"Just three?" Claire confirmed, looking at the cards fanned out before her.

"Just three," Draz confirmed with a nod. He moved the cards closer and Claire saw a faint shimmer of light ripple across the cards from left to right. She glanced up to see if Draz had noticed but he wasn't looking at the cards, he was looking at her. His expression was one of eager anticipation, like a child waiting for a promised treat.

"Alright," she said at last.

Taking a deep breath she reached for the cards.

As her hand drew closer, she felt an unexpected shock penetrate her fingertips. It didn't hurt, but it was surprising and she jerked her hand back instinctively. The tingling sensation lingered for a moment before fading.

When she looked at Draz he was grinning.

"Static," he declared with a shrug.

Right, of course, static.

Despite the logic behind the explanation, Claire couldn't quite convince herself this was the case. Shoving the thoughts aside, Claire reached for the cards again. This time there was no spark, no tingling and she felt an odd mixture of relief and disappointment.

Maybe it had been static.

Claire's fingers caught the edge of one card before releasing it and moving to the next. What should have been an easy task took several minutes. Despite her indecisiveness, Draz never grew impatient, he simply watched and waited for her to finish her selection.

"Now what?" she asked once she had drawn three. Draz swept the remaining cards into a stack and returned them deftly to his pocket.

"Now we shall see what the fates have in store for you," he declared almost giddily. He took the cards from her hand and tossed them into the air. Claire's eyes grew wide. Instead of falling, each card hung horizontally in the air, encased in a soft white glow.

"The first card represents your past," Draz explained. The card in question spun about a few times and when it finally stopped it was facing right side up. Claire leaned over to examine the picture. It was a silhouette of a man in a sweeping cape and in his hand he held a silvery ball of light. As Claire watched, the light seemed to flicker and the cape billowed as though caught in a light breeze.

"Ah, the magician," Draz declared, looking almost proud. "You've got some powerful allies in your life." The second card began to spin as the first had. "The second card is representative of your present."

The card stopped face side up and Claire leaned in to examine the picture. Before she was able to get a good look at it, however, the door to the train compartment slammed open with a loud bang. Both of them looked towards it in surprise.

Claire half expected to see the conductor standing there, having caught on to their ruse. To her surprise, it was the man she had followed onto the train.

"I thought I told you to go home?" he asked, his voice hard, his eyes burning like molten steel. "And you, what are you doing here, with her?"

Claire glanced toward Draz. He had plucked the cards from the air and now stood with his hands buried in his pockets. There was an amused smirk plastered across his face and a defiance in his eyes that was unmistakable. "Nice to see you too, Alek. Been a long time. I see the high life has treated you well."

Alek.

Now the stranger had a name.

Claire couldn't explain why, but it suited him.

"Don't dodge the question, Draz," Alek snapped.

"He helped me," Claire interrupted.

It was obvious, even to her, that somehow these two knew one another. It was also obvious, if their brief interaction was any indication, that they weren't friends.

"Oh did he now? Since when did you become so charitable, Draz?" Alek scoffed. For the first time since she and Draz had met, he frowned.

"Well, you know how it is, Alek," Draz replied. He was grinning again, but the expression never really reached his eyes which were devoid of their earlier warmth. "Some of us don't have the benefit of being a royal lap dog."

Alek took half a step forward and Claire found herself stepping between them.

"Is this really necessary?" She inquired, glancing between the two of them. "I don't know what sort of problems you two have with one another, but I'd rather not be caught in the crossfire."

The two stared at one another in silence for what felt like an eternity. The expression on Alek's face was dark and Draz had pulled his hands from his pockets and balled them into tight fists.

Finally Alek stepped back, a strained smile forming on his lips.

"It's not worth the trouble," Alek stated cooly before turning his attention towards Claire. His anger seemed to have been tempered, but she could sense it simmering just beneath the surface. "Follow me, I've got a compartment a few cars down."

Claire glanced towards Draz who had turned his attention to the window..

"Don't worry about him," Alek said. "He can take care of himself. Isn't that right, Draz?"

Draz didn't speak, but Claire saw his fists flex.

"Let's go," Alek said again before disappearing into the hallway.

Claire hesitated, trying to think of something to say. It if weren't for the fact that she had questions that needed answering, and that Alek was the sole reason she was there to begin with, she wouldn't have thought twice about ignoring him and staying with Draz.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"Thanks again," she managed at last, before turning to join Alek where he waited in the narrow corridor.

