After Kira has moved a hand on the round clock, something in Amber City has shifted. She could feel it. Though she was not sure if the place has changed for good or for bad. The gravediggers said that veils between the worlds become transparent in autumn. Could it mean that Alice's city will become as unstable and scary as her own? She would not want that.

But when Kira went down the stairs and out of the tower, she saw the same city as before, with a stunning square, graceful houses, laughing children, blue sky, fountains, bridges, greenery and flowers...

Kira decided she does not know this place well enough to notice any differences and started walking through the streets, exploring Amber City further, watching all the buildings and passerby, trying to find evidence of the autumn coming.

Soon she got tired of the city's splendour, of intertwining domes, archways, streetlamps and spires, and all the pretty faces started blurring into one... And when Kira noticed a single different person, unlike any others, she nearly jumped from surprise.

It was an old woman with brown skin and long dark curls, in a black hat with little bells hanging from it. She had an eyepatch and was pushing a cart similar to one ragman would have.

The woman walked up to a small group of curious and frightened children gathered around a dead pigeon laying on the paving feet up. She bent down and placed the little corpse in her cart. Children instantly brightened and continued to play as if nothing happened.

Then she stopped near another group of children who were whispering excitedly to each other. Kira caught a snippet of their conversation.

"...you know, the books we are reading, about princes and princesses, pirates and Indians, they describe all these amazing places... do you think they really do exist? They should, right? There must be something beyond our city's walls!"

The old woman did something — Kira did not catch what — and it seemed like ripples appeared on the surface of the world.

"What were we talking about?", a girl asked.

"I can't remember", the boy answered. "Eh, what does it matter? Let's play hopscotch!"

Kira started following the old woman, watching her carefully. She saw candy wrappers, broken toys and shoes with holes making their way in the cart. And with them — arguments, pain and tears caused by a scraped knee. Then Kira saw the sunset and the night with all its starts dropping in the cart. So that is why the sun was always shining like it was nailed to the sky! Death and fear, secrets and uncomfortable questions — everything was disappearing inside that cart. The old woman was pushing it, not stopping even for a second, as if she did not need any rest, and taking all the ugly, timeworn, faulty, wrong things out of Amber City.

At some point, Kira finally lost her patience.

"Who are you?"

The old woman stared at her in surprise.

"Wait, you can see me? Usually, nobody notices, and you could not do it before... Huh, wait a minute..." She squinted at Kira's face. "You look an awful lot like our sweet quiet princess, but you are not her. Moreover, you are an embodiment of everything the Wizard wants me to get rid of".

"Oh yeah? Well, I'd like to see you try and push me into this cart!" Kira snapped.

The woman continued staring at her thoughtfully. Kira shivered under her dark gaze.

"I am a Governess, and it is my job to keep children of Amber City good and docile. I am afraid you are beyond mending. This rosebush is too overgrown, it is impossible to trim... So what should I do with you? I can not have you in Amber City; would you, perchance, like to leave it?"

Kira's heart raced. She thought about it not that long ago!

"You know how to get through the Wall?", she asked.

"I know all the secrets of this place", the Governess answered and winked at Kira with her only eye. "Tunnels under the city, basements, wells, pipes — everything the creator of Amber City wants to remain hidden goes in there. Where else can you find a passage through the Wall if not in the underground? I live there so I know the place like the back of my own hand. I will gladly show you the way."

Please, gentle reader, do not blame Kira for following the Governess. She was not stupid or too trusting, but very, very curious.

The old woman did not lie: the underbelly of Amber City did hide a whole labyrinth of basements and tunnels.

"If you only knew how often unwanted things, animals, people and thoughts appear in this city!" The Governess complained, strolling along the passage. "If it were not for the vast underground world, where would I hide everything the Wizard does not want to see?"

She explained that before showing Kira the way out of the city she would need to get something important from her humble abode, and even though to Kira it seemed suspicious she still kept on following the old woman. Do not forget her thirsty curiosity and keep in mind she was sometimes a bit too confident. Kira genuinely did not expect to face grave danger in Alice's world.

