the room for much longer than is socially acceptable, but eventually find a tall human male standing behind a table at the other end of the room. He's wearing brown trousers, an old shirt that used to be white, and over all of it he has a lab coat with a multitude of stains and holes. He's clean-shaven, but on top of his head is thick white hair that points in every direction.

Evidently, I have to learn some chemistry and I have one of those teachers who's more interested in what he's doing rather than imparting any wisdom. His head is down because he's busy reading a book while holding a bottle in his hand. Albína and I wait patiently while he reads and then pours a splash of thick gray liquid from the bottle into the bowl on the table. He mutters something to himself, then picks up the bowl and tosses it into the trashcan on the floor.

He glances up at us and says rather brusquely to Albína, "You may go."

She wastes no time bolting for the door. I want to leave, too.

The old man walks over and studies me from my head to my toes and then back up. He doesn't like what he sees, but I refuse to squirm under his disapproval.

"How old are you?" he demands.

"Thirteen." I try to make my voice sound more forceful but fail, and now I'm mad at myself.

"Where you from?"

"Queens."

"Huh." He looks me in the eye for an uncomfortable moment. "An American. Figures." He walks back to his table. While his back is to me, he keeps talking. "Hail from Toronto myself. Like it better here." He finishes with a point to the window then turns around, surprised I didn't follow him. "Come here. We need to start."

I stand my ground. "Who are you?" I say with some force that makes me proud.

The man is genuinely stunned by my question. "They didn't tell you?"

I shake my head.

The old man snorts. "Elves, arrogant little pissers. Think that everyone knows their heritage." He walks back from around the table. "Well, I guess we need chairs." He's looking up so I question if he's truly hunting for a place to sit.

"Ah, there you are. Talush ba dio," he says and moves his arm as if he's picking up a chair. I glance at his hand and then follow his gaze: two chairs are gently floating down from the ceiling.

"That's so weird," I whisper in awe, more to myself than to the strange man. Moving painted birds and fish swimming across walls are magical, but right now I'm watching real magic being performed. I'm trying to act natural, as if chairs fly around all the time back on Earth, but my wide eyes are giving me away.

The chairs land softly on the floor, and the man motions for me to sit. I hesitate. What if they go back up?

"Go ahead. They're not going anywhere," he says as if reading my thoughts.

I gently take a seat, and the eccentric man sits across from me. We stare at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time. I'm not sure if he's still studying me or if he's thinking of what to say. Finally, he sits up straight, puts his hands on his knees and announces, "I'm Doctuir Kyrbast. Everyone here calls me Kyrbast. You may call me Kyrbast also."

He stops talking. Am I supposed to call him Kyrbast right now? I wait to see if he'll add more, but when he doesn't say anything else, I ask shyly, "Why am I here?"

He smiles as if I've said something funny. "That's the answer everyone wants to know."

I'm not sure that's an answer. It sounds like he just threw some words together to make it sound like he answered, when really he didn't say anything that made any sense. This man is obviously a little off. I can't imagine what the Queen thinks I'll learn from him.

We're staring at each other again. I cross my arms across my chest and stretch my feet out. We may be here awhile.

Kyrbast cocks his head to the side and rubs his chin. "I'm what you would call a Wizard."

This news makes me sit up. I'm talking to a real live wizard. Mr. Duradin was a wizard, but I didn't know that until after I left. I'm disappointed he doesn't have the big hat and gray robes, though.

"You're here for training. I'm here to teach you some basic wizardry."

"Am I a wizard, too?" This training just got a lot better.

He smiles and shakes his head. "No, you're a Knight. Knights learn a little bit of everything."

I huff. I don't want to be a stupid Knight. Knights fight and die and stuff. Wizards do fun things like making stuff fly around, like he did with the chairs. I'd much rather be a Wizard. Maybe someone else can be the Knight and I can stay here and do magic.