The scent of decay filled my nostrils. My eyelids were heavy but I forced them open after a few blinks anyways. I opened my eyes to a sky that appeared like dusk. The orange clouds on the horizon reminiscent of sunset. I made a move to sit up but my hands and feet remained motionless. I could feel the tight constriction around each wrist and ankle before I made a look to see the ropes binding me. It was only then that I noticed that the ground beneath me was not soft but hard and cold as ice. A stone slab, I realized. I was tied to what now resembled an stone alter. What was the last thing I could remember? A ball, in my father’s house. A glass of wine in my hand. A handsome stranger with dark eyes asking me to dance. All of this washed over me with disgust as I recalled his fingers on my skin. These memories made me pull frantically at my bindings. As if I could free myself by only allowing myself to forget the sensation.

The bindings on my left wrist loosen and I am able to free my hand. I set about untying my other limbs until I am fee of them altogether. I climb off the stone slab, my body shaking and my heart pounding in my ears. The world around me is like that of the forest outside the castle but the scene before me has been repainted in darker tones. Everything around me is cast in shadow and I see now that the sky has turned cloudy and dark. I start to run although in this new landscape I know without seeing that the tall stone walls of my home will not be there to protect me. I run through the trees until I come to the rocky shores of a pond. There are no signs of the life that one would expect. No frogs croaking from lily pads, no fish swimming beneath the surface. Only still silence and the knowledge of this sends a chill down my spine.

“I wondered when you would come.”

I hear the voice, not from around me in my ears but from deep inside of me. This doesn’t stop me from calling out, “Where are you?”

The voice just laughs a deep, rolling chuckle.

“What is this place?” I ask.

“Don’t you recognize your home?” The voice questions me.

“This is not my home.” I responded adamantly.

“Sure it is.” The voice almost purrs at me. It is then that I see it. Standing in the other side of the pond is a tall piece of ornately carved wood. The back that is facing me is flat and I start to think that perhaps this is the door. I begin to run again, this time with a purpose towards the door. I hear the voice laughing again. This time it sounds truly menacing. “What do you think my little dove? That you can escape?”

I ignore the voice and keep my eyes fixed on the door. I am 50 feet from it now, 40, 30. I begin the slow as I start to make my way around the backside of the wood, searching for a doorknob. I round the edge and almost stumble when I realize that what stands before me on the banks of the pond is not a door but a mirror. At first all I see is a reflection of the dark red of the trees and slivers of moonlight, but as I come into focus my reflection suddenly shifts. No longer am I staring at a reflection of myself but a horrible, ugly beast. It has bull like horns and red, leathery skin. The eyes are glowing yellow and it has hooves in place of feet.

“Hello there.” The voice says to me.

“What is this creature?” I ask and to my horror, the beast in the mirror moves it’s lips with mine.

“Don’t you recognize yourself? Why, my little dove, it is you.”