She woke up when she felt a little tongue scratching her cheek. When she opened her eyes, she found Papel's little face staring back at her.

She quickly came to her senses and sat up, ready to jump into action... but after examining her surroundings she realized that there was no one else there. She was bedridden, her wounds treated and bandaged. She was recovering.

She still felt tired, so she lay down again and slept some more. She didn't know how much time passed that second time, but when she woke up again she knew it was time to leave. She stood up and marched to the door. Papel climbed onto her shoulders and together they crossed outside.

They found themselves in the surrounding hallway of an inner courtyard. The courtyard had a single large, sturdy tree, with a canopy so wide it practically acted as a roof around it. There were a couple of benches nearby to relax on. Erica wanted to go and sit down, even though she had just woken up, but decided to save it for later and find out where she was. More importantly, where her friends were.

She continued down the hallway, at which point a group of maids surrounded her. Some took her by the arms, another pressed a hand against her forehead to take her temperature, all of them bombarded her with questions.

—Miss, are you all right?

—Are you in pain?

—Call the First at once!

—No, don't call him! He's too busy!

There were many maids and they were all talking at once. Erica thought it would be better to intervene.

—Where are my friends?— she asked.

Some of the maids stopped and looked at her in surprise. For a moment Erica feared the worst and prepared to explode and go straight to Tur to kill him, but she didn't have to. The maids looked at each other, trying to remember.

—Wasn't young Arturo with Mg. Fera?— remembered one of them.

—I saw young Liliana walking in the gardens a while ago— said another.

—And is she still there?

—But it is already lunch time— reminded a last one— Don't you think they are in the dining room?

They all nodded and showed Erica the way. The girl thanked them before leaving. As she was told, she crossed a couple of corridors and courtyards, climbed some stairs and found a huge hall with several tables, crowded with people. The infrastructure of the hall was old, built of rock with high arches and steel trim, but everything else looked very modern; the tables were made out of a smooth, sturdy material, the chairs were ergonomic and available for all sizes, and the floor and walls were kept clean. Erica already knew this deep down, but she was always surprised when she noticed that the nonis were a species as advanced, if not more advanced, than humans. She wondered how much of that advancement was due to themselves and how much more they had taken from other species by force.

But the sight of such a large group of people made her stop. She did not like those environments, she would have preferred her friends to be alone, but there was no other way. At that moment, Papel got off her shoulders, ran across the floor, climbed on a table and passed through several people and plates until he climbed on the head of one of the girls. There it began to circle around her shoulders. Erica realized that that person was Liliana, and that next to her sat Arturo. Relieved, she let out a small sigh before going to sit with them.

—Hello— she greeted them.

She slumped into the chair, still sore from the fight. Liliana and Arturo turned to her, dumbfounded.

—Erica!— they exclaimed in chorus.

—Are you all right?— asked Liliana.

—When did you wake up?— asked Arturo.

She calmed them with a gesture of her hands.

—I won't die, don't worry— she told them— although I'm not ready for another round, either.

—Of course not— Liliana pleaded— If I had known that that...— she cut herself off and looked around, in case someone was listening— that that meanie was going to do that to you, I wouldn't have let you go.

Erica looked down and frowned.

—Did they tell you two what Tur did to Pol'kar?

They both held her gaze for a moment. Then they nodded.

—Unfortunately, it was inevitable— Arturo determined— You were just unlucky enough to be there when they met.

Liliana crossed her arms.

—I understand why Tur executed him, but even so I dislike that he did it.

Erica pounded the table, frustrated.

—I asked him not to do it, I told him he was my friend, and still he comes out with nonsense that none of the three of us were innocent... Being innocent or murderers had nothing to do with it!

Liliana and Arturo got scared.

—Erica, you're not going to fight with Tur again, are you?

She looked at them strangely.

—No... no, it wouldn't do any good. It just frustrates me... Pol'kar was right there in front of me. I asked Tur to let him go, but he had already decided to kill him. There was nothing I could do. I'm getting tired of losing, you know? Back in Mother, when I wanted something, I could just go and take it, there was no one to stop me except my dad.

Liliana and Arturo opened their eyes wide.

—That's right!— Liliana exclaimed— Did he tell you anything about your dad or the Core?

But Erica shook her head.

—I didn't have the chance to ask him— she put a hand to her head— and now I don't feel like talking to that damned bastard.

Then she slumped down on the table.

—I don't know what to do! It makes me angry to be in his castle, I don't want to see him again, but I don't know of anyone else who knows anything about the Core.

—Let's stay— suggested Arturo— finding your dad is the most important thing. As far as we know, Tur is the only one who can give us a clue.

—Yes. Besides, as much as you hate him, he seems to be very fond of you— observed Liliana.

Erica bowed her head, resigned to contain the urge to kill him when she saw him. Her friends were right.

—Well, let's go to Tur and ask him everything we need.

However, Arturo and Liliana stared at her with an arched eyebrow.

—And aren't you hungry?— asked Liliana.

—Right, I forgot to eat!— she exclaimed.

—It's been a week since you were knocked unconscious— explained Arturo— you need to get your strength back.

Erica stepped back, dumbfounded.

—A week?!— she exclaimed.

But then they both burst out laughing.

—Arturo!— Liliana reprimanded him, although she also found it funny.

—Sorry. No, it's been less than a day— the boy corrected himself.

