She heard a sudden bang, as if someone had struck the keys in frustration. Kokoro flinched. The performance was obviously over.

A teddy bear sat at the top of her bed, nestled among the oversized pillows. She picked it up and went over to the books; she ran her fingers along their spines, wondering if she would ever get to read them. She pulled out a couple. To her surprise, they were all in foreign languages. She might be able to read the ones in English a little, but the rest were in French, German or something else. Most of the books were fairy tales. She peered closely at the covers: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Snow Queen, and The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats by the Brothers Grimm. One cover showed an old man and a woman heaving up a huge turnip, which she figured must be the folk tale The Enormous Turnip. The Wolf Queen had called them all Little Red Riding Hoods, and when Kokoro spied what looked like a German edition of the book, she felt a chill run through her.

She considered borrowing a book to take home. She might be able to get through an English one, with the help of a dictionary.

She carried on browsing.

She’d seen some of the more striking covers before. They might not be exactly the same, but they reminded her of the pictures on the wall, the warm feeling oozing within her, when she spent time at Tojo-san’s house. She felt a stab of pain in her heart. You can borrow any book you like, her friend had said to her. Now Kokoro knew that would never happen.

She couldn’t help feeling a touch disappointed that her room didn’t have a piano. Even if they put one in here, Kokoro couldn’t play it very well. The piano was no doubt for someone who could play it decently. Probably one of the two other girls – ponytailed Aki, or Fuka, the girl in glasses.

She sank back on to the bed and gazed up at the ceiling, tracing its intricate flower pattern. This is so cool, she thought. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

After a few moments, she felt impatient to see the rest of the castle, and jumped up to explore.

Along the walls of the hallway were the largest landscape paintings she’d ever seen, illuminated by candlelight. After wandering for a few minutes, she encountered a sort of parlour with a cold fireplace. There were numerous rooms beyond, and she seemed to be entirely alone. After a while, she decided to re-visit the staircases in the foyer. There, leaning languidly against the wall, was the Wolf Queen, all by herself.

‘Where is everyone?’ Kokoro asked.

‘They went home,’ replied the Wolf Queen.

Kokoro was taken aback. It hadn’t been very long, yet they’d all left, without saying a word.

‘All of them, together?’