Florence woke, rising from the bear’s tufts. She stood.

, looking out of the stained glass down to the grass below. There were men standing at the door, knocking harshly on the mahogany door.

She nervously backed from the ledge, a lump of fear growing in her. Florence shook the plump stomach of the bear ; Its silvery Iris’ gleamed open. “ We need to hide.” Florence whispered down to the animal as it leaped up. 

They wandered through the top floor of the inn, looking through cracks of the creaky doors. She stuffed the bear into a wardrobe, and cluttered pieces of clothing over the stout creature. Florence clambered underneath the frame of the bed.

In that second, the door shot open! Silence. Something was searching for the slightest creek. Torch beams butchered the shadows; footsteps meandered around the building; people began the search for something. Bargaining a glance, Florence spotted soot- covered shadows and felt a strong gust of air wip through open windows. Shivering, she tugged her coat closer. Once the intruders had left : they would get out of here.

It felt like hours, but had probably only been a few minutes until they had finished their search. While they were hiding, the bear’s jagged voice echoed in her mind… speaking to him. Was this a dream? They seemed to be connected in some way. He told Florence about the gateway he was searching for. It was an engraved arch- that was covered in unrecognisable runes and symbols.- They needed to find it. 

Florence understood her family would be worried, but she couldn’t help that.  She had to find the gate before anything bad got in their way. It was only the moon that could see them sneaking around streets down to the arch. They avoided checkpoints and crowds of people, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. They were trapped in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.