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@steward-of-the-pen Yes! 😀

Ok cool.

Omw I love it! I love her reaction to the humans and everything 😀 😀

@christlover Thanks! 🙂

@ariella-newheart Thanks! Yay!

Ooh… I like it!! And if Caedon can calm Runawin down, that’s awesome!

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Lucas stood facing the door, dagger held ready though he hoped he wouldn’t need to use it. The door burst open and two people tumbled into the room. One a girl, who looked about sixteen, and the other a man about Lucas’ age. It seemed they had been fighting in the corridor. Lucas winced inwardly as the girl smashed her hand into the man’s face. She rolled aside, drawing her sword and pointing it at the man, who held one hand to his bleeding nose, and the other in the air, surrendering.

Lucas pointed his dagger at the man, narrowing his eyes. “You’d better have a very good explanation for this.”

The attacker’s eyes flickered between him and and girl. “Do you two know each other?”

Lucas glanced at the girl. Something about her felt off. He’d have to be wary. “No.” He looked back. “But no man with any sense of honor would attack a young lady.”

“I know.” The attacker looked apologetically at the girl. “I’m sorry. I thought you were…well, I thought you were one of the captors that kidnapped me.”

The girl lowered her sword. “You were kidnapped?”

“How else would I get here? I’m sleeping peacefully with my friends and suddenly I wake up in a strange place.”

Lucas shook his head and lowered his dagger. “That would mean we’ve all been kidnapped, and I definitely was not. I just blinked and suddenly I was in that hall. Caedon too.”

The girl looked over at Caedon, then back at Lucas and the other man.

“What about you?” Lucas poised the question at the girl. “Are you from here? And why were you eavesdropping on us?”

“To answer your first question, no, I’ve never been anywhere like this. As for the second, wouldn’t you eavesdrop if you arrived in a foreign place and heard two people talking?”

Lucas didn’t hesitate as he said, “Probably.” He paused. “So, do you have any theory of how you got here?”

“No idea,” she said, sheathing her sword. “I was out picking berries in the woods, and the next thing I know I’m here, my head hurting from falling.” She glanced around. “But I do know that we first need to figure out where we are, and to do that we need to find a way to get out of this castle. We’ll have to work as a team.”

“Is everyone okay with that?”

Everyone nodded.

“Alright. First, we might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Vladlena.”

Inwardly, Lucas narrowed his eyes. She still seemed insincere and fake somehow. He’d have to watch her closely, especially around Caedon. Lucas pushed the thoughts aside for now and dipped his head. “Lucas.”

The attacker took a napkin from a nearby table, wiping his nose. “Thaddeus.”

Caedon inched around to the front of his chair. “And you already know my name.”

Racleva smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Great!” She pulled up an armchair next to Caedon and plopped down. “Let’s start brainstorming!”

Before they could say anything else, however, a noise like a dog yelping came from the corridor. Caedon stood up from his chair and started over to the door.

Lucas held out a hand. “Wait,” he started.

But Caedon was already pushing open the weathered door. A pair of eyes, like those that would belong to a wolf, stared out of the darkness, shrinking away from the firelight. Lucas, who still held the dagger, was about to leap to Caedon’s side, but something made him stop.

Caedon was speaking to the animal, in a tongue Lucas didn’t recognize. “La eyl pera, minu férréna. Be at peace. No one will harm you.”

I might, Lucas thought, but he didn’t say anything. He was prepared to skewer the animal in a heartbeat if it even looked crosswise at Caedon. But he definitely wasn’t prepared to hear the animal speak…

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On to the next person! I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I’m loving this so far!! 😀 😀