Archive
Penny gazed up at the two large steel gates that stood in front of her before she reached up and pushed them open. They creaked as she pushed them wider, slipping between the steel as she wandered along the gravel path. Luscious green hedges lined it and the smell of honeysuckle wafted past her on the soft breeze. She took a deep breath as she climbed the little stairs and knocked on the door. She waited patiently, rocking on her heels for a few minutes before locking again. The wooden doors flung open as a woman stepped from the doorway.
“Can I help you?” She hissed, looking down her nose at Penny.
“Ah… yes, is this the Archive?” Penny asked nervously as she tried to peek behind the woman.
“Of course it is. Didn’t you read the sign.” The woman snapped, as she gestured to the sign beside the door.
She turned on her heel, disappearing inside as Penny followed, her jaw dropping open as she stared in awe at the room before her. The walls were lined with large bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books of all shapes and colors. The Archive was filled with people, some of which were sitting at the desks with their noses buried in books, while others browsed the shelves, reaching the top shelves by walking on floating steps that were made out of books. She gazed in awe at the large floating bookcases that weightlessly hovered around the room as people browsed them. What caught Penny’s attention the most was the beautiful expanse of artificial stars that spread across the roof of the Archive that imitated space. Hanging like a large chandelier was a silver full moon that shined across the hall and down on the people below.
“What are you looking for?” The woman asked sternly as Penny quickly turned her full attention back to the woman.
“Ah, magic please.” Penny answered, stepping closer to the woman’s desk.
The woman pulled a thick book from below her desk and placed it in front of her with a heavy thud. She opened it and began to scan through it as her finger darted across the page, the sound of the letter ‘m’ slipping from her lips as she searched. Penny watched her with curiosity, taking in her strange attire for the first time. Her hair was dark and cut in a short bob that curled around her face and perched on her nose were a set of black-rimmed glasses. She was dressed in a black frock with white lace lapels and a series of silver buttons down the chest. Penny noticed the shiny nameplate perched on the front of the desk that had in large straight letters ‘Agatha Haynes, Head Archivist’.
“Ah, here we are.” Agatha said. “All archives about magic are in vault A56. You’ll need a key.”
She rose from her chair and disappeared through a door behind her desk, emerging a few seconds later with a rusty red key that had ‘A56’ etched into the metal. She headed into the depths of the Archive leaving Penny to scramble after the sound of her black heels clacking against the tile. They passed rows and rows of bookshelves until they reached the railing of a circular balcony. Penny gazed over the side of the banister to see that there were hundreds of other floors above and below them. With a small yip of terror she hurried after Agatha walking along the balcony and around to the elevator. Agatha pressed the down button and they waited for a moment before the doors slid open with a soft ding.
They stepped inside, Agatha pressing the button for the first floor as the doors closed behind them. The numbers counted down from fifty as they descended lower and lower into the ground until the elevator stopped and with a soft ding the doors opened. Penny peered out of the elevator and into the darkness as Agatha breezed past her, clicking her fingers as a small flame flickered off her fingers. She held the fire in her palm as she gestured for Penny to follow, venturing into the darkness with determined strides. As they walked they passed large rectangular metal doors with codes etched into them that made no sense to Penny. She tried to guess what the next one would be but couldn’t find a pattern as they letters, numbers, and length of the code changed drastically between each door. She was deep in thought trying to figure it out when Agatha stopped.
“Vault A56.” Agatha announced as she pulled the key from her pocket and pushed it into the lock.
With a loud clunk the door swung open to reveal a circular vertical shaft that was covered entirely by books. The light from Agatha’s fire streamed through the doorway illuminating the bookshelves and revealing the endlessness of the room’s roof and floor. Agatha flicked her fingers as loose sheets of paper flew from the shelves and layered themselves from the door to the middle of the room allowing her to step over the threshold. As she walked on the paper bridge she flexed her hands and books began to fly off the shelves to circle her. Her eyes darted from book to book as she read the titles, her fingers twitching as she reshelved the ones she didn’t need. By the time she was finished, four of the books she had inspected sat perfectly stacked in front of Penny, floating weightlessly above her head.
“These are the only books we have on magic.” Agatha revealed as she stepped through the doorway and pulled the door closed behind her, the lock clunking as she twisted the key. “Please return the books to me when you have finished reading them.”
Agatha turned once more, the books hovering behind her as they both clambered into the elevator and shot back up to the ground floor. When the elevator doors opened, the books floated over to a desk and plopped heavily on it as Agatha breezed off to her desk. Penny hurried over to her books, pulling the chair out and turning the lamp on with a small tug of the metal cord as she read the first title.
‘A Beginner’s Guide to Everything Magic.’ Penny thought. ‘This’ll be helpful.’
She inspected the other three books taking in their covers as she read each title, the swirly writing informing her they were ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Magic Spells’, ‘How to Get Rid of a Curse’, and ‘Rituals and Incantations; How to Practice Safe Magic’. She opened the first book, the heavy cover thinking against the wooden desk as dust spiraled from its pages making her sneeze. With a heavy sigh and a determined nod she began to read.