Worlds Apart

Chapter 15

Garret made me sit on the back of his horse with him, even though I refused to doing so.
"Look, we both know you'll want to run away, and I'm not letting that happen."
"Why would I run away?"
"Uh, I don't know. You're probably some kind of creature like Aylmer said."
I rolled my eyes. "That's ridiculous."
At least, I think it is...
"Want some water?" Garret offered, handing me some water.
I hesitated, and then sighing, I took a swig from the bottle of water. "Thanks," I muttered, handing him back the water.
He gave me a nod, and resumed to watching the path ahead.

After a few hours of travelling by their horses', it was nightfall, and Virvania lay up ahead.
"It's just past this grove of trees," Garret told me.
We were in the depths of a dark, icy forest.
"It's freezing!" I remarked, the frost nipping at my nose. I literally felt my teeth chattering as my hands shook. The bitter cold was just too much. I have to use magic to warm me up... but these hunters would be way too suspicious of me then, right?
I winced as a strong gust of wind hit my red cheeks
"It's in the snowy region of Desridore. Where are you from?"
"I don't know, I just can't remember..."
"Obviously not from Virvania, the kingdom of ice and darkness. You're probably from those warm, springy places. I've missed kingdoms like that..." he trailed off.
I half-smiled, and blew on my hands, snowflakes whirling in the wind around me.
Closing my eyes, I pretended I was somewhere else, like Athosia. Mmm, the warm sun on my face, beautiful clear skies and spectacular views. Nothing like Virvania and this spooky forest.
"I present to you; Virvania."
The horses trotted along into the clearing, out of the woods.
I gaped at the massive castle looming in the darkness. "Whoa," I murmured under my breath, my eyes widening.
"Good luck at your meeting with the Queen... she's very intense with situations like this."
"Situations like what?!" I asked in frustration.
Garret shrugged, staring straight ahead.
Aylmer and Courtney stopped, jumping off their horses, and Garret did the same.
He offered me his hand to let me down, but I ignored it and clambered off the horse.
"Why are we stopping?" Garret questioned the other two.
"We need a game plan," Aylmer said.
"What do you mean? What kind of game plan?" Garret frowned, his brow furrowing.
"Well, do we tell the queen we just found her? What if the girl-"
"Ava. I have a name, you know."
Aylmer shot me a look. "What if Ava is a sorceress, like I said? The queen would kill us for conspiring with the enemy."
I rolled my eyes. "You're being ridiculous. I'm no monster - that's crazy," I scoffed.
"Is it?" Courtney raised a skeptical eyebrow at me.
"I believe Ava."
My head snapped up and I stared at Garret in surprise.
"Just tell the queen the truth - we were hunting when we found Ava."
"But-" Aylmer started to say.
"Let's knock her out first," Courtney interjected, shooting me a mischievous grin.
"What?" I burst out.
"If we bring Ava unconscious to the queen, she'll have to know we aren't on this girl's side."
Garret hesitated, glancing at me. "Sorry, Ava."
I felt someone's fist make contact with my face, and slowly, I felt my consciousness slipping from me, darkness engulfing me...

