I, suddenly, felt myself falling. The asphalt rose up to greet my. When I awoke, I could only see the gray color of a dense fog. I struggled to my feet. I held my hand up to what I guessed was eyelevel. I waved my hand back and forth, but couldn't pierce the fog. Fear crept slowly into my brain.
Sticky warmth slid down the side of my face. I realized that my head was bleeding quite badly. I began to feel dizzy and weak. I collapsed.
"Katie," whispered the fog.
I glanced around, trying to place the origin of the voice.
"Hello? Who are you?" I asked.
"No one," replied the fog.
I, still sitting down, felt another wave of dizziness wash over me. I put my hand to my head.
"Please help me," I murmured.
"I can't help you. You must fight many battles. You need practice, young one," said the fog.
I didn't understand what the voice was saying. My gray world was beginning to turn black. I laid down on the sidewalk and then there was darkness.
When the darkness left me, I sat up. Nausea swept through me. I put my hand to my head. The cut had closed up. There was a trail of dried blood starting from just above my left eyebrow, continuing down the side of my face, and ending on my jawbone. I groaned and looked around. Dense forest encircled the clearing in which I laid. Sound emitted from the green and brown of the forest. It was not from birds or any other woodland creature. I realized that it came from the shouting of men. For fear that they could be dangerous I ran to the trees and bushes opposite of the men. I crouched behind a group of bushes and waited.
A white blur shot into the clearing. Behind it was a group of men on horses. The men were wearing tunics and leather pants. They looked as though they could have been straight out of medieval times. Each was carrying a length of rope that resembled a lasso. Four of ten horses ran in front of the blur. The whiteness slowed its run.
I focused my eyes on what the men were chasing. It was a beautiful white horse. I saw something coming out of the horse's head. It was a horn. I gasped. This was a unicorn, a real unicorn. It moved with a grace that I had never seen.
One of the men had succeeded in roping the animal. Two other trappers tied their ropes around the unicorn's neck.
"Stop!" I shouted. I couldn't bear the sight of this beautiful creature twisting to get free.
The trappers looked in my direction.
"Show yourself!" yelled one of the men.
Hesitantly, I walked into the clearing.
The man who had spoken rode over to where I stood and dismounted. He was tall in comparison to my five-and-a-half foot stature. With dark hair and dark brown eyes, the man was very handsome. His beard was trimmed in such a way that he looked much in charge.
"Greetings, fair lady." He spoke with an odd accent. "I am Benjamin. May I ask your name?"
"My name is Katie." I looked back to the unicorn. "What are you doing to that animal?"
"We are taking him to the King. A unicorn is a very rare animal, but the good King deserves as much."
"King? What King?" I felt sick. Was I in Europe?
"Why, King Jared of Waeworth. Are you feeling all right?"
"Is Waeworth in Europe?" I had never heard of such a place.
"Europe? What in the gods' names is that?" Benjamin looked confused.
"It's a continent. Haven't you heard of it?"
"Continent? On this planet? There has never been. Maybe you should come back to the castle with us." Benjamin's expression had changed. He looked worried now.
"All right." I found myself wanting to get to the bottom of this.
Benjamin turned away from me and easily mounted his horse. He extended his hand to me. I looked at it, not understanding.
"The castle's not far from here, but it would be difficult to travel there on foot. You should ride with me." Benjamin said.
I grabbed hold of his hand and Benjamin effortlessly lifted me onto the horse. I wrapped my arms around his waist to stay balanced. We rode back and joined the rest of the trappers. The first man who had roped the unicorn spoke to Benjamin.
"Where did she come from?" he said.
Benjamin leaned over and whispered something into the man's ear. From what I heard, I knew he was not speaking English. The man nodded in response. He had the same worried expression that Benjamin had.
"Return to the castle," Benjamin said to his comrades, "and hurry it up. We do not want to get stuck in this forest after dark."
I looked to the sky and to my surprise I saw that there were two suns illuminating the sky. One was slightly smaller than the other was. From the looks of them, their combined volumes would be a little larger than Earth's own sun. I realized that I was far from my home planet.
The horse beneath started moving. I looked around, jolted from my thoughts. I was in the forest now. Benjamin's horse ran swiftly through the dense foliage and almost glided over fallen trees. It was much darker here in the forest than in the clearing. The forest's canopy permitted only a few beams of sunlight to pass through. The greenery was darkened by the shadows. Suddenly, the horse burst out into the brightness of day. Just ahead was a magnificent white castle. As the horse trotted forward, I got a better view of the castle.
