Carousel

It was bright. Very, very bright. I had never never seen anything as bright as this other than the sunshine. Indoors, at least, because the door of the cottage no longer led to the outdoor world. But the walls that surrounded me were strange - bright blue, like the sky. I had only ever seen stone or wooden walls in my life. Occasionally, there were white walls, but never sky blue.

Hanging on the walls were objects that were even more peculiar. There were the average landscape paintings, and portraits. The portraits, however, were unfamiliar to me. The were real-looking, much more than the artists at my castle could have accomplished.

Stranger were the people in to portraits. There was a man with graying hair and a full mustache. He was not very much at all out of place. And then were was a boy - a very handsome boy. He was smiling widely, a welcoming sign. There was nothing too strange about him either. The older man was obviously his father - they had the same nose and eye color. Only their faces were seen.

The portrait that really caught my attention was the girl's. Unlike the other two, her full body was shown. Her face was not particularly appealing. It was one of those that could blend in with a crowd. It could be seen many times and never really be noticed. Her face was not really special at all.

But the rest of her was. Her hair was cut short - something that I would never be allowed to do. And her clothes She wore a shirt with writing on it, and pants. Yes, pants. It shocked me to see a female wear men's clothing, but they did not actually detract from her appearance.

While I was observing the room, my stomach rumbled loudly, and he I worried about where I would find food. I glanced around the room and noticed a large basket of fruit on a table in the center of the room. I hesitated before taking any steps into the room - it could be cursed. But my stomach complained even louder and I knew I had to do something as I never really felt the discomforts of hunger before. And I wasn't particularly enjoying it now.

I head to the table, feeling the eyes of the portraits staring down on my. I hesitantly chose an apple and grasped it carefully.

To my surprise, the apple was lighter than I expected. I gripped it more firmly and it bent inward, showing that it was hollow. Feeling even more confused than ever, I plopped myself down on a comfortable looking blue chair - not caring about curses anymore. I closed my eyes, hoping that this was all a bad dream.

Suddenly the door that was adjacent to the cottage's door swung open and the older man from the picture walked in with a sour look on his face. My muscles tensed, and I sat there, unmoving.

The man's angry expression turned into confusion as he saw me.

"Karina? You're early."