It was nearly a full day before the door shut by Cornelia was opened again, and the deed wound up being done by a fairly unlikely person. Yet, these were Kiara's thoughts from before then- from when she sat in the desolation of the former Lady Cornelia.

When first she gave a little ground to her despair, and so yielded her attempts to break down the door, she could not help but fill her mind with fanciful thoughts of...

Ellie!

It's okay. It's going to be okay.

I'm here to rescue you.

Your struggle is at an end.

The promise of a new life of merriment stung at her and forced tears out of her so that she could not help but remove her dark lenses- if only for a little while. But, of course, no such help came within that hour or the hour that followed and soon she had run out of tears. And so it was that she restored her darkly lensed mask to its usual station.

Discontent with its inch, despair took for itself a mile and soon made numb- not only Cindy's will to beat down the door -but even her resolve to be afraid or to grieve. And though it did occur to her to try and clean up after the mess Cornelia had made, if for no other reason than to keep herself occupied, the despair had taken such a hold that she could not bring herself to stand or to pace- much less arrange and lift and move and clean. In such a state, voluntarily bored out of her mind in the solitude of her cage, Kiara Nurse slapped herself silly...

Silly girl! Who grieves the loss of something they've never had?

Silly girl. You can't hate someone who doesn't exist.

Shut up!

Be quiet!

Silence!

So it seems, for once, our goals are aligned.

And then it occurred to her, in the silence.

But how could you know?

Could she have heard?

Isn't she our mother? Don't mothers know be-

Anna is your Mama...

... beyond a shadow of a doubt.

So what the witch knows...

... or doesn't know

... is but hollow.

When the new moon rose to the heights for its empty rule over the winter night (some hours after Cornelia had shut the doors), Kiara became determined to be content with what she believed to be her new destiny. In that course, she called herself silly again and again in a fit of vanity to give up any hope of ever being let out- much less meeting the Guardian again. To her mind, it had been decided by the Fates that she was to die of thirst or starvation and the attic was to be her coffin. And though that may seem a grim thing for a child to have in mind, Kiara actually managed to muster a smile for the choices that condemned her. She had no clue how Cornelia intended to scam the Overseers but she was fairly confident it would fail and so she felt rather at peace at the knowledge that her refusal to cooperate had made such failure so certain.

I love you, my daughter. Be good.

I love you too, Mama. I am coming soon- doomed by a noble cause. I'm through with these silly tears since I know that, in your company, I will not be ashamed.

A little relieved at having to reckon no more with the weakness of James or the wickedness of Cornelia, her breath slowed as her lips cracked and her tummy rumbled and the chill of the room- at night and in winter -took full advantage of the shadow's absence.

Her eyes grew heavy.

Her head began to spin.

The bell of the night took its toll.

All the seemingly moon-less night (the moon was still present, of course, however invisible), the yawns and unnaturally long blinks came and went as despair crept over every part of her skin, caressing her cheeks, whiffing at her hair and fingering every inch of her insides in a beastly hunger for her heart. It was still not content with what it had already been given. And she had half a mind to give it the rest. And as she nearly came to rest, the sun rose. Quite desperately, the whispers of golden rays squeezed themselves through the little hole in the wall which the Gibbses called a window. And so Kiara found the littlest resolve enough for a final bout.

Silly though it may be...

If I will never open my eyes again...

If this be my destiny...

Let me sleep to my own lullaby.

And so she sang. And as she sang, she arranged and lifted and moved and cleaned.

It's been forever

I've longed to hear you

Would you please share

Your favourite story

I've spent forever

In broken wonder

Would someone please

Say what I did wrong

You came to me in tears

Said fairy tales weren't meant for us

I'd never be your happy ending

But little did you know

The day you first held me close

The stars above, they donned heaven's glow

Yes, life could be a fairy tale

If only someone would agree

Lend a hand

Share a smile, Dry a tear

Do you believe

Believe I could live ever after happily

Someday soon

When the world is new

Far away

A paradise for two

True enough, she could not hear herself sing. And since there was no lyrical, there was no physical indication of the melody to be found anywhere in that attic. However, as she sang it, with eyes closed, the song seemed as real to her as her fantasies of rescue had been. With her imagination, she carried herself through a final protest against the Deep. And, in the end, though much of it was still broken, the attic found a way to look more homely than it had ever been.

