Writers: Christine Torralba, Sai Varun Tumuluru, Tiffani Lee, Lisa Wang

Bacon sandwiches always reminded her of those days she had spent in the castle, when she would wake up every morning, head down to the kitchen and grab a couple of pieces of bacon out of the fridge for a morning bacon sandwich. She loved bacon sandwiches and had kept the fridge stocked with only bacon and bread. Before long, all she was eating was bacon sandwiches. 

And the only time she broke from her daily routine, was to sneak in a bacon sandwich snack. She was having bacon sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner. And when she had guests, she put out a platter of little triangle bacon sandwiches for them. 

She was swimming in bacon sandwiches like a cartoon character swimming in money, and she was loving it. 

But today… all she could do was reminisce because those days were long gone. They had ended when the castle decided to grow wings and fly off. 

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She watched her mulled cider ripple from inside the tankard. The streaky reflections of white light reminded her of the ginormous angel wings that emerged from the back of the castle that fateful Mabon night. Of course, everyone heard it was going to happen. The tales of its flight have been passed down for hundreds and thousands of years. It was a threat that blended into the staggered mountain range backdrop of the village. Particles of the old curse linger in the air like ash from the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. 

Countless what-ifs and imagined scenarios of different paths from that fork in the road still run through in her mind. She’s tried to silence it—and she’s been doing better, but their distant whispers chant on. 

The staunchly tavern owner emerges from the kitchen, balancing a warm plate on calloused fingertips. A strong smell of bacon wafts from behind the heavy kitchen door, and trails behind the plate like a bridal veil’s long train. 

The haunted whispers are momentarily soothed. 

The man drops the plate onto the table, eliciting a small clank from the rattled cutlery. Four tiny toasted triangular bacon sandwiches lay on the plate; leaning haphazardly against each other, stringy icicles of cheese peeking from the crusted corners. It looks like the remains of the castle that collapsed in on itself after the angel wings appeared. She visited it shortly after the rest of it had fled—moss and mushrooms had grown over the ruined remaining structures. 

The hooded girl was surprised and stunned for a long second. The man marched back to the kitchen, mumbling words that got lost behind ginger facial hair. 

The girl’s eyes are still set on her plate. She’s afraid to look up and inevitably lock eyes with someone she’ll have to run away from. She takes another sip from her drink—it buys her some time, allows her a short moment to grieve the bacon sandwich she cannot eat. 

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Despite all the bacon sandwiches she had eaten in her lifetime, the small bite she had finally given in to was one of the best. Or maybe it was just because she was so hungry. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. 

She thought about how lucky she had been to find this warm, dimly lit tavern. The cold air outside had thumped against her face mercilessly. Her bare feet, covered in scratches scraped against the cobblestone and splashed water in puddles she passed through. Taking a sharp left, she had darted into an alley dimly lit with Christmas lights. She had hid herself behind a garbage bin and planned to spend the night there before noticing the welcoming and entrancing orange glow coming from the inn just across from her. 

She knew she would have to be on the run for a long time. With her face plastered on every surface of every town it was hard to find a place to stay before they recognized her. Heck, she didn’t even have time to eat before she had to run again. And all for what? For taking a loaf of bread from the baker when he wasn’t looking? For breaking into a garden because she had craved tomatoes? (You would have too if you had only seen the size and sheen of those tomatoes.) For stealing a piece of fish from a cat who had later scratched her and left a scar on her right hand? (Worth it.) If the castle hadn’t flown off she would never have resorted to this kind of life. But of course, no one would believe her when she told them. They all thought she was crazy and were more than happy to direct the guards her way. She didn’t really blame them either, it did sound crazy. But crazier things had happened in the past. 

She sighed and sank down in her chair. Pulling the ends of her hair she had cut herself with a dagger at an inn seemingly years ago, she mulled over the events of the day as her stomach growled angrily. Again, her thoughts were drawn to the castle. The wretched thing with the creaky floors and the stained glass windows that had a way of projecting rainbows on the floor on Sunday mornings. The stone walls that were never cold despite harsh winters. The lovely front yard with the begonias, tulips, roses, lilies, buttercups, lavender….was there lavender? How she missed it all so much. 

A thought occurred to her. Suppose she could find it? No way. She had spent countless weeks running all over the place and hadn’t seen a hint of it. But maybe she had been looking in the wrong places, I mean, how would an entire castle show up in a small town and go unnoticed? 

She heard voices coming her way and stood abruptly. Probably the tavern owner with reinforcements. Could you blame him? There was quite a large sum over her head after all. And she had slurped down the cider before leaving. That sum would cover more than just one cider nicely, probably every cider ever ordered again after that. The peace had been nice while it lasted. 

She started to run again, but this time she had a plan. Well, if you could call looking for something you didn’t know the location of a plan. A smile slowly crossed her face, an unfamiliar feeling now, and as it reached her cheeks she was in a full sprint. 

“Catch me if you can!!” She laughed and jeered at the men who noticed her and now startedvto chase her. Okay maybe that wasn’t the smartest move, but she didn’t care. She knew she could outrun them anyway. 

