Minutes after I'd fallen asleep, I heard a knock on the door. I slipped out of bed, dragged myself over to the door and opened it.

Directly outside the door, there was a short girl. Her face was round and her skin the colour of caramel. She wore a white tulle dress, with a leather corset adorned with tiny silver and gold cogs and chains. They glinted in the moonlight like stars. On her feet were beige pumps, with misty white tights. Her dark hair flowed behind her in a long fishtail reaching her waist, tied with a cream velvet ribbon.

"Hello Mila, my name is Lilette." She spoke gently, a glint in her chestnut eyes.

I smiled welcomingly.
"Why have you come to my room at such a late hour?" I inquired. "I'd have thought even the hotel's parties would've ended by now."

Lilette laughed, sounding musical.
"No Mila. There is a party downstairs that is still going on. It's coming to an end but I've only just remembered about you. You left your money pouch downstairs."

My eyes widened and I smiled in relief.
"Do you have it on you right now?" I asked.

Lilette nodded:
"It's in my room. Come with me and I'll give it to you."

I agreed and the two of us headed to the downstairs rooms in the hotel, walking along two corridors before we reached a room. Lilette fished a key out of her leather reticule and unlocked the room, beckoning me in. Then Lilette handed me my money pouch.

"I'd count it's contents." She whispered. "I don't know how long it's been there and whether anyone's taken some coins from it."

It seemed a sensible assumption so I opened it and began to count out my Chevrets. I finished counting a few minutes later, finding that I had the same amount of money as before. I headed to the door, relieved. But my relief turned to confusion as I found the door locked.

"Lilette?" I cried in alarm.

"My name is Leticia." She replied maliciously before I felt a sharp knock on my head and fell to the ground in darkness.

******
I awoke in a sea of people. Staccato music mixed with metallic notes from the machines played in the background, played by automatic pianos and automatons like Rosalind. I looked behind me and behind Leticia, who was holding my shoulders. My eyes focused on the swirling dancers, whirling and twirling in a fast dance. Their fashionable engine-inspired dresses swished the polished wood floor, making a scuffing sound. Their male dance partners moved quickly and expertly. Each pair was seamless, faultless in their symmetry.

Leticia shook me and I whipped my head around again. I was surrounded by black-suited men with eyes as cold and lifeless as steel. Everyone was too busy dancing to notice my plight.

"Move and you're dead." Leticia hissed into my ear.

I felt powerless. And frightened.

Leticia's nails were claws, digging into my shoulders painfully.
I saw a man coming towards me.

He had a face like a crescent moon, with a small bark-colour beard and moustache. He wore a black suit and top hat, no adornments. A white cravat was in his suit, and on the pocket on the left side of his coat, a golden pocket watch gleamed.

He had frown lines etched deep in his head, and though he had blue eyes, they were lifeless, cold and frosty.

"Mr Aberdain, I have Mila right here."
Leticia told him, smiling wickedly.

Why had she gone from being so nice to being so nasty? I was kind to her! What had I done wrong? Everything had gone all strange so suddenly and I felt like I was going to be sick again.

"Excellent." Mr Aberdain rubbed his hands together.
"You have a lot to tell me." He cracked his knuckles.

At that moment, there was a ginormous crash sound outside. Seconds later, a massive door slammed open, and Benjamin ran straight over to me.

Mr Aberdain was shocked as Benjamin slapped Leticia as hard as possible. Leticia let go of me, screaming.

Mr Aberdain lunged for me but I kicked him in the shin and he fell over, pained.

Benjamin grabbed my hand and we ran back the way I came in the hall. We ran up the stairs, back along the hallway, down the red carpeted staircase of ticking clocks, and past the old clockmaker who was unaware anything was happening. He looked up sleepily, like a mole sniffing the air.

We bolted out of the entrance of
"The clockmakers arms" and ran as fast as we could to the airship.

Neither of us said a word.

We both knew we had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

We reached the airship, and found shotgun cartridges littered nearby, red and gold paper cucoons now discarded.

There were top hatted men running towards the airship, the same ones that surrounded me, brandishing guns and yelling to shoot the airship as we leapt inside.

Benjamin started the engine, an angered dragon, and it roared into overdrive, belching out steam.
The gentlemen aimed their guns and bullets rained flew past us like deadly raindrops, but I pulled in the mooring rope quickly and immediately, the ship shot upwards.

Benjamin drove the ship onwards, at full speed, until the wind blowing in our faces was too much to bear. We didn't stop driving for the rest of that night.

We never returned to The Clockmaker's Arms.

******

Quite a lot of things happened in that chapter, I know. Still, hope it was worth reading...
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