A/N - This is a picture I took myself (no filter!) of the Oude Kerk Church in Amsterdam, just for reference.

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The next morning, I was utterly shattered, but still woke up at Six o'clock and went downstairs for breakfast, trudging down the stairs and feeling as if they were never going to end. Bram appeared to notice my exhaustion, and served me nutella on toast with a bowl of grapes in silence. He added a strawberry atop the grapes, and I gave him a soft smile as I headed to my usual table.

Like clockwork, Mrs Elderflower entered the reception, striding confidently towards the kitchen bar, where a bowl of fruit was handed to her. It was ever so slightly colder today, still hot but not stifling, now not hot enough to feel like your skin was actually burning off. She wore a tan, tailored jumpsuit with white slip on shoes, her hair up in it's usual, relaxed bun.

Mrs Elderflower turned, her eyes flickering towards me, but she headed to the opposite side of the seating area and perched on table in the corner, away from the sunlight, next to a plain white wall, taking out her newspaper to read.

I sat back in my seat, contemplative. So, this was how she wanted to play it? Ignore me completely, pretend it never happened, just like after the ball two months ago?

I was not going to let that happen, not going to let things go back to exactly how they were before.

No.

I took my empty plates back to the kitchen, then turned and sauntered back towards the stairwell, feeling her eyes on me as I walked past. I had noticed her fruit bowl was empty, so she was evidently waiting for me to leave. I flopped down on the top stair of the concrete stairwell, flicking through my Instagram explore page. Only five minutes passed and the door to the reception opened. Blue eyes regarded me with an icy intensity, flickering emotions of suprise, then guilt, then anger registering as she opened her mouth.

"Emma? Are you waiting for me?" she accused, folding her arms across her chest.

"Uhh... no?" I lied easily, frowning, "Why would I be waiting for you?" It was cruel, I knew it, but I couldn't help myself.

"Oh." she looked embarrassed, and her cheeks flushed red, "I-I just thought-"

"You thought wrong," I shrugged, "Have you seen Rachel? She said she was getting breakfast." I added casually, as if nothing was different.

"Um. No." Mrs Elderflower whispered, before hurrying past me, climbing the stairs with a surprising grace considering she was taking two steps at a time.

Around Ten minutes to Nine o'clock, I was standing outside my room, once more flicking through my phone. Mrs Elderflower came out of her own room, glancing up in surprise as our eyes connected. I smirked.

"I know what you're doing!" she hissed, glancing up and down the corridor, "Cut it out."

"I'm not doing anything." I responded smoothly, slipping my phone into my pocket and disappearing into my room, shutting the door on a fuming Mrs Elderflower.

We got the tram to central station, and I found myself 'accidentally' sitting next to Mrs Elderflower. She chose to turn away from me and look out the window, so I surrepticiously inched closer until our thighs were touching, and I saw her cheeks turn a light shade of red. I smirked, and stayed sat like that for the rest of the journey.

We arrived and she almost ran off the tram, but when we stood in groups I 'accidentally' found myself standing right next to her, my hand occasionally brushing hers, as her face seemed to be a constant shade of light red. We began another tour around the city, heading to the Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam, a large, if not slightly ugly church. Once we arrived outside the church, we didn't actually get to go inside for another twenty minutes, as Dave forced us to stand outside, droning on about every single little detail about the church from who built it and with what materials to the current status of it. I recognised where we were - the Oude Kerk was situated right in the heart of the famous Red Light District. However, Dave had cleverly navigated us so that we avoided the main 'attractions' of the Red Light District, instead walking down relatively normal-looking streets.

We walked inside the refreshingly air-conditioned reception, one by one getting our cards swiped, then entered the church. It had an exhibition on, and I was blown away as I entered.

Everything was red. Not the building itself, not the pews or chairs or golden flaked pillars. But a translucent sheet of red covered every single window. The art installation, according to the information board in the reception, 'brings the Roman Catholic visual idiom back into the building, and is a reminder of the fury and destruction of the Beeldenstorm that preceded the Alteration of 1578. "It was immediately clear to me, during my first visit," said the artist, "that the Oude Kerk is a place that already works by itself. What the church needed was an extra layer to change the public's perception of the space." '

Whether you notice the artists intention or not, it couldn't be denied that it was incredibly visually stunning. So stunning, in fact, that Mrs Elderflower forgot she was ignoring me.

