Chapter 9: Awaken

Gwyneth slowly opened her eyes but promptly shut them again. The light was simply too much. She didn't know how long she'd been unconscious. She waited for a few minutes, allowing the sensory overload to fade before opening her eyes again.

The first thing she saw was the intricate and magnificent ceiling, which was impossibly high. She struggled to sit up. Though the movement felt laborious, she was relieved to find no pain anywhere. This was strange; she was certain she had been shot. The absence of pain made her breathe a sigh of relief.

As she finally sat up, she was stunned further.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

The room was vast, an enormous space easily the size of three basketball courts. The walls were shimmering, polished stone interwoven with quiet, glowing light panels. One massive wall was made entirely of glass, showing an endless, vibrant green view far below. The landscape was a blur of high peaks and endless forests, making her feel as though she was perched on top of a mountain.

She looked away from the window and saw a corner filled with several dolls and huge teddy bears lined up neatly. They looked like toys, but even they were oversized. The dolls were taller than she was, and the teddy bears were as big as a small car.

"I'm dreaming," she concluded.

Shocked by the unfamiliar surroundings, she shut her eyes and rubbed them with the heel of her hand several times, thinking it would make her feel more awake. That's when she noticed her hands.

'Why were her hands so, so tender?'

Her hands should have been covered with calluses from years of carving and planting. She remembered several small scars. But now, her hands were impossibly smooth and soft.

A flicker of fear moved her. She quickly opened the collar of the soft white gown she was wearing and looked down. Her supposed curves were gone; her chest was now flat. She found no bullet holes, no scars. Frightened, she urgently slid off the high bed, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. She fumbled slightly to keep her balance and walked to a full-length mirror near her.

She stared into the mirror, her own wide, frightened eyes staring back from her familiar face. She even seemed to be the same height. But when she lifted her hands, turning them over, she felt a jolt of panic.

She searched for the small, white scars from her carving knives and the tough calluses from years of gardening. They were gone. Her palms were smooth and pale. Her gaze dropped. The white gown hung straight down. She ran a trembling hand over her chest. Nothing. The familiar, soft curves she had lived with for years were simply flat.

It didn't make sense. She looked like herself, but a version that had been polished smooth. A panic was already rising, threatening to overwhelm her. She knew this sensation and was trying to force it down until she understood where she was.

Unconsciously, Gwyneth dug her fingers hard into the skin of her palms, scratching them as she always did when panic threatened. It was surprisingly painful now that the protective layer of calluses was gone, sending a sharp, immediate shock through her hand.

As she stood there, frozen in utter confusion, the door suddenly swung open. The noise jerked Gwyn from her stupor. A beauty with striking red hair, dressed in an elaborate maid's uniform, entered. But what shocked Gwyneth more was the woman's incredible height.

'Giant,' Gwyn's mind registered.

Gwyn's already wide eyes grew even larger at the sight of the woman. Her mind, though stunned, processed the new visual information against the old. It was the only logical reason for the room's impossible architecture.

'Oh, that's why the door is impossibly huge.'

Her brain stopped working, which was strangely restful. It was the first time it had ever happened outside of focusing on her hobbies.

The giant maid was holding a gold tray with a cup. However, just as Gwyn was stunned by the maid, the red-haired maid was also stunned at the sight of her.

Then, the maid screamed, dropped the tray with a clang, and quickly bolted out of the room.

Gwyn's head tilted lightly. 'Shouldn't I be the one screaming and running?'

'Right. Run.'

I don't know where in the world I am, but I have to get out of here fast. I have to escape.

Gwyn bolted to the wide-open door. She cautiously peeked out first to see if any more giants were outside. Thankfully, the hallway was quiet. The outside of the room was even more ridiculous.

She stepped into a hall so massive it felt like a vast corridor for titans. The ceiling was lost in shadows above soaring, ornate arches. The design felt like a mix of an old cathedral and a highly polished museum. The stone walls were carved with intricate, perfect patterns, yet quiet, glowing lights ran along the floor, guiding her. Everything was scaled to a terrifying degree, clearly designed for people at least four meters tall. The silent opulence was beautiful, luxurious, and completely paralyzing.

At any other time, she would have stopped and stared at all these marvelous displays, but right now, the need to escape was too strong. She was relieved to find no one else in this impossibly long hallway.

At the end, she found a set of massive stone steps, if that's even what they could be called. She practically had to stretch her legs wide and use the railing to go down one step at a time.

As soon as she reached the bottom, she found an open space and a massive door that was ajar far in the distance.

She bolted towards that direction. The first thing that hit her was the smell, like fresh rain after a storm, but sweeter, mixed with a deep, earthy smell and a cool, clean hint of stone. She was shocked again by the vast and huge view outside. She found herself in a spectacular garden. There were towering trees and flowers scattered everywhere, all far bigger than her. The flowers, in hues of electric blue and violet, were taller than houses, and the leaves on the trees were as wide as cars.

While taking in her surroundings, Gwyn ran along a path she found. She was barefoot, and the pain from sharp pebbles scratching her heels made her eyes tear up a little, but she gritted her teeth and continued forward.

Why is there so much wrong here? Everything is huge.

It felt like she had shrunk, but she knew that wasn't it. She was sure she was still the same height.

Even more unsettling, she didn't recognize any of the plants or flowers. For Gwyneth, who knew practically every common flower and tree, this was a huge, deeply unsettling discovery.