Authors Note: If you have any inquiries feel free to ask. The song quote is Ke$ha's "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes."
Edited 1/22/13
Chapter 2
Just fighting to get through the night.
I'm losing it.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Chirp. Chirp.
Inhaling deeply I felt something scratch against my nostrils making me want to sneeze. My senses were in hyper drive. Why the hell am I hearing weird sounds? Feeling strange sensations? And why do I smell grass?
Where is that wind coming from?
I snapped my eyes open registering my questionable thoughts. Maybe if I see where I am I'll be able to answer myself. I felt completely out of my element when I blinked open my eyes.
A… forest?
Scrunching my forehead in speculation I scanned the trees that surrounded me. Then I remembered that the last thing that happened to me last night was tripping down that hill into the forest after going pee. I instantly became angry that none of my friends came to find me. What if I had been murdered? Or raped? Or some wild animal decided I would be a great meal?
My aunt probably called the police and I would be in huge trouble. Thanks.
Running a hand through my tresses I pulled out a few pieces of grass and a nasty looking bug. Ewe. I squealed as I swatted it off my hand. I think it was a beetle.
Thud. Thud.
I knew the chirping was obviously coming from birds. But I had no idea what that thudding noise was. It sounded like something running hard against the ground.
Great, I'm going to be eaten by a mountain lion. Or a cougar. What a wonderful way to die. Hopefully I'll have some heroic story told about me, like, how I tried to defend myself by fighting it off. Then it bit my face before I could outrun it.
Standing up I dusted the dirt off my black leggings and shirt. I groaned as I stared down at my white and gray tiger print V-neck. There were grass stains in addition to the mud coating it. Great, that was a waste of twenty dollars at forever21. With that I tried to start walking; however I came to realize that I most likely sprained my ankle in the process of falling down that hill. My ankle felt ablaze and I stumbled slightly.
Tightening my hands into fist I fought off the pain and was about to start walking again when something dawned on me. There was no hill. How did I fall down a hill with NO hill? I was in the middle of a tiny clearing.
The branches of the trees reached out with their leaves to leave the area I had been sleeping in shady. All the trees looked extremely vibrant and dewy. I distinctly recall while driving past the forest the other day that the leaves were all dying and turning shades of orange and red due to fall approaching.
What was going on?
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Closing my eyes I braced myself. It sounded so close. And I am too lost, confused, tired, smelly, and angry to carry on. Whatever it is could eat me alive for all I care.
Thud. Thud.
Then silence.
Heavy breathing came from behind me. I dared myself to turn around and my heart rate picked up as I slowly rotated my body. With one last breath I twisted my neck and everything in the world seemed to pause.
What. The. Hell.
I squinted. That definitely looked like some Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter shit. Actually, I am pretty sure those were in the Harry Potter movies. The one with the fat lady that wore pink… and used that pen that carved whatever they wrote in their hands. Ouch, I always hated that part.
The being had the tall body of a horse and torso of a man. Horse-man?
"Hi."
That is all I could manage to say to the large creature before me. I decided I was a goner. There is no way that this thing was not going to eat me for breakfast. It raised its dark eyebrows in confusion and then smiled brightly showing off perfect pearly whites.
"Hello," he returned. His voice was husky and he had a strange accent that I'd never heard. Although, the fact that he was half horse and half human was way weirder than the sound of his voice so I was more focused on that. "I am Genesis."
"My names Unity." We both stared at each other awkwardly. I sized up his velvety coffee coat and matching hair that reached his shoulders. The skin he had was tanned caramel from the beaming sun. The human side of him looked very young; probably around my age. His muscles were completely ripped - this surprised me. If he were human I would find him extremely irresistible. The fact that he was this… thing… kind of was a turn off.
"What are you?"
"What am I?" Genesis repeated carefully. "I am a centaur."
"Oh," I shrugged my shoulders. I was not into the whole Sci-Fi fantasy stuff so I was still unsure. He was so BIG compared to me. Not that I was the tallest human in the world either. "I am going to be blunt here," I told him flatly. "Where the hell did you come from? We don't have centaurs on Earth dude."
"A-what?" He seemed confused at what I was saying. He trotted closer to me, which I had to fight the urge to back away from him as he was so large he could squish me. "This is Narnia milady."
"Narnia… right…" I said disbelieving him instantly. I began to make overdramatic hand gestures mockingly. "I'm in Narnia. Okay, I'm just going to go back through the wardrobe now so I can go home. Didn't know it'd be so easy to travel from Chicago to Narnia."
Genesis scowled, "Are you all right?"
"Not really no. You are telling me we are in Narnia and I'm imaging a centaur talking to me. Of course, I'm still drunk." Slapping a hand to my forehead in 'realization.' However the action caused the pounding of my hangover to take full course. Way to go.
"Oh I understand," Genesis laughed. "You have been drinking. Would you like help back to your home?"
Looking around I nodded my head, "Yeah. Can you give me a ride back to my house? It's like… a few minutes away."
Cautiously I stepped beside him and he reached his hand down. I hesitantly wrapped my slender fingers around his calloused palm and then he swung me onto his back so fast that I landed with a thump. Painful? Yes.
"Which way?"
I pointed in what I was assuming was the direction of the street. Then I wondered how all the cars would react to me riding on a centaur back? Someone must have slipped something into my drink last night because this was beginning to get ridiculous. Everything smelt, felt, even tasted real; how could a person have a dream like this?
