Welcome everyone to chapter 7 (1/2)!

Beginning of a Capture The Flag rematch!

So, rereading through my chapters showed me that I had completely left out this entire chapter. So I'm here to add it in once more! That's why it's Chapter 7 & 1/2.

I, uh... haven't figured out how to rename docs on here *^_^*

I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!


When Amira opened her, eyes the first thing she saw was white.

She winced at the brightness of the white and closed her eyes. After a minute she slowly opened her eyes again, letting her purple eyes get accustomed. Soon she could make out what things were then her vision cleared. Looking up, she saw someone sifting through some cupboards but his back was turned so she couldn't see his face. She sat up with a small groan, her head spinning. Glancing around she saw she was in an odd building-thing with some beds lined against one wall and a few cupboards on the other side. The guy turned around when Amira sat up.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He asked, moving to her side. Amira noticed he looked kind of like the boy she had been fighting with. He had blond hair but his was darker and more golden. He had blue eyes but was lighter than the other boy's. Amira nodded slowly, her head still pounding.

"Y- yes. I am alright. I just *wince* I exerted myself past the limit of my energy." She explained. He nodded.

"I'm Will, by the way. Will Solace." He introduced.

"Amira." She replied. She tucked some of her purple hair behind her pointed ear.

"You gave us quite a scare out there." He told her. "But how did you do that? The lightning, I mean."

Amira bit her lip. She wasn't really sure if she should tell a bunch of people about her having magic but she really didn't know how to make up an excuse for an answer. She decided on telling the truth but trying to make it seem like she was joking.

"Magic," She said, waving her hands about. Will rolled his eyes but smiled back.

"All right sure. But that was a really cool trick and you helped a lot." He thanked. Amira nodded, wincing as her head moved, and again brushed her hair back. She had to do something to keep her hair out of her face.

"Of course. I could not let everyone get hurt just because I did not help." She replied. Will smiled at her then went back over to a cabinet and pulled out a small bottle. He opened it and shook out two little white pills. He filled a cup with water and handed them both to Amira.

"Aspirin. Will explained, seeing her confused look. "Just swallow. It'll help with your headache."

Amira and did as instructed, drinking all the water and handed the empty cup back. He placed the cup on one of the counters. Amira stood up, her head only spinning a little. She felt something missing and looked down. Her sword belt was gone.

"Where is Arvindr?" Amira asked. Will looked confused.

"Where's who?"

"Apologies, I meant my sword." She explained. Will nodded in understanding.

"It's over there." He told her, gesturing with his chin towards the door. "I didn't want you to stab yourself if you rolled over in your sleep."

Amira nodded and walked over to her sword. She picked it up and pulled it from its sheath. The purple blade gleamed in the light. Amira smiled sadly, remembering why she had it. She missed Balenda, a lot, but she had absolutely no idea where she was so she couldn't even begin to go searching for her. She wondered how she was doing right now. Was she here on Earth? Or was she still in Alagaesia? If she was then Amira hoped that Eragon was still searching. Was Eragon even looking for her? Or was he helping with the after-effects of the war? What was everyone else doing? Did Eragon tell anyone about Amira disappearing? How many had noticed she was gone?

Hundreds of questions jumped around in Amira's head. With a sigh she re-sheathed Arvindr and buckled it back around her waist, feeling better with the weight of her sword on her waist. She swore quietly as she brushed her long hair from her face once again. She really needed to find a way to keep her hair away from her face.

"Are you going to play Capture The Flag with us later?" Will asked, snapping Amira from her thoughts. She cocked her head to the side.

"What is that?" She asked. Will blinked.

"You don't know what that is? Well, it's a game we play here. We were actually playing when you showed up. It kinda stopped the game so we decided to have a rematch today. Well, the other campers are gonna play. I'm more of a medic than a fighter so I just sit it out until someone gets stabbed."

"Oh… um… so what is it?" Amira asked again when he didn't explain what the game was.

"It's a game where there are two teams that both have a flag. Each team has to try to steal the other team's flag and take it back to their side. It's kinda like a mock battle." Will explained. Amira nodded, the game sounding fun.

"I am not sure if I will play but that sounds as though it would be fun." She replied. Will nodded. He looked outside for a minute and then said,

"You slept all of yesterday and the most of today so dinner should be starting pretty soon. You wanna come or would you rather stay and rest a bit more?" Will asked. Amira thought for a moment. If she did go then she would undoubtedly get asked a bunch of questions but at the same time, she really didn't want to stay inside. ...plus she was hungry. She thought about it and realized that she hadn't eaten in several days.

"I will come. It will be nice to be outside again." She decided. Will nodded again then he and Amira walked out of the infirmary. As she thought, she was instantly mobbed by a small group of people consisting of a bunch of campers unknown to her.

"That was awesome!"

"Are you alright?"

"What did you do?"

"How did you do that lightning thing?"

"Are you a child of Zeus?"

"Could you teach me how to do that?"

Questions bombarded and overwhelmed Amira so she took a step back, her purple eyes widening in surprise. After a moment the questions stopped and the crowd stared expectantly at her. Amira swallowed, nervous and confused.

"Uh, I am not sure how… um… " Amira tried, her voice fading out. She gnawed on her lip like she always did when she was nervous. She was going to say something else when she saw the boy she had fought with walking a bit away. "Excuse me please."

She pushed through the small crowd and ran over to where the boy was. He stopped when he saw her coming.

"Hello again. I- I wanted to say thank you for helping and saving me." Amira told him. He smiled.

"Course. Couldn't just let you get killed by a monster, could I? Besides, you saved our butts with that lightning trick you pulled so we're even." He replied with a wink. Amira smiled.

"My name is Amira." She introduced herself.

"I'm Jake." He told her. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, then after a moment he held out his hand and asked, "Wanna join me for dinner?"

"It would be a pleasure. Thank you." Amira smiled, placing her hand in his. He led her over towards a large pavilion. Marble columns surrounded the floor, ringed with torches and fire the size of a three-week-old dragon blazing in the center. Just as they reached the pavilion, the horn rang across the camp. Jake led Amira over to one of the many tables as the campers started swarming in. She realized that she still had her hand in Jake's and quickly let go.

The blond sat down and gestured for Amira sit next to him. Not really knowing where else to go, she sat. Her thoughts were interrupted when Chiron stamped the marble floor and attracted everyone's attention.

"Today Capture the Flag will be rematched as the previous had been… interrupted. The team captains will be Cabins Six and Cabin Three. You've all already made alliances."

"Over here!" Percy and Annabeth shouted at the same time. Everyone in the pavilion turned to the purple-haired teen.

"Um…" Amira wasn't quite sure what to do, the attention making her nervous. "I… I chose to side with…"


And that concludes the (sorta) seventh chapter of A Strange and Different Land!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you chose to continue the story. Please feel free to leave a review. Criticism, advise, complements or corrections are welcome.

Have a good one and I'll see you later!