The castle was truly fit for a king. It towered up above the trees of the forest. Made of pure white stones, the castle gleamed in the suns' light. The drawbridge was being lowered across a wide moat. Benjamin turned his horse around and waited for the other men. A few moments later, they came out of the forest. The two men that had control of the unicorn came over to Benjamin. One of them gave Benjamin their rope. Benjamin turned to me.
"You need to dismount now. If I lose control of this animal it could prove to be dangerous."
Benjamin helped me off his horse.
"Follow me and I will introduce you to the King," Benjamin started across the drawbridge.
King? I was going to meet a king? All I could think was, "Wow!". I kept as close as to Benjamin as I could. Once we were inside the castle, Benjamin headed toward the stable. The unicorn had given up fighting so it was easy to guide. At the stables, Benjamin jumped down from his horse. He led the horse and unicorn inside. I watched as he put his horse in one stall and the unicorn in another. The unicorn's prison was built taller than most of the others. I assumed it was to reduce the chance of the creature escaping. Benjamin walked back over to me.
"Now you will meet the king."
Benjamin led me to the throne room. The king wasn't there. Benjamin told a servant to tell the king that a visitor was here. The servant left the room.
"How old are you, Katie?" Benjamin said.
"Fifteen."
"Where do you come from?"
"The planet Earth. Have you heard of it?"
"No!"
I looked at him in surprise. I hadn't expected that reaction.
"I mean no I haven't."
Somehow I didn't believe that.
A few minutes later the king entered the room. He was clothed in a dark blue tunic and leather pants. A black cloak draped over his shoulders. King Jared was not an old man, perhaps in his mid-thirties. His prematurely graying black hair told a story of stress and losses. King Jared looked like a sad man. I wondered why. When he sat on his throne, he looked to Benjamin.
"What is this all about?" he asked.
"My fellows and I succeeded in capturing the animal, my lord," Benjamin said, his voice full of pride, "It waits in the stable for your trainers."
"Well done. You and your comrades will receive your payment."
"Thank you, my lord."
"Who is that girl beside you?"
Benjamin answered in the strange language he had spoken before. King Jared nodded.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Katie."
Suddenly, the king yelled for his guards.
"Guards! Guards! Take her away. She is a spy! Lock her up. She will be executed in the morning."
Spy? Executed? "What's going on?" I thought as two of the guards grabbed my arms and began dragging me away.
"Benjamin! Help!" I screamed at him. He just looked at me.
One of the other guards drew his sword. He hit me over the head with the hilt of his sword. I heard a crack as it connected with my skull. I slipped into unconsciousness.
When I came to I was lying on hay in a dungeon. I sat up and looked around. The dungeon was very small and damp. Brown mold covered parts of the room. In one corner, there was a soiled bucket. There was a single window. It was large enough to allow a few beams of sun light into the dreary place but it was too narrow to permit escape. The walls were made of the hardest black stone. There was no hope of chiseling through it, so I ruled out that idea. The door was made of heavy iron and it had a slot at the top, perhaps for food to be passed through. The dungeon stank of filth, from previous residents I guessed.
My head was throbbing painfully. I tried desperately to remember what had happened. It made my head hurt worse. I laid back down. I had started to doze off when there was a pounding on the door.
"Here is your last meal," the voice said, "Enjoy it."
The slot on the door opened and a piece of bread fell onto the floor followed by a stream of water. The slot slammed shut.
Last meal? Then I remembered. I was to be executed. Tomorrow. I began to cry. I had never really enjoyed life but that didn't mean I wanted to die. I stopped crying, realizing that it wasn't going to help. I had to escape.
About an hour later, I had my plan. Whether it worked or not depended on the number of guards and their intelligence.
I stayed awake the entire night, fearing that I would sleep in and miss my chance at escape. As soon as I saw sunlight, I grabbed the bucket and hid behind the door. I waited for what seemed like forever. Finally I heard the footsteps of a guard approaching. I had a chance. I heard him put a key in the lock of the door. I stopped breathing and stood with the bucket poised above my head. The door swung outwards. The guard stepped inside. Then I hit him in the face with the bucket. I heard a loud crack. The guard fell to the ground, unconscious. I almost cheered. I undressed him and put his clothes over my own T-shirt and jeans. The leather pants and tunic fit very loosely and the chainmail weighed me down. I put on the metal helmet and tucked my hair beneath it. I strapped the sword belt around my waist and placed the short sword in it. I walked out of the dungeon and shut the door. I went down a corridor, lit by torches, and exited through a door. I was free! But I knew I had to get out of the castle. I emptied my pockets. I found twelve gold coins and three silver ones. I walked over to a merchant who was selling clothes. I managed to buy a dark brown cloak, a light brown cotton shirt, a pair of leather pants, and a pair of leather boots. I had two gold pieces left.
