The Tannhauser Gate

With a loud bang slammed the old door against the wall of the small room and the young female Leopard recognized it even in her dreams and began to tremble. Shivering and freezing, Sophie laid on a bare mattress in an old and abandoned factory building, somewhere at the end of the docks of Tundratown. She wore only old jeans, a blue and way too big sweater and a light jacket. The clothes were old, dirty and also ripped in some places.

The factory building was way up in the north of the town, Right there, where the port went over in the vast mountains that were the natural border of Zootopia in the north-east. Her sleep was unsteady, and the missing blanket did the rest to her state of health. Everyone could see at first sight that she was too light and also too small for her age, a result of the last year on the streets and the resulting malnutrition.

'We will find them . . . Rob will fix this; he is the only one who is there for me . . . Yes, my brother will end this terrible situation for us.' Sophie Young recited in her sleep like a mantra. Her dreams vanished, and she was brought back to reality, as soon as she heard the rough voice of her brother.

"Stand up! We have to go!" Robert roared while he walked through the small roam, which was in the old days a break room for the worker of this facility, but now it was a sleeping place for Sophie and her brother Robert. Robert hastily gathered all their belongings together and stuffed it into a worn out duffle bag.

Dozily, the twelve-year-old leopard girl, looked up to her six-year older brother and hoped that he had something to eat for her. Her last meal was already two days ago and consisted only of a little can of tuna, but Robert had nothing for her so she accepted her fate reluctantly.

"What's wrong brother? D-Did something happened?" Sophie asked carefully and rubbed her eyes, which were still tear-filled from the cold and her sleep. With confusion, she realized that it was still nighttime and the only light that illuminated the room was the orange shine of the street lights from outside.

"I told you to stand up and come! We have no time for this bullshit. I don't know if you can't understand this but they are after us, and I guess we have no other choice than to leave the town! Probably over the mountains to escape them. . . " Robert said and thought for a moment about the idea, as he looked out of the window. Not far from here stood the mountains of the Snowy Hills, dark, vast and impossible to overcome for Sophie in the darkness and cold of the night.

The young leopard had a weak constitution and was still recovering from pneumonia; she had not too long ago. The memories of the fever and the pain were still fresh in her mind and not even a week old. A walk over the Snowy Hills would kill her, she knew it. With shaking feet,

Sophie stood up from the bed and closed the only jacket she owned. Her head hurt again from the fast-uprising, probably was the recovery from her sickness still not complete. It was no wonder in this surrounding of dirt, cold and snow. Slowly, the young leopard turned to her brother.

"But...but how? P-please Rob, c-can't we leave the city over the Meadowlands or . . . " Sophie began, but she never end this sentence. Robert pressed her suddenly against the wall and held his paw around her throat. All the air, she had in her lungs seemed to have disappeared. Shocked by the sudden force against her, the only thing that Sophie could do was staring at her brother with wide eyes, which pleaded him to stop. Almost whispering, her brother began to speak in an angry voice to her.

"Listen carefully, Sis. There is a mammal after us, and he wants us dead. Why? I don't know. The only thing that I know is that he is infamous for getting his work done, okay? We have to go, and we have to go now!" Robert explained, and Sophie could see the fear in his eyes. He wasn't joking or lying about this, and the realization that either death awaits Sophie and her brother here by the paws of another mammal or somewhere in the mountains by the cold winds made her feel so desperate like never before in her short life. Sophie didn't know why but she had the feeling that tonight, death was following them and she hoped it wouldn't catch up to them.

After ten minutes of packing, Sophie stood in the doorframe of the small room and looked for the last time back. The place was cold and dirty but still better than wandering outside through the freezing snow, but she knew that they had to go. Robert wanted it like this, and he knew best, didn't he?

This place didn't feel like home, not even close, but strangely it felt like . . . Something.

"Sophie!" Robert hissed from the metal stairway that led down to the ward in front of the building. He was nervous, something Sophie didn't see in her brother. Until now, he was always the tough one, the one who knew what to do and which way to go. She was more than willing to follow her brother, no matter where Robert led her, but lately, she began to have second thoughts. What if he was wrong? She loved him, more than anything in the world and he was also the one who always protected her against others. But would that last forever?

Together they left the empty factory building and walked up north, alongside the docks of Tundratown and in the direction of the right now unguarded checkpoint. – The Tannhauser Gate. If it were summer, the Tannhauser Gate would be full of police officers and administration mammals, who tried to control the stream of coming and going mammals. Right now was winter, the place would be probably deserted, and nobody would be there to check on them when they pass through. Because no one could be so foolish to wander through the Snowy Mountains in winter, well maybe an arctic fox or a snow hare could do that without freezing to death, but Sophie was a leopard. The heat was always her home, and she knew by now one thing for sure, and that was that she hated the snow more than anything else.

They walked one behind the other, Robert was the first with his fast pace and his heavy dark coat, followed then by Sophie who wore just a light jacket and had her arms slung around her upper body. She was freezing, and with every minute Robert was walking further in front of her. If he kept his pace, he would soon be gone.

"Rob, p-please wait for me!" Sophie was pleading loudly behind him. With a loud sigh, Robert stood still and watched annoyed back at his sister, and said," I told you to hurry, dammit! We have no time! Come with me or stay, your decision!"

Without another word, Robert turned around and walked on. For a long moment, it felt like a punch in the guts for Sophie. With trembling lips, half from the cold and half from her emotional state, she looked after him, hoping that he would turn around. But he didn't. And there it was again, this low whisper in the back of her head, which became louder.

'Sophie, go! You don't need him!' the voice whispered.
'But . . . Rob is my brother! I can't do that!' Sophie answered the voice.

'Yes, you can! Look, how he treated you! He wears a warm and new cloth, now look at you! You are a frozen piece of a kitten, nothing more.' The voice said.

'Maybe he needs it more. I mean he tries to feed us and makes things better!' Sophie said.

'LIES!' The voice shouted in her mind, but continued much softer, ' . . . Just accept it, Sophie, he doesn't...'

"NO! He is my brother!" Sophie shouted out loud and silenced the voice in her head. Her brother didn't even recognize her shouting. He just walked on towards the massive building at the end of the street.

The last whisper echoed through her mind, 'Accept it and don't forget. Clinging to false promises and lies will not keep you alive.'

The voice was gone, and Sophie tried to get her breath under control. She could feel how the cold winter air filled her lungs. The cold stung in her chest. Slowly, she got herself back under control.

Before Robert was almost out of sight and the fear that she could lose him overcome her, Sophie continued to walk on.

