I inched slowly towards the rippling tree trunk. He pushed on my back and shoved me in.

A yelp escaped me as I passed through like a clean cut and stepped into a musky wooden room. I heard the buzzing of people’s murmurs outside the pane glass window.
The room was dark and only a few candles lit the room with a soft glow.

In the center of the room was a large oak wood rough rectangular table with a few wobbly looking wooden chairs.

In the one that faced me was a man with fiery red hair—redder than mines—and hazel eyes like mines.
He wore a milky white silk renaissance cross long sleeved shirt with an embroidered cross pattern on the collar and a hook and eye closure, and straight legged poop brown pants with lace up side leg seams.

“Hello Althaia” he said in a deep voice.
“Um hi?” I said questioningly. “can you help me, he’s almost here…” as soon as I said the words the strange man with the green eyes who abducted me stepped through the ripple.
“Thank you Ivan for bringing me my little Althaia”
“What?” I asked
“Daniel is my young master” the man, who I assumed his name was Ivan, said.
Daniel must be the man with the long red hair.

I was confound, this Daniel, was Ivan’s master and he ordered him to abduct me? why?

“Why did you bring me here” I asked him angry.

“Don’t be angry” he said. “I just wanted to talk to you after all I’ve been watching you for a long time”

“You’ve been watching me ewe stalker since when?”his face was messed up with anger.
He took a deep breath and closed eyes.
“I am not a stalker, I’ve been watching you for many years and you should be grateful that ive been watching you, even more so that I’ve chosen you”

“Chosen me for what?” I asked him with fury.
“For my queen of course!” he yelled at me angrily.
“In your dreams stupid” I said with a smirk.
“I am a handsome prince, what more could you ask for?” he asked infuriated.

Full of yourself much I thought.

“You’re crazy, let me go” I swung myself at Ivan and knocked into him and we toppled.

“Stop” Daniel yelled. I froze and fell to the floor like a broken doll. I was caught by Daniel’s arms.
“Why struggle?” he whispered so close to me our breaths mingled. “In the end you’ll still be mines”. He whispered and let his lips touch mines lightly I was disgusted and riled at myself for being so helpless.

I couldn’t move and he kept on kissing me.

The doors of the room flung open. “Let her go” a clear deep voice ordered. I turned my eyes to the door. I I was relieved that Daniel had pulled away from me. A tear escaped me and fell to the floor.

I wanted to go home and escape this madness.

But fate had other plans for me.

I was laid down gently on the floor. From the corner of my eye I saw Daniel and the other man draw their swords and begin to battle.

Ivan picked me up and ran out the door with me in his arms side stepping the battle.

“No!” the other man with hazel ear length hair screamed.
He couldn’t divert his attention or he would have been hacked into pieces.

Save me I mouthed to him in the few moments he looked my way.
“I will” he yelled to me without looking, his gray eyes concentrated as sweat trickled down his nose.

I was carried out into the tavern part of the stone building.
All the voices were hushed and murmurs floated around the alcohol smelling air.

I was immobile through the entire ride to wherever Ivan was taking me in the red velvet interior carriage. The outside was painted a smooth gray.

It seemed to be that the mirror world was a renaissance style place. With brick walls everywhere and brick houses with wooden beams and straw roofs.

We reached golden gates and the entire atmosphere seemed to darken as we furthered deeper and deeper inside the gray brick palace walls.
Soon the very air we breathed seemed bleak.

Ivan stood me up and I found that I could move but the atmosphere was so depressing that it sucked out the will to fight from right out of me.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your quarters.

I stood in the paved entry of a bleak granite castle; the gateway was black iron and opened slowly snapping growing vines that wrapped around its poles.

I walked behind Ivan my head down low as we passed the drawbridge passing the moat.

I stood in the paved courtyard pavilion now. and from here I could see the four watchtowers at every corner of the castle.

On the second floor you could see palace guards in armor looking down on us. I paused a moment astounded with the castle.

“Come” he ordered.
I rushed behind him obediently; here I had no chance of getting away.
He led me into a great hallway filled with tapestry hung on the walls.
He led me up through a winding dark staircase holding my hand. And when we reached the top the blinding light of an open door would have knocked me over if I weren’t holding onto Ivan’s hand.
He showed me to a room and opened the wooden plank door.

