Chapter 2

No one moved. No one made a sound. The three of us stared at each other, unsure of what to do. They seemed shocked to see me there, while I was even more shocked that I was here. Wherever "here" was.

My eyes flickered back to the girls' hands. There was no way in hell that was real. This had to be a dream. Nothing else made sense. Monsters didn't, couldn't, exist. And tiny people with pointed ears and fire and lightning coming out of their hands couldn't exist either. I was finally losing it. I had to be. This wasn't real.

The tallest girl, the redhead, stepped forward slowly. The lightning crackling around her hands doubled in size and intensity as she narrowed her eyes at me. Automatically, I shrunk back away from her, and made to scramble to my, now bruised, feet. This may be some elaborate hallucination or a schizophrenic episode, but there was no way that I was going to let someone, imaginary or not, zap me with lightning. Absolutely not.

The redhead continued to come closer. "Who are you, and what are you doing here, spirit?" The girl's voice was strangely accented as she spoke to me. An accent I had never heard before.

I just gaped at her for several long seconds, my mouth open and closing like a fish. Spirit? This was crazy. I was crazy.

Usually I am a much more eloquent person. I don't have a lot of trouble speaking my mind. However, as my mind was conveniently absent, all I could manage was a very confused and disorientated, "Huh?"

"Varania, I don't think she's a spirit. She would have attacked us by now," the dark-haired girl said cautiously. Her voice had the same lilt to it as the redhead.

Varania's lips pursed as she continued to stare at me with narrowed eyes. "Perhaps not. We should bring her to the Master, just in case. She's a trespasser in anyway."

At the word "Master" my eyebrows shot up into my bangs. My wits started to come back as I tried to piece everything together. Yeah, definitely not in America. "Whoa, whoa!" I exclaimed, holding up my hands in a halting gesture. "First things first, girls. Would you mind telling me where I am before you try to cart me off to God-knows-where?"

"You are on the outskirts of Magister Azriel Aren's estate. If that is all-" Varania said impatiently.

I rolled my eyes. "Not even remotely. Where is his estate? What country am I in? What city am I near? Specifics would be nice."

The two girls exchanged bewildered looks. It was the nameless dark-haired girl that spoke up this time.

"We are in the Tevinter Imperium. Our master's estate is nearest to Minrathous, the capitol," she spoke slowly and softly, as if she were speaking to a mentally slow child. "How do you not know where you are? Everyone knows Master Azriel."

"I'm just special like that," I quipped, trying to put a lid on the well of panic that was expanding in my gut. I was lost. Whether or not it was just in my head or in real life, I was well and truly lost. My knees suddenly felt weak.

"Now if there's-"

"One last thing. Well, two really," I interrupted again. "What… are you two, if you don't mind my asking? And how are you doing… that?" I motioned to the fire and lightning in their hands that had yet to go away.

The girls looked startled at my question. They both sent nervous glances at each other, as if they were unsure of what to do. Varania eyed me cautiously, her wide, vivid green eyes betraying her uncertainty. Her electrified fingers twitched towards me, and I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in alarm.

Inhuman monsters you can always count on to try to kill you in predictable ways. Human-like monsters are much less predictable. Humans have the remarkable ability to smile sweetly at you whilst plotting your demise. I was aware of this back then almost as much as I am today. And that is why I was just as afraid of the girl as I had been of those… things.

"We are elven mages. How can you not know that?" Varania demanded.

I'm fairly certain my eyebrows completely disappeared into my bangs at this point. I knew what elves and mages were. While I was not a big reader of fantasy, I've seen the Lord of the Rings movies. I even saw that downright awful movie Eragon in theaters at the request of Sarah. (We both agreed afterwards that it was terrible, fortunately.) However, I had never, for one second, believed that they were actually real.

"Riiiight. Sure you are." I chuckled nervously. Somehow the sound made me feel even more unhinged than I was a moment ago. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Do you have any more questions, human?" said Varania.

The dark-haired elf chose then to speak up. "If you are lost, the Master can help you find your way back home. He is very kind, and he has lots of maps of foreign places."

I nodded, feeling a small measure of hope well up inside me. If this 'Master' was as knowledgeable as the she claimed, maybe he could help. It was worth a try, anyway.

"Well," I announced. "Since I've fallen completely down the rabbit hole, I might as well go the rest of the way. I'll go with you." The two elves seemed confused by my Alice in Wonderland reference, but they didn't stop to ask. They simply gave me odd looks and motioned for me to follow them.