One man wearing a blue hat ran right towards her at full speed, eyes gleaming with motivation and anger. She easily darted left to avoid his grab as he tripped right into the table near the door. Her laugh echoed through the tavern as she realized once again, this would be too easy. She rolled off the empty chair sitting next to the table and pushed the door open excitedly. The sun hit her face as she began to smile again, running like a rabbit who just saw a fresh carrot in the meadow. 

The rest of the tavern crew fell through the door, tripping over each other as they yelled at her to stop. Clearly these men did not know how to work together. An older gentleman wearing an old leather brown coat managed to get in front of the group as he sprinted after her. He reached for his coat pocket and pulled out a single wooden wand, the top made of silver that gleamed in the bright sun. Running after her, he slowly whispered the beginnings of a spell.. 

“Tarnartos Feliciantes Turdo Morales,” he spoke into the sky! The girl quickly turned back and inhaled sharply. This was not good. She was not expecting this. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept her off her feet and she fell over right onto her back. The gust of wind returned only to start pushing her back, inching closer and closer to the man in the old leather coat. 

A wizard? She thought. There was no way. She had not encountered a wizard in almost 3 years, let alone in an old tavern where she owed money. The tavern was a place for misfits and runaways, not wizards powerful enough to push her back. 

The man in the old leather coat continued to run forward toward the girl, grinning as he got closer. A large bounty was on her head and if he caught her, he could leave town easily, never having to step foot into that tavern again. 

She tried to drag her feet into the ground, forcing the wind to go even further underneath her to throw back her progress. She knew she had to act quick or else this would truly be the end of her journey. If only she had left earlier before they noticed her, maybe she would be halfway to the castle already. 

As the two grew closer and closer, the other men could hear the wind whistling through the trees. They began to realize the quiet man in the old leather coat who almost never spoke would be the one to catch her, and in turn, grab the reward. The other men scrambled to catch up to them in hopes they could grab her first. 

The man in the old leather coat knew he was so close. All he had to do was hold out to the spell a little longer and the wind would do the majority of the work. All he had to do was hang on. 

The wind was picking up speed as she drew closer and closer to her captor. She was trying her hardest to think. What could she do to escape? In the corner of her eye she noticed a small bluejay with beautiful feathers and a small grey beak. It quickly looked her way as they both made eye contact. Bingo. 

Suddenly, the man in the old leather coat heard a high pitched whistle and no, it was not the wind. In a split second, a bluejay dive bombed his head and ran straight into his line of sight. 

ARGH! He shrieked, waving his arms frantically to prevent the bluejay from attacking his face. The strong winds dropped away from the girl and she fell flat onto the ground. The spell was broken. 

Shit, he muttered under his breath. Who knew a stupid bluejay would be the creature to prevent him from leaving town. He quickly dug into his pocket again looking for his wand. This time, she was ready. 

She spotted some tall grass on the right that dipped down into a ravine she knew quite well from the many times she had to hide. She turned back to smirk at the man in the old leather coat as she said, “better luck next time old man.” 

He kept digging through his pocket, getting increasingly frustrated that he could not pull out his wand. The bluejay dove back near him one more time as he yelled again. “Enough with the damn bird,” he angrily muttered. It was then he saw his wand, trapped between the bluejay’s claws. He tried to grab the bluejay by the feathers but the bluejay swiftly darted away taking his last chance with it. 

The girl dove into the grass, rolling down the hill out of sight of the men. She heard the yells and screams get fainter and fainter into the distance as she stood up and began running towards her favourite hiding spot. Finally, she was able to take a breath. 

She didn’t stop for the next 10 minutes, sprinting at full speed until she was sure they were not on her tail. She collapsed on a nearby rock and tried to catch her breath. Well, that was fun she thought. Another group outrun, outsmarted, and out of the way. When she was able to take deep breaths again she knew she had to decide what was next. Was she to just keep walking until the next town where she could lay low or try to find the elusive castle that up and left one day. 

She decided to stand and continue walking down the ravine as she contemplated her next steps. The girl walked for about 3 kilometres when suddenly her surroundings began to change. She had walked this ravine many times but this time, it felt so different. The leaves were beginning to change colours, turning red and brown as if they were flashing. The sky was lit in a crimson red as gold flakes began to hit her cheek. 

What was going on? She then noticed further ahead a glowing blue and gold circle, spinning in the middle of the forested ravine. It’s powerful flooding through the girl as she stopped and stared. She felt called to walk towards it, as if it was whispering in her ear “come forward young one.” 

She cautiously continued to walk forward, leaves crunching underneath her boots as they continued to change colours. As she approached the glowing circle, she heard a slight hum coming from the centre. A calming and soothing sound, one that felt familiar and safe. This is what she was searching for. 

While her head was telling her this was a bad idea, her heart was being tugged to jump right through. Could the castle be beyond this wall? Maybe it was waiting for her this whole time. She wouldn’t know unless she tried. 

Unsure of how to enter the circle, she took a few steps back to get a running start. Hopefully this would be enough to make it through. She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and slid her feet back and forth to get ready. 

She took a deep breath and ran forward, leaping into the middle of the circle arms first. As she touched the blue glow, her body felt warm and electric, a sense of power flooding through her veins. She had no idea what was beyond this wall but what she did know is this was the key to finding her castle again. Her home.