The Governesses abode was full of unsightly things like the ones she had in her cart, some a bit troubling and wailsome, some terrifying or unbearably horrid and the rest — somewhere in-between. The old woman dropped her baggage in the pile and then led Kira to another room.

It was empty, aside from a big cage in the corner, housing a gloomy creature: a black stallion with a twisted horn in the centre of its head. It did not have hooves but claws, its teeth looked razor-sharp and there seemed to be too much of them. Three pairs of eyes on both sides of its head were burning with hatred.

"Where did it come from?" Kira wondered. "It... I won't say hideous — it is stunning. But creatures like this belong in my world, not in Amber City!"

"Ah, it is living here as long as I can remember, since old times, when a particular person decided she owns the place and has a right to spawn her disgusting pets everywhere". The Governess clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "It grew angrier with years though..."

Kira did not notice right away that the cage stood open. She turned to warn the Governess, but the sly woman has already slipped out the door and locked it.

Black stallion with wolfish fangs slowly got out of its cage and started towards Kira. The girl was used to dealing with creatures even scarier than this one, so she did not lose her head even for a second, even though the unicorn was a lot stronger and bigger than her. Kira was hoping she could still stand up to it. She stepped back, watching the vile creature. The unicorn was advancing on and then swiftly lunged forward. Its sharp teeth bit the air just short of Kira's head.

Kira, evading its fangs and claws — the unicorn was trying to give her a kick with its mighty legs — reached for its only horn.

The horn was dark and smooth, like obsidian, and as polished as a mirror. Kira clearly saw her own reflection — and you might have already guessed what happened in that fateful moment. Sometimes our shadows, our mirror copies take our place unexpectedly, when we do not want them to and are completely unprepared.

*

Right at this moment, gentle reader, Alice was looking at her reflection in the blade left by the gravediggers near the blue jay nest.

She saw that Kira is in danger and quickly raised to her feet. Alice was quite sure there a creature like this one — a terrible stallion with three pairs of eyes and a sharp horn between them — could not exist in her Amber City, but there was no time for reflections; it was going to kill her sister!

Alice was not a fighter, but at least she had a sword. When Kira grabbed the horn, she swiftly reached out for her hand in the reflection.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the blade, and they switched place again, just like the last time. Alice appeared in a dungeon, pressed to a wall by a vile dark creature who was snapping its jaw and trying to skewer the girl with its twisted horn.

Since the blade now belonged to Alice, it was transferred to Amber City along with her. She was not sure how to wield a sword and so she simply pointed it at the creature, closing her eyes tight.

Sometimes being fearless is more important than skill or experience (but please, do not test this on yourself). Alice got lucky. The unicorn was enraged and did not notice its opponent has changed and, more importantly, that this new opponent had a weapon. How could it predict that? Alice did not even have to do anything — the beast flung itself on the blade. Blood splattered everywhere, covering the walls and the girl's dress in red.

Alice was hurt and scared by the tragic death of the black unicorn because any death is painful, scary and tragic. What she did not feel was shame since it was not her fault.

She thought for a moment and then cut off the shiny horn. As I said before, Alice was a thoughtful, prudent girl, and as this horn was a mirror and a weapon, all at the same time, she decided it must be useful. She only had to find a way to give it to Kira.

Alice had no idea where she was now. She thought she knew Amber City like the back of her own hand, but Alice never has been to these dungeons. Well, if Kira's world has changed so much with autumn and became more beautiful and sweet, hers must have changed as well.

Alice gave the door a yank, but it was shut tight by the Governess (of whom Alice knew nothing). She looked around and noticed another door, leading to the next room.

