I wake up because I’m abnormally warm. It’s like… take the hottest summer in the hottest place you’ve lived, and then go stand in the sun while wearing winter clothing. I mean… I suppose if you’ve lived in Africa or someplace near the equator maybe it’s not that hot… but it feels that hot to me.

I kick off the blanket -yup, add a blanket to that smothering warmth- and tear off my sweater. I don’t literally tear, but… If I could’ve, I would’ve. Now I’m in my T-shirt and jeans, and my wool socks and boots. Bye boots, bye socks. I look up, and I’m dazzled by my cage. The leaves sparkle in the sunlight, the branches blocking just enough for me to see. I feel the sun, but that’s through the trunks (thanks whoever put the bed right in a beam of sun). I stand up and touch the nearest trunk gently, pulling away quickly.

You’d think that since it’s so hot, the trunks’d be blazing, you know, the way your seatbelt buckle gets when you leave the car out in the sun? But nope, they’re the same as they were last time, same as my own skin. The texture is phenomenal, and the sculpting…. Let’s just say, if it wasn’t sparkling gold, it’d be good enough to fool anyone.

I glance around me, noticing the flashes of orange and red through the trees to my (right), and start to run to the other side to see if I can see anything on my left… but I stop. I’d nearly forgotten my anklet. When I had my shoes on, it was on my ankle, and it had seemed to…. Expand when I wanted to get my socks off. I mean, I was only concerned with not burning to death by sock warmness, but… that’s pretty strange.

Sitting on the bed again, I grab my foot, putting it in my lap. The anklet looks like a daisy chain, except… gold. And it’s thicker than a normal daisy chain, as though it was made sturdy enough that it could be double wrapped. And these flowers… I run my hands along a petal, feeling the tiny textures. I remember a nature show I watched one time, that said the skin on the inside of your forearm is a lot more sensitive than the skin on your hand. So, I run my forearm along the petal instead. That was weird. It’s not easy to feel with your forearm… but I think I felt more? I guess I gotta practice.

I stand up again, remembering I was gonna look at the trees. At the left side of the cage, the trees… don’t really change. They’re sorta more… green. That’s weird, no green is more green than another green unless that green is like a blue green or a yellow green. This green is more of a… lighter green, that somehow just feels more green. Wow. Green green green. Doesn’t even sound like a word anymore. Green. Are you sure that’s how you spell it? Couldn’t it be Grean, or Grene? Nah, Grene would be Grr-eh-neh. Anyway. Green.

Giggling softly, I reach up to a high branch. I can’t quite make it there... it’s almost like it’s taunting me, being just out of reach. Or maybe I’m just biased. Stupid shortness. Buuuuuut I could get on the bed!

Jumping up onto the bed, I reach for a branch. I swear that was in reach when I was on the ground… But now it’s just barely not. Stretching up on my tip toes… I can’t even brush it! It was just out of reach a second ago, why can’t the power of tippy toes save me?

Growling in frustration, I sit on the bed. Well I mean…. It’s not growling, I guess. I’m not an animal. But I am upset. Stupid tree won’t let me climb it!  And I know the bed’s the tallest thing, the chairs are about the same height, and I don’t feel like dragging them closer to a bar/tree.

I glance around the immediate cage. It’s not super huge, I guess, but it’s not like it’s cramping me. It’s around the same size as my bedroom… if my bedroom were circular. And the courtyard around it is also circular, with a pathway leading someplace else.

If I could get out of this stupid cage, would I be able to find my way home? This isn’t like any place I’ve been before. If I’m here, and not home, am I missed at home? Have they already called the police? But what if whatever magic voodoo person that took me and made grandma disappear made them all forget about me??

Autumn.

What happened to Autumn? She was ahead of me… I haven’t seen her… I haven’t seen anyone anyway. You know. Except for that group of crazy people that were here… That group of… definitely humans, what else could they be, they were just hungry… at a masquerade party, yup, that’s where all those animal parts came from. Hey, if I had horns, I want deer horns!

No I don’t. I don’t want horns. But… if I did… you know, cause masquerade party, like they were doing, I’d want deer horns. Cause… those are the only ones I’ve seen. I think.

“Human.” The voice is chilling, the word cutting out of her mouth like ice… and I shiver, though I’m still warmer than I’ve been in a very long time.

