[The mirror shows what should be a familiar sight by now--a young woman in a white arrival's dress. Except...this one has the wide slit-pupiled eyes and animate ears of...a cat. The gaze she examines the mirror with is intelligent and curious, and she sits back after a moment. Her face sets with determination, the voice issuing from her clear and firm.]

Your Majesty. I'm not sure I understand what's going on, but...if I am the one you truly need, please let these other girls go. They've done you no harm, and their families miss them dearly.

And as far as I understand-- [she looks down for a moment, showing the briefest sign of hesitation.] You've...obtained what you wanted, right? There's no need to continue this any further. And my friends...Veigue...I don't want anyone to come to any more harm.

If you can hear me, please stop this. You're the one with the power to do so.

[her expression isn't pleading; it's almost sad. The mirror seems to take this as a cue to go dark.]

[The first thing that the Vine starts recording is Isabela pulling on the last of her clothes -- a thigh-high leather boot, which she finishes pulling into place before talking to the Vine.]

Well, I can't say I haven't been warned about the dangers of drinking before. Though cats with scrolls and sentient plant life were never included in any of those speeches, sadly... that was probably a bit too much foresight to ask for, hm?

If nothing else, I suppose this is better than waking up in a gutter somewhere. Cleaner, at the very least. [A laugh.]

So, tell me. Trees and animals can't be all there is around here. There must be a tavern, or a brothel, or a seedy undercity of some kind. If someone could direct me, I'd... well, I don't suppose you can owe a hallucination a favour, can you? Whatever works.

What's with those particularly irritating robots? I was playing with some magic dirt to cheer myself up after that horrid time in the Labyrinth, and then they come along and begin pulling my stuff apart. I told them to stop but they don't understand me. And they're taking them apart so destructively they won't learn anything useful from them. At least they seem to be paying attention when I show them better ways to take things apart so they can at least learn how they work.

Now they're hanging around me, and I don't want to babysit a bunch of clueless robots. Someone take them off my hands. Find something to keep them busy so they don't keep bugging me. I don't have the time to keep making things for them to take apart and put back together.