Finn coughed, choking on his bread. The two of them just stared at Grean until Finn broke the silence.

"What . . . I mean, what about the other kids?"

"Well," Grean seemed all too happy to change the subject, "they each have their own stories. Most of them, I'm afraid, end in faked deaths or the like."

"The like . . ." Ash repeated it to herself under her breath. Finn munched on his bread again, more careful as he ate it this time.

After they'd eaten, Jenna took them on a tour of the place. There was the 'main room' where a giant portion of the space was mostly just air, wood, and walls. Ash recognized the set of massive, forked stairs which led to the girls' rooms and on the other side sat the boys'. The floors were so shiny she could see her own reflection in them - it was blurry but still impressive. Giant wood beams stood high above their heads - just one of them looked about a million pounds. In the 'main room', at the top of the stairs, was another set that branched off into a balcony that stretched around the entire room, doors were - perfectly placed - around the walls behind the balcony and pillars stood tall underneath the balcony itself.

There was a huge window at the top of the staircase.

Different hallways led to places like the kitchen, the piano room, the book room - not to be mistaken with the library, yes there was one - a giant, glorious one, and other kinds of rooms and closets. The second biggest room in the place was the living room. The ceilings were higher than Ash thought possible for a ceiling to be, and there were long, slender windows planted in the walls.

Squishy couches and sofas were placed around the room, along with little round tables and chairs, desks, miniature bookshelves, and fuzzy rugs.

In the library, there were little sitting places, tucked away, and cushioned with pillows and blankets. Many of them had a small window for the readers to glance out of - and so that they wouldn't read in the dark for so long. The floors were covered completely with red carpet and fancy looking rugs. There were balconies, spiral and non-spiraling staircases, more books than anyone knew the amount of - a reader's dream.

Ash had a feeling she'd be spending most of her time there. She noticed how many different kinds of kids were there, reading together - or alone.

By the time the tour was over, they'd skipped lunch and it was dinner time, but Jenna made Finn and Ash take showers and change into new clothes anyway. Why Grean wanted a tour before cleanliness was beyond her, apparently. It felt good to have clean hair and actually smell good again.

Finn and Ash sat together in the dining hall - it was a glittery, gold-tinted place with million-dollar chandeliers that sparkled, and a countless number of round tables where kids sat and ate - both of them too tired to make friends and too content to try. Neither of them spoke at first, perfectly happy just to eat and enjoy it, but it didn't take long before questions and thoughts piled up.

"What's going to happen from here?"

Even though she knew Finn didn't have the answer, she asked it anyway. He shook his head, gulping down mashed potatoes. The hunger melted away from his face, replaced by genuine thought.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Do you ever think about . . ." he glanced around the room, "how we even got here in the first place?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't think it's suspicious at all?"

Ash had gone along, perfectly happy picturing herself there for the next hundred or so years. In the blink of an eye, all those fantasy thoughts were gone.

"I . . ." she hadn't thought about it until now. In fact, the more she did, she could see how much Finn was bothered by it. His usual confident expression was gone, and his proud figure was slouched. She took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?"

The table shivered as he jostled his leg up and down nervously.

"Nothing," he looked down at his food, it must've looked unappetizing now. His blonde hair was messy now, hanging down and tickling his forehead.

The glamorous dining hall didn't look or feel so glamorous anymore. The chandeliers seemed to hang over their audience with a threat. Ash swallowed, trying to calm her heart - it'd eagerly jumped into superspeed. He suddenly looked up, his clear blue eyes iced with worry. Something about Hideaway was really getting to him.

"How about this, just - come with me."

"Bu-" she stood, her chair squeaking across the glossy floor, and marched out of the room. Of course, he had no choice but to follow.

They - after a few wrong turns - ended up in the second kitchen, the room they'd both seen each other in for the first time - again. It had white walls and a little fridge with wood floors - not shiny ones though -, a small wood table with four chairs around it and a small counter-top.

The library was her first thought, but she chose the second kitchen, knowing it'd be empty. They both took a seat by the table.

"Spill it."

"I- I uh, um," he was looking at her kind of funny but finally managed to speak normally again, "You want it straight?"

"Yes."

"I don't feel comfortable in this place - it reminds me too much of . . . I don't like these kinds of buildings."

She eyed him.

"That's all?"

"Yeah, why? Is it not enough to be uncomfortable by or something?"

"It's not that - you know it isn't - I just- there's more to the story. I'm sure of it. Hey, I'm your Link, remember?"

He mirrored her smile, but they both slumped a little at the thought.

"Fine. You're right, there is more."

She waited, tilting her head for effect. He scratched his head, laughing nervously.

"I didn't say I was gonna tell you!"

"Well, you just did so, tell me."

He laughed again, she thought she could hear annoyance in his chuckle now.

"Sorry, but no. I think it'll just worry you. If you're already enjoying yourself here - happy and content - then I don't think-"

"Finn."

"Okay!" He held his hands up in surrender. "All I was thinking about was-"

Grean walked into the room, looking back and forth between them as if he was watching a tennis match.

Finn quickly stood, almost knocking over both the table and his chair in the process.

"What are you two doing down here for? It's getting pretty late."

"We were just talking. If you don't mind-"

"We'll be right there," Finn smiled up at Grean, who eyed them both one last time before climbing back up the steps and closing the door. Ash stood so that Finn could look her - almost - in the eyes. He lowered his voice, leaning closer to her.

"Don't you ever think about the reason we even know each other?"

She wanted to say something different than he was thinking, change the past somehow, but she flashed back to about one day ago.

"Yeah, it wasn't that long-"

"Where did we even get these, huh?"

He held out his wrist, reminding her about the red bands around it. She rubbed her own wrist with the thought. They didn't burn anymore, but the redness was coming back, clear as day. It punched her in the stomach, making her throat go dry. But Finn wasn't done.

"Grean keeps telling us about the Links, or whatever, but if we're linked together, and neither of us is or have been tied up too tightly, where did these come from?"

She didn't know what to say, or even think for that matter, staring down at his wrist. She shook the panic and confusion away, looking up at him as determined as she could.

"Fine. I agree with you. What do we do then?"

"You sure ask that a lot," he smiled in a knowing way as if he'd already planned it all out.

"I guess I do. Now tell me."

His knowing smile turned into a suspiciously sneaky grin.

"Oh great."