The nightmarish elevator ride eventually came to a welcome stop, Em clambering out of the contraption as quickly as her shaky legs would allow. Macas and Lampa bid her a cheery goodbye before speeding off into the distance and she hoped that would be the last she ever saw of the damned elevator.

She glanced down at her dress and was pleased to note it wasn't half as dirty as she'd expected. She pulled the sleeves of her cardigan down and brushed off a cloud of dirt from her shoulder.

After a quick look around, she headed down the only corridor she could see, ignoring the butterflies currently fluttering in her stomach. As she passed a line of large windows she spotted the sun setting in the distance; she smiled sadly – their day in the factory was almost up, and she'd managed to spend the last of it stuck in a pile of rubbish. She was grateful, however, for the warm glow of the evening sun on her skin.

She reached the end of the corridor and felt her heart begin to race. She could hear Mr. Wonka talking to Charlie, their voices animated and lively, just off to her right. She heard the chocolatier laugh and grinned to herself, noting once again that the noise sent a shiver of warmth down her spine. She straightened her dress as best she could and made one last attempt to run her fingers through her hair, happy to note that it felt soft and smooth against her hands, with no bits of rubbish hiding amongst the strands.

With newfound confidence, she followed the sound of their voices, her brother's face instantly lighting up as she rounded the corner.

"Em!" he cried, running past a surprised Mr. Wonka to give her a rib cracking hug. Mr. Wonka turned, his face morphing into a huge grin as he spotted Em.

"My dear Ms. Bucket, thank goodness you're alright."

Em hugged Charlie tightly, her little brother clinging on to her. Her eyes found Mr. Wonka's unfaltering gaze and she felt the colour rushing to her cheeks.

"Charlie," she sighed, "I'm so sorry, I ruined your tour." She looked down at him sadly, hopeful that her brother would forgive her.

"Are you kidding?" he laughed, pulling away from her. "Em, we won! We won the competition!"

She looked at him in shock before looking to Mr. Wonka. The man nodded in agreement, laughing at Charlie's excitement and Em's bewildered expression.

"Indeed you did, Buckets!" he clapped his hands together and placed a supportive hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Charlie," he motioned to her brother, "why don't you go and get it, to show your sister?"

"Get what?" she queried, intrigued.

"Oh, all in good time!" laughed Mr. Wonka, the sound making her stomach backflip over and over.

"Great idea!" concurred Charlie, rushing past her and out of sight.

Em watched her brother disappear, overjoyed to see him so happy. She turned back to the chocolatier, shocked by his sudden proximity.

"Em," he breathed, his hand resting gently on her elbow.

She gazed up into his dazzling blue eyes. The sound of her name on his lips the sweetest noise she had ever heard; her name had never sounded so beautiful.

She tensed as his eyes flicked down to her lips. Was he about to kiss her?

She closed her eyes in anticipation, waiting for the glorious moment their lips would connect.

"… Bucketa?"

She opened her eyes suddenly, aware that she had once again let herself get caught up in thoughts of Mr. Wonka.

Lampa was looking at her with interest whilst Macas was up on his tiptoes again, reaching for another button. She noted, with relief, that the elevator had indeed stopped this time, their journey finally over.

She pushed herself dizzily out of the corner of the elevator, her arms and legs sore from bracing so hard against the glass. She swayed on the spot, regaining her balance before stepping clumsily though the open doors and out of the lift.

The Oompa Loompas waved as the glass doors closed behind her, the elevator abruptly disappearing into the air and out of sight.

She studied the hallway she had been deposited in, the walls and floor a cold cement grey. Small windows were positioned high above her head, giving the distinct sense of a prison compound. She shuddered and went to pull her cardigan tight around her small frame, only to be greeted by her bare arms. She thought back to the start of their tour, when Charlie had hung their stuff up.

She let out a frustrated sigh, giving her arms a quick rub in a pathetic attempt to warm herself up.

She walked ahead silently, her footsteps echoing sharply through the narrow corridor. She was led around several bends, the white fluorescent light from the ceiling making it hard to distinguish how far she'd walked; it felt like she was going around in circles.

Knowing the factory, she probably was.

"Em!" hollered Charlie as she rounded yet another corner.

She felt her face break into a huge grin and ran towards her little brother, her arms outstretched, relief flooding though her.

"Oh, Charlie, thank goodness you're okay!" She planted a huge kiss on the top of his head, his sandy blonde hair tickling her nose.

"Me?!" he challenged, shaking off her kiss. "Thank goodness you're okay! Where have you been?!" Charlie pulled away from her slightly, his nose crinkling. "And you stink."

