Alice and Kira discovered each other when they were little, and that is how the story of their friendship began.

They both noticed their shadows acting strangely. Unlike other shadows, who were repeating every action of the owner, these dark silhouettes seemed to have their own lives.

It scared Alice and Kira at first — what if they are being followed by some peculiar beasts? Girls even started questioning themselves. After all, if their shadows are so different, maybe they are not quite normal either. They tried paying no attention to these unruly enigmas, but it is hard to ignore things that are always following you. Granted, you could recall a few instances where people managed to get rid of their own shadow, still, it is not an easy route.

Later Alice and Kira realized there was no point in fearing a creature that is always by your side. And anyway, what could be so dangerous about a girl like you, even though she acts a bit differently?

They couldn't communicate anything with words (shadows do not talk much, as you can imagine), so the girls invented their own sign language. You must have guessed already that Alice and Kira were, in fact, each other's shadows and became friends even before they got to meet in person. And by the moment these two laid eyes on each other they already knew everything about their reflection... But wait, this part of the story comes later.

Once the Wizard noticed Alice playing with her shadow, and he got surprisingly mad.

"You must not play with these foul creatures from another world! They come from a wicked place that brings only malice and destruction", he said.

At that moment Alice realized he got scared and a bit lost but tried to hide it. It was the first time he acted like this in front of her. Fear and irritation did not go well with his divinely calm exterior, and it seemed to rile him up even more.

Inhabitants of the beetle hideout also warned Kira: "It can be dangerous. All the shadows belong to the Beast".

Nevertheless, both girls already got used to having the Other Self by their side at all times, a self that understands you better than anyone else, and could not possibly live without each other.

One of them put a finger to her lips, suggesting to keep this friendship a secret, and the other agreed.

Alice and Kira were exchanging stories about themselves, their homeworlds — everything. The more these two played and talked to each other in the secret language only they could understand, the bigger their desire to meet for real grew. In her unendurable loneliness, Alice tried imagining the sound of Kira's voice: quiet, dark and deep as the night sky she never saw. In her saddest moments, Kira was squeezing her own hand, imagining Alice's touch: warm, confident, the one that gives hope.

Kira was dreaming of visiting Amber City, and Alice was excited to see the other world with her own eyes, a world that seemed so interesting, so strange and wild! And how incredible would it be to set out on a big adventure — together?

Sometimes the girls saw strange places in their dreams and people who looked somehow familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Kira got the visions of an illustrious city with wonderful houses and gabled roofs, Alice — of a living creature, always on the move, housing other unfortunate beings, surrounded by gloomy and weird sceneries of empty towns, gigantic broken machines, spirits... And for whatever reason, the girls believed in these dreams more than in their own reality.

"My world is boring", complained Alice. "Why would you come here when your world is full of incredible wonders and you are free as a wind?"

"For me, the most incredible wonder is being able to control the course of events and to know for sure what surrounds you and what will happen further along the road — these are the things my world most sorely misses", explained Kira.

Alice suspected she could see her Other Self not only as a shadow but as a reflection in the mirror. She tried suggesting this to Kira, but her friend did not seem to understand what Alice was talking about, even though usually they could almost finish each other's sentences— or did not need to say anything at all.

The thing is — there were no mirrors in Kira's world. They disappeared a long, long time ago, and you could not find anything smooth, bright and sparkling in this forsaken place, not even water — all the ponds and lakes and rivers became completely devoid of light, sorrowfully black, as ink, as the deepest secrets of one's heart. There was no such concept as reflection.

One day the Wizard had to go somewhere on business. It happened sometimes. Alice used to try asking him where he was going and why, and what is out there, beyond Amber City, if there is anything at all, but her questions were met with silence and aloofness, and she stopped trying at some point.

Before leaving he said, like he always did, "Under no circumstances are you allowed to go to the Library alone".

Alice — as always — was hurt by his words but hid her bitterness. She never visited the Library without her father, and under his watchful eye, Alice could not explore it to her heart's content... but she had to obey.

This particular day was not any different from all the others, and if you asked Alice — why did you suddenly decide to break the rules? — she would not be able to answer. It may be so she was especially lonely and bored at the time since Kira was busy in her own world and did not pay Alice any attention.

