The Lady Will (Hopefully) Avoid Her Doom

2 - What do you mean I'm trapped inside the book I was just reading?!

"Elizabeth!" A young man's voice called from across a spacious lawn, the sound echoing through the air. Ellie slowly opened her eyes and blinked, trying to adjust her blurry vision to the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves of the ancient oak tree nearby. As her eyes adjusted, she began to take in her surroundings. She was surprised to find herself lying not on the familiar street of her college campus but on a soft patch of freshly cut grass, surrounded by meticulously maintained flower beds and the elegant silhouette of a sprawling estate in the distance.

"Elizabeth! Are you alright?" the young man asked after sprinting over, concern dripping from his voice.

"Uh, what?" Ellie's voice quivered, a strange echo of her own. She couldn't shake the feeling of being in a dream. Ellie pieced together that he was calling her Elizabeth, but she wasn't sure why. It was as if a thick fog had descended upon her mind, leaving her disoriented and unsure of what was happening.

"Elizabeth!" the young man shouted again. Who was this Elizabeth he kept calling her?

"I'm sorry. Who is Elizabeth?" Ellie's voice was laced with a hint of defiance. The young man's shocked reaction only deepened her confusion. "And who are you?" she added, her tone challenging.

The young man didn't exactly answer her questions. "Liz, are you okay? Did you hit your head too hard?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little confused about why some dude I've never met is so concerned about me," Ellie responded, her voice tinged with sarcasm. She studied the young man, finding it odd how he had an unnatural shade of silver hair, like moonlight captured in strands. She gazed into his worry-filled ocean-blue eyes, their depths reflecting her own confusion. He was tall, slender, and muscular, no doubt the result of years of rigorous exercise and great genetics. He seems like the type who might be into something like CrossFit, Ellie thought to herself, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

"Liz, it's me, Oliver. Your older brother," the young man began. He knelt beside her, his movements gentle yet urgent, to look closer at her amethyst eyes, examining them to ensure her pupils looked normal. "And you're Elizabeth, the only daughter of Duke Carrington," he added, his voice filled with a mix of pride and worry.

"What." Ellie couldn't shake the feeling that she had heard these names before, but she couldn't quite place where. It was strange because they certainly didn't sound like the names of people she knew. And, a duke? What's up with that?

"You did hit your head pretty hard when you fell out of the tree, though. I suppose you may be experiencing some amnesia," Oliver thought out loud. "This is why we've been telling you that you shouldn't be climbing trees, Liz! Just wait until Father hears about this!"

"Sure, sure, okay. So, my name is Elizabeth, and you're my older brother, Oliver? Is that right? Is there any other relevant information I should know?" A dozen questions whirled in her mind. How old am I? Do I have any friends? Am I well-liked around here? Oliver seems to be concerned about me, at least.

Oliver looked relieved that she was retaining the information. "Well, I'm wondering if we should just wait to see if your memories start returning on their own." Oliver looked around, searching for a maid. One noticed this and stepped forward, and he asked her to fetch the physician. "We'll ask the physician's opinion on that, though, just to be sure that is the right decision."

"All right, if you say so," Ellie responded, her voice laced with resignation. She sighed and got up, her mind racing with the realization of her situation. As she approached the tree where she had supposedly fallen, she spotted a book lying on the ground, just out of Oliver's sight. That's an odd place for a book to be.