The last room on the third floor came to haunt Ferry. He dreamed about it every night. In his dreams, he was walking a long corridor at the end of which there was a door. Spears of light were coming from behind it. But the door was moving further and further away before he could reach it. And no matter how hard Ferry tried to come closer, the room was moving even further, ever smaller...

Each time, Ferry would wake up, his heart drumming in his ears and his forehead full of sweat. In Lavender's cottage, Ferry slept on the terrace on the last floor. An unusual choice for a youngster. But Ferry loved to fall asleep under the endless sky, even when the stars were covered by clouds. He loved to feel the wind blowing around. But most of all, he loved to feel the touch of the moonlight on his face, like a second mother watching over his sleep. Yet the nights were getting chillier, and the moon was turning into a stranger. So Parsley had used his magical powers and made a dome of mist above the terrace, through which Ferry could still feel he could reach the sky with his hand if he wanted.

The last room on the third floor began to chase away the beautiful dreams from beneath the fragile dome. Under his pillow, Ferry kept the drawing of the maze's map. He had memorised it, just as Ol' Joseph had asked. Then, he drew it on a piece of paper that he would always keep on him. From time to time, he would take it out and study it as if behind the broken lines, long-forgotten memories were waiting to be discovered; memories that should have remained just that. Forgotten.

Yet Ferry could not forget. His curiosity was unusual, even for a fairy. Now that the secret of the room was taking him over, the other things around seemed somehow less important, or at least, affecting him less. Concerned in solving the mystery, Ferry didn't mind that Matilda has moved from their desk saying she couldn't see well at the table. He didn't notice that Andrew, who eventually came back to school, had befriended Billy and his group. He didn't listen to the gossip in town that Peter Donovan was spending increasingly long times at the tavern, even taking Mrs. Jones, the waitress, to her home at the end of her working hours. Or that his mother's pillow was always wet before she fell asleep, although she looked cheery an hour before.

Instead, Ferry was happy that the secret of the room kept his worries away. Andrew, Peter, Thyme, Akna, May, Matilda... The worries seemed all to fade compared to the calling of the Pride Mansion's mystery. A calling that was becoming ever-alluring.

That day, after school ended, Ferry hurried, like usual, to get to the Pride Mansion. Ol' Joseph would scold him if he was late even for a few seconds; any second of coming late was a reason for babbling and extra chores in the garden. He wanted to talk to his friends about the maze and the room. But Ben was completely taken hold of Steph who invited him to tea that afternoon, an invitation which didn't seem to please Ben; but he eventually obeyed to the request of his determined girlfriend. And Matilda left before he could even talk to her. They hadn't been talking for two weeks and Ferry missed that. He missed his cascading laughter, her half-gaze when there was something she didn't like, and even the bluster tone in her voice whenever they were arguing about something.

Now, Ferry chased those thoughts away as he was gathering, as usual, the leaves that had fallen on the lawn the night before. His eyes were glued to the mystery room on the third floor. On the terrasse of the house, he saw someone waving at him. It was a girl. Ferry put down the rake after he made sure Ol' Joseph wasn't around. He headed towards the terrasse where he met Bella, Ben's sister.

She smiled at him and offered him a glass of lemonade. It was a hot day for October and Ferry drank the lemonade in a sip.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" he asked after he gave her back the empty glass.

"Well, the Fires of the Hills are coming and Mamma said it wouldn't hurt some money. So here I am. I'm helping at cleaning the house, or in the kitchen, or wherever they need me. I must thank your mother for that. She asked Mrs. Pride to take me as a help."

"I see. So you have to clean all over the house?" Ferry asked her as if he was only making small talk.

"Not really," she said. "There are many people helping with the cleaning. It's a big house, you know. I'm helping your mother to clean the guests' rooms for the Celebration. I'm not allowed to work unsupervised," she said, shrugging.

Ferry though it was the perfect time to ask more, "Do you have to clean even the rooms on the third floor?"

Bella shook her head, "Oh, no. I'm not allowed to go there. No one is allowed. The whole floor is locked. They open it only when the Guest arrives."

"Guest? What guest?"

Bella looked around as if afraid of not being heard. "Every once in a while, a guest arrives at the Mansion," she said in a low voice. "Sometimes, unannounced. He's staying on the third floor each time he comes. No one knows how he looks; the old staff talks about him, but I'm not very sure he's a man. No one knows for certain, anyway. I know that from Sophie, the kitchen help; she knows from Agatha, the old cook who's been working in the Mansion's kitchen for the past thirty years. They say he's a very important business partner of Mr. Pride. Mr. Albert Pride himself brings him the food to his room every time he comes here."

Ferry was intrigued, "All right, but the rooms on the third floor need to be cleaned up. I don't suppose Mr. Pride cleans them..."

Bella laughed, "Of course not, how silly of you to think that. People from the Big City are brought to clean that floor."

"Yeah, but why?" asked Ferry. "Don't you find that odd?"

Bella looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped. She looked around again. It was only the two of them.

"Bella, you can tell me," Ferry gently said.

The girl took a deep breath, then said, "That's not the oddest of all... The people brought from the Big City to clean up... They're... blind."

*

"Remind me why we're here again," said Matilda.

