"SEVENTH EPISODE" "FROM ÉMILIE TO LUCIE" "Crew." "Right..." "I see little Polo's getting a taste for croissants." "Set in your ways, aren't you?" "The only real truth in life..." "it's all in a croissant." "Makes life simple." "I prefer almond croissants." "No, these are the best." "I'll have one of your cigarettes." "Share and share alike!" "Oh, well." "You deserve it." "Eat up." " So?" " What?" " Did you see the others?" " Mm..." "Yes." "Last night." " And?" " And what?" " What you told me yesterday..." " Oh, yeah..." " I can't talk about that anymore." " Why not?" "Because..." "Well, that's to be expected." "They've never seen you." "It's easy." "I'm here in this café every day." "Are you crazy?" "Cafés are full of cameras and bugs." "All right, then." "Where?" " Tomorrow, Montsouris." " Montsouris Park?" " Where exactly?" "It's a big park." " Don't worry." "You'll be found." "I come on behalf of the Thirteen." " On behalf of the Thirteen?" " Yes." "I have a message for you." "In that case, do come in." "Sit down." "So... you're one of the..." "Thirteen, is that right?" "That's what I'm wondering." "You said something about a message..." "Thirteen..." "To hunt the Snark better." "Thirteen..." "To hunt the Snark better..." "They met... they won't have met the Boo Jum who saw them faint..." "Spend the time that will erase them." "Other thirteens..." "have formed a strange crew." "I think you said... the "Boojum"." "Does that..." "Does that... mean anything to you?" "Are you the author of... of this amusing message?" "I'm the messenger." "The messenger." "I see." "You see..." "I think that this is all a joke... of your making and at my expense." "Or rather, a joke that has nothing to do with me, but which may be at your expense..." "don't you think?" "A joke..." "A joke?" "But in that case... the entire magical, mysterious world in which I move would be shattered in a moment." "And that's not possible." "Of course." "What if I suggested, for example... passing on... a few messages, let's say..." "oh, I don't know... four or five thousand, to keep it simple." "would that seem like serious work to you?" "Without knowing from whom, for whom, how or why?" "Then it has all been deliberately, systematically designed to cast the uninitiated into an inextricable mental confusion!" "Yes." "Yes, perhaps." "Perhaps." "Good." "No doubt you will have other messages to convey to me." "All right." "There you are." "Goodbye." "What's up?" "You really are everywhere, aren't you?" "Hello." "Was that little guy at your place?" "No." " Who do you mean?" " The journalist." "Didn't see him." "I told you so!" "Don't forget that when someone is named, everyone freezes." "That's very important." "It's over." "You're... an object caught in space and you don't move!" "Right, let's go." "Bergamotte..." "I'm out." "Go on, then." "Go on." "Achille." "I've no idea what kind of costume we should put on him." " When's the performance?" " Wait, let's do this up." " I think he looks fine as he is." " Sure." "Let me see how he looks from further away." "Careful, he's very heavy." "It looks violet in the light." "We'll have to change that." "Just so." "I don't want to get married!" "I don't want to get married!" "Just like that." "Just for a second." "Just to see if you can do it." "I thought it was a joke." "Don't be sad." "You mustn't be sad." " We'll all be there." " You mustn't be sad." " You won't leave me, will you?" " No." "Rose." "Leave her!" "No, don't go!" "Stop screaming like that!" "Sarah!" "I've looked around, there's no way out." "Why are there people outside?" "Hey!" "Achille!" "Why are some people outside?" "Achille." "Achille." "How did you manage to get out?" "How did you get out?" "I'm frightened!" "How did you get out?" "How did you get out?" "Béatrice." "Béatrice." "Sarah." "Sarah!" "Let's go down." " Why?" " Careful, Achille..." "That was long enough, don't you think?" "There are some lovely things down there." "Come on, let's go." "There's a burning smell." " Do you know this place?" " Let's go and have a look." "Yes, wait..." "Wait for us." "Watch where you're going, cause it's completely dark." "I can't see a thing." "Hold hands!" "Because you can't see a thing!" " I feel dizzy!" " Oh, my goodness." " I feel dizzy." " What's the hold-up?" "Go on!" "I feel dizzy!" " Wait!" "Wait!" " Watch out!" "Steady on." "Look..." " Everyone come here." " Rose!" "It worked." "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't..." " Come on." " Who's she?" "What's up with her this time?" "Careful." "It's always the same." "It's always the same thing." "Come on." "Leave her." "She weighs three tons!" "Quentin." "I know you!" "I..." "I know you." "And you... and you..." "Doctor, wait, I'd like a