forgot i was posting this here haha oops!
Annabelle was interrupted from her sleep by the squeak of the door.
She lifted her head, blinking blearily, just in time to see Skip's fluffy tail vanish through the door. She exhaled, letting her head drop back to her pillow. She had left the door open so that he would be able to leave if he'd wanted to, he must have nudged it open. She was surprised it had woken her. Granted, she was very on edge.
Annabelle rubbed at her eyes, gaze roving tiredly around the guest room. It was decorated in the same manner as the rest of the mansion, with lots of green and brown. One wall had a fish tank, within which were a few glowing sea pickles, and a pair of tropical fish. At least her captor had decent taste.
She pushed herself up, raking her fingers through unruly hair. What was she supposed to do? She'd been kidnapped by this… this presumably very powerful man, who could control zombies and teleport and read her mind. She physically couldn't escape from him, not by any normal means. And Annabelle wasn't weak by any definition of the word, but he'd still had no trouble restraining her when they first met. So… if he wanted to hurt her, he probably could. She was all but clinging to the hope that Skip's impression of this stranger was an accurate one.
Annabelle swung her legs over the side of the bed, pressing bare feet to the wooden floor. She slipped her boots on, then rummaged through her satchel for a snack. Once her supplies were gone, she could… go out and forage. There were probably melons and stuff, right? She'd be fine, until he got tired of her and let her leave. Assuming he did that, and not just… sic some zombies on her. She shuddered.
"Skip!" She called, hoping he was still within earshot. She was in luck, and a moment later her dog's head poked through the door. "Hey bud." She greeted him, sliding her backpack on. No way she was leaving this here for her captor to rifle through. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."
He was still carrying the bone that Herobrine had given him, she noted as she led him back down the stairs. It was late evening now, rays of pink and orange sunlight dancing through the open windows. Annabelle noticed a distinct lack of doors on the outside, which initially baffled her until she remembered that her captor probably didn't have to worry about the threat of mobs. If he controlled the drowned, what else did he control?
Her tour had been hardly comprehensive, as she had ditched her guide at the first chance available, so Annabelle decided to wander the house on her own. She held her breath every corner she turned or doorway she crossed through, afraid to suddenly come across the man who held her prisoner. Not that she thought he would harm her, but because she didn't want to be jumped out at.
Instead of Herobrine, though, the first thing she came across was a huge Nether Portal.
Annabelle balked in the doorway, clutching the straps of her backpack. She was familiar with the concept, but had never seen one in person. She started to back up, but paused. Traveling through the Nether would allow one to travel in the Overworld as well if she could find another portal… could this be her escape?
Was she that desperate? The Nether was, reportedly, a hellish place filled with fire, lava, and horrible monsters. She grimaced, looking at the portal again. Maybe she could just take a look…
Mind made up, Annabelle turned and marched towards the portal.
Skip whined, and she paused. "C'mon, buddy, it's okay." She tried to soothe him. "We're just gonna take a quick look, come on." Her dog was obviously wary of the portal, but dropped his bone and obediently trotted closer, and she gripped his collar to keep him close as she approached the purple mist. Annabelle took a deep breath, holding it, then plunged through.
The first thing that hit her was the heat, and the second was the smell of burning and sulfur. She coughed, pressing her forearm over her mouth and nose as her eyes began to water. She blinked around at her surroundings, and immediately registered the red trees that grew up all around her. So… exotic.
She released Skip's collar, and he shook his head wildly, wrinkling up his face and squinting. He didn't seem to like the smell any more than she did.
"Come on." Annabelle whispered, beginning to make her way away from the portal. Skip followed, obviously uneasy, and the two of them tiptoed through the crimson forest together. Annabelle did not know what she was doing, she had no clue where another portal was, except possibly at the port she was initially trying to reach.
She knew that one block in the Nether was… what, eight blocks in the overworld? So, if she had gotten halfway to her destination, 1000 blocks remaining would become… what, 200? 160? Math wasn't her strong suit. Now, that was a considerably smaller distance, but she had no idea which way she was going, or even if there was a portal at all. For all she knew, she was putting herself in danger for absolutely no reason.
A growl made her jump, and she spun to see a huge, pale-pink boar charging at her from within the trees.
Annabelle gasped, throwing herself aside to avoid being gored, and Skip yelped as the beast narrowly avoided trampling him. Before the boar could turn itself around, Annabelle was on her feet, scooping up her dog and sprinting the other direction.
More growls sounded from the trees as she ran, already panting from having to carry her reasonably-sized dog. Her heart pounded wildly, she didn't know where the portal was, these trees looked unfamiliar, had she already missed it? She should've just stayed in the jungle!
