Behind The Scenes(ON HOLD)

chapter 7 - Cori

Author's note: You can listen to the soundtrack (above) while you read, if you like!

Slowly gaining consciousness, I stood up and peered at my surroundings.

 In a corner of the quaint room I was in, a large fireplace rose up from the floor, with golden ornaments on the mantlepiece, its dancing flames casting large shadows over the rug. Set right next to it was a small, cream-coloured armchair that faced a four-poster bed, which was crammed into another corner.

It was quite chilly so I cautiously approached the fireplace, the floorboards creaking from underneath the rug, and dropped down into the armchair. I gasped as I realized I was wearing a long, green dress, since I had no recollection of putting it on. I then noticed that my 20$ sneakers had been replaced by black, leather, laced-up boots. As I bent down to take a closer look at them, a reddish lock of hair slid over my shoulder. I stared at it in shock, considering my hair had always been brown and wavy. 

I quickly got up from the armchair and turned around to face the mirror on the wall behind me. I could have sworn that I wasn't looking at myself, because the image I saw was far from real.

The girl in the mirror had auburn hair with a few touches of ginger, which perfectly framed her face. Her extremely light coloured skin showed no signs of fatigue and her emerald eyes added a hint of mystery to her expression. That wasn't me. I had seen myself in the mirror countless times and yet, this was never the image I had encountered.

Puzzled, I turned to the door in hopes of working out what in the world was happening and where I was, pressing down on the handle. Soon enough, I found myself in a candle-lit corridor. At the end of it was a room and I could hear a distant chatter and laughter coming from inside of it. In the background, I could tell that someone was playing the piano. The mystery kept getting more perplexing.

I quietly reached the room and as I did, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar, so I decided to take a look inside.

Before I even had time to move, the door was burst wide open, by a pale woman who looked a little over 30 years old.

"Ah, Scarlet, there you are! Miss Melania Hamilton has arrived, you really should come and greet her," she said softly, tugging at my arm.

Even though I had a bad feeling about what was going to follow, I let her guide me across the long room, processing the information she has just given me. Scarlet. Melania Hamilton. Those were both names of characters in "Gone With The Wind". It slowly started to hit me that the house fit the exact description of "Tara", Scarlet's house. It all felt like a well planned joke.

We swiftly passed through the crowds of people gathered around in groups, drinking some sort of alcoholic drink, I assumed, due to the strong, unpleasant smell of liquor that was all too familiar to me.

After a little while, the woman stopped in front of a girl who seemed to be about my age. She reluctantly smiled.

"Oh, Scarlet, it is so refreshing to see you! You look well. How have you been spending your time since we last met?" she asked, and it seemed as though she was genuinely interested.

I immediately took a liking to her and opened my mouth to speak, but stopped myself, as I remembered that to them I wasn't Cori Ashworth. I was supposed to be Scarlet O'Hara. Well, at least in this twisted game.

"It's absolutely lovely to see you again Melania, I haven't really been very busy these past few weeks. What about you?" I replied, instantly regretting it, as she looked somewhat surprised.

"Of course she's been busy, Melania, " the woman that had brought me here said. "Tell her about the wedding plans, dear" she said to me, throwing me unintentionally, completely off-guard.

A wedding? I clearly hadn't reached that point in the book yet. I struggled to find something interesting to say about the wedding I was supposedly planning, but my mind went blank.

"It's all, um, going incredibly well," I stammered, forcing a smile.

She looked confused by the lack of information I had given her, making it clear that she was expecting me to give her the details. I just wished with my whole heart that I could be back home again.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, breaking the awkward silence. As she did so, I began to feel extremely dizzy. 

"Excuse me for the inconvinience, but I really have to go, I don't feel very well," I said and sped off quickly, before they had time to react.

"Scarlett, come back here at once, this is not the way to treat your guests, " I could distantly hear the woman that had guided me into the room say as she was trying to catch up with me. 

To my relief, the room soon became a blur and the people in it just a memory. I landed with a thud on my bed that was covered in my history papers and to be completely honest I had never been happier to see them.

Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave any feedback you have, because it's greatly appreciated! I hope you have an amazing day ♡
- Marianna