Chapter 2 - Help (a small glimpse of the chapter)

Carter has just climbed down into a well to retrieve a mysterious object that her best friend, Tyler, threw down. But when Carter climbs back up, she finds that she is no longer in the place she was.

This is a dream.
                This has to be a dream.
                I thought frantically as we continued on our trek. As we moved further, the smell of smoke and meat filled the air. I could hear the low rumble of laughter and sound of metal clanging against metal. I looked passed the horse's flank to find a camp creeping into view. Purple tents were set up between the trees and campfires blazed at their doorstep. There were soldiers, knights " like the ones who captured me " laughing and eating around the fires or practicing their skill with a blade.
                Their attention seemed to fall on me as we entered the camp. The men gradually stopped what they were doing, either looking me over with a look of distaste or delight. Some even looked confused, as if it was their first time seeing a girl walk through their battle grounds. I refused to meet their stares and instead found myself looking at the ground, watching as my feet moved along the dirt path.
                The horse I was attached to slowed to a stop. I pulled up behind it, looking up as the boy slid off his saddle. I was very aware of the silence that had fallen over the camp and the fact that just about every soldier was standing around us, watching as the boy in front of me began to untie the rope I was attached to. I waited for him to untie the bonds around my wrists, but instead he grabbed my arm gruffly, pulling me along with him towards a large tent with a purple flag waving at the top of it. Two mermaids were on the flag; their tails were intertwined around a trident that stood in the middle of them.
                “Wait here,” the boy said, drawing my gaze away from the flag. Two guards came to my side as the boy released me. Both of them held onto my arms with a grip that was only a little less strong than his. The boy continued to stare me down, suspicion gleaming with in his eyes as he turned his back to me, entering the tent.
                That was when I noticed how badly I was shaking. My fingers trembled as I stood between the two guards and sweat was beginning to poor down the side of my face. I was scared in a way I hadn't been afraid before. My stomach felt woozy as my anxiety grew, but I knew it wasn't just because I was afraid of what these men might do to me. I could feel my head pounding from all the times it had bounced off the ground. My body began to feel weary as I swayed on my feet, watching as the boy emerged from the tent.
                He approached me, waving off the guards at my side. They let go, but my arms still felt like someone was gripping them with full force. I stared back at the sea-green eyed boy, shivering as he crossed his arms, flexing his biceps. What was worse was his scowl. It was so intimidating, so angry. The look aged him. I was so sure that he was my age, maybe a year or two older, but with his jaw set and his brow drawn in a firm line, he looked much older.
                 “King Jordan Wallace of Lorien demands that you give us your name and what your purpose in this forest is.” He said, his deep voice ringing with authority. I remained silent, feeling my mouth go dry as he moved closer to me, looking less friendly with each step. “If you deny the Kings wishes and not tell us who you are, then I will have to give you to one of the men.”
                “To do what?” I barely whispered.
                “Well, to do as they please,” his frown cracked and a smirk replaced it. The men behind me chuckled and hooted, allowing me to understand what they would do to me if they had me. Instead of becoming more afraid, I grew angry. I felt my blood rushing through my veins, urging me to do what my Olsen instincts told me to do, fight. 
                I whacked him across the face with my bound hands, sending him toppling backwards. The laughter behind me stopped almost instantly, as did their breathing. I continued to stare at the boy as he touched his upper lip, removing his hand to find blood smeared across his finger tips. He glared at me, his scowl turning into a deadly gaze.
                “You "” He growled, raising his fist high in the air to strike me. I braced myself for the blow, but someone had suddenly reached out from behind him, clasping his shoulder.
                “Julian,” the voice boomed. The boy before me turned immediately, his angry expression softening as he stepped to the side allowing the taller man behind him to come forth. “We are not barbarians. This is not how we treat women of these lands.”
                The boy " Julian " bowed his head to the man, “Yes, father.”
                Father? I looked from Julian to the man who still held a firm grip on his shoulder, noticing the resemblance right away. They had the same chestnut coloured hair, but the older man's was longer, reaching up to his shoulders. He wasn't dressed in armour like the others, but instead wore a tunic with the same symbol I had seen on that flag sewn onto the front. In addition to the tunic, he wore something upon his head, a type of head piece that anyone would recognize; a crown.
                I suddenly felt uncomfortable in his presence. Should I be standing? Bowing? Kissing his feet? Some royal rings? 
                The King looked me over with an expression much sweeter than the look his son gave me. “Do not fret, my dear. I apologize for my sons behaviour. He should not have treated you so wrongly.” The King glanced over his shoulder with a scolding look which made Julian blush. “But as a precaution, I must ask you to state your name and where your allegiance lies.”
                I stood very still, finding myself unable to move, let alone talk. Have I fallen through time? I shook my head at my own thought. That was impossible and impossible things only happened in stories or dreams. Man, how hard did I hit my head?
                “We may not have any luck in prying any information out of this one father.” Julian spoke up. “She has only spoken once and injured two men from your army since we found her.” He gave me a glare, still trying to wipe away the blood on his lip.
                “What land do you dwell in? Or is the forest your home?” the King asked, ignoring his son.
                “Please,” Julian groaned. “She is not a dryad. If she was I would have killed her by now.”
                Some of the men began to chuckle and even Julian let a small grin cross his face whereas my stomach turned at their words. Dryads? I thought. As in Marlee's dryads?
                “He is right, your skin is much to light to be of dryad blood.” The King said. “But then again, you are something we have not seen before.”
                “I reckon she is from the east,” one of the knights standing close behind me said. “From Lilamule.”
                Some of the knights grunted and nodded in agreement.
                “Is that true?” The King questioned kindly. “It would not surprise me if a woman as fair as you were from the land of beauty. In fact, I am quite close with Queen Arianna. She is a dear friend and "“
                “Father, you are much too reckless with your kindness.” Julian snapped. “She is not from Lilamule, nor is she from any other kingdom in Elssador.”
                “And how did you come to that conclusion?” The King said, raising a brow.
                “Because,” Julian continued in a tone less sharp than before, “I, your knights, we are aprimorads...”
                Dryads? Aprimorads? I knew these creatures too well, knew them better than I wanted to. Marlee went on about aprimorads more than any of the other creatures she made up. She said that they were human, but their senses were enhanced. They were almost perfect, blessing them with the eyesight of a hawk and the hearing of an owl. But if Julian and all the other men surrounding me called themselves  aprimorads, that meant... oh no.
                “We can smell the scent of her blood and it is not like any other creature we have smelt before,” Julian continued. “She is different, therefore she is dangerous.”               
                I suddenly felt my knees turn to jelly and I began to stumble. One of the knights reached out to me, holding me up so I wouldn't fall.
                “Where "“ I started to say, “Where am I?”
                “Well you are in the realm of Lorien of course,” the King replied, his eyebrows knitted together in concern.
                “No,” I shook my head slowly. The King and his son were becoming blurs as my vision started to cloud over, “Where?”
                “You are in Elssador,” the King responded. He said something afterwards but I couldn’t hear it.
                I had faded into darkness.

Author's Note

I realize that there are some grammar problems, but I will accept any feedback on that nonetheless. :)

Reviews

[Bee C.]

There are a couple of spelling mistakes I noticed - "poor" should be "pour", and "passed" is "past" in the context of peering around something - but other than that I can't seem to spot anything technical that needs correcting. Although admittedly technicalities are not my forte... But anyway!

I must say, I'm very intrigued by all of this. I've no doubt there is a lot of interesting lore in this world and I am curious as to our narrator's story. Carter is her name, yes? You've certainly caught my attention, and I hope to read more. This is very well written. Thanks for the entertaining read. :)