“I…” I’m Lily, thank you very much, and who are you? Is what I’d like to say, you know, if I could speak. I’ve turned to face the voice, and I know I must look awful, I must have a dumb expression on my face, I must have done something, because her face looks at me like I’m nothing. Nothing, and I’ll never be anything, because as of this moment I’ve given up.

She’s gorgeous. Her dress… I’ve forgotten every lesson I’ve ever been taught, every book I’ve ever read, but I know her dress is old, but on her it looks like it’s the only thing you can be wearing. What are jeans and why am I wearing them? They’re so awful, so plain, compared to her full skirt of rusts and acorns.

Oh look, apparently I can remember color related terms. Let’s use that. Her belt wraps around her dramatic waist, it’s main color being a mustard yellow…. The kind mom always liked. The bodice, hey see, I know things, is a deeper brown, more like an oak. Acorns come from oaks, right? Apparently I’ve got no botany lessons in my head.

“You’re required.” She says, her eyebrow arching. They don’t get that perfect unless you stencil them or something, right? Did they have all that back when this dress is from? I can’t help but nod, my feet carrying me closer to her. A trunk gets in the way of my line of sight and I need to see her again. When I can, it’s like I’m seeing her for the first time all over again.

A simple gesture on her part, and my anklet is gone, and the trees in front of me bend away. I step down from the cage, the hot tiles of the courtyard burning me. But who cares about that, this beautiful lady is leading me down that path…

Her hair sparkles in the sunlight. It’s like all those shampoo commercials come to life, it’s vibrant and shiny, the back is held up in a bun, but I know it’d be the softest thing on earth if I touched it. Suddenly my feet are freezing, we’ve stepped into someplace with tile.

“Wash.” Is her only directive, and I step further in, reluctant to leave her. Someone else comes, someone obviously there to help me. She leads me to a pool, gesturing for me to take my clothes off. Slightly dazed from the beautiful lady, I begin to take my shirt off.

“Wait. Wait. What am I doing? Where am I? What is this place, why am I washing in front of you, what is this place for washing anyway and where’s the soap?” I ask, becoming more frustrated the more I ask. Wow Lily, a pretty girl shows up and that’s all you can think about? You could’ve died, she could’ve told you to walk off a cliff and you would’ve!

“Sssh…” The girl in front of me says, her eyes flashing to where I came in from. She whispers, and her eyes constantly check there. “You’re in the bath house, I’m here to wash you. I’ll dress you too, you’re not used to these kinds of clothes. Please don’t be so loud, she’s not nice when she’s angry.”

I want to scream… but this girl doesn’t deserve to get punished for me. And I know she will be… something about the way she stands, the way she talks about the beautiful lady. I nod, and turn away to pull my clothing off. I slip into the bath, which is more like a hot tub, really, and she puts soap on my back. I jump slightly, unused to someone else washing me.

“H-here, let me wash my front and such… you can do my back while I do that.” I say, uneasy of her washing all of me. Glancing at the girl, she nods understandingly. She hands me a big bar of soap, and I promptly drop it. Good job Lily. “sorry sorry” I say as quietly as I can remember to, and I pick it up, washing quickly.

“For hair,” she says quickly, drenching me with water. I spit some out of my mouth, and wait for her to continue. Her hands are gentle, and the soap isn’t awful smelling. She drenches me again, and combs her hands through my hair. I slip away before she can drench me, ducking under water to rinse.

“You want to dry yourself” she says softly, handing me a thin towel. I nod, and take it gratefully. She disappears down the hall, bringing back a whole lot of…. Clothing items.

I don’t know half the things she puts on me, and the corset is the worst. I suppose the beautiful lady must be wearing one too… but man, how do people look like they’re not dying while doing anything in these?

I walk unsteadily, gasping for breath. The heels she shoved on my feet aren’t helping me walk either. I’ve always thought I could walk fairly well in heels, but apparently wearing a corset adds a whole new level of difficulty.

“I… I’m sorry, I forgot you’d never worn one… let me loosen that for you,” she says frantically, undoing the many buttons and yanking at the strings. Soon, it’s more of an ache, instead of a constant throbbing pain. Coughing slightly, I can walk better.

“I, I think I’m alright now… Thanks for loosening it.” I say, trying to smile but grimacing slightly.

“You must go now. Good luck.” she says, sending me back towards the beautiful lady.

What is this lady going to do to me…?