word." " Yes...?" " Talk to her." "What about you?" "Do you remember?" "Me, my nose, the way I am, my way of life, of talking, nice guy..." "I've never seen you." "Never." "Never ever..." " Try to remember!" " Never ever..." " You, me, her..." " No, no, no!" "Me, two legs, walk!" "Joyful!" "Happy!" "Friend!" "Hello!" "Love!" "Me!" " I think you'd better come along with me." " All right..." "We'll go and have a shower together and then you'll feel much better, won't you?" " All right now?" " Yes." " Good." "Now, will you come with me?" " Yes." " Doctor..." " Yes, of course." "Are you coming?" "There we are." "Are we all right now?" " You liked seeing your old friends." " Yes." "Achille..." "Achille." "No, don't go, darling." "Don't go." " Why?" "In the name of who?" " Enough now." "Enough now, let's put a stop to this." " I didn't do anything." " Shut up!" " We came this way by chance." " All the same..." "I'm not going!" " Don't mess with me!" " I'm not going!" " Don't wind me up or I'll kill you." " Kill me, then." "Go on, kill me." "I'm not going!" " I'm not going, I'm not going." " Calm down." "Calm down." "I'm not going." "Don't be foolish." "I'm warning you, I'm on edge!" " Be careful!" " Calm yourself." "Everyone sit down." " Sit down." " Please, sit down." "Don't mess with him." "Good." "I'm a bit worried because I think we're lost." " Really?" " So it would seem." " Because you see we're here..." " Told you so!" " Yes, but I think..." " You must know the street." "Sure, I know it." "We are here." "We're in Marseilles." "There, this street..." " We passed by here." " I told you so!" "Calm down." " What are we going to do?" " There was a hat shop." " I don't know..." " Yes, but..." "There was a hat shop." "Every day we get lost!" "Why didn't you say anything to Georges?" " You work with him, don't you?" " Yes." "Why didn't she speak to me?" "Where is Lili?" "Lili is gone." "Where did she go?" " I don't know." " How is that possible?" " You work in the same group." " We stopped work a week ago." "It was very good at the end..." "Worked out well." "There were some great moments." "The singing!" "That was the first time that you were completely engaged." "When you were doing the Russian song, conducting." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." " Did you feel that?" " I didn't know what I was going to do..." " I felt violent." " What you did was very real." "And all of a sudden, I wanted to perform a symphony..." " Yes, but for the first time..." " I wasn't trying." "For the first time you did it without having to think about it." " Spontaneously..." " The Russian thing was good too." "That's because you didn't understand it." "It was a bit mad." "It started and then, straight away, you had to find out... who was... married..." "Because we didn't look hard enough." "I was completely immersed in prayer, like so, so I didn't notice at all..." " So now you're..." " She's disappeared!" "Yes, she's disappeared, but you haven't heard anything." "You're asking me where she is?" "How should I know?" "If I knew, I'd tell you." "Why did you wait ten days to tell me?" "What is it you want exactly?" "I just wanted to know." "To know what?" "If I knew where Lili was?" "You've got no idea where she might be?" "You don't know?" "What's really hard is really watching what the others are doing." "Yes, in the heat of the action." "When you came as... as a..." "as a nurse, there was a whole part on one theme, and suddenly you brought in another." " Did it make you think of a nurse?" " Yes." " At what point?" " As soon as I saw you." "We had to put a belt on you..." "It was bang in the middle of something..." "Yes, but a thing can be annoying..." "You have to put your annoyance to one side in some exercises." " Oh, you think?" " You have to." "Once you've embarked on something..." "When..." "When Quentin started that whole business with the puppet, for example, he was like that, and then you moved into another theme, a tailor..." "That could have gone..." "You should have thought more about him being a puppet..." " But he'd started talking at that point." " Oh, did he?" "Right at the beginning?" "It was the bit on the theme of..." " Yes." " It veered off, it..." "I think we were more awkward at the beginning." "Later we melted into each other, we listened..." " We were freer to be inventive." " Yes." "What was good was the last story." "Until the argument between Quentin and Rose." "It was a bit, you know, self-conscious." "But there was a change in the action there too." " She wanted it to be a general panic." " It wasn't the type of marriage I wanted." "I wanted..." "Seeing him in that position made me very scared." "I wanted to, er..." ""infect" a general panic." "It settled into that, didn't