Lorina in the Dreamlands

Chapter 7

     Everyone was up at the crack of dawn, packing up noisily, including Jack, who was in charge of the metal cooking pans from the night before. He made a point to make as much noise as possible. He was not the gentleman that Arthur was.Upon thinking of him, I went searching.

     I found Arthur pondering over a ledger. I sat next to him on the log. He started, looking at me in surprise. "Miss! You startled me!" his hands fluttered to the papers that had dropped. "I'm sorry", I apologized while handing him some that had floated to my lap. "No, it's not your fault, I shouldn't be so idle-minded" he received them with thanks. Oh, the gentleman that he was!

     "when do I leave to go help?" I asked as he made a few more notes, engrossed. "When we reach the borders of Narnia", he muttered absently. "Excuse me?" I was caught off guard. "Narnia, with the singing lion and the boys that turn into dragons" he scratched out a line. "alright then" I stood and left. I shouldn't have bothered him when he was busy. 

     "how can I help you?" I trotted to Baylor. "Sit there and look pretty" Jack interrupted, hauling a bedroll. "Shut up" I ignored him. Simple minded fool. I heard Gerard laughing.

     "We've done this a lot" Jared poured water over the ashes of the fire, "I know you want to help, but let us do this part" he explained. "let me know if there is anything" I reluctantly went off to the side. 

     Nothing to do, I sat on a large, mossy rock. I began combing my tangled hair with my fingers, wincing when the knots were pulled free. I re-braided it and had just tied it off with a ribbon when I saw the light.

     Small, feathery wings batted the air. The small ball of light bounced near my feet, struggling to get up the air. Hesitantly, I reached to it, lifting it up slowly, not wanting to crush it. It gave a shrill shriek and floated near my face, able to fly again. It's brightness blinded me, and I squinted. It flew a few paces away, letting me see again. I smiled, it was adorable. It flew another few paces again and stopped, bobbing up and down as it's wings beat the air. "You want me to follow?" I stood and started after it.

     It led me further into the woods. I wondered if it was taking me home. I could come back the same way right? Maybe I could bring Alice next time, or some clothes! I started to hurry after it. The woods whirled around me, and I soon lost my bearings. I didn't care, let them try to find me! The ball of light gave the same high whistle again and stopped at a very large oak. I leaned on it with my hand to catch my breath. It fell through the trunk as if it wasn't there. I jerked it back, surprised. 

     The ball whistled shrilly at me and butted against my hand, then flew back to the trunk. I slowly inched my hand tentatively through the bark again. Nothing horrible snatched my hand, or bit it off. I let my arm sink through, then my shoulder. The light twirled in a frenzy above me, excited. I took a deep breath and let my face enter the tree. There was nothing but a white light. I crept forward, and as I did shapes became discernible. I took one step. Then another. I wanted to see what they were.

     I was almost an arm's length away from where I had come when a hand gripped my wrist. Instinctively, I pulled away. The hand squeezed harder. I started to pry it off. 

      A roar interuppted my futile attempts. I snapped my head back towards the far away shapes. A particularly large one barreled towards me. The hand must have sensed it too, for it started dragging me back. I was entranced. I was able to see first a set of bull horns then a massive body. It's red eyes cut through the white fog, piercing me with its' glare. There was a muffled yell and I was jerked back into reality. There was a huge amount of monster and horns headed straight towards me. Why did I feel like this was how mice felt when cornered by cats? I started pushing towards the source of the hand, and I felt a heavy force stopping me. My rescuer pulled harder, and I helped as much as I could. I was squeezed mercilessly, and I couldn't breath. I heard one of my ribs snap. Tears ran down my face. I was likely to be crushed, or eaten, possibly both. I was ready to shatter into a million pieces, when there was a large pop and I was tumbling through the air. 

     I landed on my rescuer. I coughed, able to breathe again. Strong hands lifted me off and onto my feet. I was still blinded by my tears. "Lorina?" someone grabbed me by my shoulders, "can you hear me, Lorina?" I blinked to clear my vision. Green eyes, dark brown hair. I focused in on the eyes. Worried, kind, just how my knight was supposed to look. That was the last thing I saw as my vision went dark.