Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Lost Fairy Tales

‘Okay,’ Tilly said, feeling a little calmer. ‘You know, when people talked about book magic, I didn’t realise they were talking about a physical thing.’

‘Same,’ Oskar said. ‘I thought it was all, like, ooooh, the magic of books! Reading is important! You know, like teachers say.’

‘Oh no,’ Seb said. ‘I mean, what teachers say is of course true, but our book magic is what runs through all stories and powers them. Did you hear what Melville said about fairy tales? They’re so unstable because they’re running on pure book magic that’s not contained in Source Editions and printed books. It’s ancient book magic – even Librarians don’t really understand how it works.’

‘But, Seb, hang on,’ Tilly started. ‘What did Melville mean when he talked about binding all the books? Does that use book magic too?’

‘Well, as Mr Underwood said, it’s not possible to take someone’s bookwandering abilities away from them – they’re a part of you. But you can stop people from accessing certain books. If a Source Edition of a book is “bound” then no one can wander inside any of the versions of it. It controls where people can wander. There was a group of bookwanderers back in the early nineteenth century who thought that bookwandering should be limited to only certain types of people – rich like them, mainly. Now there are some Librarians here who have taken their name, the “Bookbinders”, and are spouting nonsense about control being a good thing.’

‘But why?’ Tilly asked. ‘What’s in it for them?’

‘Power, mainly,’ Seb said. ‘If you control something it gives you power over the people who want it – or need it. People like the Bookbinders hate the idea of something being shared out and enjoyed. They think they deserve to have it all to themselves. And so it has always been.’

‘But just because something has always been that way doesn’t make it right,’ Tilly said.

‘Of course not,’ Seb said. ‘But it does make it difficult to change. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, though.’

‘Seb,’ Tilly said. ‘Do you think Melville really has found Chalk?’

‘It would seem so,’ Seb said. ‘And that’s a good thing, even if we don’t agree with anything else he’s doing. Bookwandering is complicated; it’s not as easy as people who aren’t for us being against us.’

‘I think it’s clear he is definitely against us,’ Oskar said. ‘Not sure that’s too complicated.’

‘But that doesn’t mean we don’t want some things in common,’ Seb said. ‘Such as finding Chalk. It’s in no one’s interest for Chalk to roam around stories, especially fairy tales. So let’s focus our energies on stopping Melville’s bigger bookbinding plans, and let him deal with Chalk.’

At that moment, they heard a door being slammed shut, and they poked their heads out of the room to see three very angry, flustered-looking people glaring at each other in the corridor.

‘I’m just doing my job, Mr Pages,’ Angelica was saying. ‘I didn’t make this decision. And now I’m leaving. Take it up with Mr Underwood if you’re unhappy.’

‘Have you considered maybe thinking for yourself for one moment?’ Grandad said crossly. ‘You don’t have to do everything you’re told.’

‘The thing is,’ Grandma said, clearly making a conscious effort to remain calm, ‘it’s important to think about what you’re being asked to do, and whether you think it’s right.’

‘This isn’t something I want to lose my job over,’ Angelica said. ‘Isn’t the whole point of the senior librarians to worry about this sort of thing for us, so we don’t have to?’

‘No!’

Grandad exploded.

‘Their purpose is to protect bookwandering! Not to be blustering, idiotic tyrants!’

He noticed the others, peering through the door behind him. ‘Finally! Tilly, Oskar, let’s go. I do not want to stay one more moment in an institution which has become the very antithesis of what it was set up to do!’ He took Tilly and Oskar by the shoulder and steered them out of the door, Grandma and Seb following.

‘To the Map Room, yes?’ Grandad said. ‘We need to get back to Pages & Co. as quickly as possible.’

‘Do you think that’s wise?’ Seb said nervously.

‘I could not care less at this point,’ Grandad replied. ‘Could you please tell Amelia to get in touch with us as soon as she is able to extricate herself from this place?’

‘Yes, of course,’ Seb said. ‘And don’t worry about Tilly and Oskar,’ he added. ‘I didn’t stamp them.’

Grandad softened. ‘Thank you, Seb,’ he said. ‘I should never have doubted you. Please come and see us with Amelia if you can. There is a lot to talk about.’

