The Cock crows as Ashley waved a good bye to the last customer leaving her Shop. Holding a sack of herbs and a bandaged left eye
"Remember to change the band aid every 4hrs" she said loudly— smiling in satisfaction when the young man nodded. Dropping her hand she leaned by the front door taking in the cool evening air
The sky was turning grey and the air felt chilly but she didn't mind the cold. the town became quiet as everyone returned to their homes from work. She stood outside greeting whoever passed her shop with a smile. She loved how peaceful her town was, no wars, no quarrel over properties everyone knew everyone and everyone was happy and content. she won't trade this life for anything
Taking a deep breathe— she turned the sign.
Walking inside the shop, she started to clear up the counter and put everything where they are supposed to be, putting the herbs in their bottles taking note of the ones about to finish so she'd remember to pick more the next time she goes out into the woods. Finally done with cleaning she went up to her room to change and prepare dinner
Sitting at the table in her room with a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread in her hand, she whispered a prayer and started to eat. Taking a few bites she let out a sigh, the food was bland, she didn't put enough salt. Her brother would have scolded her for this.
Her heart clenched at the thought of her brother, the memory turning every bite to ash. How could she eat when he was on the battlefield, likely starving, wounded, or worse? The silence in the room pressed in around her, cold and unforgiving, as she clung to the memory of his warm smile. It had been two months since she last felt that warmth, and the absence of it ached more than hunger ever could.
comforting herself with the thought that this wasn't the first war he was fighting and he always came back, injured but still alive.
She forced herself to finish the meal and carried the dishes away. When she finally collapsed onto the bed, exhaustion claimed her at last, the weight of the day settling deep into her bones.
Staring at the ceiling her mind went back to what happened earlier that day, the part of the night before she could not remember and the strange mark on her chest, she placed her hand on it—wondering what exactly it meant, making a mental note to go to the bookstore hoping she could get some answers, she dozed off.
Shivering from the cold wind that brushed her skin, she opened her eyes slowly wondering why it was this cold when she had a blanket over her, finally opening her eyes she glanced at the lake in front of her 'when did she have a lake in her room' she thought— looking around only to realize she was not in her home.
freaked out, she stood up in a panic, wondering why she was lying down in a forest. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as she looked around wondering how she got here
She opened her mouth to scream for help, then froze. Shouting in a forest in the dead of night was a terrible idea. Whatever lived out here did not need an invitation.
Gazing at the lake, her mind scrambled trying to remember how she got here that she failed admire the beautiful lake shimmering under the stars in front of her. lost in thought the silhouette of a figure in a black cloak across the lake caught her vision.
She looked up squinting her eyes to make sure she saw correctly, the figure was like that of a man, a big man, she couldn't gauge the height cause of the distance but she assumed he must be tall.
Wondering if he was the one who had brought her here, or if he at least knew the way out. The way he stood by the lake, unnervingly calm, suggested the latter. She considered calling out to him, the words already on her tongue, but the thought of waking whatever lurked in the forest made her hesitate.
Her mind scrambled for a way to get the man's attention without drawing the wrong kind of notice. She didn't dare look away, afraid that if she did, he would vanish—and with him, her only hope of leaving this place.
She thought of throwing a stone into the water so he'd notice she was across the lake, looking around she could not find a single stone not even a pebble lying around. She groaned trying not to scream out of frustration, how can there not be a single stone by a body of water, that doesn't make any sense.
Darting her eyes back to the figure, relieved to see that the person was still standing by the lake. She looked down at her feet. She had her boots on and like a light bulb lit above her head her face brightened. she could throw her shoe in the water.
Bending down to remove her shoe, she froze—she was in a forest, she couldn't walk around bare feet, finally deciding that screaming for help wasn't such a bad—she'd rather wake the whole forest than be stuck here and eventually be eaten by some wild animal
"HEY" she screamed as loud as she could— the figure didn't move. She was beginning to wonder if it was human or not. "HEY, please do you know a way out of this place?" she screamed again—no response.
Frowning she began to rethink her decision. What if the figure wasn't human, which wasn't possible. No creature had the figure of a human well not one that belonged to her world and there was no report of a human like creature in the forest around her town. she was convinced this was a human. A human—one that is ignoring her
"PLEASE I DONT KNOW HOW I GOT HERE" she begged, hoping she could get a reaction. Finally the figure moved raising his head from gazing at the water— eyes locked at Ashley
Shocked Ashley jolted up from her bed, her breathing was fast and uneven. Looking around to make sure she was in her room, her body was drenched in sweat yet she felt cold like the wind from her dream was real.
Wiping her face with her palm, she glanced out the window— the sun was up, letting her know she overslept but it felt like she didn't sleep at all. Her body felt weak. throat sour from screaming in her dream
The mark on her chest burned. Still dazed and confused. The dream was felt so real— Fixing her gaze on the floor she tried to remember the face of the man she saw. His silver eyes flashed through her mind sending a shiver down her spine.
forcing herself to get up she pulled out the bed cloth drenched in her sweat replacing it with a clean one. Changing her cloth. she quickly went down to her shop. she was going straight to the bookstore— something told her that dream wasn't just some dream.
Leora sat on the stool in front of the counter as Ashley rushed down in a hurry "hey Ash, where are you running off to" she asked
"To the bookstore, I really need answers" Ashley answered, walking past Leora "well you don't need to" Leora said "there's nothing about the mark on your chest anywhere. I checked the one and only bookstore in the town"
Stopping right at her front door. of course there will be nothing about the mark in this town. Magic—and anything unnatural was banned and hated, even though they lived in a world full of it.