Dorotea 2

"Why did you send me to the library when you knew I wouldn't be able to read anything?" Dorotea shouted as she stormed back into the throne room.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. It's the same for me and Kyira has no idea either."

"Great, just great," she muttered as she paced back and forth in front of the throne.

"Look, I know it sucks to be you right now, but my life isn't so wonderful either. So rather than screaming at me, how about we try and figure out what's going on? Can you do that?"

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"Do you? Piss me off too much and I'll toss your ass outside and leave you there!"

"I will try."

"What do the legends say about this?" Sophia waved her hand at the room.

"Not much detail. Invincible, indestructable, run by either a mad-woman or a deity, those kinds of things. You are supposed to be immortal and unkillable."

"The instanced versions will only transport the near-dead back to their hut for healing." Sophia replied without thought.

"There's a word in there that I didn't understand. What does instanced mean?"

"It means this is one of many copies of this hut, all based off the original Hut of All-Worlds. Irena and her companions created copies, with reduced feature sets, umm, with reduced powers, to recruit help."

"I don't believe you. Convince me that you really know what you are talking about."

"Fine. How about I tell you all about yourself?" Sophia replied. She proceeded to detail the world of the mage wars, the wars, the death, the rise of the Wizard Lords from the shattered remains and the low order arcane survivors. By the time she was finished Dorotea was shaking and white, leaning heavily against the throne for support. "Now do you believe?"

"Ye..yes." Dorotea slid down the edge of the throne and sat, leaning her back against it, absorbing a bit of comfort from the solidity of it. "What, what do we do now?"

"No change, fix this thing and see about getting us home." Sophia pushed herself up from the throne and walked toward the far doors.

"Aren't you forgetting weapons?"

"Right, I'll be right back." Sophia returned with two swords, one on each hip. "Not that they'll help me much, since I don't know how to use them."

"Is one of those Soul Eater?"

Sophia turned white, "No. We don't get Soul Eater and I wouldn't wear it if we did!"

"But to suck the souls of your enemies, know their every thought, wouldn't that be useful?"

"And risk madness or worse every time I used it? I don't think so!"

"What about the Hand of Retribution? Do you have that? It would make you a credible opponent since you don't know how to use the swords."

"I don't think that's available either."

"Then what are you going to do if someone attacks?"

"Die, test out my theories? I don't know, but we can't fix anything hiding in here. I'm going crazy with waiting and sitting."

Irena - Home Again

She struggled to a sitting position, finding the heart shaped sapphire resting warm and heavy in her hand. She stared at it, remembering having left it wrapped in silk, back at the apartment. A dim flicking flame still danced in its depths, hypnotic and slightly frightening. She turned it, accidentally shifting it through the sunlight from the mostly drawn drapes. Once again the air shimmered with a deep gong sound. The flame flashed to brilliance and in the after image, burned across her eyes, she saw a shadowy scene of a woman in a throne. A second woman stood in front of her. Then the flash faded and she was staring at cheap hotel walls once again.

Irena rose on unsteady legs, packed her bag, and left. On the highway she floored it, staying at the head of traffic instead of with it, slowing only where she thought there might be traffic officers. Her instincts were perfect, slowing her every time before a radar car came into sight. Her thoughts were too frantic already to notice the strange coincidence.

She pulled into the drive an hour and a half sooner than her previous best time, dashed upstairs and shouted for Shandi. "Hey, I thought you were gone for three weeks," Shandi's voice called from her room.

"I was going to be, but it was too weird being back there. Remember those friends I mentioned? They're still exactly where they were when I left. I don't know what I wanted, but I should have taken your advice and gone somewhere different. Has there been any word on Sophia?"

"No. The police are still nosing around, although their enthusiasm seems reduced. We're starting to slip at work. We need to have an internal beta running next week, that's what we promised Rani Corp."

"Rani Corp? Who're they?"

"Jaime's backers. It's their money funding this venture and we promised a live demonstration server running by next week so they could take a look at the final concepts."

"I'm not a game developer, but I do know Jaime's characters pretty well. Reading through her notes, while I was gone, brought them all back to mind. If there's any way I could help, I'd be happy to."

"I don't know, maybe. It's not just knowing the characters. You need to set them up, but that is done in an editing environment, so you wouldn't have to code them directly," Shandi said, more to herself than to Irena. "It might just work. Come in with me tomorrow and I'll run it by the director. You still have the rest of your time off, right?"

