Chapter 9: Castatine

In the humidity of the control room, sitting in a circle on desks and chairs and snacking on Dawn’s bag of Skittles, Captain Kid tells his story of wonder and loss.

The girl was called Castatine, and he knew her way up high in the rooftop of the world. He was from the Blue Deck, she from the Red, and they would meet in the middle, at the well, in the center of the Gossamer Gardens. Castatine was a troublesome girl, even if she was fun and he liked her, but she was careless, dangerous, and always laughing.

During one of her games, she fell into the well, not knowing that the hole was for more than drawing water. It was the doorway, and it carried her into the Red Attic where the Dark Unicorn reigns.

Captain Kid, shimmied down the rope after her, but that was the problem. You see, at that time, he didn’t understand the passages between worlds, that the water would take her to the Red Deck below, but the rope would take him to the Blue side.

For a long time, he was lost, not knowing where to go or how to get there. When he finally made it into the Red Attic, it was to late. Castatine had entered into the service of that land’s evil king.

When his story concludes, it is at last time to address to shuttle. Will they stay or will they go with Captain Kid? Charles insists upon the danger of the mission, that the Nautilus could blow up just like the Challenger did—they all watched that live on national television. Ozzie protests, dismissing such concerns, but Captain Kid is obliged to agree with Charles’s more pessimistic assessment.

The shuttle might explode, the captain admits, but to him it is worth the risk, because the Patch Fairy is worth saving. “In a world full of worries,” he says, “people need to know someone good is watching.”

The captain’s reasons are all well and good, but Charles cannot be convinced to forsake his family and risk his life to save a fairy, even if she is a princess from some high-away land. But for his friends, yes, he would go for them.

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