Author's note/Warning: Warning for those reading. Violence and attempted sexual violence ensue. If this makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you do not read this.
Chapter 2: Arrival in Monteuil-sur-mer
Hot, sticky air wisped through Kaylee's hair as she stood from the stone street. It was dark, and it smelled of recent rain as she looked up at the night sky, filled with starts. On either side of her were two, tall buildings, built of grey stone, with wooden windows, latched closed high above her. Her bare feet pattered on the damp pavement as the took a few steps towards a light at the end of the alley, looking up at the gas light hanging by a rope from a pole.
Where am I? She asked to herself as her eyes adjusted to the strange lighting. The sky was so clear, and the road was so quiet, this certainly wasn't Arizona anymore. She blinked up at the lamp again, watching as small droplets of water dripped off of the iron frame. It's warm here, but it's nice. If I was still in Flagstaff I'd be freezing, out in the night like this. She looked down at her bare legs and feet, leaning against one cool wall as she steadied herself from a wave of dizziness. She reached a hand up to her head, feeling something wet dripping down in front of her eye. Pulling her hand away, she stared, slightly dazed at the small specks of red that lay in her palm.
I must have hit my head when I fell...She thought, just as she heard a soft gasp from the street near her. She turned her head to see a couple, standing side by side, and staring at her, a young woman, dressed in a long, fancy dress with a bonnet on her head, holding one gloved hand over her mouth. The gentleman at her side held her arm, using his free hand to pull his top hat down over his eyes and averting his gaze. He wore a long overcoat and a cravat. Kaylee blinked at them and covered herself, suddenly feeling very naked in front of these two, very modestly and periodically dressed.
The couple quickly crossed to the other side of the street and hurried past Kaylee's position, whispering to each other so that she could not hear their words.
What the hell is going on? Kaylee asked to herself as she slipped back into the alley, worried of more offended eyes turning towards her. I was at home when that weird book mark started to glow...and now I'm here. But where is here?
She turned around and walked away from the street, going down the long alley way in search of some sort of sign, or perhaps something that could pass as an inn. She walked for a while, thinking silently to herself as she walked. Those people were wearing period clothing, though she couldn't place what period, and certainly seemed offended by the sight of her. She chewed on her lower lip as the went over the events of the day in her mind, starting from getting up in the morning, to driving to the shop, and getting ready to go to bed.
It was the lightning storm. That's when things went weird. She thought as she turned a corner to find another alleyway, leading towards another street. She sighed and stepped out in to the road, looking up at the large building in front of her. It was massive, looking like it could hold several dozen people inside at once.
The quill was glowing inside the book. What did it- Her thought was cut off by a firm hand grasping on to her shoulder. She turned around to see a man standing behind her. He was short, only about five seven or so, and his cheeks were rosey. He smiled at her, his eyes drooping tiredly as the smell of alcohol wafted from his rotten teeth.
"Heya, doll." He slurred, leaning on her slightly as she tried to step away. "Ya look lost, need some help finding a place to stay? My house is pretty close by…"
"Piss off, drunk." She pulled away from him, making him stumble a few feet until he leaned against the wall.
"Hey now, that aint to way fer a lady to talk…" He hummed as he leaned his back against the stone, looking at her up and down. She shivered and took a few more steps away, in to the street.
"Well it's a good thing I aint no Lady." She spat back, her fists clenching. "Now, were am I and who can I talk to for help?"
"Were are ya?" He asked, tilting his head up at the sky. "Yer in Montreuil-sur-mer, Lady. If yeh want help, yeh need to go to the police, or to the Mayor. But they aint gonna see no one this late at night." He sat up from the wall and stumbled towards her. "You can see em tomorrow though, for now why don't yeh come with me, I got a very nice bed you can spend the night in."
"I'll pass, thanks." She took another step back, only to run in to a firm chest. She quickly looked behind her to see a taller man with dark hair standing behind her, a similar drunken smile on his face as he put his hands on his hips.
"Aw, come now lady." He said. "My brother didn't say it, but he intends to pay ya. And we can pay ya really well if yer up for a two-fer."
Kaylee shuddered and moved to that she could keep both men in her sights, her fists clenching at her side as she look a quick look at her surroundings. There was a third man in the alley she had come from, staring at them with a smile. The direction of the large building was open.
