CHAPTER ONE

A strange pair

And another one for you, I couldn't just let you read the prologue and wait a whole week before updating again, right?

Already I want to thank my first reviewer, yasminasfeir1

Happy reading, dear readers :)

It was the 31st of July 2004, a Saturday, and a little later than 2 o'clock in the afternoon. On that crucial day, William was driving home from his boyfriend. Or actually, his ex-boyfriend at the moment. So much for that road trip to Boston.

He was on his way home, and he wasn't really paying attention. He had wanted to surprise Julian, but instead he was surprised by a girl opening the door. Apparently, she didn't know Julian had another boyfriend. William wondered if the girl knew about Julian being gay—or bi-sexual, apparently.

When Julian had come downstairs in hastily thrown on clothes, he stared at him with wide, guilty eyes. And at that moment, William knew. He said nothing, pushing his flowers in the girl's hand. Then he just walked away to his car, drove to the closest McDonald's and ordered the largest burger.

And now, here he was, the only car on this road for as far as he could see, speeding it up like he was driving a Maserati. And that was when he saw the strangest thing.

Further up, a horse and a rider just burst out of the treeline onto the road, and William saw a flash of light, as light being reflected from a mirror. "Holy shit!" he gasped, and it took him a second to process it before he hit the brakes. He didn't see the rider's head snap up in horror or hear her cry out. The car swung to the right, then to the left, and finally he came to a stop, only four feet away from the horse.

He let loose a deep breath, only then realising he had held it in. Then he looked out of the front window. The horse rider was a girl, probably younger than he was… and she was wearing armour?

"What the fuck?" he muttered frustratedly and swung the door open before he stepped out of his car. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh? I could have killed you!"

The girl didn't even look at him. She was gaping at the car, with fear and curiosity in her eyes. Only now did William realise she had a sword in her hand, and a small girl seated in front of her, who was crying. He frowned and shook his head.

"Uhm, hello?" William said and waved. "I'm talking to you."

Suddenly, the girl snapped her head to him and drew her sword. William took a step back and looked at the point, pointed to him. It looked pretty damn sharp.

"Stay away!" she shouted, panic written all over her face. "Stay back!"

"Woah, woah," William said, taking another step back. He chuckled breathlessly. "Alright, you can drop the act now. You scared me, is all." He tilted his head a bit. "Dude, is that a real sword?"

The girl's eyebrows furrowed in a confused frown. "Of course it is," she said. Her eyes flicked to the car. Her voice became almost a whisper. "What devilry is this?"

William looked at the car and a laugh escaped his mouth. "This?" he asked as he pointed to his car. "Look, I know my car is not the greatest model, but…" He shook his head and looked back at the girl with a funny look as he took her clothes in. Or rather, armour. "Come on, man. You're a bit early for the cosplay festival, aren't you? It's in two weeks."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "What is a cosplay?" she demanded. She looked around. "Where am I?"

William clucked his tongue, but didn't dare move. He was low-key freaking out over the sharp-edged sword. "On the road to Provincetown."

"Never heard of it."

"Of course you haven't," he said as he rolled his eyes. He nodded to the little girl who was crying silently. "Is that your kid?"

She looked down at the brown-haired girl and shushed her, stroking her head. "No, she is not my child," she said, and only now did William notice the strange accent. It sounded like British, but it… wasn't. "She is my sister."

William nodded, peering at the girls. The rider had sandy blonde hair and from here she appeared to have blue eyes. If she wasn't pointing a sword at him but drinking a mojito at a bar, she would've definitely been asked out by some guy. But she was pointing a sword of him, so he flicked that thought out of his mind.

When she still didn't seem willing to lower her sword and shout 'Prank!', William began to feel a little more uneasy. "Look, uhm… where did you think you were?" he asked cautiously.

"The Kingdom of Arthedain, in the realm of Arnor." She paused at his blank face. "The continent Middle-Earth."

William almost choked. "Middle-Earth?" he repeated and laughed right in her face. "Very funny. Do you happen to know Arwen or Éowyn? Because it would be lovely to have their phone number."

"I am acquainted with lady Arwen. I do not know this Éowyn you speak of," she replied seriously. "But what are you asking of me?"

He just stared at her for a second. "I…" he trailed off and shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. You're pretty good at this acting." He looked behind her, suddenly seeing a car coming closer from the other side. Forgetting the sword still pointed at him, he stepped around it and urged to his side of the road. "Out of the way! Quick!"

The girl looked back at the fast-approaching car and quickly urged her horse to go aside. She watched the car race by them, eyes wide in disbelief and awe. "Never have I seen such a fast device," she murmured and turned to William. "What did you call them? Car...?"

"Very funny, you are," he muttered. This girl had to be crazy. He looked from his car to the two girls, still seated on the horse. He sighed exasperatedly and rubbed his face with his hand. "Alright, I can give you both a ride to… wherever you gotta go."