She heard the ka-chunk! of a crossbow, and a bolt whizzed past her head, causing her to jerk back and immediately lose her footing, crashing to the ground. Skip scrambled upright, shaking out his billowing fur, and Annabelle pushed herself onto her side as she tried and failed to draw in a deep breath. From the shadows of the red trees, a humanoid figure was approaching, loading another bolt into his crossbow as he neared. Annabelle paled as the man's face came into view, revealing a snout and two, beady eyes. A piglin. She didn't know much about the Nether-race, but she did know they were not fond of trespassers.
"Hey!" A new voice made her flinch, and she swiveled in surprise as another man - human, thank Notch - skidded to a stop in front of her, holding forth a gold ingot. The piglin immediately lost interest in her, snatching the gold from the man's grasp and scurrying away. Annabelle sighed with relief, letting her chin droop as the man turned around to look at her.
"Hey, are you alright?" He crouched down to her level, offering her a hand. He looked kind, and competent, with his soft blue eyes and shimmering armor. "I'm Steve. What are you doing out here?"
"I'm- uh- Annabelle." She grasped his hand, averting her gaze to check on Skip. Her dog was crouched down, ears pinned back, and she winced. Poor thing had gotten quite a scare. "Um, running, actually, do you know where I can find a portal?"
"Running?" He echoed, drawing her attention back to him. "No, I mean, why are you in the Nether?"
"Running!" She repeated. "I ran across this island, and the guy who lived there wouldn't let me leave, I-"
"Oh." Steve cut her off. He straightened, helping her to her feet, as he ran his free hand through his hair. "I… see. Herobrine." Annabelle deflated a bit.
"You know him?"
"He's my friend." Steve glanced around, then started to lead her back the way she had come. "C'mon." Annabelle sighed, kicking a pebble as she held onto his hand.
"Right."
Skip trailed along behind them as Steve led Annabelle back to Herobrine's portal, where she let go of his hand.
"So I guess you're not gonna let me leave either?" She asked, dejected. Steve shook his head, looking apologetic.
"He's far more powerful than me, I don't really have a choice." He told her, sheepish. Annabelle frowned deeply. So he treated his other friends like crap, too.
"I guess."
"He hasn't… did he hurt you?" The man asked, looking her over. Annabelle shook her head, hugging her arms to her chest.
"No, just sent drowned zombies to stop me when I tried to sail away."
"Ah." Steve sighed, offering her a hand again. "Come on." She took it. She liked him, at least, maybe he'd stick around.
When Annabelle and Steve emerged through the portal, Herobrine was waiting for them on the other side.
He blinked, looking from one of them to the other before breaking into a grin. "Steve! I wasn't expecting you today."
"I wasn't planning to come by today." Steve shot back, obviously annoyed. "I found your guest about to be murdered by a piglin."
"She probably shouldn't have gone into the Nether." Herobrine pointed out. Annabelle glowered at him.
"So sorry for trying to escape this island prison."
"It's not a prison."
"It might as well be!"
"Herobrine, can we talk?" Steve cut in. Annabelle released his hand as he stepped forward, beckoning Herobrine with him as he vanished into the other room. Brine's smirk didn't falter, but he did look slightly chastised as he followed him out.
Annabelle sighed, sinking down to the ground to stop her knees from knocking as she patted Skip's head. Skipper's white fur was now stained reddish brown from the nether dust, which he promptly got all over her as he plunked his upper body in her lap. She sneezed, running her hands through his fur to try to comb out the dust. What a mess.
It was a few minutes before the men returned, a small pout now on Herobrine's face.
"Well," Steve spoke, crossing the room again to kneel down next to her. "I wasn't able to talk him into letting you go, but," He gave his friend a look. "He agreed to at least try to be a gracious host." Herobrine laid a solemn hand over his heart.
"Promise."
"Well… better than I could've hoped for, I guess." Annabelle gave Steve a thankful look. "Are you, um… gonna stick around?"
"Not all the time." Steve told her. "I have responsibilities at home. But I'll be by from time to time to make sure he's behaving." He glanced up at Herobrine again, who shot him a mischievous grin.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Stephen."
"Right." Steve reached down to pat Skip's head, only for the dog to bare his teeth and growl, making him jerk back his hand in surprise.
"Skip!" Annabelle exclaimed. "What's the matter with you?"
"It's okay," Steve assured her. "I'm sure he's just freaked out." He offered his hand again, and this time Skip gave it a wary sniff before barking lowly. "Alright." Steve backed off. "I'll get out of your hair."
"Aw, so soon?" Brine asked as he stepped back towards the portal. "You only just got here."
"I have an errand to run." Without another word, Steve vanished back through the portal.
Neither Annabelle nor Herobrine spoke for a moment, Annabelle still tersely petting her dog, before Herobrine crouched down and beckoned him close. "Skip! C'mere, bud." Skip obeyed instantly, springing out of Annabelle's lap and trotting up to her captor with his tail going a mile a minute. Annabelle scowled, rubbing her leg where Skip had stomped on her thigh.
"...traitor."