The sun had already set,  James realised, noticing the hues of the long, late summer's twilight fighting their way through the layers of foliage suffocating the windows of the office-laboratory which the old couple led them into.

Several people sat behind the long bright desk today, a few more stood along the pieces of furniture holding the strange instruments which lined the white walls, but James had no time to study them as his attention was seized by Christopher. 

"Here you are, finally," the middle-aged man said, the impatience that he managed not to betray by his voice, revealed by his jumping to his feet the moment they appeared in the doorway. "It's late, for your next quest, I want you here in the morning. We can do so much more in one day that way... Wonderful, the costumes are perfect. You left all your belongings upstairs, right? You shouldn't carry anything from this world with you into the books; you may only take your jewels, the things that belong to your costumes, and the book you are working on. Anything else from this world might make you look suspicious in the eyes of the residents of the fictional worlds and put you in danger."

Siena nodded; she had left her handbag and clothes behind the wooden screen in her changing room. The only thing Alicia allowed her to carry was the copy of The Little Prince and the clutch bag matching her gown...

"You have the revolver, James, don't you?" Christopher's voice disturbed her train of thought. "You shouldn't need to use it, however, it belongs to your uniform." 

Of course it did, Siena recalled suddenly, the pilot in the story tried to shoot the snake when he first saw it. Could James shoot? she mused, not realising that she looked up at him questioningly until he replied to her mute question with a reassuring smile and a slight nod. It was amazing how they seemed attuned to each other; it felt as if he could read her mind sometimes...

"I need your full attention, Siena, please," Christopher demanded, making her blush and finally look at him again. "You need to carry your jewels and the book with you to transport and move within the plot. Of course, none of the characters must see the book, it would only create confusion and cause trouble, both for you and them, most likely. You need to be very careful to keep it hidden."

"Remember that anything that you change too early in the plot will have consequences and influence the ending, making it unpredictable," Albert spoke from his place at the table where he sat next to Alicia, their backs to the window, faces obscured by the fast thickening shadows flooding the room.

"Don't stay too long, not the first few times. Once you learn to use the jewels properly, everything will become easier and safer. Then you can experiment a little," Alicia added. "Just do what you must and come back, we'll be waiting for you." The old woman smiled fondly at the couple, her smile brightening her features enough to make her face glow in the punumbra. 

Siena returned her smile; she was already as fond of the old grandmotherly woman as she was of James... The thought made her blush deepen and she dropped her eyes to the tips of her crimson shoes, shifting nervously on her feet, an action which caused James to squeeze her hand tighter in his, making her realise that they were still holding hands which turned her cheeks as crimson as her shoes.

"Keep close," a man standing in the shadowy corner by the window whom Siena hadn't noticed before spoke, making her look up, hoping that the room was dark enough to hide her blush. "Only separate when it can't be avoided, you know that you can only transport together, you need both the jewels to do that."

"Why is that, and what is the safe distance to keep should we get separated?" James asked quickly. It was something no one had explained to them so far.

The man shook his head even as someone switched on the lights the moment someone else drew the blackout curtains. He stared at them seriously as he replied, "The two jewels need each other to function properly. Why, or why they need your blood to get activated, we don't really know for sure. Many theories have been proposed throughout the years, but we are still looking for proof. Once they are activated, the gems glow when they are close and fade eventually the further apart they are carried. That's the best indicator you have. Keep an eye on them, and you'll be safe. You'll always find each other."

James shifted closer to Siena at hearing those words, only realising he had done it when she looked up at him again. He smiled down at her; for some reason, he felt strangely protective of her, and he hoped she didn't mind. He exhaled his relief when she smiled back, shifting a tiny bit closer to him in response. It was very important that they were feeling the same way and understood each other so well, even without words. 

"... your blood into the jewels." Christopher's voice shattered their moment, making them both notice that they missed his sentence, maybe more than one, about what seemed a rather important detail of their adventure. 

"Excuse us, Christopher, could you repeat that, please?" James asked politely, looking at the middle-aged man standing in front of them.

"Unless you have other questions, we just need a couple of drops of your blood to activate the jewels now. This step will not have to be repeated. Once activated, the stones will respond to you as long as you'll work for us. You get to keep them between the quests, too; they work better if they don't get separated from the owners."

James looked at Siena again, and only when she nodded he replied, "Fine. Do whatever needs to be done."