The girl looked puzzled. "I do not understand."

"I'm offering you a ride—Jesus, just, get in the car," he said, definitely annoyed now, pointing to his car.

It dawned on her after a few seconds and she shook her head vigorously. "I will not go near that… that thing!"

"Then I guess I'll leave you here, then." With that he turned around and walked to his car. He opened the door, seated himself behind the wheel and turned the key. The engine started running and he looked out of his front window. He was surprised to see her dismount her horse and help the other little girl get off as well. Hesitantly she turned to the car and approached it as if it was a beast.

William rolled down his window, and her head tilted curiously at seeing the glass disappear. The girl looked him over in silence. "How can I trust you?" she asked warily with that funny accent.

"You'll have to," William replied as he rolled his eyes. "Or you can ask the other drivers passing by, but I think I'm more trustworthy than they are."

She visibly bit her lip in thought, looking from him to the car to him again. "I will not leave Brynn," she said, no compromise in her voice.

William sighed, looking at the horse. He should've known. "He doesn't fit in the car, sorry."

"She can run," she snapped. "Brynn can pull it."

William laughed at her. "Sorry, hun, but this ain't some old covered wagon a horse can pull," he replied wryly. He opened the door again and stepped out of his car. "We can tie him, sorry, her to the car. I won't drive fast."

"Tie her—" she began outraged. "No. I shall ride her next to you. She is a quick horse."

He shot his eyes to the sky. This stubborn woman would be the death of him. "Fine. Whatever you want," he yielded. "But once we get into the city, you'll have to leave him behind. There's a homestead just out of town."

She studied him for a long moment, calculating. Then she nodded curtly, as if she had been ordered, and crouched in front of the little girl. William tried not to eavesdrop, but couldn't help but overhear.

"Shh, Ariel, do not cry," she whispered. "You are safe with me, little princess."

"Where are we?" the little girl asked innocently and scared.

"I… I do not know," came the downfallen reply. "But I will find out soon."

She stood up straight and put her onto the horse. Then she mounted Brynn herself. For a few seconds, William and the girl only looked at each other, wary and curious. Only then did he realise he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"My name's William, by the way," he said.

The girl inclined her head. "Dylis," she replied. "This is Ariel."

"As in the mermaid?" William asked with a funny look.

She frowned. "Mermaid? No, I do not know whom you speak of."

William shook his head. "Never mind," he mumbled. "Let's go."

He hopped into his car again, kept the window open and started driving slowly. Beside the car, he saw Dylis' horse appear, and both girls looked once again in disbelief at his car. As if they thought it magic, or otherworldly. William wondered at that moment, wondered at the possibility of their story. But, come on, from Middle Earth? That was fictional! It didn't exist!

Steadily they built up speed and luckily, they didn't encounter many cars. William kept thinking about the situation, the absurdness of it, and something in his stomach clenched at the idea of her lying. Why would she lie about this? Or was she really that insane?

Finally, they arrived at the horse farm. "Keep some distance," William said from inside his car, wanting to park. It was much more difficult when he was being watched closely and curiously by someone in armour.

They walked onto the property, Dylis leading her horse and holding Ariel's hand.

"Ah, Will," a woman called as she walked out of the stables. "It's good to see you, boy."

William smiled. "Aunt Ida," he greeted and gave the red-haired woman a firm hug. "It's been a while. How've you been?"

"I'm well, I'm well," she replied as she wove a dismissive hand. She peered over his shoulder curiously. "Who are these girls? Cosplayers or something?"

William looked back at them for a second. "Yeah, guess so," he said. "Impressive costumes, huh?"

Ida nodded, but her eyes were already on the horse. Her eyes widened. "That is a beautiful mare," she said, approaching her. "What is her name, dear?"

Finally, William saw Dylis' hard and wary demeanour fall. Her face softened and she placed a hand on the horse's forehead affectionately. "Her name is Brynn," she said. "I have had her since the age of five. She was but a foal back then."

Ida studied the mare, holding out her hand cautiously. "She's beautiful," she said.

"That she is," Dylis replied with a nod and a smile.

William walked over to Ida. "Can we keep her here for a while?" he asked. "I just don't know for how long yet."

"Oh, that's alright," Ida murmured as she turned back to him. "You know I'd do anything for my nephew."

William grinned. "Of course I know," he replied dryly.

Once Dylis had handed Brynn over to Ida's care, she and Ariel had no choice but to get into that car. It took William a long while to gain their trust before they finally yielded. As compromise, he let them both sit in the passenger seat, Ariel on Dylis' lap. She would not be parted from the little girl she called 'princess', and William had to accept that, it seemed.

A strange pair, they were. But something about them made him nervous, and he just couldn't figure out what it was.

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