I walked around the inside of the castle until I found a suitable place for me to change clothes. I put the clothes I had bought on and left my old clothes and the guard's on the ground. I took my wallet out of my old pants and hid it from sight. I heard a strange grinding sound. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the drawbridge was being lowered. A wagon was getting ready to transport some hay out of the castle. I didn't know where it was going but at that point I didn't care. I waited for the wagon to pass me. When it did, I climbed in and buried myself in the hay. I prayed no one noticed me.
The ride was uncomfortable, but it was better than the fate that awaited me inside the castle. When the wagon came to a halt, I peered out of the hay. I saw a stable. I looked around for the driver of the wagon. He was nowhere in sight. I hopped off the wagon. I walked out onto a cobblestone road of a small town.
The first thing that I noticed about the town was that it was a poor one. The dead wood of the buildings was obviously old. Some roofs were made of dry grass and other structures had none. The people that I passed on the road were clad in torn tunics, dresses or pants. The majority of them looked as though they were starving to death. I was probably right. I wondered why King Jared didn't give these people food.
I walked around the town until the sun had begun to set. I found an inn. "The Silver Dragon Inn." At least it had a roof. I went inside.
I looked at the front desk. There was no one there. There was a sign on the corner of the desk. It read, "Go away, no rooms." I decided this was not a very hospitable place. I wondered if I could sleep in an alley for the night. I left the inn and went down the alley beside it. In the about the middle of the alley, I stopped walking. I sat down against the wall. The ground was hard and very cold, but it would have to do. The twin suns were setting and I was getting tried from not sleeping the previous night. I let sleep take me.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. "Wake up."
I opened my eyes. It was night. Four white moons lit up the sky. I couldn't see that well but I could make out the outlines of two people. I jumped to my feet, fearing that they were soldiers.
"Don't be scared," one of them said mockingly. I could tell that it was a female.
I relaxed, realizing that they were just commoners.
"I'm not scared," I said defiantly. "Why did you wake me up?"
"You're in our alley," she said flatly.
"Who's 'our'?" I was curious to find out.
"My brother and I," she replied. "Who are you?"
"Katie."
"Katie? What kind of name is that?" She laughed.
I was getting angry. "Well, what's your name?"
"My name is Saer and this is Lance," she gestured toward her brother.
"Hello," he said in a quiet voice.
"Hi," I said to him. I turned to Saer, "I'm sorry that I was in your alley, but I don't have anywhere else to go."
Saer didn't seem like the sympathetic kind. "Where do you live?" she asked.
"I don't live here," was my answer. I remembered the trouble that telling where I came from could bring.
"So where then?"
I didn't tell her.
"I'll make you a deal," Saer said. In the moonlight I could see a mischievous grin on her face. "If you tell us about yourself, we'll let you stay with us tonight."
What harm could telling them a little bit about myself do?
"OK. Why not." I yawned. "Can we talk tomorrow? I'm really tired. I didn't sleep last night."
Saer nodded. "I'll take the first watch. Lance, you take the second. Katie, I guess you can just sleep." The way that she said it made sleep sound like a bad thing.
Saer sat down and took out what looked like a knife.
"Just in case," she explained.
I decided that I just didn't want to know why. I sat down and leaned back against the wall. I slipped into a dreamless sleep.
"Katie, get up." Hands shook me.
I sat up.
"You awake?" Saer said.
"Yeah," I muttered. I had never been a morning person.
For the first time, I saw what Saer and Lance looked like.
Saer was beautiful, but she didn't look completely human. I couldn't place what it was, but it was there nonetheless. She was dressed in the same fashion that I was. She had dark, wispy, almost black hair, and it was tied back with a piece of string. Her eyes were a dark blue. I had never seen that shade before. It made me think of sadness. Saer had lightly angled features. Then I saw her ears. They were almost like human ears. Almost. At their tips, they formed graceful points. I thought of…of…elves.
"Are you an elf?" I just blurted it out.
"You really aren't from around here, are you?" Saer wore a smirk on her face.