"Wow." the blonde breathed, standing beside me.

"This is wonderful." I muttered, and she turned and smiled briefly at me. The red light smoothed out her features so she could easily be mistaken for my age, and although I much preferred seeing every little detail of her face, every single eyelash and every single line, she still looked incredible, and my breath caught in my throat. Then she realised what she was doing, and turned away quickly, striding as fast as she could without making a sound in the almost silent church. I rolled my eyes and just walked away.

We left the church around half an hour later, but as we began to walk away from the Red Light District, I noticed something. It was a shop, that looked rather like a normal cornershop from back home in England, however the products advertised in the window were quite different.

"I'll be one sec." I whispered to Rachel and she grinned as I ducked into the shop, my plan to buy something then catch up with the group, without anyone noticing.

However, someone did notice.

"What are you doing!?" came a steely voice as I shoved something into my bag after paying.

"Uhh... nothing." I grinned.

"Clearly, you're doing something." Mrs Elderflower hissed, looking around herself with wild eyes at the various Cannabis products on display. Massive, 10cm long rolling papers, hundreds of grinders, weed in every form including butter and lollipops, pre rolled joints, hash, weed t shirts and socks... anything to do with weed you wanted, it was there. And Mrs Elderflower was livid.

"Honest, I'm not!" I swore, but I couldn't quite hide the massive, shit-eating grin on my lips as she held out her hand.

"Whatever you just bought, hand it over. Now."

"Noooooo," I whined, pouting, "Please don't do this to me." I pretended to cry. It was a rather weak attempt, and I hadn't actually managed to summon the tears yet when she took that as an opportunity to grab my bag. "Hey!"

"Hmm..." she turned it upside down and emptied it, various weed paraphernalia falling out onto the floor. The dude behind the counter didn't even notice.

"That... is not mine. Definitely not." I pointed at everything on the floor.

"Really? Weed brownies?" she scoffed, ignoring me, and turned over the plastic box of brownies with her toe as if it had some sort of disease.

"Well, you didn't seem to mind the weed last night." I muttered childishly, folding my arms. She flushed crimson, as she always did.

"What? You're going to have a hissy fit in the middle of the shop?" she mocked, glancing down at my crossed arms, once more ignoring what I had said.

"Yeah, maybe I will!" I responded defiantly.

"Well, I am not going to let that happen due to the fact that we need to catch up with the rest of the group. So, if you would like to follow me..."

"Ok, fine." I shrugged and turned to follow her as she walked towards the door, although not without bending down first to swipe up as much as I could.

"Don't even think about it." Mrs Elderflower called out without even turning around. I dropped the bong back onto the floor with a thud.

"I bought that with my own, hard earned money." I pouted, following her out into the sunshine. I had actually just bought it with my gambling money, but she didn't need to know that.

"I'm sure you did." she responded distractedly, looking up and down the street. "Where did they go?"

"Dunno." I shrugged. Mrs Elderflower began to stride off in the direction we had originally come from - definitely the wrong way if we wanted to find the group, but I wasn't going to risk her wrath by telling her that. We kept walking, until I began to notice the shops take a very subtle turn towards something rather... inappropriate. We reached a canal, with beautiful, narrow houses on either side, people walking everywhere and cyclists constantly almost crashing into people as they raced down the street. I began to vaguely notice the odd window with it's curtains drawn back, red lights shining inside, and - was that a woman sitting? Why is she - What is she wearing- oh.

Oh.

"Do you know where we are?" I suddenly blurted out, eyeing the prostitutes standing in the windows.

"Yes." Mrs Elderflower responded imperiously.

"You don't, do you?"

"No." she sighed.

