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Lady Railly

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She tipped the bottle one last time in hopes of a few more drops to drizzle down the cap and pass her lips, but she had no such luck. The day had warmed up properly – the time being around early afternoon – and unfortunately today was particularly hotter than usual.

“I guess this is it,” Emma thought as she nestled herself behind a boulder. As she slid her back down the surface of the rock until it met the floor, she thought about all that had happened since she had awakened for – she didn’t even know how long. From meeting and leaving Scarlett to encountering various traps, from hunting for food to surviving extreme weather circumstances - these were just some of the things that crossed her mind. Resting her head against the mass, her eyelids gently fluttering, she lay there for a few moments, in silence. All she could hear was the soft sounds of the breeze. Her eyes then scanned the landscape and immediately she sat up.

She collected her map from her bag and hastily opened it up. The tired look on her face drastically changed to a smile as she stood up, placing a hand on the boulder to steady herself. She beamed as she once again folded up the piece of paper and placed it back in her satchel, before using the last of her energy to run towards the yellowish patch on the edge of the horizon.

“She’s heading towards it!” James exclaimed with a smile also on his face as he clicked countless times with his mouse. The camera suddenly switched yet again, but instead of this one showing her running away from the lenses, it showed her in the distance, going towards it.

What Emma didn’t know was that she was stood directly in front of the camera once she had stopped running. But she wouldn’t know after all – it was cleverly hidden like all of the others. “Finally!” she cried out into the desert air. She didn’t care if anyone heard her; she had found what she had been searching for.

13-May-2012 08:41:20 - Last edited on 26-Dec-2012 22:12:57 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Fresh, ripe shades of burgundy circled her and so did the date trees, reminding her of both dreams she had experienced – which made her consider whether this actually was real. She retrieved her map from her satchel and stared at it, then blinked, and then glanced at it again. The words stayed the same. This was actually true. But… what did it mean? She had finally found dates, but why did she have dreams about them in the first place? What did it all mean?

She didn’t particularly care at that moment in time; she had long since run out of food and water and this was her chance to collect some things that would replenish her nourishment. So without a moment’s hesitation, she began to collect the dates lying on the ground – which weren’t many – and then attempted to climb the tree nearest to her.

“Now!" James yelled.

Emma was busy in the process of climbing when something landed in the bark next to her. She glanced at it, and after realising it was an arrow her first instinct was to jump from her position in the tree.

As she leapt to the ground, she noticed a shiny, peculiar object lying on the sand in a small indent, presumably from one of the groups of dates she had gathered. She obviously hadn’t noticed it before, for some reason. She couldn’t contemplate what it was at that very moment, however; she needed to escape the scene as soon as she could. Therefore, she simply picked the reflective object up, tossed it in her bag which was filled up with dates, and sprinted off.

The arrows flying past her head provided a good incentive to continue the fast pace that Emma was currently going at, even though her legs were weakening and her feet were aching. She longed to sit down, but it was unfortunately not possible. The biggest distraction for her at that time was the fact that something in her head was telling her to look back – though she knew that was a bad idea.

13-May-2012 08:43:13 - Last edited on 04-Jan-2013 10:54:55 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Still, she wanted to rest, and understanding exactly where her hunters were right now would be useful. She twisted her head and caught a glimpse of one of the people chasing after her.

Why did she faintly recognise him?

There was no time for in-depth thoughts right now. Emma rounded a corner suddenly, disappearing behind boulders, and slowed the pace until she was just jogging. Sighing with exhaustion, her legs gave way and she collapsed behind the biggest rock of the group. The woman used this time to fumble in her bag for a bunch of dates. Snapping one of the fruit off its stalk and devouring it in four large bites, she laid her head against the smooth surface and sat there for a few moments.

The sun was slightly less intense at this time in the afternoon, and Emma was now fully replenished of both hunger and thirst. The dates were surprisingly water-rich, and the traveller was content with the fact that she had an excellent water supply.

