"Did you fall asleep?"
"Yeah."
"How long did you last?"
"Less than twenty minutes, I think..."
"How was it?"
"Comfortable? A little strange, though..."
"Because you'd never slept before?"
"That's not the only reason."
At the corner, Head Maid Abby arrived carrying hot drinks, spun on her heel, and hurried away.
Unaware of what had happened in the corridor, Annan continued, "I had a strange dream, too."
"What kind of dream?" Idelia looked up, an open copy of Kindred Spirits still resting on her lap.
"I dreamed of several versions of myself. They were all me from the future. One became an emperor, another became an Alchemist, and another..." Annan shook his head. That last one wasn't something he wanted to mention in front of Idelia.
"Eldest Sister, do you know about parallel worlds?"
"What are those?"
"Lots and lots of worlds like ours, with you, me, and everyone else in them. But their paths are completely different."
"If they're the same, why would their paths be different?"
"Have you heard of the butterfly effect? A butterfly flaps its wings on the northern shore of Obiris Strait, and a hurricane strikes the southern shore. Sometimes a tiny change is all it takes to alter the course of an entire world."
"What am I like in those other worlds?" Idelia asked curiously.
Annan scratched his head. "I only slept for twenty minutes. I woke up before I could ask..."
Idelia gave a soft laugh and went on chatting with Annan as evening fell, while Leila was still away.
"Really?"
At one point, Idelia looked up at Annan.
"What?"
Annan tilted his head and read from the copy of Kindred Spirits his eldest sister held up: "While inventing Happy Water, Annan Reeves faced mockery from many vampires who insisted he could never