Our walk was silent, except for the sounds of our feet making squelching noises as they made contact with the wet and muddy ground. Vaguely, I noticed that their feet were bare like mine, but I didn't take long to dwell on that. The world around me was much more interesting. Everything around me seemed the same. The trees were normal oak, birch, cherry, and a few other regular trees that I couldn't name immediately. The grass below my feet was normal green grass. The sunshine was still yellow. But it was all different at the same time.

The air was crisper and fresher, the colors brighter and much more vivid. It was like I had stepped into a fantastical painting of a landscape. Everything was the same, but so very different. The atmosphere seemed to crackle with unspent energy that begged to be used. I remember feeling an urge to leap into the air and twirl around in my ruined prom dress. I didn't, but for some reason I wanted to. Doing so would have been too bizarre for my poor brain to understand. Instead, I settled for slapping myself on the face as inconspicuously as possible. I was a crazy person, but I didn't need the elven mages to know that.

The trees grew thicker ahead and the way ahead was blocked by what looked like a hedge. The two elves moves forward and pushed back a section of foliage to reveal a gateway. I followed them through and then stopped abruptly and gasped out loud.

Stretched out before me was an enormous plain that overlooked a massive gorge. A river ran across the land and spilled over the gorge as a waterfall into a lake below. The plain was dotted with magnificent willow trees that swayed mournfully in the slightest breeze. And near the edge of the gorge was an enormous palace built out of white and black marble and decorated with gold. Years after this, I would see many beautiful and awe-inspiring sights. But up until this point, nothing I had seen before could compare. To me, it was the most beautiful place in the world.

For a long moment, I couldn't believe my eyes. I blinked a few times, trying to ascertain if I was seeing things or not. But there was no way around it. It had to be real or I had truly lost it. There was no possible way that I could have imagined this place. Although, even if I was stuck inside my own head, it didn't feel so bad anymore.

Varania gently nudged me forward, and I almost fell over because I hadn't been paying attention. We continued onwards toward the beautiful palace that lay ahead. As we moved towards the palace, I became more and more aware of the throbbing pain in my feet. The ground in the forest had been soft and kind to my battered soles. Here the ground wasn't so kind. Every step I took quickly grew more and more painful, and we still had a long way to go before we even reached the palace, if that was where we were headed.

I cleared my throat. "So, your Master, does he live there?" It was a stupid question, but I needed something to take my mind off my feet.

"Yes," was the only response that Varania gave me.

"Does he have a family?" I pressed.

"No." I pursed my lips at the lack of elaboration, feeling my irritation rise a little bit.

"So… he lives here alone?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to keep giving me one-word answers?" I snapped.

"Yes."

"Varania, be nice! It's not her fault she interrupted our task," the dark-haired elf chided gently. She turned to me, smiling kindly. "Please forgive my cousin. She has had a hard week and is very tired."

"I have not! You don't need to make excuses for me, Alina!" Varania snarled. Alina shook her head, sighing, and turned to give me a weary, apologetic smile.

They did look tired, now that Alina had mentioned it. Their clothes were simple, worn tunics of faded brown that hung about their thin frames like sacks. Around their wrists and ankles were, what looked like, brass bangles. I couldn't quite tell if they were a type of jewelry or something else entirely. The bangles did look a bit thick to be jewelry, but I was not a jeweler. What did I know?

The pain in my feet continued to grow as I continued to walk. I started limping a little bit, which caught the attention of the two elves. Varania scowled at my bruised feet as if they were rodents, but she said nothing and kept moving. Alina, on the other hand, gasped when she saw my limp and stopped short.

"Why didn't you say that you were hurt?!" she exclaimed as she bent down to inspect my feet.

I hissed in surprise and pain as she accidentally touched a bruise. "This isn't the first time this has happened," I grimaced.

"You're regularly attacked by shades, are you?" Varania questioned, her arms crossed as she gazed at me in disbelief.

"Of course. It happens every Tuesday," I deadpanned.

As I finished speaking, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my foot. A yelp tore its way out of my mouth, and I barely managed to avoid kicking Alina in the face as I jerked my limb out of her grasp.

"I'm so sorry! Your foot is bleeding and I thought I might heal the cut, if that's alright with you," Alina explained.

"What are you going to heal it with? Magic?" I said sarcastically.

"Yes."

