Chapter 22
The Secret Compartment
“Ivan, wait!” I turned around to find Lisa gesturing. She pointed at Harry.
“I won’t go up there,” the pony neighed. “I cannot handle stairs.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” I cried out, rushing back. “What if I helped you? How about it, Harry?”
“No, no, absolutely not. I won’t risk my life for this.”
“But you can fly,” I exclaimed. “Come on, lean on me. Just trust me.”
I don’t know where I got the confidence that I could help Harry, and why I was even pushing for the stubborn pony to go up into the retreat center, but I was certain I needed him with me when Lisa and I opened the egg.
So much depended on that one thing. If I could find the needle and defeat Quinn, Lisa would be free of him for the rest of her life.
At the very least, she would be safe from harm, even if the two of us couldn’t be together.
“I don’t know,” Harry brayed, terrified of the climb.
“Here, let’s do it slowly, Harry,” I insisted.
Trembling, he cautiously set his right front hoof on the first step, then, leaning on me, lifted his left front leg and set it on the step above.
It was just seven steps, but the climb took us several minutes.
Harry breathed heavily, and when he finally made it up, I noticed sweat streaming down his muzzle.
“Oh, poor Harry.” Lisa hugged him.
“I can’t even think about coming down,” he said.
“We’ll do it together. Don’t worry,” I said confidently, following him inside. We were in a hallway that opened onto a long corridor. Another set of steps was on the side, and Harry sighed in resignation.
“I completely forgot about these,” Lisa said, giving him a guilty look. “But let me show you around.”
“I suppose, since I’m already here.” Harry nodded, and we followed Lisa down the corridor.
“This is where the reception area will be.” Lisa pointed to an empty spot next to the door.
“Look how lovely it is. And here is a room where I was going to do private classes, and then, to the side here, is an entrance to the kitchen. I also wanted to start a farm here and cook from whatever we grow on the farm, but I would need to hire someone to help me run it.”
“I can help with the farm,” Harry breathed out.
“Me, too!” I offered.
“Well, sure. There’s so much to do. And I don’t even know the first thing about farming. I’d love to grow some vegetables—tomatoes, pumpkins—maybe do hayrides in the fall.” She pointed at a distance. “It would be great to have some kids come here.”
“Oh, I’m out.” Harry shook his head. “I’ve had enough of the kids. They torture me and laugh at me. Just forget it.”
“But Harry, they will be well-behaved here, it won’t be the same as at Fernwood.” Lisa raised her hands up. “You’ll see. I will have a nice yoga space here—it’s a different feel. They will meditate, learn about the mind-body connection.”
Her face took on a dreamy appearance and was even more beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off Lisa. Vasilisa. Just a little more, and she will be mine.
“I suppose so,” Harry agreed. “Knowing that you’ll run the place gives me some comfort.”
“See! Isn’t that wonderful?” Lisa ran her hand through his mane. Both of them, Lisa and Harry, had completely forgotten what we needed to do. I had to steer them back to the opening of the egg, and so I cleared my throat.
“Lisa, you said you wanted to see what was inside the egg.”
“Oh yes, of course, we have to get to the yoga studio. It has such lovely natural light there. I also think there’s an energy portal there, so it’s got a great feel.
You’ll see.” She rushed back to the second set of steps, then paused, giving Harry an apologetic stare.
“Sorry, Harry, you’ll just have to wait for us here, I guess. ”
“No, I’m coming with you,” Harry noted bravely.
I will spare you the details of what it took to get Harry up the second set of steps, but by the time it was over, I’d completely lost faith in the pony and had decided all the times we had flown together must have been a figment of my imagination.
He trembled with fear, complained, struggled and argued with me, and were it not for my pure determination and the desire to have him help us, I would have gladly left him alone.
I’d even started feeling sorry for Harry.
But I knew that without the pony, we could miss a key link to the magic.
He’d already helped us several times, and Lisa seemed to trust him. And so, I persevered.
It was quite a bit later when the three of us finally stepped into the studio.
I don’t know the first thing about energy portals, but it had a nice feel to it, so I assumed that was what Lisa meant.
The walls were made out of wooden panels, with beams coming together at the ceiling, high above us.
Light streamed through the windows that were positioned at eye level.
And right above, there was a circular glass window, so you could see the sky.