Alice could not even remember how it happened so that she came to the square in front of the Library, all while knowing quite well the Wizard would not approve of this willfulness.

"There is nothing bad about coming to dust the shelves, as I usually do, right?", she thought to herself.

She stepped over the threshold, and suddenly that sunny day filled with laughter and poplar fluff was gone, cut off with a big dark door. The Library was dimly lit with gloomy wall lamps, and even the sound of Alice's own footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet.

The Library was enormous, like a multistory labyrinth with countless rooms, halls and enfilades. Alice wandered around, along the endless rows of shelves, enjoying a beautiful view of millions of books and an incredibly sweet feeling of defiance. The girl was confident she was the only one here since only the Wizard could let others in his most treasured Library, and nobody would dare to come here uninvited, but suddenly she heard voices in the distance.

In the corner of yet another room filled with book racks, Alice saw two strangers she never met before, and she knew everyone in Amber City. One of them was sitting casually in an armchair, as in his own home, with his legs tucked under him, and the other put his feet up on the table. How could they act so bold in the library of the Amber City's governor? How did they dare to come here even?..

The first one was a narrow-eyed youth, as handsome as a doll, in a silk vest embroidered with flowers and dragons, with black hair set in an intricate hairdo decorated with hairpins. The second, who was gracefully holding a cup of tea, was fair-haired and wore dark robes. Even his gloved hands were black, and if it were not for a few silver rings on his long fingers, they would look like shadows. There was something intangibly foreign to both of them.

They were playing a board game. Alice never saw this one, and it for sure was not chess or checkers, though somewhat similar.

She hoped the guests did not notice her, tiptoeing through the halls...

At this moment the doll-like stranger said, "It seems our help is indeed sorely needed".

And the black one answered with visible sardonic disapproval, "Do not you think the gentle reader would see this as a contrived coincidence?"

"I would prefer calling it a deus ex machina", laughed the youth in an embroidered vest. "The story is not ours anyway, and so who cares to whom the role of an abstractional bestower goes?"

"As you wish", shrugged the fair-haired stranger. "Whatever makes you happy".

He sipped his tea and once it was gone filled a tiny cup once again, taking a teapot from the table where it was sitting near the game board.

"Do not feign indifference", strictly but warmly answered the youth. "Just like her, you know what loneliness means, how it eats at you, gnaws at your insides like a hungry wolf".

"Alice", suddenly called the fair-haired one, turning to the girl. "I know you are eavesdropping".

Embarrassed, Alice stepped forward. It felt like she was caught red-handed, doing something forbidden, even though these two had no right to chide her. They clearly got no invitation from the Wizard to come to his Library.

"You are not from Amber City?", she asked.

"Yes, one could say so. Just like you, in fact", explained the youth in a flower and dragon vest. "A part of you is a creature of this world through and through, while the other part is not. You should understand quite well what am I talking about".

"So you know about my shadow...", Alice whispered and added with a hint of bitterness: "That is why my father does not love me?"

"Why would you say so? No human could ever love another as he loves you. This world exists solely for your sake. But at the same time, he is scared of you... And even more scared of ever losing you. Did not you notice your growth? You are the only one in this city who ages. It seems like just yesterday you were playing with your dolls and looking for secret magical passages, and your legs were as thin as a bird's, but look at you know — nearly a lady. He can not order you to stay the same, as he does with the other residents of Amber City. You hide death in you like a seed hides a poisonous flower".

Alice shrugged. She could not quite grasp what he was saying. She went to one of the dusty old mirrors — in the Library there was a plenty — and stared thoughtfully at her reflection.

"I only wish my father would be kinder to me", she murmured sadly. "Let me read all the books I would like to read, tell me everything he knows himself, especially about other places, beyond our Amber City. If all I have to do is stay the same, I am willing to do this. Maybe I can if I just try hard enough..."

Fair-haired one laughed disdainfully.

"Never heard anything more nonsensical in my entire life!"

"Now, do not be rude", said the youth in a vest. "This is called 'oxymoron', as you know".