Puppet Play

Chapter 1: Girl of another dimension

It was on the cold ground in the dead of night when she slowly opened her eyes.

Lying in dirt, the girl looked around without the slightest idea where she was or how she had gotten here. With teary eyes, pressing one hand to her temple, she staggered to her feet. She couldn't manage a single step before she fell back to her knees. Her hands landed in the mud of the forest floor. She shook her head, as if that could somehow make her escape her confused, incomprehensible thoughts. She tried, without success, to comprehend the situation. Everything seemed huge to her. The starlit surroundings made her feel in the wrong place.

A dark laugh echoed through the silence. 

Startled, she looked ahead, but nothing but darkness gazed back. She held her breath as the threatening sound reached her ears again. This time, it was louder and with less of an echo. It was getting closer. Her fingers began to tremble. Confused and frightened, she forced herself to stand again, but her legs were almost numb, feeling weaker after each step. She stumbled forward a few steps before her hands found the forest floor again.

"Hmm? Are you trying to run away from something?", a deep voice whispered threateningly, then started to laugh softly as it came closer and closer. The girl propped herself up a few inches from the cold ground, but she did not manage to stand up again. Her body was trembling too much and felt drained. She felt someone - or something - walk along her body and then position itself in front of her. Trembling, she lifted her head and saw something that made her feel even more afraid. A hand came right up to her, grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look up. A starlit grin returned the fear-filled gaze. Her vision became blurry and the girl slowly stopped shaking until, finally, fear made her lose consciousness.

ooo

She did not want to open her eyes.
The warmth of the sun stroked her closed eyelids. The unfamiliar brightness made her squeeze them a little more. She opened her mouth and inhaled some of the fresh morning air. It tasted slightly salty. The taste made her uncomfortable.

"Are you trying to play dead? I know that you're awake now. Don't waste any more of my precious time."

The deep voice jolted her head awake and made her heart race. Holding her breath, she sat up slowly and awkwardly until she opened her eyes. Staring ahead with great horror, she swallowed hard.

There sat a man, but she couldn't be sure that he was one, because his height seemed unnatural to her. Although he was sitting on a tree trunk, she could see that even in this position he would be taller than her if she was standing. He had one leg casually crossed over the other.

Although his size was already bizarre, his appearance also stood out more than enough due to a long pink feather coat and the bright colours of the rest of his clothes. Dark red sunglasses blocked her view of his eyes. The glasses flashed at her.

"Who ... Are you? Why did you bring me here?" the girl dared to ask in a broken voice. She immediately regretted speaking a word as his voice grew sharper with his impatience.
"Don't ask me such stupid questions. You were here before I arrived. I did not bring you here. But you don't know who I am?"
She shook her head slowly, confused.

"Ever heard of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" he asked, amused. He sounded as if he expected everything to be clear to her now. But all he got was continued silence from her and a helpless expression on her face. He gave a short whistle and tilted his head a little, grinning.
"Heh? Interesting. You should have heard of them if you're from the New World. You're not from here?"
The man removed his comfortably placed leg from the other and now sat straddle-legged in front of her. He rested his right elbow on his thigh, and rested his face on his palm. He looked towards the insecure girl with an inviting grin.