Ophelia's pov:

I woke up but didn't open my eyes. I'm not on the couch, I'm on a bed. My heart speeds up. Last time I woke up in a bed that I didn't fall asleep in, horrible things happened.

As long as I don't open my eyes or show that I'm awake I should be fine. I listen for any noise but hear nothing, that doesn't mean they're not here though.

I just hope nothing happens to me. Nothing worse, or like anything last time. Maybe if I act like I'm dead. They will get rid of me. I tried to do that last time but failed. I was crying. This time I cannot cry, can't move, can't do anything.

After a really long time I still hear nothing. Where are they? I slowly, barely open my eyes. It's so bright in this room. What happened to the dark, garbage alley room I was held in? This one looked nicer..... And familiar.

So familiar

Oh my god I'm in the castle. I'm not in the room, I'm not in the room, I'm not in the room.

I sit up, cross my legs and look around to make sure this isn't a dream and that it won't just fade away. I look at the end of the bed and grab the blanket that's barely holding on to the bed. I pull it towards me, roll it onto a ball into the middle of my legs and bury my head into it.

How can I forget that I'm not there anymore? How can I forget that I actually have somewhere to live now? I have a bed and bathroom and someone that cares about me, or seems like it. Either way I don't care because he treats me like an equal.

I have to repay him somehow, he gave me a life like everyone else's. I know how to repay him, with the one skill that I've gotten good at.

I lift my head and look around. I don't see the fat stick I took. Did I drop it? I hope I didn't drop it. I remember holding it while looking at the fire. I get out of the bed and look around the room, under the blanket, pillows and bed. Is it on me? I look at myself.

Oh.

It is in my right hand. Apparently I never stopped holding it. Good thing no one was around or that would be embarrassing.

I stand up off my knees and look at the bed. I don't know how to fix a bed but I can try because it looks like a mess. I stuff the fat stick in the waist of my pants and grab the two pillows. I put the pillows at the top of the bed where the board thing that is connected to the frame that holds the bed up. I grab the blanket and put the corners with the corners of the bed and same for the other side. I look at the bed. The blanket is on wrong, It doesn't reach the foot of the bed and is too wide. I turned it and now it looks better.

I walk over to the bathroom to fix my hair and do other morning things. I love this.

___

I walk down all the stairs and down the very short hallway that leads to the kitchen. I need a knife. I look through all the drawers till I find one with knives in it. I grab the smallest one and an average size one. I grab the roll of paper towels and walk over to the table that's by the windows.

I put the knives down and take about five sheets of the paper towel roll and lay them on the table. I take the roll, walk back to the counters and put it back where it was. I walk back over to the table and take the stick from the waist of my pants. I put it on the strand of paper towels. I pull out the chair and sit down.

I study this mini log. It's big enough for the bird's body but not the tail. Maybe I'll make a baby one. But I don't know what a baby one looks like. But then I remember baby birds are ugly. I'll just make a small one.

I pick up the bigger knife and the fat stick. I start skinning the edges off. Under the bark is greenish white wood. This is perfect. It's not as colorful as the bird but it's so pretty. I start cutting off chunks of the wood to get the basic shape. This would be easier if I had the actual bird but I don't.

After a while Seth walks into the kitchen. Im faced away from the door and towards the windows but I heard him. I pray he doesn't come over here.

"What are you doing?" he asked still by the door. "Something... looking out the windows?" "Alright, if you say so." I hear him walk over to the counters, "what do you want to eat?" What do I want to eat? I don't know what there is.

"What do you have?" I turn to look at him. Aww his hair is back to normal. "I don't know." How does he not know what he has in his own house? "Do you have eggs?" He turns around and opens the fridge, "yes." He takes out the thing and puts it on the counter. "How do you want them cooked?" "Scrambled." I once saw a restaurant with a picture of scrambled eggs on the window and they looked amazing. And now I'm going to have them, for the first time in my life.

____

I finished the bird. I learned that the wood gets more colorful the closer I get to the center. So now it's different shades of blue, green and pink. Barely the colors of the bird but it'll do. I take the paper towels full of wood shavings and roll them up. I take that and the knives and walk to the kitchen. I throw out the woody paper towels and wash the knives and put them back.

