Author's comments: sorry it's so short, I'll do better next time. I only wanted to add an interlude chapter and had this idea, just to complicate things. Thank you for reading. Feedback always appreciated, good or bad.

Empress Soraya

Chapter 2

... extremely short, In which a certain jounralist gets into unusual trouble.

In the scorching heat of the sun, a rather weary tall blonde-haired man continued his jounrey of self-recognition. It had already led him to previously unexplored regions of the plateau and on occasion, an extremely desolate occasion, he wished he had taken his friends along. Especially Challenger. Hecoulduse this well, to some of his scientific purposes, Malone was sure. An Marguerite? marguerite would probably find here and unusla richness of natural resources, if she was still interested, of course. He missed them all and would have done anythong to have them with him.

But then he would remeber the purpose of this lone venture and remeber that this was something he needed to do on his own.

Somehwere deep inside he hoped he could discover the way off the plateau and return to London to organize a rescue expedition to save his friends. However, for the time being at least,no such path was shown to him. Sometimes he would ponder over the pointlessness of this attempt, but Ned Malone was never the one to give up. At least not after what he had learned on the plateau.

When the afternoon sun finally made it impossible for him to journey on, he sighed and decided to take a five-minute break in the comforting shadow of a tree. He never noticed when or how, but his wearienss finally took the better of him and he fell asleep.

Unbeknowst to the sleeping traveller, someone had been watching him from a hiding place in the bushes. A person of gentle disposition, though strong masculine posture and noble features, waiting for Malone to fall asleep. When he fianlly did, the man tiptoed out and gently took Malone in his arms to carry him off towards the palace.

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When Malone finally woke up a good few hours later, he could no longer recognise his surroundings. Sitting up he looked around, still groggy from sleep. He as not under the tree anymore but found himself lying in a soft, comfortable bed in a room which seemed oddly medieval, what with its decorations and stone walls.

"What the hell?", he swore under his breath, coming completely around and shrugging off the last traces of his sleep.

"Pray, Claudio, lie back " a gentle deep voice spoke.

Malone looked around to see a tall, dairk-haired man...the young journalist's eyes went wide with disbelief. This couldn't be.

"Roxton? What are you talking about?", he asked dumbfounded. "Where are we? This is not the treehouse, surely!"

His interlocutor merely shook his head.

"Nay, Claudio, I am not Roxton. Thou mistakest me for someone else. Don't you recall Benedic, your comrade and friend? You and Lady Hero disappeared so suddenly...we had you for dead.'

Malone groaned and hid his face in his hands. What did he got himself into this time? As far as he recalled, Benedic, Claudio and Hero were almost certainly names of Shakespearan characters.

"Art though feeling well?"

"I am not Claudio, Benedick", Malone said after a while, utterly confused,. How could it be possible for him to be here? What could have happened?

"Say not such things, Claudio. Of course you are yourself,", Benedick gently replied, "Though it is understood that you need rest. We have found you unciosncious under a tree and though the medic assures us that all will be well, we are all concerned about your well-being "

"I"m telling you I"m no bloody Claudio!"

"Calm down your nerves, my friend. After you rest you will remember who you are. I shall now excuse myself to inform Lord Leonato of your condition."

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"How is he, Lord Benedick? ", an apprehensive voice, belonging to a slender raven-haired beauty, queried upon seeing him emerge from Malone's room.

"He is much troubled, Beatrice. He does nottrust himself to be Claudio."

The woman referred to as beatrice rose her elegant eyebrows at this.

"How so?"

"Upon awakening he referred to me as "Roxton". He must be very ill to mistake me for someone else. But the medic assures me he will be fine once he rests."

This seemd to concern the woman even more, even though her face remained fixed and calm.

"Has Lord Leonato been informed?"

"I was just proceeding to do this, my lady"

Beatrice nodded

"You wish company, perhaps?"

Benedick smiled ,"Yours, always, my dear".

She gracefully accepted his arm and together they went to look for Lord Leonato to inform him of recent events. They were not only concerned for their friend;s well being but also that of his wife who had not been found yet. Hero and Claudio had both disappeared unexpectedly one night. It was suspected they had been taken hostage but this proved wrong when Benedick found who he believed to be Claudio. This raised hopes in the knight's heart that Hero, Leonato's daughter could also be foind alive and well, given time and patience. With these good tidings he and Beatrice went to see Leonato himself.

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Left on his own, Malone drowned in his thoughts. He had no idea what he would do, or how was it possible that he even got here in the first place. This was a medivelval castle and he, out of blue, become incorporated into its life. How could he be? He would never know. But he was certain he needed to get out of there and fast, or lese he would lose his mind ready to believe he was in fact Claudio.

But though his thoughts were racing, he had no solid reason to be allowed to leeave, especially that everyone around seemed to be certain he was someone he wasn't. He cursed himself again and again for falling asleep under that tree, but then again he couldn't be sure if that would have changed anything and there was no pointin dwelling on that, either. His real problem was: how to persuade them he was not Claudio.

But, be it for the exerience or the heat of the sun, with those thoughts he fell back to sleep.