when he smelled vanilla or lavender or plain old soap , he thought of her . for better or worse , they had their emperor back . kyle , being the more sensible of the two , stayed back and urged ben not to act on his curiosity . i can neither go through nor go back . '' `` anyway , i can think of one way you can get to know me . '' she looked at me , and then gave me a half smile . when the doors finally slid open , a different world lay beyond . 