Chapter 23

Ophelia's pov:

I nervously walk in front of Seth who's on his couch. He looks up to me from his book, "Do you need anything?" "Uhm no." He looks at me for another second before looking back to the book he's reading.

I do have a question though, or two.

"How did I end up on the bed? I fell asleep on the couch." "I carried you to your bed." Oh well that makes sense. Now my last question. "Where did your brother go?" "He went home."

Well I have no other ideas to stall myself from this growing nervousness. Here goes nothing.

"I made you something.." I take my hands from behind my back and hold the bird in front of him. He looks up, "you made this?" I nod and hand it to him. He takes the bird and traces all the carvings with his fingers, "this is amazing, thank you."

"Really?" "Of course, I love this. I also wondered why you took a branch but now I know." I smile and walk over to the couch opposite of his and sit down. I watch him as he looks at the bird more. That's the first time someone liked something I made. It's also the first time I gave anyone a present. I'm so happy, in a way I never felt before.

It's a different type of happiness and I don't know what it's called, like wholesomeness. I like this feeling. I should give people things more often.

I turn on the TV.

_____

I look in the mirror of the bathroom. Now I know why it's called a bathroom. The realization clicked embarrassingly late.

I take off my shirt and look at my reflection. I've gained some weight but not a lot. I have more of a stomach now and my ribs aren't as easy to see but they're still visible. I'll just have to keep eating. Then maybe I'll develop a chest.

The main upside of not having one is that I don't have to wear a bra. But I still want a chest. Maybe in a few months I'll have it.

I look at my sides and back. My back is paler and has more of those brown dots. I look for any other spots, they mainly appear on the lighter patches of my skin. I look at the bottom of my feet. Aw there's none there or on the palms of my hands.

They're around the heart on my thigh and my calves though. And some on my neck.

I put my shirt back on and walk out of the bathroom. I walk down the stairs. Where's Seth?

I walk over to the kitchen but don't see him. I walk over to the only other room that I see him in down here. He's by the wall of books that's on the left. I walk next to him, "what are these?" I point at my face. He turns to me, "your face?" "no, the dots on my face." He looks at me for another second before looking back at the books. "Those are freckles." Oh so that's what it is.

"Why are they all over me though?" "It's just genetics and the sun probably helped." "How does the sun give me freckles?" "The sun creates more melanin" "What's that?" "Something that helps you sleep." "How does the sun control sleep and how does that change my skin?" He pauses for a moment, "I have no idea, the body is too confusing but it could also just be genetic." "Ok."

I look at the windows that are behind the tv. It's already starting to get darker. Maybe tonight I can go outside. I turn back, "wanna go outside?" "You want to go outside?" "yea." "Alright, give me a second."

Well that's easier than I thought. I thought I was going to be told about how dangerous it is outside. Everyone else probably is asleep too. They must not be able to see either.

I turn around but feel a hand on my head. It holds me still and I hear that weird language thing. It's the same spell as before. Apparently whis is going to be a recurrence. This time I feel a little pinch on my neck. He takes his hand off my head and I look at him.

"What was that pinch?" "What pinch?" "On my neck," I point to the right side, "Right here." "I don't know." Well then, that's weird.

I walk to the door and he follows. "Maybe you slept wrong," he says. That wouldn't make sense. "But then I would have woken up in pain, not now at the end of the day." I reach the door when I hear a clap. I turn around and see Seth looking at his hands. "Well now we know what happened. I turn around and walk over to him and look at what he's holding. It's a crushed bug.

"What's that?" "It's a fly, like the ones on earth but they bite and it feels like a pin. Besides that, they are harmless." I thought normal flies were bad. "There aren't a lot of them left, everyone kills them so they're going extinct." "Well that's not nice." "They serve no purpose on the food chain so it's alright." Still a bit cruel but ok.

We walk over to the door. He opens it and I walk outside. It's a little colder out, not too bad. It's almost pitch black outside but there's enough light to see the trees in the horizon.

The sun is actually going down quite fast so I walk over to the grass while I can still see it. It's so soft and thick.I look back up and see the thick black.

—------

A/N; *sips tea because I know what's about to happen next*

Sorry, not sorry.

Brace yourselves.

The non-existent people that read my story are in for a ride.