The World in the Fireplace

II

I stare up at him, even more puzzled.

"What? I'm not going to kill him!"

"Yes, you are. It is what I paid you to do. You are the best assassin around here. Now," he sits behind his desk again, "I need this kept on the down low. And I need it done within the week. Can you do it?"

"But- um- I- no."

"No? Why not?"

"Because I'm not an assassin!" I yell, waving my arms about. "Five minutes ago I was in my house eating dinner when I fell through my fireplace to here. I don't know where I am, who you are, or why I'm wearing different clothes than what I was before. And where'd this blue bow tie come from? I hate bow ties." I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart. The old man looks at me like I have five heads. Then he gets red in the face.

"What a load of rubbish! I have paid you heftily for this to be done. Now you will do it, or you can kiss the five million dollars goodbye!" I grip the folder in my hands and look at the ground.

"Yes sir," I squeak.

"Good. Everything you'll need is in that folder. Good luck." I turn and leave out the door. Once it's shut, I relax.

"Hello." I jump and shout in fright as I see Rose standing there. I had completely forgotten about her. I put my hand over my heart.

"You almost gave me a heart attack. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. The master has asked me to show you where to get your pistol. Follow me please." She walks off without a response, so I hurry behind her. She leads me through a maze of hallways and down many flights of stairs.

"Say, what's with the gear necklace?" I ask. "It seems out of place with your outfit." She grips it tight in her hand, and her eyes cast downward.

"My mum gave it to me before she... left."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. It all happened in the past." We end up on the ground floor and go through the front doors. I shield my eyes against the setting sun and follow Rose down the stairs. At the bottom awaits a horse-drawn carriage. We climb in, and it moves. I stare out the window the entire time. We pass by beautifully arranged flowers of all different colors and fountains with the most amazing statues. I look toward one fountain and see a weeping angel statue, but when I look again, it isn't there. A few seconds later, I swear I can hear laughter coming from somewhere, high-pitched child laughter, but when I ask Rose about it, she brushes me off.

The carriage stops for a second to let the big, iron gates open. With the flick of a whip, we are off. We travel down the cobblestoned roads and reach the town with the people walking about. The carriage stops dozens of times to not trample over the people walking in the street. I get tired of sitting and watching, so when the carriage stops again, I jump out.

"Wait! Tyler!" I hear Rose calling behind me, but I don't care. I am living the dream right now. I quickly get lost in the crowd. My head swings around, trying to look at everything at once. Building stack upon each other with little shops at the bottom. Each shop sells a different item. There's a flower shop, a clock shop, a knife shop, even a bakery. My mouth waters at the smells coming out from there. The clang of metal comes from the blacksmith, and I can feel the heat out here. There's a candle shop across the street next to a shop that sells saddles and horseshoes. I see a sweets shop and head that way, but someone tugs on my arm.

"Let's go. We have someplace to be." I huff and follow Rose to another shop that sells weapons. This one is not as cheery as the others I've seen. It's dark and damp, and it gives off an eerie feeling. Rose walks up to a guy behind the counter and starts talking. I wander around looking at all the different weapons. These things are scary looking. "Tyler!" I look up at Rose halfway out the door and quickly follow her out. She grabs my arm and pulls me along, so I won't wander off again. We make it to the carriage and climb in. She taps twice on the roof, and we start moving. She takes a pistol looking thing out of a pocket and hands it to me.

"Um..." I stare at it.

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" she asks, staring at me.

"No." She nods and puts the gun back in her pocket.

"What happened?" She looks out the window, hands in her lap. I fidget with my hands, suddenly nervous.

"I don't know. I came home after work, ate my dinner, and was about to go to bed. But then the fireplace set aflame, and I was curious because I don't know how it did that. So I went to investigate, and I fell through the back into your world. I was in that office for a while before you came and got me." I take a breath. "I know it sounds weird but-"

"I believe you."

"I- wait. What?" I look at her in shock. She looks back.

"I said I believe you. Strange things happen and sometimes you can't explain why or how, but everything happens for a reason. There has to be a reason as to why you're here."

"I guess so. But what?"

"My guess would be to kill Eleven."

"How do you-"

"I'm a maid. It's my job to know."

"Right. Well then, why is Eleven so bad? I'm assuming he is since Ten wants him dead."

"Eleven plans to destroy the world."

"What?"

"According to the master at least. I overheard him one day."

"But how? No one can be powerful enough to destroy the world."

"I don't know. He never said."

"Even if he plans to destroy the world, I still don't want to kill him. Or anyone for that matter."

"You must. The fate of my world rests on your shoulders. I don't want to see it die."

"But I've never shot a pistol before."

She hands the pistol to me again. "It's called a derringer. Just aim and pull the trigger. It's easy." I slowly grab the derringer from her hand and stare at it. It feels heavy in my hands, heavier than it should. "It'll be okay."

"No. I don't think it will."