It was gloomy, just as the one with the unicorn, and turned out to be quite spacious, but filled by dozens of cages — big and small, hanging from the ceiling or bolted to the floor. These cages were housing different creatures of all shapes and sizes, but they all had something in common. Every single one consisted of two halves, connected rather awkwardly. There were chimaeras, manticores, basilisks, jaculuses, gryphons, catoblepases. And unlike the graceful black unicorn, terrifying but strikingly magnificent, as the night sky, as the sea storm, these unfortunate creatures looked unnatural and repulsive.

"Let me out. I am a friend!" Alice heard someone say. It was a tender voice, almost like a child's.

She saw a cage, and in it — an enormous cat with two heads. These words belonged to the left one. Then the right one began to talk with a low, sinister voice.

"If you free me, I'll eat you", it promised.

Alice was not going to open the cage even without this warning. The creature had claws and fangs, like the unicorn she just slew, so it was obvious letting a cat like this out could be very dangerous indeed. Pupils of both heads looked like hourglasses laying on the side, and there was something mysterious about them.

"How can you see me as a friend and as prey at the same time?" Alice wondered. "How can you be so... dualistic?"

"It is how everything in the world works. You never noticed?" the Cat asked with two voices at once. "Black and white, Apollo who is reasonable and Dionysus who is roaring with laughter both spinning in a mad dance. Everything and everyone has a shadow, a reflection. There are night and day, October and April. Humans are simultaneously a miracle and repulsive meat sacks. A villain can turn out to be a victim. Why do I bother explaining it to you anyway? You yourself consist of two halves that are not always in agreement with each other".

"Again with these riddles", Alice grumbled and turned to leave, but the left head stopped her.

"I have something you will need", it said, snarling and showing a key wedged between its teeth. "Your sister was sent into this storage of unneeded things and creatures only because she wanted to find a way out of Amber City. But the exit is hard to find. There is no salvation without victory, and if you want to come out victorious, you will need this key. Though I must admit, you look too fragile for something like this".

"Victory... over whom?" Alice asked, suddenly struck with fear. She suspected she knew the answer. How could she forget that terrible night when that dark figure was following her through the forest, its antlers covering half of the sky? The Cat nodded.

"You can't run forever. You have to face the Beast head on and fight it if needed".

"So you want to exchange this key for your freedom? But then the other head will eat me!"

"Oh, I'll do my best". The right head smirked, baring its teeth. "But you have two swords, and you are a reasonable girl. You could fight me and get the key with brute force... or are you too scared?"

"Now being reasonable is not my only good quality, and I am brave enough to fight you", Alice answered, a bit offended. "But then your other half would die too, and I do not want that at all..."

She thought for a moment, got down on her knees and started petting the left head gently with her tiny hands, humming a sweet song — a lullaby from the other world, the one Kira taught her. The left head was purring and rubbing against Alice's palms, the right one was hissing and growling, but soon they both fell asleep.

Alice slowly reached inside the Cat's mouth and took a big silver key.

And then, without thinking, she stroked the sleeping right head. Its fur felt the same as with the left. Coarse, dirty, with blood clots.

Alice noticed blood, stray feathers and clumps of fur in other cages too. Her heart panged with pity. She was not sure if these crude dual creatures could die — as you know, when things are hidden, they hurt and rot with time, like a wound, but never cease to exist — but they looked unbearably miserable. And, unfortunately, quite dangerous. So Alice decided against freeing them all.

She only cut off the lock on the Cat's cage with her big sword. They made a deal after all, and Alice was playing fair. Then she hurried away, not waiting for the heads to wake up.

Thankfully, the next door led her to a staircase. Alice was walking up the stairs, hoping they will lead her to Amber City as she remembered it and not to another place with horrible cages and poor unwanted creatures. She was thinking about the silver key and what should it open, and what to do next. Why the Cat was talking about her and not Kira? The Beast belonged to her world, not in Amber City.

Still, Alice understood that all the events in their worlds are connected, even though that was a very scary thought. She saw enough to know that not all the monsters can be soothed with a sweet song. Will she have to fight the Beast? Alice, not Kira? She has a sword after all... even two swords, as the Cat fairly pointed out.