The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|17| Do I need to bring an air horn?

The room was dark. Pitch black. She was sure that she wouldn't even be able to see her hand in front of her eyes.

It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't lying in bed. In fact, she was standing upright, the cold stone floor digging into her bare feet. Did I sleepwalk? she thought, but it didn't feel right. She'd never sleepwalked before. What is going on?

She lifted her hand and flinched as it brushed something on her side. A leaf. It rustled, the noise sounding like something was walking. Ashley took a deep breath. This was not the right moment to freak out.

Slowly stretching out her arm, she tested her surroundings. There were plants around her, right above her and in front of her. But not behind her. Where the hell was she? Cautiously turning around, she took a step. A second one. The floor stayed the same cold stone. The plants around her changed but they weren't naturally grown, she was sure of that. The distance to their stems was too even.

She walked, always one hand to her left, the other to her front. What felt like a hundred steps couldn't have been more than ten. In the dark, nothing seemed real. Time had stopped.

A plant was right in front of her. She quickly stopped in her tracks, feeling around to see if this was a dead end. When her fingers brushed something warm in between the leaves, she yelped and jumped backward. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. That hadn't been a plant. That had been a hand. A hand that now grabbed her wrist, soothingly caressing the back of her hand.

A woman. A woman's voice said something, whispering calming words. Ashley's heart was racing but her mind was empty. Every thought she had had, was gone. Vanished.

She could see the silhouette of the woman in front of her. Her hair was put up in a bun. She had delicate shoulders and a tight, long dress. Ashley blinked, trying to clear her vision. The light got brighter, even if she didn't know where it came from.

The woman was still talking, now she had taken both of Ashley's hands in hers. Even if Ashley didn't understand what she was saying, the words calmed her down and made her breathe more regularly.

Ilse was smiling at her. Ashley's lips quivered as she tried to smile back. Her heartbeat slowed down. She knew this woman. She knew this place – or did she? It didn't matter. She was safe. She felt safe.

The plants around her were all in pots, the marble floor was white with black swirls. Behind Ilse, Ashley could see panes of glass shielding them from the outside world. Lights on the roof were too bright and the glass mirrored the woman's back, but Ashley saw the snow outside, falling slowly, covering the world in white.

And then she realized she had no reflection. Horror made her body stiffen, as she looked at Ilse's reflection, standing in front of emptiness.

Ilse smiled. She slowly raised Ashley's hand and pressed a kiss on her ring.

Then the world was dark again, and the cold floor under her feet disappeared.

"Come on Ashley," Kris said, roughly grabbing the redhead's shoulder and shaking it. "Wake up, we're leaving."

Ashley drowsily opened her eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but then her vision started to focus on the face in front of hers, and the ceiling above her. She mumbled something inaudible and turned to the other side.

"Ashley," Kris sighed. "Seriously. I don't want to spend any second longer than necessary in this hotel. Let's just leave."

"She's still not waking up?" another voice chimed in. It took Ashley's brain a moment to connect it with a face. Colby. "Is she okay?"