Alex couldn't answer those questions. She barely had time to see she was on
a cart before Eclipse was jumping off. She had turned to see where Tori was
when Luna jumped, without Tori. She must not have seen the cart in time to
prepare herself. Alex was now kneeling beside Tori supporting her ankle.
Tori continued to rank about how they were nowhere near Central Park, and
they needed to get home before dinner.
"I don't know where we are, or how we are going to get home. What I do know is, your ankle is broken, or at least sprained, and we need to splint it."
There was a soft chime, like a harp, and Tori's eyes got wide. She pointed to Alex's chest. "Your ring! It...it just moved!" She stuttered.
Alex lifted the chain around her neck and noticed the pearl has a face! To top it all off, it started to talk to her. "Where is my lady?" it asked in a sing-song voice, "Where is my Virginia?"
"She's gone," Alex said flatly.
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know, who cares?"
"I care! I want to be on her finger! I'm to be worn on a hand not a chain!" The ring started to wail. Alex was going to go crazy if this continued, not that she didn't think she was there already, so she slipped the ring off the chain and slid it on her right hand.
"Oh, much better," the thing sighed.
Alex held up the ring to eye level, "Where are we?"
The ring giggled slightly, "You are in the Nine Kingdoms. I think somewhere in the fourth. King Wendell's. He's a friend of your mother's. We should go see him."
"Why would I want to see a friend of my mother's? She doesn't care about me."
The ring got angry with this, "Your mother loved you."
Tori couldn't believe this. They were sitting there, not in New York, talking to an engagement ring. What happened here? Tori just wanted to go home and get her ankle fixed. But Alex was talking intensively to a ring. A ring! Who the heck talks to a ring? The best part was, it was talking back!
Alex finished talking to the ring and gathered sticks from a nearby tree. She also cut some leather straps from her saddle and set to work bracing Tori's ankle. Tori knew Alex was doing her best, but Tori still couldn't shake the feeling they weren't going to get home anytime soon. She was afraid Alex forgot about going home, so Tori asked, "So, umm, when do we go home?"
Alex looked at her like she asked to walk on the moon. "Umm, well," She looked around then back to Tori, "I guess we go back the way we came."
The ring piped up, "No, you can't go back that way. You came here through a magic mirror. It was on a cart, so it's no longer that way. You will need to find another one. King Wendell has a traveling mirror. We will go there."
"Fine, which way do we go?"
"We go north." North was in the other direction then they had come. Tori didn't like the idea of going the opposite direction they had come, but she couldn't complain. Alex helped her onto Luna. Tori could ride with her ankle, but she had to be extra careful. Alex mounted Eclipse and the pair headed to Wendell's castle. Tori looked at Alex as they rode, realizing that she fit in perfectly in this world with kings and talking rings. Alex never fit in at home; people didn't understand the black corset and bell sleeves. Nor did they understand the riding skirt with pants underneath, ballet slippers, or silver circlet. Everyone told Alex to cut her ankle length red hair, but she just put it up in elaborate "riding braids" instead. The whole ensemble made Alex look like a fairy princess. And around here, in this strange world, that might be a good thing. "I think for once, Alex, you are going to fit in and I will look like an outsider." Neither one said another word as they rose deeper into the forest.
"I don't know where we are, or how we are going to get home. What I do know is, your ankle is broken, or at least sprained, and we need to splint it."
There was a soft chime, like a harp, and Tori's eyes got wide. She pointed to Alex's chest. "Your ring! It...it just moved!" She stuttered.
Alex lifted the chain around her neck and noticed the pearl has a face! To top it all off, it started to talk to her. "Where is my lady?" it asked in a sing-song voice, "Where is my Virginia?"
"She's gone," Alex said flatly.
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know, who cares?"
"I care! I want to be on her finger! I'm to be worn on a hand not a chain!" The ring started to wail. Alex was going to go crazy if this continued, not that she didn't think she was there already, so she slipped the ring off the chain and slid it on her right hand.
"Oh, much better," the thing sighed.
Alex held up the ring to eye level, "Where are we?"
The ring giggled slightly, "You are in the Nine Kingdoms. I think somewhere in the fourth. King Wendell's. He's a friend of your mother's. We should go see him."
"Why would I want to see a friend of my mother's? She doesn't care about me."
The ring got angry with this, "Your mother loved you."
Tori couldn't believe this. They were sitting there, not in New York, talking to an engagement ring. What happened here? Tori just wanted to go home and get her ankle fixed. But Alex was talking intensively to a ring. A ring! Who the heck talks to a ring? The best part was, it was talking back!
Alex finished talking to the ring and gathered sticks from a nearby tree. She also cut some leather straps from her saddle and set to work bracing Tori's ankle. Tori knew Alex was doing her best, but Tori still couldn't shake the feeling they weren't going to get home anytime soon. She was afraid Alex forgot about going home, so Tori asked, "So, umm, when do we go home?"
Alex looked at her like she asked to walk on the moon. "Umm, well," She looked around then back to Tori, "I guess we go back the way we came."
The ring piped up, "No, you can't go back that way. You came here through a magic mirror. It was on a cart, so it's no longer that way. You will need to find another one. King Wendell has a traveling mirror. We will go there."
"Fine, which way do we go?"
"We go north." North was in the other direction then they had come. Tori didn't like the idea of going the opposite direction they had come, but she couldn't complain. Alex helped her onto Luna. Tori could ride with her ankle, but she had to be extra careful. Alex mounted Eclipse and the pair headed to Wendell's castle. Tori looked at Alex as they rode, realizing that she fit in perfectly in this world with kings and talking rings. Alex never fit in at home; people didn't understand the black corset and bell sleeves. Nor did they understand the riding skirt with pants underneath, ballet slippers, or silver circlet. Everyone told Alex to cut her ankle length red hair, but she just put it up in elaborate "riding braids" instead. The whole ensemble made Alex look like a fairy princess. And around here, in this strange world, that might be a good thing. "I think for once, Alex, you are going to fit in and I will look like an outsider." Neither one said another word as they rose deeper into the forest.