Xandra and Lex were whisked up the staircase, along a corridor on the second floor and through a door into an opulent sitting room. The furniture was an odd mismatch of sizes, as if each individual piece had been designed with a different animal in mind.

The armadillos produced tape measures and proceeded to hold them up against every part of the twin’s bodies, scuttling about and grunting to themselves. Finally finished, they rushed from the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

‘You know,’ said Xandra, ‘I used to think armadillos were cute.’

Lex ran to the door and tried it. ‘Locked!’ He leaned his back up against it. ‘Now what?’

‘I don’t know,’ admitted Xandra. ‘I suppose we try to get out.’

Moving her ambulator to the window, she saw that the room overlooked extensive grounds with a stone wall surrounding it. There was a river – the Tamesis, Xandra remembered Archie calling it – to one side, and a road to the other. In the distance she could see the cluster of buildings that was the city of Londinium. She searched for a glimpse of the glass building, but couldn’t see it.

She pushed the window open.

‘That weasel was right about unlocked upper windows,’ she said, sticking her head out. It was quite a drop. ‘Too high. We’re not getting out that way.’ She closed the window.

There was a door at either end of the room. Lex quickly checked them both out. They led to bedrooms, each with its own en suite bathroom.

‘I guess we’re stuck here,’ he said.

Xandra gripped her armrests in frustration. In a short space of time she had gone from wonder to fear, and now to frustration at being locked up. People often made judgements about her. Seeing her confined to a wheelchair, they assumed she was restricted and somehow unable to fully participate in life. But she had always refused to let her situation restrict her. So being locked in this room now angered her.

Xandra looked up at the book shelf that stood against one wall. ‘The next best thing to escape,’ she said, ‘is information.’ She moved her ambulator to the books and began browsing.

The History of the Rise and Ascendance of the United Animal Kingdom of Britannia by Edward Gibbon

On the Origin of the Animal Species by Charles Darwin

The Londinium Almanac and Londinium Maps and …

So many different books.

‘Come on,’ said Xandra, ‘we need to find out as much about this world as we can.’

Lex sighed as he looked at all the books. Xandra reached for The History of the Rise and Ascendance of the United Animal Kingdom of Britannia. ‘Why don’t you try the maps, Lex?’

Xandra found out that not all animals were intelligent and able to speak. There were many references to ‘The Great Divide’, the line that separated sentient animals from those driven purely by instinct. Birds, insects and fish all fell below the line, as did many (but not all) rodents.

After years of fighting among the species, the animals were united under the rule of the lions. For many years, the lions still ate other animals that were under their rule, until those animals banded together and forced King John to sign the Species Declaration of 1215. This document made it illegal for any animal above the divide to eat any other animal above the divide.

Since then, many animals embraced vegetarianism. Others discovered the culinary delights of fish, insects and birds. Outside of Londinium, large areas of land had been devoted to farming insects and birds, as well as fruit and vegetables, and fishing barges wove their way up and down the River Tamesis.

While Xandra read up about history, Lex studied maps of Londinium and the surrounding areas.

He looked thoughtful, then said, ‘I reckon we’re about ten kilometres from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Not too far if we manage to escape.’ He tapped his finger on the map. ‘And that glass building you were interested in, is in Bird-Hide Park.’

‘I wonder if there’s anything in these books about that building.’ Leaving the history book open on the table, Xandra turned to browse the shelves. She ran a finger along the spines, stopping at What Lies Within. On impulse, she pulled it out and opened it. The pages had all been glued together and a space hollowed out of them. It was a hiding place, but it was empty. Xandra smiled. The weasel had been right! ‘A hollow book,’ said Xandra. She put it back and grabbed The Londinium Almanac instead. ‘This might have something about the building.’ Xandra started reading and Lex returned to his maps.

The two of them were still poring over books when they heard a jangling sound at the door.

‘Keys,’ whispered Lex. He put his book down and went to stand near the door.

An armadillo in a tail coat pushed the door open and stepped to one side. Two more of the creatures wheeled in a trolley with a silver-domed tray.

Xandra’s eyes were immediately drawn to the door. The key was in the lock, attached to a ring from which dangled at least another dozen keys. Lex edged closer.

Positioning the trolley next to the table, the two armadillos scuttled outside. The first armadillo made to follow.

‘Wait!’ called Xandra.

The armoured creature tilted his head to one side as he regarded her.

‘Um …’ she said, desperately trying to think of a way to keep him there. ‘I need some help with my ambulator.’

Lex shuffled closer to the door.

The armadillo stared at Xandra.

‘It’s the direction lever,’ she said, hand touching the control on the left armrest. ‘I think you and your friends broke it when you brought us up here.’