I ignored her, taking her reply as to mean that yes, she was indeed an elf. I looked over at Lance.
Lance looked like a human boy of seven or eight. He had a boyish face, lacking the sharpness found on his sister features. His hair was the color of midnight and it was mostly tucked under his cotton cap. Lance's eyes were the color of the morning sky. His ears, also tapered into points, gave away his heritage.
"All right, Katie. A deal's a deal. You have to tell us about yourself," Saer interrupted my thoughts.
I sighed. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen. How old are you two?"
"By human standards, I would be fifteen and Lance would be eight. Where is your home?"
I really didn't want to tell her.
"C'mon, you can tell us."
"I'm from a different planet." I sounded insane.
Saer looked at me incredulously. "You're joking, right?"
I shook my head.
"She's one of the people," a small voice said. It startled Saer and I. We looked over at Lance.
"Saer," Lance continued, " you remember the stories, don't you? The ones about the people from other places that came here."
I looked to Saer, "What's he talking about?"
"There used to be stories going around about people from different worlds that came here. The townspeople were afraid of the people because they were different. So the kings all got together and rounded up a few dozen…"
"Hundred," Lanced interrupted.
"Fine, hundred soldiers. They went out and killed all the people from the other planets."
I grimaced. So that's why King Jared wanted to get rid of me.
"Saer," She looked at me. "I don't think those are just stories."
"So you're from a different planet?"
"Earth."
A look of faint recognition crossed Saer's face.
"You've heard of it?" I was astonished.
"It's from the stories," she explained.
It was hard for me to believe that people from my world had come here to be slaughtered and it was even harder to believe that I barely escaped the same fate.
"So, how'd you end up in this town anyway?" Saer had apparently gone back to asking questions.
"I hid in a wagon that traveled from the castle to here."
"What were you doing in castle?"
"Preparing to be executed."
Saer looked like she didn't know whether to believe me or not. I told her and Lance my story.
Saer's response to my entire tale was, "Oh, really?"
I sighed.
Lance's reaction was a bit more awed. His mouth was hanging open. I could've been telling him an adventure story.
"Close your mouth!" Saer hissed at him.
Lance snapped his mouth shut. He stared at the ground guiltily.
"Sorry," he muttered the apology.
"Is your story true?" Saer said, still not believing me.
"Look," I said, getting angry with her for continuously giving me the third degree, "I really am from Earth and the king did order my execution." I took out my wallet and showed my money to her. "This is Earth money. Have you seen anything like it?" I was almost begging her to believe me.
"No, I haven't." She seemed on the verge of believing me.
"Why don't you believe her, Saer?" Lance said, breaking into the conversation. "You never trust what people say anymore."
"Would you just be quiet!" Saer shouted at him angrily. Then she said in a quieter voice. "I do believe her."
I sighed with relief.
Lance looked at Saer. "Maybe we could help her."
"With what?"
I answered for him. "I can't stay here. I need to get to another town before the soldiers find me."
"Saer," Lance looked at her pleading. "We could go with her. You always say that we have to get out of this town."
"You know we can't go," Saer tried to reason with him.
"Why not?"
"Because… because…" She seemed to be struggling for an answer. "Fine we'll go." She turned to me. "That is, if you want us to."
"Yeah, I do." I really wanted company.
"Lance," Saer said. "Wait here with Katie. I'm going to get Jonathan."
Lance nodded. Saer took off down the alley.
"Who's Jonathan?" I asked Lance.
"He's Saer's friend. He lives in a house down the street. His father is a merchant and he's real mean. He drinks a lot of ale. "
I thought of my father. Whenever I got home from a party or even a friend's house, I would have to face his drunken wrath. Where have you been, little girl? In the backseat of some boy's car? Stupid bitch. Then I would run up to my room and lock my door, fearing that he would come after me. I hated him. I banished my thoughts of him.
"So, where are your parents," I tuned back into the real world.
"Dead," Lance said. He didn't seem to really care.
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't be sorry. They died when I was a baby. I don't remember them. Saer does though and it makes her sad. She had to take care of me."
I felt sorry for them. Just then I saw Saer and what I guessed to be Jonathan running down the alley.
"Katie," Saer said when they reached us. "This is Jonathan."
Jonathan was about six feet tall. He was pretty well built. His light brown hair was tousled as a consequence of running. He had dark green eyes, the color of the forest. He lacked the pointed ears that Saer and Lance had, so I figured that he was human. He was also very handsome. His leather pants and shirt were torn in quiet a few places. I guessed that his father was a poor merchant.
