A mist began to gather in the isolated valley. Inhabitants pricked their ears, for never had the magic woven so thick through the air. For months it gathered. Faintly at first, gathering strength. In three months you could not see your hand in front of your face when in the center of the valley.

The young girl saw only white when she could not bear to be with herself. And the white felt good. It was cool and soft.

Then, just as subtly as before, the mist started to clear. The young girl, when she could not bear to be with herself, was distressed. It was less comfortable, though the weave of magic still hung heavy in the air. It was uncomfortable, although not as much so as being with herself. Something was happening.

And out of the space the mist left behind, an incredible thing began to happen. A castle was growing. Not being built, in the manner that a mason or construction crew would, but literally growing up from the dark loamy soil. The stone of its walls was the color of ebony, dark green ivy twining around its turrets just as quickly as they appeared.

The first day, the castle was not very noticable. An army of ants could have been housed inside, and the young girl did not see it.

The second day, it could have been the palace of a family of worms. The young girl stubbed her toe on a tower, and cried softly.

The third day, it was mouse-sized, and the young girl saw it, in between tall bendy grasses, in the center of the valley. She was entranced at the detail, and figured that she would never care to be with herself again.

The fourth day, guinea pigs could have had a whole family living within its walls! The tallest turret reached as high as the young girl's head. She spent the day digging a moat.

The fifth day, the young girl expected growth and watched closely, anticipating. And when she realized that it was like a very grand rabbit hutch, she clapped her hands. She made a daisy chain and hung it from the walls.

On the sixth day, it could have been a cathouse. (By this we mean it could have housed cats. The young girl was innocent, still, of any other shades to this term.) Sticking her arm in it, the young girl realized the detail did not stop outside... there was furniture, there was detail!

On the seventh day, the young girl lay flat on her stomach and squeezed in to the entrance hallway. And waited for it to grow.

The first day she could sit up inside, she was bored and wished for a playmate. The first day she could stand, she ran stooping along the hallways, chasing the delighted screams of another little girl. The first day she could not reach the ceiling, she lay giggling underneath a four-poster bed, hiding. The first day she could not find her way back outside, she forgot that she had ever been with herself. And soon she was not even the star player. She had company.