The snow around her was glittering, white and perfect. Like the perfect little life, she once had with her Mum, Dad, and her brother. Together they lived in a small house in Savannah Central, and everything was perfect. She had her friends, the school, her field and tracks team, and of course her family. But one day when she came home, her parents were gone. Just gone. The only thing that remained was her brother Robert, and he promised to watch over her, to protect her and to give her back the life they once had.

But with every day it just got worse, their parents did not come back. They were just gone, and nobody knew where. After this, they lost the house, her place in school and Robert his part-time job in a diner. From there on and without any living family, they lived on the streets and tried to survive as good as they could. Also, this was gone now, and the only thing that was left was to walk on right into the winter night.

Sophie didn't even understand what was going on. She never did anything wrong, and she would swear the same for her brother Robert. Day for day, she tried to survive in the streets of Zootopia, which wasn't as easy as it seemed. Rob was most of the time gone, working or trying anything to earn some money. But mostly it didn't end well.

Even the police were no option. Robert said that they would find them as soon as they go to the ZPD and so the young leopard kept herself alone in the shadows and waited for her brother to return every night. Sophie slept most of the time alone and then wherever she could find a place that seemed safe enough for her. These were mostly old abandoned buildings, bridges or any unused railway compartments. Not too long ago, those places had frighten Sophie but those times were over. Now she knew that abandoned sites couldn't hurt you, but she knew that mammals could.

One time, when she was wandering around town, she came across some other feline teenagers, a jaguar, a tiger and a lion. They were not much older than herself but bigger and stronger. At first, they had just talked to Sophie, but when she refused to go with them to have some fun, they dragged into an alley and pressed her against a wall. The tiger and the jaguar held her each by one of her arms and Sophie could feel how they scrutinized her from head to tail and just for a moment it felt as if she would stay naked in front of them. Sophie knew what they wanted from her, and even they made no secret of it. The lion, a big guy and how it seemed the leader of the pack already began to take her cloth off when she pushed him back with her arms and ran as fast as she could. For over a mile Sophie did not dare to turn around or to run slower, the fear that they could catch up to her was just too intense. And even now, months after this event, she could still remember it all so vividly, the smell of the other feline teenagers, their gazes and how they had talked to her, but the worst of all were the touches of the lion. If she could wish for anything, then it was to forget about all of this but she couldn't, and she knew it would stay forever.
Sophie laid the following night awake in an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of the city and tried to cry herself to sleep. But this day, rest didn't come quickly, and even her brother wasn't around. She was alone and had to accept it. In the end, Sophie comforted herself as good as she could, and it was this time when she heard the voice for the first time. Just a whisper but it was enough to question everything.

'Don't trust him, Sophie, you are strong on your own. You don't need him.'

Sophie looked up at the mountains and saw that new clouds were coming over them, ready to deliver even more snow to Zootopia. A deep sigh escaped her muzzle when she walked further on the road which was just illuminated by the orange street lanterns. For a short moment, she thought to see a shadow, that walked not far from her right side, but as soon as

she turned her head, it was gone. The young leopard shook her head and told herself that her hunger was driving her slowly crazy.
Small and dark laid the pass station at the end of the street, but it was already in sight.

'Maybe we can stay there for a while . . . if we are lucky.' Sophie thought and wrapped her arms tighter around her upper body.

It took Sophie and her brother Robert another thirty minutes before they finally arrived at the Tannhauser Gate. Her brother was already inspecting the building, but she had no idea what Robert was searching. The place seemed deserted. All windows were dark and no sign of life in the Gate House, which looked more like a very expensive mountain Lodge than an office building of the city administration.

"C-can we please go in brother? I'm so cold, please!" Sophie begged him. Robert, however, clicked his tongue and replied sour, "Fine, but not too long and we need to find a way to enter and leave without making too much of a ruckus."

Robert watched Sophie, who stood now in front of the main entrance and looked at the metal double door. It seemed heavy but somehow manageable for her. She laid her paws on the door handles and pushed.

"Leave it! It's probably locked! We should search for another way inside!" Robert shouted in anger, but to their astonishments the door gave in and for the first time in weeks Sophie had to smile. Enthusiastic entered the young leopard the halls and felt for the first time in weeks the long-awaited warmth. Slowly disappeared the numbness in her paws and legs, and with every passing second, she felt more and more alive.

Robert followed slowly into the building. Carefully, he looked around in the dark entrance area. To their left and right were on each side four counters, where mammals of all heights could receive service from administration workers of the city. In front of the counters and towards the middle of the hall stood metal railings to guide the mammals to their correct path. The wall and the ceiling of the hall were made out of polished oak wood and shinned even in this cold night from the incoming light of the moon. All around the room stood benches to make it as comfortable as possible for the waiting mammals, and Sophie instantly chose the one in the middle of the room for herself.

Her eyes burned, and she could feel the returning symptoms of the fever. For a short moment, the young leopard tried to relax her sore muscles and teary eyes. When she opened them again, Sophie saw that a clock was hanging on the other side of the hall. It was a big one, and to her surprise, it even had a counter to show the current the date. According to the clock, it was the 28th of December 1989, and by now it was 2:09 AM in the night.

'I missed Christmas . . . And I didn't even realize it.' Sophie noticed and thought she would shed tears for a moment but there was nothing left to cry about, everything was gone. The family with which she would have celebrated was gone and not even her brother thought about her.

Sophie was tired and wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep until the sun was standing high over the city but she knew that her brother had different plans. Robert seemed to be finished with examining the building and walked finally back to her.

"Alright, we seem to be alone. Listen, we will rest for two hours and then go on. I want to be out of this damn city, as soon as possible." Robert said, but when Sophie heard the words, she felt how panic spread all over her body.

"No! Please, Robert! I'm tired, hungry and freezing . . . I-I can't go on. It's too much for me." Sophie said with tears in her eyes and hoped to awaken any emotion in her brother's heart. For a moment there was just silence and the hope that they would stay, at least long enough, that Sophie could recover.
But her hope shouldn't last long, Robert took Sophie by the collar of a jacket and yanked her up in the air until she was on eye level with him. His eyes were half closed, and right then she could see just hate in him. Hate against her, the world, the town – just everyone.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Sophie. So, shut your damn mouth and do as I say!" Robert shook her fiercely, but while he did, Sophie could free herself from his firm grip. Painful and hard, she dropped to the ground and laid there for a moment. Her body began to tremble, and Sophie couldn't say if it was because of the impact or the sudden anger of her brother. But she knew she had to protect herself as good as she could from his upcoming tantrum. Fear was taking over, and Sophie dragged her limps as close to her body as the young feline could in her current situation. Finally, she closed her eyes and waited, and hoped that it would be over.

