The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

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Author's note-
> Just a fair warning, I'm going through a major writer's block (due to plot issues that I can't solve and practically no motivation to even think about it), and even though I still have a few chapters pre-written, updates might be slower.

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She wasn't that surprised. In fact, she'd seen this coming. Somehow. And yet, she hadn't expected it.

"Colby," Ashley said, her voice unnaturally hollow.

He turned around immediately, the camera still recording. A frown appeared on his face when he saw Ashley's shocked expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I've been here before."

"Like a Déjà-vu?"

"No. The nightmare. It was here," Ashley explained, slowly stepping into the greenhouse. She remembered the marble floor, the plants standing leaf to leaf, the light coming from above; everything about it was like cut from her dream.

"Nightmare?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I had it twice," she replied, running a hand over the leaves of one plant and shuddering at its familiar feeling. "Last time and... yesterday."

"And you're sure you were here?" That was Colby.

"Like, exactly here?" Sam added.

"Yes. I don't understand..." Ashley glanced over her shoulder to look at him and the camera before she walked over to an aisle between two rows of plants. "I think I was standing here in both dreams. It was dark, though, so I couldn't see a lot."

She took a deep breath. "Maybe I'm just making myself crazy. My brain probably just came up with the most generic greenhouse because we talked about it."

"Maybe," Colby said a little hesitantly.

"Was it like a bad nightmare, though?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, should we be worried that you're like a psychic and something bad is going to happen?" Chris said, his hands buried in his pockets. He looked around the greenhouse with a semi-interested look on his face. "Because if we see an apparition, I bail."

"That actually happened yesterday," Sam said calmly. Chris whipped his head around.

"What."

"Yeah, our guest saw Ilse," he chuckled, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal. "In the corner of the ballroom."

"Alright, I'm not stepping into that room anymore," Chris stated. "You mean like, they actually saw her? No bullshit?"

"No bullshit," Colby confirmed. "We don't know how much she saw, but she literally bolted out of the hotel... They left pretty much immediately afterward."

The camera made a loud beeping noise, and Ashley could see Colby flinch, his hand around the device tightening for a second.

"What the fuck? Does that mean something?" he asked, frowning.

Sam's expression was equally puzzled. "It means it's overheating. Which doesn't make any sense, because why should it be overheating right now..."

"It's been doing that since yesterday, that's so weird."

Ashley just stared at them as they put it down for a second. She chewed her lower lip, debating whether or not to speak up.

"I have a theory," she eventually said. "And I know it sounds crazy, but just... hear me out."

The others turned all to look at her.

"I think Ilse really doesn't like Sadie," she said and then cleared her throat. "I mean, yesterday the camera kept cutting off only when she was speaking. And now that we're talking about her. Or, well, overheating. And we know already that Ilse likes to play with temperature..." Her voice drifted off while Sam and Colby exchanged a glance, the camera being pointed at Sam to capture his reaction.

"That sounds really plausible," he said slowly, looking back at Ashley. "Too plausible. We're going to have to rewatch the footage to confirm that, but you might be right."

"Why, though?" Matt asked. "Did she do something wrong, like provoke the spirit?"

Colby's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he looked at Ashley. The camera wasn't pointed at her, so she gave a small, timid shrug. Her hand automatically reached over to pull at her bracelets. A small smirk tugged at his lips, but when Sam spoke, his concentration was back. And yet it was clear to both of them what Ashley had meant. Yeah, it was probably my fault.

"No, she didn't. At least, not that I'd seen. I mean, she is... well, was a non-believer and more of the unaccepting sort, I guess you could say?" Sam said, struggling to find the words.

"Okay, Ilse is not to be messed with," Nick said, looking around the room as if to make sure they were still alone. Ashley almost chuckled at the thought. She hadn't felt actually alone at least since they entered the hotel. Or maybe she was just telling herself that, who knew.

"I still want to know about that nightmare," Chris chimed in. "Should we be worried?"

"Oh, no," Ashley laughed. "It wasn't even a real nightmare. I just stood about..." She looked around, checking the floor and ceiling and the rows of plants to find the exact spot. "Here. It was twice the same thing, too. I woke up here, and everything was pitch-black. And then I would start walking... here, I think. And the first time, I hear her. I can't remember what she said, but her voice was whispering almost sweetly. It felt good. Even as she took my hands."

Ashley absentmindedly lifted her hands up to the height, looking down at them as if they were being held. "I didn't even recognise her at first. But as soon as I realised who she was, she took my hand..." She raised her hand up, "and gave my ring a kiss. That's when I woke up."

Before anyone could say anything, she took a step back. "The second time was scarier. Because I recognised the place and knew what would happen, I guess. She took my hand immediately, and I tried to shake it off... But she held on, even as I fought it. But then C- I woke up."

She glanced back at the group. "At least I now know it wasn't just a silly nightmare."

The triplets exchanged insecure glances, clearly asking themselves what the fuck she'd just told them. Sam was holding the camera now, capturing their reactions. But Colby just looked at her. His head was slightly tilted, and she could practically hear the gears turning while he processed her words.

"So... hand kisses," he said slowly, scratching his neck. "Of course, a woman of the twenties would like that."

Ashley laughed. "It makes sense, yeah."

A calmness that had nothing to do with how late it was or how tired she should have been had overtaken her. She was no longer pulling at her bracelets, fiddling with her rings, or adjusting her T-shirt. She was feeling great, whereas Colby seemed to get more restless.

"So, is it time for the investigation?" Sam asked, looking around the group. "Who wants to stay here with Ashley?"

"Hey, don't I get to decide?" she asked, playfully hurt.

"You literally dreamt of this place before we saw it. Of course you don't," he scoffed. She didn't mind, but she rolled her eyes anyway.

Sam panned the camera back to the triplets. "Who stays, who comes with me, and who goes with Colby?"

It was silent for a few seconds before Nick shrugged. "I mean... I don't mind staying," he said, making Chris pat his back and shoving him forward slightly.

"Alright, dude, go ahead and choose the scariest room why don't you," he said, shaking his head.

"Then Matt and I return to the ballroom, and Chris and Colby go to our room," Sam said, settling it. 

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Author's note-
> I like to imagine that, when you watch the footage back, there's some shadow in the glass wall of the greenhouse in the scene where Ashley talks about her dream. Right in front of her, where Ilse would have been standing.