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alf an hour later they were sitting round the kitchen table drinking very strong cups of tea, with out-of-character two spoons of sugar, or usually-reserved-for-special-occasions fizzy drinks.

‘I’m still not sure I understand how we can travel from the Map Room home,’ Tilly said. ‘Is it book magic too? And can we get to the Underlibrary the same way?’

‘Ah,’ Grandad said, a little sheepishly. ‘Well, yes and no. It’s not exactly an approved transport method. And Pages & Co. shouldn’t technically still be on the network.’

‘When you’re the Librarian,’ Grandma explained, ‘you get a few favours from some of our fictional friends. One of those is that a character who specialises in magical doors and portals, say a charismatic lion or similar, will come and create one in the Underlibrary Map Room that opens in the Librarian’s home bookshop or library – just in case of emergencies. It’s supposed to be closed when a new Librarian takes over, so we don’t have magic portals criss-crossing the country. Not to mention it’s generally frowned on to bring magical characters into the real world. But Amelia turned a blind eye when she took over, and I think we can assume that she won’t be letting Melville know that the Pages & Co. portal still exists.’

‘In case you need to get back in without him noticing?’ Oskar asked.

‘Precisely,’ Grandad said.

‘Although let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,’ Grandma said. ‘We need to understand a lot more about what exactly is going on before we start sneaking around.’

‘So … What do we do first?’ Tilly asked.

‘Well, you two are doing exactly what you were always going to do.’ Grandma smiled. ‘You’re going to Paris tomorrow morning to visit Oskar’s dad for Christmas!’

‘But what about Melville and the stamping and the bookbinding? And banning children from bookwandering! Can’t I help?’ Tilly persisted.

‘While you’re away we will speak to Amelia and Seb properly,’ Grandma replied. ‘In hindsight, it perhaps wasn’t such a good idea for you both to come today but thankfully Seb has diverted any immediate problems – not that this is permission for you to bookwander anywhere dangerous of course.’

‘And don’t worry about us,’ said Grandad. ‘The stamping is an ethical problem, not a practical one. It will wear off soon and it’s not like we had any illicit bookwandering trips planned. The thing we need to focus on is stopping them binding books, and you can leave that with us. We’ll talk to some librarians about the Bookbinders. And, of course, leave Chalk to Melville.’

‘Is there really nothing we can do to help?’ Oskar asked.

‘Not right now,’ Grandad said.

‘Not even any research, or reading, or anything?’ Tilly persisted.

‘You can help by having a wonderful time in Paris meeting Oskar’s dad,’ Grandad said firmly. ‘Leave this one with us. And now, dinner!’

Half an hour later Grandad set down a big bowl full of spaghetti cooked with tomatoes and prawns. Grandma added hot buttery garlic bread and a rocket salad as Bea came and joined them from the just-closed bookshop. The table bore the marks and memories of years of the Pages family; the underside was still covered with the remnants of Tilly’s attempt to turn it into a spaceship when she was younger, sticking coloured paper buttons on with superglue. The surface had several red wine stains, a collection of pale circles where hot drinks had been put down without coasters, and copious scratches on the legs from Alice the cat. It held centre stage in the area that functioned as a dining room, a study and a private family space away from the bookshop. It was rare for the table not to be covered with piles of books, half-done homework, lukewarm cups of tea, or unopened post.

‘So, Oskar,’ Grandma said, sitting down. ‘How long is it since you’ve been to Paris?’ Oskar was busy trying to sneak a corner of garlic bread into his mouth, before realising quite how hot it was.

‘I haven’t been since the summer holidays,’ Oskar said, trying to suck cool air into his mouth as he replied. ‘With Mamie being poorly over half-term, and school and stuff … You know how busy everything gets. And Dad hardly gets any holiday so he can’t come here very often either.’

‘It’s very kind of your dad to invite Tilly as well,’ Bea said, twirling her fork around her pasta without ever raising it to her mouth. ‘What did you say his job was?’

‘He runs an art gallery with my stepmum,’ Oskar said. ‘They’re super busy all the time. I think it was Mum’s idea for us to go, probably.’

‘They do know I’m coming, though, right?’ Tilly said, alarmed.