Erica laughed too, glad to at least have them. Then she stood up and went to the line to grab some food. Her friends waited for her at the table even though they had already finished.

The girl took a tray and filled it with food. As she walked back to her seat, the brika was amazed at how nice her friends were to her. She remembered people in her past who stayed away out of fear, people who confronted her for her crimes and also some who tried to use her for her strength and her reputation as evil. However, there were two friends waiting for her to join her as she ate. She might have lost her dad for a season, but she was enormously happy to have found them.

At that moment four golden chains appeared out of nowhere; one linking her chest to Liliana's, one to Arturo's, one between their chests, and the last, which she had not seen before, linking her and Papel.

She was so surprised that she almost dropped her tray. When she balanced herself and looked again, the chains had disappeared. They only lasted an instant, but she was sure she hadn't imagined them. Still dumbfounded, she sat down next to her friends and stared at Papel quizzically. The animal returned her gaze, attentive.

—Could it be that the chains are telling me who my friends are?— she wondered.

She couldn't think of anything else, but the vision left her with many doubts, such as what the Chainer had to do with her friends or why the chains had appeared at that precise moment.

She noticed Liliana and Arturo, who were talking about the history of the city and the castle that they had found out from books and rumors. Neither had noticed the chains this time.

—Was it only me who saw them?— she wondered.

-----------------------------------------

After lunch, the children went to Tur's office to ask him about the Core, but they didn't count on the fact that he wouldn't be there. According to what they were told, he had important matters to attend to. They had no choice but to wait.

To pass the time they decided to go for a walk together in the capital. Primanoni was a huge city, full of life and all kinds of things to do. Liliana quickly took the initiative and led them to an amusement park, according to what people said, the most incredible and largest in the entire noni empire.

—When did you hear about this place?— asked Erica.

—Silvina and Griselda recommended it to me.

—Who?

—Some of the maids from the south wing.

Erica remembered. The rooms were in the northern part of the castle, the casino and the bathrooms as well.

—What were you doing south of the castle?— she asked at last.

—I just like to meet people— she admitted.

Erica stared at her, very surprised.

—And that's why you went to the other side of the castle?

For a moment Liliana looked at her confused, until she understood what she meant.

—Not just the other side— she corrected.

—What?

—That's how Lili is— explained Arturo— When she arrives in a new place, she likes to go and meet everyone. This morning she woke up early to go and tour the castle.

—But I stayed halfway through because they called for lunch— she squeaked.

Erica couldn't believe her surprise. She knew Liliana was sociable, but she never imagined she could be so sociable. The thought of going alone to meet so many new people made her nauseous.

But this time it was just the three of them and Papel. They went to the amusement park, a huge, labyrinthine place, with large spaces and lots of people. They went on several rides; the first consisted of a metal sphere with an artificial gravitational field: people were thrown off the side of the sphere to orbit it at speeds just above the limit of safety. In another attraction they were given toy guns, which fired laser beams that enveloped opponents in a blue aura instead of passing through them. They were left in an arena full of people with the same guns, in a free for all fight. Immediately hundreds of lasers started flying over their heads, in a couple of minutes all three lost and had to retreat. They did not see who won.

Next they came across a carousel, which instead of little horses had some kind of very hairy Nudo monsters, which were also used as rides. They felt a bit silly as they sat there and realized they were surrounded by young children with their parents, but Liliana adopted a positive attitude and quickly infected her friends. They ended up laughing at the carousel's twists and turns. Finally they decided to take a break. They bought some bits of impaled meat and went to sit on the blue grass.

They relaxed for a while in that spot. They had had a lot of fun, but Liliana and Arturo were starting to get tired.

After eating, they stayed there talking and resting, while they watched the people around them go from one attraction to another.

At that moment, Arturo picked up a handful of dirt with his mind and slowly compressed it into a ball. Then, without dropping the ball, he took out another piece of earth to do the same.

—What are you doing?— asked Erica, after watching him for a while.

—It's an exercise— she said— it was in a book about magic in the library. It's to get me used to controlling solids.

—Wow, I didn't think it would take practice, but it makes sense— commented Erica.

Arturo smirked.

—After seeing Kan'fera, I realized that I have a long way to go to catch up with him. The good thing is that with enough practice I'll be able to control liquids, then gases, maybe I'll even be able to use forms of energy.

Erica smiled from ear to ear.

—So you're going to control water and air and all that later?

Arturo blushed a little at the sudden attention he was receiving.

—Well... I hope so. Though apparently there are a lot of mages who can't do it, and even if I can, it'll take me a long time to learn each one.

—So you can!— exclaimed the brika, excited.

—Maybe.

—I'm sure you can.

—We don't know.

—I know.

Arturo looked at her, surprised at her sudden confidence in him. He couldn't read people the way Liliana did, he was never very empathetic, but at that moment even he realized that Erica was being sincere.

—He— he smiled sideways— alright.

Liliana ran a hand over her neck.

—To study all that you'll have to go to college, won't you?— she remembered.

—That's right.

—And that's in a special city, isn't it?

—Luscus— answered Arturo.

Erica looked at Liliana, she noticed she was a little sad.

—I don't know where my search for the shadows will take me— she admitted— Vikala didn't give me many clues, but it's possible that it will take me far....

She looked up at some of the higher rides. Then she turned her attention to Erica.

—What are you going to do when you find your dad?— she asked.