Kat opened up one groggy eye and groaned, realizing that she was lying on the ground. Pushing herself up, she grabbed her head and grimaced. "God damn. What the hell was that?" She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see the librarian, or Kate, or her school at least, only to be unpleasantly shocked.
Looking around, she found herself in a small, slightly uncomfortable, and what felt like a straw bed. What was weirder was the room the bed was in. It was straight out of a history museum. Fairly large, there appeared to be everything a house should have in it. There was another small bed at the foot of the one she had woken up in, which also appeared to be straw. On the other side of the large room was a wood table with three wooden chairs surrounding it next to a large wood stove.
Taking another look, Kat saw that there were no modern day appliances. Infact, there weren't any semi-modern day appliances, either. There was nothing, not even a sink with a faucet. There didn't seem to be any running water, either. Which made Kat wonder about a bathroom.
"Where am I?" She asked herself softly, while every worse-case scenario ran through her head. "Have I been kidnapped by hillbillies? I'm going to be eaten!"
Just when Kat was about to have a mental breakdown, a girl entered through a formerly unnoticed door carrying a bucket of water. Her small, dirty face was drawn into a look of complete concentration as she tottered over to a large wooden tub and dumped the water in. When her task was completed, she smiled proudly and looked over towards Kat, her dark brown eyes widening when she saw her sitting up. Running over to her, the girl's blonde hair bounced behind her. "You awake, lady?"
"No, I'm talking in my sleep." Kat rolled her eyes and looked at the girl, who's eyes were filled with complete and total confusion. "Never mind. Yes, I'm awake."
The girl smiled and ran over to a small cupboard in the corner of the room and pulled out a bowl, filled it with water from the tub she had filled previously, and walked over to Kat to hand her the bowl. "Here! My mama says to give you water if you awake!"
Kat took the bowl and took a sip, making a face at the feeling of some sand going down her throat. "Thanks….um….What's your name?"
The girl's smile grew, as Kat slowly realized she'd made a huge mistake and asked a child a question. "I'm Fa Li! You're pretty. What's your name? Where are you from? I like your clothes. What's your name?"
Kat sighed and took another sip of dirty water. "I'm Kat, from Wilmington." Fa Li gave her a blank stare. "In North Carolina." More blank staring. "In America!" Stare….. "Never mind. I'm Kat." She sighed again. What sort of kid didn't know where, or what, America is! Just as Fa Li opened her mouth to ask more questions, the door opened once more to reveal a short, somewhat plump woman with dark brown hair.
"Ah! You're awake! Good! Li, did you give her some water?" She asked. She walked over to the wood stove and took a pot out of it.
"Yes, Mama! Her name is Kat from a place called Amrica!" The girl bounded to her mother. She took the pot from her and filled it with water from the tub, handing it back to her mother.
"Thank you, Li." She put the pot on the counter and turned to Kat, walking up to her briskly and putting her hand on her head. "Well, you don't seem to be sick. That's good." She pulled up one of the chairs and sat down next to her. "So, you're name is Kat?"
Kat nodded at her and took another drink of water. "If you don't mind me asking, where am I?"
"Well, Kat. I'm Fa Wan. And you're in a northern prefecture of Xi-Lang." Wan Li got off of her chair and knelt on the floor. "And I am honored that you chose to stay in my home, Priestess of Byakko." She leaned down and bow down to the now completely and utterly confused Kat.
"What…?"