I hit the cobblestone street with a hard crack that knocks the air out of my lungs. I try to breathe but nothing happens. I panic, but remember that the air will come if I give it a moment.
Thankfully after a long moment, sweet air rushes into my lungs. I gasp in another breath, and then another.
I roll over onto my back. Something hard presses into my side from an inside pocket I must have. I frown slightly. What could it be? It certainly digs into my ribs well enough...
The sheriff circles back towards us. "You're both going to jail," he says, a wicked smile dancing on his lips.
I squeak, well remembering the unsavory character I wrote him to be. He hates Avery -and apparently me- but he also won't hesitate to get close and personal. Have some fun.
I suppress a shudder, scrambling to my feet.
Avery trots her horse up to me, vaulting smoothly off of him. "Get on."
Before I can tell her that I don't know how to get on her horse, much less do anything with him, she gives me a step up and I find myself on his back.
She glares at the sheriff. "You'll never catch me."
She rounds on me. "Flick the reins to get him to go, pull them gently in the direction you want to go, and pull back a little to get him to stop."
I blink rapidly, her quickly whispered instructions already lost.
"GO!" She hisses at me.
I start, flicking the leather reins she pressed into my hands. Her horse responds instantly, trotting forward.
The sheriff's face twists as he reaches Avery. She straightens, giving him a cold stare. "I did not steal those coins. I am innocent."
The sheriff laughs, his bulky body shaking. "Yeah right, you little thief." He reaches down toward Avery who nimbly jumps back and starts running into town, flying lightly across the cobblestones.
"Come on!" she calls to me as she flies past me.
I shrug to myself, glancing back at the sheriff. His face is twisted in anger as he flicks the reins of his horse to follow us.
I swallow, flicking the reins in my hands again, hoping Avery's horse will go faster.
I try my best to guide the equine after Avery. But she's fast, and I loose sight of her multiple times.
"Wish I'd drawn a map of Sailmist," I mutter to myself, tugging the reins to the right to turn the horse around a turn. "I'm lost in my own made up city."
After another few minutes, I tug back on the reins, pulling Avery's horse to a halt. "Honestly," I say to the horse. "She has a better chance of finding me than I do her."
I stare down at the cobblestones below me before lifting one leg over and then sliding down his side and landing on the street.
I glance over my shoulder. No sign of the sheriff. Thank goodness. I guess I lost him. I lost myself too, but I guess it was worth it.
I reach up and absently pet the sweaty horse. He huffs softly, bobbing his head down, then back up partway. "Thanks for helping me," I murmur. "I somehow ended up in my own story, and it wouldn't be fun to have been immediately locked up. Especially since I have no idea how I got here."
But, I realize that's not entirely true. Ellena was the one who appeared to me. Fell through my hands. She's a Majika here. With powers. So.... Somehow she must have created a portal. Brought me here.
But... Why didn't I enter the story where she was? I entered at the very beginning of the story. What part of the book was Ellena at when she was asking for help? What was she even asking about?
And... the story changed. As a result of my entrance? The sheriff shouldn't have caught Avery. But with me distracting her, and then my additional weight on her horse slowing her down... And now I don't know where she is.....
"Oh no! She's going to be late!" My mouth drops open. "Oh no, oh no oh no oh no, this is bad, this is bad bad."
"What's bad?"
The familiar, light voice startles the living daylights out of me, but my knees go weak in relief. "Avery!"
"That would be me." Avery steps forward, running a hand down her horse's forehead. "Hey, boy, did you miss me?"
"Where were you? I lost you... I've never been to Sailmist before..." I shut my mouth before I say something crazy like 'and I never thought I would since I wrote it.'
Avery glances sideways at me. "I was looking for you." She takes the reins and ties them to a post that must be for that purpose.
I smile sheepishly. "Sorry, I couldn't keep up...."
She pats her horse's nose again before stepping away from him and towards me, a curious expression on her face. "Sorry you got caught up in that... Are you okay? Hurt?"
I'm a little bruised and a little sore to be honest. "It's alright, I know it wasn't your fault. And I'm okay."
"I introduced myself, but, well.. we got interrupted before you got the chance to introduce yourself."
I open my mouth, but hesitate. Should I say my name..? Make one up? Will I be changing the story if I stay with her..? I'm saved from answering when my stomach rumbles loudly. I shut my mouth, feeling a slow flush heat my cheeks.
Avery laughs. "Hungry?"
I nod, a little sheepishly. I hadn't had dinner yet before...... "A little, yeah."
Avery laughs, linking her arm through mine. "Come on, I'll feed you. The markets in Sailmist have the finest treats. I'll buy you one."
"With the coins you stole?" I ask, trying to sound teasing and not hesitant.
She gives me a side-eyed glance as we start forward. Her face relaxes when I attempt a smile. "Yeah, sure. OR I could use my own hard earned coins. There's not much a few Sanctions won't buy."
I smile. "That's good. I hope you have more than a few."
She rolls her eyes at me. "The main square is just through here."
The main square..?
We round a last turn, coming out into a wide space. Or at least normally it would be wide open. It's jammed full with a crowd.
"What's going on?" Avery frowns.
"I don't know," I lie, staring at the mass of people.
She tugs me along as she approaches a stack of crates beside an abandoned fruit stand. "Come on." She scrambles up onto a couple crates.
I hesitate, but she reaches down, so I take her hand and let her help me up. I turn and look out over all the shifting heads to the center of the main square.
A wooden structure, the kind people used to be executed on, stands tall, a raised platform for everyone to see. And held roughly on the platform is a girl with snow white hair, her head hanging. From our distance, it's hard to see, but she seems bruised.
Another person on the platform steps up. "This girl is to be executed by order of the king on the charges of witchcraft." He sounds bored, but his announcement causes a loud stir of dissent.
The white haired girl stirrs, lifting her head. Across the sea of heads, our eyes meet, and hers are a brilliant magenta.
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