Ok firstly, I know an apology is in order. It has been sooooooooooo long since I last updated, unfortunatly real life caught up with me.

Firstly school picked up and since it's my last year, it means a lot of hard work. Then I got really sick, which meant i've been missing out on a huge amount of school, I'm finally better :) but unfortunately I'm going to have to work really had to catch up on everything I have missed which means I don't think I'm going to have time to update again for a long time. I'll do my best, but don't have your hopes up. I will update when I can. I promise I'm not abandoning the story though :D

On a different note, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter (I suffered abominable writers block while writing it) so feedback would be awesome. Ok enough from me, read on :)

Arrow.

Chapter Fourteen

When Strangers meet

Things were not going the way fate had planned. It seemed at every turn her opponent met her move with a counter action. He seemed infallible, and of course, infinitely patient.

We stayed in the inn for two days as I was embarrassingly weak, it felt like when you don't eat in too long and every time you move around you feel like fainting. Only as well as that, my limbs felt like rubbery noodles and I was on the edge of collapsing at every moment. However after two days of rest and less than savoury gruel I was feeling substantially better although I had almost died of boredom waiting for my recovery. Mort was a strange elusive soul, and one that I got no closer to understand as I spent more time with him. This frustrated me, as I liked to know where I stood with people, and also to gauge their character, which was something I found imposable to do with Mort, except to identify him as 'mysterious' which hardly helped.

On the second morning I was awoken once again by the innkeeper entering my room, apparently privacy was inexistent. How quaint.

"You're to leave today, he said to wake you and make sure you were ready to leave within the hour" the innkeeper told me briskly.

There was no need to ask who 'he' was; it could only be my mysterious saviour, Mort. I idly wondered if he was rich, for he surely must have paid the innkeeper a large amount of money that he spoke to me himself rather than sending one of the barmaids. However considering Mort's appearance, I disregarded the idea, no lord would be seen wearing the tattered clothes my companion donned.

I roused myself and dressed in the clothing which Mort had dredged up for my somehow; a long tunic which came down to my knees tied with a belt, a pair of leggings and my boots which had survived my snowy journey. It wasn't the most attractive look on earth, but it was comfortable.

I nervously made my way out to the stables where the innkeeper had told me to meet Mort, and sure enough he was standing waiting beside a bay horse.

He looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face, "I suppose you want a side-saddle, however I do not have one nor a second horse, you will have to ride behind me astride, I apologize for the indecency."

I noticed he had the annoying ability of rendering me speechless or feeling like an idiot with every moment of his company, however I rallied myself and managed to reply, "It's alright, I don't know how to ride side-saddle anyway."

My intended assuring comment was met by silence which only upped my nervousness; I guess not riding side-saddle was uncommon for the time. So much for trying to fit in.

He regarded me in silence once again, and then motioned for me to set myself up upon the horse. I obeyed and thankfully did not make too much of a fool of myself, I had become slightly better at mounting and dismounting horses since my first attempt.

Mort was a strange man, he reminded me a little of Zane with his quiet mentality and unreadable face, he was stoic, spoke little and made me entirely nervous. It wasn't that I didn't like him so much as he creeped me out.

He had a constant air of apparent indifference about him which set me on edge; it was hard to know what to do when you never knew where you stood with someone. Therefore the day passed slowly and awkwardly for me, although he seemed oblivious to the fact that his presence made me uncomfortable. You know those awkward silences when your with someone you don't know, and a thousand things are running through your head as you try to think of a way to break the silence, but all of them go unvoiced as you cannot bring yourself to actually same them? Now imagine that for an entire day.

It was funny how much I missed Evie. It wasn't as though in the past week I had even talked to her that much, you would have thought ending up in a place with nothing familiar would have brought us closer together, however if anything we had talked less, our minds occupied with other matters, other people. Being thrown into a different world can do that someone.

However she had remained my constant in a series of cataclysmic events, my rock in the wild sea.

And now she was gone.

Alright, so perhaps that was a little overdramatic, but honestly she was a million miles away from me and I had no way of knowing if she had survived the snowstorm, nor if she was headed my way. Admittedly, that day I was indulging in a bout of self pity, where nothing I thought about made me happy as I focused on all the bad events which had presided over my life for the past few days.

Just before nightfall we stopped without warning, it was our first stop of the day, but I had been too awkward to ask to stop for a rest or food before then. Our place for the night was fairly non-descript, we were at the bottom of a valley by a small freshwater stream providing us with water, and there was little shelter if it were to rain. Luckily it was a cloudless night and the moon was almost full which added to the otherwise fairly dull atmosphere, turning the valley into something somewhat magical, bathed in dark silver light, weird shadows twisting over the grass.

We had spoken little to each other as we had dismounted and Mort had given me a little food, I cursed myself the whole time, wishing I had Evie's innate ability to talk without any qualms. I still felt fairly ill and the cold pit in my stomach only made it worse, I wasn't sure if it was just from nervousness, or a remnant of my hypothermia in the storm, it didn't help that I had spent the last few hours wondering if by the way he acted that he did not like me, why he was helping me at all.

