Autumn's Alex

"Someone's here."

"Who? Did you see?

"How did they get in?"

I heard the whispers from my room. It was too risky to leave and find out what was happening. It had taken me a long time to get this room; I wasn't going to throw it away for nothing.

I walked to the door and looked through the key-hole. I could vaguely make out the two figures. I guessed it was Meg and Hannah, their long black robes hiding their figure.

"I heard he climbed over the wall and fell, breaking his arm, that's how Benji found him, pass out on the ground." A sharp intake of breath.

"How horrible! I wonder how he made it through the forest; Marge will want to question him about that. Do you think she will let him stay?"

"I hope so; I heard he's very good looking!" They giggled. Yes, this was defiantly Meg and Hannah.

There was some scuffling on the stairs and Meg and Hannah stood side by side, bowing low. It was Marge.

"Girls, go to your rooms!" No one dared disobey Marge. They went. Marge listened to them go before signalling behind her.

"Okay, bring him up." Two big men came into view, carrying what could only be a body. So this is what all the fuss was about.

"Suddenly, Marge strode towards my door and pushed it open. I scrambled back in fear of the door smacking me into the wall, or being trampled on by Marge.

"Autumn, we had a small problem tonight. This prisoner broke in and I'm assigning you to watch over him." She gestured to the body.

"What about all my other duties?"

"Forget them; this is your only duty now. You will collect his food and deliver it to his room three times a day. You are not to speak to him or anyone else about this, am I clear?" I nodded and bowed as she left, slamming the door behind her.

And so it began, I think that the only reason it became my duty to deliver the prisoner his food was because my room was so close to his. Usually I was the last person Marge would trust with something this important.

No one had ever made it over through the forest into our small world before and no one from this side of the forest had ever made it through into the Unknown. It just didn't happen. Three times a day I would enter his room, usually he would sit and watch me silently, unless it was breakfast, in which case he would be asleep. Because of his broken arm, Meg had been right about that, he was unable to do anything but sit there and heal. From what I could make out he looked the same as us, I had always thought that people from the Unknown would look different. I didn't know what Marge planned to do to him; I doubted it would be nice.

He never one said a word to me, or I to him. Then one day, about three weeks after he had come here, he began to question me.

"Why do you never speak to me? All this time and not one word, if you were anyone else I'd never have a moment peace." The sound of his voice made me jump. He sounded the same as me; he didn't really have an accent. I had begun to think maybe he spoke a different language. At first I was offended by his words, I thought maybe he was bullying me because I was quiet, it often happened to me and I didn't appreciate someone I had only just met judging me, but I soon realised that he was only making an observation.

"I'm not allowed to speak to you."

"No allowed? Who told you that you weren't allowed?" He sounded surprised. Did he not have any authority where he came from?

"It's Marge's orders. No one's allowed to speak to you."

"Really, because that pretty girl that came in here last night was more than willing to talk to me. And more." I blushed, that was probably Hannah. If I told Marge about this then Hannah would only deny it and then have more of an incentive to bully me.

I went to leave again.

"Wait, why have I been locked up? How long do I have to stay here for?" I shrugged.

"I don't-" The door flew open and Marge rushed towards me, finger poking at my chest as she screamed in my face.

"How dare you disobey my orders! Get out of here you stupid girl!" Before I could react, he hand flew up and smacked my face, my head cracked backwards, hitting the wall behind me.

"Never forget your place in this world." How could I ever forget it? I was reminded of it with every look I received. My eyes lowered to the ground, I turned and walked quickly from the room. I made my way straight to the bathroom to check my throbbing cheek. The room was lit by a lone candle on the old wooden counter next to the cracked mirror. The ancient floorboards creaked as I moved towards the mirror. There was a hand shaped red mark covering the left side of my face, the sharp sting told me it would leave a bad bruise for a week or so.

I sighed and got back to work.