"I did take three weeks for a break, yes."

"Then come in tomorrow morning with me and see. I think you can help."

"Uh, sure, I can do that," Irena replied, nervous, now that her offer was accepted. She opened her laptop and began looking through the game docs as soon as she had finished unpacking. Looking through the files reminded her of the incident of the morning. "Hey Shan, did anything strange happen this morning?"

"No, why?"

"You know that sapphire we found? It appeared in my hand this morning. I was certain I had left it here when I left."

"I saw you put it in your drawer. You didn't grab it on your way out?"

"No."

"Strange, very strange indeed. Where is it now?"

"In here, on my desk. I'm not sure what to do with it." Irena stared at it and continued slowly, "Did...anything...strange happen for you today?"

"Not really, why? Did something happen to you?"

"I've been having really strange dreams lately. And I've been drifting into waking dreams over the past few days."

"It could just be stress. I've gotten that kind of thing before."

"Maybe..." Irena trailed off. "It was a long drive. I guess I'll read a bit and sleep if you don't mind."

"See you in the morning. Remember, off to game we go."

"Sure."

Sophia - Dorotea

Sophia awoke and stumbled to the kitchen. Blearily, she looked for the coffee maker before memory returned. "Awake at last," Dorotea called from her seat on a high stool near one of the many counters. Sophia fumbled through the steps to make coffee, without replying to Dorotea. "What are your plans today? Going to fix this thing so I can go home?"

Sophia just grimaced, filled a cup and sipped coffee. Finally she replied, "Is there any way to convince you that I have no clue about how to fix this thing?"

"Not really, no. You have a magical aura that is obviously attached to this thing and you are able to command it. How could you be in that position without understanding?"

Sophia slumped forward on her stool and put her head in her hands. "Believe what you have to. I know I need things called 'Control Crystals' for something in the 'Core Systems'. The Core Systems I will look at this morning, and I know what control crystals look like, but I have no idea how to find them."

"Let's go then!" Dorotea stood and headed for a door. "Lead on."

"I need coffee and food first," Sophia replied, still leaning heavily on the counter next to her stool.

Dorotea stared at her for a few minutes, then rose, walked to the cooler and began pulling out food. She slammed a large plate of cheese, cold mystery meat, and bread in front of Sophia. "There, food." She hovered while Sophia slowly ate several bites and then said, "Ok, you can come back for the rest."

Sophia glared at her, but got slowly to her feet and led the way through the dining room, the throne room, and to a hidden door in one of the skull carvings behind the throne. She kept a firm hold on her coffee cup as she descended the narrow ladder to a small room with a single oval metal door. The wheel handle spun easily, withdrawing the heavy steel locking pins from their holdings and the door swung away from her on well oiled hinges. A ragged, uneven pulsing sound beat on them as they stepped into the massive room. Machinery, wires, cables, tubes, and odd constructions filled the room in a tangle of confusing clusters. Magical energy hammered against Dorotea's senses, driving her into a huddled crouch as she slowly followed Sophia into the room.

Sophia stopped and stared around the room. Concept sketches came back to her and she slowly approached the third panel on the right. She reached out and touched one of the buttons. A screen lit up and text began scrolling up it. "Damn it, what was that command, ah right!" Her fingers flew as she typed in the command for low level details of all failures. A list of damaged control crystals and their locations printed across the screen. "Why didn't I pay attention in those design meetings?" she muttered as she looked at the list.

"What?" Dorotea asked from where she was huddled on the floor next to the console.

"Nothing, just wishing about the past and mumbling to myself."

"When I want to remember, I try thinking of something else. What the sky was like, if there was a particular scent in the air, what I had recently eaten, things like that. It tricks the mind into a context and then the memories often return," Dorotea suggested through clenched teeth. "Are you close to finished? I can't take much more of this."

"You could wait in the throne room." Sophia frowned in concentration and then smiled, "Yes, I remember. They are accessible from this world. If they weren't, there would be no way to get anywhere. Where were they going to be? Right, we hadn't decided yet."

"This isn't a game, girl. Unless you are a godling, and if you are, you should send me back. Right this instant!"

