There was a lot of twists and turns, and in complete darkness it's kind of hard to know what to expect when racing on giant mouse at high speeds. Rachel thougt it miraculous that she hadn't tumbled off Sandy's back once since this wild ride started. It felt like it had been going on for hours though. At first Rachel couldn't understand what was taking so long, but soon she realized that she hadn't been entirely concious when she was brought underground so she had no idea how far from the surface they were. She also realised that Sandy avoided lit up corridors because every time they got closer to one of those she could either see or hear totems patroling. Those were probably the main shafts and not a great alternative if you wanted to avoid detection, so it was probably for the best to stay in the dark, even though it was a depressing experience. Suddenly though, things looked a lot brighter. Literally. Rachel could actually see a bend in the tunnel and light were poring in around the corner. Not artificial light, but sunlight. She started to shiver as a breath of fresh autumn air hit her. She could feel it in her body. This horrible experience was about to end. The end of the tunnel came rushing towards her even faster as Sandy increased her speed. For a brief moment Rachel was surrounded by light and fresh air but a shadow appeared in their way and Sandy came to a complete stop.

- "I should have known better than to leave you alone with my mom." Rachel couldn't see because of the blinding light, but there was no mistake on the voice. "Mother has no respect for my decisions... But then again, she is a lot wiser than I am. She tells me that you are human and that you can be trusted." As Rachels eyes adjusted she could see the shadow slowly taking the forms and contours of a woman, and at last the face of her captor became clear.
- "So why don't you let me go?" Rachel could hear her voice cracking. She didn't want to cry and plead like this, but she was scared. "I just want to go... you'll never see me aga.."
- "How do I know it's not just a fairy trick?" the woman interrupted. "How do I know you haven't put some kind of curse on my mom? Deluded her with your magic? I sense it in you... Growing stronger by the minute." She was slowly coming closer, her shadow swallowing Rachel back into the darkness.
- "But I'm human!" Rachel cried out. "Someone else used magic on me. That's why you can sense it! Don't you think that if I could use magic I would have done so by now?" The woman was looking at Rachel. Inspecting her. "What would be the point of me staying this small? It makes me easy pray for you."
- "I've been thinking the same... And I've spent a lot of time around fairys... I know what they feel like, in my gut... You don't feel the same as them. But you don't feel like a human either, but maybe that is because humans usually are not the size of a finger..." She was standing right in front of Sandy now, towering over Rachel.

- "Please..." Rachel couldn't find the words. She was so close to freedom, but the presence of this woman had shattered all hope. All she could do was cling to Sandy as hard as she could. Then suddenly she felt the light washing over her again. She looked up and found that nothing was blocking her from the exit.
- "I won't keep you." The woman had taken a step aside. "I trust my mother, and by extention, I trust you." She turned towards the exit. "But I don't trust you! And that is what got us into this mess in the first place." Rachel didn't understand anything. Who was she talking to now? "Our tradition tells us not to trust you." Another shadow appeared. "We thought you had taken one of ours, but we were mistaken. We ask for your forgiveness."
- "I'm not sure I'm ready to give it yet." There was a cold tone to that voice. Rachel had never heard her speak like that before, but there was no mistaking it. August took a couple of steps inside the tunnel, bent down and picked up Rachel from Sandy. "You really should eat the fruit thogh. Those cereal are bad for you." she said to the totem before she turned around and walked away.