When Women Were Dragons

Alex avoids the library for some time after her outburst and considers how dominant her mother’s rules still are even though Bertha is gone. Alex still sees flyers abound for the Wyvern Research Collective and hides them just as reflexively as she continues to lie to both herself and Beatrice. When Beatrice asks whether Alex is mad at her, Alex replies that she could never be, since they only have each other.

Late one evening, Alex is studying when Mrs. Gyzinska comes to the apartment and apologizes for her part in their argument. She then tells Alex that they are not so different and asks Alex to trust her—about her future, specifically. Mrs. Gyzinska tells Alex the truth of her situation: that Beatrice was her cousin and then her sister and is now functionally her daughter. In response, Alex merely offers Mrs. Gyzinska something to eat. Mrs. Gyzinska tells Alex that she is working on finding a solution for her and Beatrice. She reassures her that she needn’t worry and leaves.

As winter approaches, Alex needs new clothes for Beatrice. To request help from her father, she calls her old home. Her stepmother answers, however, and in an icy interchange, she tells Alex to come and retrieve the boxes of her mother’s things that are still in the basement.