Soon after the song's end, with cuts and bruises and sweat all over, Kiara laid herself down on her sort-of bed and drifted away into a dreamless half-sleep. And she remained in that limbo between the dreaming and waking until the steps outside her door proved too loud for her to keep on trying. When her head finally stopped ringing, she looked and she saw, bursting through the door, a fairly irked Darius Gibbs. He had been calling out to his maid for some ten minutes and- for obvious reasons -she had given him no response. He had climbed the steps with an odd mix of curiosity and annoyance. Then he entered the room and saw the state of its occupant.

By the pinky... What's happened to you?

For obvious reasons, Kiara gave no response. Darius, for his part, did not need one. His question had been, more or less, rhetorical. One attentive scan and he knew that his maid had been locked in her room for nearly a full day. What he did not even suspect was that his own mother had done it.

Perhaps she accidentally turned the lock before shutting herself in. And, of course, none of us could hear her ask for help. I might have to ask Papa to move her somewhere closer to the other rooms. In the mean...

Being a gentleman, he put on a smile and reached out his hand to the girl saying...

Sorry we've left you up here. Believe me, it was not intended. Come on. Let's head to the kitchen. I may not be as talented as you are but I am third best in my culinary class.

Kiara followed the open hand up to face its owner. Even through her dark lenses, she could see the sparkle in his ruby and emerald eyes- Cornelia had seen to it that none of the boy's masks hid the pride and joy of his heritage.

With a nod, Kiara put on a smile of her own and pulled herself up by her ignorant brother's arm. Since she believed that Cornelia's plan, whatever it was, had already been tried and failed...

He would never have been allowed to come and get me otherwise.

... she followed the boy without hurry, down and down the spiral steps until, at the foot of the climb, a most peculiar thing happened. But in order for that to make sense, you will have to know about what happened with Cornelia's plan.

Of all the girls in Darius' school, the best of the best of the lyricists was Lauren and she was not so much older than Kiara that they looked totally unalike. In a fit of desperation, Cornelia asked Lauren- via Darius -to pretend to be Madame Joanne Smith, figuring that she could mimic Kiara's playing and all would be well. And Lauren agreed on the condition that she be paid a coin for every word she uttered whilst in-character- and also because neither she nor Darius knew that the real person was locked away in the attic.

Just so there is no misunderstanding, any sane person would realise, in an instant, that such a plan had absolutely no chance of working. And, indeed, both Darius and Lauren knew perfectly well that the Overseers would see through the ruse at once. However, their plan was to say as many words as possible so that when they were caught- and no one could blame them -Cornelia would be bound by her own word to pay up and the two children would then be able to split the payment.

So, do we have a deal?

I want your word, that if I play my role, I will get my payment.

Yes! Yes, of course. What word would you like?

Gibbs.

Done.

And the word was carefully chosen since it seemed a worthy gamble that Cornelia would not willingly forsake her power to utter the fate of Gibbs for such a small price.

The hour soon arrived for the ruse to take place and, in accordance with their agreement, Lauren was determined to give it her all. She arrived dressed in her best clothes and she had spent the night before practising all her bestest songs- just in case any of them came up. As for Cornelia, she too dressed to the best of her ability and so the two waited eagerly for the appointed arrival of the Overseers' carriage. Darius, too, waited for the moment from inside the house- looking out a window to catch a glimpse of the heroes he had spent his youth playing games about. Then, no sooner or later than discussed, it happened.

From the firmament, there descended, a car. Not an autocar like the ones running through the roads of Tolemac. No, this was like a carriage of old. Only its wheels were not rolling on stone but on clouds. And the horses leading it were white and winged with single horns on their foreheads. From the pavement outside the Gibbses' home looking up, it seemed as though a second sun had appeared and the effect lasted very nearly until the precise moment the blanket of clouds on which the carriage rested vanished into the rock of the road. Then, from the door, stepped out a very curious sort of man- not commonly seen on Ardusk. From the waist upward he was like a man, but his legs were shaped like a goat's (the hair on them was glossy black) and, instead of feet, he had goat's hooves. He also had a tail and rather reddish skin too. His little face was strange but pleasant, with a short pointed beard and curly hair; and out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. He was a Faun- A Talking Goat -and his fate was Lucian.

G-G-Good afternoon... Fates protect me...

Cornelia was rather terrified the first time she laid eyes on him but she decided it would be best not to look obviously repulsed by a helper of the Overseers. Lauren was also a little stunned but more out of awe than fear. She had read the right kind of stories growing up and so she knew of Fauns and how like and unlike they were to Whos. To see one in real life was quite exciting for her and she really wanted to touch his horns but she decided that it would probably be rude to do so. As for Lucian, he wasn't quite sure what to make of Lauren but he disliked Cornelia on sight since he knew a witch when he saw one.