I woke up to find myself laying on the floor, my neck and back in excruciating pain.
I groaned, and rolled over onto my stomach.
Ugh, I ache all over. Where am I, anyway? Why is my memory so fuzzy?
I vaguely recall someone punching me, and that's all I could remember from last night. Did I only just wake up from before?
The doors to the room flew open and a tall woman with pale, long blond hair flowing down her back, walked in.
Entering behind her were several guards.
"Ava?" The woman, who I assume was the queen, strode over to me.
I nodded. "That's my name."
"Those hunters who found you were concerned with your condition, so they brought you here. I apologize if they were... rough. You know hunters, always rough and tough." she laughed.
I bit my lip, sitting up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! You don't know me, do you? I don't believe we've ever met. My name is Katherine. Queen Katherine of Virvania."
"Oh, you're the queen?" I scrambled to my feet, and curtseyed. "I apologize, your majesty."
"Well, Ava, now that we've been introduced, how would you like coming to join me for breakfast?"
"That sounds wonderful," I gushed, following the queen out of my room.
When the queen and I were seated at the dining room table, I fiddled with my fork.
"So, Ava, where are you from?"
"I can't really remember anything, to be honest. I think I was put under a temporary sleeping curse, because when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything except my name and stuff. The only other thing I remember was this person singing me some kind of lullaby, and I fell asleep."
"Oh my, you poor dear! Magic is really cruel and terrible, is it not? Magic destroyed everything I ever loved..." She stared out the window, her eyes watering.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I whispered.
She nodded. "So am I, dear. So am I."
After a meal of fresh fruits and bread, the queen announced she had some work to do.
"Do you mind if I explore the castle a little?"
Katherine hesitated. "I guess you can, but don't break anything."
"Thanks. Is it alright if I stay in Virvania for a while? Just until I regain some more pieces of my memory."
"Sure, dear."
I stood up, scraping my chair back.
Time to explore.
I went into nearly every room in the castle, and searched for the missing pages.
Hmm... if I was a jealous and insane queen, where would I hide my prized possession? In a safe place, obviously, but where?
A secret hiding place, most likely... like the one that the king has. Now, where could an entrance be...
Katherine's room!
I ventured throughout the castle until I found her room. I knew it was the right one because of the two guards she had parked beside her door.
How do I slip past those soldiers, though?
Maybe I can use magic to distract them, or I could turn invisible? Or cast a sleeping curse on them..!
That's it! Now I just need to figure out how it would work.
I stayed hidden behind the corner, and peered around.
I closed my eyes, and felt power surging through my body.
Come up with a chant, I urged myself. Some kind of a lullaby thing...
I cleared my throat, and sang in a whisper;
Goodnight to you guards
Close your eyes and travel far,
Sleep soundly tonight,
Fall asleep when I say goodnight,
And don't rise until I say,
Awake, guards, awake.
Terrible, but seemed to do the job.
The guards slid to the floor, their eyes closed, breathing steadily.
I hesitated for a moment, then crept towards the unguarded door.
Slipping inside, I pulled the door closed behind me.
When I saw what was located in the room, my jaw dropped about an inch.
It wasn't the queen's sleep chambers. It was something else entirely.
Gems, gold, treasures. From money to emeralds, there was a truckload of expensive treasures in this room.
"WOW."
My hand flew to my mouth, willing myself not to scream in surprise.
"Don't be greedy, just get what we came here for," I murmured to myself. sifting through the piles of stuff.
I let out an impatient groan. "Wouldn't it be in some kind of treasure chest or something? She wouldn't leave papers out in the open."
Something on a wall caught my eye, and I went over to investigate.
One of the bricks on that wall seemed fishy, and so I reached out to touch it.
I pushed it in, and suddenly, the wall opposing it swung open, and I was left gaping at the fake wall.
"Cool," I remarked, going inside the secret room.
Dark and musty, I sped up my pace.
It's so creepy in here!
Finally, I reached a room.
In the middle, locked in a case, were the pages from the book.
My eyes lit up as I saw the papers, and ran over to it.
"Great, now how do I get it out?"
I fiddled with the lock on the case, and frowned. I guess I have to smash the glass?
I searched desperately around the room, and I remembered my dagger.
I took it off my belt (where I kept my dagger) and struck the case, the blade of my weapon smashing the glass.
The case shattered, and I grabbed the pages.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded off, a loud, repeating sound.
Oh great.
I folded the pages and stuck them in my pocket, and made a break for it.
I ran out of the room and straight into a man.
"Garret?"
"Sorry, Ava, but I have to do this." Garret swung his fist at me, but I dodged it, backing up.
I fingered my emerald pendant, and whispered, "I want to go home."
I closed my eyes, feeling a surge of lost.
"I'll be back for you, Jason," I said, speaking softly.
And with that, everything went black.
Dark.
And I was alone.
Up ahead, I saw the light source, shining bright.
I stumbled over to the lights, and reached out to touch it...
A streak of light clouded my vision, and I woke up, breathing heavily in my bedroom.