From what I saw before I was shoved into the back seat of the car was that the man, Charlie, looked exactly like Charles except, for one thing, Charlie had blonde hair. I wanted to know more cause that was the car in which my sister and her friends got into.
As we got into the car, there was something weird about it. "Hey Brenda, is it just me, or does the inside of the car look way bigger than what it is supposed to look?"
"I think you're right." Brenda agreed.
"It's magic, duh," said Charles in a matter-of-factly way.
"Very nice. A gold medal for you." I sarcastically commented.
Charles chuckled. "You'll see." He said.
The car looked luxurious on the inside. It looked like one of those cars rich people would get for their spoilt sixteen-year-old child's birthday. The red seats were made of smooth, shiny leather. I wondered what animal they'd skinned for this.
"Now girls, there are two dresses back there. I want you to change into them. The red one's for Sheila and the blue one is for Brenda." Stellar said while glancing at us.
Just then, a freaky window like thing came up and divided the back seats from the front seats. I wanted something like that. I took a mental note to get one of those when I finally start earning.
"You have 10 minutes to change." Stellar's voice echoed through... Speakers?! Now there was a mic in there too. Awesome.
Brenda already changed into hers. It was a simple blue dress that stopped at her knees. It was an A-line, spaghetti-strapped, lace cocktail dress. It looked beautiful, like the foamy ocean.
I looked at my dress. It was just as beautiful. It was a red strapless sweetheart knee-length chiffon. It was a strapless sweetheart!
"Is this necessary? I mean, isn't this a bit too revealing?" I questioned.
"Revealing? What do you mean? Just put it on. 5 minutes more, chop-chop," Stellar said through the speakers. "There are shoes too."
I sighed and looked at the dress. It can't be that bad. I changed into the dress and dumped my uniform in the back. I looked at the red pumps for a moment. I sighed and put them on. I was surprised when they perfectly fit me. Even the dress fit me just right. It was all suspicious. They even provided transparent bra straps. All of this seemed ridiculous.
Brenda was busy braiding her hair. A Dutch braid to her left side to be precise. I just ran my fingers through my hair and hoped for the best result.
The two of us were done changing. We sat silently in the car, wondering where these people were taking us. Brenda was playing with the hem of her dress. I wanted to ask her if she was okay but I was too scared to ask at that point. My mind raced to the worst possibilities—they were going to sell us in an auction, or use us as maids, or—I was snapped out of my thoughts by Brenda poking my shoulder. She looked at me for a few moments. When she finally spoke, she said, "I'm scared, Sheila." I gave her a small smile and held her hand giving it a soft squeeze.
I knew one thing. Both of us needed each other. Where ever these people were taking us we'd stick together and I'd find us a way out, I promised myself. Even if I could not escape I'll make sure that at least Brenda makes it out safe and unharmed.
Moments later, we had arrived. "We're here. Get out now." Stellar said.
I opened the door and obediently stepped out. Brenda followed. Charles and Stellar exchanged a few words and then motioned to us to follow. We followed them until we reached a half-constructed building. It looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. It was grey all over. A dense forest surrounded it and made it look like a typical horror movie set, except for the fact that it was noon.
"Where are you taking us?" I inquired hesitantly.
Silence.
I grabbed Brenda's wrist and bolted away towards the forest. I ran without thinking.
"Sheila, stop!" Brenda cried.
"Why?" I asked, annoyed.
"No matter how much we run, the forest just seems to be getting farther and farther away!" She reasoned.
I slowed down and then came to a halt. She was right. The more we ran the farther the forest got.
I turned around and saw that we were standing right next to the car. We probably looked like idiots.
"You done?" asked Stellar. I was shocked and embarrassed. "Great! Now follow me!"
The two of us walked silently behind Stellar with Charles walking behind us.
As we reached the doors I noticed how enormous it was. For an enormous door to not have any designs was kinda disappointing. I noticed a small hole right next to the ginormous doorknob.
Charles stepped forward and rummaged through his pockets. He pulled out a small shiny glowing gold key that had a small teal gem on it.
"The two of you better be prepared cause this is going to make you lose your mind," Charles warned. But he had a stupid smirk slapped across his face which told me that he was probably joking.
"Sure, sure," I said rolling my eyes.
He inserted the key into the keyhole.
Nothing happened. "Was something supposed to happen? Cause everything seems the same to me. What about you Sheila? What do you think?" Asked Brenda.
"What I think? Well, these guys are stu—" I was rudely interpreted by Charles. "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to turn it thrice to the right and then once to the left! My bad!" He grinned.
As he turned the lock, the door transformed with a bright, blinding light.
It was now a beautiful door that was carved with signs and symbols I couldn't understand. There were pictures of mythical creatures carved beautifully across the door. A scene of Dragons flying across the sky was what attracted me the most. They looked so tranquil that I wanted to join them too. Embedded with many precious stones, the door looked like it was stolen from an ancient palace.
The entire building itself changed on its own. What was first a boring abandoned construction site was now a grand manor.
The doors automatically opened inwards as Brenda and I were left gaping. Charles smirked in victory and entered the luxurious-looking building. Stellar just shook her head and followed. Brenda, with her mouth still open to welcome houseflies, followed Stellar. After hesitating for a few seconds, I decided to follow too.
Just as I walked in, I noticed the door return to its old rusty self as it was shut behind me.
I looked around me. I saw Brenda way ahead of me along with our kidnappers. I ran to catch up to them.
"This place is..." Brenda said awestruck.
"I'll have to agree with you Brenda, it's amazing!" I agreed. Never in my life had I seen such a beautiful place. I was thankful that I wore such a pretty dress too. The first thing that we saw was some people pushing some luggage carts. Only, it didn't have any wheels, it was floating. Across the red carpet stood stairs, stairs you'd only see in Disney Princess movies. On either side of the bottom of the stairs stood reception desks, two on each side.
The marble floor reflected the light from the chandeliers above making the place look sophisticated.
The first thing I thought was that we were brought here to serve some king as slaves.
"Okay girls, Charles is going to take you to the designated area. I've got some work to do." Stellar said as she walked to Charles. She kissed his cheek and left. Charles was left flabbergasted.
"We-wall-well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to the reception! Ha-ha-ya." Charles stuttered and turned on his heel towards the reception desk. I couldn't believe the fact that these two were engaged. Charles acted like a teen boy in his first relationship. Brenda and I looked at each other and shook our heads. We then jogged to catch up to Charles in this unfamiliar place.