Chapter 1- The Wrong Place At the Wrong Time
Lorelei raced up the stairs to her self-defense class. For years now, she'd been learning archery, how to wield a sword and how to fight in unarmed combat. Although she thought she'd never come to the point where she'd actually stab someone with a sword or shoot an arrow into someone's heart, classes were always fun and extremely dangerous.
When she got the top of the stairs, no one was there, so she assumed that meant the class had preceded to the archery range. Checking the schedule confirmed her thoughts.
Throwing down her bag containing all of her fencing attire, she prepared to race down a different set of stairs. Jumping two at a time she missed a step, which sent her tumbling down the rest of the flight. This wasn't too tragic, as there were only about 10 steps left.
Slowly picking herself up from the grass she noticed something golden lying just a few feet away from her. Picking up the object, she realized it was a ring. Wondering to whom it belonged, she noticed that it had some sort of inscription in French or something on the outside.
Putting it on her finger, she admired its shine. The ring fit, as if it had been practically made for her.
Suddenly the blue sky darkened and clouds covered the sky. Rain began to pound down in buckets, and it was all Lorelei could do to run for the cover of some trees standing nearby.
Amidst all this rain, something hit Lorelei… hard in the back of the head and she fell into unconsciousness.
Waking up, Lorelei noticed that the scenery had changed. The archery range and the house were gone. In their place was a much smaller, and dirtier house. One of its windows was cracked, and a sign hung from the window. It was one of those old ones which they once used for shop signs. Looking at it closely, she noticed a hammer and anvil on it.
This must be a smithy. She thought quietly. I wonder if anyone's home and can explain why I'm here.
Standing up, she straightened her skirts and stopped. She hadn't been wearing a dress before! Someone was going to pay for sticking her in this ghastly thing… as soon as she found out where she was.
No one was outside, so she walked decisively towards the smithy. Opening the door she peered inside to see a young man obviously hammering on what looked like a sword straight out of the furnace.
"Hey," she called to the unknown stranger, "Do you know where this bloody place is?" The young man jumped at the sounded of her voice, dropping the hot sword he was holding and hissing as it hit his hands. "May I help you," he painfully asked, cradling his injured hand with his other, trying to soothe it.
"Ummm… Hello! I just asked you a question!" Lorelei replied, very annoyed at his ignorance. "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," the young man said. His voice sounded English. "My name's Will Turner. You are currently in Port Royal, Jamaica, but surely you already knew that."
"Thanks. The name's Lorelei, by the way," she muttered under her breath. Will frowned, I've never heard that name before." He contemplated, "Where are you from?"
"Oh, I'm from America." Lorelei replied. "That does explain the accent, but isn't it dangerous living near savages?" Will's eyes had grown deep with concern.
"What savages?"
"The ones living in the Americas."
"There are no savages in America."
"I happen to know some people who have met them."
"Well, there aren't, and that's final."
Never had Will seen a woman with such fire. Lorelei reminded him of someone, but who? Ah yes. Anamaria. Further arguing ripped him out of his thoughts.
"Hellooo. Are you listening, or are you just TOO BLOODY-WILL STUPID TO ANSWER ONE BLOODY SIMPLE QUESTION?" "Sorry," Will mumbled, "Could you repeat your question?"
"WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO, IF I HAVE NO CURSED WAY OF KNOWING WHERE I AM?" Lorelei spoke close to Will, and right in his ear for the added sound affect.
She know how much this hurt. One of her self-defense instructors had been in the army, and had constantly used this painful method to burn certain combat tactics into her head.
Looking at Will, she could barely stifle a laugh. He was wincing, and you could see he clearly didn't want to be here at the moment. "'Scuse the bad language." She apologized, "I've been in the same situation, and I know how much it hurts."
Will gave a weak smile. "About your need for housing, I believe Elizabeth and I can set up the guest room for you, until you find your own house that is."
"Elizabeth?" Lorelei smiled politely. "My wife." Will said quickly. He expected to see a very glum looking Lorelei, but was surprised.
Lorelei's face brightened up, and she seemed proud in an odd way. "Congrats on your marriage! So… how long have you two known each other?" "Since we were little." Will replied, shaking his head in wonderment. This woman was indeed very different from the rest.
"Where's your house, Will? It'd be nice to see where I'll be staying for the next couple of days." Lorelei asked inquisitively. "Please call me Mr. Turner, and follow me." Will replied. "Of course, Mr. Turner." Lorelei spotted.
Will's cheeks turned red, and he turned quickly to the furnace before Lorelei could see his embarrassment. This action didn't pass Lorelei's quick eye, however, and she proceeded to tell him of self-confidence, and going through life with your head held high. She pointed out that instead of feeling embarrassed, one should laugh at insults directed at oneself.
This did not help Will's red-faced condition however, but soon he was able to close up the smithy for the day and walk home, Lorelei in tow.
Seeing Will's house, Lorelei gasped. "Why it's so simple, and yet so elegant." She remarked when she saw the interior. "You can thank Elizabeth for that later." Will told her.
Will went out to get Elizabeth, and soon returned. Studying Elizabeth's posture and the way she walked, Lorelei came to the conclusion that she was of the upper class… but how could she be? The upper class hadn't existed for some time now.
Elizabeth was quite skinny, and icy-blue eyes stared from beneath her dirty-blonde hair, which was modestly pushed back in a bun. In a sea-green dress, she looked pretty with rosy lips and blushed cheeks.
After a few awkward words, Elizabeth and Lorelei were chatting as if they'd known each other their whole life. Some things were different of course. Lorelei had no idea what this world was, and until she knew that, she wasn't going to talk about her world, so she just asked Elizabeth questions and talked about her family.
Soon day became dusk, and Elizabeth showed her where her room was. Lying in her guest bed that night, Lorelei listened to all the strange sounds.
Unaccustomed to the nonexistence of the humming refrigerator, she finally heard the 'calls of nature,' as they were called in some books. Hearing low voices, Lorelei perked. It was Will and Elizabeth. This must mean that their bedroom was situated near hers.
If she listened carefully enough, she could hear them talk. "So, what do you think of Lorelei?" Will asked Elizabeth. "Oh, she's quite a character. Of course, she seems to be reluctant to talk about where she previously lived, but so would I if both my parents were dead. Luckily Father's still alive."
Silence. Just as Lorelei was about to fall asleep, she heard Elizabeth once again, "Will, could you untie my corset laces? I can't reach them, and their really tight." What was this?
Lorelei had a lot to think about. Savages, gowns, and corsets? What was up with this world? Then it clicked. Could this possibly be another century? The scenery would fit. Slowly everything fell into place. The ring. The storm. Her fainting and waking up here.
But what could she do? It looked like she was stuck here with no money, no job, and no way to know how to act. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time.