Now leaning on her right hip with her elbow to support her head, she decided to retrieve her map once more and figure out where she was again. The pain from her shoulder was interfering with her thoughts, and although she repeatedly tried to ignore it, she was wondering why it hurt so badly. Her fingers made contact with an arrow head, embedded in her body just below her right shoulder.

At that very moment, there was absolute silence. Not even the wind seemed to be making a sound. With a blank, emotionless expression on her face, Emma pulled the arrow out of her back. Yet even she could not keep that monotonous look; it quickly turned to disgust as she slowly edged it out. The dreadful slippery noise was almost enough to make her sick – but she did not scream. She did not disturb the quiet. The only thing interrupting the peace was the sound of blood dripping onto the sandy floor, making a spotty trail of crimson.

13-May-2012 08:43:18 - Last edited on 04-Jan-2013 10:56:42 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Then suddenly, uncontrollably, her head fell, her body slumped and her bloody shoulder collided with the ground. She did not feel a thing though. She was unconscious.

Emma woke up a few hours later, still in great pain but it had died down a little since before. Slowly, she cracked open an eye – and the first thing that came into her view was another male figure.

“What are you doing? Who are y-” The woman was cut short when the person placed his index finger on her lips, causing her to abruptly end her speech.

“Shh. You’ve only just woken up. I think you must’ve been shot or something, your wound looked pretty bad,” he muttered, before he registered the questions that Emma had asked him. “I’m Aaron,” he added. “I’m not here to cause you any harm, I’m simply another traveller like you. I haven’t stolen anything from you; I’m not here to kill you either. I just found you lying here and I guess my chivalry caused me to come over and tend to you.” He smirked as he watched Emma sit up and place her hand on her shoulder. The wound was fully bandaged – even though it was now soiled.

As Emma adjusted her position on the ground and began to stand up, Aaron noticed the stained cast and moved over to her quickly. “Hold on. You can’t go anywhere yet. Let me replace the bandage first.” Reluctantly, the girl sat back down, and Aaron started to slowly unwrap the white material.

“Are you sure you’re not somebody who’s going to turn on me later?” Emma asked, smirking herself.

“What do you mean?”

In her head, Emma replayed the very moment she turned her head and caught a glimpse of one of her chasers. He still looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite make out who he looked like. She answered, “Well… I was being chased before – I guess that’s how my wound appeared, I must’ve been shot somehow – and I looked back, and the person who was running after me was somebody I recognised. I think he could’ve been-” Emma’s speech was cut off as a person’s name entered her head.

--

13-May-2012 08:43:33 - Last edited on 04-Jan-2013 11:43:44 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“No, it can’t be,* the girl whispered, shaking her head slightly. “It can’t be Lorja.”

“Who?”

The girl realised that Aaron was still with her, and she thought quickly to cover up what she had just said. “Um – nevermind.”

“Okay...” the male said slowly as he finished up the bandage and tied it in a knot. It looked like the white material was already beginning to be soiled with crimson though. “So how did you get here?” he asked curiously, sitting beside her.

“I honestly don’t know,” she muttered, sighing and brushing her hair out of her face, wincing as she did so. “I had... a piece of paper in my hand, I think – although I’m not sure what it was. Maybe a letter? It could’ve had an address on it, maybe that’s why I was walking through the forest-” Emma stopped in her speech when a finger was placed on her lips yet again.

“You have a habit of interrupting yourself,” Aaron murmured, half-smiling. “I think I was in the same situation as you. I received a note too, it had an address on it, though I wasn’t sure where to go so I just randomly decided to try and find out. And then I can’t remember what happened between there and here.”

Emma nodded, searching in her bag for food now that she felt a little hungry. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten; in fact, she did*’t even know if she had any food at all. Unfortunately, she did*’t. “Hey, do you have any food?” she asked, quickly glancing at the man, before returning her view to the bag. She noticed that his hair was the same colour as his eyes: a chocolatey-brown. She hadn’t really seen chocolate-coloured hair befor-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a tap on her unwounded shoulder. Turning around, she was greeted by a piece of scorpion in Aaron’s outstretched hand. Taking it in one swift motion, the male traveller decided to ask her two rather important questions as she munched.

