Into Taleria

Chapter Three

Bright sunlight burned Kate's eyelids and she turned her head away with a faint groan. Dag nabbit. If the sun was coming in her window, that meant she was late for work, and she couldn't be late again because—she froze as the memories came rushing back.

Oh no. She was more than late for work, she was screwed.

She cautiously peeled her eyes open—maybe it was just a dream? —and the first thing she saw was a rich, dark mahogany wardrobe elegantly carved in sweeping lines with delicate designs etched into the doors. Beautiful, but unless someone had snuck in and redecorated while she slept, something that was definitely not in her bedroom.

Aw, dag.

Really, she should have known. The bed she was lying in was way too comfortable, and the blankets, light and fluffy and softer than a kitten's behind, were way too luxurious to be her own.

Sighing, she turned over to check out the rest of the room and her eyes immediately caught on the elf sitting at a dainty little bistro-style table, paying her no mind as he stared out a window, sipping from a teacup. He was dressed differently than when she'd last seen him, a light blue tunic and darker leggings replacing the armor, but there was no mistaking that face; it was that hot jerk from the tree.

"Definitely not a dream, then," she muttered as she sat up.

"Ae, maedh bollo, in ordha te carase maedh," the elf said, placing his teacup on the table before facing her with a peaceable smile.

Trying to make nice, huh? Well, it was better than that suspicious glare he'd hit her with before he took the book. Still, she wasn't sure she was buying it.

"Uh, hi," she said warily. "Where... am I?" Which was fruitless, of course, as he couldn't understand her, but he answered anyway.

"Teil bin anem thaul onem Arain onem Tiranen Naudh," he stated, then dipped his head a bit before adding in a softer, almost apologetic tone, "Teil baenn dwen."

Kate wasn't quite sure what to do with that.

"Okay, well, that's...that, I guess."

Dag. How was she supposed to communicate with these people? In all her fantasies of running off to Taleria, this had never been an issue. In the books and movies, whatever the characters native language, they had always spoken a common language as well, one she'd thought was English. Apparently not.

So, now what? She had a lot of questions, but how could she possibly ask them? She would have to figure something out, and soon. She didn't know how long she had slept, but she had a pressing need to take care of.

"Hey, buddy? Uh, hi. I need–" she put her hand to her chest and raised her voice, speaking slowly– "I need a washroom."

He cocked his head, studying her with a quizzical expression.

Okay, yeah, 'Ugly American' your way through this, loud and slow, that'll do the trick, she thought, rolling her eyes. Idiot. Try something else.

"In dau uvernia te," he said, and it sounded familiar.

Something from the movie? No, wait, Lindolir had said that, not long before this smartass jumped out of the tree. Was he still telling her where she was? Nice, but not exactly helpful. Back to the problem at hand. How to ask– ooh, lightbulb!

"Okay," she told the elf, "pay attention."

Kate held out her hands and exaggeratedly mimed washing them, then her face, and using a corner of her blanket as a towel, drying off. Then she shrugged and spread her arms wide while looking around to indicate 'where?'.