I waited for her to crack a smile to let me know that she was joking, but she didn't. People couldn't really heal with magic, could they? It was impossible. On the other hand, shooting fireballs and lightning bolts from your hands was supposed to be impossible too. Not to mention that elves were supposed to be purely fictional. Nothing seemed to follow the rules anymore.

"Um," I paused, deliberating between letting her 'heal' my foot, and saying no. The idea of having my foot magically healed when it was caked with mud and blood did not sound very appealing. Maybe infections were nonexistent here, but I wasn't taking that risk. "How about I wait until I can clean out the cut?"

Alina pursed her lips in confusion. "Why?"

"So that I don't become infected," I explained. "If any germs are caught inside when I heal, my cut will become infected."

"What are germs?" The question caught me off guard. Everyone should know what germs are. But one look at the elves' medieval clothing told me that they probably didn't. Besides, nothing seemed to follow the rules anymore.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I wasn't the best person to ask about bacteria and the spread of disease. Like any reasonably educated person, I knew the basics. However, I didn't know enough to defend the topic if they didn't believe me. "Your Master is supposed to be a smart man. He would know more about it than me."

"We can't talk to Master Azriel. Are you insane?!" Varania exclaimed.

"Undoubtedly," I deadpanned again. "Why not? Is he so unapproachable that one of his servants can't ask him a simple question?"

The two elves exchanged looks similar to the ones they had shared earlier. "We're not servants," they both replied at the same time.

I glanced back and forth between the both of them, frowning. I didn't have enough time to ask what they meant before I heard someone call out behind me. I turned to see who it was.

Another elf was sprinting over to meet us, calling out to Varania and Alina. The elf was obviously a 'he'. Even from a distance, I could tell that he was taller than the other two elves at my side. He was dark-skinned, blue-eyed, and he wore a similar tunic and bangles as Varania and Alina. When he came to about 20 feet from us, Varania moved to meet him before he reached us completely.

"The Master has called you two to the library," the elf panted.

"Are we in trouble? What did he say?" Varania asked quickly. By the way she spoke to the other elf, I could tell that she had been caught off guard by this news. I glanced at Alina. She seemed especially surprised at what the other elf said. Obviously this wasn't a regular occurrence.

The male elf shook his head. "I don't know. The Master mentioned something about the two of you finding something. He wanted you and Alina to come to the library." He finally took notice of me and then jumped back in surprised alarm. "Where did she come from?!"

"A crack in the air," I said coolly.

The young elf's eyes took in my muddy and disheveled appearance. He paused for a moment, and, after clearing his throat, he spoke. "Are you here at the invitation of the Master?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but then I faltered. Was I? Did this 'Master' somehow bring me here? Or was it a big coincidence? "I… I don't know."

"Do you think that she is what Master believes we found, Marcus?" Alina's voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke.

Marcus's eyes darted back and forth among us, uncertainty evident on his face. After a pregnant pause, he spoke, "It doesn't matter. Master wants to see you two. I… suppose you ought to bring her as well. Master will decide what to do with her."

And that settled it for the moment. The rest of the walk to the palace was even more unpleasant than it had been before. My feet not only ached, they stung. Each step grew more and more painful as we continued on. I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out, but that didn't stop my face from contorting in ugly ways after each step. Fortunately, the distance was closing quickly, and that meant less walking.

The palace was even more magnificent up close. And far more intimidating. The statues and designs that I did not notice at first were now impossible to miss. The palace seemed to consist of one enormous, rectangular, domed building, with towers at the corners that were impossibly high for a building that looked like it was built several centuries ago. Menacing gargoyles lined the roof, and twisted statues of beasts and creatures that I had never seen before were carved into the black marble walls. An interesting array of long, sharp spikes were arranged all over the dome, the roofs of the towers, and along the walls. It was still beautiful, but it was a dangerous kind of beauty.

We did not enter through the front door, but through the kitchens. We stopped for a moment so that I could wrap my bloody and disgusting feet in a clean kitchen cloth before continuing on. It hurt like a bitch, but it wouldn't have been very polite for me to track blood and mud on the floors. And, at that moment, being polite could make the difference between this 'Master' helping me or not.

It was not a long walk to the library, nor was it very scenic. The hallway that lead from the kitchens to the library was obviously a type of servants' hall. The hallway had a low stone ceiling with walls of the same stone. Along the walls were racks and hooks that hung up aprons and several other variations of the tunics that the not-servant elves were wearing.