“Hey, I forgot to ask you – uh, what’s your name?”

13-May-2012 08:43:39 - Last edited on 20-Jul-2013 22:53:22 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Emma,” she simply replied once she had finished half of the piece. She decided it was enough to last her until later, so she placed the other half in her bag. Wait – was that its tail?

“Hey, Emma, do you mind if I could travel with you? I mean it’d be safer, and neither of us would really be targeted if there’* extra backup, and you seem like a pretty nice person-”

“And you have a habit of rambling,” she quickly replied, quietening him. “Sure.” Distractedly looking through her bag, she double-checked the piece of scorpion. It kind of looked like a tail, though she wasn’t sure. However, her attention was focused on something different now. Her sapphire eyes widened in slight confusion and curiosity as she picked up a reflective object from the bottom of the bag... a key.

“Hey, do you have any idea what this does?” she asked Aaron, briefly showing him the key. At first she thought he did*’t know as he wasn’t answering, so she started to put the key back – but she was stopped by the man’s hand on hers.

“Wait, can I look at it again?”

“Erm... sure,” she murmured, quickly giving him the key. He studied it closely, before letting out a surprised gasp. “What was that for?” she asked as a slight smile crept onto her face.

“The key... I think I may know what this can be used for. Don’t ask what, because I’m not sure myself, but I have an idea. Can I see the map for a moment?” Before Emma could ask how he knew about it, he added, “You dropped it when you lost consciousness before.”

“Oh... okay,” she muttered, handing him another of her possessions. The map had helped her a lot, and although she could trust him with the key, she wanted the paper back as soon as possible. Thoroughly, Aaron scanned it, before his eyes seemed to focus on a particular place, one which the girl recognised. She had seen it before as well; it represented a gigantic iron gate. Still, she said nothing, for he could be simply registering it as a possibility.

13-May-2012 08:43:47 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2013 17:02:10 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Finally, Aaron finished with the map and handed it back, much to Emma’s delight. After placing it back in her bag, she noticed he was already beginning to leave. “Wait,” she called after him. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t ask questions; just follow me,” he simply replied. Hesitantly, yet still assuming he knew what he was doing, she swung the satchel over her shoulder and began to walk, keeping a few paces behind him.

As time went on, she grew more and more suspicious of this person; although he seemed legitimate, she wasn’t sure if this was the correct path to the iron gate, or even towards the edge of the seemingly never-ending desert. It seemed that the only direction they were heading was towards the middle. Plus, as time passed, she began to feel more and more unwell. The nausea increased and it was only until she rummaged in her bag for the map to find exactly where she was when she pulled out the rest of the scorpion piece that she had kept. She covered her mouth with her hand and stopped in her tracks when she realised what he had given her.

It was a scorpion tail. He had, effectively, poisoned her.

Aaron quickly noticed that Emma had stopped walking and turned around to ask her why. But as soon as he did so, he was greeted by a slap across the face.

“Why did you do this to me?” she demanded, flinging the piece of scorpion onto the ground. “Why did you give me something to eat that you KNEW was poison?” She looked him straight in the eye and could immediately see that he was hesitant to respond. It turned out, though, that he genuinely did*’t have an answer.

“I – I don’t know!” he stuttered, taking a step backwards. “I had no idea it was! I was only trying to help you!”

“Were you hell!” she snapped, pacing forwards. “I knew this was some sort of set-up all along. I don’t even know why I decided to let you come with me.

13-May-2012 08:44:28 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2013 18:13:54 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I thought you were genuine, but as soon as you decided to start wandering off in a different direction that wasn’t the direction OBVIOUSLY stated on the map leading to the gate or whatever – I knew there was something up.” She sighed before continuing. “I thought you weren’t going to hurt me. You promised!”

