Stuck in time

Chapter four

  TW: missing person and mentioned rape

I woke up in a cold sweat. The sun shone through the window. A bird chirped cheerily outside. Ugh, mornings. I sat up and swung myself over to the side of the bed. The sun blinded me. I scowled. I laced my lower leg on and got up from the bed. It creaked violently. I opened the closet door and inspected the clothes, looking for something comfortable. There was no lack of frilly ballgowns, but a few casual gowns were shoved in the corner. I grabbed the closest one. It was a simple short-sleeved button-on beige gown with a dark blue skirt. No frills. Score! I slipped into the dress and pulled on some knee-high socks. It was going to be a fine day. No need to address that odd dream! No reason at all.

I walked over to the little bathroom in the corner, shielded from the rest of the room with a sheet-looking thing hanging between poles, making a sort of rectangle room. On top of the sink, there was a small metal tin and a small brush. I decided it was probably toothpaste. So I brushed my teeth. I did not die. 

I went over to the vanity and started brushing my hair. Unfortunately, there was a mirror in the vanity. My hair looked flat on one side and like a puffed-up porcupine on the other. I sighed. This was going to be a long morning. 

A few minutes, screams of pain and brush strokes later, it was confirmed it was going to be a long morning. "Ah, that hurts," I whimpered. It was working, though. My hair looked less like a porcupine and more like hair. I studied my reflection. My wavy brown hair,  amber eyes and the beauty mark next to my lips, which were horribly cracked for some reason. They didn't look familiar at all. They looked like someone else's. My mind flashed back to the girl from the dream. Her tortured face was all that was shown in the dream, but somehow, I had a vivid memory of her laughing. OH! I remembered something! I tried to think back to it. It wasn't much, just sitting on a bed with her. I said something and made her laugh. It was blurry, but a feeling of warmth and safety washed over me. I poured over it. A bookshelf crammed with books and other little things was in the corner. The walls were cream with shades of blue splattered on them. Outside the window, skyscrapers rose above the clouds. A small two-seated airplane-looking thing flew past it.

Flying things that sleek, small and advanced didn't exist yet. I WASN'T CRAZY! I almost sobbed with relief. I wasn't crazy... that meant I was actually from the future. Oh no. I was from the future. That wasn't good. Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I muttered, still in shock. The door creaked open. Lucia had changed into another frilly dress, which was pink and had a slightly smaller skirt. Her dark locks were tied in a bun with a flower-shaped pink pin.

"Oh lord, what happened to you?!" She rushed to the vanity, picking up a bottle of green stuff labelled 'Mary's premium hair gel' and a smaller brush. "How did you even do this? Did someone break in?"

"I just slept-"

"May I?" She asked, already dipping her finger in the bottle.

"Sure, do whatever," I shrugged. It couldn't get any worse. 

She splatted some hair gel on my head and brushed carefully. She braided my hair and tied it up in a bun with a silver comb. "Done"

"Thanks," I got up.

"No problem, I find it calming." Lucia gave me a small smile. "Anyway, it's time for breakfast, and my Mum wants a briefing at eight, so you should get going if you want to eat anything." 

"What time is it now?" I asked her. 

"Uh, let me check-" She pulled out a pocket watch. "Seven thirty. We better get going now!" She turned on her heel and walked out the door, then noticing I was a dumbass and couldn't understand when someone was telling me to follow them, gestured for me to follow her. I blinked, then spurred back to life. The hallway looked different in the sunlight. It felt airy and alive. Voices floated up from downstairs, and sunlight beams revealed swirling dust. Lucia led me down the stairs.