“Good night my lady” he said and shut the door behind me with the click of a lock shutting closed.

“Good night” I said to no one and walked to the window wishing I could howl to the two crescent moons floating in the sky.

A tear fell on the window sill and I realized it was my own.

Will I ever get home?

I awoke to a knock on the door and my glossy eyes sprinted open.

The wine red Egyptian cotton spreadsheets I was tangled in had tear stains spread far and wide.
The uncomfortable straw pillow made my ears itchy.
The wooden plank door spread open and I sat up against the cherry wood headboard.

“your breakfast my lady” she said and sat the silver tray with bread and goat milk and cottage cheese.

I wouldn’t get any pancakes here.

And I thought this was supposed to be heaven.

“You can change your breakfast into whatever you wish it should be my lady, go on try it” the servant said.

I cringed my nose.

“I wish for pancakes” as soon as I said the words the food was enveloped by a glow of white light and when it faded a stack of pancakes waited before me.

“And you clothes my lady”

I got up out of bed.
“What’s wrong with the clothes I’m wearing now?” I asked.

I wore a black pleated mini skirt that flared at the middle of my thigh and a white button down camisole. My chopsticks had fallen out of my hair and it was down. I hadn’t straightened it since yesterday so now it was curly and unruly.

“It’s filthy” the servant answered bluntly.

Well she was right I’d been knocked to the floor and pushed through forests so im preety much a dirty mess.

Maids walked in in French maid outfits with a black bodice and a white sleeved shirt with lace up cuffs . And along with that they brought a brown half thigh length pirate skirt with a ruffled hem and some brown cuffed ankle boots.

“wear this” she ordered and left me alone with the maids.

“we’ll help you put on the clothing” the maids who seemed to be twins said in unison.

They pulled me to them by the arms and started stripping me down until I was just in bare skin and under wear.
They pulled on the blouse first and tied the drawstrings together on the cuffs on my wrists.
They wrapped the bodice around my waist and puled the drawstrings together squeezing my waist and leaving me breathless.
I lifted my legs as they pulled on the skirt and I wiped it down pressing it against my thighs.

I slipped off my vans and switched them out for a pair of ankle boots keeping my socks.

They took away my old clothes and I don’t know where they took them because when they left the room I didn’t even hear their footsteps.

I sat down on my wine red sheeted bed. And asked myself what did I have to do to get home.

The first step was to leave here. And I couldn’t do that without knowing wich way to go in the palace.
I could ask Daniel to give me a tour. If I ask sweetly he might show me the palace and even take me out to the village. I could escape from there.
I checked if the door of the room was locked and it was. I sighed.

There was a sound of something bubbling and melting behind me. When I looked there was a gray concrete girl plastered to the wall.

“Hello young one” she spoke. “Whoa!” I yelled and doubled back. “who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Briar, and I’ve come to help you, I am the spirit of this castle” she said.

“Okay” I said and wrangled with the locked door behind me trying to get it to open before I was possessed or something else horrible happened.

“I can open that if you wish” she told me. I paused my battle with the door. “What’s the catch?”

“All you have to do is release me and I will help you on your journey out of the castle” she said her concrete lips moving. I thought it over.
“Alright how do I do that?” I asked her.
“All you have to say is I release you” she said.
“Alright” I said and took a deep breath. “I release you” I spoke calmly.
There was a blinding white light and I had to shield my eyes. When I uncovered my eyes, a beautiful blonde girl with baby blue highlights in her hair stood in front of me. Her very skin glowed a pure white light tinted with blue. And her wreath intertwined with lavender, flourished on her head.
“No one will see me except you, are you prepared?” she asked “yes” I answered.

She floated towards me and touched the door handle and it was enveloped by a white glow and the door swung open slowly.
“Yes!” I whispered cheering.

“Come on” she said and ran in front of me, her white glowing gown billowing behind her.

She passed through a door like a ghost and the door swung open for me. I went through.

It was the door that led to the winding stone staircase. I fled down skipping two steps at a time. I was to gain my freedom this way.

There was a sound of steps coming up and I backpedaled up the steps. He soft glow of a lantern gained behind me as the persons footsteps ran.