"I'm your older brother, and I know what's best for you! You hear me?" Robert shouted down to the sad pile of yellow, white and black. The whimpering seemed far for the enraged predator when he kicked his sister several times with full force in the stomach. Panting, Robert stood above his sister and waited for another reply. It was then when a third voice echoed through the halls.

"This is all you can do, Robert? Beating up a little girl? Pathetic. I waited for a bold thief and not a little boy, who don't understand what to do with his strength and all his anger. It seems that someone has misinformed me about you." The voice said calm and collected. There was no trace of fear in it. Sophie and her brother looked around the hall, but they couldn't see any other mammal.

"Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself if you want to fight!" Robert shouted into the shadows of the gatehouse, his fists clenched and his fangs were showing. Sophie's stomach hurt terrible, in her fear she didn't know what to do and crept slowly back to the bench until she felt the hardwood against her back. She slung her arms around her thin legs and watched her brother and waited for the voice to continue.

Someone chuckled from the dark. It was faint and slight but still audible as if the mammal, from which it came stood right behind the two. Her cat eyes should have no problem in the

dark, but Sophie could see nothing that looked like a mammal and also no movement, not even the slightest bit.

"You know who I am and you also know what they call me. But the better question is, what do you think I am? A dumb boy, who runs away from his mistakes, like you? No . . . I'm here to get back what you have stolen, Robert." The voice said.

"Stolen? You have stolen something Robert?" Sophie said in complete confusion. She could only stare at him until she heard again this familiar voice in her head.

'Liar! That's what he is. Didn't I told you?' The voice in her mind whispered, but Sophie just shook her head and tried to ignore it.

"Shut up, Sophie. I can't use your stupid questions, right now!" Robert snarled back at her and the young feline startled.

"Oh, you didn't even told her? That's very rude of you Robert. First, you ruin her life and then you didn't even tell her what happened?" The voice said and made a little break before it continued to talk, but this time to Sophie, "What is your name, little Miss?"

"S-Sophie," The young leopard answered with fear in her voice.

"Sophie. . . What a beautiful name. Did you know that it means 'wisdom'? Its origin is from the old greek mammals . . . thousands of years old." The voice said softly as if they had a conversation in a cafe on a warm summer day.

"Y-yes I did and t-thank you?" Sophie answered and was unsure how she should react. Somehow she felt no danger from the mammal in the dark, but she was also uncertain about the whole situation.

"STOP THIS NONSENSE TALK ALREADY AND COME OUT YOU COWARD!" Robert shouted and looked in every corner of the room as if he would await an attack, that would start at any moment. But nothing happened, and the voice continued calm and softly its conversation with his sister Sophie.

"Tell me, Sophie, do you want to know the truth about your brother and how you two came into your current predicament?" The voice asked, and Sophie gaze went instantly up to her brother. The anger in Robert's eyes seemed immediately to vanish.

'Liar! I told you he isn't honest with you!' The voice in her mind whispered again.

All Robert did was shaking his head, "No, no, no, she doesn't want to know! She doesn't have to know! Have you heard me? She . . ." Robert said but was interrupted by the soft voice of his sister.

"Yes, I want to know," Sophie said with a certainty she never felt before in her life. Her yellow eyes looked right into the ones of her brother. Now she looked at Robert with a mixture of anger and fear.
"Over a year ago, your brother Robert started to work for the Mobster Queen of Zootopia, Minerva Bell. And like everyone else he should have known, that you do not steal from a Queen. Especially not from this one," The voice explained and made a short break. When Sophie looked up to Robert, he didn't look like a grown mammal anymore. He was like a little kitten that stood here in the darkness and got scolded for his mistakes. Robert looked miserable with his arms pressed to his side, and his gaze stared just to the ground.

"He stole her most precious piece, a silver ring it is, with a small aquamarine on it. Light blue and almost of no value." The voice declared, and at once Robert was back into reality.

"What? They all said it's was her most precious one! Everyone! So, how can it be of no high value!" Robert shouted and saw the shocked and disappointed face of his sister.

'Liar! Liar!' The voice in Sophie's head screamed again, and she felt as if she needed to throw up, but there was nothing. With a feeling of utter betrayal, she sat in front of her brother and waited for the end of the little story.

"Precious doesn't mean valuable. This ring was a gift from her mother to her. It was given on the mother's deathbed to the daughter. You know, Robert, some queens wear tiaras, other have a scepter . . . Well, this queen here had a ring that was passed on from generation to generation and with it the power to rule over the Bell family. Do you understand now what you did, Boy? I think you do, but it's too late now. Right, now is the only thing you can do, is to pay." The voice said, and Robert understood. Sophie saw that he was frightened and angry, he wanted to run away, but the young female leopard felt that there was no escape possible from this place.

Robert turned towards the door and tried to reach it. He shouldn't come far; the shot came unexpectedly from a far corner of the room. The sound was nothing more than a coughing, but at the moment when the bullet left the gun, and the small explosion enlighten the area around it, Sophie could see two emerald-colored eyes in the darkness. Just for the blink of an eye and they were gone.

Screaming, Robert shuttered to the ground, holding his right leg in agony. The shot had destroyed his right shinbone. The wound was not lethal, but Robert also couldn't leave this building without help, of that he was sure.

"Robert!" Sophie shouted and ran as fast as she could to her shouting brother. She kneeled down beside him and inspected his wound. There were blood and some white bone fragments but not too much.

"Please give him the ring back! Just end it, please!" Sophie begged him. Robert was fighting with himself and no matter how he would decide — he would lose something.

"No . . . No all the effort and . . . The loses . . . For nothing?" Robert said with a painful face. His right paw over the right pocket of his coat. Sophie knew he wouldn't give the ring back not now with this terrible wound. The image of the strong brother, which she had until now slowly crumbled to dust in front of her and all that was left was a spoiled brat who lose his favorite toy.

Again sounded the voice from the shadows, "You can give me the ring of your own free will or I will get it later from your corpse, Robert."

She heard the words and knew what she had to do. Carefully laid Sophie her paw over his right one and spoke to him but not before her mind spoke to her.

'Leave him. Leave the liar. That's what he deserves. Leave him, as he left you every day in the mud of the city!' the voice whispered to her and with every passing minute she liked the sound of the idea better and better. For now, she could still ignore the words, but for how long?

