Ruby followed the gruff redhead closely behind, feeling her head reel with questions and uncertainty. As they approached the kingdom walls that loomed larger, Ruby began to spiral. "I don't understand what's going on here... hey, where are you taking me?" There was no response as they approached the gates.
Ruby took a few steps back as the gates began to pry open with a loud creaking groan, revealing a lavish, bustling empire tucked safely within the walls. Men dressed in heavy iron chainmail armour waited in neat rows within the walls. Once the redhead stepped past the entrance, the entire battalion dropped to one knee, bowing their heads low in respect.
Ruby peered past the male to see the commotion, muttering to herself in helpless confusion. "Is this guy some kind of big deal around here?" She stepped past cautiously, scanning the crowd of seemingly frightened onlookers. Both knights and townsfolk seemed eerily terrified into silence. "Uhm... does anybody here speak English?" Silence rang throughout the vicinity, causing Ruby to sigh helplessly. "Guess not."
One of the knights clambered to their feet, approaching cautiously. His words came out in a hurried frenzy toward the gruff redhead, who remained stoic and unmoving, his chilling stare landing on Ruby with a frightening scowl. "Safire." He spoke in a low tone, capturing her full attention.
"Sapphire? No, my name is Ruby. Is there anybody who could translate for us? I genuinely have no idea what it is that you're trying to tell me. I'm from New York City. I need to get home. The ground just opened up, the next thing I knew, I was falling from the sky – oh my God, this sounds insane."
Ruby rubbed her temples, growing frustrated with the language barrier already. The gruff male seemed unmoved by her plight, taking a firm grasp on her wrist to pull her further into the kingdom. He began to make his way toward the castle, the knights standing swiftly to follow behind.
Ruby pulled back on the crushing grip, beginning to panic. "Hey! You can't just grab people and drag them around wherever you want! Let me go, you psychopath!" Ruby's instincts kicked in, starting to hit the male's hand repeatedly and with aggression, though it seemed like a useless endeavour, as their pace never steadied.
By the time they reached the castle's walls, the doors creaked open with a myriad of staff waiting for the redhead. Ruby's eyes darted around, her breath quickening with panicked fear. The staff bowed low, much like the knights, as each addressed the man with pride and earnestness. A few odd words, followed by a name. 'Odeen.'
"Odeen?" Ruby's breath wavered as she pulled back on her arm once again. "That's your name, isn't it? You need to let me go! Right now! If this is some kind of prank, I do not find it amusing! Bring out the camera crew, you're all caught! This was set up by Alisha, wasn't it?"
Odeen turned his chilling gaze down to Ruby, squeezing her wrist tighter. This caused her to wince. She was pulled into the castle as the doors shut behind her. Despite her clear struggle and the need for escape, Odeen never seemed to care, or even acknowledge her struggle.
Ruby was pulled into a lavish room with a luxuriously sized bed that bore curtains, draped down the sides. An open, paneless window set against the far side of the room, and across the walls were intricately carved dressers and wardrobes. A plush, velvet daybed laid in the centre of the room, set in front of a crackling fireplace.
Ruby was overwhelmed, nauseous and still reeling as Odeen pulled her arm forward, thrusting her into the room. His tone was cutting and accusatory as he loomed in front of her with intention. She hoisted herself to her knees, backing away defensively. "I don't fucking understand you. Do you not get that?!"
There was a moment of shared silence before Odeen merely sighed in annoyance. He muttered something that almost carried a tone of disappointment before turning to exit the room. Ruby sat against the stone floor of the strange room, mentally running through every possibility in her mind.
"Did I die?" Ruby shuddered weakly before scrambling to her feet. She grasped the brass handles and pulled back with her entire body force, only for the doors to rattle and clunk dully. "Of course, he locked it." She sighed, turning back to explore the room.
Ruby leaned over the window ledge, finding a daunting drop to the ground. "Best case scenario is a few broken bones. Worst case?" She shuddered, turning back toward the room. "There has to be something in here I can use."
It wasn't as though the room was bare. Ruby pulled open the closets and drawers, finding frilly drawers, intricate dresses, corsets, petticoats, and countless women's clothing for the supposed era. "What have I gotten myself into? Damnit, I have to get back home. One way or another. I won't become some freaky reenactment village's prisoner."
Ruby sat behind the bed, beginning to tie the sleeves of every dress she'd come to find together. Little by little, a sizable rope began to form to climb. As the sun began to set, she worked diligently until the room began to bleed into darkness, the fire that was once blazing now crackled into dying embers.
Ruby remained undeterred, beginning to bring the petticoats and drawers to the hoard to join onto the chain before a heavy thudding at the door had her scrambling to shove the clothing underneath the bed, leaping up onto it to play innocent.
Odeen entered the room stoically, examining the mess of clothes strewn about the floor, using a pitch torch to light his way. When his eyes fell upon Ruby, defensively glaring his way, he let out a simple nasally exhale.