"Sorry, gents, there seems to have been a mistake." She said softly, backing towards the large building. "I'm not a prostitute. I just got lost and left my normal clothes at home."
"Well, what were you doin out dressed like that anyway?" The taller man said, stepping in time with her to maintain a distance. The third man stepped out of the alley. "Why don't ya just come with us, nice and quiet, and you can buy some new clothes with what ya earn?"
"Not in your dreams, piss pot." She spat. And then, she turned and ran.
"Hey! Where ya goin? We weren't done talkin!" The sound of heavy footsteps were following her as her bare feet hit the pavement, making it to the other side of the road and making a sharp left turn to hurry down the street, where several lights were still on. The clacking of the mens boots were closing in on her.
She hit the corner of a building, with several bright lights and the sound of raucous cheering coming from the inside. It seemed like an inn. She reached for the door when two sets of hands grabbed her arms and yanked her back, pulling her against hard, smelly chests.
"Back off!" She barked at them, pulling at her own arms to try and free them, but the men had strong holds on her. She screamed.
"Hey, shut up or yer gonna bring the police on us!" The shortest man hissed at her as he clamped a hand down over her mouth, helping his comrades to pull her towards an alley. She shook her head away from his hand and screamed out again, feeling the strain on her throat her she belted out louder than she ever had before, trying to gain some form of traction with her feet.
"Shut her up!" The tall man hissed as they were forced back against the wall, trying to latch on their grips more. The man who had tried to silence her before balled up a fist and thrust it into her stomach. She gasped out in pain as the air left her lungs. Her gut burned as the three men forced her down to the ground and slid their hands over her bare legs.
"Hmmm she is nice." The tall man hummed. "Taller than most wenches, but nice long legs. He moved to straddle her legs to keep her down, and she thrust her knee upwards as hard as she could.
The gasp and groan of pain the man let out was beyond satisfying as he slumped off of her, holding the very tender, and very bruised spot between his legs.
"Bitch!" The tall guy's brother let go of her arm to raise a fist, aiming at her face, and she took her chance. She rolled towards the third guy just in time for the thugs fist to hit stone. She heard him bark in pain as she used her momentum to stand up and wrench her other arm free before swinging a kick towards the third man's head, hitting him hard in the nose with her knee.
The three of them were down and she took the chance to turn and run back towards the inn, were she might be safe. She made it a few steps before a heavy form grabbed her from behind and forced her back down to the pavement. Her arms pinned at her side, she was unable to stop herself from smacking her head on the stone work below, and she lay there stunned, trying to blink the flashing lights away from her eyes.
"Yer gonna pay for that, you bitch." It was the tall guy, who now sat there with his knee pinned in to her back with his full weight. "Hey boys, hurry up and have yer turn while I hold her!"
Shit… She tried to sit up, or call out but her head was throbbing and the man was just to heavy. She felt rough hands slide up the back of her thighs as she tried, feebly, to kick at them. She was about to try and scream again when the sound of several, heavy boots approached from the space in front of her.
"Halt!" A deep, firm voice called out, causing the man on top of her to freeze. She turned her eyes upwards towards the group of police officers, standing in their red and blue uniforms, staring at the strange group. Standing at the front of the police force was a very tall man, wearing a heavy coat and top hat.
"Shit! Scatter!"
The weight was suddenly off of her back as the three men bolted off down the alley. Several of the police ran after them, the sound of heavy footsteps dephaning to Kaylee's ringing head. She tried to push herself up in to a somewhat sitting position as two large boots stopped in front of her.
"The owner of the Inn around the corner reported a woman's scream. Was that you?" The voice was deep and cool. It sounded neither concerned nor indifferent. Just calm. Slowly, careful of getting dizzy again, she nodded.
"Where are you clothes?" He asked, his tone unchanging.
"Don't know." She said slowly, her throat feeling sore. "I woke up in an alley down the street dressed like this." It wasn't a lie, exactly.
The figure in front of her knelt down and put one firm hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a sitting position so that she was looking at him. He was a surley sort of man, maybe in his late thirties. He had long brown hair that was tied back at the nape of his neck, and wiry whiskers around his jaw. His blue eyes were cold and calm underneath heavy brows.