"Brother," Sophie said soothingly with a smile,"We need to get out of this situation. We have to end this. Please look at me."

Robert raised his head and looked deep into her eyes. Both shared the same eye-color they got from their mother. Father had dark grey eyes, but they had both the bright yellow ones of their beloved mother.

"We will get out of this situation, I promise," Sophie said, and for the first time he gave her a sad little smile. It wouldn't last long. Sophie stood up and stepped back, out of his reach. In her left paw, she held the small silver ring, which she stole with quick fingers from the pocket of her brother's coat.

If the last year on the streets of Zootopia had taught her one thing, then the will and skill to survive. However, in the previous ten minutes, she learned an even more important lesson in her life, the only mammal you can rely on is yourself and no one else. She would end this even if her brother wanted to or not.

"Where should I put the ring?" Sophie asked loud. Strangely she had no fear at this moment, and it was this moment when Robert realized what happened. He grabbed into his pocket and searched for it, but the ring was gone.

"You're just as wise as your name proclaims it, Sophie. Lay it back on the bench where you sat not long ago." The voice said, and so did Sophie. She could feel how a little blush crept over her face for the compliment he gave her.

Before Sophie laid down the ring, she scrutinized him for a short moment. The silver looked used and was in no good shape, but the light blue aquamarine shone in her paw like a little star. She understood how her brother could be fooled so easily by its appearance. With a deep sigh laid Sophie the ring on the bench and walked back to her brother. Dull and absent, his eyes stared to the ground in front of him; Robert's face was a mask that Sophie couldn't

decipher. She squatted down next to him and laid her left paw on his right shoulder, to give him at least a little bit of comfort. Even if he had hurt her, Robert was still her brother.

"Well done, Sophie. Now Robert, how do you think to pay for your crime?" The voice asked. Sophie was petrified about the words, but her brother seemed to have enough of this show. His mask broke and underneath appeared a grimace of disgust.

"Pay? What do you think you are? The damned ZPD? But if you want payment for what I have done . . . take her! Here's your damned payment!" Robert shouted and grabbed the left paw of his sister. His claws went deep into the paw pad of Sophie. Blood trickled over her paw and directly onto her fur. The pain was terrible, and a fierce shriek escaped her muzzle. But no matter how much she tried to free herself, he wouldn't let go of her, and with every attempt by the young feline, the wound just got deeper and deeper.

"Auuhh . . . Robert, Please let go! You're hurting me!" Sophie shouted at him. She had never expected him to do this.

"Take her and sell her, I think this will be payment enough for your damned Queen! Sell her to a brothel or some other mammals who have an interest in young felines; I don't care what happens to her . . . I'm done with this little bitch of a sister!" Robert didn't look at her, not even once. He just stared into the darkness before him and waited for a reply holding tight to his sister. Beside him, a world suddenly shattered, Sophie's world. In the last year, she lost everything important in her life, and with Robert, she lost the last mammal she trusted. She felt that she was truly alone now.

Tears ran in streams down her face, but no sob or word escaped her muzzle. She didn't even know what to say or answer to him. For a moment she also stopped trying to get free from his firm grip.

"Your sister? That is what you offer? Tsk and mammals sometimes say I am a monster." The voice said and for a moment reigned silence among the mammals. "Do you accept this, Sophie?" The voice asked.

"She has to! I say so!" Robert shouted into the dark but was directly interrupted by his sister. "NO!" Sophie screamed and ripped with pure force her paw free from her brother. With wide eyes watched Robert his sister and listened to the gruesome sound, when she freed herself. Stumbling and panting, she walked back and held her bleeding paw with her right one.

The blood was until now just dripping from her paw, but it expanded fast into a stream of blood, gathering on the end of her middle finger and falling in big red drops from Sophie's paw and onto the wooden floor. It didn't take long, and a lake of blood grew on the wooden floor in every direction. Sophie had retreated and stood in the middle of the room, where she panted heavily from the awful pain. A look down to her paw, and she could see just blood and open flesh. Under massive pain, she tried to make a fist. All her fingers obeyed her command, even when the pain almost made her faint. She could still move all her fingers, that was everything that counts. At least one good sign.

"You will go with him, Sister. Do you understand me?" Robert said with clenched teeth.

'Tell him what you think. Tell him.' the voice whispered again and for the first time, Sophie did what it demanded.

"NO! I have enough of this, and I will not be the payment for your mistakes! You said you would do everything brother, but you lied! Everything became worse with every passing day! Mom is gone, Dad is gone, our old life is gone, and I'm so sick of living in the dirt and cold. I want to go to school and live my life! But at most I want to be free — free of You and your damn lies and promises!" Sophie shouted to her brother. Both siblings stared at each other as if they were old enemies, ready to kill each other at any moment.

"Here, take it and claim what is rightfully yours." The voice said, and both felines heard a scratching sound from metal on wood and how it went over the floor, until it finally stopped, directly in front of Sophie's feet. It was a gun, but it was longer than a normal one, on the muzzle of the weapon was something attached like a metal tube.

"What you see is just a sound suppressor for the gun, I hate loud noises during my work. Take the gun or leave it, the choice is yours, Sophie." The voice said. Sophie just shook her head. She had no idea what she should do with it. This thing would solve her all of her problems, but it would also end the life of her brother, and she had to do it. Right then, Sophie had a dangerous idea, but right now everything she did could be the last.

"What . . . What if I use the gun against you, Mister?" Sophie asked carefully and continued to stare at the gun to her feet. A little chuckle was all she got as a first reply.

"You are too clever, Sophie not to realize, that I wouldn't give you a gun if I didn't have a second one . . . But besides why should you hurt me? I never did anything to you? Or did I?" The mammal in the shadows asked, still calm.

"No," Sophie replied and dropped her gaze down to the gun.

'Take it and free yourself from him.' A voice whispered in the back of her head. Should she take it? Her life was terrible, no doubt about that, but killing someone and then even her brother – impossible.

'I can't do that he is my brother. I shouldn't even think about something like that,' Sophie thought, but instantly the by now familiar voice echoed through her mind,' He wanted to sell you off like a slave, is that better? What were you, all the months for him, mmh? Oh, and are you sure that he doesn't know what happened to your parents? I wouldn't be so sure about that. You know once a liar...' The voice whispered.

The idea was stuck in her head for a long time now, but she couldn't speak it out loud or better she didn't want to. He was her only hope that everything would be better if she just trusted him. He was the only one she had, and what should she do without him?

