Lily's heart pounded as she ran. Since leaving the laboratory, she knew Yasmin wasn't there. Yasmin couldn't have taken Nick away so abruptly and secretly just to talk. Yasmin's eagerness for the experiment meant she wouldn't just need Nick; Fred would be there too, along with the doctors present the other day—all kept secret from Lily and Rhea by the queen. Clearly, Yasmin intended to proceed without Lily's knowledge.
"Has she lost her mind?! Why would she do this knowing it'll fail?!"
Lily frantically pressed the elevator button repeatedly, wishing for faster movement. To her surprise, the button for Fred's floor remained unlit, no matter how many times she pressed it.
"Is it locked?"
Lily knew the elevator itself was functioning correctly; access to that floor was simply unavailable. This confirmed her suspicions.
"It won't work," Rhea said, approaching and snorting. "You're trying to get to that floor, aren't you? It's locked. I tried the stairs; there are guards everywhere. She purposely kept this from us, didn't she? I wonder how long they've been at it. Perhaps it's over by now. Even if we could get there, it would be too late." She sighed. "What a pity."
She regretted missing the experiment. Regardless of the outcome, she considered it a great experiment and had eagerly awaited it.
Rhea shook her head. "Her Majesty could have simply kept it from you. I've always supported the experiment, after all."
Lily glanced at her casually and walked away.
"Hey, I told you the guards stopped me! How do you expect to get past them?" Rhea called out as Lily approached the stairwell.
Ignoring her, Lily stormed off. Rhea entered the elevator, hesitated, then rushed out again, foregoing the button. By the time she reached the stairwell, Lily had vanished.
"She's fast, huh?"
Rhea sneered, descending to Fred's floor, anticipating Lily's rebuff and her own smug satisfaction. Despite her haste, she didn't see Lily. When Rhea opened the door, guards blocked her path.
"Halt!"
The guard scrutinized her. "It's you again!"