When Pete and Zoey entered Wanda’s, they didn’t know what to expect. What they found was a dark sales floor. There were no neat rows, no tidy walk spaces.

Instead, the aisles zigzagged around shelving. Most of the shelves had two to three shelves. But some of the shelves went twelve rows up and touched the ceiling. Other shelves hung from the ceiling, dangling at eye level in the middle of an aisle. Pete and Zoey had to duck to get under those.

Items for sale included radiant neon liquids in glass bottles, bright crystals, and shimmering bits of ore. Glowing posters covered the walls and ceiling. Trinkets hung all over the room, spinning on invisible strings. They refracted or radiated shifting beams of light.

As Pete and Zoey browsed—neither of them sure what anything was—they reached the back wall. A single propeller adjoined to the center of the wall. It spun, so its blades missed the ceiling, floor, and walls by inches. The weird thing was how the back wall was a rectangle, wider than it was tall. Even so, the propeller shrank and extended to match its space.

“I guess that’s why they call it a windmill,” Zoey said.

“I guess so,” Pete agreed.

“It is. Indeed, it is. Much a lot, indeed it is.” an old lady appeared behind them. The voice sounded old and feminine, with a hint of mischievous kindness. “People always said it never made sense to put the propeller on the inside of a windmill. I showed them. Then they saw it. Some understood. Some didn’t. I’m glad you did.”

Pete looked at the woman. She was short and plump with long, messy hair. The hair was jet black with streaks of white. She wore a pointed, purple witch’s hat with yellow stars and red and orange planets all over it. Thick, black goggles covered her eyes.

She wore a purple jacket over a yellow vest over a white collared shirt. They folded, blended, and tucked into each other. The only place where Pete could tell where one began and the others ended was at the collar. There, three rows worth of collar stuck up around her neck.

A puffy purple skirt was high on her waist. A second leather skirt hid underneath it, going down to her knees. Striped black and white tights hid beneath the skirt. Black curled toe shoes seemed to tap as the woman stepped closer, asking. “Welcome to Wanda’s. Can I help you today?”

“Yeah,” Zoey began. “I’m look…”

“You’re a vampire.” Wanda interrupted, tapping as she stepped closer. “Oh, how exciting. I’ve never had a vampire in my store before. What an exciting day. Is it day? Is it night? Should I get a watch or a clock? Do you have a clock?”

“Umm…at home, I have a few,” Zoey answered. “In Greenlake, the only one I have is on my communication box.” Zoey materialized her cellphone to show it.

“Oh, that’s very nice.” Wanda nodded. “I know what you’re going to ask next. How does Wanda get wind to make the windmill’s propeller spin? It’s a simple answer. I’m a witch. I have magic. I magic the wind. Poof. Problem solved. Magic wind equals an indoor windmill. I do what I want.”

“Right,” Zoey smiled. “It’s all about girl power.”

“Exactly,” Wanda looked at Pete while pointing at Zoey. “Your girlfriend is a smart one.”

“What!?” Pete and Zoey said together, Pete adding. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

At the same time, Zoey clarified. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Wanda blinked, confused. “But you will be together like that at some point. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself, but if you aren’t ahead, you’re behind. That’s why I get ahead of myself with this topic.”

Pete and Zoey blushed.

“So how can I help you?” Wanda pulled down her goggles, letting them hang around her neck. “Did you need something special?”

“Actually,” Zoey said. “I was hoping for something to protect my eyes in the sun. Do you have sunglasses? Do sunglasses exist in Round?”

“Sunglasses?” Wanda considered the word. That’s a fantastic word. “Glasses, but you wear them in the sun…I don’t have any of those here, but I have something that might help you. Please, follow me.”

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They walked with her, rounding one of the shelves. “I haven’t seen you two before. Are you new to Greenlake?”

“We are,” Zoey told her. “I got here yesterday. Pete has been here for about three days.”

“That makes sense.” Wanda nodded. “I’ve sensed magic in the air…powerful magic…enough to tear open the fabric of the universe.” She paused. “Tell me, are you from a different world?”

“You’re perceptive,” Pete told her.

Zoey giggled. “Very perceptive. We’re from a world called Earth.”

“Pete and Zoey from a world called Earth are now in a town called Greenlake, in a country called Lake, in the world of Round.” Wanda nodded her head with amusement. “That sounds marvelous.” She stopped next to a shelf, reaching for a box on it. “Oh, here we are.”

With slow care, using two hands, she slid the box from the shelf. Then she held under it with one hand, lifting the lid as she rotated to show Zoey. It was a black band. On its exterior, a thread of gold formed the images of a sun and a moon. “Here you go, deary. This is what you search for.”

“It’s beautiful,” Zoey admired it, taking the box from her. “What does it do?”