'You survived on your own! Not him! You managed to get away from those boys. Not him! Don't make yourself smaller than you are. Also, you have now the possibility to ask him anything, and he will probably answer.' The voice whispered like the devil.

'Yes, I could ask him and maybe get on this way the truth out of him. Then, and only then I could decide what to do. Yes, that may work.' Sophie thought.

Slowly, Sophie squatted down and grabbed the gun with a shaking paw. It was lighter than she expected it to be. Her right paw enclosed around the grip and for a moment she inspected the gun. Gluck, was the name of the producer but it was all that stood on the black thing.

Sophie turned with the gun in her right paw to her brother, pointing directly at him and his in terror widened eyes.

"No, no, no... please no Sophie. I...I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry p-please let us forget this little rivalry and move on. It will never happen again, I promise." Robert begged her and even tried to get on his knees, but his wound prevented him from doing so. The suspicion that he could change his mind and mood never left Sophie, she knew how fickle her brother could be.

"Tell me what happened to our parents! Tell me what you did when you were not with me! Tell me everything!" Sophie demanded. The younger sibling stood now directly in front of her brother. The distance was not more than a meter. A shot from this distance would be lethal, even from an inexperienced shooter like Sophie.

Robert didn't know what to say and remained silent.

"Tell me!" Sophie shouted, and tears began again to stream down her cheeks. She could also feel how her headache and the fever returned to her, worse than before.

With nothing more than a whisper answered Robert, his sister but he couldn't look at her, "What would it help you if you know what happened? You're just a stupid little girl, nothing more."

"I'm not! All this year, I survived on my own, you weren't there! You haven't seen what I have seen, and you did not have to endure what I had to endure," Sophie said and stopped for a moment, With every passing minute breathing became harder and harder for her. She could feel how her cheeks and ears were burning from the returning fever and the headache that was hammering in her head. But she kept herself together, she must, for the sake of herself.

"I'm done waiting for an answer, Rob. But I need it to move on. Every night I ask myself where they are and what happened, maybe we could even find them. But the only thing that kept me sleeping at night was your promise that everything would be better! You were my hero, Rob." Sophie pleaded, her lips were trembling by now, and the gun in her paws felt heavier with every minute that passed.

"There are no heroes, Sis. And you will never find our parents." Robert answered. He was finally calm, but that calm from her brother soothed Sophie, not one bit.

'Shot him! He deserves it, Sophie' The voice whispered and Sophie had more and more problems to distinguish between her mind and the whispering voice in the back of her head. She could feel how they began to merge and that frightened her, more than anything at the moment.

"WHY NOT?" Sophie screamed in desperation. Her eyes closed and her face wet from the tears.

"Because they are dead! And they will not come back! Never!" Robert shouted back and tried to stand up with his good left foot. With all his remaining strength Robert tossed himself onto his sister.
Tears blinded Sophie and she reacted too late. The shot she fired flight past Robert's head and entered the column behind him with a half-loud thump noise.

Robert had maybe lost his right leg, but he had still his two arms, and they were all he needed at the moment. His sister, surprised by the attack and his weight, went shouting to the ground, the gun still between them. Without any hesitation closed Robert his paws around the thin throat of his sister. He had finally enough of her and just the wish to end it.

Sophie, who laid underneath her brother shook her head with wide eyes, but Robert kept on choking her. The anger had by now completely taken over his mind and revenge was all that filled it.

"They couldn't keep out of my business, and you have no idea what dumb idiots our parents were. They even wanted to help me coming free from my job! They wanted to pay them with their own money, but Dad made a mistake, and in the end, they were dead. Pah, they got what they deserve. And I, I had not such a bad life, like you in the last year. I worked for another mobster boss, you know? His name is Mr. Big, and I made good money with him. The most of it, I spend for myself, but sometimes you got a small piece from me to keep you alive. You were my emergency exit and supposed to bring me out of this dilemma. But you refused, and now I have no other choice. If I go down, then I will take you with me. . . So don't make it harder for me and d-" Robert's face froze in the middle of the sentence. His gaze went down on his body, and he saw, what he had forgotten. Between him and his sister pointed still the gun with the silencer directly at his stomach. Where once was just a white shirt, grew now a red circle broader and broader about the lower chest of Robert.

"You little..." Robert shouted and wanted to finish what he had started, but Sophie had closed her eyes and pushed the trigger of the gun again...

...Again... ...Again... ...Again...

...Again... ...and again.

Until the click of the empty gun was the only thing that echoed through the large hall. The paws around Sophie's throat loosen their tight grip slowly, and with the last of her strength, she managed to crawl from underneath her dying brother. Sophie could feel how she lost her consciousness; the blood loss from her paw became slowly too much for her to bear. Even the fever had spread by now through her small body.

While she laid on the cold ground of the wooden floor, she could hear how her brother took his last breath before he collapsed and slammed heavy to the ground — He was dead, Sophie was sure of it, and she also knew that she wouldn't cry over him.

Sophie had no intention of turning back to him or looking for the last time at his face. Right now, she wanted to do nothing at all. She was at the end of her strength. When she heard half unconscious, the clicking of claws on the wooden floor, Sophie asked herself for a moment what for a mammal would in some seconds stand in front of her. A wolf, a tiger or maybe even another leopard? She had no idea.

But there he was, red-furred and dressed in a heavy black coat. Sophie awaited a lot, but a fox?

He looked handsome, maybe in his mid-twenties but not older than that. Calm, he looked down at Sophie. It was him, she was sure of it, the same eyes she saw during the shot. Quick, he squatted down beside her and took the gun from Sophie's paw, he was gentle and didn't hurt her. Emerald green eyes looked into eyes that were as yellow as the sun.

"Tell me, Sophie, do you want to live?" The fox asked in a soothing voice.

Tears ran down her cheeks, her lips trembled, but Sophie nodded intensively and replied just with a whispered but definite, "Yes."

Sophie had made her decision, and the world around her went gradually black. She could only feel the heat of the fever and that somebody lifted her up and slowly carried her away. No sound and no talk, just the feeling of being light as a feather in the arms of somebody else. And for the first time in almost a year, the whispering voice in her mind was silenced.

'Oh no, I'm so small and light that even a fox can carry me...how sad is that?' Sophie joked to herself, and her mind went over into a long and deep sleep.

When Sophie Young, a female Leopard of almost thirteen years, opened her eyes again, she had just one thought going through her mind.

'I'm dead. There are no other explanations for what I'm seeing. I must be dead.'

