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Sophie was sat at the dinner table, distractedly poking at her food. She was still thinking about the way Nimum had reacted when she saw the key. Was it really that special? It had to be, she supposed. She'd never seen Nimum like that – and from what she'd heard from the other students, she didn't think they'd ever seen her be properly surprised either.

What really worried Sophie, though, was whether she'd ever actually find out. Once Nimum had gotten the key, she had grown so quiet that Sophie didn't know what to think. For all Sophie knew, it was some kind of top-secret key that Nimum would have to hand over to Principal Marro or someone even more important, and Sophie would never see the key again or even learn what it was for.

Sophie was so far off in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that both of her parents were looking worriedly at her. She'd barely said a word since she came home from school ­– which, for Sophie, was extremely unusual.

She'd barely said a word since she came home from school ­– which, for Sophie, was extremely unusual [https://img.wattpad.com/b86daeeadc311a591b8e084f3e1ab348b199a6a0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7437546b7a6f73767166734853773d3d2d313331373636373138342e313734356138643330313366303230303233363035343138343434392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"Sophie, how was school today?" Mom asked.

"S'fine," she answered absentmindedly.

"Red alert, girls!" Sophie's dad exclaimed. "Sophie's body is here, but I think she left her mind back in Unum. We've gotta go rescue her brain!"

"Da-a-ad, my brain is here too!" Sophie protested. She looked up at her dad, who was looking at her with his mischievous green eyes. He was wearing his usual white shirt and red tie, which always made a bright contrast to his golden-brown skin and dark hair.

Her dad let out a melodramatic sigh. "Well, that's a relief! You never know, though – this morning I forgot all my work notes, so forgetting your brain can't be that hard."

"You can't just leave your brain behind, Dad," Sophie said with a giggle.

"You can't? Well, then I should fire my entire staff. It definitely doesn't feel like they bring their brains to work!"

"You'd have to fire yourself too, then," Mom chuckled.

"Excuse me! My brain works wonderfully! There are just some things it can't be bothered with."

"Like remembering your work notes," Mom pointed out.

"Or knowing how to drive," Sophie laughed.

"My driving is excellent, thank you very much! Why are we talking about me anyway? It was Sophie who was supposed to tell us about her day!"

Sophie had to finish giggling before she could speak. "Mom and Dad, have you ever seen Nimum be surprised?"

Just like Sophie, her parents had both been students at the School of Wonders, and back then they'd been close friends and classmates with Nimum.

"Sure, I suppose we've seen her surprised just like anyone else," Mom said.

"Honestly, I'd say she was almost always either surprised or excited about something," Dad remarked. "She loves it, too. She claps her hands, does cartwheels, it's a whole thing. Was she like that today?"

"No, today she went all quiet and wide-eyed and just stared with her mouth open."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sophie's parents shared a look. "She only gets THAT excited when it's something really big," Mom said confidently. "What was it that surprised her?"

"It was this key I found," Sophie started to explain, but before she could say anything else, Dad darted out of the room and rushed back with a pencil and some paper.

"See if you can draw it while you're talking."

Sophie started to draw the key as well as she could while she told them about her day. Her parents listened with interest to the events of the day, but Sophie got the clear sense that they were also both eager to see her drawing. When she had finally finished, she showed it to them.

"A key with four bits? I feel like I've seen that before. What do you think, Marco?" Mom asked.

Sophie looked over at her dad, who had the exact same expression as Nimum had had. "I can't believe you found that, Sophie! That's some incredible luck. Oh man, I'd love to know what was behind the..."

"Marco!" Mom cut him off. "Remember: No spoilers."

"You're right, you're right. Still – I'm so jealous!" The disappointment was clear on Dad's face.

Sophie's mom and dad had decided that they weren't going to reveal anything about Unum or the magical world to Sophie that she might be able to learn on her own. Dad was having a harder time living up to that promise than Mom was. If there was one thing he loved, it was explaining stuff he knew about to people who didn't. That was probably why he had made sure not to be home on the day where Sophie had first gone to the School of Wonders. If he had been, she was pretty sure he would have blurted out the whole thing before they'd made it to the car.

After dinner Sophie tried leafing through some of the books she'd borrowed at the School of Wonders library, hoping to find anything about that key, but without any luck. Eventually her parents told her it was time for bed, and she disappointedly obliged.

"Marco, if you tuck Sophie in, I'll go prepare her backpack for tomorrow."

"Why do you need to prepare my backpack?" Sophie asked. Students were provided with both food and books at the school, so she couldn't think of anything else she needed.

"I'm not sure you'll need it, but I'll pack it just in case," Mom replied.

"But what are you packing?"

"Sophie, do you really think Mom's going to tell you anything? Come on, let's go to bed," Dad said.

Frustrated, Sophie followed her dad up to her room.

"What kind of bedtime story do you want? The Minotaur and the Labyrinth, The Palace of the Merpeople, or maybe The Selfish Unicorn?"

Sophie lay down in her bed, looked up at her dad with big, pleading eyes and asked very carefully: "Could you maybe tell me about what the key is for instead?"

"Oooh, sure, that's... I mean no! Nope! No way, José! I promised your mom I wouldn't tell," Dad said. He sounded very determined, but it was obvious that he could barely restrain himself.

Sophie let out the saddest, most dramatic and pitiful sigh she could manage. "That's too bad..."

Her dad could barely sit still. He bounced his leg anxiously. "All right, all right. I'm not saying anything. But, I could help you get there! How about we play 'What-do-you-know'?"

'What-do-you-know' was a game that her dad had invented – at least according to himself [https://img.wattpad.com/0a51518a0fb08eeb9c0c311d5c3b2c66b6da0dde/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3954725770524c596d46796935513d3d2d313331373636373138342e3137343561386466366465313664623331393031343232313433372e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

'What-do-you-know' was a game that her dad had invented – at least according to himself. Really, all it was was letting Sophie play detective. Dad would point out all the clues, and then Sophie would add them all together.

"First clue: What did you find?"

"A key."

"And what do keys usually do?"

"They open stuff, like treasure chests or doors."

"There you go. Now you know what the key might lead to. Next clue: Where did you find it?"

"In the secret cave behind the Eastern waterfall in Unum. So the key has to lead to somewhere in Unum!"

Dad shook his head. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Sophie. Don't leave your brain behind!"

She thought for a moment. "Wait, no, the slime hydra was guarding the key. And Nimum said that the hydra had travelled there from the Magical World. So the key is probably from there!"

"Good thinking," Dad said, nuzzling Sophie's head and severely messing up her hair. "So, what do you think is the next question?"

Sophie considered it. "Hmm... Something about the place where the key leads?"

"Not what I had in mind, but try answering your own question."

"Nimum said that the key hadn't been seen for five hundred years, so it has to be somewhere old... And you were jealous, which means that it has to be something mysterious – and that I get to see it! Was that why Mom wanted to pack my backpack!?"

Dad grinned from ear to ear. "I told you! As long as you don't forget your brain, you can work it all out yourself."

" [https://img.wattpad.com/0850215ebb466c1eeb0484e10aec25778d3b8aa9/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f31756e4f645f5447644f524330673d3d2d313331373636373138342e313734356138613536313038353633393438313833343232353135382e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]