The question plagued me all through the meal as we sat in relative silence chewing on strips of dried meat.
Finally I could take it no more and voiced my question, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because it is the right thing to do"

Oh great, so I was a charity case then.

It was stupid that I should feel so apart from Mort, after all he was probably on a few years older than me, but his face was sombre and he carried himself as a man who has known many sorrows in his life.

"Could you perhaps tell me about yourself, it is strange travelling with someone I know nothing about" I asked tentatively.

He was silent for a few minutes; however I could tell he was thinking rather than avoiding my question.

"That is a fair request, however there is little to tell. My father was a knight and I was raised in Camelot along with my brother, a few years ago I left the castle and have wandered ever since."

It told me little about him, however one fact I latched on to, "A brother? Could it have been him I saw and mistook for you?"

But Mort was already shaking his head, "That would be impossible, he's dead."

I winced, "Sorry."

His only reply was to tell me to get some rest.

I did not sleep well that night, sometime in the early hours before dawn; I woke up with a strange pressure on my throat, and spent the rest of the night feeling as if someone had placed on a rock on my chest. However by the time Mort had gotten up the feeling and dissipated and I did not want to make a big deal of nothing, so instead placated myself with the promise that if it happened again or got worse I would tell him. After all it was probably nothing.

He acted slightly more friendly towards me that day, perhaps realising from the night before how ill at ease I was, as throughout the day he commented on the things we passed, telling me what tree was what, of battles that had occurred at places we rode through, the stories behind the names of villages we passed.

Of course the awkwardness did not magically dissipate with a few words, but it eased somewhat, and I found the journey more bearable from then on.

It was one night as Mort lay sleeping that I absentmindedly fidgeted with my small satchel around my waist that I realised inside laid the mirror, the magic mirror given to me so long ago.

Sitting up with a faint gasp, I glanced warily at Mort, his breathing was heavy and I was almost certain he was asleep, therefore I walked a few metres away out of close earshot but still in eyesight of our camp, and pulled out the mirror.

I wasn't being devious per say, but neither was the reason for my distance entirely out of compassion to not wake my companion; when it came down to it, I was still not certain on how far I could trust him.

Therefore, hands almost shaking with anticipation, I held the mirror out in front of me, and feeling slightly stupid, whispered Evie's name.

For a moment, nothing happened, and I felt disappointment welling up inside me like a dark cloud, but then the mirror dimmed, showing what I guessed was the inside of Evie's pouch.

"Evie!" I hissed, suddenly a hand was grappling in my vision of the mirror, and Evie's face was visible by flicking firelight.

"Niki!"

I almost dropped the mirror in shock to be honest, I hadn't expected it to work, and seeing Evie there right in front of me was enough of a shock in itself.

I felt instant tears of relief in my eyes, but did not let them fall; "Evie" I whispered back, "Where are you?"

"We crossed the mountains a few days back, we are camping out in a forest somewhere, heading towards Camelot still, but we've been asking at every village we find if they had seen you. What happened?"

I shrugged, even though she could not see it, "I was rescued by a man, he calls himself Mort, he said he'd take me to Camelot..." I trailed off.

Evie picked up on my hesitation immediately, "Is he alright?"

I bit my lip uneasily, "I'm not sure. He acts distant all the time, and I can't work out what his agenda is."

She frowned worriedly, "But he saved you and said he'd take you to Camelot right?"

I nodded. "Yea, but I don't trust him, I just hope he will take me safely to the castle."

Evie's face filled with worry, "Just keep an eye on him I guess, We will try and catch you up to meet you as soon as possible but I think we are a few days behind you."

I mustered a smile, "I'm sure I'm making a big deal of nothing. I missed you Evie." I could feel tears threatening to spill over, "I've missed you so much."

"Me too. Thank god you're alive I was so scared. I thought..." she stopped and I interrupted before she could go on, "I know. I'm sorry. I'll see you soon ok?"
She nodded and I tapped the mirror cautiously, causing it to go dark.

I sighed and put the mirror back in the satchel. However my night of revelations was not over yet as my hands caught on a crumpled piece of paper as I did so, I pulled it out frowning, and felt my heart stop as I realised what it was.

You know that feeling of sudden absolute despair you occasionally get? It hit me full force as I remembered the piece of paper which I had so carelessly shoved in my pocket back where it all started.

I've made the lives of countless men

And ruined those of many more

So stranger, pick either now or then

But be certain and be sure-

For this is a warning to those who choose

All may make their choice to squander or learn

This is a game of life, in which you win or lose.

Any can enter, but few may return

Reading it again now, it started to make a little more sense, and I got the sinking feeling that whatever the disk had been in the cinema, it was to blame for what had happened to us, and had I but had the presence of mind to examine this seemingly innocent piece of paper, I could have perhaps stopped it all from happening.

The first part was easy, obviously a number of people had fallen into the same trap we did, and some found happiness, others ruin. It was not a particularly happy prospect, so I moved on to the next lines; something about a choice, one we had obviously made without realising. The last part was decidedly ominous, and horrifyingly final. The chances of us returning were obviously very slight.