Sophie laid on a couch and looked directly out of a window, which was high above the streets in the center of Zootopia. In front of her was the city at night, illuminated by hundreds of lights and every now and then a rocket flew up into the night sky and exploded into a burst of colors and light. Her senses slowly returned to her, and she tried to sit up. Her headache was still there but much weaker than the last time.

She laid on a red couch, had a thick blanket over her body and as it seemed someone had washed her. Sophie wore now a grey sweater with matching sweatpants but no underwear how it appeared, a fact that made her blush for a moment but when she thought back, she remembered that her clothes were a mess and should better directly be burned until nothing remained.

Instinctively, she wanted to stroke with her left paw over the fur on her head, something she always did after a shower or bath, but the paw was covered in thick white bandages, and it would be of no use for a while.

When she looked closer at the bandage, a small red dot appeared in the middle of it, and the events from the Tannhauser Gate came slowly back to her mind. But to Sophie's surprise there was no grief or sadness. She felt lighter as if someone had lifted a heavy burden from her shoulders; she felt almost free.

Interested in where she was, The young leopard began to look around. She was sure that she was in one of the new skyscrapers which stood in the heart of Zootopia. When Sophie looked around her, she could see bookshelves filled with countless books, an open kitchen which directly went over in the living room area, some old paintings on the wall but no flowers or anything else that made this place personal or even welcoming. Behind the kitchen were some doors but Sophie could just guess to which rooms this would lead. It didn't feel like home for her but it was warm, dry and she had medicine to cure her disease.

'Maybe the fox would let me stay here until I feel better,' Sophie hoped and rested her head back on the pillow behind her.

Directly beside the expensive looking red couch, on which Sophie laid, stood a small table. On it were an orange plastic bottle with antibiotics and one with aspirin. Besides, that stood a steaming pot of tea. The smell of peppermint was all over the room. Without hesitation, Sophie took the big mug and drank some of the hot liquid. It felt great to be finally away from the cold of the streets, even if she didn't know what awaited her. But with this treatment, she seemed to have a different fate than her brother.

To her left was an armchair, in the same color as the couch. In front of it, on the low table of the living room, laid a pile of books, Sophie could read names like Feline physiology, 100

Recipes during a Sickness, The Art of War, and on top of those laid an open copy of Moby Dick. Sophie had never read Moby Dick and wanted to grab for it when she heard that a door opened and two mammals walked into the room. Instinctively, Sophie rushed back under the blanket and pretended to sleep but what the young feline did was listening to the two mammals and watching the firework in the night sky. She could get a glimpse of the other mammal, but she seemed to be a pretty lynx and a little bit older than the fox.

"...It was as always a delight, Adrian." The Lynx said, and it almost sounded as if she was smiling. Whoever she was, she had a very feminine voice but also had a kind of roughness in it. Sophie could hear the sound of a closing zipper and a belt. She blushed when the thought about it.

"The pleasure was also on my sight. I can assure you that much, my dear." The second voice replied, and Sophie knew that it was the voice of the mammal in the Tannhauser Gate. He went on after a little break.

"What do you think, how often do I have to change the bandages?"

"I would say at least daily if you want that it heals properly... you know that I normally stitch together the bodies of dead mammals. And the wound on the paw of the kitten was pretty bad, should it get worse, go to a hospital. Do you hear me, Adrian?" The Lynx sounded worried, and somehow this brought a warm feeling to Sophie.

"Yes, loud and clear, Mina. Please tell me, did your mammals cleaned up the mess in the Tannhauser Gate? One shoot ended in the wall, not that somebody had overseen it." Adrian asked. For a short moment flashed Robert's face back into Sophie's mind, his face all distorted from anger and hate.

"What do you think we are, Adrian, amateurs? They found and cleaned all fifteen shots, collected all cartridge cases, cleaned all the blood from the floor and have his body now in our funeral home. We know our job, Mr. Wilde." The female Lynx replied and sounded a little angry, but just seconds later Sophie could hear only worry where before was her anger, "What happened, Adrian? You never needed more than one shot for a mammal? Never, in all the years, you worked for us, Mr. Big or any other Mobster around Zootopia. But fifteen? That's so unlike you."

More rockets rose up to the sky and when they exploded a sea of colors and lights spread in front of the window. Blue, green, red, gold, purple, all the colors Sophie liked were there, and she couldn't remember where she was the last time, that she saw something so beautiful. Adrian's voice brought her back into reality, and also partly into the past.

"I had shot him one time. The wound that you saw on his shinbone was from me." Sophie listened carefully, she knew precisely about what and whom they were talking but she made no noise and just kept hearing to their words.

"You mean the others are from . . . Her? What did you do Adrian?" The Lynx sounded slightly shocked because of his words.

"I gave her a choice, and that was what she had chosen. If you want to know..." Adrian began but was quickly interrupted by the Lynx, "What? No, no please not now, Adrian. I'm tired, relaxed and satisfied, right now. I don't want to ruin that. . . But what do you want to do with her?"

'Yes, what will he do with me?', Sophie thought, 'Did he feel guilty for what happened? Or does he feel sorry for me? I guess he will not kill me... Why should he give me this medicine and treat me if that were the case? Nothing of this makes any sense. I guess only he can enlighten me.' Sophie thought and concentrated back at the conversation on the floor.

"I will talk with her and decide afterward, but I will tell you about it, maybe after dinner in two days? Then maybe we will have even something else that we can talk about? What do you think, my dear." Adrian asked, and this time his voice sounded very seducing and as if he pushed her against the wall.

Sophie could imagine what happened on the same floor, behind the door that he had entered with the female Lynx and that made her blush because of her thoughts. When Sophie heard it, she felt how a shiver went down her spine, and she could swear that she heard a faint little moan from the female Lynx.

"Adrian . . . Don't do that . . . Ahh - stop . . . Fine, fine. I will tell my aunt to prepare one more dish but be aware that the complete Bell family will be there." The Lynx was breathing heavy, but his voice was back to his normal sound as if nothing ever happened.

"Better ask for two, I've got a little hunch regarding this New Year dinner and I think I will bring a guest. Also, you should know, that I have no problem with your family, you know me . . . I can be very charismatic if I want to be." Adrian said. Sophie couldn't say why but she merely knew he was smiling right then at the female Lynx in front of him.

"I just realized once again how charismatic you could be . . . but you know what my family has against you, Adrian."

"Aren't you the head of the Bell family Minerva? Shouldn't they listen to you?" Adrian said. "Oh, they listen, but they are still afraid of you. And no word about us! You understand?"

"Of course not, especially not to Mr. Bell. Our relationship is just a matter of business, my dear."