"Did you have to be so mean to him?" Claire asked once the door to the compartment was closed behind her. Alek didn't answer. Instead he motioned for her to follow him as he moved towards the far end of the car.

He paused when he reached the door.

"Watch your step," was all he offered before pushing the door open and stepping out. Claire was no stranger to trains, but the ones she had ridden on in the past were a bit more high tech.

"Coming?" Alek called, his voice nearly getting carried away on the wind. She stepped up to the open door and saw Alek waiting on the opposite side. He was already in the opposite car, the gap that separated them barely a foot wide. There was a narrow platform that extended outward towards the other side, but it hardly looked sturdy.

As though sensing her trepidation, Alek extended a hand towards her.

"I promise won't let anything happen to you," Alek assured her.

She lifted her eyes to meet his and for the first time since they'd met she saw a hint softness in his gaze, a humanness that was reassuring. She nodded and reached out to take hold of his hand. With practiced ease he pulled her across, the train jostling ever so slightly and causing her heart to skip about in her chest. She didn't breathe until the door to the train car had closed and the roaring sound of the rushing wind was silenced.

"Wasn't that fun?" Alek asked, his tone almost chipper as he smiled down at her.

"That's not quite the word I'd used to describe it," Claire muttered. She realized she was still gripping his hand and quickly released it. The car they were in now looked exactly like the car they had left.

"Only four more to go."

Only four?

Claire was thrilled.

It took longer than Claire cared for them to finally reach the dining car. It was as empty as the rest of the cars had been, and Claire dropped into the first available seat. Alek offered up no complaints. Instead he sat across from her, resting his forearms against the table that stood between them. They sat in silence, regarding one another for several minutes before Alek finally broke the silence.

"Do you have a name?" he asked.

"Claire," she replied. "Yours is Alek, right?"

"Aleksandr Drosselmeyer," he confirmed with a short nod. "You may call me Alek if you wish. Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm alright," she lied.

Her stomach made a low growling sound, betraying her.

"Wait here," he stated with a smirk. He leaned into the table and rose. "I mean it, do not move from this spot."

"Scout's honor," Claire stated. She wasn't a child, she could follow instructions. Alek quirked a brow, clearly not understanding the reference.

He nodded curtly and moved across the train car towards a bar located in the center. She watched as he spoke with a gentleman working behind a long counter. He made a few hand gestures and then produced a few coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter. The barista grinned widely and Alek offered slight bow of his head before heading back to the table.

"The food should be ready in just a little while," Alek explained as he sat down. "Once you've eaten, you will return with me to my private compartment and we shall ride out the remainder of this trip together."

"What about Draz?"

"What about him?" What little warmth had begun to build up faded almost instantly at the mention of the mischievous card holder.

"He's all alone. Perhaps we should-"

"Do not meddle, Claire," Alek said, cutting her off. His tone suggested it was not up for debate and she decided to drop it, at least for the time being.. "Now, tell me, what possessed you to board this train?"

"Like I told you before, I'm not going to stop following you until you gave me my box back," Claire declared. While that was certainly a reason, it wasn't the only reason.

"That's your only reason? The box?" Alek asked. Claire could see a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was almost as though he could read her thoughts.

"What else would there be?" Claire asked, averting her gaze. She pretended to be interested in the gold lace that trimmed the red velvet curtains drawn over the train car windows.

"I can think of nothing," Alek offered. "Nothing logical anyway. Do you even know what's in it?"

Claire glanced towards him, but before she could say anymore the barista arrived with the food.

It was simple fare, soup and bread that came with a creamy cheese Claire watched Alek spread across a slice of bread. She reached out to get a piece and grimaced as a burning pain blossomed unexpectedly in her shoulder. Until now, she'd been so caught up in what was happening that she hadn't paid much attention to the dull ache that had been growing steadily worse as time passed. Alek frowned and set the bread he'd been about to eat back down onto the plate in front of him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked as he wiped his fingers clean of crumbs.

"It's nothing," Claire said, averting her gaze as the burning subsided. "Just a scratch."

Alek rose from his seat and came around the table to sit beside her. Without asking, he took hold of her shoulder and push the jacket aside to get a better look at her arm.

"There's blood here, Claire," Alek said, sounding a little alarmed. "Did this happen on the train?"

"No," she said, trying to see the wound. She could make out the dark stain and marveled over the fact that she hadn't felt it sooner. "It's from before, at the theatre."

Alek sighed and shook his head. "You should have said something sooner," he admonished.

"Oh? Before or after you jumped onto the train?"