It shed little light on how we came to be here however, there was certainly no science behind it that I could comprehend, it was looking more and more like magic, as if we had been thrown into the world of Harry Potter and grabbed a portkey by accident.

Unfortunately this wasn't Hogwarts and I couldn't wave my wand and make everything disappear; I was stuck in this strange land with no logical way home.

I stuffed the piece of paper back into my pocket, with a mental note to show it to Evie if I saw her. When I saw her, I corrected myself. My pessimistic mood would help no-one.

I quietly went and lay back down, glaring at my companion who was sleeping soundly as if he was upon a warm bed, no such imagining was getting me anywhere however, as all I could feel was the unforgiving ground beneath my back, coupled with my racing thoughts meant I got a sleepless night.

We left early again, my companion showing no sign he had noticed my lack of sleep, for which I was glad. We were riding the horses through farm land along a dirt track, wide enough for the carts and wagons I was sure passed through regularly. It was a nice day, but I was in no mood for it, grumpy on my lack of sleep, and stressed out. You would think having seen Evie I would feel better, instead it had driven home how distanced I was from her, how much danger I could be in and how insane the whole situation was.

Unfortunately it was about to get worse, as the strange tight feeling in my chest began to return from the night before. At first it was simply a slight pressure pushing at me as if I had my hand pushing against my skin, however slowly over the next hour it grew worse, it began to hurt and I found my breath growing shorter. I wasn't going to say anything, I simply felt stupid, maybe I had bruised my chest or something, but slowly I grew dizzier as I found myself unable to draw proper breaths. A feeling of slow panic set in and I tried to call out to Mort riding ahead of me. He turned to look at me, a frown adorning his face, I guess because my voice sounded so strange. But I couldn't find any other words as my throat seemed unable to obey my commands, my visioning was greying as so I did what any self respecting girl would do in the situation; I fell off my horse.

I don't remember the landing for which I am thankful for, I must have passed out before I hit the ground and when I next came too, I was lying on my back , propped against a tree, a small pot simmered nearby on a makeshift campfire, the horses were tethered to a tree and Mort was no-where to be seen.

I frowned, it almost surprised me he had not simply tied me to the horse and rode on, he did not seem the sort to be bothered by small setbacks like fainting women. I immediately felt a stab of guilt; he was not the most talkative man but he had been kind to me and did not deserve such thoughts.

To speak of the devil, at the moment the man himself returned, carrying so plants and leaves, to what purpose I did not know.

Felt immediately awkward, a feeling which had become all too familiar in the past few days, and found myself devoid of words; 'what happened' just seemed se cliché, I had fallen off my horse, I knew how I had gotten into this position already.

"Hi". I tried weakly.

He looked up in confusion "I suppose I do look rather tall from up here"

I stifled a groan. Great, the colloquial language had passed over his head with a definite whistling sound.

"never mind' I muttered.

He looked down at me for a moment, "you fell off your horse."

No shit Sherlock.

"Yes, I guess the heat got to me?"

He frowned, "Doubtful. Did you suffer dizziness, shortness of breath?"

I gulped. "Yeah...why?"

He frowned, something he seemed to be doing a lot lately. I idly wondered if he actually had any other expressions in his repertoire, I had the wild urge to giggle, but stifled it as he spoke again.

"It would seem to me you have run afoul of something evil, tell me; in your recent past have you crossed paths with some creature of the dark?"

I refrained from rolling my eyes, his manner of speech did become tiresome eventually; "Not long before the snowstorm we came across a dragon, and fought and killed it."

His troubled expression shifted to something akin to shock; it was certainly the most interesting expression I had seen upon his face yet, his eyebrows lifted, his eyes bulged, and his mouth dropped open slightly. It wasn't the most flattering of looks.

So apparently dragon fighting wasn't as unremarkable as Tarren had made it seem.

"You killed a dragon?"

"Not just me, it was mostly Tarren, Zane and Felix, the rest of us just helped."

His eyebrows lifted even further, if that was possible, "You travelled with Tarren the Bear and Zane the swordsman?"

It was my turn to look surprised, "You know them?"

He let out a startled laugh "Who doesn't? They are men of great renown"

Well that was news to me.

"So what does this all have to do with me falling off my horse?"

He frowned again, "The dragon, did she...do anything before she died?"

"Only kill Felix" I snapped bitterly.

His face dropped into something like sympathy, which seemed ill-fitting on his face, he placed his hand upon my shoulder, "I am sorry."

I felt a tremble in my stomach, and nothing to do with my recent fall. I was oddly aware of his hand touching me, and could think of nothing to say. Pull yourself together I told myself fiercely. "Now you mention it...she looked at me. The dragon I mean. And I think she said something, though I don't know what. Our gazes did not break until she died, and I felt most odd a moment later, until I was distracted by Felix's plight."

His hand dropped from my shoulder and I felt oddly befit of the warmth, however his next words drove all such thoughts from my head entirely.

"I fear you have been cursed."

Reviews are my life.