The evening was cold and drizzly, but Iris didn't feel the chill. She was wearing a furry pink robe and a white silk nightgown underneath.
Iris opened her eyes. She didn't remember much about what happened when she passed out.
All she knew was that the one she trusted left her alone with some strangers. Iris tried to sit up, but all her strength was gone.
Iris looked around and saw that she was in a big fancy bedroom. All the furniture was made of gold and silver. Some of them even had gems.
Then, she heard a faint footstep approaching the room. Iris looked at the door and saw shadows of a foot underneath. She immediately lay down again and pretended that she was sleeping.
Iris heard the creaking sound of the door opening and the voice of a two-person talking.
Iris opens her eyes a little enough to see what's happening. She saw the men going in, one wearing a glass and a white coat. He looks tired because of the loose, dark area underneath his eyes.
The other man looked familiar to Iris. He was tall and handsome and had red hair and eyes like ruby. Then Iris remembered he was the guy she had seen earlier—the one who brought her.
"How is she?" Echeron asked the guy who looked like a doctor
"she's fine. Her body was just tired; it strained all her energy." the doctor said, "Miss Iris will be fine in a few days; just let her rest." he continued.
"Good, I don't want my valuable find to be wasted", he said as she moved closer to Iris.
The doctor bows down and slowly exits the room.
Iris felt someone sit beside her bed and started touching her hair, "I know you're awake!" Echeron whispered in her ears.
But Iris still didn't move and pretend to be unconscious,
Echeron knows she's not ready to talk right now, and he doesn't want to push her further since he needs to get her feelings if he wants his plan to work.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he stood and walked out the door.
Iris felt that he already left, so she slowly opened her eyes. She thought about how her situation had ended, like 'where did it all go wrong?' she thought.
She crawled out of bed to the nearest window with all her might.
Iris wanted to see where she was so that he could plan her escape, but as soon as she opened the window, she knew it was hopeless.
"First was the underground maze, now a tower?" she said sarcastically. "just my luck."
She looked at the moon; it was big and pretty, glittering in the sky along with the stars.
"I hope I can be like you," she said, staring at the moon and reaching her arms out. "free and alive."
She lay on the floor as the tears fell down her eyes, and slowly, she fell asleep.
On the other side
Echeron had just arrived in his office, and the butler was already beside his table.
"What did you find about her," Echeron asked.
"I found nothing, my lord", the butler replied.
Echeron looked at him in confusion. "what do you mean nothing?"
The butler handed over a piece of paper to the duke, but only small pieces of information were written on it.
"Is this all?" Echeron asked, waving the paper in his hands.
The butler nodded at him. The duke looks at the paper and is intrigued about what's written on it.
In the morning
Iris was still sleeping on the floor; three maids entered her room and saw her sleeping. The two imminently went to her, and the other opened the window curtain.
The bright sunlight flicked on her eyes; Iris slowly opened her eyes. "I hope you're awake", the maid said
Iris's sight was blurred, and she could not see the face of the person clearly. She tried to rub it, but the aggressive voice of the maid said, "Hurry and help her wash up".
The two maids hurried to help her stand up and brought her to the bathroom. Still half asleep, Iris didn't know what was happening and was too dazed to struggle, so she let them do what they were doing to her.
After washing her, they brought her to the dressing room as the first maid was standing with an additional four maids, one holding a pink dress, one with pink accessories, one with pink shoes and one with make-up.
They assisted her to sit on the chair and moved aside as the maid, with an aggressive tone, went near to her. "Hmm," she said like she was thinking ", there's more to work on." she continued.
Now, Iris looks up, and she can see her face. She's a middle-aged woman wearing thick red lipstick, purple eyeshadow, and a dark green gown, different from the other maids.
"What are you looking at?" the woman said
Iris lowered her head and bit her lips. She doesn't know these people and doesn't want to get in trouble just yet, so she keeps her mouth shut.
"Now that you are on the duke's territory, you have to learn manners", the woman stated. "first, we need you to look presentable to the duke."
The woman flicked her fingers, and the maids rushed into her and started dressing up. Iris tried to resist. "I would resist if I were you", the woman said. Iris looked at her and saw a terrible look she gave her, so Iris stopped resisting and let them do what they wanted.
As soon as they finished dressing her up, they immediately dragged her. Iris never saw what she looked like in the mirror, but she knew she looked hideous.
They walked to the long hallway. Iris looked around and saw every corner was made of gold and silver; everything was glittering, but something felt off with the place. It feels empty and sad, like even though it's full of gold, it's still dull.
Then they stopped at the big door. "Open the door," the woman said to the man standing at the side of the door.
The man looked at her and nodded, and he gave a sign to the other man at the other side, and both slowly opened the door.
With her head down, they walked inside, and Iris felt nervous but still walked along with them; everyone was bowing as they entered.
Iris was confused,
"You may all leave", a man's voice said.
Iris is familiar with that voice. She heard it multiple times. She looked up and saw a dazzling man in front of her.