"Godling, right, in my dreams. I'm just a community coordinator and character designer. I bet I could tell you a lot about yourself, Tyana, and Kyira, and maybe even some of the citizens of nearby cities, but that's it."

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Dorotea muttered, crawling toward the door.

"Oh, yeah, sure..." Sophia replied in a distracted tone. Once they were back in the throne room Sophia settled into the throne and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Not really. I can feel magical energy and that place was worse than the rest of this place. Can't you feel it?"

"A bit, maybe. There's a sense of warmth and comfort but also a sense of sickness and pain. If you can sense magic, can you also find magical items? If I were to show you one of the control crystals, could you narrow in on it? It would really help."

"What you ask is no simple thing, girl. It would require great spells and months or years of research to create such a spell and it would only work if the thing in question was not ensorcelled to prevent discovery. Why can't you find them? You're linked to this thing, shouldn't you be able to feel parts of it?"

"I don't know. It didn't occur to me to try it."

"Maybe we should go try then? You seem completely confused about so many things, so I must ask, what skills do you have?"

"I can create characters, set them up, recruit actors and..."

"No girl, what kinds of survival skills? What magics do you know, what weapons can you wield, that sort of thing."

"Uh, none..."

"None! And I have to rely on you to get me home? What sick fate have the gods conspired for me now?" A deep gong shimmered through the air of the throne room. "What the hell was that?"

"A summons from friends of mine. I could go to them if this thing worked."

"I need to think. I'll be in the library," Dorotea said as she strode off abruptly.

"Do you think she's safe?" Tyana asked from the air.

"Keep an eye on her. Tell Kyira to carefully watch what she selects to read. I think she's ok, but let's not take too many chances with her. Is there any way you can speed teach me anything to help me venture out of here sooner? She's going to get bothersome very soon, I suspect."

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, mistress. I wish it were," Tyana replied.

Irena - Dreams

Once more Irena sat on a hotel bed, enthralled by the laptop in front of her. She scanned indices and tables until she found the entries she was looking for. The first detailed a bar in the depths of Centrys, City of Doors, Eternal City at the center of the multi-verse. The description and sketches matched her imaginings at Brochan's perfectly. Down to the small table in the alcove and the urchin seated there. The second description was of a public market in the heart of Jakara, Gem of the Lotus, capital city of the Lotus Empire.

She sipped slivovitz from the bottle she had bought, nibbled on greasy pizza, and wandered the descriptions and renderings of the game world for a couple of hours. She turned the laptop off and slid under the covers, falling rapidly into a deep sleep.

Her dreams were random and unmemorable until a strange purple flash occurred in one. The heart shaped sapphire of Sophia's rested in her hand, pulsing and glowing with a deep purple light. She lifted her eyes from her hand to the table in front of her. Knives, swords, pouches of grease, and sharpening stones were laid out where possible customers could examine them. Overhead dark grey clouds shifted and swirled above the market area. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed in the distance. Cloths and tarps had been hastily strung up on poles to protect wares and the people close enough to browse them. Canals were visible behind the merchants not backed up against tall wooden buildings. Her table was set back in a narrow space between two buildings, their balconies and bridges providing shelter from the drizzling rain.

Balconies, bridges, and narrow walkways snaked between the tall buildings and arched across the canals in front of her. The throng of people gave little attention to the storm, instead focusing on haggling for food and goods as if it were a normal day. Few found their way to her small table, which was just fine. The flow of faces and styles in front of her was more interesting than the thought of having to sell anything.

A bright purple flash of light blinded Irena and, when it cleared, she found herself looking out into a forest glade. In the center of it a hexagonal wooden hut crouched. Smoke curled from the chimney and a white fence surrounded a stretch of emerald green grass and beautiful flower arrangements. Behind her the forest brooded, dark and forbidding. Animal cries echoed in the distance. Overhead the sky was deep, crystaline blue with tiny puffs of white cloud. Behind the hut, rising in the distance was an impossible spire of rock, thrust up sharply, and rising out of sight into the sky.

Irena began walking toward the hut. As she neared the fence it resolved into bones, woven together to form a fence. Grinning skulls rested atop the fence posts and seemed to watch her with dim, orange fire eyes. The gate swung open as she approached, while a voice softly whispered, "Welcome home, Mistress."

A loud honking and banging slammed her awake, abruptly ending the spell. Her head pounded with the suddenness of the intrusion. The cheap hotel clock showed five in the morning and the sky was just showing the beginning of day.

