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❅ Chapter Thirty-Six ❅

Risa walked down the street towards where the Rosenbergs lived so she could catch a ride and see what was talking to them for so long. Everyone was there and Stella didn't feel right celebrating without them, which she found to be sweet.

She couldn't help but feel nervous with each step she took. She knew Nathan wasn't a fan of hers, even if he hadn't met her. It would always be stuck in his mind Vincent tried to pass her off as Clarissa. Even if he wasn't doing that, it didn't matter to him, he was stubborn as Stella had said.

Not only that, but she had everyone telling her she was Clarissa, even if there was no proof she was still weighed in the back of her mind. She didn't know quite what else to do. She was torn between not believing it and believing it. She hated the feeling of not knowing what to do and the more she tried not to think about it the more she thought about it.

She stopped in her tracks when she heard Loyal behind her barking. "Loyal, what is it . . ." She trailed off seeing a little serpent-type creature that Loyal was trying to bite. "What the -" She shook her head and didn't give it another thought. "Leave the firefly alone, Loyal. Come on." She commanded her dog, patting her side.

Loyal whined and looked over at Risa then back at the dragon minion. "I'm watching you." She growled, narrowing her eyes and trotting over to Risa, walking right beside her. "I don't like that thing." There was something off about it and as an animal, she could sense it.

Risa glanced back and noticed it had disappeared. How odd. She shrugged it off and rounded the corner, stopping in her tracks and almost stumbling when she came face to face with the dragon minion. "Ah -" She suddenly screamed in a surprised manner. "Leave me alone." She demanded, ducking and walking faster, Loyal at her heels.

The dragon minion let out a squeal. He was frustrated that things weren't working for him and he huffed. He began flying around in a circle and many other shapes before flying off in a direction. He hoped that this would make the girl follow him or else Medusa wouldn't be so happy.

Risa began to have a dreamy look in her eye as she began to follow the dragon minion. It was like her mind had gone blank and that there was an invisible force pulling her and she had no choice but to follow. She was solely focused on following this little creature and nothing else mattered. 

Loyal whined and pawed at her ankle, but when she didn't respond she followed with her tail between her legs. She didn't have a good feeling about this, something just didn't sit right. Could this be what Iggy and Hans had been talking about since it was obvious it was trying to get her to follow and it did seem devilish?

She entered the Bois De Boulogne gardens, following the little dragon minion. She shook her head and blinked a few times, snapping out of the trance she was in. "Weird." She mused looking around. "How did I get here?" She felt confused about how she made it to the gardens but didn't remember coming in this direction. 

She paused and realized that the feeling was familiar. "Oh, that was like the lucid dream I had on our way to Russia. Although I don't remember that creature - firefly being there?" She mumbled to herself, tapping her finger against her cheek. "No, that's too big to be a firefly."

She slowly walked down the path as she looked around. Nothing about this seemed familiar and she had to go and find out what took the Rosenbergs so long. She rounded the corner and saw the Rosenbergs all tied up, standing and facing the water edge, of course, they were at least six feet away. "Oh my goodness! What happened?" She gasped and attempted to go over and help them.

The dragon minions pulled her back, keeping her from going over. "Let me go." She tried to fight them, hoping that they would let her go. It was no use though, they wouldn't let their claws go from her coat. "Get your claws off me." She unbuttoned the coat and allowed them to take it off of her. She stepped back and watched as they dropped her coat.