Princess Addie is finding her courage (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} hopefollows) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} wariscoming,@ 2013-06-21 11:34:00 |
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What: Waking up lost...
Where: A back alley in Lawrence somewhere
When: Early afternoon, June 21, 2013
Warnings: Umm vague spoilers, kinda sorta? Mentions of violence
Status: Closed, narrative
Addie started to come around slowly at first, only a vague sense of disorientation blending with pain. Then she remembered - Meryl! Meryl's time was running out! She had to move, she had to get home to the castle! Forcing her eyes open, she gasped as the full brunt of pain from her injuries hit her, restricting her breathing and making her head spin. Fuzzy and disoriented, she groped around with shaking hands for her little pouch of moily herb. Taking a flower, she put it on her tongue and almost immediately her head cleared and the pain receded some, allowing her to breathe once more.
After several slow breaths, the world came into full focus around her, and she frowned. She was not sure where she was. The last place she recalled with any clarity on her whirlwind escape from Vollys' lair was a sea of tall grasses all around her. But this place... it was not the open plains. Tall strange buildings rose up on all sides; she lay slumped against a hard wall on the hard paved ground. There was no road, just a narrow walkway, and judging by the decrepit wooden fence across from her, another tall, strange, brick building beyond that, she discerned that she was at the back of the buildings. How she'd managed to find her way to this spot without her boots smashing her into one of the solid structures and killing her, she didn't know. Perhaps her meddling invisible helper had guided her feet to just miss the building. Silently, she thanked it; it was not the first time that friendly spirit had saved her life.
Blood-biter, her sword, lay on the cold pavement just next to her, coated with mud and sand. Casting around for something to clean it with, she had nothing but her own torn and muddied skirts, but they would have to do. Meryl would scold her if she left the blade to rust. Wiping away the crusted mess, she found the blade smeared from hilt to point with dragon's blood. Addie smiled triumphantly at the sight. Vollys had plagued the kingdom for so long, hurt so many people, and had made a pet of her for far too long. She would be glad if the dragon was dead.
The smile did not last though; when she drew out her spyglass, thinking to check back at Vollys' lair and see if the dragon was indeed dead, or merely wounded and angry and surely coming for her... she found she could not find the dragon's cave. In fact, she could not find the Western Desert at all. Nor could she see Bamarre Castle, or the Sorcerer's citadel, or the Mulee Forest, or any other familiar landmark. She turned her spyglass to every direction, twisting the little rings to adjust for distance and to see through things blocking her view. There was nothing familiar. Strange cities with strange buildings, strange roads with fast-moving colorful things that she did not recognize speeding along them, carrying people inside them. Vast plains and forests and swamps lakes larger than any she'd ever seen, great rivers and distant seas, a mountain range far to the west that went as far north and south as her spyglass would let her see. And everywhere, large sprawling cities, all of them unrecognizable and utterly confusing in their strangeness. She'd never seen anything at all like this land she found herself lost in. It took several long moments for it to truly sink in that she was well and truly lost.
She couldn't afford this right now, Meryl's time was almost up. She had less than a day before her sister would die. She knew the cure, she just had to find out where she was and how to return to Bamarre Castle, and then her boots should bring her there within minutes. Then from there, she could take Meryl, whisk her off to the waterfall in the Eskerns, and save her.
Gasping at the pain in her ribs, Addie slowly started to clamber up, using the wall as support... and promptly sat back down again. Her seven-league boots were still on her feet, and the last thing she needed was to take a step into one of these odd buildings, or become even more lost. Stressed, frustrated tears gathered as she yanked off the boots and shoved them into her raggedy little bundle, pulling her sturdy riding boots on instead. Then she struggled to her feet once more and, clutching her things, made her way to the corner of the building. At the other end, she could see a road, more of those large, colorful, self-drawn contraptions moving past. She did not know what they were, and was nervous about approaching lest they prove dangerous. Internally, she scolded herself. She had just stabbed a dragon, and Meryl was waiting. What had she to fear now?
Mustering up her courage and strength, she made her way down the filthy alleyway to the street. All she had to do was find someone, and ask for help, and then she could be on her way.