Author's Note: I don't own LOTR, Except for the few Oc's it all belongs to Tolkien.
LittleWesties9: Thank You! I hope I'll make it interesting enough for you to stick around. Enjoy the chapter :)
AquaDragonSilverFire: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter too :)
Narylfiel: Thank you so much! It's reviews like yours that really drive the writer. I really want to make a non-Mary sue character. Hope you stick around long enough to see how it turns out. But for now please enjoy the chapter :)
I'm sorry for not uploading the chapter early but it is a bigger one. I HOPE YOU ENJOY! Please RR.
Chapter 2: The Medieval Town.
The pain coursing through my stiff legs was the first thing that registered in my mind as I gained some semblance of consciousness. My bleary eyes opened to reveal the depth of the grey sky looming over me, promising ominous weather. With a sinking of the stomach and screaming protest of my stiff body, I got up on my feet and with a sweeping gaze took in the grime and dirt that caked my body.
'It's not a dream,' was the thought that caused bile to rise in my throat and with a hollow resolve, I put the situation to the back of my mind. I ran a hand through my hair, through the grease and grime that coated the knot. The road that spread out before me was wide and long, and even looking at this dreadful trek left me haggard. Staying here was perhaps not the best option, I realized as the slither of the snake came from thick bushes of the forest. I took out my phone, holding it up with a hope to get signals but cursed as the battery gave out and the phone shut to reveal the black lifeless screen. Just peachy.
'To hell with it all!' I thought and started walking. I wandered for hours, barefooted on the dirt track, the heat of the sun scorching my dark brown hair. I couldn't bear with the heels anymore and had fitted them inside my handbag, not caring anymore how dirty they were. What good was hygiene right now when I could have a twisted ankle and not being able to move anymore? It didn't seem likely that a car would pass by any time soon.
It was past afternoon when the numbing pain in my muscles felt unbearable. With each step, I groaned in agony, so when the tiny blobs floated into my vision I shook my head thinking of them as illusions.
I couldn't help but feel hopeful at seeing such a grand sight and my steps quickened on their own accord. The sun had almost set when I reached the buildings. Their fashion reminded me of the various medieval movies I had watched and I couldn't help the dread from seeing into my stomach. After all this trek, I had come to a cosplaying town, right in the middle of the wilderness with most probably old school devices? My luck was just amazing to me at that point. I shook my head then, knowing that their lifestyle wouldn't bother me a bit if I could get a nice and warm meal, a relaxing shower and phone service. So instead of worrying about what awaited me, I focused on the novel scenery that I was nearing. The wooden housed glistened in the diluted rays of the setting sun, their dark polish casting a hue on the ground. The stones, although rare in sight bespoke grandeur of the place they were embedded in as they reflected the light from their uneven surfaces. There were no roads, instead, the dirt tracks, considerably much cleaner and broad, extended through the main lane, their extensions hidden behind the walls.
The entrance was guarded by huge iron gates and one person, most likely the guard was sitting beside it on a wooden chair. He was bulky, wearing leather breeches and a grubby shirt hidden beneath a thick cloak. My eyes made out the sword strapped to his right hip and my steps faltered to a stroll. I wondered where I was headed to, alone and severely unguarded, to some sort of cosplaying town or home to an old tribe? Racking my brain to remember whether there was some sort of tribe land near my home, or even somewhere in America, I came up with nothing. I was sure that even if such tribes existed they would not live in purely medieval situations, perhaps it is just a veil and they are enjoying life facilities in there, at the very least they would have a phone, or a tv even, I told myself but as my gaze met with clear surroundings with not one pole of electricity, I dreaded the direction I was headed to. 'Maybe I can just turn back...' Shaking my head at the ludicrous thought of going back, I started moving towards the gates once again. It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter. I hadn't eaten anything in the past two days and I could barely walk. Even if I somehow survived without food, my half liter bottle of water that I always carried with me finished a while ago even when I had tried to save it as much as I could.
I was stopped at the gates, the only functioning eye of the guard raked over my appearance and a snarl appeared on his face revealing yellowed teeth, with breath so bad that it made me take a step back. Schooling my face into a passive expression I wondered at his outright dislike of my appearance when he himself looked like he would only wash when someone threw him down the drain and waited patiently to catch his eyes to begin my explanation. It wasn't until he looked at my attire with a sneer that I realized that things might not work out as smoothly as I planned. I was slightly taken aback at his outright disgust at whatever he found offending in my dress pants and full white blouse hidden beneath the grey jacket. The small bead of my earing glistened under the light as I moved my head to the side and couldn't help but recoil at the twitch in his fingers and the glint in his eye made me wonder if I should tell him that it was a fake one before he snatched it from the long string it was attached to. I shuffled in my heels, which I had worn a few hours back to look a tiny bit more presentable when I had first made out the village and fixed him with my own stare. Yes, I might not be dressed according to their cosplaying standards but no one warned me. It wasn't exactly my fault that I was wandering around in my work clothes, greasy and covered in dirt with my handbag slung over my shoulder. My hair which was open when I woke up here, was now tied back in a knot at the back of my head. Yes, I might have looked horrid but according to my standards, this particular guard wasn't that well off either.
