[b]Mittens![/b] At the bottom of a stairwell leading up to another unknown room, you get dressed. The socks simply [i]refuse[/i] to come off, and the suit doesn't actually have matching socks, so you resign yourself to an extra bit of hidden cutesiness. It's not like anyone's taking these boots off you, right? Right. Nobody needs to know that ickle Mittens has adorable widdle pawsies under her Princess-killer boots. One look at you now, with your snakerchief poking out of its comfy pocket and your vest jingling softly as you move and your loose hair spilling down your shoulders, and anyone would melt on the spot. When Rita sees you, she'll squeak and shimmy her hips and toss herself into your arms! Rita... You take one more look down at the pit of the rope vipers, as your conscience just keeps pricking at you. For all you know, the struggling cocoons below are filled with, well, more of Eupheria's creations. She can't have herded people in here while you looked for clothes just so that when she dropped you in there'd be more of an ambiance. Or maybe she would. Or maybe there are other people on the conveyor belt and another princess is wandering down the hall of clothes, not suspecting that all the new clothes on the racks intend to mob her the moment she chooses her new dress. Maybe the whole labyrinth is an ouroboros and there's no way to actually win, just an infinite number of ways to lose. Don't think like that. That's how she wins. But you can't stop wondering who's down there. Whether it's someone like Rhyza or the serving girl from the Iluminan restaurant, or whether Rita is down there all wrapped up in silk, and you're about to callously walk away from her because you were scared of a few snakes. And it's as you think about that that you see the teeniest, tiniest cocoon right at the bottom of the pit, and indigo light twinkling through the silken rainbow strands. *** [b]Kathelia![/b] When Eupheria sees the trap, she giggles and rolls her eyes. But you're right, she's an entertainer: she [i]can't[/i] resist the temptation to whistle and over-exaggeratedly hop right into the net in order to get those berries. And in her defense, when you pull the net and dangle her up over the ground, she's got bulging cheeks full of those sweet berries. She swallows, and you can [i]see[/i] the lump going down her throat, and then she burps. "Hello, darling," she says, hugging Caddy to her chest. No chance of trying to pry that away from her, but she seems to be playing along. Maybe because you're actually acting like a Hyperborean princess should? That would make sense. Unlike your father, she's not an alien force imposing the logic of another world on Hyperborea, but simply the most dangerous princess this world has ever known. Or the most dangerous queen, one supposes, if one is to properly respect her. "It looks like you've caught me! Congratulations on saving Hyperborea!" She's playing along with you, and this is your chance to get some answers, to grill her. But you just [i]know[/i] that the punchline to this comedy act is going to be something that makes you the butt of the joke after all. No matter how you slice the cheese, it comes back to the same certainty: you are going to pay for your boldness. Which means it's vitally important to milk this scene for as much info as you can get from her. And enunciate. You just [i]know[/i] she's going to be a smartass about your lisp. Don't ask for anything she can comedically misunderstand, choose your words carefully, and speak as clearly as you can. *** [b]Adila![/b] The sound of an out-of-tune pipe organ fills the air. Posters dangle down from the ceiling advertising the Amazing Servile Dragon, Does Whatever She's Told! Even the applause, slowly building, painstakingly powering the Applause-o-meter, seems mocking and twisted. None of the gremlins have [i]eyes[/i]. How are they even watching you? [i]There is one method by which we may be able to receive assistance. Even with the Watch scattered to the four corners of Eupheria's labyrinth, we may still be able to mobilize Hyperborea against her. We succeeded in making Eupheria's name synonymous with the worst sort of villainy, and this time, we may be able to overwhelm her with a concerted assault. You will need to send word to your allies in Ilumina. The only method with which you have a fighting chance to succeed is to utilize one of the mechanist's machines. Euphie... Eupheria never knew quite what to do with goblin gadgets.[/i] The Applause-o-meter is in the green now, slowly turning from lime to emerald. [i]Working together, you may be able to distract her with a myriad of princesses long enough for the Cascade to take the Caduceus from her great-grandmother, after which you will immediately incapacitate the Cascade and take the Caduceus from her. I will then use it through you to restore order and return all affected princesses to their original forms, and this being done, the Watch will impound both the Caduceus and Eupheria.[/i] Simple. Clean. Precise. Adila even knows the optimal way to make Alina crumple like a tin soldier. Sensing your distress at the thought, Adila crisply adds: [i]She is the only one graceful and bold enough to be successful in the attempt. But we know from the Felorian fiasco that she does not have the moral fortitude to resist the temptation of power. First she will use it to defeat Oberon, and then she will make the excuse that she needs it to fix what Oberon has done, and then she will fall and you will have done nothing. You cannot, will not, make my mistake. Then... then I may rest.[/i] And what about Eupheria? [i]She is addicted to power. She will never give up the Caduceus willingly and she will never stop attempting to reclaim it once it is taken from her. There is a place prepared for her. She will remain there for the rest of her unnatural life, if she does not crumple to dust once the Caduceus is removed from her possession.[/i] The first Adila's tone is as cold as Oberon's hands, forcing their way down your throat. [i]I will carry it out. You will not need to intervene. You will not intervene.[/i] BING! The door bursts into confetti. And all the gremlins start swarming you, holding up... autograph books? Your eternal nemesis: handwriting!