"Charming," she laughed, "and you don't even want to know." She pulled him into another hug, grimacing at the thought of what she could possibly be covered in all together. "Where's Mr. Wonka? What are you doing here?"

"Oh." Charlie's face fell slightly as he pulled away from her. "Mr. Wonka's in there," he gestured to a nearby door. "But I think he's angry at me."
"What? Nonsense," frowned Em dismissively, "why on earth would he be angry at you? And where's everyone else?"

"Oh, well Veruca and her dad got taken away by some Oompa Loompas. Mr. Wonka was really angry about what happened," Charlie looked up at her seriously. "I thought you were gonna die Em, I thought he'd pushed you into the furnace."

Em looked at her brother sadly.

"I'm sorry Charlie, I should have never gone in there. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," smiled Charlie. "At least you know Mr. Wonka likes you back now." His smile turned into a cheeky grin and Em looked at him in bewilderment, her own expression morphing into one of dismay.

"Charlie!" she hissed in embarrassment as her brother giggled.

"What! He was really angry that Mr. Salt did that to you! That must mean he cares a –"

"Shh you!" she half ordered, half pleaded as her brother teased her. She pushed all thoughts of Mr. Wonka away and tried to distract her brother. "And where's Mike? And his mum?"

"Oh," Charlie sobered up. "I think Mike Teevee shrunk himself."

"He what?!"

"After you fell into the chute Mr. Wonka told some oompa loompa's to bring me here, so I didn't actually see what happened," Charlie shrugged, "but I heard his mum talking about it. They left in a pretty big rush."

"So they're gone?"

"Yeah," Charlie looked thoughtfully up at his sister. "Oh, and the oompa loompa's brought me these," he gestured to his coat and Em's cardigan, folded neatly on the chair beside him.

"Oh, good." Em grabbed her borrowed cardigan and wrapped it protectively around her.

Charlie took a deep breath, his mouth suddenly turning down into a frown. "I just figured, since I was the only one left, you know, that maybe that meant I'd won the competition." Em nodded in agreement. "But then Mr. Wonka just came here and told me to wait for you." He shuffled his feet. "Then he said we should see ourselves out."

"He said that?" asked Em, her mind working furiously. That didn't sound like something Mr. Wonka would say. Perhaps he needed to speak to Em alone? Charlie had been very upset after all.

"Yeah, he said he's really busy."

Em glanced at the door labelled 'Office' and frowned.

"That doesn't sound right. Wait here, I'll go and ask."

Em felt butterflies as she approached the door. Perhaps he'd be relieved to see her alive and well? He might even go so far as to hug her, to smile and jubilate at her safe return. She glanced down at her dress and grimaced; not quite the fairytale reunion she had imagined…

"Mr. Wonka?" Em ventured, poking her head tentatively around the door.

Mr. Wonka's bizarre office came into view, a curious room full of objects, each and every one of them cut in half; from the desk to the coat rack to the very chair he was sitting on.

"I am extraordinarily busy, Ms. Bucket."

She balked slightly at his short reply, unnerved by the formality of his voice and the unusualness of his office.

"I – I just wanted to ask about Charlie's prize," she stuttered, entering the office slowly and holding the door ajar behind her. "As the winner of the competition? How does he –"

"He doesn't get anything."

Em stared at the back of his head in shocked silence, his golden orange curls free from the confines of his top hat. She felt Charlie enter the office behind her and she reached a steadying hand back to stop him.

"I'm sorry?" she queried, not quite believing his words.

"He broke the rules. No prize."

Mr. Wonka didn't look up from the papers on his desk. Didn't even acknowledge the fact that Em had made it safely out of the garbage chute.

"Rules? I don't understand –"

"Ms. Bucket –"

"Please, Mr. Wonka, Em's only asking because –" Charlie tried to intervene, pushing past Em's outstretched arm and further into the office.

"Look Emma, or, whatever your name is," Mr. Wonka stammered in annoyance, "he signed a contract. I stated very clearly at the beginning of the tour that –"

"Emily."

"What?" Mr. Wonka finally looked up at the interruption, a deep frowned etched across his once handsome face, his sparkling blue eyes dark and vehement.

"My name is Emily," she spat out the words, a little fiercer than intended.

She was hurt and shocked and beginning to feel like she might cry, but she didn't want to be rude. She hated rude people, and she was slowly coming to realise that the man she'd met this morning, the man she'd shared the day with, the man she'd found herself falling for, was nothing but rude; the cheeky grins, the jokes, the mischievous glint in his eyes, all had been replaced by this cruel stranger. It had all been fake.

