As she picked her way across the giant cobblestones, the tiny toe-shoe swayed gently across the somber brown face of her valise, its ribbon protesting mightily against the indignity of being tied to the handle of such an ungainly beast.

A top-hatted man from a doorway darkened by more than just a lack of natural light grinned at her in a most unusual way as he took in her frothy tutu and crystalline eyes. “Well, hello there, Dearest,” he began, indicating the sky with a pointed finger. “Perhaps you should deign to dine with us before the dramatic deluge begins.”