Ruby backed away as he made his approach, his pointed words still not registering with her. "Back off. This isn't funny anymore. I am genuinely scared, and I don't know what you want from me! I just want to go home, you lunatic. Why don't you understand that?!" She shrieked.
Odeen shook his head in dismissal, setting the pitch torch against the holder on the wall before approaching the bed. Ruby backed away, her eyes scanning the area frantically for a defence weapon. Odeen's gruff voice caught her attention again. This time, his words came out soft, almost concerned. "Safire."
"Ruby." She hissed. Odeen's expression hardened as he stepped past the bed, grabbing hold of the frame to pull it away from Ruby. The sheer strength he exhibited scared Ruby out of her wits. She took hold of a nearby vase, shattering the neck against the stone wall to hold the jagged base up threateningly. "Do not come any closer to me!"
Odeen's expression hardened as the huddled mess of dresses, tied together, caught the light. His expression darkened as he swiftly approached Ruby, taking the vase from her before she ever had the chance to wield it against him. Odeen's voice rose in a harsh scolding tone as he loomed over her, gesturing wildly and making his dominance known.
That was, until Ruby flinched back. Odeen's eyes widened in realisation as he fell silent. He soon leaned down, shaking his head in dismissal. One shard at a time, Odeen cleaned the glass from the floor before calling in servants to take the clothing from Ruby's room.
Stuck, fearful, and unable to move, Ruby watched her one chance for escape being taken from the room. Odeen returned to his feet, staring down at Ruby with disappointment and betrayal as he pointed toward the bed before retrieving his torch and leaving with the shattered remains of the vase, locking Ruby behind the heavy wooden doors once again.
Left breathless and trembling, Ruby slid down the wall. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks as she pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her face down against her arms in helplessness. "I don't understand."
That was where she remained for the night. Too frightened to sleep, she plotted her second escape attempt. As the sun began to rise, Ruby had already set her next plan in motion. She'd stripped the bed of all sheets and linens, tying them together much like she did with the dresses.
With a swift tug on the material at each knot, she knew she was prepared to make her daring escape. With one quick glance out of the window, inspecting for guards, Ruby tossed the makeshift rope down, finding it didn't meet the ground. "Hmm – this is going to hurt like a bitch, but I doubt I'll break anything."
Ruby grabbed a tight hold of the blanket-rope, hoisting herself out of the window. She began to make a slow descent toward the ground, though a single wrong step had her slip, dangling from the wall haphazardly. Her back hit the stone with brutality, causing a pained wince. "Movies make this look so easy." She complained.
After she slipped to the end of the makeshift rope, it was only a matter of courage to take the last drop, falling to the ground from half a story's height. She hit the ground with a dull thud, having to jump a few times in place to subdue the stinging in her legs. Once the pain subsided, she ran, not looking back for a moment.
Ruby rushed through the quiet, sleepy village silently. Her desperate escape in the early hours had gone unseen. By the time the sun cracked the horizon, Odeen knocked on Ruby's door, calling out for her. When no answer came, he invited himself in, scanning the room to find her.
Panic set in fast as he called for his guards. Three young men ran toward her room, kneeling before him with their heads bowed low. One man sported a single chain earring and an intricate mountain tattoo that wrapped around his wrist; the word inked into his skin beneath read out in English 'Inbetween'.
Odeen sucked in a harsh breath as he turned his attention to his men. "Safire has escaped the castle once again. Track her down and return her to the confines of her room. Under no circumstances are you to harm her. I don't know what happened since she left, but she is shaken and oddly distant. Find her this instant."
The young man bearing the tattoos stood suddenly, his brows furrowed in confusion as he spoke the King's tongue. "I'm sorry, King Odeen? You said that Safire is back? But we've had no word from her since her escape a year ago. How did you find her?"
Odeen's expression hardened as he turned his gaze back toward the window. "As odd as it sounds, Jasher, she fell from the sky. I saw it with my own two eyes. Perhaps your claim of another world is not so unfounded after all. Perhaps... that's where she's been this whole time."
Jasher straightened his posture, feeling his heart begin to pound against his chest. "Another other worlder? Sire, with all due respect, you have incredibly capable men. But I would like to lead this expedition. If Safire has spent time in my home world, I would like to be the one to find her. She may know of a way that I can return."
Odeen hummed, thinking it over in silence before letting out a weak sigh. "Very well. You were always very close to my fiancé. I expect you to quell her fears and return her to the castle. We are to be wed in three months. And rid her of that awful attire. A princess should not sport such... odd taste in clothing. I've never seen a woman sport pants in my life."
Jasher felt his grin spread across his face, nodding his head eagerly. "Alright, men, we spread out through the town. Cover every alley, explore every resident, leave no stone unturned. If Safire has returned, it is our duty to bring her back to our king." The knights set out with Jasher sauntering on behind them, muttering to himself in amusement. "And if she's not Safire, then I might finally find my way back home."
-End of chapter 2-