Mr. Wonka looked at her, his brows drawing together like he was regarding a stranger.

"Emily, Emma, it really doesn't matter," he shook his head, "it doesn't change the fact that you and your brother so carelessly drank fizzy lifting drinks -"

Em stopped listening but her eyes stayed locked with his. They were full of anger. His mouth was still moving but she wasn't hearing any words. She wanted to curl up into a ball; she wanted to go home. His voice cut through her. "If you'll so kindly see yourself out, I have a lot of paperwork to get through."

Em watched him in silence as he returned his focus to his desk. She willed her legs to move, still in a state of shock at such an unhappy turn of events.

She heard a sniff from behind her and she felt her heart break even more. She glanced back at her brother, tears swimming in his eyes.

He looked up at Em for guidance, but she could only stare back at him, stunned into silence by Mr. Wonka's response.

"Goodbye, Mr. Wonka," Charlie sniffed. "Thank you for showing us around. We're sorry for any damage we've caused," he mumbled, hopeful for a response from his hero.

Mr. Wonka didn't even acknowledge his apology.

Em felt Charlie's hand slip into hers as he pulled her away. They made their way silently out of the office, the door closing behind them with a finality that crushed both the sibling's dreams.

Em could hear a rushing in her ears. She held back her tears, walking purposefully down the hall, away from all of this. Away from the nightmarish factory and false promises. Away from him.

"Em?"

"Yeah Charlie?" Em sighed as her brother tugged at her cardigan. She just wanted to leave so she could throw herself onto her bed and cry.

"I don't want this." He held out his hand and presented her with his everlasting gobstopper.

All of a sudden, Slugworth's words rang through Em's head and the promise of wealth and fortune swam forward in her mind. She stared longingly at the gobstopper sitting innocently in her brother's hand.

"Are you sure, Charlie?" Their family could live a happy, easy life, the life she'd always strived to give them. Their parents deserved so much more than they had. Their grandparents deserved proper food, not just watered-down cabbage soup, and proper beds, and a house with a proper roof that didn't leak when it rained.

"I'd never forgive myself if we gave it to Slugworth, even if Mr. Wonka has been horrible. I don't want him to lose his factory."

Em smiled sadly at her brother as she took the gobstopper.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a sec."

She walked quickly back down the corridor, dreading seeing the man again. Summoning up all her courage she knocked sharply on the door – perhaps a little too forcefully, but she put it down to nerves, the gobstopper clutched tightly in her hand.

"Come in," a voice called.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly.

"Mr. Wonka? I just wanted to –"

"Ms. Bucket, I do not have the time nor the energy to deal with this matter any further. Please vacate my factory." He continued to read through the papers on his desk.

"We're leaving," she assured him, "Charlie just wanted you to have this back." She placed the gobstopper gently on his desk, proud of her brother's decision but mournful nonetheless.

She willed the man to look at her just one last time.

As much as she despised him, after everything he'd done and said to her and her brother, she wanted one final look at his eyes. His beautiful, mesmerising eyes. Eyes that had once promised friendship and, had it been possible, affection? Eyes that now screamed at her to leave and to never return.

"It would be wrong to keep it, knowing how much we disappointed you."

She took a step back and waited for his response. He didn't even look at the gobstopper, let alone her.

"Goodbye, Mr. Wonka. Thank you for everything."

She turned to leave, tears finally breaking free and falling silently down her cheeks. She reached the door and tugged it open forcefully, longing for her mother's arms and her father's soothing voice.

"Ms. Bucket."

She paused at his voice, gripping the door handle tightly. Her heart was imploring her to turn around and beg for his forgiveness, but her brain was telling her it was simply one final attempt at another cruel dismissal.

"Em."

She faltered, her breath catching in her throat as she released the door.

She thought back to earlier, when she had daydreamed about their reunion; how glorious her name had sounded on his lips, how magical it had felt to be so connected to him. Now the word sounded ugly coming from such a cruel man, one who had not only broken her own heart with trickery and manipulation, but her brother's as well. For that, she would never forgive him.

Without a second glance, she tugged the door open.

"You don't get to call me that," she whispered, her words firm despite the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She heard the door to the office close behind her, a welcome finality to the sound. She walked blindly forward, Charlie's hand finding hers once again.

"Em?" he asked, his voice miserable, "are you okay?"

"I will be Charlie," she summoned a smile as she glanced down at her brother. "Now, let's get out of here. I never want to see another Wonka bar again."

He watched the door close in silence, his hand still outstretched, a lilac satin handkerchief crumpling in his palm.

He exhaled, his arm dropping lamely to his side.

"Well, that didn't go to plan."