“Yes,”
agrees the Captain, “The wrong wish would be disastrous, not just
for the girl.”
“Why?”
asks Fiona. “What could go wrong?”
“Many
things,” Strauss replies, “Many, many things. One doesn't meddle
with the archetypes. Now, the wish must protect the narrative while
extracting m'lady from her central role, so it must be retroactive in
its effect.”
“Oh
for heaven's sake,” Fiona fumes, “Why does everything round here
have to be so bloody complicated. I wish I'd never come here. I
wish I'd gone to, I don't know, the seaside instead.”
“Oh
dear,” says the Captain, as the walls around them begin to
dissolve.