We passed a few elves who scurried down the hallway without seeming to take notice of us, except for one. I probably should have been more alert and had paid more attention to him at the time than I did. He wore the same type of tunic and light trousers that Marcus wore, but he looked nothing like Marcus. He strode past us with the grace of a predator. You might think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. When you've been around people like Maggie for long enough, people like her stand out more to you. They walk differently from others. They hold themselves differently. Everything about them is different from the norm.

So, when I saw him for the first time, it was obvious to me that this was someone who knew how to fight, and fight well. Suddenly, the elf's eyes snapped to me, taking in my bedraggled appearance without a change in expression. He met my eyes for that split second when we passed each other in the hall. In that instant, every hair on my body seemed to stand up, as if my instincts were declaring a red alert.

The moment passed as soon as he left my line of sight. My muscles relaxed a little bit, and I let out the breath I didn't know that I had been holding. I glanced around at the three elves that were walking alongside me.

Despite the obvious physical differences, they seemed as normal, like the several hundred people at my high school. Perhaps they were a little tense, but they were normal. A stark contrast to the elf we had just passed.

Varania opened the door ahead and stepped aside for the Alina and me to step inside. Marcus did not follow. He simply nodded to us and disappeared back into the passage. I turned away from the door and gasped.

I've always loved books. If I wasn't either practicing martial arts with Maggie or watching TV, I was reading a book. So, when I say that the room I stood in was the grandest library of books that I had ever seen, it should be fairly clear that I am not some illiterate monkey that has never seen a public library before. I've been to some really nice libraries. But this one took the cake. It was just like the library in Beauty and the Beast, except it was darker. Much darker. Dark enough that I could just barely make out the edges of the room.

My eyes were drawn to a small desk in the center of the library that was almost covered with stacks of thick, leather-bound tomes. A man sat at the desk, his face illuminated by an oil lamp. He was an older man with shoulder-length, salt and pepper hair that was pulled back with a half ponytail, pale blue eyes, and a stern, clean-shaven face. He looked up from a particularly thick tome when we entered. He didn't seem to even notice Alina and Varania, as his eyes had snapped immediately to me. Quite frankly, I found the attention to be somewhat creepy.

The man, whom I assumed was Magister Azriel Aren, waved his hand in a dismissive fashion, and both Varania and Alina turned and left the way they came without another word or glance. I watched them go with wide, somewhat alarmed eyes. Despite the fact that I was a little scared of the two of them, I was even more scared to be without them in this stranger's presence. Completely irrational, I know. But there it is.

"Sit, my dear," the man ordered calmly from his desk. There was something about his voice that made it obvious that he wouldn't respond too kindly if I didn't comply. So I complied and took the chair opposite him.

His eyes roved over me, taking in every facet of my appearance. Neither of us spoke while he continued to coolly examine me from across the desk. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't seem to get my voice to cooperate with me. His gaze settled last on my face, and then he suddenly smiled, as if something he had seen satisfied him. I would be lying if I said that it didn't creep me out even more. Remember, people have the unique ability to smile sweetly at you whilst plotting your demise.

Finally, I managed to force my voice back into submission. "Are you Magister Azriel Aren?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I am," he said, eying me with thinly veiled interest. "You are familiar with my name, but I do not possess the same luxury. Might I inquire after your own?"

I swallowed and cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the frog that had taken up residence in my throat. "Samantha Hawkins, sir."

As I said my first name, a spark lit in his eyes, and he slowly rose to his feet. If I had been in doubt that he was human before, I wasn't now. Coupled with rounded ears and a good six feet of height, he looked as human as humanly possible.

He leaned over the desk and stared me straight in the eye. I stared back, squaring my jaw with false bravado. "Of course you are," the Magister whispered in what seemed like awe. "Of course you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It means that I, like the gods of old, do not play with dice," he replied. "Nor do I believe in coincidences."

"And what 'coincidence' would that be?" My interest was piqued. He knew something, something important.

He smiled at me again. "You."

"Umm… what?"

Magister Azriel Aren chuckled and stopped looming over the desk. On its own, it was not a very intimidating sound. However, in that moment, it was far from unintimidating.

"Tell me, Samantha, where is it you are from?" he questioned, stressing each syllable of my name as if he was not used to pronouncing it.

I briefly considered lying, just to see how he would react, but that would not have ended well. "Fairfax, Virginia."

"I take it that this 'Fairfax, Virginia' is far away?" the Magister asked, not at all fazed by the mention of names that were probably strange to him. "Perhaps it requires a special kind of path to travel there?"

