4 - The Ten Rings

Time and Place Unknown

"Oh thank God-" She heaved a heavy sigh of relief as soon as words she recognized and could understand fell from his lips. "You know, I've done lots of travel where I haven't known a word of what people are saying and it's really bloody scary, so thank you, I really appreciate the English - I also speak French, but since we've already established the English, I think we should stick with that - oh!" The men were shoving her forward, then shoving her down and forcing her to her knees before their master. "Um-"

"Be careful how you speak to me, girl."

She was taken aback by his tone. "Woman," she shot back. "I'm a woman."

"Then be careful how you speak to me, woman."

"Still not liking it, Mate. Do you speak to everyone that way?"

"Yes."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"This is the Ten Rings, and I am its leader," he spoke proudly.

"Okay... What's the Ten Rings-"

Again she was cut off. He stood towering over her now, and took a few strands of her bright red hair between his fingers. He was close enough now that she suddenly realized that the golden gauntlets adorning his wrists were not gauntlets at all, at least not of the classic kind: but bracelets. Five dangling on each wrist.

"Hair like fire. Like a phoenix," he mumbled, still examining her hair.

She yanked herself away. "Hey, invasive much."

"You are one to talk about invasive." He stood tall again so that he towered over her. And if he was trying to intimidate, it definitely worked. "You stole into my compound - a heavily guarded fortress. I want to know how an unarmed woman dressed as you are achieved such a feat."

"No I didn't! I don't even know how I got here! I just appeared here, I have no idea how it happened! It was like magic!"

"Oh?" He titled his head while continuing to regard her, appearing curious.

"I don't know! It just seemed like that, I can't explain it. Look, I'm not trying to cause trouble with anyone, I'm just trying to figure out where the hell I am and how I got here!"

"How did you get into my compound?" he continued to press.

"I don't know!" she repeated with as much emphasis. "I don't know! What's happening?! Wait - am I dead?"

"No - but you are in a place of death."

That really didn't do anything to lift her spirits or help her current state. He turned back to his guards and addressed them in the language they could understand, she still wasn't sure of which one it was. Then he glanced at her once more. "Lock her up - see if she's more willing to talk later."

"Lock me up - Oi!" She was hauled to her feet once again. "Wait! Where are you taking me?!"

He didn't answer, just watched as his guards dragged her away.

She was taken below the fortress, into the cold stone of a classic ancient dungeon. The whole compound seemed to shake when the iron bars of the cell door slammed shut.

She pressed her body against the stone wall and slid down to the cold floor, trembling.

Everything around her was a blur, a whirlwind. One moment she was snapping at Margaret in the hallway of the museum, and now, suddenly, she was here in some ancient-like complex locked up by a warrior? Come on! It made no sense, no sense whatsoever.

She began mumbling to herself in a mix of French and English, incoherent for the most part, just talking to try and make herself more comfortable. She often talked to herself when working through something, and she definitely needed any kind of reassurance right now.

What was going on? How had this happened? Who was that guy with the gold bracelets and the Ten Rings?

Wait, the Ten Rings? Suddenly, she remembered-

She recalled seeing the news coverage on the telly: the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization led by the Mandarin, who was after Iron Man several years ago.

Did that mean she was with them now? How the hell had she managed to entangle herself in that?

Had they broken into the museum perhaps, and drugged her, and that was why she didn't remember how she had gotten here? But what would a terrorist group want in a museum? Sure, there was a lot of valuable stuff there, but... And besides, the guy had accused her of breaking into his fortress, which she most definitely had not, thank you very much.

No explanation she came up with, or tried to come up with rather, made any sense.

The guy who she'd been speaking with had said he was the leader, but he wasn't the same as the guy on TV had been (an actor hired to instill fear, it had turned out). So had this guy taken over, or was he the real leader?

What the hell? She had no idea what to do. She had no idea what was happening, period - and that was a very scary feeling.

When Wenwu heard one of his soldiers addressing him, he turned and saw the man approaching him, holding out his hand.

He held something in his gloved palm: a necklace with a green pendant.

"She had this with her."

Wenwu took the necklace, staring down at it in wonder.

Maybe she was more special than he had originally thought.

I hope you liked their first meeting! ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)