Jon wasn't the only one who noticed the dramatic skyline. It dominated Karyn's view as she exited her friend's castle. She hid underneath a rough cloak, and hunched over to improve the effect. To a casual observer, she looked just as a ragged old woman would and (more importantly) nothing at all like herself.
This was confirmed by her short conversation with the stable boy, a tall, handsome, friendly, somewhat simple man who addressed Karyn only as, "nice old lady". She was surprised to learn the stable boy was called Amy Russo, which meant he used to be one very sweet little girl who lived next door. On a hunch Karyn asked Amy the names of the two horses he was brushing down.
"The big stallion is Linda, and the pretty mare is John. They do everything together, like they're married," he grinned.
Karyn nodded and said farewell. That was where Mr and Mrs Russo had ended up, then. And Amy had always wanted a pony.
When she looked back at the castle, she realised why the Russos were part of Jon's castle now - as the building had grown skyward it had also become wider, sucking all his neighbours into the castle grounds and changing them to suit.
Jon's neighbours on the opposite side were also part of the main castle, with their home now merely a long extension to the central structure. It had a large chimney at one end which belched out light smoke. Karyn approached the structure and pushed the door open slightly to peer inside.
Great bouts of steam escaped into the morning air, but Karyn could see through the mist three young, red-faced women sweating away in a noisy kitchen. There was a skewered pig rotating on a spit in the fireplace, and several huge pots bubbling away on the stove. They probably spent their entire day here, cooking for everyone in the castle. One of the girls was extremely fat, her round face slick with sweat. She was still recognisable as the former Leonard Drullers. The other two probably used to be his parents, though they all looked about the same age right now. Karyn left before she was noticed.
She suddenly felt a little better about her role in this mad adventure. Being Jon's chief servant didn't sound so bad compared to slaving away in a hot kitchen like the Drullers 'sisters', or poor Mr Russo's new position!
She turned in the rough direction of Sarah's house and figured the distant castle poking the sky ahead of her was Sarah's new home. Doing her best old lady impression, Karyn slowly plodded through the suburbs to reach it.