"We appear to be in the very centre of 'De Wallen' or as it's more commonly known, 'The Red Light District.'" placing my hands on her shoulders, ignoring the involuntary shiver I felt, I turned her to the left so she was facing a shop we were standing right outside of. The shop name was in Dutch, but it wasn't difficult to deduce what it was for, as a mannequin sat on all fours, with a leather corset and a collar around it's neck.

"Oh," Mrs Elderflower swallowed, "Oh my."

"Oh my indeed." I grinned.

"Right. Well. Let's go, then." I raised my eyebrows in surprise but followed her as she strode off down the path. Before long, her pace relaxed to what was normal for a human being, although I was still convinced she actually wasn't one, and it felt almost leisurely as we strolled along. The trees whispered above us and the chirps of birds filled the air, the swish of the canal water against the confines of brick walls only ruined ever so slightly by the odd dildo popping up in a shop window.

"Prostitution in Amsterdam is nearly as old as the city itself." Mrs Elderflower suddenly said, closing her eyes for a second as the sun beat down on her golden face.

"Ooh, another History lesson." I teased, rolling my eyes. "Are you sure being an Art teacher was your calling? You know so much History about, like, everything."

"Eloquent. And no I don't," she murmured, "Not at all." she opened one eye, smiling easily. I was surprised she hadn't tripped over. If I tried to walk with my eyes closed I would probably crack my head open. But I suppose she's incapable of falling over. She just seems too graceful for that. "As early as the 15th century and possibly earlier, the first prostitutes arrived to earn a living in the harbor of Amsterdam. The Red Light District is still located in the oldest part of the city, as you can probably tell." Mrs Elderflower gestured around herself, at the wonderful buildings and the cracked cobblestone floors. "The women initially plied their trade in the streets. In the Sixties, the Police made it illegal to solicit from doorways. Sitting behind the window was tolerated if the curtains were almost closed. By burning a red light behind the chink, it was clear to men that they could come here for a prostitute. Today it is allowed to have the curtains open but the red lights are still used." she pointed discreetly across the canal, where a woman sat in the window on a chair, dressed in what appeared to be just underwear, "As a result, the evening hours are the best time to visit. The Red Light District then comes to life and clearly shows where its name originated."

"Well done for bringing us here in the day, then." I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, yes, because I did this on purpose." she retorted sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't judge if this is what you're into!" I exclaimed, and she hit me with her handbag as I doubled over laughing.

"The Red Light District is actually one of the safest places in Amsterdam." Mrs Elderflower continued, "At least in the day," she added, "Because of the gangs that control the areas, there are less pickpockets. Or so I've been told. And it has 24hr surveillance, aswell as Police constantly patrolling, and-" Mrs Elderflower paused as she realised I wasn't fully paying attention. I was too busy gawking at a sex shop, which had a mannequin standing outside in literally nothing aside from a red collar and red thigh-high leather boots.

"You would look good in that." I pointed at it with a snort. Then clapped a hand over my mouth. "Oh my god. I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"Only meant to imagine it, then?" Mrs Elderflower teased, bumping me with her shoulder. A carefree laugh escaped her lips as my own cheeks reddened and I began to feel extremely flustered.

"N-no," I stammered, "Come on. Let's go." I nudged her along and we continued to walk as she laughed endearingly at me.

"Ooh, come here." Mrs Elderflower suddenly grabbed my hand a few moments later, and before I had time to see where we were going, she dragged me into a shop.

I blinked. And blinked again.

"Oh my fucking god." I whispered, looking at her as if she was insane. A mischevious glint manifestered in her eye as she glanced at me, then looked away.

I felt like I had entered some sort of fucking dungeon, but in the form of a shop. The walls were made of padded red leather, and the surroundings were dark and intmidating. Various instruments hung down from the ceiling, chains and whips and straps and belts and so many other things I couldn't even name. A clothes rack held leather corsets, leather jackets, leather trousers and even leather underwear. A whole wall was dedicated to different coloured leather thigh-high boots. There was a lot of leather. I shivered uncomfortably, although a part of me was slightly intrigued, in all honesty.