it?" "I was afraid... the way you witness scenes in the street." " I believed in it." " The surprise party was fun." "Oh, yes." "That was..." "Well, yes, but..." "that thing they did, for example, the Marseilles moment, when Bergamotte said," ""We're in Marseilles", you could have split up." "There could have been passers-by and you could have gone on with Marseilles..." "You were always in the same group, doing everything in sympathy..." "That's why we have a director." "Don't you think that must happen, at some point?" "That suddenly, like people who want to..." "Whereas there, perhaps you have to shout at them... but suddenly you want to..." "Is it a good thing?" "Should we hold ourselves back or should we let ourselves go?" "There are points when you really want to..." "You should be able to completely stop everything..." "It's a readiness exercise where you really have to immediately..." "What were you asking?" "Whether there was an aim to this exercise..." "When you were talking about the mother... we should have gone and had a wedding." "Is the aim to create a series of scenes that are nice to look at, or is it a kind of relationship... hence all of that being annoyed that you told me off for..." "I wasn't telling you off at all." "It messes the exercise up." "All right, but why?" "What's the aim of exercise?" "Is it a performance, all polished and finished, or what?" "It's to make people work, in relation to one another... moving in the same direction... and not to violate a situation that's in the process of evolving, with a subjective phenomenon which has nothing to do with the theme." "No one said that..." " Yes, it's part of the rules..." " Yes, but the rules..." "You can't bring in your nervous system." "You've got to leave that at the door." "But a nervous system that might have been manufactured..." "So it was intended?" "But it's not what I felt." " So you thought it was personal?" " Absolutely." "But it's the same thing, darling." "But you have to use anything available to you." "If something's annoying you, just keep going." "But it acted as a block." "If it wasn't annoyance with you..." "No, no." "I never said that it was directed." "But all of sudden, you're taking something from the real world into a fictional world which overturned..." " I didn't see that happen..." " I still don't see why not." "So she left a group that she was responsible for..." "Completely?" "You don't know what's happened to her?" "She must have said something before she left." "She said she was leaving Paris." "I never asked her for any more details." " You've had no news for ten days?" " No." "Perhaps you know where she is?" " How should I know?" " Well, you were talking about her, so..." "You were the one that spoke of her to me." "You came to ask my advice about something to do with Lili." "Her group, someone who stole a million francs..." "You didn't want to tell Georges..." "She must have left without telling me anything." "One day she rang me and said she was leaving Paris." "That's it." " That's it?" " Yes." "And you don't know about..." "She could be involved in other things besides your group." " She never mentioned anything?" " Is that what you think?" "I don't think anything!" "Once you're a participant" " in the exercise..." " Yes..." "You have to be 100% committed or not at all." "Yes." "For example, there's a point when you..." "That's really to do with the craft, the work..." " Technique, more like." " Oh, yes." "Technique..." "At a certain moment..." "When Rose started the story about the hand..." "It's very funny." "We were in a kind of snake." "I thought of using the snake and I put hands on each of us." "I wanted to make a shield, with a god on it, you know?" "And then you blew up my world because you lay on the ground... and started wriggling." "You didn't even consider it..." " You didn't take it into consideration." " I went..." " I went with it." " I didn't realise." "Because my role is to go with what you... with your refusal." "Your refusal is apparent so I can't just leave you to one side and keep on doing my own thing." "But you might have given me a couple of kicks, don't you think?" "Yes, yes." " It's possible." " No, but Sarah, at first..." "You have to get into the idea of a game." "Just as if you were playing cards, or if you were playing..." "It's an almost childlike state of mind... of readiness and a desire to have fun." "That's almost more important than anything else." "First of all... it works." "It's not an exercise with a precise goal." "It's a state of readiness." "Like children who suddenly start playing." "They'll take something like that and make a plane, like so..." "But there might be a child who does something else." "But then they don't