The Champion *ON HOLD*

Chapter 7- Interrogated

The first thing Avery noticed when she walked inside was the warmth. It enveloped her and made her muscles relax. She hadn't realized they'd been clenched. Her shivering subsided almost instantly. She looked about and the source of her warmth was a large, blazing fire in a pit in the center of the room. Off to the right was a long, rectangular table. Maps were laid out on the table along with a wooden box, an inkwell, and a few quills. To her left was a sort of chaise lounge. On the other side of the fire was a bed. It was neatly made and looked like it hadn't been slept in. Toward the opening on her right was a chest, and on her left was a chair. Between the bed and the lounge was a divider, like the kind of screen that people changed behind.

To Avery, it seemed rather lavish for an army tent, but she supposed that was a perk of being a commander. She turned to the opening and watched the Commander dismiss the others before walking inside the tent, closing the flap behind them

"Please, sit." He gestured to the lounge. Avery slipped the makeshift halter off the unicorn and patted it before moving to sit on the lounge. Diesel eyed the lounge and Avery made a motion before he could jump up and muddy the clean fabric. He huffed and plopped himself down on the ground. Avery watched as the Commander warmed his calloused hands by the fire and moved to the desk. He opened the wooden box and pulled out a small bag. He tossed it up in his hand a few times, eyeing the small bag before walking back over to the fire. He opened the small bag and peered inside before closing it and looking at Avery.

"I have some questions, and I hope you will answer truthfully. I do not like having to use magic to solve problems, and as it is, this is a rather powerful truth spell." He lifted the hand that held the small bag and Avery frowned.

"Truth spell?" The commander nodded and moved almost lazily around the fire to her.

"Yes, if I throw this into the fire, it will ensure that everything said in this tent is the truth and nothing but the truth. If you try to lie, you will choke on your words, quite literally." He looked at her and smiled, not kindly. "Would you like me to use the spell or can I trust you to tell me the truth?" Avery frowned. Not that she had intended to lie, but she'd already had to fib a little to get where she was now. She didn't like the idea of suffocating.

"No, I assure you, it's not needed." The commander nodded.

"Good, 'tis a waste of magic that could be very well needed on enemies." He paused, putting the bag back in the box before looking at her. "You are not an enemy are you?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I don't even know who you're fighting. I'm not exactly from around here." Avery gestured about vaguely with her arm, taking in everything. She saw the unicorn standing by the opening, its head lowered. She watched as the creature moved somewhat closer to the fire before settling itself down near Koda. She watched as the wolfdog licked the creature's head protectively before settling her eyes back on the Commander. Avery noticed that he watched the gesture pass between the two creatures as well.

"Where are you from then?" He asked, turning pale brown eyes on her. Avery sighed, knowing this was going to get tricky very fast.

"I'm from a country called America. It's far away from here. In fact, I don't even think it exists here." Avery stated, knowing just how crazy that sounded.

"I did not think you lived across the Jagged Sea. The people there look much different than you, significantly darker in skin color." Avery could see a small smirk on his face. She smiled.

"I'm not even sure how I got here, to be honest. I was out hunting hogs with my dogs here, and suddenly this unicorn shows up." Avery gestured to the now sleeping mythical creature. Guess it wasn't very mythical now, was it? "My dogs ran after it and I chased after them. Suddenly, I saw this light and I ran through it. Then, I found myself knee deep in snow and my dogs and the unicorn stuck in a pit trap." The Commander looked at her intently, listening to her every word.