The Truth About The Many Worlds Of Printed Pages

°•○•°Thirteen°•○•°

The sun had already set,  James realised, noticing the hues of the long, late summer's twilight fighting their way through the layers of foliage suffocating the windows of the office-laboratory which the old couple led them into.

Several people sat behind the long bright desk today, a few more stood along the pieces of furniture holding the strange instruments which lined the white walls, but James had no time to study them as his attention was seized by Christopher. 

"Here you are, finally," the middle-aged man said, the impatience that he managed not to betray by his voice, revealed by his jumping to his feet the moment they appeared in the doorway. "It's late, for your next quest, I want you here in the morning. We can do so much more in one day that way... Wonderful, the costumes are perfect. You left all your belongings upstairs, right? You shouldn't carry anything from this world with you into the books; you may only take your jewels, the things that belong to your costumes, and the book you are working on. Anything else from this world might make you look suspicious in the eyes of the residents of the fictional worlds and put you in danger."

Siena nodded; she had left her handbag and clothes behind the wooden screen in her changing room. The only thing Alicia allowed her to carry was the copy of The Little Prince and the clutch bag matching her gown...

"You have the revolver, James, don't you?" Christopher's voice disturbed her train of thought. "You shouldn't need to use it, however, it belongs to your uniform." 

Of course it did, Siena recalled suddenly, the pilot in the story tried to shoot the snake when he first saw it. Could James shoot? she mused, not realising that she looked up at him questioningly until he replied to her mute question with a reassuring smile and a slight nod. It was amazing how they seemed attuned to each other; it felt as if he could read her mind sometimes...

"I need your full attention, Siena, please," Christopher demanded, making her blush and finally look at him again. "You need to carry your jewels and the book with you to transport and move within the plot. Of course, none of the characters must see the book, it would only create confusion and cause trouble, both for you and them, most likely. You need to be very careful to keep it hidden."

"Remember that anything that you change too early in the plot will have consequences and influence the ending, making it unpredictable," Albert spoke from his place at the table where he sat next to Alicia, their backs to the window, faces obscured by the fast thickening shadows flooding the room.

"Don't stay too long, not the first few times. Once you learn to use the jewels properly, everything will become easier and safer. Then you can experiment a little," Alicia added. "Just do what you must and come back, we'll be waiting for you." The old woman smiled fondly at the couple, her smile brightening her features enough to make her face glow in the punumbra. 

Siena returned her smile; she was already as fond of the old grandmotherly woman as she was of James... The thought made her blush deepen and she dropped her eyes to the tips of her crimson shoes, shifting nervously on her feet, an action which caused James to squeeze her hand tighter in his, making her realise that they were still holding hands which turned her cheeks as crimson as her shoes.

"Keep close," a man standing in the shadowy corner by the window whom Siena hadn't noticed before spoke, making her look up, hoping that the room was dark enough to hide her blush. "Only separate when it can't be avoided, you know that you can only transport together, you need both the jewels to do that."

"Why is that, and what is the safe distance to keep should we get separated?" James asked quickly. It was something no one had explained to them so far.