stay together." "When a child feels they don't fit into a group, they go off or play along." "It happens at once." "A child doesn't say, "Why are you saying that's a plane?"" " They play at cops and robbers." " One joins in, the other goes off." " That's the principle." " True." "In other words, don't ask yourself too many questions." "Just go along with things, be ready, and..." "What did you ask me just now?" "I don't know where Lili is..." "Perhaps she's run off somewhere, it doesn't matter." "I wouldn't worry about it." "She might have fallen in love." "Good for her." "What if she met someone recently?" "Without Georges knowing." "I've no idea." " A young man..." " I don't know." " You don't know?" " No." "You know nothing?" "How can I help you, then?" "You don't know anything either?" " You're the one who put me in the know." " You must suspect something." "You're asking me all these questions." "Well, of course." "Because you've just outlined a problem that I don't understand, so I'm obliged to ask questions." "Don't you want to ask me anything?" "Yes..." "I wanted to ask you..." "But if you don't want to say, it doesn't matter..." "There's not much I can do anyway." "We have to wait for Lili to contact us." "She might get in touch." "I don't know." "Let's just wait..." " Are all the envelopes ready?" " Yes." " How many are there?" " Five." "Five..." "We were going to do eight." "Yes, but these are the five main papers." "That'll do." " Is Émilie in?" " Yes." "Oh, hello, Sarah." "It'd be better if you rang before you dropped by." "Oh, right." "What are you up to?" "How are you?" "Fine." " What are you doing?" " I'm going." " You're going?" " I'm going because I'm very tired." "You're just going off?" "Leaving everything?" "Why not?" "Sometimes it does you good." "And those letters?" "Are you writing to the papers now?" " For your shop?" " No." "Not for my shop." "There's a funny atmosphere here." "Rather... mysterious." "Not at all!" "In fact, quite the..." "I'm intrigued by these letters." "Tell me what's going on." "Look, Sarah, it's really got nothing to do with you." "Iris is clutching these letters as if..." "They're just letters!" "Why's it none of my business?" "Why, Émilie?" "You've got me worried." "Normally you ring before you come and this time, you haven't done." "What with the kids and everything, I prefer people to ring..." "Béatrice, you know that proposition I put to you?" "Well..." "I've got to go now, as that thing has to be done now." "Very serious things are going on in the Basque country, to be precise." "In the Spanish part, and even the French." "So I've decided to leave the day after tomorrow." " It's up to you to decide." " Look, I can't." "I just can't." "I can't just up and leave like that." "I have to finish what I've started." "I..." "I can't." "I don't think I'm being indiscreet." "Three days ago, you came and asked me... to talk about that business with Pierre, so I want to know what this is all about." "It's none of your business, Sarah." "Do those letters have anything to do with Pierre?" "Yes." "You might say that." " Are you blackmailing him?" " No." "They're photocopies of a few documents that are rather compromising for Pierre." "And you're sending them to the papers?" "This must be some kind of pathetic joke." "Iris, you'd do better to think about the baby you're about to have." "Fine." "Fine, then..." "We must go our separate ways." "We must go our separate ways, Béatrice." "The time has come for us to part." "That's all there is to it." "We need to talk, because you're acting very strange." "Now, listen to me, Émilie." "On three occasions, you've been to see me, crying..." " To talk about Pierre." " And?" "What of it?" "We spoke and we said quite a lot, and now I feel responsible for... this tasteless joke." "But you're not responsible..." "Look, it has nothing to do with you, darling..." " Listen to me." " You're not involved." "I have no intention of leaving here before I've torn those papers up." " Oh, what's it to you?" " I..." "You said some horrible things about Pierre" "You don't do that to people." "One thing is talking about someone." "Another thing is trying to ruin them." "You know perfectly well that everyone fiddles their tax affairs..." " But what's it to you, Sarah?" " I won't let you do it and that's that!" " It doesn't concern you." " Oh, yes it does, and..." "Drop it!" "I shan't let you do this." "You're the one who said he's capable of anything." "You can't abandon your kids because of this." " Hand over those letters..." " This concerns me." "It's my problem." "It's got nothing to do with you." "It's my little act of personal revenge." "There'll be no revenge." "It's disgusting and I won't let you do it." " You're not