"You lied to them," Other Aubrey chided. 

Aubrey whirled around, surprised to find her white-haired double standing behind her. "You," she said quietly. 

Other Aubrey nodded. "Me," she repeated, twirling with a smile. Her skirt flared around her legs, ruffling in the gentle breeze. "You lied to the Wardens. You shouldn't have done that."

Aubrey sighed, digging her toes into the soft, multicoloured sand. "I didn't lie to them," she replied. "And I'm not really in the mood to argue with you right now." 

"Oh, and now you're lying to me too," Other Aubrey grinned. "Bad habit, you know. You told the Wardens you don't know what's happening to you. But that's not true, is it? You know exactly what's happening." Her eyes gleamed. She stepped closer to Aubrey. They were the exact same height, but somehow the double seemed so much taller than her. "You're just scared to admit it."

Aubrey stumbled back. Her heels kicked up flurries of multicoloured sand that stung her eyes. "No I don't!" She snapped.

Other Aubrey smiled softly, as though she were watching a child take their first steps. "Yes you do."

Aubrey scowled. "No I don't!"

"Yes you do."

"No I—" Aubrey cut herself off, exasperated. "This is dumb. I'm not going to argue about this with you."

"Suit yourself," Other Aubrey shrugged. "But we could get along, you know. All you have to do is stop arguing with me."

Aubrey raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "Or you could stop arguing with me."

"We both know that's not going to happen," Other Aubrey grinned, sharklike. 

Aubrey rubbed her temples. There was something kind of depressing about hating her own double. "I am going," Aubrey said firmly, starting to walk away from Other Aubrey. "And you're not going to follow me."

"Suit yourself," Other Aubrey said. She sat down in the sand, dragging a finger through the multicoloured grains. 

Aubrey was a ways away from her double when she heard her voice in her ear, whispering, "But you'll never truly be rid of me." 

Aubrey spun around, but Other Aubrey was nowhere in sight. 

When she woke up, Aubrey was surprised to find herself not in shackles, but in an actual bed. 

After—how long had it been? A day? Three days? A week?—on the run, the soft sheets were a welcome sensation. 

She woke up slowly, still clinging to the last wisps of dream. She could afford to, now—she felt safe and warm. Almost like home, but not quite. 

Eventually Aubrey crawled out of bed. The blankets were all white, the bed frame made of pale brown wood. She sat on the mattress and glanced around the room.

It was comfortable but impersonal. No windows, but there was a door across from her. A mostly-empty bookshelf was tucked against one wall, a couple books on religion and prayer shoved into its shelves. A shiny lamp atop a small nightstand rested to her left. A furry gray carpet covered the floor and tickled the soles of Aubrey's feet. 

Aubrey had no clue where she was or how she'd gotten there.

Honestly, she wasn't sure if this was even a dream or not. It looked like a dream. It didn't feel like one, but it looked like one. And Aubrey's dreams felt less and less like dreams every day. So really, who knew?

In the middle of the carpet was a table. Aubrey walked towards it cautiously, spotting a glass of of apple juice and some kind of sticky-looking spiral pastry on top of it. She reached for the pastry eagerly but hesitated. 

All of this—

Well, it seemed a bit too good to be true. 

But on the other hand, it was food. It was food that wasn't berries or bitter crabapples or sour-tasting leaves and she was so hungry and if they wanted her dead they'd have killed her already, so she grabbed the pastry and stuffed it in her mouth. 

Cinnamon and sugar and crushed nuts coating her tongue... it was perfect. Aubrey suppressed a moan, devouring the pastry in its entirety before reaching for the apple juice and gulping it down quickly. 

Aubrey didn't seem to be dead, so she figured all was well. 

With nothing else of interest in the room, Aubrey made her way towards the door. She tested the handle, surprised to find it was open. 

The door led to a hallway. One single long tunnel, stretching on as far as the eye could see. The walls were polished white marble. Aubrey left the room, the marble cold against her feet, and started to walk down the hallway. It seemed to be empty. An eerie silence hung in the air. It didn't take Aubrey long to realize that there was no obvious source of light. 

"Aubrey?"

Aubrey wasn't entirely sure where the voice came from, but she glanced behind her when she heard the sound of footsteps, and there were the silver-robed Wardens from—what did she know them from?—she wasn't entirely sure. She knew that the man was named Jericho. She knew that the woman was nice. But that was it.

"Hello?" She said cautiously, scared to feel her magic starting to pulse. It wasn't active, but it was low, steady—a warning. 

"Hi," the female Warden said with a warm smile. "Glad to see you up. You've eaten?"

"I—um, yes, I have," Aubrey replied with a shaky nod. She reached to tug on her sleeve, but then realized that she wasn't wearing her long-sleeved tunic anymore.

She was wearing a sleeveless gauzy white dress. Aubrey was horrified to see that it was almost identical to the one her double wore. 

"That's good," Jericho said, though he seemed rather disinterested. "So you're good to go, then?"

Aubrey's eyes widened. "Go where?" She asked quietly. She rubbed her thumb along her wrists, stomach twisting at the thought of someone dressing her while she was unconscious, but she tried not to dwell on it. 

The female Warden beamed. 

"We're taking you home, Aubrey."