All my social spirit flew out of the window when he made a grab at my arm and as I slapped his broad palm away, I spoke, trying my best to keep control of my tone, "Please if you don't mind can you move. I just need to contact a few people. I'm not a suspicious person, I can assure you" Despite my efforts, my tone was curt and a harsh undertone lined it which I was sure I didn't want to reveal. The guard furrowed his eyebrows and said something in what seemed to be a foreign language. I raked my brain in desperation, to at least identify which language it was. French, no I knew its basics. Italian? Too far to go in such a short time. Actually, all the viable languages were spoken in areas too far from California. When after a minute of silence I still understand a word, I looked at him uncertainly. "Do you speak English?", I said my voice drowning out in the end as his brow, thick and undefined, rose over the hard lines of his face and I gave a hesitant smile. I wasn't going to start off on the wrong foot with someone who had a weapon, in this unknown area when I didn't even understand the language. He said something again, his tone sounding even gruff than before. He made a swing for my arm again and I stumbled back a few steps, the restraint in my temper breaking.
"How far am I from California that you don't even understand English?!" I snapped, my temper flaring. I haven't walked for two forsaken days to just find a cosplaying town whose citizens refused to speak English. Last time I checked on my phone, which was yesterday, it was still Wednesday. No one could have carried me half the way around the globe to some wilderness in the span of a few hours. It was not even amusing to think that such places exist in America, otherwise, it would have been all over the internet. There were thousands of people who loved the periodic life, it would have been quite the tourist spot if it existed.
The guard gave a growl, another snarl extended on his lips and I huffed. I couldn't deal with this before I had at least something to eat. I tried to tell him about my actions. I drank, I ate with a spoon but he didn't seem to understand anything. I could see his frown turning into an angry scowl.
Suddenly, he grabbed my upper arm. I flinched, pushing at him I tried to get away but his broad palm stayed firmly at my elbow, dragging me through the gates into the town. If my yells weren't enough to attract the people's attention, it seemed as my attire was. Women dressed in long medieval dresses, some plain some extravagant, looked at me with wide eyes, whispering behind their hands. All this seemed way too real. How was it possible that they have never seen someone dressed like me?. Unless...
I shook my head frantically. It wasn't scientifically possible to travel through time or space. Just freaking ludicrous!
"Let me go!" I yelled but to no avail.
The guard, despite my resistance, dragged me half the way across the town into a building marked by a sign. The chains of the board creaked loudly in the breeze and I vaguely made out the image of a horse, perhaps a pony. I stumbled as the guard came to a stop near the counter. The inn was scarcely populated. Polished tables and chairs of dark oak filled the sitting area. The wood of the counter gleamed as if someone had taken special care of wipe it off showing a stark difference to the grease lining the floor and the tables as men munched on their meals splashing out their beer joyously. I stared at the array of people littered about, their stature differencing but all wearing breeches (was it the word?) and grubby shirts with leather vests pulled against the cold of the night. All of them had but one thing in common, they had some sort of weapons close to themselves. One particular dwarf (he was too short to be a man) was swinging an extremely sharp ax, the blade of which glistened menacingly in the flame of the lantern and I couldn't help but gulp at their rowdiness. I was attracting glances again as a particular yell was heard from the edge of the pub and I shrunk into myself when the laughter resounded the walls. With every passing moment, it was becoming more and more unlikely that it was just a cosplaying town. I felt dizzy.
The smell of weed and alcohol was overwhelming on my empty stomach and my eyes watered in response. While I was busy gagging away due to the polluted air, a bearded bald man wearing an apron came to a stop in front of us, carrying trays of tankards and dirty plates. The guard exchanged a few sharp words with that man. He looked startled at whatever my unwelcome captor was saying. The person about whom I was by now sure that he was the owner of this pub placed the dishes in a tub. He turned to look at us again, his gaze mixed with mild suspicion. He said something in their language but I must have looked quite clueless because he exchanged a glance with the guard. When he tried again, in probably a different language as his accent had changed, I still shook my head and his brows rose high on his forehead, an incredulous look marring his face.
If he was not suspicious before, he certainly looked so now. Again trying to initiate a conversation he spoke slowly as if he was addressing a child. I could certainly save his time. It wasn't like I was multilingual. Yes, I knew English and a little bit of Spanish but not more than that. My knowledge of French extended mostly to Bonjour, Madame, and Monsieur.
"Do you know English?" I asked politely, my cracking voice at the end caused me to snap my mouth shut and I sighed, feeling my pupils pulsate beneath my closed lids. It was becoming too much to intake. First I got dropped off to somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no knowledge about how I got there. Then after almost days of the agonizing walk, I reach someplace where I had hopes of contacting home and all that was dashed when I reached this Medieval town.
I must have looked quite depressed as I saw the owner's eyes softening slightly. He exchanges a few more words with the guard who was taken aback by what this man said. Giving me another loathing glare, he departed muttering under his breath.