your normal self." " No, you're not your normal self because you're in love with Pierre, aren't you?" "I shan't let you do it." "I shan't let you blackmail Pierre!" "I shan't let you do it." " Sarah, please leave." " Yes, I think I will." "I hate people making scenes in front of the children." "I'm leaving and I'm going to warn Pierre at once." "You go and warn Pierre." "She must have heard about it." "Never mind." " Don't worry about it." " Bye." "Focus on the baby you're having and these little ones." "Bye-bye, darling!" " Bye-bye." " Did she hit you?" " What?" " Did she hit you?" "Oh, it's nothing." "Everything's fine." "Goodbye!" "You know where to contact me, don't you?" "Yes." " All right, then." " Bye-bye." "Bloody hell..." "Don't you get any pigeons around here?" "What are you feeding them?" "Pain au chocolat." "Well, then, I'm not surprised." " They don't like chocolate." " Really?" "Then they can go and eat worms." "Perhaps..." "Perhaps you'd like a pain au chocolat..." "No, I prefer croissants." "I've got one somewhere..." "I've got a croissant." "Thanks!" "Gosh, you were hungry." "Do you know the time?" "I know this place pretty well." "I reckon it's... when the sun is at the end of my right finger... it must be getting on for midday." "They're not coming, then." "I've been stood up." "Me too." " Really?" " Yes." " Maybe it was you I was waiting for." " It might have been." "So, we've been waiting for each other..." "Shall we start again?" "All right." "Oh, hello..." "What's your name?" "Renaud." "What's yours?" "My name is Clara." "How strange." "It's like being in some cloak-and-dagger story." " Where's Pauline?" " Pauline?" "The young blonde woman." "Where's Pauline?" "Who's Pauline?" "There's never anybody here." "But all the people who were here?" "There's never anybody here." " Thomas?" " Here already?" "Hello." "How are you?" "I'm fine." " Will you sit down for a minute?" " All right." "What's the matter?" "I wanted to tell you that I have to go away." "Go away?" "For how long?" "I don't know." "But I have to." "I understand, if it's... serious." "But you're not just going to dump me are you?" "No, but... for now, I really do have my reasons." " All right?" " Well yes, but I'm not very pleased." "Me neither, but I have to." " Can you understand that?" " Yes I understand." "So let's leave it at that." "Listen to this..." ""Up here, in the north, there are two identical pools." ""If I throw a stone in the south pool, the north pool is sad." ""If I throw a stone in the north pool, the south pool is sad."" "But you... you shouldn't be sad for no reason..." "OK?" " Hi." " Hi." " Hello." " Hi." "I'll leave this." "OK?" "Will you come back?" " Hi." " Goodbye." " Hello, Thomas." " Hi." ""Maid, maid, maid, I'm not made to be a maid..."" "Meanwhile my shop is shut..." "Is that so?" "Because of me?" "Eh?" "No." "Anyway, it doesn't matter." " Are you sure?" " Yes." "What did you do with the robes and all the other stuff?" "I'm going to distribute them amongst my friends." "Have you seen how lovely it is over there?" "It's beautiful." "What will you do with all your papers?" "All those guys that are involved..." "I'm here and all's well." "Just look at the sea!" " You don't look very happy." " I'm fine." "I'm glad." "I feel empty." "I'm nothing." ""I'm not made to be a maid..."" "Can you tell me why you keep saying that?" "It's a memory." "You shouldn't live in the past, darling." "That's not at all good." " You're a fine one to talk." " Look what's going on..." "Eventually, I'd like to have someone like that to pull around on a little cart." " Wouldn't you?" " No." "Possession." "How awful!" "Lili, why..." "Why do you think Igor didn't want me to come here?" "I never understood why." "I'm going to tell you what I think." "I've always thought that Igor hid in the Obade... for six months, in some flat." " That's crazy!" " Why not?" " What would he have done?" " I don't know." "He had things to do." "Instead of going a long way away, he would just have come to the Obade." " Is that what you think?" " Why not?" "I've always thought that." "That's why I'm here." "That's why I've always felt drawn to the Obade." " Of course, it's mad..." " You think he's in there?" "Right now?" "Why not?" "You haven't been in all the rooms, have you?" "You don't know." " You're scaring me!" " Why?" "I've always thought that Igor could be in the Obade, that would be a solution..." " It's a hypothesis..." " You hid that from me." " Is that why you're here?" " I didn't come because of that, but..." "Why not?" "That opens up new perspectives." "Oh, I don't think so." "I mean..." "I mean, it doesn't make sense." "What could he do?" "The other day, Sarah said that I shouldn't trust Thomas." " Thomas?" " Yes." " What's