The soles of my shoes hit the walnut floorboards and I feel like every single person in the strange orphanage can hear me. It's only a matter of time before a guard or employee pops up from behind a corner to scold me. I could easily teleport back to my dorm with Lucifer, safe and sound... But I somehow don't want to leave without my brother and his best friends. It was my idea to come here in the first place, after all. Throwing caution to the wind, knowing the skeletons from the Happy Ending Archives are probably already searching for me, I blast out a powerful telepathic message.

     " ICE?! WHERE ARE YOU!? "

I keep jogging. I'm not sprinting, since I want to make sure that in the occurrence that I'd need to run, I'll have enough stamina to do so.

     " Oh, howdy, Diamond. We just left Winnie's dorm. "

Does he realize how insanely gigantic and maze-like this place is?! I stop, my teddy bear nearly bumping into my calves. Left or right? Right or left..? I bite into my lower lip, drumming against my thigh with my right hand fingers. I exhale and decide to follow my instinct : left. A tall door, uncannily similar to the one I just escaped through, faces me. It fills up the whole back wall of the, apparently, single door alley into which I veered. The dainty golden plaque screwed to the door leaf suddenly shimmers under the elegant ceiling lights, with the outward movement of said-door. A short shiver shakes down my spine as my feet refuse to budge and my eyes are anchored to the name engraved into the rectangular piece of metal : " Lady Fauna ", and in a smaller fashion, " Directress ". By the corner of my eye, I notice a spark of blue light near my left-side fingertips. The renowned fairy steps out of her office, helped by her cane.

     " Why exactly did you come here? I must admit, you children are quite intriguing. "

I'm not able to hold back a scoff. I ask, almost insulted and without even bothering to hide my annoyance :

     " Children? Seriously? "

Her brown eyes lower and she stares at my glowing fingers.

     " I might not be aware of your exact age and we both know very well that appearances can be deceptive. However, your ways of acting are far from being those of a mature being. Therefore, you are a child, my dear. "

The famous woman proceeds to raise her cane as one would use a wand. A split second barely goes by that a 15 feet long icicle blasts out of my left palm. I can't even remember taking the time to make that decision... With a loud thudding sound and a swirl of snowflakes, the fairy is thrown violently onto the door in her back. The solid panel of wood is blown out of its hinges and crashes inside the office, with Fauna on top, unconscious. She seems to have hit her head pretty hard on the edge of her desk. Shards of ice cover most of the floor, some sharper ones are stuck in the door frame and walls of the hallway. I hurry into the room, nervously glancing at her. Chips of ice crunch under my shoes. Carefully tangled tree roots support a smooth and rounded slate of spotless sea foam green glass, building a sophisticated yet natural-looking desk. My eyes drift over to the slightly blood smeared and damaged part where the orphanage worker knocked her head. I realize pieces of glass are scattered among the larger ice spikes, my heartbeat racing as I have another epiphany : I might've killed one of the Three Good Fairies. I might have... I gasp, my lips trembling. I pinch them together tightly, feeling my frenzied pulse weakening slowly. Lucifer's paw pressing against my ankle keeps me from spiralling. For now, at least.

     " D i a m o n d ?  W o u l d  t h i s  b e  o f  a n y  i n t e r e s t  t o  y o u ? "

     " What? " I look over at the surface of the desk, which he's pointing at with his other plush limb.

I walk around the table, pieces of glass and ice squeaking under my feet. A book, kept opened and flat by large pebbles, sits like she was reading it before my disruption. I can imagine, by the presence of the stones resting on either sides of the two pages, that she was only interested in these ones. I observe the rows of pictures closely, then the names printed under each one. I don't recognize even one of these people, but they all seem aged no less than thirty Earth years old. Parents or former orphans, I'm guessing. Whether they're parents who gave up their children to the orphanage or, on the contrary, adopted from the institution, I can't know. I would check, but it would be foolishly unwise to stay here longer AND move Fauna's possessions. Who knows, maybe no one being aware that I saw this book will benefit me some day. I stare at the faces and names for a few additional seconds, then snap my fingers at my childhood teddy bear.

     " Let's go, buddy. "

I cradle him into my arms and leave the room at a speedy pace. The smell of blood lingers, along with an overwhelming feeling of... Power. It's strange and probably worrying, but, I've got more to worry about right now than inaccurate or abnormal emotions. After hurrying left and right like a maniac, annoyed by the enchanted ever-changing colorful walls, I hear something. Rarely thought it would be music to my ears...

     " Diamond! Turn right, we're here! "

Ice! I nearly bump directly into my twin and his best friends. No time to ask how and when he got reunited with Narbeth, the loud pounding of the boots belonging to at least a dozen security guards can be heard.

     " What did you do? " demands Winnie, frowning. I scoff, before snapping at her.

     " You are in no position to judge, Winnifred. So, you either shut it or you're not coming along. "

Her delicate blond eyebrows fly upward and I whisk my Teleportation Sceptre out of my bag.

     " Hold on to me, guys, it's now or never. " I feel their hands clasping against my arms.

I hastily visualize the glass slipper painting from the New Way, my dorm room, my own bedroom... Once again, precision is key. Thankfully, a swirl of familiar, and quite comforting, wind swallows us whole. It ejects us on the tile floor I pictured a second ago. Clenching the polished fairy bone arrangement, I notice I dug my fingers deeply into Lucifer's stuffing. Rolling to at least be sitting, I let out a sigh of relief. Everyone made it.

     " So, what did you guys find out, huh? " unceremoniously inquires my brother.

     " Not here. " I snap, irritated. " And, for your information, there wasn't much of an 'us'. Which, you could've figured out since you apparently managed to find Narbeth in that fricking maze! " I realize I'm yelling. I grit my teeth and breathe quickly, giving the impression I'm hissing, holding my palms against my temples.

     " I think... " I cut Winnie off mid-sentence, while retaining myself from leaping to strangle her.

     " No one cares. No one. Cares. No one cares what YOU think. " I spit my words, they are more bitter than a wheelbarrow filled to the brim with a mixture of rotting lemon juice and vinegar. The blood-thirsty creature pulls back, nearly hiding behind the two boys, as if I tried to bite her. I scoff, laughing hysterically.

     " What my WORDS are too scary for you?! My words, huh?! Well, let me tell you something. LET ME TELL YOU A STORY! You wanna know what's REALLY scary? Like, traumatizing, for fricking instance?! Getting RIPPED open by a MANIAC in the forest! How's that for... How's that for scary, hm?! "

My heart is thumping inside my whole being and my lips tremble, I'm getting flustered by the second.

     " N-now imag... Imagine seeing your best f... Imagine... Imagine finding your best friend, af... After years... Ripped open by some... By some... Some..! "

I'm panting, feeling my eyeballs burning. I feel like claws made of flames are grabbing my ribs and yanking at them until they break. Until the fragments of shattered bones become splinters in my heart. Until my heart bleeds out and I die with it. Until I join Heather.