Chapter 2: Violet Orbs
".never seen such a strange-looking child. Look at her clothes!"
Nicole awoke groggily, eyes refusing to open properly. The voice she had just heard was gone, and for a moment Nicole thought that had all been just some odd dream, but when her eyes finally fluttered open, the first thing she saw was a pair of violet orbs floating in front of her vision. Nicole gasped in fright and tried to scramble away from the orbs, but an iron grip on her left leg stopped her from going anywhere. The orbs receded, and a nose appeared in her line of vision. Next came a mouth, then a mane of fiery red hair. The head turned to face something outside of Nicole's sight, and said something that she strained to understand.
"We'd better take her to my father, or Numair, or someone like that." The name Numair registered itself in Nicole's mind, but she couldn't get a grip on where she'd heard it before. A TV show, maybe?
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Nicole was barely aware that she had been picked up and was being carried swiftly towards a structure that could be called a castle, but was better defined as a fortress. Waiting at the gates was a very tall, lanky man with black hair secured by a hair-tie, and a slender woman of about twenty-five, with curly brown hair tied into a bun. The woman looked rather like she had been slender once, but her stomach had swelled to the size of a beach ball. Nicole vaguely registered that she must be pregnant, and very close to her time, but she didn't reflect more on this. The lanky man helped carry Nicole into the main part of the fortress, and Nicole drifted back to sleep.
When Nicole next awoke, she was lying on something very soft. At first thinking she was back in the hospital and that the weird orbs had been a dream, she sat up awkwardly, and realized she couldn't be in the hospital because her leg was on the bed, not suspended from the ceiling. She peered around the room curiously. Tapestries covered the stone walls and rugs the floor. She didn't have time to examine further, because the door opened and three very harried people strode in.
The first was a young man in his twenties, with astonishing green eyes (A/N I hope this is the right description.I haven't read POTS in a long time, so I can't remember what Neal or Duke Baird.or Yuki.look like). He was followed by a man that was his spitting image, although much older, in his fifties at least. The final person was a beautiful young woman with the slanting eyes of a Japanese person, and Nicole was uncomfortably reminded of Annabelle.
The young man leaned over Nicole's leg, poking at the cast curiously, while his older mirror image looked at Nicole's face. The Japanese woman hovered anxiously in the background.
"Father, can you make anything of this? I suppose it's here to hold the bones in her leg together, like a splint, but why use so much of this.rock- type thing?" The young man glanced at the older, a quizzical look on his face.
The older man poked at the cast the way his son had and shrugged. "What I wish to know is how it - and she - got here. Alanna and George just found her on the beach, right, Neal?"
Neal nodded. "Lady Alanna and Baron George couldn't make anything of it either."
Annoyed, Nicole sat up. "Would you please stop talking about me as if I wasn't here?"
Neal and his father looked at her in amazement. "What a strange accent! Where have you come from?"
"Canada." Nicole said hesitantly, making it sound like a question rather than a statement.
"Canada?" Neal said, pronouncing it slowly. "That's not a country I've ever heard of, and we were made to study plenty of geography as pages. Do you know where you are?"
"Should I?" Nicole asked curiously. "Because I don't."
Neal and his father exchanged a look, and then Neal looked at the pretty Japanese woman. "Perhaps you'd better leave, Yuki. This probably won't interest you."
The woman he had called Yuki laughed. "Honestly, Neal. You think nothing will interest me. This is all quite fascinating. Child, you are in Tortall. Pirate's Swoop, to be exact. I am Yukimi noh Daiomoru, known as Yuki to most. This young man is Nealan of Queenscove, my husband, and this is His Grace, Duke Baird of Queenscove."
The names all clicked in Nicole's mind, and she woke up fully. "Tortall? Pirate's Swoop? And.Neal, and Duke Baird, and Yuki? This has to be a dream. This so has to be a dream." She pinched herself and yelped. "Ow!"
"Child, this isn't a dream, and we're just as confused as you are." Duke Baird replied. "Numair and Myles should be here soon, and they can talk to you about it."
(A/N I know, very boring chapter, but a more interesting one will come soon. I had to get all the boring talking out first.)