"Hello, how may I help you?" appeared a man out of nowhere. He was brunette, in his early-thirties, with a mop of curly hair on his head, and a mop of curly hair on his chest, which I should not have been able to see, but could, as he wore nothing but shoes and tight leather trousers, his pale chest exposed.

"Hello," responded Mrs Elderflower, clearly trying to be as intimidating as possible. It even seemed to work on the rather large man, who must have been used to people like her coming in being all intimidating and shit. It was a testement to how terrifying Mrs Elderflower actually was when she wanted to be. "My wife," a possessive hand was placed on my lower back and I bit back the urge to scream. I don't know why I wanted to scream, but I did. Her touch elicted that kind of reaction from me, even though this was merely a prank, and she was acting. It almost pained me, because if there was one thing I knew with absolute, utter certainty it was that she and I would never, ever have a relationship, let alone get married. She was already married, she likely wanted children, and I was still a child myself. The age gap was too much. It was just something I had to accept. It would never work. "My wife and I are looking for something new. What can you suggest? I'm Elise, by the way." she added with a graceful, cat-like smile.

I wanted to die of embarrasement as the weird man looked me over, "Gustaaf." he nodded at her, ignoring me completely, "Hmm... What does she like?" he questioned Elise.

I went to open my mouth and tell him right where he could shove it, but Elise narrowed her eyes at me and I shut my mouth. Besides, he would probably enjoy it. "Darling," I shivered, "We talked about this." she ran her nail down my face and my knees began to shake, "You only speak when I let you." Gustaaf blinked as if we had just been having a conversation about the weather, nothing out of the ordinary, and I resisted the urge to slap him. "She likes..." an evil smirk crossed her face, "Knee high, red boots."

"I have just the thing for you and your pet." I gasped angrily as Gustaaf disappeared into the back of the shop. Elise grinned and turned, striding out of the shop. I heard a rustle as if Gustaaf was about to return, so I sprinted out after her. She had disappeared, and I glanced wildly up and down the street until my eyes fell on her, sat lazily on a bench abour twenty metres away. I sprinted towards her, and our eyes locked as she erupted into laughter.

"You bitch!" I screeched, ignoring the looks everyone gave us as I grabbed her handbag and whacked her with it repeatedly.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she said between bouts of laughter, eyes shining with tears as she shook uncontrollably with mirth.

"I can't believe you did that!" I flopped down beside her, out of breath, ignoring the odd looks from passers by. "Your pet! Your pet!" I exclaimed angrily, "I am not your pet! God, absolutely ridiculous." I leant my head back so it touched the bench and looked up to the sky. "I can't believe you did all that just to embarrass me. I'm going to have nightmares forever."

"In all honesty, so am I." Elise shuddered and grinned.

"Hey, I mean, if you're into that kind of-"

"Shut up!" She responded with a grin.

"Hey!" all of a sudden we looked up, along with a few passers by, as we heard a shout.

"Oh my god!" Elise whispered, pointing down the street towards the shop we had just come from. Gustaaf had run out of the shop, topless, a pair of long, red, latex boots in his hand. His eyes landed on us, looking even more scary now he was in the sunlight.

Elise slowly turned to look at me as he began to stride towards us. We blinked.

"Run!"

There seemed to be endless crowds as I grabbed her hand and dragged her along, ducking, weaving and zigzagging between pedestrians as we tried to lose Gustaaf. Every time we rounded a corner, thinking we had lost him, the tell-tale sign of squeaking leather trousers would fill our ears again, along with the shouts of 'Stop!' from the Dutchman.

Eventually, we rounded a corner and I pulled her into a narrow doorway, pushing the blonde against the door and pressing my body up against her so that Gustaaf wouldn't see us. I bet this wasn't what she imagined would happen when she woke up this morning and decided she was going to completely ignore me.

"He's gone." Elise whispered, and I stepped down in relief, holding out my hand. She took it and stepped down from the small ledge. I let go, and looked around, scratching my head.

"It appears we've teleported to China."

"Yes, evidently." Elise responded sarcastically, looking around too. The buildings were still the same,