All three of them were in Ben's room, Ferry standing in the middle of it, talking and gesticulating about the oddities of the last room on the third floor of the Pride Mansion. His friends were sitting on the edge of Ben's bed, listening. Ben's eyes were glittering with excitement. Matilda, instead, seemed rather bored. Her leg was twitching, and that was not a good sign.

"First of all, we couldn't go to Lavender's," said Ferry.

"Why not?" asked Matilda, her tone slightly barky.

"Let's just say Thyme and I are not in the best terms."

"Hm, I wonder why?" she muttered.

Ferry pretended he didn't hear her, "Second of all, I want you to help me find out what's in that room. This town has a lot of secrets, and the answer to many of them might be behind that door."

"How could we?" Ben wondered. "You said the entire floor is locked."

Ferry smirked, "I have a plan."

Matilda rolled her eyes, "Each time you have a plan, there's trouble. Have you forgotten the last time you had a plan? We almost didn't come back home."

"Yes, but this time, we are home. We're not on a strange land where we know nothing about. Come on, Matt, he said, looking into her eyes, don't tell me you don't feel like this town and its people is more than meets the eye. Remember what Mrs. Cobbs said before she disappeared? That people in this town are more linked to fairies than they want to admit. I believe that room has something to do with that. Mrs. Cobbs was among the few people of the old village who refused to leave when Goodharts was born. Don't you think this town isn't what it appears to be?"

Matilda sighed, "All right. What's the plan?"

Ferr's eyes sparkled, "We'll go into widow Jones's house when she's at work. I know she told my mother she kept all Mrs. Cobb's things. There must be something among her stuff. Journals, old papers, notes... Maybe we could find something about the mystery room, about the maze, the Quest. Don't you find it strange that the Quest takes place every seven years? The same time the disappearances occur? That room is dozens of years old. People of Goodharts always knew about it, but for some reason, they never talked about it."

Ben was getting fussy, "Wait! What? You want us to get into her house when she's missing?"

Even Matilda seemed to disagree, "Besides, she has a crippled daughter who stays in all the time. I've seen her a couple of times when her mothers walked her in the wheelchair. Anne-something... What if she catches us?"

"Well, we'll say we came to fix some shelves. I've already promised her mother I'll pay a visit."

"I don't know, Ferr..." said Ben, shaking his head.

"Come on, Ben, wouldn't you want to know more about what's around you? You, of all people, the boy who wants to explore the universe... You must begin with things in your proximity. All I know is that I've seen a lot of strange things in this town. And that this town is not a small, quiet place where everyone lives in harmony. It has many secrets and the answers might be behind that door."

Ben nodded, "All right, you can count on me. On the other hand, did you see that Andrew is back to school? We still don't know much about him..."

"Yeah, I saw him," Ferry mumbled. "We're not talking to each other. And I'm glad. I'm glad we left. I'm glad my mom is not living in that house. With that man," he said, and his fists flinched.

"That house is her house, Ferr," Ben gently said. "That man is her husband. Your father, whether you like it or not. It must be terribly hard for your mom..."

"I know it's hard for her..." said Ferry and his voice broke. "But we're lucky to have friends. She thinks my fairy-guardians are Lavender's circus friends. I'm lucky to have friends like them. And like you," he said, and he looked at each of his friends. "Like May..." he continued, and a sparkle appeared in his eyes... "She's amazing. She even offered me a job at her father's flower shop. If they hadn't—"

But he was interrupted by Matilda who suddenly jumped up her feet and headed towards the door.

"Matt, what are you doing?" asked Ben.

"I have to go," she said, going out the door without looking to any of them.

"What is it with her?" asked Ben.

"I don't know," said Ferry. But then, he gave it a thought and said, "I have to go, too. Talk to you later, Ben," he said and rushed to reach for Matilda.

The girl was walking fast, looking so determined, that even Ferry found it difficult to follow.

"Matt, wait!" he shouted behind her a few times.

When he finally reached her, he had the feeling she was wiping a tear off her cheek.

"Matt, what is it? Something happened?" he said, taking her hand into his, right there, in the middle of the street, with people passing them by.

Matilda tried to look untroubled, "It's nothing. It's just I remembered I have something to do..."

But Ferry wouldn't let go of her hand, "That's not what I'm talking about. What's going on with you? I know you. Something is going on. What is it?"

Matilda shook her head, "You don't understand..."

"Then make me understand," he gently said.

But the girl held her lips tight as if she was fighting to let words come out. She sighed and raised her eyes toward the sky. Her eyes glittered.

"Can't you see, Ferry?" she eventually said. "Everything's changed. We're not children anymore. You want to go on an adventure, solve mysteries... While I— "

Her warm hand struggled to get out of the grip of his hand. But he wouldn't let her go. "While you—" he insisted.

Matilda looked him dead in the eyes. Her beautiful eyes were trying to tell him something, he could tell. But he failed to understand what.

"It doesn't matter," she smiled bitterly. "If you want to get into Widow Jones's house, you can count on me, too. Who knows what other troubles you'll get into without someone mature to look after you..."

"Thanks, Matt," he smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

The girl gently pulled her hand from his, looked at him for a moment, smiled and left. After she was long gone, in his room with the sky as a ceiling, Ferry could still feel the warmth of her hand in his palm. 

So what do you think? I'm so eager to know your amazing theories about what's behind the door of the last room on the third floor ;)