Irena - Shopping with Stacy

Stacy spoke to Irena in the morning, however, she was still distant and formal. She thawed slightly as the day progressed and a bit more when they met up with Amy to go shopping. Once again it proved how much Irena had changed and what her expectations had grown to be. Even the chain pseudo-goth shops weren't available in the local mall.

While Stacy and Amy sorted through clothes, scurried back and forth to the fitting rooms, and chattered on excitedly about the men they'd seen at Brochan's, Irena let her mind wander. She was in a roofed over street market. The murmur and crest of numerous conversations swirled around her. The air was heavy with spices, scented smoke, perfumes, and sweat. Women walked boldly in the bustle, often followed by men carrying bundles and bags. Here and there friends met and chatted at small tables near food and drink vendors. The clothing was a riot of vibrant colors and rich fabrics. Hot yellow sunlight smote the streets beyond the market. Jugglers and musicians performed for copper coins in open spaces in the bustling crowd.

"Irena. Irena! Hey, what do you think of this?" Stacy almost shouted in her ear. Irena snapped back into the tawdry mall shop to find her friend standing in front of her in another hideous outfit. It was pink, with little embroidered unicorns, and made of saggy knit fabric and might have looked good on an eight year old. Irena couldn't choke back all of the laugh that rose unbidden at the sight. "Hey! I think it looks great on me," Stacy snapped back.

"I'm sure it does. I'm fashion impaired, remember?" Irena replied.

"Yeah, yeah you are," Amy added with real venom.

When they headed into the next shop, Irena pulled her cell phone and dialed. "Alex, could you call me back in half an hour?"

"Sure boss, what's up?"

"This vacation was a bad idea. I need to leave, but I want to give my friends an excuse, something like a disaster at work."

"Sure thing. Not enjoying the old haunts?"

"Realizing there are some places it's better not to go back to."

"I hear you there! Got to go, we're getting busy."

Rather than follow her friends into the shop, she continued down the walk until she found a book store. She was wondering the aisles, finding a few interesting titles, when Stacey stormed up to her. "You trying to ditch us or something? Too good for your friends now? What happened to you?"

Irena started to answer when her phone rang. She made a show of looking down and checking the number before answering it. "Yes?" She listened for a few minutes then ended the call with, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Who was that?"

"My assistant manager. Someone disappeared after leaving Waverly's and they want to question everyone that was on duty that night. I'm going to have to head back right away."

"Disappeared? Why do you work there? Why do you live in that city? It's a dangerous, nasty place!"

"Because I like it, Stace."

"I don't think I know you anymore. You used to be sensible and interesting. Ever since you started hanging out with that weird Esther character in high school and then those gaming geeks in college, you've just gotten weird. I thought you wanted to see us but I guess I was wrong."

The ride back to Stacey's was spent in silence. Their goodbyes were pleasant but distant as Irena climbed into her car and drove away. She kept going until she reached the motel she had stayed in on the way out.

Sophia - Into the Realm

Tyana opened the door at Sophia's nod, Dry air, laden with the scent of old dust and stone, filtered into the room. Outside an enormous cavern vaulted overhead, above a large stone platform, sitting on a tongue of rock, over a vast chasm. Tyana wavered, sagged, and would have fallen if Sophia hadn't grabbed her. "What's wrong?"

"Too much damage. I can't maintain outside with this much damage."

"You there! You, near the strange building, where did you come from?" A tall woman, wearing silver and grey leather and metal armor, called as she strode toward Sophia.

"Us?" Sophia asked puzzled.

"Yes, you. Are you touched or something, girl? Who else would I be talking to? Why did you bring me here?"

"I didn't..."

"You did. I saw your building shimmer and fade then some type of magic wave crashed over me and I woke up here."

"Field and nav system damage. It must have been worse than I thought," Tyana whispered, sinking lower. "Get me back inside, please." Sophia turned to help Tyana back through the door.

"Oh no, don't you leave me here with no answers!" the woman shouted, running toward Sophia.

"Oh alright, come on in then," Sophia snapped over her shoulder. "Tyana, where are those stone doors and that chamber we saw?"

"I don't know. Echoes from the nav sys maybe. With the power systems as damaged as they are, it might be almost anything," Tyana replied as Sophia helped her to one of the battered old chairs in the entry room.