What do you mean? Do you wish me a good afternoon, or mean that it is a good afternoon whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this afternoon; or that it is an afternoon to be good on?

Umm... I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

I could, but I won't. Whatever the fate of my afternoon, I certainly do not want to spend it all here. You mentioned that you had the Guardian's shadow with you?

His shadow? Oh! You mean the shadow- black cloak. Well... (presenting Lauren carrying the cloak in her arms)... here it is. And here is the lyrical who has kept it till now.

I am Madame Joanne Smith, at your service, brave and bold helper of our gentle and mighty defenders. I hope your trip here has been pleasant and that I will not prove to be a disappointment. Here it is. The Guardian's shadow-black cloak. I have kept it safe till now.

Things seemed to be going fairly well at first, until the Faun picked up the cloak with his own hands and brought it closer to his right ear as if to hear it whispering something very softly. And when next he brought the cloak down from his ear, he lifted his eyes and looked sharply at Cornelia before turning suddenly to Lauren, saying...

Put this on.

I'm sorry. I would never presume to don such a distinguished-

No worry about that. The Guardian already mentioned that you wore it without issue on Candle-Day's Eve.

She and Cornelia shared a brief, nervous look with one another and, after a nod from the former Lady, Lauren gave it a go. And so Lauren attempted to put the shadow on but as she swung it around her shoulders it got smaller and tighter so that its length barely reached past the tips of her hair and it choked her to try and wrap it around her neck. The more she struggled, the worse it got until, finally, she let go and the shadow returned to its normal size as it fell on the floor. And so Lauren was, afterwards, briefly left to fits of wild coughing and panting.

Just as I thought. Now then. The game is up. Where is the real girl?

I'm not entirely sure what you're suggesting.

I'm entirely sure you're entirely sure what I'm suggesting.

Would you mind telling us the problem? Or will you trust a piece of wool over a woman?

Things say very little ma'am- too little to lie. People talk far too much- even with little to say. But since you insist, I will humour you. (to Lauren) On the count of three, sing for me the first verse of the song you sang on the Eve. I too will sing on the count of three- young Guardian has got it stuck in my head. If there is perfect unity between our songs then I am mistaken and you will have my sincerest sorrows.

With a look, Cornelia could tell that Lauren was on the edge of breaking their covenant. And so, deciding that she could not trust the girl to add anything more to the scam, Cornelia began on the offensive.

Listen here. I don't know what sort of enchantment lives in that cloak but I am a gentlewoman and I will not have my honour questioned by some goat.

The former Lady's knees were shaking. A gamble was being made. In the past, she had only called her opponents "apes" in the most frightful of circumstances. It did well to break their postures and make them feel as though she were in control since they could not seek vengeance against her for the slur. However, she was no longer the Lady she once was, and Lucian had been in the service of the Overseers for many years and he had been called much worse by people far less pitiable.

Lauren, for her part, was quite terrified at the sound. If she were not tempted to betray Cornelia before, the sound of the slur certainly pushed her over the edge. And just as she was about to blow the whistle on the whole affair, something happened to silence her again. The shadow, which had been on the ground, lifted itself up into the air and flew past the Faun into the hand of the Chainbreaker as she stepped out of the carriage in her own rose-red cloak. Setting down her riding hood and revealing her masked face, she spoke in elegant tones, saying...

I'm afraid you are mistaken. My fellow is not questioning your honour. I am. He is only speaking on my behalf.

Lady Overseer...

At once, Cornelia got on one knee and bowed her head. All the while, Lauren looked on in helpless awe, as though she were looking upon a museum figure come to life. To the bowed Cornelia, Chainbreaker gave no regard at first. First, she gave a very sweet smile to Lauren, and then a kiss on the forehead to loyal Lucian. When she had done these things, her sweet look turned instantly bitter and she finally addressed the former Lady Gibbs.

Now then, what is it that has gotten my boy's shadow in such a bad mood?

My Lady I-

Enough with the kneeling. I am a soldier, not a goddess.

At your word.

And so Cornelia returned to a more dignified posture though her eyes became quickly fixed to the ground.

Now, I'm going to ask you a question. And I would like for it to be answered honestly. You will find no good in lying to me. Where is the Lady Lyrical who has kept this shadow till now?

With only a little hesitation, Cornelia pointed toward a mortified Lauren declaring...

Here is she!