".never seen such a strange-looking child. Look at her clothes!"
Nicole awoke groggily, eyes refusing to open properly. The voice she had just heard was gone, and for a moment Nicole thought that had all been just some odd dream, but when her eyes finally fluttered open, the first thing she saw was a pair of violet orbs floating in front of her vision. Nicole gasped in fright and tried to scramble away from the orbs, but an iron grip on her left leg stopped her from going anywhere. The orbs receded, and a nose appeared in her line of vision. Next came a mouth, then a mane of fiery red hair. The head turned to face something outside of Nicole's sight, and said something that she strained to understand.
"We'd better take her to my father, or Numair, or someone like that." The name Numair registered itself in Nicole's mind, but she couldn't get a grip on where she'd heard it before. A TV show, maybe?
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Nicole was barely aware that she had been picked up and was being carried swiftly towards a structure that could be called a castle, but was better defined as a fortress. Waiting at the gates was a very tall, lanky man with black hair secured by a hair-tie, and a slender woman of about twenty-five, with curly brown hair tied into a bun. The woman looked rather like she had been slender once, but her stomach had swelled to the size of a beach ball. Nicole vaguely registered that she must be pregnant, and very close to her time, but she didn't reflect more on this. The lanky man helped carry Nicole into the main part of the fortress, and Nicole drifted back to sleep.
When Nicole next awoke, she was lying on something very soft. At first thinking she was back in the hospital and that the weird orbs had been a dream, she sat up awkwardly, and realized she couldn't be in the hospital because her leg was on the bed, not suspended from the ceiling. She peered around the room curiously. Tapestries covered the stone walls and rugs the floor. She didn't have time to examine further, because the door opened and three very harried people strode in.
The first was a young man in his twenties, with astonishing green eyes (A/N I hope this is the right description.I haven't read POTS in a long time, so I can't remember what Neal or Duke Baird.or Yuki.look like). He was followed by a man that was his spitting image, although much older, in his fifties at least. The final person was a beautiful young woman with the slanting eyes of a Japanese person, and Nicole was uncomfortably reminded of Annabelle.
The young man leaned over Nicole's leg, poking at the cast curiously, while his older mirror image looked at Nicole's face. The Japanese woman hovered anxiously in the background.
"Father, can you make anything of this? I suppose it's here to hold the bones in her leg together, like a splint, but why use so much of this.rock- type thing?" The young man glanced at the older, a quizzical look on his face.
The older man poked at the cast the way his son had and shrugged. "What I wish to know is how it - and she - got here. Alanna and George just found her on the beach, right, Neal?"
Neal nodded. "Lady Alanna and Baron George couldn't make anything of it either."
Annoyed, Nicole sat up. "Would you please stop talking about me as if I wasn't here?"
Neal and his father looked at her in amazement. "What a strange accent! Where have you come from?"
"Canada." Nicole said hesitantly, making it sound like a question rather than a statement.
"Canada?" Neal said, pronouncing it slowly. "That's not a country I've ever heard of, and we were made to study plenty of geography as pages. Do you know where you are?"
"Should I?" Nicole asked curiously. "Because I don't."
Neal and his father exchanged a look, and then Neal looked at the pretty Japanese woman. "Perhaps you'd better leave, Yuki. This probably won't interest you."
The woman he had called Yuki laughed. "Honestly, Neal. You think nothing will interest me. This is all quite fascinating. Child, you are in Tortall. Pirate's Swoop, to be exact. I am Yukimi noh Daiomoru, known as Yuki to most. This young man is Nealan of Queenscove, my husband, and this is His Grace, Duke Baird of Queenscove."
The names all clicked in Nicole's mind, and she woke up fully. "Tortall? Pirate's Swoop? And.Neal, and Duke Baird, and Yuki? This has to be a dream. This so has to be a dream." She pinched herself and yelped. "Ow!"
"Child, this isn't a dream, and we're just as confused as you are." Duke Baird replied. "Numair and Myles should be here soon, and they can talk to you about it."
(A/N I know, very boring chapter, but a more interesting one will come soon. I had to get all the boring talking out first.)