TAPESTRY

- One -

"Rosie Matchstick."

I shudder, hearing my name spoken by the woman next to me. She looks at me with a crooked smile, a few teeth missing and the ones that remain are rotten. Her hair is frayed and tangled, and her dress is tattered and torn.

"Slacking off work, again?" she asks me, but I can tell she's joking. "Of course not, you know that would get me into a lot of trouble," I reply, as I continue breaking stones. The woman goes back to her own work, breaking stones methodically, as do the other people around us.

The bell rings, it's a half past seven o'clock in the evening. Everyone stands up and starts to move hastily towards the dining hall, where we will be served watery porridge, bread, and water, just like every suppertime in this place.

I sit down on a bench, a bowl in front of me. Quickly, I eat. The meal is bland, and I'd rather get away to bed.

One hour later, everyone is asleep. The lights are off and the only sounds are snoring and creaking beds. This is my chance. I had heard rumours from some of the younger girls that there was a tapestry worth a fortune in the scullery. I just want to see it, and besides, no one will notice. So I sneak out of bed, stealthily moving through the dark. A candle would be too risky, so I just have to guess where I'm going. I've been here so long that I've memorized the route, so it's not hard to get to the scullery.

There it is.

The beautiful tapestry, which for some reason is bolted to the wall. I can see where the fabric is torn where the bolt has gone through it. I notice that the tapestry is glowing slightly-- no. It's not the tapestry, there's something behind it. The bottom right corner of the tapestry has no bolt. I can see the hole where it was, and I can see the bolt on the floor. So I grab the corner and pull.

My eyes squint as a bright light shines into them. There is a hole in the wall! There seems to be a passageway through it, but that makes no sense considering the other side of the wall is the courtyard. Nevertheless, I take a step into the passage. I take a few steps, and then my foot lands on...air. I find myself falling, and falling. I scream, as I fear that I could die from this.

And then I land. I land on a soft bed of moss, and now I look around. There is a forest all around me. For a second I wonder if I'm safe now, and then I look closer. The trees look like they're staring at me, like I shouldn't be here. The sky is dark and moonless, and I can feel a cold breeze. The ground is concealed by a thick layer of fog. This place feels menacing. I stand up, and start to run. But I trip! I look up.

I scream.