Davion had left after one last message about unicorns. Thana wasn't sure whether she should start worrying about the mythical creatures. On the other hand, this was the perfect moment to escape, she thought. Only, she had no idea where to go or how. The thing that had taken her was still a few meters away, reading a book. "So? Is it interesting?" she decided to ask the creature aloud, realizing the situation she had found herself in. She was now asking questions to a shadow monster that had bitten her. Lacking a better idea, she put the chain back in her jacket pocket and walked toward the curtains. Outside, it was dark, making it impossible to see anything. Her stomach started to protest, so she decided to look for food first.

She decided to go to the door. Shrill tones filled the space again, along with the series of clicks she had heard earlier. She turned around and let out a short, high-pitched scream. The monster had left the book and was standing much closer behind her. In a reflex, Thana wanted to push it away but then remembered her arm. "Oh, never mind," she sighed, walking away from the door toward one of the chairs. "Is this better?" she mumbled, receiving a few clicks in response. She decided it must be a yes. She had no idea if it was a type of language or if she should go by the tone of the sounds. Maybe she could ask Davion about it, though she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Thana let herself fall into the chair with her feet over the armrest. Izara had once told her she was probably sick if she ever sat in one normally. Thana sighed; she missed Izara already. By now, she must have raised the alarm about her disappearance, right? Somehow, Thana wasn't sure; everything felt so logical. She also didn't understand why she was sitting here so calmly. Shouldn't she be screaming? Knocking over the cabinets? Tearing down the curtains and causing havoc? Yet, the strange creature kept an eye on her, making her afraid to do anything. She also feared that she might scream herself hoarse, and nothing would change. Izara was crazy about these kinds of books, but how did they always end?

A shiver ran down Thana's spine. She knew that many of those stories ended in romance, and she really had no time or desire for that. No, Davion had picked the wrong girl for that; her heart belonged to Izara. Not that Zara knew, but that would soon change. As soon as she got home, she would call her and tell her everything. Or maybe call to set up a meeting and then tell her everything. Thana nodded, that's what she would do! Yet, a voice deep down whispered that she had promised herself this many times before, and now here she was. Hoping to push Izara out of her mind, she took the chain back into her hands. It was still white. "It brought me here," she muttered, "But why?"

The monster's clicks sounded again, startling Thana. How could she have forgotten that the creature was still present? "If you want to answer, you'll have to make yourself understood," she sighed. She had barely been alone and was already talking to monsters! Something had definitely gone wrong because of the bite. Although Thana no longer felt any pain in her hand, she didn't dare remove the bandage. What if that broke the magic? Or whatever Davion's remedy had been. Yet, the clicks weren't the only sounds Thana could hear, and she pricked up her ears. Were those footsteps again? She turned on the chair to keep a better eye on the door. Was Davion back? Had he brought a unicorn for her? Thana didn't know whether she would be scared or burst out laughing. Quickly, she put the chain around her neck and hid it under her clothes.

When the door flew open again, it wasn't Davion who entered the room; the woman was much taller. A large hoop skirt almost filled the entire doorway, but that didn't seem to bother her. "Girl, don't sit there like that! There's work to be done!" commanded the woman with a rather strong accent. Thana couldn't place where she might be from. It was also hard for her to understand what the woman was saying. Her voice effortlessly filled the room, Thana realized. "Girl, listen! I'm not talking to Klaida!" the woman continued, making Thana realize she was being addressed. Quickly, she rolled off the chair, anything but gracefully.

Out of habit, she brushed some imaginary dust off her brother and then looked up at the woman towering over her. The monster, still holding its book, seemed to greet her with a series of new clicks. Could that be Klaida? When the woman clapped her hands, Thana had the urge to salute. Eventually, she decided not to, noticing the woman was scrutinizing her from head to toe. Although she wasn't in her pajamas, a blush crept up her cheeks. She hated being stared at like that; it felt like she was an animal in the zoo. Trying to compose herself, she crossed her arms. The woman clicked her tongue: "Girl, don't be difficult! Change your clothes."

