Hey, I'd just like to thank MentalPatient911 and AngelsWings5 for reviewing my story so far and giving me supportive comments, you guys rock! (also my mates at school such as Jo and Frankie who also praise it, thank you!)

Xchibi-pirateX

Chapter Three

Ellen had many different dreams, from being on holiday to being chased by a crowd of drunkards (ok maybe that wasn't a dream). Eventually, she was woken by a cool breeze that tickled her face and made her smile.

She opened her eyes, but couldn't see clearly as her sight was blurred. So she blinked a couple of times and it went back into focus. Right in front of her face, she could see part of a wooden wheel and past that, a cobbled square with crates and barrels randomly placed around it. On the floor she could see many bottles and shattered glass, along with the odd person, sleeping.

'What the-'Ellen began, using her arms to push herself up. Forgetting where she was, she hit the back of her head on the cart she was still under.

'Ow!' she yelped, collapsing back onto her front. She rolled over onto her back, cursing under her breathe to see what she had hit.

'A cart?' Ellen said baffled. 'Ok, now I'm confused.' With that, she rolled back onto her front, crawled out from under the cart and stood up. Obviously, the blow from the night before had made a bigger impact then she thought, as she staggered a few paces and grabbed the nearest lamppost.

'What the hell!' she exclaimed, as memories of last night came flooding back to her.

'I thought last night was a dream, a very weird dream but a dream never the less?' she pondered. As she did so, she rubbed her head where she had not long hit it.

'But then again; if last night was a dream and this too is a dream, then why does my head, back and legs hurt and ache so much? I've never had a dream or even a nightmare where I've felt pain.' Her conscience argued. Ellen didn't know what to think and the more she thought about it the more she got confused.

'That's it!' she shouted, pausing as some of the sleeping bodies stirred. 'I'm going for a walk, to clear my head' she concluded in her mind. But where to go was the question, as there were many streets, lanes and alleys that split off from the square. As she looked down one street, she could just see the sea, azure blue and glittering in the distance.

'Ah the sea, that means a beach. That'd be a calming scenic route to take' Ellen assured herself. So she let go of the lamppost she was still clinging too, stood tall, took a deep breath and began to walk (slowly to begin with as she didn't want to gain another injury by falling over).

As Ellen walked along, she passed many shops and taverns. Sleeping people looked like a feature outside most of the taverns. Although most people in the street were sleeping (no doubt from the night before), there were a few others twittering about, looking very awake.

'They must be the early birds. They're a lot cleaner too' Ellen thought, smiling. As she continued her walk, she kept getting the odd stare and glance from the people in the street. She looked down at her shirt; it was quite dirty from the night before.

'I wonder what they're looking at. My shirt may be dirty, but I'm still a lot cleaner then most of them!' She thought, letting off a smirk. So Ellen just ignored them, but what she didn't know, was that she had attracted a crowd of several men.

Later on she did notice as she kept casually looking behind her (you know, as you do). So Ellen quickened her pace, but so did her followers. Realising this, she suddenly became nervous and began to run. She didn't know where she was going but running sounded a better idea then walking. However when she looked behind, her followers were still on her tail. 'Oh crap!' she screeched in her head, running faster than she had ever run before.

When she glanced back again, she noticed that there were only three in pursuit. 'Ha! They must've of given up. I can easily escape these!' she assured herself. As she turned a corner she screamed and skidded to a halt. There, in front of her were the other men she thought she'd lost. 'Oh shit…' she thought fear taking control of her. By this time the other three had caught up. One man began to speak;

'What ye be doing here missy? Are ye lost?' he chuckled menacingly. He was quite stumpy and podgy with a very sly look about him.

In fear Ellen didn't utter a word and slowly began to walk backwards. Suddenly she bumped into someone and with a gasp she turned around.

In front of her stood a tallish man, whose appearance really fascinated her. He was wearing a black coat, blue trousers and brown boots. He had brown eyes that were very dark around the edges; he also had a moustache and a beard that had been braided into two braids. Ellen found his hair the most interesting; it was dark brown, possibly black, with some dreadlocks and beads braided into it and a red bandanna around his forehead, as an accessory she assumed…