"Anne," Christopher said in reply, his eyes trained beyond Siena and James on one of the two of Siena's assistants who must have been standing by the door the whole time. 

She came forward now, her gloved hands of a scientist matching the small metal tray she was carrying, holding a container similar to a Petri dish, a jar with balls of cotton wool floating in what must be a disinfectant, and a couple of plastic wrapped needles. 

"This will only take a moment and it won't hurt, I promise," she assured them, smiling at each in turn, before she passed the tray to a young man appearing at her elbow even as Christopher took a few steps back.

"Mr James? May I have your finger?" she asked, choosing her first victim.

James passed her his left hand obediently and she swiped one of the cotton wool balls over his forefinger, pushing one of the needles she had pulled from its wrapper into his finger immediately, making exactly two drops of his blood fall into her glass dish. It was all over in a few seconds and the woman repeated the same operation with Siena, who didn't even feel the prick of the needle piercing her skin as James wrapped his arm around her waist in that same moment, missing her hand in his.

Siena watched in awe as the woman moved the transparent dish expertly to make make their blood mix before she asked them to deposit the ring and the pendant on the tray.

James removed his ring first and then took Siena's necklace off her just as he had put it on two days ago. Then they watched with bated breaths Albert, who appeared behind the couple of young scientists, taking both the stones in his wrinkled hands for a few moments, replacing them on the tray again, open this time, for Anne to deposit a drop of their mixed blood into the centre of each. Then he closed them again in the same mysterious, invisible way, making them look whole.

"All yours," he muttered, smiling wistfully as James put his ring on immediately, curiosity and excitement seeping through his every move. 

Both the two scientists and Albert vanished again after James took Siena's necklace off the tray and put it around her neck once more. The gems were glowing as the couple stood next to each other, facing the room full of Bibliophiles, all just as excited as them.

"Wonderful," Christopher muttered. 

"It always feels like magic," Alicia chimed in, and Siena found her wiping the corners of her eyes into her sleeves.

"It has been quite a few years since we witnessed this the last time," the man whose name they still didn't know muttered thoughtfully. 

"So, all they need to know now is how to transport..." Christopher trailed off, looking around the room, receiving affirmative nods from everyone. 

"It might look a little awkward at first but you'll get used to it soon enough and if you prepare in advance, and pick up your costumes the day before, you'll be able to travel from the flat, without us watching you. You'll just turn in the day after, in your own time, and tell us how it all went so we can record it," Alicia said.

"Even though we would appreciate it if you always transported from here," Christopher spoke, scowling at her.

"Only because we are curious and, some of us, jealous. I, and I'm sure I'm not the only one here, would give anything to be in your place now..." Albert admitted, winking at the couple. 

"All right, enough of this," Christopher spoke again. "Let me explain to you how it works. It's really quite simple, even though we don't exactly know how it's possible. The stones must touch when you transport, and so must you two. The best thing is for you, James, to keep your ring hand closed around Siena's necklace so the jewels touch. Siena's arm, holding the book open on the page you want to visit, should rest around your waist, and you need to hold your free hands. You move within the plot the same way, leafing through the book to the page you need next before moving on. We believe it's the necklace that moves you within the plot, and that's why it's Siena who holds the book. To return, you do the same again, but hold the book closed, that will get you back into this world, to the same spot from where you left."

When Christopher stayed silent for a long while, his explanation being apparently over, Siena looked up at James. It seemed simple enough to her, and his easy smile reflected her feelings. 

"All right. We are ready," she said to no one in particular, still looking into James' eyes.

"Take the book, girl, and then you can go," Alicia reminded her gently. 

Siena dropped her eyes quickly to the bag she was holding, opening it and pulling out the copy of The Little Prince, then pushing her hand through the bag's short handle, thus securing it to her wrist. She needed both her hands free.

She quickly found the page they had decided upon and looked at James again. 

"May I?" he asked and waited for her to take a deep breath and nod before he closed his hand around her pendant, making the glowing red stones touch. He offered her his free hand even as she wrapped her arm around his waist... They were impossibly close this way, and it felt so incredibly good, James' tall body shielding her from the multitude of strange, curious people crowding the room, creating an illusion of intimacy. She couldn't see anyone but him, his unfathomable blue eyes...

"One... Two... Three..." Albert's voice reached them from the otherwise perfectly silent room before the world around them dissolved, and they precipitated into darkness.