Change her clothes? It took a moment for Thana to realize she hadn't misheard. Was there something wrong with her clothes? She looked at the woman's large dress in front of her and thought back to the costume Davion had worn. "I'm not changing clothes!" Thana quickly replied. If she was going home, she wanted to do it as normally as possible. The woman shook her head and pointed behind her. Thana glanced over her shoulder at a door. She frowned in surprise. Had that door been there before? She could have sworn that only the door the woman had just entered through and the one Davion had exited earlier were the only ones.

Strange things were happening, she thought for the umpteenth time. "Change your clothes," the woman repeated, making Thana turn back to her. The woman had her hand on her chest: "I am Saskia, I will help you." Saskia, Thana repeated in her mind, such a normal name that it didn't seem to fit in this place. She still had no idea where Saskia's accent came from; she had never heard it before. The woman pointed to the door again: "Follow me." Authoritatively, she stared at Thana before marching toward the door.

Thana was conflicted; part of her didn't want to follow the woman. On the other hand, staying behind with the monster made Saskia seem like the safer option. She hurried to the door that, according to her, had just appeared. "Was this door here before?" she asked, taking large steps to keep up with Saskia's pace. Without slowing down, Saskia gave her a bewildered look, as if Thana had just asked a silly question. Saskia shook her head and muttered something in a language Thana didn't understand.

Eventually, Saskia decided to answer as the door swung open on its own. "The door is here, only see if you need it," she responded as if that made everything clear. The gears in Thana's head spun rapidly. A door that was only there when you needed it? Before following Saskia inside, she glanced at the large door that was still there. Did she need that one too, then? Saskia impatiently stomped the ground a few times: "Not that one, that one always here." The tone was as if she were speaking to a toddler, making Thana want to dig her nails into Saskia's arm. She wasn't a little child!

Yet, the feeling of indignation vanished as soon as she entered the room. It was a large bedroom that would encompass her entire living room back home. It was as elegantly finished as the sitting room she had been in earlier. Saskia had already opened the wardrobe doors and seemed to be throwing out all sorts of clothes. "Undress," she said gruffly, making Thana want to protest. But a simple look from Saskia silenced her. It's just a dream, Thana told herself as she pulled her sweater over her head. This made the chain visible again, which in the reflection appeared to be a soft pink. She couldn't pay much attention to it, though, because Saskia had grabbed several fabrics and started draping them around her.

It felt as if she were being enveloped by darkness again, though this time it was darkness of velvet red fabrics. Reflexively, Thana pushed everything away, but Saskia was stronger than her. It also felt as if more than two hands were working on her body. Thana's head spun, and before she knew it, she was wearing a ruby-red dress. She looked down in shock: "What is this?" Saskia's look made her quickly recover: "I know it's a dress! But is this necessary?" Secretly, she found it less bothersome than she let on; if they gave her a crown now, she would really look like a princess. Izara should see her like this! Or her best friend might grandly laugh at her, that was always a possibility. Thana decided to hide the chain under her dress again; it was still light pink.

"Girl better now," Saskia's voice sounded approving, but Thana felt she could have stared at herself in the mirror much longer. She still didn't understand how Saskia had managed to make such a dress with just a few pieces of fabric. She would have loved to ask Saskia, but she hadn't forgotten the look Saskia had given her when explaining the door.

She glanced again at the strange woman and, to her surprise, noticed that Saskia also wore a chain around her neck, one like Thana's. Only, hers wasn't white or light pink but dark red. "Hey, you have one too!" Thana exclaimed in surprise, her hand going to the place where she had hidden her chain under her dress. She wanted to pull it out, but Saskia shook her head. Saskia quickly tucked her own chain away, giving Thana a penetrating look. A shiver ran down her spine from that gaze.

"Keep the chain hidden," Saskia muttered, putting a finger to her lips.