"Fantastic. What a clumsy idiot." Nicole groaned. She must have hit one of the trees in the quadrangle. She stood up gingerly, rubbing a tender spot on her forehead, and raised her head. A gasp escaped her lips as she took in her surroundings.
There were several tall trees of different kinds, their roots sprawling over the forest floor; green leaves (wasn't it fall?) and broken branches scattered the ground. The fragrance of wild flowers wafted through the air, and the sounds of crickets and birds reached Nicole's ears.
The confused girl hastily wiped her glasses on a fistful of her hoodie, panicking slightly. She was in the middle of a forest. A freaking forest. How'd she get here? What about her calculus class? What was happening there right now? Was she still in San Francisco? Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. What if she never got out of this place?
A rustling of leaves nearby made her jump and give a high-pitched squeal.
"Who goes there?" cried a commanding male voice with an English accent. "Show yourself, I'm armed."
All the blood rushed out of Nicole's face. What was she going to do? Could she outrun this person? Could she fight him? No, of course not, she almost snorted out loud. Always the last pick in gym class, she was incredibly clumsy and had no athletic talent whatsoever.
"In the name of Aslan, the Great Lion, I command you, show yourself!" came the voice, even more forceful this time.
Nicole had no choice. She hastily searched her backpack for anything that could be used as a weapon, and pulled out a pen. Crap.
A tall boy emerged from the trees, brandishing a sword. A silver crown sat atop his dark hair, and freckles covered his pale face. He was dressed like medieval royalty, and looked like he was around Nicole's age. "What is your name?" he asked in the same authoritative tone.
The sight of Nicole wielding a pen at this strangely dressed boy with a sword was comical. She, however, found no humor in the situation. "N-Nicole Chang," she stammered, dumbfounded.
"And what business have you in the Western Woods of Narnia?" the boy asked.
Narnia? The little color on Nicole's face faded. There was no Narnia anywhere near San Francisco.
The boy, probably sensing her fear and confusion, sheathed his sword and stepped towards her. "What year are you from?" he asked, assuming a more gentle voice.
"2015."
"Ah. I'm from 1940," said the boy with a small smile.
Nicole's eyes widened. "How is that possible? You seem so… Young."
"Oh, time passes differently in this world," the boy said casually, as if nothing about this conversation was bizarre. "By Narnian standards, it's been about 8 years since my siblings and I got here from London. Judging by your accent, I'd say you're from America?"
"Yeah, born and raised... So uh, have you ever tried to find a way out of here?" Nicole asked.
The boy frowned. "I'm sorry," he said. "You see, there's no way out."
Nicole's legs suddenly felt like jelly. She leaned against a nearby tree trunk, desperately trying to process all that she'd learned in the past few minutes. Narnia. No going back. 1940. What? All this information was too much.
"You can stay with us – and by us I mean me and my siblings. We have a castle east of here, it shouldn't take us long to get there," said the boy kindly.
It was a few minutes before the confused girl could speak. "I don't even know your name yet."
"Oh, my apologies. Edmund Pevensie, King of Narnia. Sometimes referred to as Edmund the Just," said the young king. "Come, if we set off now we can reach Cair Paravel – that's our castle – before night falls. Let me just fetch Philip." With a smile, he turned and walked back through the trees.
Nicole slowly made her way to her backpack, which was still lying on the forest floor. She picked it up, and saw that it had landed on top of a shiny silver dagger. She took it in her hands, and decided that she might need it, for Narnia seemed like a dangerous place. It was in her bag before the crunching of leaves behind her announced Edmund's return.
"Nicole, I'd like you to meet my horse, Philip," he declared proudly, patting a chestnut-colored horse on its flank. "Philip, meet Nicole."
"Greetings, my lady," said the horse.
Nicole yelped. The horse just spoke to her. "You can talk?" she asked with surprise.
"Why, of course! I am not a dumb beast," said the horse. "Most of us animals in Narnia can talk."
More puzzled than ever, the girl decided it was best not to reply.
"Well then, we'd better ride off for Cair Paravel," Edmund said, climbing on Philip's back. He offered his hand to Nicole, who took it and clambered onto the horse behind him. "Hold on to me so you don't fall off."