“You should get some rest, since you nearly drowned. I’ll help you to a bed.”
Robin accepted her offer, though she wondered how far April would take the “help” part.
She was led upstairs, to the second of four floors in the house. “Let’s see…I think this room is the safe one tonight.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. The safe one? What’s in the other ones, buzzsaws and copperheads? Pillows stuffed with broken glass?!”
April shook her head. “The house is a double edged sword. It gives you almost everything you want, but it also plays tricks on you. Every night, there’s one bed that lets you get a full night’s rest, and leaves you human in the morning. The others…well, they change you during the night.”
Robin shook her head and threw her hands up in the air. “Forget it. No more changing! I’ll sleep on the couch, or the floor, or…”
“Tried that, a long time ago. The house moved me while I slept. I woke up in a bedroom full of cats, as a panther-woman.”
Robin rubbed her eyes. “How’d you change back?”
“I stayed that way until I next went to bed, and chose another room,” April replied. “That time, I lucked out, and woke up human. Other times, I’ve gone through weeks being something other than my natural form, turning into something else every night.”
“This is so fucked up,” Robin let out a sigh as she reached for the knob. “Let’s get it over with.”
April took her wrist before she turned the knob. “Once you open the door to one of the bedrooms, the others won’t let you in.”
“Will I know which one I picked before I go to sleep?”
“Once you settle into the bed, you will. By then, you won’t be able to get out until you’ve changed.”
Robin shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to deal, then. Good night, April.” She turned the knob, and entered the room, leaving April behind.
The room itself was magnificent, looking picturesque and antique. She had an adjoining bathroom and shower, a full-length body mirror, and everything she could need to groom herself. The oak canopy bed was every bit as fabulous, fitted with a perfect mattress and beautiful silk sheets.
Despite the magical danger, Robin found herself too tired to care. She slid under the sheets, resting her head against two of the softest pillows imaginable.
As Robin drifted into sleep, her dreams matching the bedroom she rested in…
Thu Sep 5 08:16:45 2002