"Idiot." The female Lynx said, and another door opened with a creaking sound.

"Before you leave, please don't forget one of the main reasons for your visit, my dear." The fox said, and a small silence between both mammals took place until she continued to speak.

Her voice was now very nostalgic, and Sophie could hear how Adrian searched for something in his pocket.

"This damn ring has only caused me trouble, in all the time. I can't even say how many mammals died because of this stupid piece of metal. Honestly, it would have been okay for me, if it gets lost or destroyed..." The female Lynx replied

"Give me the mission, and I will do it," Adrian replied as if he just waited for another request.

"No! Not now . . . Maybe one day. I guess my family wouldn't be delighted if that happens. But leaving all this crime and business behind, having a normal life. It's a beautiful idea if you ask me . . . But don't tell anybody from my family. Please." The Lynx said and sounded sad.

"As you wish, Mina," Adrian answered.

"Oh and before I forget it. I talked some days ago to your wife. Your daughter lives, Adrian. Emilia said she maybe has a weak heart but a strong will. Listen . . . I don't know what happen that night, and honestly, I don't care why you wanted to get rid of that girl of yours but at least let your wife keep the house. I know that you don't need that." The Lynx said and remained quiet. Sophie couldn't see what happened, but what she could hear was Adrian talking. His voice became emotionless and cold.

"I had my reasons to do that, Mina. Also, I didn't know that you are so close with my wife," Adrian said.

"What do you want to hear, Adrian? I know her since my childhood, we are from the same neighborhood. I would even say that she is a good friend of mine." The Lynx said and sounded angry.

"You forgot to say, that you also shared the same fox, Mina. Is that also something that good friends do?" Adrian replied sharply, and Sophie could feel that something had changed. The almost romantic atmosphere from before was gone.

"I think I should go now. My family will surely not be amused that I was away for such a long time." The Lynx said, and Sophie heard how Adrian helped the female Lynx put on a thick coat.

"Thank you, Adrian. I wish you and the little kitten over there a Happy New Year." The Lynx said and seemed to leave the apartment, but she directed some last words to him, "I hope you'll do right by her...she deserves it, after the things her brother did to her. I see you in two days, Mr. Wilde."

"Also a Happy New Year to you, Mrs. Bell," Adrian replied short and closed the door. Sophie heard him sigh before the fox strolled back towards her.

"Please stop pretending to be asleep, Sophie, I saw you grabbing for a book when I entered my bedroom." The fox said when he walked in front of the young leopard who looked instinctively and embarrassed to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Wilde," Sophie said apologetically, but he didn't seem to mind at all and laid his right paw on her forehead. He wore just the black pants of a suit and a white shirt tucked into his pants. The highest three buttons were open, and Sophie could also see red lipstick on the collar of his shirt, but she thought better to keep this for herself. To her astonishment was Adrian's left paw also in a thick bandage, but she couldn't remember that he hurt himself during the events in the Tannhauser Gate building.

'Maybe he got the wound when he carried me here?' Sophie thought and felt a wave of regret rising inside her.

"How are you feeling, Sophie?" Adrian asked and sat on the low wooden table in front of the couch.

"Better, thank you, Mr. Wilde," Sophie replied and smiled lightly, to which the fox responded with the same smile. The young feline summoned all her courage and said in a shy voice,"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, please ask?" Adrian said with crossed legs and waved with his right paw, waiting for the questions.

"Why did you save me? I-I mean, I don't want to be ungrateful, but it would have been much easier to kill me there or leave me and go. I guess I would be dead by now." Sophie said and inspected the face of Adrian Wilde closely, but she could guess nothing from it. He wore a stone mask, and it was a perfect one, without cracks or mistakes to look behind it. The fox took his time to find an answer.

"The easy answer is, I don't know. At least not exactly." Adrian began to talk, and Sophie tilted her head to listen to him, the answer he gave her made her more than curious.

"Maybe it is because we both saw on different ways how this world truly is, cruel, cold and nothing for weak mammals. We both know how to survive on our own, and we both know that the only one on which we can truly rely on is us. These things, we two have in common." Adrian said, and Sophie saw how his mask began to crumble.

"Maybe it is because I know how it feels to be fooled by the own family. Just like you, I left my family when I was twelve . . . Of course, I understand that your travel began not of your own free will but so did mine but here we are." Adrian said, and Sophie recognized that with every word his mask disappeared more and more.

"Maybe . . . maybe it is because we want the same thing?" Adrian said and looked questioning to Sophie as if he awaited an answer from her but if so, she didn't know the answer nor the question.

"Do we?" The young leopard asked carefully.

"Yes, we do. You said you want to be free and so do I. Unfortunately, I can't because there are forces in this world that forbid me to do as I please. Forces that are old, very old and I want to break them to free me from my chains. My question to you is now, will you help me?" Adrian asked in a calm voice, but Sophie couldn't grasp his thought. Did he really want her help? For what?

"I think, I don't understand. How could I, a small kitten help you? Look at me. I'm just fur, skin and bones...nothing more." Sophie answered and looked apologetically over to him.

"Not now, Sophie. I need your help in the future, and for this, I offer you the privilege to be my apprentice. With the things I would teach you, you could become anything you want, a killer, a mayor, a queen or maybe just a mother. The decision is yours, but I can assure you one thing, a future is nothing that is given to you. It is something you must take for yourself. So, please consider taking this chance that I'm offering you, Sophie, and I promise that you will be one day be free, but then it will be on your terms and conditions." Adrian said and waited patiently for a reply. This time it was Sophie who needed time to think about an answer.

"You saved my life in the gatehouse, because that fact alone I'm incredibly thankful. . . But, you were also honest with me, when no one else was. Even if the truth hurts. . . I-I will accept, under one condition." Sophie said and looked now directly in the eyes of Adrian Wilde.

"And that condition would be?" Adrian asked her.

"Never lie to me about anything, I can handle the truth you give to me, no matter how cruel it truly is," Sophie said with the same determination, with which she replied to her brother in the Gatehouse.

"I promise, but remember one thing. You are the only one; I will give this privilege and no one else. Always remember what this means," Adrian said and began to remove the thick bandages from his left paw, "I also never saved someone. You are in many ways a first time for me. To help you were either the best idea I ever had or the worst. But one thing is clear to me, do not let me regret my decision, Sophie." Adrian said, and Sophie could see red bandages. It was still not healed and seemed to bleed from time to time. With a smile, Adrian looked from his injury up to Sophie, and she understood what he wanted.