My mouth fell open, and I gaped openly at him. "How did you-?" I halted, a new thought coming to mind. "Did you bring me here somehow?!"

The Magister smirked at me in amusement. "If I were that powerful, you would not have ended up in the forest. No. I did nothing, except believe."

At this point, my head was beginning to spin, I was tired, I was in pain, and I was getting really fed up the cryptic answers the Magister was giving me. I was fairly certain that it was around two or three in the morning back home. If Magister Azriel Aren could help me, he would have to do it before I ran out of time and was missed by my mom.

"Look, I don't really care how I got here. Can you send me back?" I sighed, cutting straight to the chase.

"No."

"No?! What do you mean? There has to be something in all these books that could send me home!" I exclaimed.

The Magister's expression did not change, except to raise a fine, black eyebrow at me. "There might be something here that will help you return to your home," he conceded slowly. "However, I have no cause to help you. There are only two kinds of people who even think to do anything for free. Priests and fools, and I am neither.

"Before you ask, no, I am not demanding money, nor do I demand sex as payment. I require a service which I believe only you can perform. As the research required for this task is lengthy, it may be many months before I will be able to help you. As for you, months is the perfect amount of time for you to accomplish your task."

"Months?! Task?!" I exploded, barely believing what the man was telling me. I shot out of my chair, ignoring the sting in my feet from the action. "I can't wait that long! I have to get home tonight! My mother will have a heart attack if she finds out I'm missing! The woman can barely function without me for a day, let alone several months! You don't understand-"

"Oh I understand, my dear," Magister Azriel Aren's calm, yet firm voice cut through my hysterics. "Family is the most important thing in this world. No one knows this more than I, child. However, that does not change the fact that it cannot be done. Yet."

Somewhere in this speech, all my outrage and indignation leaked out of me, leaving me feeling tired again. I collapsed back into the cushioned, velvet chair and buried my face in my hands. This couldn't be happening.

Vaguely, I remember smelling the traces of acetone that was coming from my nail polish. My mother had applied it for me a few hours before prom. She had a steadier hand than me, and she always knew how to make my manicure look professional. The smell only served as a cruel reminder that it could be a long time before I had a chance of seeing her again.

Several moments passed before I was ready to speak again. "What is my task?" I whispered. If I had spoken louder, my voice would have quivered.

Magister Azriel Aren shook his head gently. "You need not worry about that yet, dear Samantha. You have been through quite an ordeal. You need your rest. I will call for your tomorrow when you are better prepared to hear what I have to ask of you." He reached towards a small carving on the desk and twisted it around. A part of me wanted to cry at the word 'tomorrow'. I had to get home. I had to. "Selena will show you to your rooms. If you have a need for anything, she will assist you."

The servant's door behind me opened to reveal a dark-haired elf even smaller than Varania and Alina. She kept her head bowed and eyes to the ground while she guided me away from the library and out into another hallway. I did not pay attention the architecture and design of the room this time. I was too far lost in my own gloom and fatigue to pay attention to much of anything. Selena offered to let me lean on her when she saw me limp. I took the offer, but I still made sure not to crush her. She was far too small to support my weight.

It was not long before we reached a pair of ebony doors that opened to reveal a richly decorated bedroom. I sat on a type of couch at the foot of the bed while Selena flitted in and out of the room, gathering hot water, soap, clean towels, and bandages for my feet. Selena had asked if I wanted a bath, and I had said no. I was too tired and numb to consider taking one. All I wanted was to go to sleep.

After Selena had cleaned and bandaged my feet and had given me a clean nightgown to wear, she closed the thick, dark curtains and then left me to my own devices. I climbed into the tall, soft bed that Magister Azriel Aren had let me use for the night. I buried myself in the soft, feather pillows and silky sheets and curled my body into a fetal position.

My feet ached a little bit, but it was nothing compared to ache that had settled in my chest. A few tears leaked out of my eyes and onto the pillow under my head. I didn't cry. I was too numb to cry.

As I slowly drifted off to sleep in that giant bed, in that enormous palace, in that insane world, I couldn't help but hope that maybe all of this was just a dream and that I'd wake up back home again. Although, deep inside, I knew that it wouldn't happen.

A/N: A special thanks to writingNOOB, Yngvildr the Voracious, Kokonoa, and lilc12354! I really appreciated your reviews! It was more than I expected to receive, so thank you!

Here's the next chapter. If anyone has any questions, criticisms, or reviews, please be sure to click that little review button down there. See you guys soon!