"That is the same direction as my village," the centaur informed as he began to sprint. My eyes nearly popped from their sockets as I almost toppled over. I grabbed at his waist and pressed my chest against his back as I hung on for dear life.
We rode silently for a long time. I now knew that either we went in the wrong direction or I wasn't in Chicago anymore. I've come to the conclusion it's most likely the later.
"Are we close?" Genesis piped up. I sighed.
"How about we just go back to your village? I'm lost."
He laughed lightly, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I muttered defeated. At least if we went back to his village I could mooch him for some food. My stomach rumbled angrily. I remember vomiting all the contents in the club bathroom last night so I lacked many nutrients. My body was physically starting to feel the effects. His bumpy riding was causing nausea and my lips were becoming chapped from my lack of water. I hoped they had something delicious at this village of his.
It took him five minutes to get to his village. Shows how simple our journey would have been if I had decided not to be so stubborn.
There was a delicious smell making its way into my nostrils and my insides growled louder. I think Genesis either heard it or felt it against his back because he turned his head and laughed. I realized he had teal colored eyes, which I found very unique. Not that his entire being was not unique to begin with.
"Would you be interested in something to eat?"
"Yes, please and thank you," was my immediate reply.
My mouth went slack when we really entered the settlement. It was a village of centaurs. Women, men, and children… They all went about their daily routines with hardly a second glance in our general direction. A few friendly fellows acknowledged us with a greeting, but most did not bother.
We stopped short in front of an elder centaur. She looked to be in her mid-thirties or so. Her eyes were the same teal as Genesis along with the same colored luscious locks. She eyed him warily as he helped me off his back. I landed on the ground painfully as I dropped onto my sprained ankle. Although, neither of them seemed to notice as I hissed in pain.
"Genesis, who is your friend?" The centaur's voice was soft.
I smiled politely, "I'm Unity."
"Unity," she nodded her head. "I am Mena. Genesis's mother."
More weird names.
"Mom," Genesis said. "I found her alone in the forest. I believe she is drunk."
Frowning I faced him with a glare. He raised his eyebrows daring me to go against his words.
"How did you end up in the forest? You must be from the North," Mena pried with a disappointed look. My mother gave me the same look. My aunt gave me that same look. Sometimes even Asia gave me that look.
Asia… I cocked my head to the side. She asked me to read her Narnia when I got home.
"Unity-" Genesis nudged me with his leg.
"Sorry," I breathed. "I fell. That's how I ended up in the forest."
"Let me get you something to eat. Have a seat," Mena ushered me to a rock. Some seat. Genesis sat on the ground beside me. It looked awkward to me. Since he was like a horse and everything.
Mena brought out fruit. Oh man, I thought she was going to give me a sandwich or something more filling. I thanked her gratefully anyway as I took an apple and bit into it.
My widened as the juicy flavor filled my mouth and my taste buds watered at the sweet yet sour taste that enveloped my tongue. I pulled the apple away from my mouth and gasped, "This is not an apple."
"Yes it is," Genesis disagreed as he took a bite of his own apple. He looked down at the shiny red fruit in his hand as he expected it to somehow change into another object. "You are strange."
"Apples don't taste this good!" Biting into it again I sucked on the juices. There is no way that this was an apple.
"Narnian apples do."
There goes this Narnia thing again. I really needed to sober up. I chewed on the apple until I reached the core. My stomach still howled, but I kept my silent pleas down as they had already provided me with more than I could ask for. I didn't want to be rude.
"Where are you from Unity?" questioned Genesis softly. I eyed him cautiously.
"Earth."
"Hmm." He nodded his head seemingly contemplating something. "The Kings and Queens of Narnia were not from this world either. Maybe they know where you are from?"
"Sure," I laughed at the idea. Narnia was a book. Why am I in a book? Wait, am I even in a book? Never mind. I am just going to confuse myself.
"Shall I take you to Cair Paravel tomorrow to speak to the Kings and Queens?"
I played with a hole that had ripped in my leggings offhandedly, "Don't they have more important stuff to deal with?"
"Narnia is at a time of peace. I am sure they will have time."
"All right. Then we will go," I told him with a grin. "Thanks for helping me out. I know I must seem insane. But you kind of freak me out."
"What?" He sounded offended. "Why?"
"You are really big," I explained guardedly not to offend him further. "You could squish me."
"I suppose so," he chuckled at my comment. A swift wind brushed past causing his locks to sway in the wind. How does he get his hair to look so shiny and frizz free? He should be on a shampoo commercial.
I stretched my legs in front of me. We both were brought to silence again. I watched as two centaur boys fooled around. They were playing with wooden swords shouting at one another. A mother scolded them. Both pretended to stop until she turned her back and they fought again.
"How about we go to Cair Paravel now?" Genesis requested. He stared up at the clear blue sky atop our head. I followed his gaze and gasped.
Never on Earth could a sky be that beautiful. The sky… it was a hue of blue I had never seen before. It looked clear and crystal-like. Something I was not used to from the polluted Chicago skies.
"It is fairly early. We could reach there by nightfall."
"Wont your mother be worried?" I asked absent-mindedly. I know my mother would. She would call me every second of every moment of every day until I were home. I wonder what she was thinking right now.
"Possibly," he answered unconcerned. "Narnia's safe though."
Genesis proceeded to tell his mother we were to be leaving. She packed us a knapsack full of fruits that I carried around my back. This time Mena lifted me onto Genesis's back instead of him throwing me over. It felt much nicer. I put my arms around his waist and we said "goodbye" to his mother and headed out into the early morning forest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