I immediately pictured Lisa teaching her yoga class as she walked through the room, telling her students to remember to breathe.
There was a door on the opposite side of the room, leading to a balcony that surrounded the studio.
I stepped outside. It offered a great view of the property, and I saw the trail meandering into the woods, right to where the seven birch trees were.
The very place where Lisa and I had almost kissed.
“There you are.” I heard Lisa’s voice as she joined me outside. “I love this balcony. Whenever I think of this place, I always think of myself standing right here, looking at the sky.”
“I understand why,” I responded. I was about to tell her how wonderful it was to be with her, but as I turned, I noticed the focused look on her face. It was the expression she had after a long day of teaching, so I held my tongue.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, twisting a lock of her hair.
“I know you’re trying your best. And I wanted to apologize again for my situation.
I don’t want to complicate your life anymore.
So as soon as we’re done with the egg, let’s go back to Fernwood and take care of the Firebird. Once the full moon is out.”
“Oh, yes.” I rubbed my chin, trying to come up with a response, but I was at a loss for words. There were so many things I should have said, but I felt paralyzed.
“Well, come on, Ivan, let’s try this theory of yours,” Lisa said and, without waiting for an answer, turned to go back into the studio.
“Lisa, wait. I—I really,” I started to say, but she either didn’t hear me or pretended not to, for she had already entered the room. I had no choice but to follow her inside. Harry was standing in the middle of the studio, his muzzle inside the bag. I admired the pony’s persistence.
“Let me help, Harry.” Lisa walked up to the little horse and opened the bag. She took out the egg and placed it in the middle of the floor. I’d nearly forgotten how beautiful it was, but now, looking at its soft pink glow, the tiny diamond bow tie on top, it mesmerized me.
“It’s so pretty, isn’t it? Each time I see it, it just looks more and more beautiful.
I can’t thank you guys enough. At least this egg is real, right?
” As Lisa said this, she twisted the diamond bow tie and turned it counterclockwise, pushing gently.
At first, nothing happened, but then the egg opened, revealing its plush interior.
“Here it is!” I exclaimed. “Let’s see.” I peered into the two halves that lay open in front of us, running my finger along the egg’s edges.
“Anything?” Lisa raised her eyebrows.
“Harry, come and look,” I called to the pony, who had moved to stand to the side. He walked up to us.
“I don’t see a thing,” Harry muttered. “Is it supposed to be a needle? Is that it?”
“Yes, yes, a needle,” I said, feeling the velvet interior of the egg with my fingers. “I can feel a little bump right here. That might be it.”
“But wouldn’t a needle be sharp?” Lisa reached out to feel the spot, and our fingers touched for a brief moment. I felt a spark and looked at Lisa to check if she’d felt anything, but nothing.
“Maybe here?” I refused to let go of my idea. “It just really made sense. Quinn looked just like Kashchey. What if I cut the velvet?”
“No, Ivan, please don’t do that. This egg is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. We can’t just cut it to test an idea of yours. If you did that, it would never be the same. This is an original. Over a hundred years old.”
“All right, all right,” I said, handing the egg back to her.
I felt like I was missing something, but I couldn’t quite understand what it was. There was more to the egg than met the eye, I was sure of it. My theory about Quinn being Kashchey had to be right, didn’t it? Otherwise, why else would he come back for the egg?
“Lisa, did your great-aunt say anything? Do you remember? About the ring or anything else?”
“She only taught me how to open the egg. The twisting part,” Lisa said, snapping the egg back into place as the two halves clicked together. “But she did tell me that the Ring of True Love, once I’d found it, would amaze me.”
“And nothing else?” I asked, grasping at the last straw.
“No, nothing else. I’ve started to think it’s just a story my great-aunt told me, or maybe something Count Yusupov invented to mess with her. Or to have a way to get the egg back eventually. He didn’t want to part with his treasure, so that must have been just a story.”
“But that makes no sense,” I said. “Does it, Harry?”
“I really don’t know,” the pony said, crushing my hopes. “We’ve already tried twice and nothing happened. So I’m not sure there’s anything else to it.”
“Unless it’s where we haven’t looked. Lisa, can I try one more thing?” The idea, so simple, so clear, flashed in my mind, and I reached for the egg.
“Come on, Ivan,” Harry neighed.