"Who the hell...holy hells, what kind of magic do you have here?" The woman staggered as she cleared the door, sinking to the floor and clutching her head. For a few moments she huddled there before slowly easing herself onto a low stool. "Who are you, how did you learn to control such powerful magic, and why have you brought me here?"

"I'm Sophia and this is Tyana. I..someone brought us here against my will as well. I don't know what is going on, other than this thing, that supposedly brought me here, is damaged."

"I've been waiting for days for you to come out of your little house. My world is being ravaged by a mad-man and I won't be able to stop it."

"Who is this mad-man?" Tyana whispered from the chair.

"Lord Shalmar, one of the Wizard Lords of my world, and he is seeking to conquer the other Wizard Lords and enslave everyone under his rule. I was trying to acquire a powerful artifact that would have let me defend against him, until your magic brought me here. Please, you must send me back!"

"What do I have to do to convince you that there is nothing I can do? I was brought here, just as you were. This thing is broken, it can't go anywhere."

"Liar!" the woman screamed. She pulled a dagger and threw herself at Sophia, only to be stopped in a pillar of harsh red light. Tyana groaned and Sophia staggered as exhaustion ripped through her.

Sophia staggered to the woman, pulled the dagger from her hand, and collapsed to her knees on the floor. "Stop," she called in a ragged whisper. "Stop or it will kill you." For long moments the woman stared defiantly at Sophia before relaxing slightly. Instantly the light snapped off and she stumbled forward a step and slid down to sit on the floor. Sophia rocked back until she was sitting cross-legged facing her.

"What happened to you?"

"She is bound to this item. Everything that happens to it, happens to her, and happens to me," Tyana answered. "It is damaged, so we feel the damage as pain and weakness. You are lucky. If you had tried that under normal conditions you would have been turned inside out without having a chance to reply." Tyana almost smiled at the shock on the woman's face. "You know who we are. I think it's time you returned the favor."

The woman hesitated long moments, the replied slowly, "I am Lady Ayrthane."

"Dorotea, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Sophia said without thinking. In her mind she saw the character data for Lady Dorotea Ayrthane, wizard lord of Formnought Holding, on the world designated as Wizilandria, world after the wizards went to war.

Dorotea stiffened, "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, um, oh..." Sophia trailed into silence, shocked back from her memories.

"Names have great power in many realms, mistress," Tyana added. "You would be wise to be careful in the sharing of ours and the mentioning of others."

"Where do you come from to know of realms? What matter of sorceress are you and what have you studied?" Dorotea asked.

"Sorceress? I know nothing of magic," Sophia answered.

"Mistress, I must rest. Please excuse me," Tyana rose slowly and stumbled toward the hanging at the back of the room.

Dorotea's eyes followed her, then turned a puzzled gaze on Sophia. "I thought this was a single roomed hovel."

"I am remiss, now that I have invited you in, I should offer hospitality. Come, let me offer you food and drink," Sophia said as she struggled to her feet. Dorotea rose and followed her through the hanging, into the throne room.

"This..this is the Hut of All Worlds," Dorotea whispered. "The oldest myths speak of this room and its curious ceiling. Forgive me mistress. If I had known I would never have spoken so harshly to you." She dropped to her knees in a deep bow.

"Get up!" Sophia said sharply. "I don't deserve to be bowed to." She turned abruptly and shuffled toward the door in the wall to her right. She crossed the richly appointed dining area to the far corridor and then to the kitchen. She pulled a bottle of wine from a place on the counter and laid out the bread and cheese she had found earlier. "I am sorry I cannot offer more, however, I don't know where the store rooms are yet. Please, eat, drink, and relax," she explained as she sank onto a stool. "Soon I must rest. I am sure there are guest chambers in here somewhere if you would choose to rest here instead of at your camp."

"You are treating me well, mistress. I will accept and enjoy your hospitality and remain so you cannot slip away without me."

"Tyana, where would we find rooms for our guest?"

"The door on the fifth landing of the Central Stair has the least oddly decorated bed chamber."

"Thank you, Tyana." Sophia waited until Dorotea had finished then conducted her to the chamber. "If you wake up before me, you can get something in the kitchen, wait in the dining room, or take the stairs down to the fifth door, cross the cloisters to any of the inner doors and wait in the library. I'll join you when I wake up." She then turned to her own chambers and fell into dreamless sleep.

