The little bell chimed again and the doors of the magic elevator slid silently open. Kirby disembarked, followed by Gwen.
What Gwen saw as she stepped out of the elevator and looked around was absolutely amazing. I cannot convey how amazing it was because I have to explain each detail one at a time, but Gwen saw everything all at once and that was part of what was amazing.
They were up in the sky, far, far up in the sky, in a palace built on a cloud. The palace was huge and grand and fancy, with tall ceilings and elegant doorways and wide staircases. Also, the palace was made entirely of glass. Even the floor was made of glass. At first it seemed as though the floor was simply white, but after a moment, Gwen realized that it was a glass floor resting on a cloudbank. When Gwen realized that she was standing on a big pane of glass, she began to walk as gently as she could, fearing that she'd break the glass by stepping on it too hard and would end up falling to her death.
It was still the middle of the night. Above them, the full moon shone bright and clear. The moonlight was so bright that Gwen and Kirby had no trouble seeing their way around in the palace.
The walls of the palace had no windows. After all, the walls themselves were windows. Gwen walked slowly and gently over to the nearest wall to take a look at the view.
What a view! Far below the palace, Gwen could see mountains, and far off in the distance, she could see the ocean. Since the palace was built on a cloud, and since clouds move across the sky, Gwen realized that the palace was constantly moving, drifting around and around the world. "How wonderful it would be to live here!" she said to Kirby. "Every time you looked out of the window there'd be something new to see!"
Kirby rubbed against Gwen's leg, but said nothing. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I forgot! You can only talk when you're in the elevator."
Just then, the Duke and Duchess arrived. "Hello!" called the Duchess.
Gwen walked slowly and gently toward the Duke and Duchess. She noticed that they were wearing socks, so as not to step too firmly on the floor. She said hello to the Duke and Duchess and introduced herself.
"Charmed," said the Duke. "We're just about to have tea, would you care to join us?"
Gwen was hesitant. "Isn't it kind of late for tea?" she asked.
With concern, the Duchess consulted her watch. Relieved, she said, "No, not at all. It's only 3 AM."
"But it's the middle of the night!" persisted Gwen.
"Quite so," said the Duke. "That's the best time for tea, don't you agree?"
Gwen shrugged and gave up. "Sure," she said.
The Duchess lead the way towards a small round table, made of glass, whereupon the threesome sat down for tea on small glass stools. The Duchess poured tea from a glass teapot into glass tea cups. She also served sugar cookies from a glass cookie jar.
Gwen didn't think much of the tea, but the cookies were incredible! They were the most delicious cookies Gwen had ever tasted.
"Here you are, Kirby," said the Duchess, as she set a glass saucer filled with cream onto the glass floor for the cat.
"These cookies are fantastic!" mumbled Gwen with her mouth full. She gobbled up the cookies as quickly as the Duchess served them to her.
"Naturally," said the Duke. He leaned over to Gwen and whispered in her ear, "Our cookie chef uses a secret ingredient: Moonbeam Extract."
The Duke and the Duchess and Gwen sat together for almost an hour, talking, eating Moonbeam cookies, and gazing at the view through the wall-windows of their palace as they drifted through the night. Then, at last, the Duke and Duchess announced that Tea-time was over.
"Goodbye," said Gwen. "Is it OK if I come back tomorrow?"
The Duke and Duchess looked at one another. They seemed confused, as though the question was nonsensical. "Certainly, if you can," said the Duke. "I mean, that is, if you want to."
Gwen smiled. "Thanks for the cookies!" she said. "Bye now!" and she waved as she and Kirby went back to the elevator.
