[b]Kathelia![/b]

You are an eagle eyed, ultra-cool observer of the truth! And if you know anything right now, it's that your keen observations and even keener insights are going to be the key to getting through this whole kerfluffle of a maze. (that's a word people use, right? kerfluffle?) So don't waste any time and bust out your ultra awesome, [i]official[/i] "I <3 The Labazaar" notebook and let the field research begin!

Observation Number One: Alina is absolutely a critical part of your fighting force right now. In fact, you'd estimate she represents somewhere between one half and fully two thirds of your combat power right now. You are, of course, the remainder, so it's really down to how confident you're feeling in a given moment. Kyouko is... wonderful, but the way she's clinging to you while trembling and squealing is a) extremely not conducive toward efficient note taking and b) displaying highly questionable battle efficiency at best. Not that you blame her: this is really scary! But it's also [i]fascinating[/i]. 

Anyway, Alina! The way she's jumping around right now, dodging the chain plants and scarf vines and Princess-Traps which are very determinedly sprouting up and snapping at her is the kind of acrobatic display you kind of have to just take a second to admire. The interesting thing about it is the way she's still moving and acting almost just the way you remember her when you dig through your pre-Curse memories. In fact, of everybody you've had the chance to observe, doesn't she seem like she's been the least affected? Maybe it's because her curse doesn't have a strong mental component to it. Or maybe Eupheria tried to fit too specific a label on her and she's spilling a lot of her essential Alina-ness out of the container, so to speak. It could even be because Eupheria and Alina are related and she's taking it easy on her great-granddaughter, subconsciously or otherwise! Or, um... well it could just be random chance maybe, but... ooh! What if it's because of Rita? Fascinating, but there's just not enough data to draw from. Perhaps if you had access to some sort of Princess Cursification Device you could run more tests and...

Observation Number Two: This is a terrible night to have a curse. 

Actually, this is the very first time you've been able to watch a curse advance! The most interesting part is that even though they seem broken up into very distinct tiers of progression, the move from one tier to the next is, for all intensive porpoises, instantaneous. One second Alina is nimbly dodging whip vines and providing a very good distraction while you take notes completely untouched, the next she's distracted by the sudden appearance of a Common Pocket Snakerchief ([i]serpentes buccalis[/i]), her concentration slips, and then all at once you see the flash of sharp feline teeth in her mouth, which is elongated and also Extremely Cat, right down to the itty bitty nose, the whiskers, and the super pettable lavender fur, and then she's just left to deal with the sudden shift in her sensory expectations. It trips her up about as much as you'd imagine. 

Observation Number Three: Alina has been captured. Kidnapped. Catnapped? She's bound and trussed and dragged off squeaking into the forest almost before you can blink. You're going to need to go after her (see Observation Number One). But just as importantly, you're going to need to get that Light. Side note, why is it that Light is a capitalized word? Technically they should be referred to as Illuminan Light Crystals. And [i]technically[/i] this isn't even one of those so much as an adapted bit of dragonfire contained in an official Illuminan Light Crystal Casing. But even so, it exhibits all the expected properties of a fully functioning Red. Get that, and get it to Alina, and she'll be strong enough to break out of whatever bindings she's being held in as easily as she could swish her kitty tail. Rescue her without it, and there's a chance she'll be immediately recaptured because...

Observation Number Four: her Increasingly Eupheria Mother (IEM for short) has eyes for exactly two things right now. The first is those apples on the hill. Those are very definitely important. But the second is Alina. She's completely ignored you [i]and[/i] Kyouko just to be able to drag her daughter away from all the chaos. You're not exactly an expert on the motivations of parents, to say nothing of IEMs specifically, but one thing you can say with certainty is that she wants Alina. If you don't do anything to unbalance the cycle, it could continue like this forever. Or at least until it's too late. 

Or! Alternative method that [i]doesn't[/i] involve going into the scary garden and then the scary forest! You could abandon her and make a play for the apples yourself! This has Final Boss Chamber written all over it, you could totally save Alina by just destroying the Labyrinth around her instead. But you couldn't possibly leave her to her wriggling, blushing fate, all alone! ...Could you?

Snap the book shut! This will all be on the test, Kazzy. You've got one (1) beautiful princess on your arm, and your friend desperately needs you to be her hero. Now. Like, right now. What's the plan, little snowflake?