Hand
From the moment she entered the theater, Victoria had felt an inexplicable anxiety. The feeling grew even stronger after she entered Fluorite Hall. She did not dare dismiss that intuition, so she slowly circled the venue, searching for evidence to explain the strange sensation.
"Victoria!" Zoe approached with a cup of coffee. "Want some?"
Victoria was still lost in thought, but she accepted the cup Zoe offered her.
Zoe sighed. "The second I walked into this room, I started feeling awful..."
Victoria suddenly turned her head. "You sensed something unusual in this room too?"
"...Aren't there way too many kids?" Zoe said. "Are you sure this whole room of children will quiet down once the show starts?"
Victoria laughed. "Didn't I tell you we were bringing children to see a play today?"
"You said we were bringing children, but you never said this place would be nothing but children!" Zoe pressed a hand to her temple. "My God, how can they all be so loud..."
Victoria took out a box of earplugs from her pocket. "Try these."
"Thanks." Zoe accepted the earplugs. "What are you looking for?"
Victoria did not answer at once. Amid the theater's noisy clamor, no one but Zoe noticed that Victoria's footsteps had suddenly grown lighter. Though worry filled her heart, she still appeared to stroll casually toward the little forest where the children collected their prizes.
Yet Zoe had still sensed the change in Victoria—she must have noticed some danger.
Zoe drained her coffee, swiftly tossed the paper cup into a nearby trash can, and hurried after Victoria.
At the entrance to the little forest, two elf sisters were greeting and chatting with the children in line. Once a child finished making their selection, they would take dolls and cards from bamboo baskets, write