The owner was looking at me closely as if to gauge something from my expression. I was already feeling faint. 'Even if we don't speak the same language, he will understand my signs, he's human too after all!' I reasoned with myself, It seemed that the guard had also understood my gestures because he brought me to this pub. This man certainly will.
I gestured as if I was eating and then drinking. When he continued staring, I started scrubbing my jacket clad arms. Maybe he'll realize my need for a bath at the very least. Although I was sure that by my appearance anyone within a mile's radius would understand my need to bath.
He was distracted a moment later when loud shouts came from a nearby table. Looking at me once more, he gave me a slight toothy smile and nodding at me he yelled something. A moment later a petite woman appeared and after exchanging a few sentences with the pub owner she looked at me with surprise. The owner had already left, probably to serve those loud drunks leaving me with this lady who tucked a strand of greying brown hair behind her ears, her blue eyes bright as she looked at me. She smiled at me kindly and gestured to me to follow her. I did so without hesitation, It wasn't like I had another choice. She led me through the hallway, climbing the creaking wooden stairs and reached a door, took a key from her pocket and opened it. The room was plain with only a bed in the middle alongside it was a small wooden table and a chair. The curtains were drawn. I could see the plain night sky outside of it. She gestured to the bed and then to me. 'Maybe she wants me to sleep' I mused weakly, but before I could move she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room. She led me to another door at the far end of the hallway. When inside, it took me a moment to realize that this was actually the bath. A large wooden tub filled with water was placed in the center of the room. There was a small clay pot on the side, which I realized with a start was for relieving oneself. I felt unsteady. The conditions of hygiene looked like a joke in this place. The lady spent a few more minutes gesturing to a few things, most likely hoping that I would understand what they are for. I nodded weakly, still trying to adjust to the fact that it all might be real.
My companion, perhaps realizing my lack of attention gave me a slight pat on the back. Then I was left to my own devices.
Hearing the click of the door snapped me back to reality. I neatly placed my clothes on the side of the wooden tub as I didn't know whether I could find new modern clothes in this town. Sitting down in the tub, I sighed as the warm water washed over my stiff muscles, dulling the ache from the long walk. I was tired, both physically and mentally, emotionally too it seemed when I felt my throat closing and a heavy pang hitting my chest.
I didn't know what it was, maybe the sharp coldness of water against my warm skin, the deep aching in my muscles or even the fact that how dirty the water became just a few moments later due to the grime from my body, everything seemed a lot more vivid all of a sudden and this feeling in my gut, the slight nervousness mixed with extreme discomfort and dread told me that I really was struck here, where ever there was, and was in for an awfully tough time.
I stayed in the tub for a long time. It could've been minutes or it could've been hours. I had no means to count.
A knock disrupted my jumbled thoughts. 'I was hogging the bath' I thought faintly as I hurried to scrub whatever grime was left. The soap wasn't as good as the ones back home but they did their job.
I dried myself with a cloth the lady had left for me. Picking up the clothes, I stopped short. It was a dress, a plain brown dress that reached my ankles, but a dress nonetheless. My short stay in Africa and even my daily duties as a doctor had made me realize how to dress practically, and God knows dressing in this ankle length was not practical...'If I have to run' My musing did not feel as ludicrous at that time.
Another knock at the door reminded me of the person standing outside. I gave a withering glare towards the dress but wore it along with the few undergarments I was given. As I saw it, I hardly have a choice right now. The lady was gracious enough to even give me undergarments. My complaints were not valid.
When fully dressed, I creaked the door open. The same lady was standing outside. she gave me a once-over, seeming pleased with my clean dress clad self. She led me to the room she had shown me before. The only improvement was a small tray of food on the small table and the handbag placed on the bed which must've forgotten it at the counter. I glanced at the woman thankfully and obliged when she gestured to the food, then bed and then to me. I nodded in understanding and gave her a grateful smile. As far as I could see, it was my first real smile in the last two days. I wasn't sure if they knew the fact that I had paper money and not the coins I saw people paying with earlier, but I'll look into that matter when the time comes. I was just going to be grateful at the moment.
Her eyes softened slightly and at that moment I was reminded of my mother. Will she be worrying? Does she know where I am? Will she know by now that I was lost? I shook my head. 'Not now' I thought and bit my lower lip. Smiling softly at me she closed the door to the room and left.
'Alone again' I thought, sitting down on the bed and began eating. I was famished yet in all my nervousness I couldn't eat to my fill only finishing half of the bread and stew that was given to me and gulped down the water, I also took out two pills of painkiller from my handbag. I only had a few of them and I knew that I should be using them wisely, but at that moment I couldn't bring myself to care at all. I later realized that maybe I wanted something close to home, something close to my real self and that was why I was being reckless. Every passing moment proved the reality of the situation and I couldn't help but sink deeper into dread with every passing instance.
Done with my dinner, I collapsed on the bed, the mattress was stiff and it felt old, but it was better than the bare floor I've slept on the past two days. I was too tired to even clearly think about my predicament the support of the mattress had a nice effect on my tired back. Before I knew it, I had already drifted into a fitful night's sleep.
To be continued...