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A girl with short hair and a green sari strides over to my side of the room. With quick, confident movements, she takes the lipstick out of my hands and jams it against the mirror. Red lipstick smears everywhere, like a bloodstain over my reflection.
I blink. "That seems like an overreaction."
"The sign on the door said not to use anything. Even if it didn't, you shouldn't go around putting random makeup on your face," The girl rubs her fingers together, getting rid of the red residue. Her earrings, emerald studs against silver, dangle angrily. "What's your name?"
"Vivre Pev -"
"Vivre?" She pauses. "Like the french word? Why?"
"Oh, my mom -"
"Nevermind, I don't care," She takes the seat next to me. Her posture is so straight it doesn't even touch the back of the chair. "Do you know where we are?"
"No," I rush to get the rest of my words before she interrupts me again. "That last thing I remember was riding on a train with Blair and -"
"A train? To station four?" She interrupts anyways.
"Yeah. Were you on it?"
"Obviously."
The girl is still for a few moments, eyes focused on a sight I cannot see. I wait patiently, hoping she'll share her thoughts in a minute or two. Instead, she stands up and struts out of the room.
"Wait," I blurt out, not wanting to lose my first chance at meeting an ally. "Wait!"
She's already on the staircase, walking down. I follow the sound of her heels as the clap with every step. By the time I catch up to her, we're already a few floors down.
"You didn't tell me your name," I breathe as soon as I catch up.
"It's Nikita."
"Oh, that's pretty. Where are you going?"
"I'm getting out of here," She says this as if it's obvious. I guess it is. "You may come with me if you wish."
"Wow, what an honor," I clear my throat. This isn't the best time for sarcasm. "So, do you have a plan?"
"My original plan was to break one of the windows and jump out. However, the storm makes it impossible to see how high we are. Therefore, we're going to keeping going down until we're close enough to the ground to escape without any injuries."
I think about her plan. "That's a pretty good start."
"I suppose."
Nikita doesn't glance at me once during our conversation.
On the outside, her expression is a stoic painting, unfazed. Her eyes, on the other hand, dart to every corner, from the arched white window that stretches up six floor floors to the unlit chandelier shaped like a flock of birds. There's dozens of things for us to look at with every step.
The ticking of a grandfather clock echoes in the giant castle.
The sound irritates me, so I replace it with my own voice. "Do you think there any other people from the train here too?"
Nikita pauses momentarily, as if she hadn't considered the question. "Most likely."
As we walk, I notice a pattern with the doors. Although the differ in sizes and shapes, the colors are similar, shifting from shades of green to a gradual blue.
"Why do you think we're here?" I continue. "Do you think it's for a reason? Or we just picked randomly?"
"We'll answer all these questions once we get out of here."
"Right."
"I hope you're happy..."
We both jump at the same time. My phone vibrates within the pocket. The fabric of my robe is so translucent that you're able to see the neon glow of my phone even in it's pocket. Nikita watches me with narrowed eyes as I take out my cellphone and press it against my ear.
"Hello?" I stutter out.
"Vivre?"
"Blair?"
"Oh, thank god. I was ... and now, we don't have much time -" Her voice fades in and out, between layers of static that muffle the space between us.
"What?" I press the phone closer to my ear.
"Hello? We're at the ... Dining Hall...can you hear me?" Blair's voice becomes clearer as I move a few steps. "There's something weird going on. I'm with Avery, Lucille, and R... at the Ruby Red Dining..."
Her voice fades away.
"Hello?" I say. "Blair?"
"...meet us at the Ruby..."
The line goes dead.
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Things You Learned in This Chapter
1) Nikita has a plan.
2) Blair and other people are stuck inside the Ruby Dining room.