"Hi," I said to him.
He smiled at me. "Hello."
"I already told him about you," Saer said. "He wants to come with us."
I was thrilled.
Saer continued on, "We'll need a couple of things before we go anywhere. A map, so we can figure out where we're going. Food, so that we won't starve on the way. And weapons. There are creatures out there and we need to be safe. Katie, can you handle a sword or bow? Anything will do."
"I've never tried."
"Well, I guess you can learn to use a crossbow, but you'll have carry a dagger just in case." She grinned at me.
Dagger? That sounded pretty cool.
"We do have one problem," Saer didn't sound too happy. "We need money."
"I have two gold coins," I said, trying to help.
"I have four," Jonathan said.
"I've got one," Lance said.
Saer looked at him suspiciously, "How'd you get one?"
Lance looked away from her. "I took it from you a week ago."
Saer seemed in no mood to scold. "I have two."
"Is that bad?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "That's only enough for the map and a few days worth of food. I guess we'll have to steal the rest."
"Saer," Jonathan said. "I know you're a good thief, but you can't possibly hope to take all that."
"I'm not," She said simply.
We all looked at her.
"You three are."
"We can't do that," Lance said. Even he doubted her.
Saer ignored him. "Here's the plan. Jon and I will steal enough money to buy a crossbow and arrows. Then we'll buy the food and map. Next, I'll go into the shop and buy one, distracting the owner. While I'm paying you three will take the rest of the stuff and hide it in your clothes. Katie, you take a long sword and hide it in your cloak. Jon, you steal an elven sword. Lance, get two throwing knives and a dagger. Make sure all of you grab scabbards and such. And remember, if we get caught, run as fast as you can to the East Forest." She looked at me. " It's that way." She pointed down the alley. "Try to stay together."
All of us agreed with her plan. Well, I pretended to agree. I didn't like the idea of waltzing into a shop and stealing things. But if it's the only way to get away from here…
Saer tugged on Jonathan's shirt. "Come on," she said impatiently.
I realized that he was staring at me. I felt my face flush hotly.
"Jonathan…Jonathan!" Saer looked frustrated.
"What?" He seemed to have snapped out of it.
"Stop gawking and let's go!" She had a smirk on her face.
Together, they started of down the alley toward the road. Saer seemed to be teasing Jonathan.
Lance suddenly took off down the alley after them.
"I hope they get back soon," I said to myself. I sat down and waited.
As it was beginning to get dark, I wondered if they'd ever come back. Just then, I saw the three of them strolling towards me.
"What took you guys so long?" I said with relief in my voice.
Saer looked at me wearily. "You try stealing one hundred gold pieces in a day. The folks around here don't have much money anyway. But we do have time to go shopping and if we get caught darkness will provide an excellent cover. Let's go get the food and map."
We exited the alley and followed Saer up the road. It was clear to me that Saer was the kind of person who liked to take charge. Once we reached the shop, Saer told us to stay outside. She came back out of the store with four satchels of food and a folded map in her hands. Saer handed us each a satchel, but kept the map for herself. I slung the satchel over my left shoulder and rested it on my right hip. Saer then lead us to the weapon shop.
"Remember the plan," was all the she said.
The four of us walked into the shop and spread out. Saer walked over to the long bows and crossbows. Jonathan went over to the expensive swords. Lance scurried over to the daggers and knifes. I shuffled over to the long swords. We all waited for Saer to go and pay for the crossbow. When she went up to the owner, I saw my chance. I picked the long sword up. It was very heavy. I almost dropped it. I concealed it with my cloak. I glanced over at Jonathan and Lance. They both gave me a nod. The four of us headed for the door. I actually thought we had gotten away with it, when suddenly disaster struck.
There was a loud clanking sound and the owner was screaming:
"Thieves! Thieves!"
As Lance bent down to pick up the knife that had given us away, the rest of us bolted for the door.
"Run!" Saer screamed.
Out the door we ran, a furious storekeeper behind us. I was slower than my new companions and as we sprinted the distance between us increased. I picked that moment to trip and fall, slicing open my side with the razor sharp edge of the unsheathed long sword. I felt blood soak though my cotton shirt. I put my hand to the spreading blood.
"Oh…" I said feeling dizzy. "Oh, shit…"
I passed out.
"What a wimp!" A blurry voice said with disgust. "One small cut and she's out like a candle."
"Small cut!" Another voice was saying. "Saer, she could have bled to death!"
