Hurry!

A moment after the last of you make it through the doorway and hustle down the flight of stairs on the other side, you hear the secret door rumble shut. It bodes well for you, especially if the guards have no idea it's here. Either way, the stairs curve downwards in a spiral until they plateau at an opening into yet another hallway, though this one is short and ends abruptly at a closed door.

Lynx springs ahead and pushes her head up against it, raising a hand for everyone to remain silent.

Suddenly, Alice steps quietly over to meet with her. Then she holds out her hand, and upon her palm is a marble. Upon closer inspection, that's not what it is at all! One of her eyes is closed, because what she's offering is a perfectly spherical eyeball. Even Lynx reacts in shock. She winces, reaches out, and grabs it, though it isn't like a human's at all. It isn't disgusting or slimy or anything like that. It really is like she's holding a marble after all, albeit with some squish. She reaches down and forces it beneath the doorway until it rolls out of sight.

Not for Alice, of course. She looks deep in thought.

"What is that?" comes the voice of a man.

A woman replies. "Huh. Must be some kind of alchemy reagent."

By Alice's expression, they must have found her eye, though it doesn't really matter. They didn't sound suspicious, and she's likely still able to see. She still hasn't spoken, so perhaps she hasn't scoped enough to feel comfortable. Then she slowly makes her way back over to you, leans in close, and whispers tenderly into your ear. "I see the queen," she says. "At least, I believe that to be her. There are two others. The man is dressed in a fancy white robe, while the woman is wearing commoner's garb. I fear at least one to be a cleric, though they both appear to be overseeing the queen's condition."

You turn your face. With one eye closed, you can only see her other, but it's as beautiful as ever--nearly human, though with a hint of something arcane, with a cyan glow. She doesn't pull away, leaving you incredibly closed. She doesn't need to breathe, yet she reacts in a way where she seems to gasp quietly, and she stares. It's almost like time has slowed for a moment. You feel it would be rude to pull away, especially given she's the one who approached you, yet she only comes closer. Then, as if out of her own control, she touches her warm lips to yours for a quick yet gentle kiss.

The moment she realizes what she's doing, her face lights up, and she turns away with her hands covering her cheeks.

"What the hell was that?" Vivi asks, surprised.

"Yeah!" Eva adds.

You slap your palm against your forehead as the two figures on the other side of the door unsurprisingly react to the outburst.

Alice looks to you with her hands together almost in prayer as she quietly repeats, "I am so sorry, I am so sorry," until you hold your hands and tell her it's okay.

"Fuck it, back to the normal plan!" Niki yells before running straight past everyone, forcing Lynx to get out of the way, before bulldozing the door to the ground with her shield's impact against the knob.