The sun blasts into my eyes as I slowly sit up and groan. “God, my back kills...” I sigh as I stretch my arms up and sigh. Rubbing my eyes to help them adjust, I quickly realize something is different. I jump up, my ball gown rippling around me and take in the intensely green view. Trees and bushes as far as the eye can see, with birds flitting between branches calling to each other, but no stone archway to be seen. My throat dries up and I press towards a nearby shallow stream for a drink.
Peering over, I nearly fall in at the shocking sight. My ears, once rounded, are now pointed and pulled back. In fact most of my features just seem more defined, my canine teeth in particular are significantly sharper. Shrieking, I tumble back and crawl against a tree. “Am I dead?” I ask out, my voice barely a whisper. Before I get an answer, a loud group of neighing horses trot through the brush.
“I heard a shriek, are you alright?” A man a few years older than me asks coming closer. His olive skin peppered with small scars. Upon closer inspection he stops, “Maeve?” My breath hitches in my throat and push myself back. How would he know my mothers name? “Maeve, is that you?”
“I don’t know who you are...” I mutter. “How do you know...”
“Maeve It’s me, Enzor. We’ve been friends since we were children!”
“Enzor?” I ask. That name sounds so familiar from the deepest depths of my memory but I can’t quite place it.
“Yes, let's get you home.” He pulls me up and helps me onto the back of his horse. I only noticed I had been crying when he uses his sleeve to dry my cheeks.
I numbly grip onto Enzor’s chest as we ride the dirt road through a small town. Every house is made of wood and stone with straw covered roofs and wooden shutters on each window. We pass by the rows of huts reminiscent of the Scandinavian longhouses my mother described in her research and ride directly up to a large stone castle. It’s round towers stretching up into the clouds. A ‘Holy shit’ escapes my lips before I can stop myself but when Enzor turns around, he just laughs.
“You picked up quite a few human catch phrases while you were gone I see!” The horse stops and a spindly boy with huge pointed ears runs up to grab the reins.
“How...How long was... I gone?” He ponders for a moment before giving me his hand for assistance. I follow behind him into the large fortress, trusting that he knows how to navigate the long winding halls.
“Only two hundred years or so, not too long.”
“Two hundred years?” I shriek. “But how?”
“Time moves differently in the human world Maeve,” Enzor stops and turns around, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. “You really don’t remember any of this?” I shake my head, trying to focus on not passing out.
“Am I supposed to?”
“You were taken from me, thrust through the gate by the guardians,” He rests a coarse hand on my bare shoulder, I finally stop to take in his incredible height as he towers over me. “I became miserable without you Maeve.” We stop in front of a large oak door with ornate carvings on the border. “This room will be yours until Trygve can make my room suitable for the both of us. You’re probably tired, so I will see you tomorrow.”
I nod and push open the creaking door, The setting sun shining directly into my eyes through the blue swirling glass windows. Immediately closing the curtains, I sink to the floor. My whole body violently shakes as I stifle sobs from echoing out into the large room. Two hundred years? The words run around my brain, rummaging through my logic to find a sensible solution to the madness that is this situation. A soft knock on the door draws my attention. Before I could even get up, it creaks open and my jaw hit the floor. There before me is the old man that nearly ran me over two days ago, pushing a huge wooden cart full of chests with ease. His skin, instead of being loose and wrinkly, he stands before me glowing with life. His hands coarse from work, and his hair white yet still thick gives off the appearance that he became 30 years younger. Who are you?” I shout. He calmly closes the door and begins to open the chests full of clothing and accessories.
“I’m sorry that you’re stuck here Deila. It must be very confusing being back home.”
“This isn’t home! You did something, didn't you? You’ve been stalking me! Oh god, am I dead?”
I can assure you,” he chuckles, “You are certainly not dead.”
“How do you know my name? And why does he think I’m my mother?” The old man-Trygve I’m guessing, sits me down on the cushioned bed.
“Your mother was the queen of our country and I, her messenger and personal advisor. She confided everything in me, and when she told me she was leaving, I was devastated.”
“Why did she leave if she was queen?”
“A dark force had latched itself onto your mother, using its dark magic to drive her mad. She hoped to escape it in the human world.” I push myself up with as much strength as my aching muscles could muster and kick off my combat boots from under my dress.
“You mean to tell me that this place, wherever the hell I am, used to be ruled by my mom until she ran away because of a scary magic wielding ghost?” He nods. “So my mom wasn’t a Scandinavian folklore researcher?”
“Well technically,” He starts, “Scandinavian culture came from a combination of our different courts.” I roll my eyes as he continues. “I understand it’s a lot to take in, but I will help you through it all.”
“I just want to go home!”
Trygve sighs and rests a cold hand on my shoulder, his frail bones aching under the movement. “I’m afraid King Enzor won’t let you leave.”
“What the hell do you mean he won’t let me leave? If I say that I’m not my mother, then he won’t care about me right?”
“Exactly, He won’t care about you child. He will kill you for impersonating your mother if He ever finds out.”
“So I’ll just sneak back to whatever sent me here in the first place!”
“The McCallum’s control the gate, guarding it constantly. If you walk through uninvited, they will kill you on sight.”
“So I can't leave, or I’ll die. I can’t tell the truth, or I’ll die. The only thing I can do is lie to everyone and pretend to be my mother...” I collapse back on the feather filled bed, allowing Trygve to run his spindly fingers through my hair. The world seems to melt away as I slowly accept my new role in this strange world. “Wait,” I pause and sit up, “If my mother was queen, and I’m pretending to be my mother, does that make me queen?”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple Deila. Enzor was crowned king shortly afer your mother disappeared. Once a ruler is crowned, they must die for the crown to be passed to someone new. ”
“Well I’m not killing anyone for a job I don’t want, that’s for damn sure!” I chuckle and lean against his thin frame. “So, now what?”
“Now, I will be teaching you how to survive this strange world.”
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