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A Chapter by Katie Kistler

Despite a room full of steel blades and arrows I'm bored. Usually I would gladly take the time to not only brush up on my skills through target practice or fencing, but to enjoy myself. But today the swords seem too heavy, my sweaty hands slipping from the iron hilt. Every arrow I've shot has been with wobbly, weak arms and I haven't even managed to hit the scarecrows lined around the large barn. I sigh and sit down on a stack of hay, picking at the dirt beneath my fingernails. This should never have happened. He was so precise, so calculated. He would have been able to foresee what would happen. Wouldn't he? I frown as a tear dribbles down my cheek and I angrily push it away with my grubby fingers. My father should be here, softly telling me to get up. That everything is fine and that look, the sun is still up and it's nearly eleven. He would drag me into the house so i could sleep but in reality we would stay up while he would speak of wondrous adventures: pirates and airships and princesses and giant ships that could submerge under water. And mother would come in with a glass of wine and perhaps a cigarette, smiling faintly and looking like the happiest woman in the world. There hasn't been a single second today she has not had either of those things in her hands. She even smoked out of the window in the bathroom while she took a bath. And she didn't make dinner. My mother hasn't smiled all day and she suddenly looks like the saddest woman in the world.
"Eh, excuse me." I jump as a soft voice calls in through the door, looking up to see a tall silhouette in the dim evening light. "Who is it?" I call out, wanting to be left alone. "I...I'm sorry but could you help me? It would seem I am lost and I have no way of knowing where I am." My eyes meet a girl with silky blonde hair dressed in a tight leather overcoat and heavy boots. I recognize her as being from the trading territories, most likely among the woodsmen as opposed to the beach bums. My lips quip up in half smile as I meet the cautious gaze of the girl, who seems about my age. "Oh, I see. Well I know where you are," I offer as I stand. She takes a step back and looks at me curiously. "Am I far from L 'amette?" I raise an eyebrow. "No idea. But I do know that you're in my barn. And in ten seconds you'll be somewhere that is not my barn," I say pointedly. She opens her mouth and then seems to decide better. "I am sorry, I will not disturb you. I did not mean to--" I interrupt her with a loud laugh and place a hand on her arm. "I'm just being an a*s, I'm sorry. I was joking." I say with a huge grin. The girl looks confused, folding her arms across her chest and huffing out a breath. "Merde. Will you please just tell me where I am?" Still smiling,I place an arm loosely around her shoulders and lean in. "My dear friend, did you not recognize this place?" I say seriously. The girl shakes her head, still very confused. I nod once and lower my voice. "You're in Walthog, the wonderland of wonderlands and the city-state that L 'amette is currently at war with. So if you have business there, I hope to God you're about to tell me you're a spy before I cut your tongue out with a dirty kitchen knife."

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