"I think it will be best to seal this contract with blood, what do you say?"

Sophie watched how the last layer of white disappeared, and a massive wound over Adrian's paw pad came to light. The cut was deep but clear, and it still seemed to bleed from time to time. Without hesitation, Sophie began carefully to open her bandage. She had no idea what awaited her, but the mess that her brother had left her would probably be no lovely sight. It was the complete opposite of Adrian's wound. Where his injury was a clean cut through flesh,

her wound a mess of something she couldn't identify, that was torn apart and stitched together as best as Mrs. Bell could do. Sophie took Adrian's paw in hers and pressed it firmly.

Adrian seemed pleased with the strength of the handshake and said," When I have reached my goal, or I think it is time for you to go, I will set you free, and you will be on your own. Are you okay with that?"

Sophie nodded, and Adrian parted slowly from the leopard, "And now, we both need new bandages. Mina said one week, then we should proceed with the healing process without the bandages."

The fox stood up and walked over to another table on which laid more medical supplies. Sophie watched how fast he was in changing his bandages, but for her, he took more time. The young Leopard was curious how honest Adrian would be with her and tried to test him for now, not that there was anything else to do for her. And she wanted desperately to know who this mammal exactly was.

"So, the female from before . . . You two are . . . I mean you and her . . . you . . ." Sophie tried but couldn't find the right words without feeling stupid or simple-minded . . . Or kinky.

"We fuck, yes. Are those the words you were looking for?" Adrian asked, and Sophie saw how a slight smile appeared on his muzzle. The answer hit her harder than she thought. Her inner ears turned red, and she could feel how she blushed on her cheeks.
"Oh, So she is a widow? Because you said, her name was Mrs. Bell?" Sophie asked and hoped to have made the right assumption.

"No, she is still married, has a daughter and you will get to know her boring husband in two days. When we will go to the most infamous mob family of Zootopia for dinner. You need to get accustomed to this kind of society." Adrian answered and finished her bandage, but Sophie still couldn't believe what he just said.

"That . . . That was a joke right?" Sophie asked.

"No, none of this was. I promised you that I would tell you the truth. Didn't I?" Adrian answered and stood up. He disappeared for a moment into the open kitchen, to make himself a coffee. But even from there he spoke on.

"Do you have any more questions?" Adrian asked and filled coffee beans in the machine. Sophie was glad that he didn't stand right now in front of him.

"Did you . . . did you wash me?" Sophie's head was burning, and she could hear a chuckle from the kitchen before he replied,"I bathed you, yes. You were in an unconsciousness state and dirty, what else should I do? And don't worry, I can assure you that I saw nothing, which I hadn't seen before."

"Oh that, yeah . . . Pfft. I don't mind being naked." Sophie lied, but the reaction came immediately, "Don't play the tough one if you don't have the guts to prove it, Sophie."

"I . . .I don't . . . okay." Sophie saw no meaning in replying, but there was still another question on her mind right now, "What forces did you mean?"

"You are too restless, Sophie. I will tell you everything when the time comes. For now, you will rest, sleep and get some flesh on your body." Adrian replied.

Sophie knew he was right and rethought for a moment her situation. Rather quickly she found her old curiosity and looked to the clock, which hung on the wall to her right. It was 11:54 PM, and it was almost the new year. Just a year ago she sat together with her parents and her brother, to wait for the countdown. Right, now all of this appeared so distant and stupid.

'Waiting for a countdown, why had we down something like this. What makes this night different from any other nights. Sitting here, with a mammal I barely know and none of my old family alive.' Sophie thought and continued drinking her tea, while she watched how more and more firework appeared and lightened up over the town. With a steaming cup in his right paw Adrian walked over to the armchair and stood the mug on the edge of the table in front of him. Still, in the same cloth, he sat cross-legged in the recliner, which was designed for bigger mammals than foxes.

"I guess you still have questions?" The fox asked without looking up and leaned forward to take a sip from his coffee.

"Yes . . . You spoke with Mrs. Bell about my . . . Brother and that something should happen with him. What did you mean with that?" Sophie asked while she leaned on the back of the couch, also cross-legged with her tea between her leg.

"Mina... , I mean Mrs. Bell or better known under the name Minerva Bell, is the leader of the Bell family and owner of some local funeral homes. Something that comes pretty handy, especially when you command over an army of mobsters. Anyhow, her mammals brought the body of your brother to the funeral home, you can now decide what will happen with it. A grave, maybe his ashes somewhere in the apartment, I don't care." Adrian replied, but to his astonishment, Sophie quickly gave him her answer.

"Burn him and put the ashes anywhere, I don't care. Dead is dead." Sophie replied cold and looked down into her cup of tea. A small smile flashed over Adrian's face before he replied, "As you wish."

For a moment, Adrian leaned to the left of his armchair and took something, which he handed over to Sophie. Baffled, the leopard looked to the thing in Adrian's stretched out paw. It was apparently a book, wrapped in white paper with a lot of Christmas trees on it. With some hesitation, she took it and laid it in her lap.

"It was initially for Mina's daughter as a Christmas present. Unfortunately, I forgot it here...but I think you will find it quite amusing in your current situation, maybe it will help you to move on...Oh and a happy new year." Adrian said, right then the clock went on to midnight. He grabbed for his version of Moby Dick and continued reading without even having one more glance to Sophie.

"Thank you...and also a happy new year to you." She replied in a low voice, but the fox was already sunken in his book and didn't mind her anymore.

For a while, Sophie didn't know what she should do. She felt wrong in this apartment, it felt wrong sitting here with this fox she barely even knew, and now she should go on with her life as if nothing had changed? Sophie couldn't even cry, because that was what she did the whole last year when she was alone with her thoughts. Right now, she realized that she knew the entire time that her parents were dead, she couldn't admit it to herself. Why should they leave? Death was the only thing that made sense.

And right now, she felt safer and better than the entire previous year . . . Maybe she should really start to move on and rest for now. She looked at the gift in her lap and bit her lip.

'Maybe he is right I should just open it and move on, let's see where it leads me.' Sophie thought and felt a smile on her muzzle.

Like so often, her curiosity won after a short fight with her decency, a battle which never ended in any different way. Interested in what it might be, Sophie unwrapped the book and threw the paper on the table. In her hand laid a hardcover edition of Alice in Wonderland. She knew more or less what it was about but was curious to know more.

Without hesitation, she began to read the quote which stood on the first page of the book. Sophie didn't know if she should cry or laugh about it.

"But I don't want to go among mad mammals," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here.