the...?" " Oh, no!" " Thomas!" " What...?" " Why did she say that?" " I've no idea why." "She said, "I wouldn't trust Thomas, if I were you." ""You never know what he's hiding."" "Have you seen much of him?" " I see him from time to time, yes." " I don't think..." "He's got other fish to fry." "He's got his group, his theatre work." "He's got nothing to do with any of that." "Yes, I know." "That's what I've always thought too." " That Sarah's a weird one." " Do you think?" "She might have said that just to scare you." "What about Lucie?" "Does she come here often?" "Lucie de Graff?" "I don't know." "But what made you think that, about Igor being in some flat?" " Because." " I'm intrigued." "Someone could be locked up in a house for six months, a year." "Who'd know?" "In a cellar, an attic or a room." "It's just a dream." "I've often dreamed that Igor came back at night... came in through the window... leaned over the children's cradle... came up to me, you know, and leaned over the bed... and strangled me..." "I keep having the same dream." "Igor comes in through the window, goes over to the children... and then comes into my bedroom and strangles me." " Because you feel guilty." "Right?" " No..." "But I keep having the same dream." "I don't know." "That dream must have something to do with anxiety, but..." "There's still this..." "If he strangles you..." "If he strangles you, you must feel guilty." "I do not have an explanation." "Every day I see that old gentleman going by in his white cap." " Strange, isn't it?" " Perhaps it's Igor!" "He could have aged, changed..." "Every day, at the same time." "Maybe he's in love with you." "See?" "He's looking at you." " What you said about Igor scares me." " Come on..." "Let's go and look for him now." " No." " Why?" " Because..." " It might be true!" "I said no." " Just for fun!" " Don't you know if Thomas is coming?" "I don't know, I don't know..." "I'd like to see him again though..." " All right?" " Yes, and you?" "Not bad." "So what do you think about all this?" " I don't know." " You must have an idea though." "I got the phone call." "It all seems a bit crazy." " I'm on my guard a bit, with him..." " What did he tell you exactly?" "That he had some files and that he wanted to talk to us." " Files?" " He told me letters." "He told me files." "Not very precise." "Anyway..." "Let's wait and see." "By the way..." "Here are yours." " What are they?" " Don't you remember?" "You've no idea?" " Oh, it's the..." " I recovered them." "Somewhat on the sly." "But what did that girl want with these letters?" "I don't know!" "Seems she was interested in them, but that doesn't mean anything." "There wasn't anything comprising in them, was there?" "No." "You've nothing to worry about." " Look, there he is!" " Here comes the young fella." "Here he is." " How are you?" " Fine." " Hi." " Hi." "Well, I am pleased to see the two of you." "I've just seen Iris." "It's more serious than I thought." "She's given me some letters that Émilie wants to send to the papers, telling them some things about Pierre." "You know, budgets for blocks of flats, things like that." " Where are they?" " I burnt them." " What do you mean, burnt them?" " Well, yes." "I don't want to walk around with things like that, in case I lose them..." "So why are you getting us to meet you if you haven't got the stuff?" "Don't get upset, love." "It's not the content of the letters that matters." "It's the fact she wants to send them." "So I think it's pretty serious for Pierre." "We need to know what's in them." "Did you read the letters?" "Yes, I did." "They were all about budgets." "You know, Pierre was always faking documents." "But you don't know anything about budgets." "Why would you go and burn those letters and then tell us about them when we need them?" "It's not the content of the letters that matters, but that she wants..." "Did she want to send them to the papers in order to compromise Pierre?" "Precisely." "She's convinced that it's him that's made Igor disappear." "I tried to persuade her otherwise." "That's absurd!" " So what shall we do?" " I'd like to know something." " You had the letters, you burnt them." " Yes." " Are there any more in circulation?" " Of course." "They were photocopies." "If they were photocopies, then the originals must be somewhere." "Of course." "I have no idea how Émilie got hold of the originals." "I don't know whether Iris left them lying around." "I have no idea." "But the main thing is, she'll try again." "We absolutely have to stop her." " Which papers was she writing to?" " Several." "Erm..." "France-Soir, L'Aurore, Combat..." "We need to warn..." "I will have to see everyone I know on the papers and warn them that someone will