"What alley? On what street?" He asked again. She raised a hand to her head and rubbed at the new cut that had started to bleed there.
"Don't know the street, I didn't see a sign. I'm not from around here…." She blinked and looked back at him. "I can show you though, I remember where I came from."
He nodded and stood up, looking down at her as if waiting. She sighed and pushed herself up, her legs shaking as a wave of dizziness hit her. She leaned against a back wall and blinked as a lantern was suddenly lit nearby. She looked in the direction to see it was held by another policeman standing near the man in the coat, who seemed to be their superior. The young man in red and blue blinked at her and averted his gaze, as the taller gentleman rose an eyebrow. Remembering her attire in comparison to others, she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide herself at least a little bit.
"I did not realise you were so badly injured." The tall man stated, removing his long over-coat, to reveal his blue uniform. He held it out to her. "Cover yourself, and we will take you in the carriage to the alley you woke up in. Then we will take you to the hospital to take your report."
Kaylee nodded and took the long coat, wrapping it around herself. It was heavy, and much too large for her, but she felt a little more comfortable without the other police men looking so embarrassed by her. She looked down the alley, were her perpetrators had run down, and could see three piles in the shadows being wrestled to the floor. The head policeman noticed her gaze.
"They will be taken directly to the station." He stated, matter-of-factly. "You are safe now. Now, come with us to show us where you came from."
Kaylee nodded again and followed the man to where a small horse-drawn carriage stood waiting. With the other policeman supporting her with a hand on the arm, Kaylee was able to step in to the little cart and sit in the shockingly comfortable seat. She looked out the window as the tall man sat opposite her, and her support next to her.
"I ran down the street from that direction." She said, pointing in the opposite direction the carriage was aimed. "I came out of an alley across from a very large building." The man nodded and tapped on the window behind him.
"Head toward the glass factory." He stated, and the carriage started to move, making a large turn to go back down the street. The drive was only a moment before the cart stopped again. He looked at her expectantly as she looked out the window. She pointed to the narrow alley she had walked out from. He looked at it through the window and sighed.
"It's too narrow for the cart. Can you walk enough to show me?" He asked. Kaylee nodded.
"Yeah, with some support, I think so."
He nodded again and ordered the driver to get them as close to the alley as possible before opening the door and stepping out, holding out one hand to help her out. She took it and made her way down the small step carefully, feeling tired and sore, one hand grasping at her side firmly.
"We will get you to the doctor as soon as we know where we are looking." He said, and she sighed. Slowly, and very gingerly, Kaylee lead the police down the alley, explaining where she had first encountered the men who had attacked her, and then took them to the spot were she had woken up.
"I woke up here, laying face down in that direction." She explained, describing what she could remember. "Before that, all I can remember was being in my sitting room reading a book. There was some loud rumbling and a light. That's all."
Kaylee leaned against the nearby wall as the tall man knelt on the the ground and looked at the spot she had pointed out, he seemed to study the area for a moment and then looked back up at her.
"Did you notice any injuries when you woke?"
"I had a cut on my head." She said with a sigh. "Then I got another one when that guy tackled me to the ground. Other than that, I was unharmed when I woke up."
He nodded and stood up, brushing some damp filth off of his pant leg before speaking a few words to his underling and walking back towards the carriage.
"My men will close off this area until morning, so that we can take a better look around then. For now I will take you to the hospital, and inform the Mayor of what happened." He spoke sternly and with authority, using one gloved hand to support Kaylee's elbow as she walked, leaving his other officer behind to close off the area. "What is your name? And were are you from, if not around here?"
"My name's Kaylee Denmoor." She said with a sigh. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm from a place called Arizona, in America."
"You are from America?" He asked with only a mild change in voice to indicate his shock. "I have not heard of Arizona, so far, but I do not pay much mind to foreign affairs. You speak French quite fluently."
"Thanks Mr….um." She blinked at him. I'm speaking French!? How?! Seriously, what is happening!? "You never told me your name, Sir."
He inclined his head as they reached the carriage, opening the door and assisting her in with a hand.
"I am Javert, Police Inspector of Montreuil-sur-mer."