2. Two

I didn't wake up anywhere, I just looked up from my book and saw a tree in front of me. In the pit of my stomach there was a sickly feeling for afew moments as I just stood there blinking, stupidly, at this tree.

I was standing, and noted, as I took a shaky step back, that I was outside.

Why am I outside? I kept thinking, mind blank except for that one thought, saying it again and again in my head. I was sitting...just a minute ago, how..

I took afew more steps back from the tree and quickly looked around me, the sickly feeling in my stomach was rapidly becoming something more like panic, and i was starting to breathe in quick, short breaths.

I was standing in a sort of glade, surrouded by very tall, slightly slanted trees with yellow leaves. There seemed to be a soft golden light on them and I couldn't tell whether it was coming through the leaves from the sun above them or if it was somehow actually inside them, showing through the bark, sort of like a haze. To my left the trees sort of parted, but on the ground there wasn't any kind of pathway, not a footpath or anything.

I doubled over slightly and put my hand on my stomach. I was just sitting down, just now...why, how am I here, how am I outside... I must have been going insane. Or perhaps I'd fainted. I read somewhere that when you pass out you don't remember it, you could have just been standing but the next thing you know your on the floor, with no memory of falling.

That must be what I'd done, I'd just passed out.

That didn't explain where I was though, or whyI was there. Outside, with a high sun and cool clean air, a lone grassy glade, it made no sense. Unless I'd been dumped there, knocked out and dumped.

Maybe that was what had happend. My house had been burgled, I'd been kocked out and placed somewhere outside. Why someone would do that I couldn't figure out, but it was at least the tinyest bit logical, and I couldn't really think of any other plausable reason why I was suddenly outside. It was also a nicer idea than me being insane. I'd probably even been wandering around for a moment or two before I really came to, which was why I'd been standing.

I let out a sigh and straightend up, feeling slighty less panicky. However I now had a burgerly to report and a house to find my way back to. I wonderd what state would I find it in, and if anybody would still be there to cause me harm. I also thought about my Mum and if she'd visited the house. How would she react when she saw the house askew and me missing?

Taking a more detailed look around, I didn't recognise the place, and it even looked suspiciously foreign. I figured I couldn't be too far from home. Who would want to treck across country (Or drive, yes) just to leave a stranger in the middle of a woods. If i had been attacked then my kiddnappers were quite nasty, they had after all abducted me when they had no need to. I was finding it hard to believe that they would go to too much trouble over someone they didn't know, just for the sake of robbing a house.

I decided that if I walked alittle, hopefully I'd come onto a path, then maybe a road. The only way I could see was that of the slightly parted trees, so left I turned.

I walked for some way in that direction, noticing that the leaves under my feet weren't really yellow at all, but more like a gold colour, and that they didn't crunch under my steps. The sky, peeking through the leaves, was a cloudless bright morning blue, which ment to me that I'd been kidnapped overnight and dumped early this morning.

Perhaps I was farther from home than I thought.

After about half an hour of steady walking I began to feel uneasy. There seemed to be no difference in my surroundings, and no signs of life (except the odd bird call) could be heard.
I stopped for a moment to think. I had nothing on me, no money or phone, just the clothes I was wearing. In fact, I wasn't wearing much, just a top and some courdory trousers, so I shouldn't have been feeling so warm, not in English weather.
Perhaps they'd driven me to France, no that was stupid it wouldn't be much warmer and besides, why would they have taken me that far.

I'd heard a russling behind me. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, there were two young men stepping out from behind two trees.

They were tall, with shinning hair, very smooth looking hair infact, and keen bright eyes. I gatherd they must have been brothers.

Actually, they looked very displeased, and were reaching for--bows! bows and arrows. Looking more closely at them i could see they were also wearing grey tunics with silvery belts, and that their "silky smooth" hair was braided. Their shoes were light brown and made of a material I was sure I hadn't come accross before. Overall, they looked like something out of a medieval faire.

" Le ee i Naith en Lorien," he said, using a language I was sure I'd never heard before. "(You are not permitted to enter here)"
I frowned. Maybe I was in France...

"Heniach nin?" He took a step towards me. "O man dôr túliel le?"
It had a sort of Italian lilt to it, whatever he was saying, but still I couldn't understand a word of it. "Um, lost.." I tried weakly.
The two men exchanged worried looks and conversed quietly in their language again, glancing at me every now and then. The smaller one, the one who hadn't spoken yet, extended his hand and spoke some words to me that sounded different, heavier than the ones his brother had said before.
My face couldn't have been a picture of intelligence because they both looked pretty put out. They began talking again in low voices, while I tried to think of the best way to ask for directions.

The taller man said something in the first language to me then guestured to me to follow. Why not? I was lost and they were the only people I'd seen in ages. They didn't seem dangerous, despite their wierd garb and weapons and it wasn't like they actually drew out their bows.
As I walked behind them I tripped slightly over my own feet. I didn't fall, nevertheless I found that lightening quick one of them had my elbow and steadied me. I tried to nod my thanks, but to my horror I found my face cupped by strong hands and a piece of cloth was wound around my head covering my eyes.

I made a shout but it was muffled against one of the hands. "Ssshh, Avo 'osto!" It sounded soothing, but when you suspect you've recently been abducted then meet two strangers in a woods who blindfold you, you find it difficult to be soothed. Placing my trust in these strangers made me feel ridiculously niave, and I

I tried more shouting, even running away. The men were stronger than me and they didn't respond to my shouting at all. They each held my forearms and were leading me through what I could only guess was the wood, every now and then one of them would speak to me in their language, as if they were trying to explain to me their actions.

Soon I was sobbing quietly to myself, despite their best efforts to soothe me, (although they never stopped walking or losend their hold) and I was feeling terribly scared and alittle homesick. I bitterly wonderd if anyone had even noticed I had gone. Surely someone would have contacted the police by now?

We walked for hours and barely stopped, if we did it was brief. The only reason I was able to keep going for so long was because I'd spend my teen years going on hikes in a boy scout unit, even then though we had been given proper breaks during cross country hikes. And not that this was a nice cross country walk.
Eventually I felt the air around me cool, and what little light I could see from behind my blindfold began to dim. We walked on through the evening for awhile before, finally, stopping.

I collapsed, onto the grass. My arms ached more than my legs did from being held for so long. I didn't dare take off my blindfold.
I was given something breadlike to eat, wafer thin and sweet tasting, and a bit of water from a strange shaped flask. The taller man started talking to me again, but after he'd repeated the same sentence to me afew times he gave up and simply gave me a little push towards the ground. Gathering this was the signal for sleep, I shakily lay down.

The air was cool but not cold, so I wasn't botherd about the lack of quilt. I was more worried about wether or not I should attempt to escape during the night. These men had presumably taken me a long way away from home now, and there was no doubt in my mind that they were dangerous. They would probably out run me if I tried to get away, and they seemed to know the area well, whereas I had no clue where I was, so I wouldn't get too far even if I did try to run.
I decided that as, so far, they had made no attempt to really harm me in any way, I would bide my time and wait for a better opportunity. I causiously lifted the edge of my blindfold for a moment and saw that the men were in confersation, yet they were both looking my way, watching me.

I quickly adjusted the blindfold and leaned back slightly. I didn't want to try to sleep and I doubted that I even could.

Le ee (enterd) i Naith en Lorien: You have enterd the Naith of Lorien
Heniach nin: Do you understand me.
O man dôr túliel le: From what land do you come
Avo 'osto: Fear not.

I do need some help with my languages.