be trying to circulate some letters, and that they should let me know at once." "Yes, and then we have to deal with Émilie." "We have to do something." "Not leave her like that." "But can't we just corner Émilie and ask her why she's doing this?" "You know I've never known exactly what Émilie..." "There are very few things you can know exactly." "Well, anyway, you know my relationship with her is rather..." "I know she likes me well enough, but that's it." "She doesn't really understand." "She knows that something's going on..." "First we should get a list of the newspapers and make contact." "You know them and so do I." "We can tell them to..." "We can stop things, through managing editors, shouldn't be too difficult..." "The problem is, now she's started, she'll go on with it." "We have to muzzle her at all costs and..." "That's right..." "She's mad." "We have to tell her more than she already knows or else we have to steer her away from it." "Fine, I'll deal with it." "I'll do it." " Is that all?" " For the moment." "You do such incredible things, like burning letters and not telling us and..." "Darling, I burnt them because..." "So, tell me your plans for muzzling Émilie..." "But that's why I wanted to see you." "I have no idea." " Where is she?" " She's gone to the Obade." " Is she on her own there?" " No, I think she's with Lili." "Have you heard from Igor?" "Igor?" "No." "I know that he's all right." "I've heard indirectly, rather than from him in person." "What about Émilie?" "Doesn't she know where he is?" " Definitely not." " No, definitely not." "And she mustn't." "Otherwise, we'd be in a right pickle." "She talks too much, Émilie." "She'll talk to anyone." "But for Pierre she certainly wasn't a..." "First for Pierre, then for Igor!" "For him the presence of Émilie is a real catastrophe." "I don't think she realises that, on an unconscious level, she wishes that... she wishes that Igor wasn't there." "It's true, I assure you." "So you think that it's something that she's cultivating?" "She's more than cultivating it, that's what she wants!" "She wants it." "He told me that even if something happened to him, we'd be told automatically." "And he's said nothing about Émilie?" " He can't." " How long has it been?" "Three months?" " No, six months." " Six months." "I've got a vague idea where he is, but, then... so do you." "We can't trust her." "Make sure she knows nothing." "Because there could be more trouble." "I reckon she could be about to crack, any time now." "She's at the point where she's really starting to be obsessed." "It's as though she unconsciously wishes to..." "The only problem is that if that does happen, one day, there's no reason why it should stop." "Absolutely none." " At least not with us." " No, of course." "Not with us." "And... does Pierre know?" "Pierre?" "No." " We should tell him, perhaps." " Oh, I don't know..." "First, perhaps, we should put a stop to this business with the newspapers." "And then we should tell him." "It would be better if..." " Shall I deal with that?" " I'd like that..." "I can operate on a certain level." "If I see her at the Obade, I can..." "I can orientate her thinking, but..." "Anyway, I'll tell Pierre." "I doubt it'll upset him too much." "You're the one who'll be operating at a legal level." "And you..." "I know a few managing editors." "We'll deal with it between us." "A few letters that His Lordship left lying around, that we pinched from his house." "They aren't very compromising." "That's as may be, but leaving them lying around is unacceptable." "But I never left them lying around." "And since that's the case," "I probably left them somewhat..." " Yes, I'd like to know how." " Right, well, I'll tell you..." "It's really something." "There." "Now we're married." " The blood of the Red Queen..." " With the blood of the White King." "The Red Queen's Tower." "The Red Queen who wished to visit the White King's castle." " There is no White King's castle." " That's too bad." "I shall travel around the world on the King's horse." "It's nice at your place." "It's difficult to get to." "That's true." "Only the White King is allowed in." "It's strange." "I feel it in my veins already, like someone else's blood." "For life and death." "Are you all right?" " I'm sleepy." " Are you?" "Yes." "Would you like me to tell you a story?" "Yes." "I'm falling asleep." "Are you listening?" " Yes." " OK, then." "Once upon a time, there was a truly great city, surrounded by a high wall." "This wall had seven gates." "These are the gates." "And this... is the master of the city." "This city had a secret." "There was a strong warrior standing at each gate." "Guarding some treasure." "One night, a stranger appeared." "He killed the seven