Wanda smiled. “It’s called the Ring of Day Walking. It is one of a kind. For most people, it doesn’t do anything. For you, it will. You might not have noticed it. The sun causes a gradual drain to a vampire’s HP. Also, the sun hurts their eyes. This ring will grant you immunity to the sun. Wear it, and the sun won’t hurt your eyes; it won’t drain your HP.”

“I noticed the eye part,” Zoey confirmed.

“Good, deary, so you understand how valuable this is. It is a bit pricy, though.” Wanda explained. “It’ll cost you 300 len.”

“300 len?” Pete’s jaw dropped. 300 len was a lot for a single ring, but if it protected Zoey, it would be worth the price.

Zoey hung her head, “That is a lot. I only have 100…”

“We’ll take it.” Pete cut in.

“No, you can’t.” Zoey protested.

“I insist.” He smiled at her.

“Thank you,” She hugged him.

He blushed, not used to hugs, but he managed to squeak out. “You’re welcome.”

“See,” Wanda said. “You are like a couple.”

“We are not.” Zoey and Pete said in unison.

After making the purchase, Pete and Zoey went back to Mod’s to return the cloak. With the new ring for Zoey, she no longer had to hide from the sun. Their next stop was back at the smith to pick up the metal components of their uniforms. Their next stop would be Tay the leatherworker and seamstress.

As they walked, Zoey asked, “Do they have a place to get cell phone service here?”

“I looked yesterday morning,” Pete explained. “I didn’t find anything. Mod said we’d have to go to the next town over to find a provider. He said the provider has accessories and stuff. Once we get the pixie’s ready to run a few shifts without us, we’ll be able to take a few days off and go.”

“Cool,” she gave the thumbs up as they arrived at Tay’s.

They walked in to see Tay. She was entering from the backdoor, wearing a worn apron, her hair tied back, thick gloves up to the elbows. Pete guessed she was boiling leather in a backroom or behind the store.

“Ah,” the elvan seamstress grinned upon seeing Pete. “It’s good to see you again. Did you change your mind about that date?”

“Uh…” Pete’s mind went blank. How was he even supposed to respond to that? Why did Tay have to say that in front of Zoey? “I…uh…we have a job for you.”

“We?” Tay scanned her eyes over to Zoey, and her grin faded. “Who is we?”

“This is Zoey.” Pete squeaked out.

Before Pete could introduce Tay to Zoey, Zoey spoke. As Pete looked at Zoey, he could swear her eyes had gone from green to red. Was that a vampire trait, or did he imagine things? She said. “Hi. I’m Pete’s roommate and best friend. My name is Zoey.”

“Roommate?” Tay glowered.

“And best friend.” Zoey wrapped her arm around Pete, “We go everywhere together.”

“I see. How unfortunate.” Tay frowned. After a few seconds, she pushed away from her jealousy and forced a smile. “And what brings you both in today? How can I help you?”

Zoey removed her arm from Pete’s shoulder and stepped closer, explaining. “We need some uniforms for ourselves and our co-workers at Mod’s Pizzeria.” Zoey turned back to Pete. “Pete, show her the designs.”

Pete broke from his mental stupor. “Right, designs…here they are.” He materialized the designs, walked over to Tay, and began to show her.”

“I can make these.” She confirmed. “But I’ll need the metal pieces. I can’t do any of the smithing.”

“We have those right here.” Pete materialized them and placed them on the table that Tay used for sewing. “How much will it cost? We have 50 squares of high-quality leather that we can provide. Anything left over is open for trade. Or we can pay in len.”

Even though Mod gave Pete len to pay for the uniforms, Pete hoped Tay would accept leather squares as payment. After all, Pete and Zoey had the most expensive uniforms, and they’d be using them outside the store. It didn’t seem fair to make Mod pay for all of it.

“Forty squares,” Tay answered. “That will cover the cost of making the uniforms as well as provide me the materials I need for these designs.”

“Sounds great,” Zoey said. “Any idea how long it will be?”

“Give me two hours.” Tay requested.

“Two hours it is,” Zoey replied, turning to Pete and winking. “That will give Pete and me plenty of time to finish our date.”

Pete blushed again.

Tay went back to frowning.

By 1:00 PM, Zoey and Pete returned to the pizzeria, new uniforms in hand. By the time the pixies arrived, Zoey, Pete, and Mod had changed into the new garb.

When Hope saw it, her eyes widened. “They look amazing! I worked so hard on them, and now they are here. That was so quick. You made them so fast. Thank you so much. This is amazing.”

“Here is yours.” Pete handed the little pixie her uniform before handing out uniforms to the other pixies. They took turns using Mod and Zoey’s room to change. Each of the pixies praised Hope for her creative designs. Then, they began prepping pizza toppings for the afternoon shift.