Kel turned around and opened the door wide for her, and Iliana gasped in astonishment. Where the steps, sidewalk, and street should have been, there was a stone corridor, like the one in her nightmare that turned into a dream. Iliana quickly slipped her boots onto her feet and followed Kel out of the house, not quite believing what was in front of her eyes. Cool air hung in the stone passageway and Iliana shivered. 

Kel closed the door to her house and led the way, Iliana staying close to him like he said. High above them metal sconces attached to the walls held what looked like tiny lanterns, which cast gloomy light onto the stone walls. The floor beneath her feet was covered in a thick layer of dust which was only distrubed by two distinct sets of footprints. Kel's perhaps?

The corridor forked off many times and soon she didn’t know which way they had come. If she lost Kel, she could be left wandering in this cold stone labyrinth forever. So much for escaping…

They came to a large open space, a stone walled hall lined with doors on both sides. This area was much cleaner, with no dust on the floor or cobwebs hanging from the sconces above. At the end of the hall was a larger, more ornate door with spiraling designs set into the wood. Iliana counted the number of doors they passed, and she got to fifteen before Kel stopped in front of one. A plaque on the door read: 

Magical Ingredients and Spells Library

 Kel opened the door and went inside, Iliana following. It was like a library in there. And it was gigantic! On the right side of the room bookcases went on and on out of sight, and on the left side shelves went on and on out of sight.

“Stay here, and don’t touch anything,” Kel said. Without a backward glance he disappeared behind a shelf. Iliana could only wait a few minutes before her curiosity got the better of her. She approached the first shelf and walked along it, staring at the strange objects resting on the wooden shelves.

Some things were in jars, some in neat little glass cases, and some in boxes. A few of the boxes moved, and she made sure to stay well clear of those. Iliana noticed plaques beneath each item, but she couldn’t pronounce any of the words written on them. Except one. Aurora-something. Iliana looked up at the thing described by the plaque and stared in wonder. Aurora-something was a glowing orb of light, colors dancing inside of it. Mesmerized, she lifted a hand to touch it, but then she remembered Kel’s warning. There must be a good reason for him to say it twice, and she didn’t want him to be angry with her. He was supposed to be her companion for the foreseeable future, after all.

Backing away from the shelf, she found an overstuffed sofa next to the door they had come through. Reasoning to herself that sitting on a sofa did not count as touching something, she plopped down on it, then pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest. It was even colder there than it was inside of her fake house.

In what seemed like no time at all Kel came back with a basket full of stuff, as well as a piece of paper in one hand.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said as he came up to her. Iliana got up quickly, not wanting to be left behind. Kel led her across the hall to another door. The plaque on this one read:

Clothing

Simple enough. Kel opened the door for her and she stepped inside. In this room rack after rack of clothing went on and on out of sight. He left the basket of things on another overstuffed sofa and walked down the aisle in the middle of the room. Curious, she glanced at the items and couldn’t quite make out what most of them were. A bundle of sticks, a block of some kind of metal, and a bottle of a dark green liquid caught her eye.

“Over here,” Kel called out, and Iliana turned away from the basket to see Kel waving her over. “I think I found your size.” Iliana approached him and looked around. There was everything from swim-suits to snow-suits, all crammed together on the clothing racks. “Choose what you want, I’ll just wait by the door.”

“Alright. Thank you,” Iliana said, and Kel nodded and went away. After deliberating for some time, she finally chose a heavy coat, a couple of pairs of thermal underwear, and a few wool dresses. Returning to Kel with her finds, he then led her to another door across the hall of doors, the plaque on this one reading:

Accessories

Inside, it was filled with shelves containing shoes, socks, scarves, hats, and a whole bunch of other things. Iliana took a few pairs of thick wool socks and, after feeling only a little bad about it, a pair of beautiful new boots. I’ll pay Kel back if he really wants me to, but it seems like there’s an endless supply of… everything. Wondering exactly why there was an endless supply of everything, Iliana returned to Kel, who was waiting by the door.

“Find what you need?” Kel asked, and she nodded. “Alright. Time to head back then.” They returned to the hall of doors, Kel closing the door to the accessories room firmly behind them. Leaving the hall of doors, Iliana again tried to remember all the turns they took to get back to her house, but soon gave up. Finally, they came to the front door of her house, and Kel opened it wide for her.

“So, I’ll get started on that wood-burning stove,” Kel said as soon as the door was again closed.

“Alright. I’ll take these upstairs,” Iliana said, her arms full of the things she’d picked out. She moved slowly up the first steps of stairs.

“Do you need any help?” Kel asked.

“No, I got it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

In her room she put the thermals on, a wool dress, and the wool socks with the new boots. Each item fit perfectly, and she put what she didn’t currently have on into the wardrobe. Seeing the box containing her ball dress on the floor, she decided to put that, and the little white shoes she had worn, in the wardrobe as well. Iliana picked up the large white box and carried it over, and was tempted to open it, but only for a moment. It would bring up too many memories.

Closing the wardrobe door firmly, she turned and surveyed her room, catching sight of the pile of dried flowers on her vanity. She looked from them to the almost equally sized pile on her nightstand. Almost as if she didn’t have any control over her body, she calmly gathered the flowers off of her nightstand and brought them over to the others, sitting in the chair in front of the vanity.

One by one, she laid out the flowers on the wooden surface, placing them from most wilted to most fresh. Lastly, she placed the glass flower Dray had given her at the ball at the end of the very long line. Forty-seven flowers.

Iliana couldn’t stop staring at them. Each had a memory of Dray attached to them. The older ones from the days spent together, and the newest ones from the ball. She remembered strolling in the meadow with him, picking flowers and laughing at his jokes, blushing at his compliments. Dancing in her kitchen and at the ball. Kissing him. Looking into his eyes and feeling safe, special… wanted. Tears did not come this time. There was no sadness or anger. There were only questions. Why? Why did you do this? Why me?

Iliana looked to the window, wishing she could see out of it to her little city of Abelton. Iliana rose from the chair and opened the door to her room, but instead of going down the stairs she turned and continued down the short hallway to her mother’s room. She placed a hand on the doorknob, hoping beyond hope that her mother would be there on the other side.

Iliana turned the doorknob and opened the door, but instead of familiar furniture and her mother’s belongings, an entirely empty room greeted her. She let the door swing open and heard the knob thud against the wall. Staring at the blankness of the bare floorboards, she finally felt tears well up and her lip quiver with a held-in sob. Mother… She heard Kel coming up the stairs behind her and quickly wiped her tears away, grabbing the doorknob again and firmly shutting the door.

“Iliana?” She turned back around, finding Kel standing at the top of the stairs, looking at her sadly. This man, who looked just like the man who she thought loved her… who was actually her captor in this familiar yet completely alien place. “I um… I’ve finished with the stove,” he said softly, averting his gaze as he gestured down the stairs. Iliana realized that it did feel much warmer in the house, and despite her sadness did feel curious about it.