Irena - Brochan's

Brochan's was the local version of what everyone thought an Irish pub would look like. Before Irena had left for the city it had seemed exotic, now it felt ordinary and rather fake. Every table was filled when they walked in. Fortunately, Amy and Tricia had already arrived and grabbed one. Seeing her friends in the same styles they had worn in high school, going to clubs with the same kinds of music, forcefully reminded her how much she had drifted out of their circle.

As soon as they were seated a waiter came over for their orders. "Slivovitz, please," Irena added to Stacy's order of Irish Cream. She tried again when the waiter shook his head, "Jameson Limited Reserve?" He shook his head again. "Jameson Gold?" He nodded at that one.

"Still drinking weird stuff?" Amy asked.

"There's nothing odd about slivovitz," Irena replied.

"Ok, big city girl," Tricia added.

The first drink relaxed her enough that the thoughts she had pushed away while driving returned. Stacy and the others started comparing the guys in the pub while Irena's mind wandered, painting a picture of a very different place. Dark stone walls arched over a rough hewn floor. Smoke hung heavy in the air, thick with the scents of grilled meats, tobacco and other smokes, sweat from many different races of creature clogged the air. Booming echoes of conversations, shouts of greeting, food and drink orders, and music from a stage in a small pocket cave partway up the far wall crashed around her in a deafening tide. Shadows flickered from lamps and torches hanging from the ceiling, placed on tables, or jutting out from the walls. She was seated at a small table, tucked into a little alcove against one wall. A single candle guttered in the air currents, flickering light and shadow across the top of the dark black liquid she was drinking. Across from her a small urchin girl sat, sipping a bile green colored sludge and smiling with genuine delight.

"Earth to Irena. Hello, where were you? I've pointed out the same guy four times now and you haven't even twitched your eyes," Stacy hissed.

"Oh, um, nothing, just more tired than I thought from the drive," Irena responded slowly. She forced her eyes to focus where Stacy was pointing. None of the guys in that general direction caught her eye.

"That one. The one in the denim jacket," Stacy almost huffed. Irena looked at the man in question. He was the blandest looking one of the bunch, although he was handsome enough. He could have been a final year student, a law clerk, or an insurance man. "Maybe you are becoming a lesbian," Stacy said with an edge when Irena just looked away.

"Sorry Stace, he just looks boring. I don't see anything edgy about him at all."

"Damn it, what's wrong with you? That ass hole you dumped sure was edgy enough. Abusive, drunk, and rude. Is that what you want again?"

"No, but I want someone with some fire, some passion, and who isn't afraid to be different."

"Is that some type of comment on me?" Stacy asked.

"No. No, of course not," Irena responded, almost too quickly. That actually was what she was thinking. When she had planned the trip home, she'd thought it would help to see her old friends, go to the old haunts, and drool over the boys again. But it all felt empty and hollow. She began to regret having taken an entire week, then told herself if she still felt the same way tomorrow, she'd head back early.

"At least get out there and dance," Stacy pressed. Reluctantly Irena hauled herself up and edged through the crowd to the dance floor. Not very many people were dancing, so she stood out both in her darker attire and because she was dancing alone. Several guys tried to join her, but moved away when she ignored them.

"You didn't even try to dance with any of those guys," Stacy accused when Irena returned to the table.

"Not interested," Irena replied. Stacy pointedly turned away from Irena and only talked to Amy and Tricia for the rest of the evening. After five or ten minutes of the silent treatment, Irena rose and spent the rest of the night alternating between the bar and the dance floor. It wasn't the music she particularly liked to dance to, but it was easier than being near Stacy while she pouted.

The ride home was spent in strained silence. "We have to share my bed, but don't talk to me until morning," Stacy said when they entered her room.

Cloying perfume, scented powder, and overpowering lavender scents clashed in Irena's throat and lungs, forcing a short bout of violent coughing. Stacy just glowered until she was finished, silently handed her a box of tissue, and stomped off to the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later in her perfect pink nighty, flopped down on the bed, rolled to the far side, and stretched out facing away from Irena and the room. Irena stared at Stacy for a long time before pulling a pair of sweats out of her bag, changing into them, and slipping into bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a very long time until sleep finally pulled her down into more strange dreams.