“I honestly did*’t know, Emily-”

“Emma!”

“Emma, all right! Calm down. Look, I’m sorry! I really did*’t know that it was poisonous. I guess I did*’t look at what I was giving you properly and I gave you something you... weren’t supposed to eat.” He diverted his eyes to the floor.

“But... you promised...” She sighed again and stood back. “It’s just that it seems in this place, everything good that happens to me gets taken away from me right after. There are things that I’ve experienced in the short time I’ve been here – I don’t even know how many days – things that have sickened me, shocked me, disturbed me, confused me – and when a rare good thing happens like having someone to protect me and keep me company, it’s ruined by this.” She did*’t care that she was being so selfish because after she got out, she most likely wouldn’t see any of these people again.

But before she could think any longer, she slumped to the ground again. Aaron was the one to sigh this time as he began unravelling the bandage, which was now soaked.

Who did she think he was, some sort of spy? When she said that she knew that ‘this was all a set up all along’, what did she mean? Several thoughts were racing around his head as he ripped his shirt and laid it over the wound, which was now only just beginning to scab over. He glanced at the piece of scorpion still on the sandy ground, which had a few flies buzzing around it. He could only tell because of the sound, as it was now well into the night.

“I’m not going to make it up to her,” he said to himself as he tied the piece of cloth, and adjusted it so that it covered the wound fully. “That’d be stupid.”

13-May-2012 08:46:00 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2013 18:14:28 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Aaron?” Emma mumbled as she sat up after a few hours of being unconscious. Her eyes slowly cracked open and she glanced around but she couldn’t see him anywhere. “Aaron? Where are you?” She sighed. A couple of thoughts were entering her head as possible ideas as to where he was. Maybe he had left her and tricked her into thinking he was really her friend when he wasn’t? Maybe he was part of that gang. The latter seemed more likely but she wanted to find out herself for certain. So she sat up, before realising her shoulder was less painful than before she lost consciousness. She diverted her eyes to the newly bandaged wound.

If he was part of this gang, why would he help her out like that, even when she was unconscious? Surely if he was, he would have killed her, or at least taken her belongings, like the map or the food? That reminded her of her hunger; the poison from the scorpion obviously hadn’t been enough to kill her, just to cause her a bit of nausea, and she hadn’t eaten properly for a while. Sighing again, Emma took one of the dates that she had saved from before, snapped it off its stalk and began devouring it. She had not realised how hungry she was before her tongue was greeted by the taste. Now content and satisfied, she laid back down. She hadn’t noticed that she had unknowingly received an extra item that was in her bag until she checked to make sure she had everything she needed with her. After all, if Aaron had left, he could’ve taken some of her things. That reminded her of something else: he still had the key that she had given him. Maybe Aaron had left her behind, just to find the gate but then forgot about her in his own greed and selfishness?

Emma scrabbled around in her bag, trying to distract herself from her thoughts by checking her items again and again. She badly wanted to get out of this place.

13-May-2012 08:46:06 - Last edited on 19-Aug-2013 11:35:20 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

She wanted to see her family again – just the real world again, lush greenery not barren wasteland - and just simply knowing that there could possibly be an exit that Aaron could have taken advantage of when they were friends made her feel disappointed with herself. She trusted this person and they had taken her trust and used it as their own.

Relieved, she found the map, and hastily opened it to find another folded piece of paper inside it. Curious, she placed it onto the sand, unopened, before checking the parchment she wanted. Lorja’s headquarters were actually not too far from where she was sat. The main reason she wanted to go back there was because she thought she could see Lorja when she was being attacked back at the group of dates. She wanted to ask him why, because she trusted him too, and once again that trust had been taken away from her.

Then she opened the piece of paper. It was blank except for three words written in rough, barely readable handwriting. After studying it for a few moments, she figured out what it said, although she wish she hadn’t read it at all.

‘Expect the worst.’

--

13-May-2012 08:46:12 - Last edited on 19-Aug-2013 11:41:52 by Lady Railly

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