warriors, one by one." "And he fought the master of the city in a terrible fight." "And then, he carried off the treasure." "And then?" "And then?" "And then, the White King met the Red Queen." "You know... the story of the stranger is my story." "Really?" "Yes, really." "Gosh." "Then you must have loads of money, if you nicked all the treasure." "Yes, but I didn't keep it." "It wasn't for me." "Who was it for, then?" "For the Companions of Duty." "What's that?" " Oh, I can't tell you that." " Why not?" "Because..." "I've made a vow." "But you've made a vow with me too!" "Yes, I know." " I can't tell you." " Fair enough." " Are these people good or bad?" " They are sages." "What's the point of sages?" "I can't tell you." "It's impossible." "So... what do these sages talk about?" " Are you really not going to tell me?" " No." "You have to be initiated." "I'm not very important." "I've only just started." " You're a shiny new pawn?" " There you have it." "Perhaps I could be initiated, then..." " It's hard." " Why?" "Because it's hard." "Will you take me with you?" "Maybe." "Tell me..." "Do you know someone called Cosmochronos?" " Is that your red hat?" " Yes, it's mine." "It's one of the Red Queen's hats." "It's red because it's angry." " It's red because it's mad?" " Yes." "Because the queen is mad." "Barking mad." " I've told you some things..." " Yes, but I haven't told you anything." " Thomas." " Émilie." " How are you?" " I don't feel too well." "You don't look very well." "I didn't think you'd come here." " I didn't think I would." " Hello." "This is Émilie." " What's going on?" " I don't feel well." "I think I need to lie down." "I'll prepare the room for you." "I'm just going to sit down for a moment." " You look really, really tired." " Yes, well, I'm quite depressed." "Where am I going to sleep?" "Which room are you in?" " Upstairs with Lili." " Lili's here?" "Yes, she's here." "She's gone for a walk." "She should be back any minute." " OK." "Is this one free?" " Yes, I think that one's free." "OK." " Is that one locked?" " Yes, that one's locked." "There's no key." " Has it been shut since you got here?" " Yes." "I'll go and sort out your room." "I'm sure you'd like to go to sleep." " Would you like to face the seafront?" " Yes." "I'm going to lie down for a bit." "It's quite pretty, this blue room." "Don't you think?" "Have you seen the whole house?" "Oh, yes." "Well, most of it..." "How..." "How did you come here?" "Who told you about it?" " It was Lili who told me where she was." " Oh, right." "She told me... in case anything should happen." " So, didn't Igor tell you?" " Yes, but he never told me where it was." "Hasn't anyone brought the newspapers from Paris?" "That's not a good idea, in his current state." "There's too much in the papers at the moment." "So... do you work with Thomas?" " Uh-huh." " Yes." " Prometheus?" " Yes." "Is it going well?" "Well it was..." " Is it finished?" " More or less." "What happened?" "Sarah left." "She decided to leave because..." "There was an incompatibility between her and Thomas, her and the group... and someone else left as well." "As always, when things aren't going well," "Thomas must come to the Obade." "In that case..." " I think we'd better leave him to sleep." " Just for a little while." "He looks very, very tired." "I'll go and get the sheets." "Yes." "That would be good." "Pauline." "How long have you known Pauline?" "And you?" "What are you?" "A prince." "Do you know that it's dangerous?" "How long have you known Pauline?" "What about you?" "Not that long." "Just what is it you're looking for?" "It's very hard, I know her." "A princess?" "How?" "...dangerous." "Do you know her well?" "We should talk about you now." "What are you doing with all of these things?" "These are things that... that come." "In what way is she a princess?" "...very fragile." "Are you very strong?" "I do tricks." "I'd like to help, but..." "The pendulum changes." "Positive, negative." "You can have it." "I feel as though I'm about to crack." "Tell me about her." "Perhaps you can help Pauline." "How?" "Yes." "And this princess..." "Where's she from?" "Who is she?" "But you've seen the princess." "She can't be caught." "Tell me about this princess." "She can be helped if you're..." "I'm telling you about her because you must see her." "Because this princess isn't the real one." "She's a fake." "She is the princess... but I know that what attracts you to Pauline is..." "But..." "Yes, it's..." "I used to be silent..." " Do you think so?" " Perhaps." "Play." "You must play." " Have you already played for her?" " No, never." "Do you think that...?" "Maybe it's yours." "Listen... it's time to go." "Think about these things." "Pauline." "Pauline." "Pauline."