The look he leveled at her was a mixture of amusement and annoyance but he offered no response. Instead he reached across the table and grabbed the unused cloth napkin. He dipped it into the cup the barista had set before him and then reached for Claire's collar.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she felt his fingers brush against her collar bone.

"I'm going to clean it and then wrap it up, if you leave it to fester it will get infected," he explained, his hand going still. "It is not my intention to hurt you."

Claire swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

Alek watched her a moment longer, as though expecting her to suddenly change her mind, and then he carefully peeled back the thin, stretchy fabric of her leotard. He was careful only to expose her shoulder and dabbed lightly at the thin scratch with the napkin. Despite his attempts at being gentle, Claire still grimaced and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from gasping.

"It's not deep," Alek said at last, "it should only take a few days for it to heal up."

"Why did you take the box?" Claire asked as Alek began to tear the napkin into long, thin strips.

"I'm just going to wrap this up," he said, ignoring her question. He lifted her arm a little and began winding the strips around her shoulder.

"Alek-"

"I told you once not to meddle," Alek replied sharply, his eyes lifting to meet hers. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, "For your own safety, I implore you heed this warning."

"Don't you think we're beyond the not meddling stage?" Claire asked, refusing to be put off by his ire. She tilted her head towards her shoulder and then motioned with her free hand to the train car. "I mean, I'm here."

"Yes, you are, and your presence alone is enough of a worry," Alek said absently causing Claire to frown. He tied off the last piece of makeshift bandage and fixed the collar of her shirt. He rose and moved back to his side of the table. "The less you know the better off you'll be."

"Isn't that for me to decide?" Claire shot back causing Alek to give her another pointed stare.

"Forgive me if I lack confidence in your decision making abilities," he retorted, motioning to the train car just as she had. "You did follow a complete stranger into a dark alley."

Claire felt heat rising to her cheeks. She couldn't argue against that because it was true. At the same time, the circumstances weren't exactly normal either.

"Eat, Claire," Alek said, pushing the plate bearing the food closer to her. "After you're done, we'll discuss what's to be done with you."

"Done with me? I told you, I want--"

She stopped short when the lights in the train car went black for several seconds before flickering back to life again.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"It's probably nothing," Alek assured her though she caught a flash of worry flicker across his face. "Enough talking, you should finish your food."

Claire nodded and started reaching for a slice of bread when the car tilted unexpectedly. The sudden rolling motion sent the dishes sliding across the smooth, polished surface of the table and onto the floor with a loud crash.

Claire let out a shriek, certain the whole car was about to tip over, but it slammed back down onto the tracks with a thunderous boom. The impact caused the lights to flicker wildly again.

Alek reached past her to jerk the curtain back and peered out into the darkness.

"We're going too fast," he said after a moment, more to himself it seemed than to her. "Far too fast."

"What? What does that mean? Isn't there an engineer or something? Someone driving?" Claire could feel her calm slipping away.

"Something isn't right..." Alek muttered, again, more to himself than to answer any question she had posed.

Claire's heart was pounding hard in her chest and she was beginning to wonder if the box had really been worth dying over.

"I need to see what is going on," Alek said. "I need you to stay here. I won't be gone long."

"What? No," Claire gasped, shaking her head to emphasize her disapproval of his plan. "You can't leave me here alone."

"It's too dangerous for you to come with me," Alek insisted. "I need to go to the front of the train, I need to make sure everything is okay. It's not far, only two cars up."

"Please don't leave me," Claire begged. She grabbed hold of his arm, her fingers curling into the loose fabric of his sleeve. "Please."

"I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?"

Claire nodded.

She felt numb all over.

Alek knelt down beside her. He took her trembling hands in his and squeezed them tightly.

"I need you to trust me to keep that promise," he said.

Trust him? As he had so aptly stated just moments before, she hardly knew him. Now he expected her to trust him when it seemed her very life was on the line?

What other choice did she really have?

He reached into his pocket and fished out the pocket watch he kept there. "Take this. If I am not back in five minutes, I want you to go back and find Draz."

"But-"

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise," she said at last, " but you'll be back, right?"

"Of course," Alek assured her, that arrogant smirk stealing over his lips. "You don't know who I am yet, my dear, but you will learn soon enough."

The train rocked again and Alek swayed to his feet.

"Five minutes," he reminded her.

Claire nodded and watched as he raced towards the opposite side of the dining car. Once he was out of sight, she looked down at the watch in her hands and began to count.