As the armadillo approached the ambulator, Xandra looked over to see Lex carefully take hold of the keys. Using one hand to keep the dangling keys quiet, he used his other to pull the key out of the lock.

Xandra kept shifting her gaze from the creature to Lex.

The armadillo examined the lever, shook its head and stepped back. Her brother was still fiddling with the keys, trying to remove their door key from the ring.

‘Please,’ pleaded Xandra, ‘it’s broken.’

The armadillo tilted its head again and leaned forward.

Lex wrenched the key free, but the latch on the ring sprang open and the keys scattered across the floor.

The armadillo spun round as Lex stepped away from the door and held his hands up in the air as if to say ‘it wasn’t me’.

With a snuffling snarl the armadillo sprang across the room and began scrabbling up the keys. Lex attempted to put a foot onto one of the keys, but the creature snapped at him, and he jumped back.

Xandra grabbed the book in front of her and hefted it at the armadillo. It slammed onto the floor to the right of him. The creature looked back at her, baring its teeth.

Two more armadillos came rushing in, helping their colleague to gather up the fallen keys. And then they were scuttling out of the room, slamming the door.

‘Bummer,’ said Lex with a sigh. ‘But it was worth a try.’

‘It definitely was,’ replied Xandra. ‘Could you pick up that book I threw?’

‘You need to work on your aim,’ said Lex, as he bent over to retrieve it.

As he picked it up, his eyes widened. There were two keys beneath its pages. He snatched them up and looked at his sister. She was grinning at him.

‘I think my aim is just fine,’ she said.

Lex immediately made for the door.

‘No,’ called Xandra, stopping him in his tracks. ‘Those things might still be out there.’

Lex pressed his ear to the door. ‘I can hear movement.’

‘Give them to me,’ said Xandra. ‘Then put the book back down on the floor … exactly as it was.’

Lex repositioned the book and Xandra reached over to the shelves and pulled out the hollow book to hide the keys in. She’d only just slid it back in place when the door was again pushed open. The armadillos were back.

One went straight for the book on the floor, tossing it aside. The other two leapt at Lex, little hands patting his clothes and searching his pockets.

‘Hey, get off me,’ complained Lex.

The armadillos ignored him, finishing their task and moving on to Xandra. She sat still and let them conduct their search.

The three creatures then checked the floor, table and trolley before scuttling away, making disgruntled noises as they went. The door slammed and there was the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Lex let out a long groan and Xandra smiled.

‘Now what?’ asked Lex.

‘We wait,’ said Xandra. She looked over to the trolley. ‘And eat.’

‘Yes!’ said Lex, face lighting up. ‘I am starving!’

He rushed over to the trolley and lifted the lid. There was an amazing array of food laid out on the tray – sautéed vegetables, chicken legs in a thick honey glaze, poached fish and baked crickets; and some sort of steamed fruit pudding for dessert.

‘I think I’ll pass on the bugs,’ Lex said. ‘But everything else looks good.’

The smell reached Xandra’s nostrils and her tummy rumbled. She realised that they hadn’t eaten any lunch. Putting the books aside, she and her brother got stuck into the food.

As they ate, they filled each other in on what they had read.

‘This is such a bizarre and amazing world,’ mused Xandra, as she ate her pudding.

‘I guess.’ Lex pushed his portion of dessert around his plate without eating any. ‘But how do we get home?’

‘I don’t know.’ Xandra took a long, deep breath. ‘But I think we might find a way in that glass building we saw.’

‘Huh?’ said Lex.

‘I know this is going to sound weird, but …’ She took another deep breath. ‘I got this strange feeling when we drove past that park. It … it was like a tugging inside of me. A … a want … a need to go inside. It was similar to how I felt about the painting in the museum. That feeling led us to this world. So maybe this new feeling will lead us back home.’ She ran a hand over her eyes. ‘I can’t explain it any better than that.’

‘Okay.’

‘Okay?’ Xandra stared at her brother. ‘You believe me?’

‘Dunno,’ said Lex, honestly. ‘But I don’t have anything better. So if you want to go to the building … I’m with you.’

Xandra was so used to Lex trying to be the one in charge. But sometimes he surprised her.

‘According to The Londinium Almanac, that building is called the Crystalline Palace and it’s been built for this Great Exposition that the bear was talking about.’

‘So,’ said Lex. ‘We escape tonight and head for this Crystalline Palace?’

Xandra desperately wanted out of this place. She hated the fact that she was being confined against her will. But she was worried.

‘I’m not sure,’ she said to Lex. ‘Trying to escape in this noisy ambulator thing is not going to work. Besides …’ Her voice trailed away as she glanced towards the hollow book.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Lex.

Xandra turned back to face her brother. ‘We don’t know which doors those keys will open. We may not even be able to get out of this room. We may still be prisoners!’